Rhazii went back to frowning and slid his hands in his pockets. "Yeah," he answered, avoiding eye contact. "What of it?"

[hr]
"I agree," Lunise said. She put her brush back and took out a small black stick, carefully tracing black around her eyes. "I doubt I could ask the count for a handmaiden to keep me warm, but...if any of them change their minds in the middle of the night, I would welcome them to stay."

Lunise did not respond to Meesei's reassurance of their privacy. Whether she was practising, paranoid, or simply being playful, there was no telling.