CAITHREN DODGED a couple of dogs that were chasing each other near the entrance to the fair. “It’s delightful!”
“It stinks,” Jason countered.
She wrinkled her nose against the ripe smells of cattle and fish. But the odors didn’t dim her enthusiasm. “Aye, but it’s exciting, don’t you think? We’ve nothing like this near Leslie.”
She pushed into the noisy crowd, heading straight toward the area where vendors displayed an amazing array of merchandise. She passed stands piled with soap and candles, sugar and spices, making a beeline for a table strewn with a hodgepodge of gloves, ribbons, and lace.
“The blue suits you.” Jason lifted a spool of ribbon and held it up to her hair. “Would you like a length?”
Her smile was quick, but she couldn’t ask for luxuries—at least until Jason collected the reward he’d been blethering about. She opened her mouth to say nay, but he was already handing the ribbon to the vendor.
“A yard, if you please. And some of the red as well.” He glanced at her skirt. “No, make that the green.”
“Jason—”
“You’d prefer the red? I thought you’d rather not wear that dress.”
“Nay, it’s only—”
“All three, then.” He dug in his pouch for a coin. “Do you know where we might find a comb for sale?”
“To the left, sir,” the merchant said as he handed Jason his change.
Jason stuffed the coins and ribbons into his pouch. “Come along, Emerald.” He took off in the direction the vendor had indicated, leaving her to follow.
Too excited to be irritated at the name, she found her attention pulled in all directions at once. A stall selling eggs, milk, and butter sat beside one offering fat brown sausages. The rich aroma of coffee beans competed with the scents of tobacco and cocoa.
She looked up, and Jason was gone. Craning her neck, she spotted his raven-topped head above the crowd and hurried to join him.
“Do you fancy this one?” The comb he held was made of the finest ivory, like his own, the creamy white polished to a high sheen.
“One of those will do.” She indicated a comb of brown, mottled tortoiseshell. “Or this one.” She picked up a plain wooden comb.
Jason plucked it from her hand and set it down. Experimentally he lifted one of her plaits and ran the ivory comb through its tail, then dug once more in his pouch. “We’ll take it,” he said, and that was that.
Caithren blinked in astonishment. She’d never seen anyone make such quick decisions.
Exchanging coin for the comb, he handed it to her. “Will this fit in your pocket?”
She nodded and slipped it inside, beside his pistol she still carried.
“Good. Now, for a gown…”
“I don’t think we’ll find a gown here, Jase. The fabric, aye, but—”
“Come along—we’ll look.”
He dragged her up one row and down another, past bolts of silks and muslin and calico. But as she’d said, no ready-made garments were for sale. She found it difficult to keep up with his purposeful strides, so she was happy for a chance to catch her breath when he paused before a gingerbread cart.
“I’m hungry again.” He grinned at her sound of disbelief. “Would you like some as well?”
She shook her head, watching while the baker dusted a wooden board with ground ginger and cinnamon. He scooped a hunk of hot brown dough from a pot and rolled it out, then cut it into small discs. Without further cooking, he piled several on a piece of paper.
When Jason paid the man and had a warm little circle of cake in his hand, the savory scent was too tempting. Her fingers crept toward the treat to break off a bit, and he laughed and handed it to her, taking another round for himself.
The gingerbread was spicy but not very sweet, and the doughy texture was unusual but not unpleasing.
A small hand tugged on Jason’s breeches, and they both looked down to see a wee lad’s grubby face.
“What, you too?” With another laugh, Jason handed a piece to the child.
When the boy stuffed it into his mouth and swallowed convulsively, Jason sobered. “So that’s the way of it, is it?” Returning to the cart to purchase another serving, he handed it to the lad, along with the coins he’d received as change. “Run along, now, and buy yourself some milk.”
The child’s eyes widened in his dirty face. The coins disappeared into a fist gripped so tight the poor lad’s knuckles turned white. Without so much as a thank you, he took off running.
Caithren lifted a turquoise plume from a nearby stand and waved it through the air thoughtfully. “That was nice, Jase.”
He shrugged and pinkened beneath his tan. “It was nothing. Do you want that?”
“Nay!” She dropped it back to the table as though it had burned her fingers.
