Chapter 12
Chapter Twelve
In the alley, a door creaked and light flooded out accompanied by the hushed voice of the innkeeper. "Ye can come out now," she said.
Briana and Theon slipped out of the crevice. To Briana's utmost relief, the woman looked completely unharmed except for a small bruise on her cheek. The innkeeper shone with life, and at her side, the two children held onto her hands, watching in wonder.
"Thank ye," Briana said simply. "Thank ye so much. Ye didnae have tae help us."
"I've been waitin' tae get back at those arses since they arrived.
Their lot is the reason me husband and son are dead," the innkeeper responded darkly.
She glanced down at the children. "The reason bairns like this go without.
Dinnae fear for them. They can eat what those pigs left and sleep here whenever they like.
A woman like me could do with a new family. "
Rosie stepped forward. "Are those men gonnae come back?"
Briana froze, but Theon crouched down so that he was eye-level with the little girl.
"They willnae come back," he said, and Briana was struck by the softness in his voice.
She'd never heard it before. "They'll hunt me friend and me, but this lady will be safe, and so will ye.
They'll nae be able tae show their faces in this village again after losin' tae an innkeeper throwin' bottles. A woman, at that!"
Jock giggled. "She smashed so much glass! Helen is stronger than any of them!"
"She is," Briana agreed, though her eyes were still on Theon, her heart marveling at his ease in comforting the children. "And so are ye."
Theon glanced up at her with that rare, genuine smile that always seemed to make time stop around her.
Then he turned back to Rosie and said, "I ken how hard it is for ye tae take care of yer wee brother.
I had tae look after mine when he was a bairn, too, though we were a bit older than ye. It was hard. I was scared of failin'."
Briana watched, her breath caught in her throat.
"But ye cannae fail as long as ye stay together and look after each other," Theon continued. He nodded up at Helen, the innkeeper. "And if ye let good people help ye."
Rosie nodded. Theon got to his feet again, and Briana felt a strange fluttering in her chest. His display with the child had brought out a side of him she didn't know existed, and she was overwhelmed with the need to see more.
She stepped toward him but did not quite close the gap between them.
Instead, when he met her eyes again, she felt a shiver of inspiration.
"Come with us," she told the children. The weight of the stolen coin was heavy in her cloak. "Just for a bit. Then ye can come back."
"Come back here?" Jock asked.
Helen nodded. "Aye, lad. Come back home."
They reached one of the few open shops at the edge of the town near where they had left their horses.
When they entered, only a single woman sat on a spindly stool, diligently sewing, not even looking up when they approached.
Briana held Rosie's hand while Theon carried Jock on his back, and they stopped, admiring the woman's handiwork.
Colors existed here that were missing elsewhere in the village.
The fabrics were thin and cheap, but they were bright, some with embroidered patterns and hues of nature dotted all around them.
A few dresses and shirts, intricately tailored, hung on the walls, gathering dust. They were beautiful, though not practical for the hard work and cold weather around them without leather boots and thick cloaks.
Theon lowered Jock to the floor then took off his cloak. He approached the counter and placed it down, then drew out the money pouch he'd brought along with them. "Madam?"
"There isnae a madam here, lad, just an old spinster," the woman said, though she did look up. "If ye're lookin' for a new cloak, I can make ye one, but it willnae keep ye half as warm as that thing does. I gave all me finest materials away years ago, and those soldiers took the rest."
Briana sighed. Theon had been right that the soldiers who had attacked them would likely not return to the village, but she was almost certain that more would come in their place. By the look on Theon's face, she knew it too. But he turned his small frown into a smile a moment later.
"I'm nae here for a new cloak. I want ye tae use the material and make two small ones," Theon explained.
He gestured to the children. "Keep and use the leftover material.
" He placed his entire bag of coins on the counter.
"And use this gold tae get yerself better supplies and see this village well-clothed again.
But do me a favor and make these bairns yer first customers. "
Briana's pulse thundered, but though she was shocked, she couldn't say she was surprised. This was the Theon who she felt she'd known her whole life—the Theon who had lived in her dreams. For the first time in a long time, hope burned within her that he really existed.
But no. She knew he was a traitor, a thief and a murderer—a monster. Wasn't he? Could someone be both of those things at once?
The spinster's eyes brightened, though she still looked wary. "Are ye mockin' me, lad?"
Theon shook his head. "Nay. I'm makin' a purchase."
"We're gettin' new clothes?" Rosie asked. She was staring at the fabric the way she'd stared at the water earlier. "Here?"
"Of course ye are," Briana replied, her heart melting at the disbelief in the child's voice. She beckoned to Jock and led the two children over to some of the brighter fabrics. "Here. Pick yer favorite colors. Let's get ye somethin' really wonderful."
As the seamstress worked, Theon leaned against the counter and watched Briana with the children and wondered at the situation he'd found himself in.
His face and hand hurt from the fight, but he barely noticed the pain.
He knew they couldn't linger there long, but at that moment, watching Briana laugh with the children, he felt more at peace than he had in as long as he could remember.
"Do ye need these?" the seamstress, Neila, asked.
Theon turned to face her and his stomach plummeted. Neila was holding the letters in her hand, the seal glaringly obvious as it stared at him from where she was.
Theon quickly grabbed them and tucked them away in his tartan, furtively looking over to Briana. She hadn't noticed, which filled him with a relief he wasn't quite ready to examine. He should go before it was too late and find a messenger. There was still time.
Neila watched him but didn't say anything. "While ye're waitin', why nae choose a dress for yer lady?"
He blinked. "I… She's nae me—"
The older woman scoffed. "Dinnae try tae fool an old woman. I ken love when I see it, lad."
Theon opened his mouth to protest, but it died on his lips.
