Page 15 of To Hunt a Ruby Remedy

I glanced at her, keeping my head down. She laid a towel over the bread dough and washed her hands. Her hair swayed back and forth as she moved, the locks only contained by her usual kerchief. I focused on her hair, trying not to notice the motion of her hips. Scarlette didn’t stand still. She always seemed to be on the verge of dancing, even when standing in place.

“He’ll just eat this pie, too,” I grumbled.

“I’ll hide it. He’ll never even know it exists.”

“I won’t say no to more pie, but you really don’t have to, Scarlette. And if you go blackberry picking, be careful. I don’t want you to run into the hunter in the forest.”

She brought a mug of steaming tea to the table and set it by my elbow. She paused at my side, and I lifted my head. Scarlette stared at the mug. “You could join me.”

I shook my head, disappointment filling me. “I can’t. I have to go check the traps before the hunter scares off all the game. I’ll be gone most of the day.”

My excuse made little sense, but Scarlette didn’t question it. “I’ll wait until Gideon is well on his way for the day before going out, then.”

I handed her a stick about the width of my thumb and twice as long. I had enchanted it before going to sleep the night before. “Here. I want you to keep this close while the hunter is here—and bring it with you if you go into the forest.”

“You want me to have a stick?” She took it from me and looked it over.

“It’s enchanted. If you pinch the bit near the end where it is flattened on both sides, anyone touching the other end will experience a shock of pain and be momentarily paralyzed.” I hated seeing Scarlette look so sad, so I quickly added, “I’ll work on the charm tonight. I know you need to return home soon.”

Her expression turned even more morose, and I cursed myself for reminding her. This was why I rarely tried to be kind. I just messed it up. I’d rather be a bastard on purpose than by accident.

I drained my mug of tea and stood. “I should go.”

“But you haven’t had breakfast yet.”

“I’ll eat on my way.” I grabbed a hard-boiled egg from the chill box. I couldn’t afford to wait for the bread to bake, anyway. Getting far enough away that I could shift into dragon form without any chance of the huntsman seeing my transformation would take time. But if I wanted him gone for good, I needed to lure him toward the mountains. I paused at the garden door. “Keep that enchantment with you, Scarlette. Gideon ought to spend the day in the forest hunting, but be careful when he is around. I don’t trust him.”

“I still don’t think he has any interest in me.”

I stared at her.

She smiled softly and slipped the stick into her pocket. “I’ll be careful, I promise.”

It would have to do. I couldn’t stay and watch over Scarlette if I wanted to convince the hunter he was wrong about a dragon in the forest. Hopefully, the man would be so impatient to catch his dragon that he’d leave the cottage shortly after waking and Scarlette wouldn’t have to deal with him at all.

Seven

Scarlette

I watched Ranulf leave and wondered what was going through his mind. He had stopped treating me as an interloper. Even when he snapped at me this morning, I knew I wasn’t the target of his anger. Somehow, we had jumped right past neutrality, too. The way Ranulf had insisted that I sleep in the attic room, his worry over leaving me alone with Gideon, it had me imagining futures I shouldn’t.

I might have become something other than an annoyance in his eyes, but it wouldn’t last. Once Gideon moved on, and Ranulf no longer felt responsible for protecting me, he’d go back to his previous moods. Just because I came out ahead of the egotistical hunter didn’t mean I’d still look good in comparison to solitude.

Ranulf didn’t pretend otherwise. Even with everything else going on, he planned to work on my mother’s charm so that I could leave as soon as possible. I was grateful. I was. I just wished it didn’t feel like a dismissal.

Gideon exited the guest room armed, but without his chain mail, shortly after the bread finished baking. He looked around the room, saw we were alone, and smirked.

That smirk had me wondering if Ranulf’s worries had merit. Perhaps I had misjudged the huntsman. Then his expression turned sly, and I knew his interest in me wasn’t physical at all.

He approached the table. “There’s still a half-silver in it for you if you tell me what you know about the dragon. That bitch back in Wulfkin will never know.”

I shook my head. “I’m a visitor to the forest, here for a healing charm. You know more than I.”

“Then get the information from the healer. He knows something.” Gideon leered at me. “I’m sure you could convince him to spill his secrets. I don’t care how you get the information, so long as you share it with me.”

Perhaps Ranulf wasn’t entirely wrong about the hunter. I doubted he’d expected Gideon’s interest to take this turn, however. I shook my head once more. “I’m not sleeping with him.”

The hunter considered me for a moment, then rolled his eyes. “Fine, I’ll throw in another half-silver.”

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