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firelight flickeringover the well-padded sofa and chairs and several branches of candles illuminating an embroidery frame that must belong to the baroness. Lady Kathryn appeared to have been hemming handkerchiefs, and I pitied whoever had to use them.
    â€œSorry,” she said breathlessly, pushing up the gold-rimmed spectacles that had slipped down her nose. “But if someone tells Father you’re here, we won’t have time to talk. What under two moons does Michael think he’s doing ?”
    Her straight, mousy hair was drifting free from its pins. In the manner of adolescents in the stringy stage, she seemed to have grown taller in the few months since I’d last seen her. But she hadn’t changed in any other way, and her candor demanded an honest answer.
    â€œHe thinks he’s doing the honorable thing,” I replied. “But it isn’t only that—this is his way of getting out of the second half of your father’s conditions.” For the terms of Michael’s redemption had been not only that he must bring Lady Ceciel back, but that once he’d done so he must abandon knight errantry and take up the sensible career the baron had chosen for him. There were times when I felt some sympathy for the baron’s point of view, but this wasn’t one of them.
    â€œBeing Rupert’s steward? He’d rather be unredeemed ?That’s insane! Rupert’s an idiot, but he’s not that bad. Of course, Michael’s an idiot, too. Master Fisk, what are we going to do?”
    â€œNot a thing, unless you can get your father to change his mind. And what under two moons does he think he’s doing? Once this is done, it can’t be undone. Ever.”
    â€œActually, it can.” She turned and paced restlessly, up and down the carpet. “I looked it up when I realized what might happen. The High Liege can declare a debt redeemed. They’ve even got some way to remove the tattoos. But the book I read said it had been done only four times since the first High Liege put an end to the great wars, and not at all in the last century, so ’twould be a lot better if we could stop if from happening in the first place.”
    â€œTell your father that.” I sat down and made myself comfortable. This was going to take a while.
    â€œI tried! Even Mother tried! She talked about the disgrace to the family, and Rosamund cried at him. But he still thinks he can force Michael to do what he wants. He was furious when he heard you were coming back without that Ceciel woman. He thinks if Michael is unredeemed, no one will hire him except Rupert, so he’ll have no choice but to come home and do what he’s told or starve!” As she spun to pace backtoward me, her skirts caught the bundle of handkerchiefs and knocked them to the floor. “Then Rupert spoke up, which was quite brave because he never argues with Father. He said if Michael didn’t want to be a steward, then he didn’t want to hire him. But Father said that being unredeemed wouldn’t matter if Michael were home where everyone knows him, and that he’d be better off even unredeemed than wandering the countryside getting into lunatic scrapes, and that once he grew up and settled into the job, he’d be all right.” She was breathless by the time she finished, and her eyes searched my face intently. Looking for hope, I suppose.
    I rose and picked up the handkerchiefs. “The baron doesn’t know his son very well, does he?”
    Kathryn blinked hard, but didn’t cry. “He’s stubborn. And he really believes what he’s doing is right.”
    â€œWhich one of them?”
    That made her smile, though it looked strained. “Mother and Father are dining with Lord Dorian—smoothing him down, Mother says. He’s furious, too, but that’s because of some stupid tax thing. Master Fisk, could you talk to Michael? Father’s going to see him