He said, “Och nae.”
I said, “I totally agree, ochnae,Torin, I willneverforgive you.”
“Aye, I ken. Tis the price I hae tae pay tae keep ye safe.”
“I don’t even want this cloak. I don’t wantanythingfrom you. Nothing. You leave me alone in the woods,twice?”
I unpinned the brooch, took off the cloak, and flung it at him. It landed half in a puddle.
Torn picked it up, draped it over his arm, and said calmly, too calmly, “Ye will be wet and cold. Ye are shiverin’.”
“Yes, I’m already wet and cold. All the way through, but I don’t want anything that’s yours.”
He nodded quietly and stood, offering his hand. “Tis safe. We ought tae go. We need shelter.”
I pushed to my feet without taking his hand, my sodden plaid and tunic clinging heavy, dragging at me. I raised my chin as if to sayI meant to lumber up like this.
He led me to the horses, patted Lambo, and wordlessly waited to help me mount up.
I said, “You want me to get on the same horse with you?Now?”
He kept his face impassive, but his eyes looked worried. “Ye must ride with me. Tis dangerous.” He patted the saddle again.
I calculated, shivering, furious, but not stupid.
I stepped forward. “Fine, but only because it’s twilight and getting scary and I can’t hear anything and can barely see, and I have hadenoughof it after being abandoned.”
With his help, I climbed up on Lambo, and sat stiffly, deliberately angled so that I touched as little of him as possible.
Torin climbed behind me and wordlessly draped the cloak over my shoulders. He set the horses into motion as I sat between his legs, fuming, and a lot of sulking, too.
Finally, I asked, “Those men, were they time travelers or… something else?”
“I believe they were men followin’ us, thieves or…worse.I daena think they were time travelers or we wouldna be here now.”
19
LEXI
1558 - THE WAYSIDE
After we rode for a bit more, we passed a farm, and then another, the first signs of civilization all day.
“How much farther?”
“We are verra close…” A few minutes more and he pulled us in front of a lowly shack.
“This is not an inn. This looks like a one room hovel.”
“Aye, tis a wayside, the inn is farther along, we canna make it tonight in this punishin’ rain and likely twould be full.”
The thatched roof sagged at the edges, water sluicing off the sides. A thin curl of smoke wound from the chimney, the light that spilled from a bare window was dim and yellow, barely inviting.
Torin rapped once, then shoved the heavy wooden door open without waiting. “Ho there!”
A man’s voice said, “Enter!”
Inside, it was very small. I screwed up my nose. The air was thick with unpleasant smells. The fire was peat, the whole room smelled like dirt and burnt food as the fire struggled against the dampness. It also smelled like a wet dog.
