'Not for sale?!' Silver balled his fists around cup until it began to crack.
Seeing the Guardian's eyes flash, Conall cleared his throat. "Let me rephrase!" He said quickly. "I could never sell her to you because in my mind she is already yours. I will just officially sign her over if you like. No one else rides her, and honestly I'm not even sure she would let them."
"Oh no. I will not let you gift her to me. I want to buy her fair and square." Silver spoke firmly.
"After all you've done for the town, it's, uh, the least I can do…" Conall was usually very stingy, but the crowd and cash flow in the room had put him in a good mood.
It had nothing to do with the fact that Daisy's parents had been two of the ones confiscated by Silver years ago and given to the mayor free of charge.
"I've stolen so much in my life. I don't want to feel like I stole her from you too." Silver pulled out a coin purse from his cloak. "I got paid for a job recently, and I want to use it for this."
Placing the bag on the table, Silver waited patiently for the mayor to finished his bread and inspect the pouch.
Conall leaned forward and hefted the bag into his hand. His eyes opened wide as he looked in the purse to see the coins were gold. "It must have been some job!"
"It was. Do we have a deal?" Silver tapped his fingers impatiently on the table.
"You do realize if you own Daisy, like really own her, you will have to also pay for her, uh, room and board?" Conall raised one eyebrow.
"I know. I will set up a payment plan with Katherine when she isn't so busy." Silver was unphased.
Conall rubbed his chin. "And you will be the one checking in on her well being and making sure she gets everything she needs out of life."
"I already do, mayor..." The Guardian's eyes flashed.
"Yes, you do. This is all so unnecessary—but who am I to look a gift horse in the mouth?" The mayor patted his round belly and laughed.
"I already said I don't want Daisy to be a gift. That money should be more than enough for her and a few month's room and board for her in your stables." Silver gritted his teeth.
"No, no. I mean it is enough. But what I said is an, uh, an expression. I will happily take your money." Seeing that the Guardian was growing restless, Conall tried to wrap things up as quickly as his stutter would let him. "I will, uh, draw up a contract first thing in the morning and have it delivered. Or, if you'll hold your horses, I can do it now."
Chuckling at his own pun, Conall began to look around the room for an official-looking person to write up the paper.
"Thank you, mayor, but I can wait until morning. For now, a shake that we have concluded our business will do." Silver reached across the table and held out his hand. The two men shook forearms.
The Guardian smiled beneath his hood. For some reason, the whole thing had given him a profound sense of accomplishment.
"I am glad she makes you happy. I don't know what you see in that stubborn mare, but you two have something special. I hope Daisy doesn't get jealous when a real woman comes into your life." Conall shook his head and glanced toward the kitchen where his own wife was cooking up something special.
"Hold on a moment, Conall. Don't go trying to pair me up with someone. Daisy is very discerning, you know." Silver shrugged. "And the only woman for me is so far away, I doubt she and Daisy will ever meet."
Conall's brow furrowed. "Don't you dare go all gloom and doom on me! As a bonafide horse-owner, you can ride out any time and see your lady love with Daisy as your guide!"
'If only. There is far too much work to be done to scurry off on a whim.' Silver sipped his tea and, upon finishing the cup, he stood to leave.
"It was nice doing business with you," the cloaked man dipped his head.
"The pleasure is all mine, Guardian, I assure you." Conall jingled the bag of coins.
Sensing some motion behind him, Silver turned to see Katherine bustling towards them with a plate in her hand. She pursed her lips at Conall.
"I heard that you were disturbing Lily! So that you will leave her alone, I have come with a peace offering. Here is your dinner, dear husband." Katherine laid down a plate of vegetables and a small portion of meat. While it would have been fine for most men, it was a much smaller ration than Conall was use to.
"Are you trying to starve me, woman?" Conall's eyes nearly flew out of his head.
"On the contrary. I want you to live a very long time," Katherine smiled sweetly at her husband, leaving him no more room to argue. She looked at Silver and her face turned to a frown. "Leaving already? I know there are too many people for your taste, but I had hoped the company would overcome the crowd."
Silver saw the bowl filled with a delicious stew in her other hand. "The company is excellent, but Aiden is expecting me for dinner."
"Very well, as long as you aren't going home to eat alone. If you weren't going to head home, I was going to suggest you go help Aristos put the kids to bed."
"Some other time," the Guardian agreed.
Katherine took a large pudding off a passing tray and handed it to Silver. "For you and Aiden."
"Thank you, Katherine. That is most generous."
The Guardian bowed to his hostess. Katherine's cheeks tinged pink. "Can you teach the mayor that respect?"
"Give me the stew and I'll bow all day, madam." Conall offered up his plate to trade.
"Eat your vegetables," Katherine kissed her husband on the cheek. "Good evening, Silver." The hostess gave a small curtesy and sauntered away.
"You are very lucky, you know." Silver watched his friend's wife head back to the kitchen.
"The luckiest." The mayor agreed, his hand resting in his kissed cheek.
Silver moved to leave then hesitated. From his cloak, he pulled another bag of coins and plopped it in the table. "Buy Katherine some of those radish seeds she likes. She deserves it, and maybe it will butter her up enough to get you off your diet."
"Worth a try! She does love her radishes. Thank you, Silver!" Conall touched his hat as he pocketed the money.
Feeling less burdened, the Guardian headed into the street with his pudding in hand.
Normally Silver would have preferred to go home and be alone. And part of him pulled at his consciousness that he should do just that.
But in the end, he honored his words both to Aiden and Katherine. And he did not regret it.
The meal was pleasant and so was the conversation. Aiden was not one to pry, and he allowed the Guardian to guide the conversation however he saw fit. Silver found himself enjoying his time and even forgetting for a time the empty home which awaited him.
But that time could not last forever. All too soon, it was time to leave.
Thanking Aiden for his hospitality, Silver made the walk home in the late night air. It was a beautiful evening. The man was half-tempted to drop his hood and allow the warm air to caress his face, but he refrained. Just because he saw no one on the empty street did not mean he was alone.
That realization became all too clear as he finally reached his home.
The door was open.