Back at the inn. Ordered stew and tried to look like I belonged. The serving girl caught my eye again. Sharp one. She doesn’t miss much.
I leaned on the counter with my best smile. “You must be the best-informed person around here.”
She gave me an amused look while wiping a mug. “And you must be the third man today who thinks that line will work.”
“Only the third?” I said, pretending to be wounded.
“First one with decent boots, though.” She tilted her head slightly. “You look like you’ve had an interesting day.”
I shrugged. “Wandered a bit further than planned out past the mine. Came across an old burned house. No path, door hanging crooked. Ever hear anything about a place like that?”
She paused for a moment, then shook her head. “Nobody knows for sure who lived there. Father used to say some people don’t disappear… they just move their shadows elsewhere.”
I chuckled. “Sounds like something out of a fireside tale.”
“Maybe,” she said, eyes lingering on me a second longer than necessary. “But then again, most people don’t go poking around old ruins for fun.”
“Fair point.”
Later, when the inn had quieted down, she came over while I was getting ready to leave. She wiped my table slowly.
“I’m done in about fifteen minutes,” she said quietly. “If you have time to wait, we could walk and talk more about that… ruckel you found.”
I waited.
The night air was cool as we walked. She was easy to talk to. Quick, observant, and not afraid to tease. I kept my answers light and asked a few more questions about the old house, but she didn’t know much more than she had already told me. Or if she did, she wasn’t sharing it easily.
When we finally reached her door she stopped and turned toward me. The lantern light caught her face.
“I usually have something better than the inn’s ale inside,” she said with a small smile. “If you feel like talking more.”
The invitation was warm, and the look she gave me made it very clear she wasn’t only talking about ale.
I returned the smile, genuinely tempted, but shook my head. “That’s a very kind offer. But I think I’ll have to pass tonight. Another time, perhaps.”
She raised an eyebrow, clearly more intrigued than disappointed. “You’re a difficult one, aren’t you?”
“Only on my better days.”
She let out a soft laugh and shook her head. “I’ll see you around then… stranger.”
I wished her a good night and turned to leave. I could feel her eyes on my back until I disappeared down the street.
Interesting girl.