Ho boy. There it was. They were definitely fighting words.
“If it’s not, then why did I win back my purse and half of yours last night?” Ruben returned what I thought was a fair point.
Thaddeus’s mouth got tight and he granted the point but changed the direction of the burgeoning argument. “Even full in my cups, you could never draw my blood.”
Ruben sat back, a bright, white smile on his face, he leveled his gaze on his friend and challenged, “Care to consume a bottle of whisky and test that belief?”
“Wench! Whisky!” Thaddeus accepted instantly, shouting yet not taking his eyes from Ruben.
Laurel, Frederick and Ulysses inched their chairs back from the table.
I didn’t move a muscle and stared in fascination.
Frey threw his cards face down on the table and muttered, “I think this is my cue to get my bride home.”
Then he stood, lifting me up with him and setting me on my feet. When I was standing, I turned to him and laid my hand lightly on his abs, my neck bent way back to catch his eyes.
At my touch, he bent his neck way down and he gave me his gaze then I whispered, “Shouldn’t you do something about that?” Then I jerked my head at the macho Raider stare down still in process at the table.
Frey answered immediately. “Thad could drink two bottles of whisky while still consuming ale and not be full in his cups. If Ruben waits for Thad to get arsed, it will be a long night. And if Ruben has the patience for Thad to fall full in his cups and Thad’s fool enough to challenge, his blade work will indeed be shoddy and Ruben will have his blood.” My eyes got big and Frey kept talking. “Don’t worry, wee one, Ruben will be certain to stick him so he makes his point but doesn’t do damage because he knows we set sail in two weeks and he doesn’t want to court a knife fight with me, which is what he’ll get if he sticks one of my men badly enough to lay him up prior to a voyage.”
I blinked up at him but said no words.
Frey leaned in so his face was close to mine. “This will not happen, Finnie. And it won’t happen because that warm, soft wench is still in Ruben’s bed waiting for him. There is no chance he’ll sit around here waiting for Thad to get tossed. We won’t be halfway home before he’ll be at his cottage just down the street, joining his woman.”
I knew this was true mainly because of the confident way Frey relayed this information. It was clear he knew his men, he read the situation and there was no cause for alarm.
“All righty then,” I whispered and he grinned.
Then he lifted a hand to the side of my neck and gave me a squeeze before he urged softly, “Bid farewell to your friends and let us get away home.”
I nodded, suddenly liking the idea (very much) of “getting away home” with my husband. That meant making out (or better) so I accepted the cloak Frey threw over my shoulders and fastened it at my neck as I moved to Ulysses, Frederick and Laurel to give them all hugs and cheek kisses, thanking them for teaching me tuble and spending time with me.
“Until you return, your grace,” Frederick said on a squeeze during our hug.
“It was a pleasure, Winter Princess,” Laurel muttered, holding onto my upper arms and smiling at me.
“Honored to do it and will be honored when we do it again, Princess Finnie,” Ulysses murmured in my ear while proving his arms were indeed very strong for he squeezed the breath right out of me.
When I pulled away, I smiled into his eyes and wondered if I’d be back this way before I went home. Then I looked through the three of them and hoped I would. I didn’t know them well, just like everyone I’d said farewell to that day in the village, but everything I knew I liked so it would be cool to know more.
Frey came around the table and claimed me and I called good-byes and see-you-laters to Thaddeus and Ruben as I yanked on my gloves. Thaddeus grunted his good-bye, still clearly peeved. Ruben smiled at me and gave a good-bye flick of his hand, still not peeved at all.
I wrapped the fingers of both my hands around Frey’s bicep (or kinda did, they didn’t get anywhere near going all the way around) and leaned into him as he led us out of the pub and down the snow covered ground toward where Tyr was waiting.
“So,” I started, “do you really know how to bottom deal, stack the deck, false shuffle and all of that?”
“Yes,” Frey answered and my head snapped back to look up at him.
“Really?” I asked.
He looked down at me and grinned. “Yes.”
“Will you teach me?”
Without hesitation, he repeated, “Yes.”
“Awesome,” I breathed, his grin became a smile through which he chuckled and then he disengaged my hands from his arm when he moved it to slide around my shoulders and pull me to his body.