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Chapter Eleven
“One turf shall serve as pillow for us both. One heart, one bed, two bosoms, and one troth.”
—Lysander, Act 2,A Midsummer Night’s Dream
“If we stay close to bodies of water and the coastline whenever we can, it will add another three days or so to our journey,” Ben calculated.
He and Annie sat at their own small table in a corner of the “coffee room,” or the common dining area, with other weary travelers. While Brigid retired upstairs to take a hot bath, and Sai was changing out their borrowed steeds and settling the unicorns for the night.
For a dragon imprisoned for many millennia, Sai fit seamlessly into Victorian society, be it polished or country. Even though he’d illusioned his and Ben’s attire to look understated with dark shades of brown, black and blue, the tailored fit could not be disguised.
With their height and physique, no one mistook them for commoners. Fortunately, the weapons they’d brought with them from Lord Rathbourne’s finest collection, and the steel in their eyes dissuaded would-be thieves and ruffians from approaching.
With the seemingly endless gold Sai could materialize at will, they could have dined in the private area for the establishment’s wealthiest guests, but both Ben and Annie wanted to soak in their surroundings.
Ben loved history, and Annie loved people watching. Hence, their tacit agreement in choosing the coffee room.
“You were right to suggest that Brigid and Sai stay in one room as husband and wife, while we stay in the other,” he said to Annie.
“Less questions about two men and women traveling without servants. And if we split up this way, you and Brigid will both have protection.”
“Thanks, love,” Annie quipped. “But I can take care of myself.”
“You don’t know if your spells work here,” Ben reminded her.
“But I have a healthy pair of lungs to scream with,” she said with a grin. “I know how to use them well.”
“Then why did you suggest we split up in couples rather than women versus men?”
“Because,” she stressed with emphasis, rounding her eyes.
“The lovebirds need time to themselves to get…better acquainted.”
She waggled her brows suggestively.
Ben didn’t know how this was pertinent to the quest at hand. If Sai was the Pale Prince, hadn’t they already discovered the “myth”? Why were they still here?
He could only deduce that they still had tasks to complete. As he didn’t know what they were, he could only stay close to Sai. And Sai, in turn, seemed determined to stay close to Brigid.
Not engaging on Annie’s strange looks, he continued with the planning.
“If we set out at dawn tomorrow and travel without break all day, we should arrive at Cambridge by night, thanks to those speedy unicorns. My ass is taking a beating, though,” he moaned.
“How’s the carriage treating you ladies?”
“It’s well-sprung, and the cushions are thick,” Annie said. “I never get sick, and Brigid seems used to it too, but the jostling might have been too much for others.”
Ben nodded, relieved.
“By the seventh night, if all goes well, we should arrive in Edinburgh. And Sai can take another dunk in the sea if he needs it. Three days after that, we’ll be in Inverness.”
“I can’t believe your head’s full of which routes to take when every wench and lady in the building have been eye-fucking you from the moment we arrived, and not even bothering to hide it,” Annie said tartly, one corner of her mouth dimpling in an impish grin.
Ben rolled his eyes and pretended to sip his beer.
He’d never been much of a beer drinker, even in modern times. Or a connoisseur of any alcoholic libation for that matter.
But he especially didn’t appreciate the sour, funky taste of what this particular coaching inn served. The water didn’t seem particular fresh or clean, so he’d rather take his chances with flavored beverages. In fact, he might try whatever Annie was having. She seemed to enjoy it much more than he.
