[i]Later that evening[/i]... 
[hr]
The feast had lasted a good few hours, the great fire that roared in the hearth in need of new kindling by the time the nobles had grown weary of their merrymaking. Galt had certainly engorged himself on food, still in stark disbelief that he needn't worry on food anymore, or money for that matter. He wasn't entirely certain why he had decided to offer to escort Silke home. Perhaps because she was the only one who was not the Duke and perhaps the King who enjoyed his presence without trying to gain anything from him. Galt also had to admit she caused almost as much of a stir at the dinner as he had, and it was not out of a lack of knowledge for her station. He found it confused and intrigued him all at once. 

Still, carnally his desires were either a nap or a good woman, and he didn't foresee either from his volunteering. Not that Silke was not a good woman, even if he had only known her a short time. But he felt he respected her a bit too much to be that forward, and he doubted she was interested either. On second thought, the nap seemed the most likely, and increasingly the more attractive prospect. Galt's stomach had not been this full since he was a small lad. 

Now, the two of them found themselves on two mares, cantering down the road on the misty evening. The heavy hooves clopped along the stone of the road, Silke slightly ahead of her 'escort' by virtue of the fact that Galt was not that good of a rider. True, it was how he had saved the Duke, but survival was a great motivator, he found. As it were, he was merely trying to keep his horse from bumping into Silke's steed. Galt cleared his throat to gather her attention. 

"We had a conversation earlier that I believe we were going to speak about," Galt asked, glad to be out of earshot from anyone else. He hoped she did not wish to stand on ceremony, but he was tired of it and he didn't think she would care. "About my ambitio-" His horse whinnied and galloped forward a bit, and he realized he had yanked on the reigns a bit too hard. So much for being smooth. He cleared his throat and hid what embarrassment he felt, luckily now just beside the lady on the road. 

"Er, my ambitions... But first I want to ask you what your interest in me is," He told her, eyeing her curiously. "If it was marriage, you'd bat your lashes and try any number of things. Not that I mind such things, but you wanted to speak to me of another matter. You can speak honestly. I might have been less than honest in my life, but I don't have a lot of friends in this life, and you're impressive in a few ways." Galt hoped he wasn't laying it on too thick. He had spent the afternoon regaling the Duke and King with stories, some lies, others not, and one was the story of the rescue. The King bought it well enough, Galt thought. The Duke did not care for the why or how, just that it had happened. 

As a survivor himself, Galt could appreciate that.