Was he intent on buying her everything she so much as looked at? Maybe it was a sign he was softening toward her, and that was a pleasing thought…or maybe he was only feeling guilty she’d lost her belongings on his account. Either way, she didn’t want him spending his money unnecessarily, so she’d best keep her hands to herself.
A wild burst of laughter drew her attention from the merchandise. With Jason in tow this time, she fought her way into a crowd that circled a troupe of ropedancers. “Look, Jase!”
Indeed, she didn’t know where to look first. One man was performing on a low rope, another on a slack rope that looked mighty dangerous, and a third was scaling a daunting slope. A fourth man danced upon a rope with a wheelbarrow in front of him, two children and a dog perched inside. A duck on his head was singing to the crowd and causing much of the laughter.
At the absurd sight, Caithren joined in, laughing even harder when the man executed a silly little bow, nearly tumbling from his rope in the process. The duck squawked in alarm, but of course it was all just part of the show.
“I never thought to hear you laugh,” Jason said wonderingly beside her.
She turned to see a strange look in his eyes. A look that, if she hadn’t known better, she might interpret to mean he liked her.
“I’ve had nothing to laugh at lately,” she said gravely, the moment of light, unburdened hilarity lost.
“No, you haven’t,” he agreed. “Let’s see what else I can find to amuse you.”
With a light touch on the small of her back, he guided her through the throng and across a trampled field. Ahead loomed another enthralled crowd. “Ah, a mountebank,” he said.
“A what?”
“A man who calls himself a doctor.”
“Calls himself? Is he a doctor, or nay?”
He looked down at her, flashing an enigmatic grin. “You decide.” And he pulled her into the cluster of onlookers.
“Is that the mountebank?” she asked, indicating a rather rumpled looking fellow in a velvet suit that looked much too hot for the summer afternoon.
“Hush,” Jason said. “Listen.”
“Ladies and gentlemen,” the man called out, “do ever you suffer from distempers and ails of the digestion? Why suffer when you can take Dr. Miracle’s Universal Healing Potion? My tonic is made from a secret recipe sent down through the ages from the sages of Rome. Along with healing herbs, it contains miraculous powdered bones from the relics of the saints.”
“Powdered bones won’t cure anybody,” Caithren scoffed under her breath.
“Rubbish!” bellowed a stout gentleman standing beside her.
“Ah! We’ve a disbeliever here, ladies and gentleman. Well, sir, what must I do to prove my miracle cure?” The mountebank put one dirty finger to his chin and tapped it three times. Then his eyes lit up. “Aha! I shall poison someone, then cure him!” With a smarmy smile, he reached into a black bag at his feet and pulled out a squirming green creature that croaked. Cait jumped.
Chuckling, Jason put a reassuring hand on her shoulder.
Dr. Miracle raised the small, warty thing for all to see. “I have here a toad, the most poisonous creature known to mankind.” His calculating eyes scanned the gathering. “If a fellow swallowed this animal, it would lead to almost certain death, would it not?”
The crowd murmured its agreement.
“But!” He raised a grimy hand. “I will have it be known that my Universal Healing Potion will cure even this toad’s mighty poison. Now…” He paced in a slow circle. “Who will volunteer to swallow this creature? Who among you be brave enough?”
Around and around the mountebank went, while the crowd backed away, until suddenly he stopped right before the man who had shouted “Rubbish!” He strode forward and thrust the toad in the man’s face, which was too close to her own for Cait’s comfort. She leapt back, right into Jason.
Warm arms came around to steady her. “Watch,” he whispered in her ear.
“Are you brave enough, my man?” the mountebank asked. “Will you swallow the toad and take the cure?”
With a huff, the man turned and elbowed his way out through the crowd.
Dr. Miracle smirked as the mass of people parted, then closed in where the man had been. “Very well, then, I shall pay someone six pence if he will offer to swallow this poisonous toad, then be cured by my tonic.” He walked slowly around the interior of the circle. “Will no one volunteer? Ten pence, anyone?” The toad sat docilely on his open palm, though Caithren could see its fat little sides heaving. “Hmm…I’ll make that a whole shilling and include a free bottle of Dr. Miracle’s Universal Healing Potion, worth another shilling. Now, who will volunteer?”
“I’ll swallow it for a shilling.” A ragged young man stepped into the open center. He looked like he could use a shilling.
