Page 26 of Once Upon a Reckless Rogue

She scanned his features, and seeing his face set, she gave a shrug. Oh, how that must have cost her, as she was so used to getting her own way. He looked away, trying not to smile. They tied up the donkey and paid a boy to watch their cart while they went into the inn.

The interior was dark but wonderfully cool; the walls were daubed in a dirty white plaster, not unlike every other tavern or cantina he had been in. A few men sat at a table playing cards but stopped to stare at them. Thomas turned in the doorway. “Give me your knife,” he whispered. She gave it to him without an argument, which was surprising. He knew places like this. Had been inside them many times, which was why he felt better having a weapon on him. Elena took a step closer to him. Could she feel it too? The animosity in the air? The men’s eyes pierced through them in the dim light.

Going up to the tavern owner, he smiled and ordered two bowls of paella. The owner looked him up and down, but when Thomas showed him his coins, the man nodded.

“Passing through?”

“Yes. On our way to Ronda,” Thomas lied.

“Hmm. Just you and the girl?”

“And our donkey.”

The owner nodded, seemingly satisfied with the answers. He left through a doorway and Thomas looked around. There were half a dozen tables, each with a candle. The men playing cards had their eyes fixed on them. Thomas nodded in their direction. One narrowed his eyes at Elena.

“Best you go back outside,” Thomas said. “I don’t like the look of those tipo raros.”

Again, she did not argue and did as he asked. Once he was alone in the tavern, he felt a little easier until one of the men at the table put a pistol on the table. A definite hint that they were not happy a stranger was in their tavern.

He was not afraid of a fight, but his strength was not what it was, and he was conscious that he only had a small dagger with which to protect himself.

“Bueno,” he said. “Who is winning?” Thomas leaned on the bar, trying to look casual.

The men all looked up at him. “That your woman?” one of them asked.

“Yes, been married for nearly three months.”

One of the men, a meaty-necked fellow, placed his cards face down on the table. “Really? I heard the Frenchies had an Englishman caught up in their net up at the old fort up Benalmadena way.”

Thomas simply smiled at the man. “Englishman? What would they want with him? War is over.”

Another placed his hand on the butt of the pistol. “For some the war is never over. We have long memories, and we never forgive.”

Thomas nodded his agreement. “We were headed that way but if the French are there…”

“They’ve gone. Passed through this way a few days ago going towards Cadiz.”

“Thankfully, we did not run into them on our way here. My wife lost her father and brother to the French so she would be not be happy to see them.”

“Why are you going that way? There isn’t anything there,” said another man at the table, his eyes narrowed.

“My wife has a friend there who is due to have a baby in the old town,” he said and shrugged, showing his bandaged hand. “I’ve got no job right now, so we go.”

This seemed to satisfy them, and he was all but forgotten once their food came out. Two bowls were placed on the bench in front of Thomas. He paid the tavern owner and nodded to the men as he left with the two bowls. Once through the doors, the heat hit him in the face like opening a furnace. Elena came up and took the bowls off him, and they both sat on the back of the cart to eat. Under normal circumstances, they might have stayed for siesta under the shade of the tree, but Thomas felt too uneasy.

“You were right.” Elena played around with the fragrant rice in her bowl. “I thought it would be like going into the tavern at Benalmadena.”

“Not every place will be like your village, Elena. This is something you need to understand. I’ve walked these roads before. I was here for nearly four months before I was taken. Men are suspicious, on edge. They trust no one, and I do not blame them. The men inside said Dushard and his cronies were here a few days ago. I think we may need to go inland to avoid them.”

“They have horses; they will be far from here by now.”

“Maybe, maybe not. Is it worth the risk?”

Elena shook her head, and Thomas let out the breath he had been holding. He may know next to nothing about medicine, but he knew how to avoid trouble, well, usually. And Dushard was trouble. If there was one thing he had noticed while being in Spain, it was how unsettled it was, how the people suffered in the aftereffects of a prolonged war.

“You protected me from the French. Now it is my turn to protect you. Do you trust me to do that?”

She searched his face, placing her palm on his cheek. “Of course I do.”