Only a little

James immediately saw the red-head once he was looking for her; she was pretty so it was no wonder Julien had seen her come in. Not as pretty as Marna, but James knew he might be a little biased when it came to assessing the beauty of women. He watched Julien meet the woman with one of his practiced lines and after only a few seconds of hesitation she followed him back to their table.

“Sasha, this is my brother James, James this is Sasha.” Once the introductions were out of the way a silence fell over the table. Sasha was clearly nervous, keeping one eye on the door as she sipped politely at a glass of wine that had somehow appeared at the table. It was Julien who first broke the silence.

“I got rid of those two men who were following you.” He said and Sasha's head jerked up sharply.

“What do you mean?” She asked looking back and forth between James and Julien with a look that spoke equal parts panic and relief.

“Not permanently.” Julien assured her “I don't doubt for a second that at least one of them is hanging around outside. But they won't come in here again, so you can relax for a bit and enjoy your wine and our company.”

“You shouldn't have done that.” Sasha said earnestly. “I'll leave now so if they come back you can tell them you don't know me or where I went.” Even as she started to stand, James put his hand on her arm.

“Look, I'm not the type who usually jumps in without hearing all the facts like my brother here.” He glanced at Julien to make sure he didn't take it as criticism “But on the other hand I didn't care much for those two thugs and neither of us is afraid of a fight, so tell us why are those men after you?”

“They just are.” Sasha pulled her arm free but to the brother's relief did sit back down. “I really can't tell you much more than that, and thank-you by the way, for stepping in like you did.” Julien smiled and nodded at the girl, up close she was even prettier than he thought when she first walked in to the Hammer and Anvil; her skin was flawless and the way her hair cascaded over her shoulders reminded Julien of water flowing in a bubbling stream. From what he could see of her body she was exactly his type.

“What do you need?” Julien asked maybe we can help. He saw James flinch slightly at his open offer, but he didn't care; there was something about Sasha that made him want to help.

“I need to leave Freeport as soon as possible.” Sasha told the pair “Do you know anyone on a ship that is sailing soon? The further from here the better.”

Damn! He had spent the better part of the past three days looking for a ship with no luck, and now this mysterious woman wanted the exact thing that he could not provide. Sasha saw the look on his face and immediately knew that they couldn't help her.

“It's OK.” She told them. “Thanks again for the drink Julien, James. But I really have to be going.” This time when she stood the brothers made no attempt to stop her. Julien however had no intention of letting Sasha walk out of the inn by herself, he stood with her and moved to her side.

“Really, it would be better...” She began, but he cut her off smoothly.

“No, this is not optional, I'm going to walk you home, and as soon as my brother and I find a ship that we like, we'll bring you with us.” James nodded in agreement although he wondered how bringing Sasha along with them was going to make finding a ship any easier.

“Where are you staying?” Julien asked as they headed for the door.

“The Three Dolphins, down by South Bay.” Sasha had stopped fighting his attempts to help her and even looked grateful to have an escort. James raised his eyebrow in a question and Julien shook his head so subtly that no one but his brother would have even noticed the silent conversation.

“I'll see you later then, be careful.” James waved for the serving girl to come settle the tab. This would not be the first time that Julien had walked a girl home at night, he wondered if his brother was going to get lucky tonight or if he'd be heading back as soon as she reached her rooms.

Julien couldn't help but wonder the exact same thing as he walked Sasha back to the Three Dolphins. He spent most of his attention looking for any sign of trouble. Honestly he even hoped that those two thugs would try something; a chance to demonstrate his weapon skills might be just the thing to impress this quiet young woman. However after less than ten minutes the pair arrived at the Dolphins and Sasha thanked him again but did not invite him to her rooms or even make any attempt to embrace him.

It did not bother Julien much that Sasha had been properly modest, he hadn't really expected to charm his way into Sasha's bed in just a few hours. He knew where she lived now, and he was a patient man. He knew that until James and he found a ship he wouldn't have much to do, and once they talked a captain into helping them with their quest, he fully intended to take Sasha with them when they left.