He would rather not hear that word, didn't want to think about it, but he could no longer ignore it.
Since he was a boy, he'd only had his brothers, by blood and by choice, to love.
He'd long since rejected the idea that he'd love a woman beyond a few shared nights.
Everything had turned upside down since he'd found Briana in that carriage, and though it disconcerted him, he could not claim to hate it.
"Mister Theon?"
He looked down and saw Rosie standing in front of him. "Aye?"
"Briana says ye have tae leave once we're done here. Must ye?" she asked.
Theon paused, then reached into his belt and drew out a sheathed dagger. "Here," he said. He placed it in her hands. "Be very careful with it, aye? Look after yerself and yer brother. Brighter times will come."
"And ye?" Neila asked. "What will ye do now? Have ye completed yer business in this village?"
Theon glanced over at Briana again, and unconsciously he rubbed the back of his neck. "Nay," he admitted, then added, "But it can wait."
Before they left the village, Briana handed over the money that she had stolen from the guards.
Along with Theon's money, it would be enough to boost the village for a short time, and she left them with strict instructions to locate a herbalist to help with healing, her mind on the injured woman who'd given up hope.
Neila promised to see the children safely back to the tavern with the coins and their new clothes, and after some hugs and goodbyes, Briana and Theon returned to their horse, each lost in their own thoughts.
"May I help ye mount?" Theon asked after they had unhitched the creature and made sure it was ready to go. "Or will ye bite me head off for tryin' tae touch ye again?"
"I havenae decided yet," Briana replied primly, hiding her smile.
She climbed up onto the horse herself, and Theon mounted behind her in one elegant move.
He wrapped his arms around her waist, and though she pretended to bristle at his presumption, she allowed herself to lean back against him.
They began the journey out of the village and back down the road toward the rebel camp.
They didn't talk much, but at one point he did draw her even closer, more of an embrace than a security measure, and Briana knew she had to say something.
"Are ye afraid I'm gonnae fall off?" she teased, trying to ignore the way her body tingled at the touch.
"I'm just tryin' tae stay warm. I left me cloak behind, ye ken," he murmured in her ear.
His voice vibrated, warm and pleasant, like a deep song, and she closed her eyes afterward as they rode. They lapsed back into silence, and Briana did not open her eyes again, trusting Theon to be their eyes and ensure that they made it back safe.
He seemed a different person than he had when he'd half-dragged her onto the horse hours before.
She could not understand him. Why had he been so angry?
Why was he now so kind? Which one of them was the real Theon?
She leaned back against him, fervently praying that she knew the answer and knowing that she couldn't trust it no matter how much she wanted to.
They arrived back at the hidden base after some time, both of them laughing at a joke they had already forgotten.
Briana felt light—lighter than she had not only since meeting Theon again but perhaps in her whole life.
Seeing the smile on those children's faces, knowing she'd been able to make a difference no matter how small…
it had changed something deep inside her, even though she didn't know exactly what yet.
And the way Theon had spoken to those children, the self-sacrifice he'd shown without any ceremony…
well, she didn't think it would leave her mind for a long, long time.
Theon got down first and helped her down afterward, his hands lingering on her waist after her feet were on the ground. She smiled up at him, but there was no urge to tease him now. In fact, she would be quite happy to stand there with him forever.
"Theon," she said seriously, examining his face as though she was seeing it for the first time.
"I want… I need ye tae ken somethin'. Whatever has gone on between us, whatever ye've done and whatever ye plan tae do, I think that what ye did for those bairns and for that village was wonderful.
I think ye're a better man than ye like tae pretend ye are. "
His hands tightened briefly on her waist. "Do ye?" he murmured. For a second, she thought he was going to lean down and kiss her again, but instead he went on. "We make a good team. Until we get caught."
She stepped a little closer. "Then next time we dinnae get caught."
There was only a breath between them now. The moment seemed to stretch into eternity.
"I got ye something," he said at last.
His tone was strange, unlike any that she'd heard from him in her dreams or in real life.
It was uncertain, almost shy, in a way that was as endearing as it was confusing.
He released her and moved to the saddlebags and withdrew a length of carefully folded material.
When he shook it out, it tumbled into a dress of deep forest green, made from soft summer fabric.
"I think it should be the right size. I felt bad about ruinin' yer only nice dress, and I thought the green would match yer eyes."
Words failed her. She stared at the gift, then silently accepted it, holding it almost reverently.
"Do ye dislike it?" he asked. "I ken some women prefer tae avoid green so as nae tae offend the fae and bring bad luck, but I thought perhaps—"
"I have nae fear of bad luck," she replied. She moved close to him again. "I think, in fact, me luck has changed at last."
He half-smiled, leaning down. "I'd say the same," he agreed.
Their lips brushed together in the lightest peck, but before Briana could even consider what she was doing, they were interrupted by the sound of footsteps.
They sprung apart, and when Briana saw Keir approaching, she put as much distance between herself and Theon as she could. She dipped her head to avoid Keir's glare and muttered something about having to put her dress away, then hurried to the cabin she'd been sharing with Theon.
Behind her, she heard Keir and Theon speak.
"Is it done?" Keir asked abruptly. "The letters?"
"Aye," Theon replied. "Enough of it now. Help me get this horse tae the stables. I need tae tell ye about what happened with the MacFarlane men. We'll have tae lay low for a while."
"I think—" But the rest of Keir's sentence was cut off as the door to the cabin closed behind Briana and she was alone inside.
She hung the dress carefully over the rail, wondering idly what Keir had meant about letters, but finding she didn't really care. Her lips had been touched by a butterfly's wings, and until morning came, she intended to enjoy the feeling.
Just for now, she'd let herself live her dreams.