Paul watched the hand maiden escort Sophia away with haste, unable not to smile at the obvious desire to eliminate competition for the young Duke-to-be's attention.  Olivia explained herself, pointing out, [color=tan]"My father has forbade me to mingle with the townsfolk and my being here is without his knowledge..."[/color]

"And without his protection," Paul pointed out with a bit of fatherly tone in his voice, despite never having become one ... yet.  He could have continued with his light chastising of her taking such risks, but instead only said, "I'm sure he would be concerned."

She chuckled, her cheeks flushing, as she confessed, [color=tan]"I wanted to welcome you back and was impatient to wait for you to walk through the doors of the castle."[/color]

"Yes, well ... there's that."  The response to her confession was ... [i]vague[/i] in its meaning, to say the least.  What was Paul going to say to her: [i]I'm afraid your father may put a knife in my back should I enter my on home too soon?[/i]  Instead he lied, "I arrived in Westrock suddenly, without notice.  I was giving the Lord Regent some time ... to ... to form a proper welcome for me.  He is a Noble ... and a noble [i]gentle-[/i]man ... so, I am sure he would want the time and opportunity to do things right."

[i]Like get his assassins all in a row,[/i] he mused quietly while smiling to Olivia then glancing off in the direction of the now out of view Sophia.  He thought, [i]I wonder if she hides her knife on the inside ... or the outside of her thigh?[/i]  Then his lips spread a bit more as he thought, [i]And if she hadn't been hustled out of her by the hand maiden, would she have wanted to show me that thigh tonight?[/i]  Paul was sure that the brunette would have been more than willing to reveal some flesh this first meeting, but turning his full attention back to Olivia, he inquired, "Tell me, Lady Olivia.  How is your mother ... my sister?  I received a few letters from Mary shortly after my departure from Westrock, but..."

His words slipped away as he diverted his gaze and recalled the reason for heading east -- finding his absent father and eldest brother -- as well as his failure in doing either.  He looked back to Olivia and feigned a pleasant smile, asking, "Is she well?"