In Which Adonis Is Brought to the Clear

August 8, 1177

"Good morning, Father."

Finally. Adonis had always thought himself rather lenient as far as fathers went, but after what had happened with Asalaye... well, if he woke up and found one of his other girls missing, it didn't seem to unreasonable to panic, even if he had managed to get a cute little grandson out of the ordeal. "Where were you?"

"Sorry." Nanalie shut the door behind her and flashed him an apologetic smile. He didn't think he'd seen such a look on her before; her sister had always been the one with apologies to make. "Hilla went into labor just before sunrise and Arydath sent a groom to fetch me. I didn't want to wake you."

"Well, if it happens again, don't hesitate to do so." She nodded; satisfied, he gestured for her to sit. "I take it everything went well?"

Her grin changed to something more sincere as she pulled back a chair and sat down. Now this... this was a nice look on her. She'd always been too busy nagging her siblings and pestering him about the animals and compensating for everyone else's lack of cooking ability to just sit back and be happy for once. "Mother and child are both well. She had a little boy. They named him for Sir Bernardo's father. Gualtiero. I'm probably saying it wrong, but Sir Bernardo's accent makes everything sound pretty."

"Mmm." Maybe this was selfish of him. It was good that Nanalie had found a passion and he was happy for her--he really was. And yet... "Anyway, there isn't much chance that you'll be called away during the dinner hour, is there?"

"No, I should be home." She grabbed hold of the chair beneath her and dragged it forward, and as unpleasant as the resulting scraping noise was, he doubted that had anything to do with her frown. "Why do you ask?"

"Oh, nothing serious." Though truth be told, he did sort of wish otherwise. He did hope she could keep up her present occupation, but... well, was it horrible of him to want the best for her on all fronts? "We'll just be having company tonight and I want to make sure that you'll be around."

Nanalie raised an eyebrow. "If you're making a fuss about it, then I'm guessing it's not Had and Lyraina or Asalaye and Lonriad."

"No..." Adonis swallowed behind his grimace. She probably couldn't tell he'd spent a good half an hour rehearsing this, not with the way it seemed to be headed. There were thirty minutes he'd never see again. "He's a friend of Ceidrid's. He's the cobbler's apprentice, but the old fellow's finally decided it's time to retire, so he'll be taking over the shop later this month. Nice young man--smart, cordial, maybe a little hands--"

"Father?"

There hadn't been much point in practicing. The mirror had never once interrupted him. "Yes, Nanalie?"

"I see what you're trying to do here." Of course she did. She was too much her mother's daughter to miss it. "And while I appreciate the thought, I enjoy being Arydath's apprentice and I'd rather just focus on my job right now. I'll be nice at supper, of course, and maybe I'll even dress up a little if I'm in a good enough mood, but you have to understand that I'm more than capable of taking care of myself and I don't want a husband just for the sake of having one. Are we clear, Father?"

Good Lord, her eyes had never looked so much like Honora's--soft green and hard blue, stunning in their defiant independence. What could he say to that? "Yes, dear. We're clear."

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