Page 56 of Ensnaring the Dove
“I know,” Colombia replied. “But we both need new tunics … and I’d like to get started on making them in the morning.”
The two women navigated the streets toward the cloth merchant’s shop, hurrying their step as more raindrops wet their cheeks. Along the way, they passed a rowdy tavern. Drunken laughter filtered out onto the street.
Colombia and Moira walked on, passing the carpenter’s workshop a little farther along. The scent of freshly cut wood wafted out from the open doors, and Colombia inhaled deeply. Glancing into the interior of the workshop, she spied an older man hunched over a high-backed chair he was decorating, hammer and chisel in hand. His brow was furrowed in concentration as he worked.
Shifting her gaze away, Colombia hurried onward.
Farther down the street, she was relieved to find the cloth merchant still open.
The small, pot-bellied man, who hailed from Italia, welcomed them inside with a broad smile. “I have just the thing, my lady,” he assured Colombia before bustling to the back of his shop to retrieve a bolt of fabric.
While she waited, Colombia glanced around her at the stacks of colorful cloth that lined the walls of his shop. Moira reached out and stroked one of the silks, her blue eyes widening at its feel. However, when the shopkeeper returned, she snatched her hand back.
Ignoring the slave, the merchant flashed Colombia another smile and placed a bolt of pale-yellow linen on the table in the center of the shop. “What do you think?”
Colombia moved forward and touched the fabric, noting its softness and fine weave. “Yes, this will do nicely,” she said after a moment.
A short while later, Colombia and Moira emerged from the shop, the coin purse at Colombia’s waist considerably lighter, while her companion carried a bulky, yet carefully wrapped, parcel.
Moira glanced up at the grey sky as they walked back down the street. “It looks like the rain might hold off a little longer.”
Relieved, Colombia nodded. She didn’t want to get the costly fabric soaked on the way home.
The poignant call of a trumpet echoed once more through the fort then as the light started to dim. Not long now before the torches were lit. Even a few streets back from the market square, the rich aroma of roasting boar filled the air. Colombia smiled. She was looking forward to the celebrations. Things had been lean of late in the fort, but her father had agreed to put on a good show this evening, in an effort to boost morale.
They passed by the carpenter’s workshop again, and Colombia found herself glancing through the doorway once more.
She expected to see the older Briton, still hard at work—but instead, another, younger, man had replaced him.
Colombia gasped, her heart slamming against her breastbone, and she skidded to a halt.
XXIV. HIS PLACE
AEDAN STOOD AT the workbench, sanding a stool, his brow furrowed in concentration.
He hadn’t yet seen her.
Colombia’s heart started to pound like a drum.What in Hades is he doing here?
And despite that Moira was now asking her what the matter was, her gaze devoured him.
He looked well. His bare arms, decorated in blue tribal swirls, gleamed with sweat as he worked, the muscles flexing with each movement. His hair, curling from the day’s dampness and sweat, had been trimmed since she’d seen him last. It was still shaggy, yet a little less unruly.
“Aedan.”
He stopped his sanding and glanced up, his gaze swiveling to the doorway—and the moment those sea-blue eyes fastened upon her, Colombia stopped breathing.
Minerva protect her, his gaze still had the power to scatter her wits.
Aedan’s lips parted then. “Colombia.”
Pulse racing, she took a step forward. Moira was still standing in the street, yet her companion had stopped asking her if anything was wrong, since Colombia hadn’t responded.
Her attention remained fixed upon Aedan now. “I didn’t realize you’d stayed on in Onnum?” Her voice was unnaturallyhigh and breathy, yet she couldn’t help it. She was still reeling from seeing him.
He smiled, a dimple forming on his cheek. “After we bid each other farewell, I decided I might as well try my luck here.”
“Are you a carpenter now?”