Page 47 of Provoked

“I came to tell you I’ve found Lees,” he said, jaw set, expression grim. “So there you go. Promise fulfilled.” And with that he turned away, as if to go.

“Euan—wait.” David reached for him, catching him by the arm and pulling him back. “Come in, for God’s sake.”

Euan stopped, but he didn’t move. He stayed stock-still, resisting David’s tug at his sleeve, and stared at the ground. “I have to go—I have things to do, Davy.”

“You look terrible,” David said gently. “Have you been sleeping? Come in and eat something. Rest for a bit.”

“I can’t. I—”

“Just for a little while. Please.”

Euan stood rigid for a moment; then something in him seemed to give, and he turned. He looked weary to the very bone, as though he hadn’t slept or eaten for a long while. “All right. I’ll just come in for a bit, though.”

David boiled eggs and toasted bread over the fire while Euan washed up. He was slathering the toast in butter when Euan came back into the kitchen, fair hair damp and beard all scraped away, one of David’s clean shirts on his back.

“Go and sit in the other room in front of the fire,” David said brusquely. “Take this with you.” He thrust a pewter tankard of ale into the younger man’s hand.

“You’re always feeding me,” the lad said.

“You need to be fed. Go.”

After a pause, Euan obeyed, his gait stiff.

David dished the food onto a plate and poured a glass of whisky for himself, then followed Euan into the sitting room. The lad had settled into a winged armchair in front of the fire, and his eyelids were drooping already. David had to call his name softly to rouse him before he was able to hand the meal over and take a chair on the other side of the fire.

Euan ate the food quickly without uttering another word. He broke the tops off the eggs, fingers trembling, and scooped out the creamy insides, washing it all down with the ale.

“Good?” David asked when he was done, topping up his own glass.

Euan nodded. “Aye. It’s been a while since I last ate.”

“Or slept, by the look of you.”

Euan gave a soft, humourless laugh, which David took as an affirmation.

“So, you came to tell me you’ve found Lees?”

“I promised to tell you before I faced him, didn’t I?” There was an edge of resentment in his tone.

“Yes, and I’m glad you did,” David said gravely. “How did you find him?”

Euan leaned his head back against the chair and closed his eyes. “It all went to plan. I followed the girl to her home on Saturday night, then set about finding a place to watch the house from.”

“Where?”

“One of the nearby houses is empty.” His mouth stretched into a sneering sort of smile, eyes still closed. “Rich people who live in London most of the time.”

David was taken aback by his bitter tone but kept his own voice neutral. “You broke in?”

“No, it’s locked up fast as you like. I just climbed over the railings and sheltered in front of the kitchen door.”

“Outside? Christ man, it’s been raining on and off all week and bloody freezing besides!”

“It wasn’t so bad. The steps to the front door sheltered me from the rain, and I had my coat to sleep in.”

“Just a coat? Euan, you could’ve frozen to death!”

“There’s plenty have worse,” Euan replied, opening his eyes and settling his cool gaze on David. “Plenty. Are you getting so used to fancy folk you don’t see that anymore?”