Chapter 6 Prudence, Fair Ladies & Noble Knights #2
Pru couldn’t help but find herself curious.
About the two of them, their business, and their reason for being on the island.
She also couldn’t help but find herself enchanted.
He was so darned ridiculous with his massive shoulders and boyish floppy hair.
All six foot zillion inches of him. And moreover, she was very glad he had interrupted the embarrassing course of her thoughts and redirected them toward safer topics.
“And since the reason for you being here is obscured by a secret, perhaps the answer to where Her Majesty and her knight come from might be an easier one to find?”
It was his turn to smile, and Pru felt the thread of their connection solidify. She took off in the direction of the counter, Lachlan walking slowly behind her. As she pointed toward the coffee, he made a supplicating gesture.
“You are a goddess among women, a blessing upon your house, and a gift to all humankind. Coffee would be great. I’m not precious.”
She narrowed her eyes at him. After a few seconds, he folded.
“Fine, fine, I am very precious, but this is the wilderness, and as such I have to do with what I have. Rhiannon makes magnificent coffee when she can be bothered these days, and once all the equipment arrives it will be even better. For now, we get it at the Rooster pub, but I have to say it’s not very good. The town doesn’t have much to offer.”
Pru handed him a paper cup. He sipped and grimaced before hastily hiding it behind a second sip.
“Don’t let the mayor hear you say that! He is very proud of the service industry he encouraged here in Crow’s Nest. As his daughter, I shall try and keep your secret safe, though it might cost you.
” She winked at him and Lachlan winked back.
He really was easy be around, which Pru felt she severely lacked these days.
“The town has plenty of good coffee to offer, kind knight. Crow’s Brew is excellent and has the benefit of being owned by the third Crowhart sister… ”
She trailed off and they stared at each other in silence. Then as he took another large gulp, Pru decided that perhaps it was best to move this conversation along. If Rhiannon’s brush with Ceridwen just minutes ago was any indication, Rooster’s substandard coffee choice was very much by design.
“We should all know our limitations, Sir Lachlan. I certainly know mine. The coffee I make is decent but nothing to write home about. So, where is said home?”
He exhaled audibly and winked at her.
“You’re good, fair maiden. Very good. Subtle and tactful, sidestepping the uncomfortable and making people feel at ease.
Thank you. For the sidestep and for the cup.
And I never look gifted coffee in the mouth.
” He drained the cup before attempting to throw the paper cup into the can.
He missed, huffed, got up, and gently placed it there without attempting to prove himself again.
The entire scene was…dare she say it, cute, notwithstanding his disgruntled expression and massive hands.
When he finished disposing of the remnants of his coffee, he sat back closer to her, the mischievous gleam back in his baby blues.
“Home is in the distant and now sadly forsaken kingdom of Los Angeles of the California realm. I shall refrain from asking if you have heard of it, since its glory precedes it.”
“I have indeed heard about it, even if I do appear as a mere country bumpkin stuck in the middle of this wilderness, Sir Lachlan.”
“Fair maiden, you wound me! I have never implied any such thing.” He clutched his chest again before straightening and smoothing the creases he had made on his linen shirt. “Gotta be careful with this baby. Can’t get this kind of luxury here. And we’re here at least for twelve months.”
“That is a very precise timeframe, kind sir.”
“It really is! The countdown started the moment Rhiannon signed those papers at the town hall to enter into possession of the building. By the way, she will not keep that name, just so you know. Whoever called it ‘Old Atelier’ really lacked imagination.” He shrugged.
“It was always called that. Sometimes they add Old ‘Jerome’s’ Atelier to it.” Pru tried to remember the man who once owned it, but he passed away when she lived on the mainland, and all she ever heard of him was never anything she cared to dwell on.
“Is the reason they didn’t keep the name because he was horrid? I swear Rhiannon shuddered when she stepped into the Atelier weeks ago. Did some awful, horrible, stuff-of-nightmares ordeal happen in there? Is it haunted?” Lachlan’s face was transformed with morbid curiosity.
