“My shoulder?”
“Where it was nicked by my sword. Would you mind if I looked?”
She blinked, feeling heat stain her cheeks. “All right.” Slowly she loosened the laces of her bodice and pulled it and her shift down her shoulder, feeling terribly naked beneath his gaze.
Nothing marked the skin but a tiny dark scab.
He bent close, nodding. “Looks good.” His voice sounded husky by her ear, and her skin tingled at his nearness. Beneath the sleeves of her shift, the little hairs stood up on her arms.
“I-I thank you for taking care of me.” Her fingers fumbling, she shrugged back into her sleeve and tightened her laces. She swayed forward involuntarily, peering up at him as she tied the bow. “For caring.”
His gaze locked on hers. Her heart skipped a beat. His hand came up and tugged on one of her plaits.
She looked from his compelling green eyes to the lips that had touched hers last night…
He swallowed hard. “The fair will close at nightfall,” he said, pulling back. “We’d best be moving.”
THIRTY-TWO
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
