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Aindreas watched Blair lean outside the window, her hands clutching the door frame while she stared with wide eyes at the stone buildings and the smoking chimneys. A blacksmith worked in his shop, hammering a sword into place while his apprentice sharpened a blade. Sparks flew, and her eyes widened, her mouth dropping open in awe.
He noticed how she didn’t wave to anyone but smiled as her hand lifted before she quickly caught herself and pressed it in her lap. Her head tilted to the side as they drove through the town square, passing by a well in the center, which several women stood in line for, waiting to fill their buckets.
“Good day, young laird,” several men said to Aindreas while lifting their hats.
Aindreas smiled and nodded to them as he continued on horseback towards a narrow alley. He allowed the carriage to continue first, looking behind him at several men hovering in the corner of the square. There were four in total, dressed in dirtied shirts and faded tartans. One had a scar down the length of his face. Aindreas nodded towards him as he raised his hat in greeting. The three men with him chuckled.
Aindreas didn’t like the looks of them. They didn’t look like MacAlister assassins, but they also didn’t seem like the type to live in town. He looked away, focusing on riding his horse through the narrow alley towards the tailor’s shop. It was probably nothing, he told himself. Given the tension these days with the MacAlisters, he was probably reading the group of men wrong.
The carriage slowed to a stop in front of a quaint shop with a sign of a needle and thread hovering above it. It was a wooden sign hanging from a metal rod that swayed back and forth, creaking as the wind blew it.
Aindreas went to dismount but stopped, watching from his horse as the driver opened the carriage door. A black shoe moved, resting against the first step, and the top of Blair’s head peeked out. She looked around, her eyes wide and innocent as she took in the buildings and the swaying sign above her. Holding her shawl close to her face, she smiled at her surroundings.
Aindreas smiled, finding the excitement and surprise splayed on her face adorable. A part of him wanted to step down and take her hand, escort her inside himself and leave his aunt in the carriage. He could spend the day with her, a tempting voice whispered in his ear. He quickly shook his head, forcing those thoughts away, but still, he couldn’t take his eyes off her bewildered gaze.
Had she never been to town before? he wondered as he watched her.
“What are ye doing?” Alisa said sternly, making Blair flinch. “Will ye move? We haven’t got all day.”
“Apologies, my lady,” Blair said quickly, stepping down from the carriage and making room for Alisa.
Alisa held out her long, thin hand, shaking it impatiently at the driver. He quickly took it, helping her down from the carriage. Alisa scowled at Blair, and once again, Aindreas felt this need to protect the young lass from his aunt. He turned his attentions to Blair, noticing the way she picked at her fingers nervously. His frown deepened when he turned his attentions back to Alisa, finding the older woman sneering at Blair.
“Well, I say,” Alisa began. She reached for Blair’s shawl and pulled it away from her hair. “Could ye act a wee more civilized when we’re inside?” She shook her head while striding towards the tailor’s shop. “It’s as if ye were raised by the fae.”
Blair dipped into an unpracticed curtsy. “I-I—” Aindreas felt his heart tugging him towards her, wanting to take her into his arms. “Apologies, my lady.”
“I won’t have ye dawdling all day.” He watched Alisa nod towards the shop. Its windows displayed garments varying in shades of blue and red. “In ye go.”
“Yes, my lady.”
Aindreas pursed his lips, wondering if he should join them. Perhaps his aunt wouldn’t be so harsh to Blair with him there. He jumped down from his horse, grabbing the reins and leading his mount closer to the shop.
“Blair,” he called, watching as she paused on the top step. She slowly turned around while his aunt scowled at him, her hand hovering just above the door handle.
“What is it, Aindreas?” Alisa asked haughtily.
Aindreas cleared his throat, pushing his hair away from his face while he tried to think of the best words. He wanted to know if she needed any help, but his brow furrowed, knowing that was not the right thing to ask. Pursing his lips, he wondered how Daniel had become so good at speaking with Blair when he had little to no experience with women.
“Well?” Alisa asked, a cruel smirk spreading over her face. “Has something caught yer tongue? Speak, lad.”
Aindreas forced a smile, biting back the words he wished to tell his aunt. “Shall we meet here at sunset before returning to the castle?”
Alisa sneered while Blair nodded, her gaze lowering to the ground. “Yes,” she said faintly.
“Is that all?” Alisa asked.
Aindreas’s gaze narrowed, tempted to say something to his aunt about her manners. He opened his mouth, but he paused as he heard—
“Mr. Aindreas!”
Aindreas turned, watching as the town leader, Ervin, strode towards him. The door to the shop closed behind him, and whatever ill will he wished upon his aunt was lost to the wind as Ervin approached him. Aindreas forced a smile at Ervin. He was a burly man with a balding head and a long white beard. His tartan was tied around his expanding gut, and the man looked like he had already dipped into the ale, given his nose and cheeks were a furious red.
He grabbed Aindreas’s hand and shook it vigorously. “I heard word ye were coming this way,” Ervin laughed. “Come to talk about this summer’s harvest already, have ye lad?” He wrapped his arm around Aindreas’s shoulders and drew him close. “Yer going to be an outstanding laird, just like yer father.”
Aindreas grimaced but held his smile, knowing speaking about family politics wasn’t wise, especially when he wanted to be on the good side of the town leaders and the village speakers.
“Actually,” he said while pushing Ervin away, “I wanted to speak with ye about the MacAlisters.” His voice was low as he said the clan’s name.