Pru shook her head at him.
“Not to my knowledge. But then this island has the history of being…shall we say…unorthodox. Still, since the place has always been super high on developers’ lists, I assume nothing out of the ordinary occurred. Though would those vultures even ever care?”
He nodded comparably.
“Judging by the ones I had the displeasure of meeting—and yes, several already tried to drop by and persuade Rhiannon into selling before being run out on their ear—they’re vultures indeed. And she made them shake in their boots.”
The picture Pru’s vivid imagination drew of vengeful Rhiannon throwing the developers out of the Atelier was too hot to dwell on. She might do so later, but not now when Lachlan was watching her every move. She decided to change the subject.
“It is a very nice shirt, so I suggest you abandon the theatrics then, Sir Lachlan.” She gave him another stern look. He pouted.
“I live for theatrics. If I was better at it, I’d be on the stage. As it is, I am just gorgeous. Not talented. And apparently you need a sliver of the latter if the former is to be of any help.”
Pru rolled her eyes at his antics.
“Are you fishing for compliments, kind sir? Because it is unbecoming of the honorable knight you portray yourself to be.”
“Portray myself? I am all earnest honesty and unbridled…” He paused, clearly looking for a word. When nothing came, he looked at Pru hopefully. She shrugged.
“The only unbridled anything I can come up with is lust, and since you have disclosed your passionate preference for other knights, I might as well tell you that it is mostly maidens for me. Hence, I am of no help.”
His brow furrowed, and he pursed his lips.
“Oh, but you are. Forget unbridled. Since we are clearly not destined to share a passionate affair that would change the course of history—”
“The only type of affair to share, if you ask me.” Pru nodded along with this ridiculous tale getting more entertaining by the minute.
“Indeed, and are you engaged in any such affair at the moment, fair maiden? Or has someone broken your heart? Then as an honorable and distinguished knight, and while my queen is otherwise occupied, I shall defend your honor.”
Pru’s palm warmed a bit at the mention of Rhiannon, and she wondered if Ceridwen had gone over to the Atelier. Since she couldn’t hear any screaming and hurling of heavy objects, she assumed all was clear on that front. As for the answer Lachlan was patiently waiting for…
“There is no other fair maiden, Sir Lachlan. There was once, for seven years. But that ended.”
His face sobered, all traces of joking around erased, leaving behind an earnest expression of concern.
He reached out for her hand, stopped just shy of touching her, and lifted his eyes to hers.
She smiled at the seeking of consent. He was a rare man indeed.
Pru laid her own hand on his forearm instead and they sat in silence for a moment before he murmured, “I’m sorry. Seven years is a long time.”
“Don’t be. It was for the best. She wasn’t very good for me.”
He straightened immediately. Pru could tell where his thoughts went, but she didn’t have it in herself to add anything else. And what would she say? That she should’ve left a long time ago? That she had known better and still stayed? That she saw all the signs and chose to ignore them?
And so, she said nothing and patted his forearm. He leaned closer again.
“I came because something happened with Rhiannon just now, and I wanted to make sure you’re okay, Pru.
And because I can use a friend. Seeing you and talking to you, I think you can use one too.
I’m not the prying kind…” He trailed off and she just looked at him before he lifted his hands in defeat.
“Fine, I am the prying kind. But it’s all in the spirit of love.
I’m just next door during the day, should you need anything, and especially if the seven years that put that look on your face come calling again. ”
The bell on the front door rang, this time signaling the arrival of a rather large group of tourists, and Pru squeezed his forearm. He booped her nose and made her laugh, whistling as he walked out the store, leaving a drove of men and women enthralled behind him.
Pru had to shake her head. The neighbors were ridiculous. And ridiculously attractive and both of them knew it and seemingly got what they wanted. Lachlan was already halfway to being her best friend.
Now if only Pru could get what she wanted for once. Some answers from Her Majesty Rhiannon would be an amazing place to start.