The mountebank puffed out his chest. “Ladies and gentleman, may we have a round of applause for this brave fellow?”
Everyone clapped, and some hollered and whistled. More fairgoers came to see what the commotion was about, pressing Cait closer to the center of the circle.
Dr. Miracle handed the young man the toad, then reached into his black bag and drew forth a dusty brown bottle. He tugged out the stopper. “Worry not,” he assured the man. “My healing tonic will revive you—even should you be dead.”
The volunteer looked alarmed at that pronouncement. He swallowed hard and gripped the toad harder. It croaked in protest.
“A whole shilling,” the mountebank reminded the man. “Just for swallowing this fat little creature.”
The young man scrunched up his face and squeezed his eyes tight before opening his mouth and stuffing the toad inside. With a gulp that could be heard to the back of the circle, he swallowed. Gasps and muttering ran through the crowd as they waited for something to happen.
After a tense minute, the man doubled over and let loose a pathetic moan. His head went back, and his eyes rolled up in his skull. “Cure me now!” He fell to his knees. “I’m dying!”
Dr. Miracle raised the brown bottle high into the air. He turned in an agonizingly slow circle, hampered by the suffering man, who was clutching at his ankles.
“Shall I administer the cure?” he bellowed at the crowd.
“Save him!” a woman screamed.
“Let him die,” a man yelled. “Serves him right for being such a gull.”
“No, cure him!”
The young man collapsed on the ground and curled up in a ball.
“Give him the cure!” someone hollered.
Several joined in the chant. “Cure him! For heaven’s sake, give him the cure!”
Caithren twisted to see Jason’s face, but he didn’t look alarmed. His arms tightened around her as he watched over her head. She turned back to the toad-eater, who was now rolling on the grass in screaming agony.
“Cure him! Cure him! Cure him!”
The mountebank knelt slowly and cradled the young man’s head in one dirty hand. He shoved the bottle between his lips, encouraging the man to drink. Two swallows later, the man’s body relaxed and stilled on the ground.
In silence, the crowd waited. And waited.
The man drew a sudden breath, and his eyes popped open. His hands went to his stomach and felt around. He raised his head, then sat up, then stood up and did a little jig.
“It’s a miracle!” he cried. “The miracle cure works!” He skipped around the circle, snatched the bottle, and took another swig. “Give me no shilling,” he told the doctor, “but an extra bottle of this Universal Healing Potion.” When Dr. Miracle handed him a second bottle, he clutched them both to his chest as though they were made of diamonds, not glass.
The mountebank pulled more bottles from the bag. “Who else would like a bottle? Only one shilling for my miracle cure!”
As people jostled to buy, Jason pulled Caithren from the crowd. “What do you think?”
“Very entertaining,” she declared with a smile.
“Entertaining?”
His look of confusion didn’t fool her. “The toad is in that young man’s pocket,” she said. “I wonder how much the mountebank pays him for each bottle sold?”
“I wonder how else I’ve underestimated you,” Jason returned. But he didn’t look displeased. “Should we buy tomorrow’s breakfast and dinner now?” Low in the sky, the sun streaked the wispy clouds with shades of pink and red. “It’s getting late, and we’d best make an early start if we want to outpace Gothard.”
And the fun was over, Caithren supposed with an inward sigh. She needed to find her brother and go home.
Before she could even nod her assent, Jason went into action. He purchased a burlap sack from one vendor, then wove through the market filling it with selections from others: bright yellow cheese, tart pickles wrapped in parchment, and small round loaves of bread. From a produce stand he chose apples and costly oranges while Caithren amused herself watching two lambs in a pen, gamboling after their mother. She didn’t like to think they might be someone’s supper tonight.
Across from the fruits and vegetables sat a table laden with leather goods. Belts were arranged in neat rows, alongside coin pouches, scabbards, and luggage.
And by itself to the side sat one magnificent backgammon board.
It was a sight to behold. Black leather pips alternated with gray, the whole embellished with scrolling designs stamped in gold leaf. Two dice, fashioned of the blackest jet, lay as though just spilled from their matching leather cup. The markers were carved of jet and ivory.
