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Chapter Fifteen
Aindreas
Aindreas approached the shop, his thoughts lingering on the conversation he had with Ervin. As the day went on, several men had approached him, speaking about their worries about the MacAlisters. Many believed the men would return in greater numbers. Aindreas had told them he would try to send men to guard the town and protect the people from any attack. He hated knowing his people feared for their lives. He hated that his father had turned a blind eye, focusing his attentions on Blair rather than their plight.
He sighed and shook his head, knowing he was just like his father, thinking of Blair and not Sorcha. The Cambels’ men were the only way to protect the town. He needed to let go of whatever this feeling was he had towards the lass.
Aindreas paused mid-step, frowning at the darkened light within the tailor’s windows. The carriage was no longer waiting outside in the alleyway. Maybe Alisa sent the driver to wait elsewhere, he thought while looking down the alley, finding no one. He lifted his gaze, seeing the sun beginning to set in the distance. Men were lighting the lanterns hovering outside the shop doors. He could hear laughter emitting from the pubs nearby.
But there was no sign of Blair and his aunt.
He rapped at the shop’s door, waiting for an answer. When none came, he knocked again, harder this time.
“A moment, please,” he heard someone answer on the other side. Aindreas heard several locks being undone before finally the door opened, and a man popped his head outside, looking him up and down for a moment. “I apologize, sir, but we are closed. Please come back in the morn—“
“Is Blair with ye?” Aindreas asked while trying to peek over the tailor’s shoulder.
The man’s brow furrowed, and he shook his head. “Nae, she is not, but she did not leave that long ago.”
“Excuse me, sir.”
Aindreas’s frown deepened as he turned towards the sound, finding an older woman clutching a basket to her. Her blonde hair hung over her face while she kept her gaze on the ground. The door closed behind him, making Aindreas shoulders tense, wishing he could demand the tailor to open his door and give all the answers he needed.
“Yer Aindreas, are ye not?” she asked, a slight tremble to her voice.
“Aye, I am,” he said, his brows furrowing in frustration.
Many of the townspeople and villagers knew of him due to his father. He didn’t know if the woman was merely ignorant or disrespectful. The woman seemed to shrivel before him as he crossed his arms, straightening his back to appear taller.
“The Lady Alisa has left.”
Aindreas’s scowl darkened, and he turned around, staring at the shop, hearing the tailor clanging the locks together. He stepped towards the window, peering inside at the dark room, finding a young girl inside, but it was not Blair.
“Did she take a maiden with her?” he asked while searching through the garments displayed through the window.
When the woman didn’t answer, he glanced over his shoulder, finding her nodding her head. “They left in their carriage several hours ago.”
Aindreas clucked his tongue. That was a different answer than what the tailor had given just moments ago. “Since they finished earlier than they thought. The Lady Alisa wanted me to inform ye.”
“Did the youngest woman have green eyes like the fields and dark hair like night?”
The woman nodded. “Skin like porcelain, sir.”
Aindreas ground his teeth. So, he had been waiting all this time for nothing. Turning on his heel, he stalked back to his horse, swiftly mounting it before flicking the reins. Of course, his aunt would leave without him. She had never considered his feelings before. She most likely knew the truth of him, which was why she always treated him as if he was nothing more than a servant.
He turned his horse around, finding the blonde woman watching him with fearful eyes. Grabbing his coin purse, he took out two silvers and tossed them to her. “For yer trouble,” he said, watching as she caught the coins midair.
She smiled and bowed her head. “Thank ye, sir. Yer very kind.”
Aindreas urged his horse into a trot, following the path out of town and towards the fields. He scowled as he urged his horse into a faster run, the path becoming dirt the farther he was from the tailor’s shop. Not all was for naught, he told himself, but he couldn’t stop thinking about his aunt, who was probably laughing about leaving him behind with his father and Daniel.
He would have a word with his aunt about the matter later, he decided. No one should treat him like this. Sure, he wasn’t the son of the laird. He wasn’t family, but there were rules of conduct to follow, and his aunt had definitely crossed a line. A part of him wondered what she would do if he told his father about the cruel words she said to Blair. He smirked, imagining his aunt’s astonishment and his father’s ire.
He frowned, noticing something coming over the horizon. It was a man on a brown horse, riding as if a ghost was chasing after him. Were the MacAlisters attacking the castle? He picked up the pace, his heart pounding in his ears, yet the castle in the distance seemed fine. There weren’t any men stationed outside its walls, but the sun was dimming, making it more difficult to see.
Aindreas tilted his head to the side, his eyes widening. He knew that horse. His frown deepened when he saw a familiar head of dark, curly hair. The closer the man became, the more Aindreas recognized the person riding towards him. Brown eyes scowled back at him as the man unsheathed his sword. Aindreas blinked, dodging the swipe of the blade.
“Daniel!” Aindreas shouted incredulously, wondering why his cousin was attacking him.
