14 Chapter 14: My Dear Wife (2/2)
They opened their mouths. They talked.
Exactly what I wanted.
-------------------------
ELINA: I watched Salem talk to the two men from the Church. All of the sudden he changed. A smile that doesn't fit him. A deferential tone in his voice.
The man with green eyes pointed at me.
”Oh no, she's no witch. She is my wife.” ]
I bit my lower lip and suppressed a laugh. He said it like it was the most natural thing in the world. It seems like Salem wasn't just good at killing. He was good at lying.
A dangerous combination of skills.
He went on to tell a tall tale of how we met. He spoke as though I was the love of his life. As though the girl in his story actually existed.
Maybe she did.
Maybe I'll ask him.
The two men from the Church seemed impressed by the story. Salem asked him what they were doing there.
The two men talked, but in hushed tones. Salem listened and nodded. I couldn't hear them anymore.
Not that it mattered. I had my own ways of gathering information. I'll make my move later.
I called the innkeeper.
-------------------------
SALEM: I excused myself from their table. I returned to my corner table and saw a pile of plates. Elina had a fork in her hand, cheeks bursting with food. The gransia handcuffs were poking out.
I said, ”Hey.”
”??”
”Who told you to order more food.”
She took a pint of ale, washed down whatever was in her mouth and said, ”I was hungry.”
”Doesn't mean you can order whatever you want. I'm the one paying for it. You don't have any money.”
”Just deduct it from your taxes as a business expense.”
”Like I said earlier, that tax loophole doesn't exist.”
Elina tilted her head, an innocent pout on her lips.
She said, ”You are going to force your dear wife to starve? Didn't you tell those two men about how you risked your life to save me from an evil witch? And you did that because your heart wouldn't allow you to leave me? That your love was holy and pure?”
As she spoke, her pout turned into a grin.
I sighed. I sat down. I gathered the information I wanted. But at what price?
Elina put a potato before me. ”Here, this is yours.”
”...”
I grabbed the potato and chewed on it. The insides were filled with some kind of herb butter. It was delicious.
Elina said, ”It's good, isn't it?”
”Yes.”
”See? Your dear wife cares for you.”
”My dear wife will drive me to bankruptcy.”
”Then you can — ”
”You can't write off bankruptcy as a business expense.”
I finished my dinner, or rather whatever Elina hadn't eaten. Then there was another problem to solve.
How to sleep in the same room with her.