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Han nodded. “It’s a deal, pal.”

That same evening, Han went over to Teroenza’s treasure room to find Bria. He was wondering if she’d be attending devotions now that she knew they were faked. Standing outside, he knocked on the heavy, metal-sheathed door. “It’s me,” he called in response to her voice from inside.

The door opened, and Bria stepped out. Han’s eyes widened. “Hey! You look great!”

For the first time since he’d known her, she’d doffed her bulky tan robes and concealing cap. Instead, she was wearing a simple pale blue tunic and trousers. Although modest in style, they revealed a figure that was slender but definitely female.

“Exalted Teroenza told me I could dispense with my pilgrim robes while I was working on the collection,” she told him. When she saw the warmth in his eyes, she blushed a little, but smiled. “He was afraid that I’d catch my robes on some valuable artifact and knock it off a shelf.”

“Well, I approve,” Han said. “Want to get a cup of tea?”

“Sure.”

When they were seated in the mess hall, with cups of stim-tea before them, Bria smiled shyly at Han. “So … you really like the way I look?”

“You bet,” he said. “You’re the prettiest girl on this planet, no kidding.”

She smiled, then the smile faded, and she looked troubled. “You’re apparently not the only one who thinks so, Vykk …”

“What do you mean?”

“I had the strangest exchange with Ganar Tos, Teroenza’s majordomo, this morning. He’d apparently never seen beyond the pilgrim robes, but when I put these clothes on, he really noticed me. He followed me around for about an hour while I was trying to get some rearranging done, making conversation—or trying to. Those orangy-red eyes of his gave me chills. He’s old, but it’s obvious he still has … um … plenty of life in him, if you get my meaning. Male life.”

Han sat back. “You mean, that old creep was coming on to you?”

She shivered. “I’m afraid so. He wanted to know how old I was, whether I was ever married, whether I had any children. He asked me why I’d wound up coming to Ylesia to be a pilgrim. Very personal questions! He had a lot of nerve.”

Han leaned forward. “So why did you come here? Or do you consider that too personal to tell me, too?”

She smiled wanly at him. “Of course not, Vykk. Why’d I come here? It seems so long ago, it’s hard to even remember. I was going through a bad time. I’d just finished kid’s school, and was kind of scared at the idea of going to the university. I’d never been on my own before.

“My mother always kept a tight rein and made me feel as though I could never do anything right. Studying hard and behaving myself weren’t enough for her.” She smiled, but it was not a nice smile. “My father encouraged me to have a career, but all Mother could think about was my making a ‘brilliant match.’ She thought her dreams had come true when I started seeing Dael.”

Han felt a stab of jealousy, but reminded himself that there had been other girls in his past. More than a few, matter of fact …

“We were on the verge of getting engaged when I caught him sneaking around with another girl. So I told him it was over. My mother was furious with me for breaking up with Dael. He came from one of the richest families on Corellia, and she’d already begun planning the wedding.” She sighed. “She ordered me to go to him and apologize, get him to take me back. For the first time in my life, I told her ‘no.’ ”

“She sounds like a very … determined … woman,” Han said cautiously.

“Determined isn’t the word. Mother had pushed me at Dael ever since we were in school together, and I didn’t have the courage to tell her that I didn’t like him that much. It’s funny”—her blue-green eyes grew misty—“I didn’t much want Dael, but when I knew he’d been sneaking around with someone else, I felt betrayed and heartbroken. People are strange, aren’t they?”

Han nodded. “Go on,” he said encouragingly.

“Well, just about that time, I heard about a revival that was being held by a Ylesian missionary. I was feeling