be. There was no question about her going to court to see what happened to Allestine, but the prospect of going alone had tied her stomach in knots. She never minded doing things by herself, but this time… Thank the Highest Aspect that Vallant had decided to go with her.
The rest of the meal was coldly silent, with Vallant and Rion deliberately ignoring each other. Right at the beginning Jovvi wondered if they were unobserved and actually wasting their time, but spreading her senses just a bit showed immediately that they weren’t. One of the male servants stood just out of sight near the kitchen, probably pretending to be on hand just in case one of them wanted something not on the buffet. But the eagerness with which he listened said he was there for another reason entirely, certainly so that he’d have what to report later. Luckily, though, there was no trace of his using Spirit magic.
Rion was the first to leave, which he did with a courtly bow to Jovvi while ignoring Vallant as though the second man were a piece of furniture. Vallant snorted again to show his opinion of that, but Rion ignored the reaction as well. As soon as he was gone, Vallant looked at Jovvi.
“We both know Mardimil was just bein’ foolish,” he said, actually sounding somewhat stuffy. “Women
need
a man to lean on, so I’ll be right there to supply the shoulder. When are we leavin’?”
“Right after breakfast,” Jovvi told him, doing her part by adding stiffness to her voice. If Vallant hadn’t winked again to show he wasn’t serious, she
would
have been good and insulted. As it was… “You really don’t need to bother going, you know. I can—”
“Now, now, not another word,” he interrupted, definitely sounding stuffy. “A true gentleman never finds somethin’ like this a bother, so we’ll say no more about it.”
Jovvi nearly giggled at the way Vallant rolled his eyes after saying that, knowing exactly how narrow-minded he sounded. Instead of laughing she simply sighed in exasperation, thereby making sure his playacting wasn’t wasted. She could always giggle later—
before
they got to court.
Vallant waited until she was finished eating, and then he escorted her out of the house. The coach she’d arranged for last night was just pulling up, so they waited for it to stop and then climbed in. Once they were settled and the coach was moving again, Jovvi eyed Vallant.
“I think you can tell me now what you and Rion were doing,” she said. “And in case you’re interested, there was a servant standing just out of sight, taking it all in.”
“Actually, I already knew that,” he replied with a grin. “It came to me that I can judge if any people are nearby by the amount of body water humans have. And Mardimil and I were doin’ what he and I and Coll agreed to do last night: make sure the testin’ authority has no reason to break us up. If they think we’re gettin’ too friendly, they just might do that.”
“You’re absolutely right!” Jovvi exclaimed. “I missed that, but happily you three didn’t. You and Rion will be arguing with Lorand next, I suppose?”
“Mardimil first and then me,” Vallant agreed with a nod. “At first we were goin’ to do it after the next group meetin’, but then we decided we might not have the time to wait. It’s gettin’ too close to the time they’ll be formin’ us into a Blendin’, and we’re hopin’ they won’t do any separatin’ afterward. If they think we can’t stand each other, they ought to leave us alone.”
“I certainly hope so,” Jovvi agreed fervently. “I’ll have to speak to Tamma as soon as we get back, to let her know what’s going on. After that I can blame her for the fact that Allestine was arrested, and she’ll know I’m not serious.”
“Coll and Mardimil are supposed to tell her while we’re gone,” Vallant said. “They’ll both try to get her alone, and at least one of them ought to succeed.”
His words stopped
The rest of the meal was coldly silent, with Vallant and Rion deliberately ignoring each other. Right at the beginning Jovvi wondered if they were unobserved and actually wasting their time, but spreading her senses just a bit showed immediately that they weren’t. One of the male servants stood just out of sight near the kitchen, probably pretending to be on hand just in case one of them wanted something not on the buffet. But the eagerness with which he listened said he was there for another reason entirely, certainly so that he’d have what to report later. Luckily, though, there was no trace of his using Spirit magic.
Rion was the first to leave, which he did with a courtly bow to Jovvi while ignoring Vallant as though the second man were a piece of furniture. Vallant snorted again to show his opinion of that, but Rion ignored the reaction as well. As soon as he was gone, Vallant looked at Jovvi.
“We both know Mardimil was just bein’ foolish,” he said, actually sounding somewhat stuffy. “Women
need
a man to lean on, so I’ll be right there to supply the shoulder. When are we leavin’?”
“Right after breakfast,” Jovvi told him, doing her part by adding stiffness to her voice. If Vallant hadn’t winked again to show he wasn’t serious, she
would
have been good and insulted. As it was… “You really don’t need to bother going, you know. I can—”
“Now, now, not another word,” he interrupted, definitely sounding stuffy. “A true gentleman never finds somethin’ like this a bother, so we’ll say no more about it.”
Jovvi nearly giggled at the way Vallant rolled his eyes after saying that, knowing exactly how narrow-minded he sounded. Instead of laughing she simply sighed in exasperation, thereby making sure his playacting wasn’t wasted. She could always giggle later—
before
they got to court.
Vallant waited until she was finished eating, and then he escorted her out of the house. The coach she’d arranged for last night was just pulling up, so they waited for it to stop and then climbed in. Once they were settled and the coach was moving again, Jovvi eyed Vallant.
“I think you can tell me now what you and Rion were doing,” she said. “And in case you’re interested, there was a servant standing just out of sight, taking it all in.”
“Actually, I already knew that,” he replied with a grin. “It came to me that I can judge if any people are nearby by the amount of body water humans have. And Mardimil and I were doin’ what he and I and Coll agreed to do last night: make sure the testin’ authority has no reason to break us up. If they think we’re gettin’ too friendly, they just might do that.”
“You’re absolutely right!” Jovvi exclaimed. “I missed that, but happily you three didn’t. You and Rion will be arguing with Lorand next, I suppose?”
“Mardimil first and then me,” Vallant agreed with a nod. “At first we were goin’ to do it after the next group meetin’, but then we decided we might not have the time to wait. It’s gettin’ too close to the time they’ll be formin’ us into a Blendin’, and we’re hopin’ they won’t do any separatin’ afterward. If they think we can’t stand each other, they ought to leave us alone.”
“I certainly hope so,” Jovvi agreed fervently. “I’ll have to speak to Tamma as soon as we get back, to let her know what’s going on. After that I can blame her for the fact that Allestine was arrested, and she’ll know I’m not serious.”
“Coll and Mardimil are supposed to tell her while we’re gone,” Vallant said. “They’ll both try to get her alone, and at least one of them ought to succeed.”
His words stopped
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