Go with Lily. His wife.
Elias hated that she was married. He didn’t care what she thought of him, whether she disapproved of his behavior or not. How was he being led into this? How was Simon helping? He would ask his friend when they were alone.
For now, he watched the shape of her, the rhythm of her movements as she walked ahead of them and led them outside.
“’Tis the house there, beyond the church. The one with the red roof.” She pointed to a small two-story house nestled within a vale about a half-mile off the road. “Come, I will show you the easiest route to it.”
Elias reluctantly followed her, quietly swearing at Simon’s back. The brother was supposed to be protecting him from dangers such as another man’s wife!
He never considered taking a wife of his own. He’d had no time for love. He wasn’t always sure he would live to see the next day. Why make a woman a widow? Butnow, now that he was drawn to a lass, she had to be married?
They passed a large mill to the right of the road and then the church to the left. They walked through the shallow vale and approached the house. Elias noted that it was a longhouse, a certain type of construction some merchants used to keep their shops and their homes attached.
Simon seemed to read his mind—which, irritatingly, he did often—and asked the question. “Why did your husband not build your shop into the house?”
“He owns both properties,” she replied. “He wanted the house to be a bit more private. His workshop is within and he needs quiet most times.”
Aye, the house was private, tucked away in the trees and ferns, he thought, as they came upon one of the tall, triangular frames of the house, made of oak. This frame was one of three pairs. There was a large, open-shuttered window and a smaller window above it built into walls made of stone and wattle and daub. He could tell this was the side of the house. He couldn’t see the front from here, for lavender and herbs, vines and plants grew as high as the first window, bursting in colors of purple, white, and green on either side of him. They followed a narrow dirt path surrounded by flora and herbs to the side door, where Lily let them inside.
Her home. The door opened into a kitchen. The room was neat and stocked with fruit and various leaves hanging from the high oak frames and rafters to dry. Some leaves dried above a heavy oak table set in the center with two chairs around it.
For her and her husband. Elias grimaced at the arrow it shot at him.
Like the shop, there were plants everywhere. A lean, gray cat sat on the floor and meowed when they entered.
“Ehm...” Simon leaped back into the doorway. “I do not like cats.”
Lily smiled as she passed him. “You need not worry, Brother. Pip does not like people. She will stay out of your way.”
Elias grinned when he, too, passed him and followed his hostess out of the kitchen and into a sitting room bathed in sunlight from the large open windows. There were chairs and stools, and even a small place for books. Plants hung from the rafters and from two long, separate, wooden railings across the second landing. The floors were made of cobblestone and clay.
So much greenery in the house felt warm and fresh to Elias. The way she made him feel.
“That archway leads to Richard’s workshop.” She pointed the opposite way, to a small, open doorway. She didn’t move toward it. “If you wish to look inside, you will have to ask my husband.”
Another dart, though this one was cushioned by the loyalty she showed toward the man to whom she was married. A good trait to have, that.
A narrow stairway led to the second landing, where two bedrooms sat side by side. The only wall between them was a colorfully painted curtain that was draped open so the inhabitants of the beds could see each other. He thought of lying in bed looking at her. He would rather have herinhis bed. More hanging plants. Was one her bed, and one her husband’s?
Elias liked the house. It was warm. Like her.
She ascended the stairs and showed them to one of the bedrooms. Hers. He could smell her scent more on this side of the partition. He and Simon would have to sleep together. Elias didn’t care. He cared about the other bed. The bed where she would have to sleep with her husband.
“This is where you will sleep.”
Elias smiled at the sound of her dulcet voice and angled his head to look at her. “I…” He couldn’t stay here. Seeing her all the time would be difficult. Did he want to put himself through it? “We dinna mean to put ye oot.”
“You are not putting me out,” she reassured with a delicate smile that hit him like a kick to the guts, knocking the breath out of him. “And please call me Lily. We are like a family here.”
“Lily.” It fell from his lips on a soft whisper. He moved without thinking and bumped his calves into her bed. He smiled again, feeling like a peach-faced babe for the first time in years.
“Lily,” Simon’s voice broke through the spell he was falling under. “I am curious—”
“About my marriage?” she asked, interrupting, her smile intact.
No! Elias’ smile vanished. It would make her feel uncomfortable in her own home. They were strangers. It wasn’t their place to know.
“Aye,” Simon answered mercilessly. “What is your age, my dear?”