Caithren smiled to herself, remembering hours on end spent playing with Cameron on Da’s scarred wooden set. Jason wandered to her side, his burlap sack bulging with what she reckoned must be food enough for a week. “Do you know how to play?” he asked.
“I do.” She squinted up at him. “I wager I could beat you.”
“Do you, now?” He studied her, his features schooled into serious lines. But his green eyes danced. “And what might you be willing to wager?”
She blushed furiously at the tone of his voice. “I haven’t any money—”
“—thanks to me,” he finished for her in a singsong manner. “Well, I expect we’ll come up with something.” Once again, he spilled coins from his pouch and motioned the vendor over.
She’d meant to have a match then and there, not for him to buy the board. She should have known better than to even look at it. Though she gasped at the price, he didn’t react. After closing the deal, he presented her with the set, picked up his sack, and announced that he was thirsty.
She carried the board across her forearms, like it was a king’s scepter.
Without asking if she wanted any, Jason bought white foamy drinks for them both. “Syllabub,” he said, leading her to a bench.
She frowned into her goblet, then sipped. “Oooh,” she breathed, sipping again. It was the lightest, creamiest, sweetest thing she’d ever tasted. “It would set the heather alight!” she exclaimed. “It’s wonderful!”
Laughing, he reached to wipe a foam mustache from atop her lip. Heat rushed to her face, and she turned away. Sipping their refreshments, they watched silently as other fairgoers paraded past. Cait balanced the backgammon set on her lap, careful not to let any syllabub drip on the fine leather. She still couldn’t believe he’d bought it.
The sun was setting, casting the horizon in brilliant colors. As it sank below, a brief green flash lit the sky.
Part of her wishing the evening would never end, Caithren sighed. “Tomorrow will be a clear day.”
He sipped from his drink. “And how do you know this?”
“Didn’t you see the green ray? They say it portends of fair weather. Have you never heard the verse?” She drank, then licked her lips. “Glimpse ye e’er the green ray,” she quoted, “Count the morrow a fine day.”
“You’re slipping. I actually understood that one.”
Smiling, she touched her amulet. “It’s also said that to see the green is to gain powers of seeing into the feelings of your heart, and thus not to be deceived in matters of love.”
“Hmm. Sounds like yet another superstition.”
She shrugged. “I didn’t say I believed it.”
He took a long swallow, then rubbed his bare upper lip with a finger. “I’m sorry there were no gowns here today.”
“English gowns, pah! My own clothes will do if I wash them.” She reached over the backgammon set to brush some dust off her forest green skirt, then toyed with an ivory marker, sliding it back and forth across the board. “It’s decent clothes I was wearing when you—”
“Helped you off the coach?”
In the midst of a sip, she nearly snorted syllabub out her nose. “Aye, you might put it that way…if you were a candidate for the asylum.”
Jason let loose with a loud peal of laughter, accompanied by the first genuine, unaffected grin she’d seen from him.
It lit up his face, and a place in her heart.
She smiled in return, lifting her goblet to hide the blush that threatened.
“Wait.” He set his goblet on the bench between them. “Just wait right here.”
At a loss, she sat and watched him take off, threading his lean form through the teeming crowd. Not a minute later he was walking toward her with his hands behind his back. He stepped up close, so close their knees almost touched, and leaned to tuck a small bunch of violets behind her ear.
“Ah, lovely,” he said. “Of a sudden, I thought that would complete the picture.”
“Picture?” Now she really blushed.
What was happening to them?
“When you smiled, it was like a…oh, never mind.” He looked away.
“Thank you,” she said, drawing his gaze back to her. She reached up to touch the soft, fragrant petals. “I do love violets.”
Behind them, wives haggled over herrings, oysters, and mackerel. Across the way, feathers flew as a hundred chickens squawked their protest at being crammed in a wooden pen. But when Jason took the game board off her lap and held her hands to pull her to stand before him, they could have been the only two beings in the world.
Her heart seemed to stop for a moment, then pounded so hard she felt sure he could hear it.
His eyes burned into hers. Slowly, tentatively, he ran his hands up her arms to her shoulders, then trailed back down to lace their fingers together. When he lowered his head, she tilted her chin up.
But he only kissed her on the forehead.
Her heart plummeted.
“We’d best be going,” he said. “It’s almost dark, and with the fair in town, I expect the inns will fill up early around here.”