Page 29 of Tusks, Tails & Teacakes
Lira wracked her brain for where Sass could be. It wasn’t as if she knew a lot of people in Wayside. She glanced through one of the gleaming windows to see that the sun was barely warming the world. The market wouldn’t even be open for business yet, so she couldn’t have gone out to shop.
Lira’s thoughts drifted to their conversation on the roof. Sass had claimed to be happy to stay, to like Wayside. Had that all been a ruse? But why?
Her gaze jerked to the bar, and she walked jerkily behind it to where Durn kept the till. Then she tore her eyes away. Sass wouldn’t run off. Not after she’d covered for her. Lira’s highly tuned instincts told her that Sass could be trusted, and Lira desperately wanted to trust her instincts again.
But if Sass hadn’t run off, did that mean she was in danger? Lira had spent so long with danger snapping at her heels that it was hard not to assume that danger was around every dusty bend. Who would want to hurt Sass? Had the dwarf picked up enemies during her travels south?
Lira jammed her feet into her boots. If Sass was missing, she needed to find her. And if she’d run off, well, maybe she still wanted to find her.
Before she could take a first step, the back door scraped open and Sass ambled in carrying a pail in each hand, water sloshing over the rims, when she spotted Lira and stopped.
“You’re awake.” Sass set down the pails and massaged her palms where the light brown skin was rubbed pink from the handles. She shoved up the voluminous sleeves of her dark blue day dress, the full skirt almost brushing the floor.
“What are you…” Lira’s words tumbled from her mouth, but she stopped as it was clear what Sass had been doing. “I didn’t know… I couldn’t find you.”
Sass tossed her long braid over her shoulder. “Were you worried about me?” Then her grin faltered. “Did you think I’d left?”
Lira composed herself enough to shake her head. “No, of course not. I was worried something bad might have happened.”
“Something bad?” Sass’s smile returned at full brightness. “Here? In this little village?”
When she said it like that it did seem silly, but Lira knew better than most that evil could find safe harbor in even the loveliest of places.
Lira raised one shoulder. “You might have enemies who tracked you here.”
Sass put her hands on her hips. “I wish someone thought I was deadly enough to be hunted down, but no. No one is coming after me, that, I can assure you.”
Lira’s breathing had returned to normal, so she nodded, as if dismissing their conversation, her fears, and Sass’s disappearance in a single gesture. “I suppose I should get to work then.”
The dwarf heaved one of the buckets of water onto the wooden table that took up the center of the kitchen. “We’re lucky the stream is so close, since we used up almost all of the tavern’s water stores. I’m going to get started with the bar. Durn didn’t bother to clean it last night. Then I’m finally going to wash our muddy clothes.”
So that’s why her cloak had been missing.
Sass picked up the remaining bucket and headed for the swinging doors before pausing. “I don’t suppose you could whip up something for us to eat?”
Lira thought about the ingredients she’d used the day before, what she’d need for that night, and what she would have left. Then she thought of what her gran loved to bake for breakfast. “Do you like scones?”
“Love them,” Sass said. “What are they, exactly?”
Lira flapped a hand at her. “Don’t worry. Youwilllove them.”
Sass muttered something about the low bar of gully dwarf porridge for breakfast as she continued into the great room. She’d barely clearedthe swish of the doors when Crumpet wedged himself through the window that Lira had left open specially for him.
“Hi, there.” Lira’s voice softened and her mood lifted when she saw the creature somersault from the window to the counter. He sat up on his hind legs and rubbed his paws together.
“I don’t have any dough for you to taste yet, but how do you feel about scones?” Crumpet chittered as if he knew exactly what a scone was. “Better than whatever gully dwarf porridge is, right?”
Crumpet made agreeable sounds as he sat back on his furry haunches and watched Lira, his shrewd black eyes following her every movement.
Lira had barely assembled her ingredients when the doors swung open again, causing Crumpet to take flight to the copper pots. “Scones take longer than that.”
“I’m sure they do, love,” said a voice that did not belong to Sass.
Lira almost dropped the bottle of cream as she turned to find Iris entering her kitchen.
“I hope I’m not coming at a bad time.” Iris placed a basket on the table. “I thought you might be up early, and I wanted to bring you the spices.”
Spices? For a moment, Lira had no idea what the apothecary meant.
