Page 31 of Broken Veil
“Ah, be reet. I c’n go through the gates,” he said. “Ask the little one over there. She knows me. Just need a lift to th’ Great Ouse.”
Carys blinked. “The great house?”
“No, th’ Great Ouse.” He huffed. “This is the problem with the accents.”
Yes, because his was so easy to understand.
Lachlan stood and walked over. “I believe he’s referring to the Great Ouse.” He looked at Duncan. “The River. The Great Ouse River.”
“Oh.”
“Aye.” Wade pointed at Lachlan. “See? Better accent.”
Carys frowned. “They have the same accent—what are you talking about?”
Duncan coughed. “What?”
Lachlan’s eyes went wide. “I beg your pardon, mo chridhe, but Duncan’s and my?—”
“Don’t call her that,” Duncan snapped.
“I apologize.” Lachlan’s cheeks went red. “It’s a habit, and I?—”
“It’s a habit you’re breaking today or it’s your face I’ll break,” Duncan rumbled. “I’ll not hear it again, Lachlan.”
“Will you calm down?” He sighed. “Honestly, you’ve won the contest, all right?”
Carys cocked her head. “Excuse me? Contest?”
Lachlan spread his hands. “You’ve won herheart. Can you let me?—”
“I’ll not fucking let you do anything when you…”
Duncan and Lachlan descended into an unintelligible argument in Gaelic while Carys took a step back and closed her eyes, trying not to lose her temper.
Wade took a step closer, a frown set on his face. “So ya fucked both of ’em then?”
“What?”
The old man shrugged. “No shame in it, girl. They’re fine-lookers. But fuckin’ a Shadowkin and a Brightkin?—”
“Okay. One, there is a lot of context you’re missing with all this, and two, there was over a year between…” She shook her head. “I’m not explaining this to you. What do you even want?”
“Ya got an automobile, do ya?”
“A car?” She blinked. “Yes, we have a car. A van.”
“And the little one there said ya came across from the Great Bern Wood. That’s close to where I need t’ go. Just up the road from Wappenham.”
“I have no idea where that is.”
“Just saving some miles on the old feet, girl.” He nodded at Lachlan and Duncan, who were still shouting. “And you know the Shadowkin is coming with us.”
Carys blinked. “What?”
“Oh aye. Heard the wolf and ’im talking about it. Settled business that.” Wade’s eyebrows went up. “Course maybe ’tisn’t.” He looked down at Carys. “Context and all that.”
Carys decided Wade probably had the right idea after all. She crossed her arms over her chest and let Duncan and Lachlan bicker at each other while she and Wade struck a bargain.
