The Celtic Knot. Shannon MacLeod

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СКАЧАТЬ you tell us where the list field is?” Two college-aged men asked, snapping her out of her daydreams.

      The pungent aroma of ale hit her as soon as they spoke. Wrinkling her nose in distaste, she pointed in the general direction of the center of the park. Having imparted the requested information, she continued on her path but it wasn’t long before she realized she was lost. Her current darkened location was the incomplete new section, closed to the public. I had no idea the Castle was this big, she thought, turning to go back the way she came.

      Those same two young men followed her on unsteady legs, the taller of the two staring openly at the plunging neckline of her blouse. “Hey, fair maiden. Out here all by yourself?” the other leered.

      Oh, this is bad. Really, really bad. Even if I scream, nobody’s going to hear me over the park noise. Should’ve stayed where I was, Lily berated herself. She fought the rising panic and kept her voice even. “Of course not,” she snapped.

      As the men raised their gazes, no longer looking at her, but over her, their expressions changed. Muttering something unintelligible, they stumbled away in the opposite direction.

      Weirdos, she thought, then whirled as someone cleared their throat quietly but deliberately behind her. Lily’s breath left her in a soft oomph as she crashed into a solid wall. No, not a wall. A hard, muscled chest clad in white linen…a leather doublet…the hawk and topped with…those beautiful green eyes. Oh, no, no, no.

      “Good evening, milady.” The handsome man from the night before gave her a warm smile, a hint of amusement playing around his lips. Her knees quivered and his hands shot out. He caught her elbows, his wrists just brushing the sides of her breasts in the process.

      “Oooh!” Lily gasped at the intimate contact. Her face flooded with color when the quivering spread and consumed her entire body with the speed of wildfire.

      “Are you all right?” he asked, his brows knitting together.

      She couldn’t lift her voice above a whisper. “Uh…yes, milord,” she stammered.

      The corners of his mouth definitely twitched that time. “’Twould appear you’ve wandered far and I can see you have no chaperone,” he said in deep, musical tones. “These are dangerous times, milady, and there are unscrupulous men about. If you are going back to your tent, might I have the honor of escorting you there?”

      Rendered speechless from his chivalrous offer and flushing even deeper, all Lily could do was nod. With a dazzling smile that set her heart to racing, he took her hand and placed it in the crook of his proffered arm. Drawing admiring glances from the crowd of park patrons, they moved together through the park and soon arrived at her tent. “Thank you,” she mumbled.

      Taking her hand, he raised it to his lips and pressed a gentle kiss to her fingertips. “The pleasure was truly mine, milady,” he said in a husky voice. She smiled in reply and turned to go into the tent but stopped short and whirled around before entering. “Wait, I didn’t get your…”

      He was nowhere in sight.

      “…name.”

      Sighing, she turned around to enter the tent and burst into immediate laughter at the two women standing before her again, gaping in open astonishment. “Oh, my God,” Beth said. “Tell me you got his name this time.”

      Embarrassed, Lily was forced to admit she had been so awestruck she didn’t even talk to him, much less ask any questions. She explained about getting lost in the park and the mystery man turning up when those two men were busy scaring the daylights out of her. Beth would not be pacified, however. “Details, dear. I need details.”

      “He’s very polite,” Lily said promptly. “He’s got an accent. And he smells really nice.”

      “Okay, well, that’s something,” Beth said, rolling her eyes. “Nice like Polo nice, or nice like something else?”

      “Something else. Clean, like sandalwood. Mint, maybe.”

      Another wave of customers flowed into the tent and she and Beth returned to their cards. Even though Lily searched the crowds for the remainder of the evening, she didn’t catch another glimpse of the man she hoped to see.

      Later that night, Lily lay in bed and stared up at the ceiling, absently stroking the cat. “Those beautiful green eyes seem so familiar but I know I’ve never met him before, Bella,” she mused, “I’d definitely remember someone as magical as that” She picked up the framed photo sitting on her nightstand. Taken at a USF homecoming game, Lucas had the school mascot painted on his cheeks and his shaggy hair had still been dark brown. He stood with her his arm thrown carelessly around her shoulder and his smile wide, but not reaching his eyes. She laid the picture face down. He has no real claim on me, she thought. “Do I love him, Bella?” she asked the cat, who stretched to give Lily access to more of her tummy. “I don’t know about that, but the one thing I do know is Lucas doesn’t take my breath away like the guy from the Castle does. I’ve felt more in five minutes with this man than I ever have with Lucas, and I don’t even know his name.”

      She replayed the evening over and over again and in her best corny pirate voice growled, “Best ye beware, mistress, lest the highwayman steal yer heart away,” before drifting off to sleep.

       4

      On Sunday morning, Bella’s insistent walking across her head woke her before the ringing phone did. “C’mon, let’s go to the mall and try on stuff we can’t afford,” Beth chirped. “Did you see the news this morning? No, of course you didn’t. Some guy out fishing found a woman floating in the river yesterday.”

      After giving the promise to meet at the food court in an hour, Lily showered and dressed, then poured herself a bowl of cereal and sat down in front of the TV. She ran the channels, landing on the top of the hour local news recap.

      “…grisly discovery. The body of a young woman was found floating in the Alafia River by a local fisherman yesterday. The apparent homicide victim is described as Caucasian with…”

      The solemn news anchor reported authorities estimated the as yet unidentified woman had been in the water for perhaps a week, but no one had come forward to report a missing person fitting her description. It’s tragic, Lily thought, gone that long and nobody missed her.

      The following work week passed slowly with Lucas’s attitude toward her wavering between propriety possessiveness and casual indifference. The Eight of Wands Lily pulled on Friday morning foretold a propitious evening and she fervently hoped it meant she’d see the mystery man again. Admit it, she thought, he’s gotten under your skin, and you don’t even know who the hell he is. For all you know, he’s an escaped mental patient. Undaunted by that distinct possibility, she chose the burgundy outfit she wore the night she first saw him, hoping it would be lucky for her again.

      After a few hours of readings, Lily felt the need to get out and stretch. A throng of people lingered around the entrance of the tent, but no one was waiting for a reading. Suddenly a hush fell over the animated crowd and it parted like the Red Sea. Through the gap walked the very man she had been hoping to spot, resplendent in a soft royal blue velvet doublet replacing his earlier leathers. Ignoring the other girls, he strode to her table and with eyes a-twinkle asked, “Will you tell me my fortune, then?” In stunned silence, she gestured for him to sit and began shuffling the СКАЧАТЬ