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“For now,” she said. “We want to be seen.”
The innkeeper’s arrival caught me off guard as I stared at Aislinn and tried to understand her meaning.
“What will you have, my lord?” the man asked.
I looked up to see his well-trimmed hair and clean-shaven face. His green eyes locked on me expectantly.
“Food,” I said.
His lips curled with a mocking smile. He did not attempt to hide it.
“Would you like me to choose for you?” he asked.
“Yes,” I replied. “Bring us your best food and... Would you like some wine?”
Aislinn shook her head but did not say anything.
“No wine then,” I turned to the innkeeper again. “Just bring us your best food.”
The man hid his smirk. He turned around and left.
“He’s going to bring something very pricey,” Aislinn observed.
“He will?” I asked.
“Yes,” Aislinn said. “Your observation was correct. This is a place nobles come often, and they are not the sort to ask for a lower price. The inn keeps its prices high, which works well because the nobles don’t want commoners around them.”
“How do you know all of this?” I asked.
“My grandfather loves coming here,” Aislinn replied with a grimace.
I smiled. “I bet my mother would too.”
We shared a knowing look as the minstrel moved on to the next song. As we waited for our food, we listened to the minstrel in silence.
The song had a lively tune, with lyrics devoid of any feeling or meaning. The minstrel’s voice was soft and perfect, but as she sang, she was forcing herself to smile and she wasn’t as good of an actor as she was a singer.
I stopped watching the minstrel when the food arrived. I had skipped lunch because I had been too nervous about our excursion tonight, and it had been a while since breakfast. I dug in, eagerly.
Aislinn took small bites from the roasted quail with apples that the innkeeper had chosen for us. The quail was too large for the two of us, and since it was quite rare and valuable, I knew at once that Aislinn was right that the innkeeper had chosen the most expensive thing they had to offer. Still, it was delicious.
Aislinn was with me, the music was fun, the room was warm, and the food was exquisite. All of it combined made me wish deeply that tonight was not all pretend.
“We should go soon,” Aislinn said as soon as I was done eating.
“Sure,” I said. She raised her hand to call the innkeeper to our table. I had to drop my fork and knife as I quickly chewed on my last bite before the waiter arrived.
“Yes, my lady?” he asked, looking at Aislinn.
“We would like to pay,” I said.
His pursed lips told me I was doing something wrong, but I had no idea what.
“Ten gold coins,” he said.
It was an exorbitant price. My cheeks flushed with heat as I reached into my pocket to pull out my coin purse. I put the purse on the table and opened it to start grabbing the coins from inside.
Aislinn made a move to grab her purse as well, but I stopped her with a gesture I hoped was polite.
