Page 8 of To Hunt a Ruby Remedy

I washed the dishes, trying to think of other possibilities, then pushed the question aside. I’d leave the village after breakfast tomorrow. Once I had the charm, I might stop by one more night, but then I had to go home. Wulfkin wasn’t my home, and I had no right to its secrets.

Four

Ranulf

I could count on one hand the number of times anyone had knocked on the cottage door this year. Both Wulfkin and Ortfel had a summons crystal the villagers used if the charms I had made weren’t sufficient and they needed a healer. Occasionally, someone came to visit Grandmother or Thalia sent one of her children with a request for more charms to sell downriver. Everyone who would visit knew Grandmother was in Ortfel. Unless Scarlette had failed to deliver the basket yesterday, Thalia could have no reason to send a message.

I had spent little time with Scarlette, but she didn’t seem like the type of person who wouldn’t deliver the basket. She was a rule-follower, by my estimation. Not to mention, she wouldn’t risk angering the man crafting a charm to save her mother’s life.

So, when there was a knock on the front door shortly after noon, I wasn’t certain who to expect, but Scarlette wasn’t on my list. I opened the door and stared. A heartbeat later, I remembered to scowl. “What are you doing back here?”

“I have a message.” She held out a piece of paper sealed with a glob of green wax.

I took the message. Thalia. What could the merchant possibly need when Scarlette had delivered a full shipment half a week early?

I walked over to the table, not inviting Scarlette inside, but not closing the door in her face, either. The wax broke under my thumb and I unfolded the note.

I read it in silence, then crumpled the paper and tossed it into the fire. I looked across the table, but there was nobody there. Scarlette still stood outside, watching me through the open door.

“I know you wanted me to stay in the village, but Mistress Weslet was insistent that I bring you that message. I could go back again, but I’ve been thinking about it, and it really doesn’t make sense. You said delivering the basket could be the favor I did in exchange for the charm, but if you then have to bring it to me in Wulfkin anyway, it doesn’t save you a trip, does it? I promise I’ll stay out of your hair.”

I let the stream of words wash over me. I didn’t really have a choice. “Come in already.”

Scarlette entered the cottage and closed the door behind her. “I can stay?”

I sighed. Hilde’s message, scribbled at the bottom of the warning from Thalia about the dragon-hunter, had been meant to prick my conscience. But it hadn’t been necessary. I understood the danger of a hunter showing up in Wulfkin. They had sent Scarlette with the message because I couldn’t risk flying to the village with the charm. Not if the hunter was still around.

I didn’t much like the idea of her walking through the forest by herself with a hunter out there, either.

Her expression remained cautiously optimistic, though the caution increased and the optimism wavered the longer I stayed silent. Finally, I forced the words out. “You can stay.”

Joy suffused her in an instant. “Thank you!”

She was practically bouncing where she stood. I had the fleeting impression that if there hadn’t been a table between us, she would have thrown her arms around me. It was good that the table was there, then. I didn’t need to know what her body felt like pressed against mine. Such a memory would haunt me long after she left.

I knew, without thinking about it, that crossing that line with Scarlette couldn’t lead to anything casual. I only did temporary and casual. Permanent was a myth, and thus serious was out of the question.

“I have work to do,” I said abruptly. “You know where the guest room is.”

She stilled. “Can I . . . can I help with anything?”

I shook my head. “There’s soup over the fire. Help yourself. I’ll be back. Later.”

I fled out the back door, through the garden and into the trees. I wanted to go for a flight, but shouldn’t take the risk. The villagers would do their best with the huntsman—they were protective of their healers—but Thalia didn’t think he would give up. He’d go hunting on foot soon, even if his efforts in the common room yielded no information.

I contented myself with checking the traps Grandmother had set. With Scarlette staying at the cottage, we’d want more meat. She looked like she could use a few hearty meals.

Five

Scarlette

I baked a loaf of bread, hoping that action might be enough to help Ranulf thaw towards my presence. At supper the night before, he had answered every question I asked with either a single word or a grunt. I had taken the hint and stopped asking. Still, it was better than the first evening, when he hadn’t even remained at the table to eat.

His silences ate at me. I’d prefer he ranted, or even raged. I could deflect anger that was directed outward, but how was I to soften his mood if he always turned inward? Ignoring him wasn’t an option. Clearly, it wasn’t a challenge for him to ignore me, but the same was not true in reverse.

I was excruciatingly aware of Ranulf, even when he wasn’t in the same room as me.

With the bread made, I set to work on the rest of breakfast. If my first morning in the cottage was any indication, Ranulf would come downstairs within a quarter hour. A quick trip into the garden and hen house supplied me with all I needed. I set a pan over the fire and began chopping zucchini and pepper.

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