In Which Searle Needn't Pass the Greeting

May 16, 1190

"A boy! How delightful!" Though, Searle didn't doubt for a second that the lady would have been equally happy for Morgan had Kay been a girl. "Now she has one of each, doesn't she?"

"Yes. She has an adoptive daughter."

"How charming. Plus her stepchildren now, too. I am most happy for her."

"Shall I tell her?"

Not that Searle had ever been good at passing greetings secondhand. Or firsthand. But the lady shook her head, her raven hair adrift on the sea of her red silk. "Thank you for the offer, but perhaps you'd best not. She doesn't know me from Lilith, after all; she might be uneasy with a message from a stranger, even a congratulatory one."

"Maybe..." Did he dare? Lonriad had said he could have friends over if he liked. Though maybe Lonriad had only said that because he doubted Searle would make friends. Searle hadn't thought he would either. "Maybe you could come and meet her?"

"One day, perhaps. But for now, I believe I'll give her and the baby their peace. The first few months are critical to the mother-child bond."

"Oh."

"But it seems a shame to cut short a perfectly fine trip, especially with this lovely whether in these parts. Perhaps we should stop at the bakery in the village?" The lady smiled. Her face was sweeter than anything the baker could muster up. "My treat."

Searle beamed. "I'd like that."

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