Page 52 of Highlander's Captive Bride
“The usual? I never had ye down as a frequenter of taverns,” Daisy said jestingly.
“Och, ye dinnae ken the half of it,” Bellamy replied with a wink. “I’ve been coming here for me vittles since I was wee lad, with me faither. Apart from serving the best mince and tatties in the area, it always reminds me of him.” He smiled. “Thank ye, Hamish,” he said, breaking off from addressing Daisy to thank the serving lad for the two large tankards of ale he had just delivered.
Daisy lifted her tankard with two hands and tasted the foaming brew. It was wonderfully cool and refreshing, with a clean, yeasty aftertaste.
“Och, that’s grand.” She sighed in pleasure, taking a long draught.
Bellamy did the same, looking at her with smiling eyes over the rim of his tankard. She found herself happily absorbed in the playful mood that had grown between them. At that moment, she could not think of anywhere else she would rather be than sitting opposite Bellamy Kane outside the Murdoch Arms.
The food arrived shortly, and they tucked in with alacrity.
“Ye werenae lying,” Daisy told him, swallowing a morsel of beef which melted in her mouth. “This is delicious.”
“I told ye,” Bellamy murmured between forkfuls of food.
“D’ye ken, I’ve never actually been to a tavern before? I was always given to understand they were places of ill repute, but this seems quite nice and civilized,” Daisy observed between mouthfuls.
“Aye, it generally is during the day, but I wouldnae bring ye here after dark,” he replied with a grin.
“I see. ’Tis like that, is it nae?”
“Well, after a hard day of working in the fields or however they make a living, the poorer folks appreciate an ale and a bit o’ fun just as the better off do.”
“Of course, and they deserve it, too,” Daisy agreed. “I didnae realize until I left home to travel and learn more about healing how ignorant I was about people’s lives. I’m grateful to have been able to go into common folks’ homes and see how they really live. It’s been a great education.”
“Aye.” Bellamy nodded. “Me faither always made a point of telling me to ken me people, to try to understand their problems and troubles, and help them where I could. That’s how he lived. He’d take me all over with him, meeting the poor and rich alike. That was me education, and it’s stood me in good stead. I might not always get it right, but I try me best to be a good laird.”
Daisy felt a warm glow in her heart to hear the sincerity in his voice. “I can see yer faither taught ye well,” she told him. “’Tis clear yer folks respect ye rather than fear ye.”
“Fear is something I wish to instill in me enemies, nae me people,” Bellamy told her. He finished his dinner and pushed his plate aside, taking a long drink of ale. He waited patiently while she finished hers. Then, he asked, “Are ye ready for some shopping? There are still a few things I want to buy.”
“Aye, I’d like that,” Daisy replied.
Feeling relaxed and replete with the delicious meal, she took his arm once more, and they set off to do a bit more exploring of all the market had to offer.
Eventually, they came to a stall selling all sorts of pretty nicknacks, jewelry, little carved wooden animals and toys, and beautiful glassware so intricate that Daisy could not begin to fathom how they had been made. It was all so colorful, it caught her eye.
“Can we stop here, please?” she asked Bellamy, who willingly obliged, leading her over to look at the array of beguiling wares. “I think I’d like to buy a wee something to amuse Elodie,” she told him, picking up some of the little animals and examining them with interest.
“Och, look at this, Bellamy, is it nae sweet?” she asked excitedly, spotting a little carved wooden Noah’s ark containing a miniature Noah and his wife and a small army of animals that fitted inside perfectly and poked their heads out of the windows.
He laughed as he, too, looked at it. “Aye, she’d love that,” he agreed. “But let me get it.” He reached for his purse at his belt.
“Nay, I wish to get it for her, as a present from me,” Daisy insisted, hardly wishing to acknowledge in her happy mood that it would be a goodbye present.
“All right, as ye wish. I’ll choose something different for her.”
Daisy waited for the stallholder to wrap the ark in oilcloth and paid for it. She pulled out her cloth bag, put the ark carefully inside, and hung the bag over her arm before stopping to watch while Bellamy’s gaze wandered over the stall. His eye landed on a silver pendant of a horse. Daisy admired it at once.
“I’ll take that,” he told the stallholder, who immediately wrapped it up for him and handed it over.
Bellamy paid the man, then he turned to Daisy, his smile one of obvious satisfaction.
“Ye ken, she made me promise to get her a pony for agreeing to me plan?” he asked quietly.
“She’s a canny lass, all right. She drives a hard bargain.” Daisy laughed. Thinking their business was done, she began to turn away from the stall, but Bellamy stopped her.
“We’re nae finished,” he said. “I want ye to pick out something ye like, so I can buy it for ye as a gift.”
