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Propped up as he was in his chair, Destrin looked from Deirdre to me and back again. His brow mirrored puzzlement, and Brettel just touched his shoulder and nodded.

I looked at Deirdre, somehow very regal in that moment, even in her faded blue trousers and blouse and old white apron. She seemed somehow relieved, yet, beneath the relief, I could sense the tension, like a coiled spring, or worse. So I took her arm, and we walked toward the far end of the main room. I stopped, but Deirdre eased me on into her small room with the narrow bed, scarcely larger than the space I occupied in the shop below, save she had a window overlooking the alley and the stable. Her arm released mine.

Click.

“What…”

Her finger touched my lips to stop my words, and I could tell she was trembling.

“Lerris…?” Her voice was uneven.

“Yes?”

“I know you’re some kind of wizard…but…” She took a deep breath. “…would you ever hurt me?”

“Of course not,” I protested, wondering where the conversation was going, and why she had closed the door. That faint scent of woman and roses reminded me of a night too long before and best forgotten.

“Not ever?”

“No. Why?”

Crack!

My head rang, and my eyes blurred from the force of her open hand, and when I could see, I could see the tears streaming from her eyes. “Why…?” I shook my head.

She just stood there sobbing. “Don’t you understand?”

Whatever it was, I certainly didn’t understand it, but all I could think to do was reach for her hands. She let me take them, and we stood there for a time as she sniffled out the sobs.

Finally, she swallowed. “I’m…not…not a brood pony…I’ll…do anything…for papa…and for you…but you…could have…asked…You…could…. have…asked…”

I was the one swallowing then, and finding it hard to see. Good old stupid Lerris, working like hell to save the girl, and not even asking her. But, even as I kept swallowing…I realized the tension within Deirdre was gone…

“Sorry. I just wanted to do what—”

“Lerris?”

“Yes?” My voice was level, since I didn’t know what to expect.

“There’s one other thing.”

The one other thing was two arms around my neck and warm lips on mine and a very feminine body pressed close against me. Very close against me, and pulling me down onto her and the bed.

We lay there for a long time, only holding and kissing. Then, slowly, before I lost total control, I let go of her and rolled away.

She sat up on the narrow bed. “That’s what you’re going to miss.” She smiled sadly. “And what I’m going to miss.”

I just stood there.

“Thank you…for me, for papa…for caring…and for being you…”

By then I couldn’t see anything, but neither could she. So we ended up hanging on to each other again, and I cried as much as she did.

Thankfully, neither Destrin nor Brettel interrupted, and, in time, we pulled ourselves apart.

There wasn’t anything else to say, not then. After we wiped our faces, she opened the door.

“…just fine…Destrin…too damned honorable…”

“…so you say…”

“…you know it as well as I do…”

Deirdre grinned for the first time, even with the sadness beneath. “You are too honorable…”

I didn’t have any choice any longer, not if I wanted to survive. I still had to explain it to Bostric, although I thought it was less likely that he would either haul off and hit me or kiss me. So I left the three to discuss details and went down to the shop.

Bostric was working on the tavern bench, and doing so quite effectively, having shortened the piece to cut out Destrin’s mis-drilling.

I pulled out the two stools and set them by my workbench. “We need to talk.”

Bostric could read when to tease and when not to. He took one look at the side of my face, which was probably still red, nodded, and set down the shaper.

“Sit down,” I said as I pointed to the empty stool.

“Is there a problem?” For once, he looked worried.

“Yes. But it’s more mine than yours. Brettel says that your family has not arranged any future alliances—a marriage or anything like that. Is that true?”

“That