Bard: Chapter 21

“So what about this offer?” Liam asked, gesturing to the paper.

Laura glanced down at the contract again. It was barely legible in the early morning light, but she’d read it at least five times just that morning. She couldn’t get over how good it was, or how uncertain she felt about it. A few days had passed, and she didn’t have a clearer idea of what she wanted to do. Liam had received his offer the day before.

“You going to take it?” he asked.

“I don’t know. Will you take it?”

“I don’t know.” Liam sat back, crossing his arms across his chest. He chewed on his lip, and Laura could tell he was seriously considering it.

“He made it sound like it doesn’t have to be a big change,” Laura said, looking towards the window.

“It would be, though,” Liam said. “I’m not sure they’d actually want me if they looked too closely.”

“Oh shut up,” Laura snapped. “You’re more than capable of serving in a city guard. And you were very impressive in the hills.”

“I nearly drowned in the snow,” Liam replied. “Trista had to save me."

“We all would have drowned in the snow if Trista hadn’t saved us,” Laura said. “I was referring to after that, obviously.”

“I should head to work, anyway.” Liam pushed his chair back and stood. “Can I walk you to the library?”

“Sure.” Laura buckled her knives on and then pulled on her coat. “Who sent the flowers?”

Liam paused in putting on his swords, smirking.

“I’m not certain." He avoided her eyes and pulled on his own coat. Laura made an aggravated noise and led them out.

It was a quiet day at work, no one even tried to steal a book or sneak into the restricted section. Laura strolled through the library, enjoying the sound of rain on the tiled roof when the weather shifted later in the morning. Now that the deadly ice storm was over, the inside of the library was dry and warm, and very…comfortable.

She mulled over the captain’s offer as she made her rounds, weighing the pros and cons of starting something new. There wasn’t much the library position lacked, after all…

Eloise approached her as she circled around downstairs for her midday break.

“Do you want to go get lunch today?” Eloise asked. “My treat.”

“You just want to grill me about the flowers,” Laura said, smiling at her.

“So?” Eloise asked primly. “You get a free lunch out of it. You can even choose where we go.”

“I want noodles.”

“Noodles it is.”

As they passed by the front desk, one of the librarians waved them over.

“You’ve got a request to visit the college offices when you get back.”

“Who, me?” Eloise asked.

“No, sorry dear, Laura.”

“Why?”

“Didn’t say. Just asked you to stop in for a few minutes.”

Laura looked at Eloise and shrugged, thanked the librarian, and stepped outside into the rain.

The noodle shop was nearby, and everything in it was hot and delicious. They’d stopped in for lunch a couple of times, though Laura always felt a bit guilty, since Trista insisted on making them lunches each day. She just wasn’t used to having a steady income, and being able to afford the luxury of having hot food at midday every so often was hard to pass up.

“Any more clues?” Eloise asked as they sat down with steaming bowls of broth and noodles. Laura’s had a slice of ham laid across the top and smelled delicious. “More flowers? Anonymous notes?”

“Nothing,” Laura told her. “I think my brother knows, but he’s not saying anything.”

“Someone he works with?”

“Maybe.” Laura hadn’t actually thought that it could be Travis, but now he seemed a likely candidate. He was nice enough, and certainly handsome. If it was him, she wondered exactly what would have caught his eye.

“Maybe it’s someone you threw out of the rare book room,” Eloise suggested, slurping up a noodle. “Or maybe it’s that one you had to run down in the courtyard last week.”

Laura laughed, and Eloise grinned mischievously.

“Gods, I hope not.”

Eloise went on and on, with suggestions, guesses, and wild tangents that put them both into mad fits of giggles. Laura could barely eat her lunch, and had a stitch in her side by the time Eloise settled in and focused on her own bowl.

It was nice having friends, getting to stay in one place long enough to get to know people. She hadn’t realized how much she’d missed it.

Of course, if she joined the guard she'd still be in Everly, not moving away somewhere else, but it would change things. She wouldn’t see her friends in the library as often. The calm, silent days would not be guaranteed. Getting better pay would be nice and all, but Laura really did like where she was. She liked the people she saw each day, and the comfort of knowing how things would go from one day to the next. There could be the occasional excitement but it was a library, and she could trust certain things to be constant.

“You’ve gone all pensive on me,” Eloise commented, picking up her bowl and gulping down what was left of her broth.

“Just thinking about the job offer.”

"The one from the guard?"

"Yes," she replied, idly stirring what was left of her noodles.

“You going to take it then?”

Laura watched the rain coming down outside. She could hear it pounding on the awning, and puddles were forming in the street.

“No.”