with a secretive smile on her lips.
The travellers split up when they reached the main road. Melletin and Yelena were to scout
ahead and ride back if there was trouble; otherwise they arranged to meet at the Yellow Dog, an
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inn on the border with Kandar.
"You have to be careful at the inn," Melletin warned. "The landlord is no friend to the resistance and a great enthusiast for the Empire. He's done very well by Fergox with all this traffic on the
roads north."
"Is there nowhere else to stay?" Ramil asked.
"Why yes, indeed, but it is the last place Fergox's men would be looking for fugitives. If you
brazen it out in the taproom there, they will hardly notice you.
But ask for a private room for your giant and the lady. They will attract more attention and
should keep out of the public areas. Yelena and I will fall in with you as if by chance. Professor
Norling, I trust you will ensure they do not go astray?"
The professor flapped him away with his hand. "Of course, Melletin. I was travelling these roads
before you were born."
The two fighters rode off on their hardy horses, urging them through the ice-covered ruts in the
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churned-up road. Tashi drew her veil over her face, now seeing the world through purple gauze.
On the wider path, the four riders fell into pairs.
Norling dropped behind with Gordoc and began to quiz him on his fitness regime, probing the
secret of the man's exceptional strength. Ramil rode with Tashi, though he sat high above her,
awkward for talking.
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"Here, slacken the reins a little. Flake's mouth is tender and she's not comfortable," he said, noticing the mare fretting.
Tashi did as instructed, keeping her counsel behind the veil.
"You're doing well, for a beginner," he added, trying to strike upon a neutral subject.
"Yes, that is surprising, considering my teachers," she replied coolly.
Ramil believed himself reprimanded. They rode on in silence.
"I'm sorry about what I said to you the other night," he said at length, knowing the words had to be spoken sooner or later. "I should've realized that you and Merl weren't ..."
"Yes?"
"Well, that you weren't."
"That is very well explained, Ram." She laughed. The sound made his stomach flip over. "And I'd like to thank you for the flower."
"Did you like it?" He wanted to ask if he had finally got something right.
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"I'm afraid I sat on it." Her shoulders were shaking. He wondered for a moment what was so
funny, then realized she was thinking of the dragonfly.
He joined in good-humoredly. "I'm afraid our love tokens are doomed."
That brought her up short. "Love token?" She glanced up at him, her eyes glinting through the veil.
He looked down at his hands. "Why? What did you think it was?"
"I didn't know. You'd just told me I made you feel bad."
"But you said that Blue Crescent men present them to their ladies."
"You listened to me? I mean, you were trying to be . . . ?" She floundered for a word.
"Sensitive. Yes, I, Ramil ac Burinholt, obviously well known for my cultural diplomacy, was
attempting to be the ideal lover."
"But you don't like me . . . not like that!" Tashi protested. Her mind was trying to catch up with this new information. "Or are you merely trying to reopen negotiations on a marriage alliance?"
she asked suspiciously. "Because if you are, I was going to argue with my sisters that they should offer our navy without that. I wouldn't want you to be yoked to someone you can't be happy
with."
"Tashi, look at me."
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"I am."
"But I can't see you through that veil."
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"Then you'll just have to trust me."
Ramil smiled. "I wanted to give you the flower just as a boy would give a girl a present--not
because you are a princess, or an ally, or for any of those reasons. It came with no conditions, no
schemes, except perhaps the hope that you might like me just a little better."
"Then I accept it and thank you." Tashi felt a burst of happiness. She'd got it al wrong: he did like her.
"So what's next?" asked Ramil, feeling very pleased with himself.
"How do you mean?"
"What should a boy do now?"
"On the Islands, you'd write a poem in praise of my eyebrow," Tashi said teasingly. "Around here, you'd kiss me." She spurred her pony forward, leaving him wondering.
The Yellow Dog was a prosperous half-timbered thatched house
strategically placed at the bridge over the river that formed the boundary with Kandar. As they
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rode up at dusk, the mullion windows on the ground floor streamed with light, indicating that
the place was already bustling with visitors. Gordoc and Professor Norling took charge of the
horses while Ramil negotiated for a private room for "his sister" to dine. The landlord was a fat, bald man with a sharp expression, his gaze flicking from side to side as he bargained, keeping an
eye on the doings in the taproom. Ramil glimpsed Melletin and Yelena at a table, already
embarked upon
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supper, but they made no sign that they knew the newcomers.
"You can have the room down the corridor, sir," the landlord said. "Though we're going to be pressed to find you a bed tonight. This lady--you say she's your sister?"
"Yes." Ramil adopted the superior air and the guttural accent of the Southerners.
"She'll have to share with someone, as will you, sir, with that old fellow you came in with. I'll see what I can do. A couple arrived just ahead of you.
Perhaps I can sort something out with the lady."
"That would be acceptable."
"Your servant will have to make do with the barn."
"He will be happy with whatever I tell him to do."
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"You know best, sir. Now I'll see to your supper."
Leaving them alone in front of the fire in the little sitting room, the innkeeper bustled out,
shouting orders to his staff as he closed the door. Tashi reached to remove her veil, but Ramil
shook his head and put his finger to his lips. He strode to the door and opened it suddenly,
revealing the innkeeper bent double on the other side. Ramil pretended not to notice the man's
odd posture.
"Where is my slave?" Ramil snapped.
"I'll send him to you directly, sir," the innkeeper said in a wheedling tone, backing away.
Ramil closed the door and sat down beside Tashi at the table.
"Sorry, but you'll have to stay covered," he whispered.
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"We've heard he's Fergox's man. No doubt he's paid to spy on travellers."
"Oh well." Tashi sighed. "I rather like this veil. It allows me to be more myself somehow. I don't have to worry about what anyone's thinking."
"But that's exactly why I hate it. I've no idea what's going on under there."
The innkeeper soon returned with the supper on a tray, Gordoc behind him with the bags.
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"Where is the doctor?" asked Ramil brusquely.
"He fell into conversation with some people, sir," Gordoc said, rather overdoing his performance by tugging his forelock. "Told you to eat without him. I'm to have mine in the kitchen."
"Off you go. But don't forget to clean my boots before you go to bed!"
Gordoc winked at Tashi as he left.
The innkeeper served a hearty supper of meat, cheese, and bread, washed down with ale. He