Page 43 of Broken Veil
“Yes.” All four men spoke at once.
Bess beamed. “Good thing I made extra tonight. You’re early for dinner, so you get the first batch.”
There were two men in a booth and one at the bar, but none of them seemed interested in anything but the drinks in front of them. And none of them looked like Wade.
Wada.
The sea god.
Laura said, “We’re meeting someone. A guy named Wade. Do you know him?”
“American!” Bess said. “Are you all American?” She looked at Duncan and Lachlan. “You two aren’t.”
“Scottish,” the brothers said in identical voices.
“Oh yeah. Ya sure are.” She looked at Godrik.
“Ang-lish,” he said. “English.”
She nodded. “Essex boy, I’d bet.” Her eyes moved over and up to Cadell. “And you’re a tall one, aren’t you?”
“I was born in Kernow.”
“Cornwall,” Carys said.
“Kernow,” Cadell said again.
“All right then.” Bess brushed her hands on her apron. “Why don’t you sit where you like and I’ll bring you seven servings of shepherd’s pie.” She glanced over her shoulder. “As soon as my man gets out here, he’ll get your drinks sorted.”
They sat at a booth and pulled over an extra table. Laura positioned herself so she could see the door.
“He didn’t tell us a time,” she said. “So we may be waiting awhile. Hope you guys really are hungry.”
Carys watched all four men staring at the kitchen door like baby chicks waiting for their mother to return.
“I don’t think that’s going to be a problem,” Carys said.
Naida had been silent since they’d loaded into the van, but her eyes were bright even if she looked a bit wan. “Did Dru’s pub in the Brightlands look like this?”
“Is this the first time you’ve been in a pub?” Lachlan asked.
“I’ve been inside a human pub in the Shadowlands. They don’t look like this though.” She was looking at the fishing photographs on the walls. “Is it a contest?”
“I think so,” Carys said. “Looks like it.”
“To catch the biggest fish.” She smiled. “That’s not bad.”
“Dru’s pub in Scone was more old-fashioned than this,” Duncan said. “It was in a very old building, so it was all plaster and wood. Beautiful old bar.”
Naida was still staring at the photographs on the walls. “Did he have fishing pictures?”
Duncan smiled. “No, but the Four Crowns did sponsor the local football club, so there were banners like that.” He pointed to the blue-and-white flag.
“I tried to picture him there so many times,” she said softly. “What would a prince do in a place like this?”
“He worked hard.” Duncan kept his voice low. “He made people happy. He liked making people happy.”
“Yes, he did.” Naida kept her eyes on the flag. “Wade is coming.”
