"This is taking too long. I'll wager we're two days behind at this point."
Aelfnod sat in the wagon looking sullen and irritable. His handsome features were twisted and pinched in frustration as he gnawed on a hunk of salted pork.
"Aye," came the reply from Aldwyn, the gargantuan and much less handsome man beside him.
"That's all you have to say? 'Aye'?" Aelfnod shook his head. "Remind me again why I continue to drag your arse all over creation with me? It's quite obviously not for your powers of conversation."
Aldwyn's ruddy beard bristled in every direction as he pursed his lips in thought. "My pretty face?"
A long and quiet string of laughter sounded from his companion. The sound was welcome in the unnerving stillness of the night around them.
"What's on your mind, Aelf? You're only this grumpy when you're sulking like a boy." Aldwyn leaned back to kick off his mud-caked boots with much grunting and huffing. He picked one up, took out his knife, and began scraping away at the mud.
Aelfnod gave his friend a sour look, snorting at the sight - and smell - of his stocking feet. "That girl."
"The horseman's daughter?"
"No, th'other."
Aldwyn nodded calmly, continuing his chore. "What about her?"
Aelfnod paused. He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees, and stared into the darkness. "I'm not sure. The way she was lurking about, watching us. Bold as brass about it, too. And don't think I didn't see the way you two looked at each other." He brandished the hunk of meat accusingly towards Aldwyn. "Nearly made me lose my supper all over the ground."
Aldwyn kept scraping away at his boot. He did not look at his friend, but a deep sigh was in his broad chest. "Don't be daft."
"Daft, nothing. She was pretty. She was watching you. And you've not been with a woman in how long now?"
The larger mans' hands finally stilled. His thick fingers gripped the hilt of his dagger tightly. An uncomfortable silence dragged on for several long seconds. "One more word, Aelf. One more." He inhaled slowly and returned to the scraping of dried mud.
Aelfnod put his hands up in a show of surrender. "All right, all right. But you've been awfully mysterious about this whole thing. Ever since the day the mare went lame and you suddenly remembered that our friend's daughter was here in town." He pointed the piece of pork at his friend again. "You're not telling me something. Or a few somethings. And we don't keep secrets from each other, remember?"
Aldwyn grunted, but said no more.
