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"You always had a gift for stating the obvious, lad" Byrne rose and discarded the shattered glass, pulling off his soaked tunic on his way to the corner basin, where he washed the sticky dregs of the wine froar as he tried to think of hoord his opinion "I cannae deny that Rob is the best candidate any more than I can hide my discomfort with his bid"

Cyprien’s brows rose "What unsettles you about it?"

"I told him the day after I spoke with you I dinnae knohy; maybe I craved him to say my decision ise" Byrne loosened the laces at the front of his shirt "That he instead leaped at the chance to rule the Realm himself troubled me Made ht choice?" Cyprien asked

"For the good of the h his scabbard and buckled it over his hips "You must choose as you will, Michael My opinion matters not Whoever replaces me will be your man, not mine"

A quick knock sounded at the cha, seigneur" She bowed to him "Your lady would appreciate your presence in your chambers She asked me to say that she needs your assistance with the hooks on her ball gown"

"She has not yet discarded it for faded denims and a Disney T-shirt? Incredible Byrne, I will see you at the reception My thanks, Jayr" Cyprien slanced at the wine-soaked tunic on the floor before turning to hihtly disappointed "All is well, h his thick hair She had washed it for hilected to brush it out "Will you do so with this owl’s nest, lass?" He picked up a stool and brought it over to the old e scowled at hirew another foot last night"

"It always grows thus during the waning moon" Jayr retrieved a comb, brush, and shears, and took a position behind his stool "It is too beautiful to shave off, my lord You would break the heart of every woman in the Realm"

"Our family priest disliked women, and made the first Bible story I memorized that of Samson and Delilah I proth I was so ada it while I slept" He stared at the reflection of his broad, tattooed face "I dinnae knohat you see, Jayr No one could call me a beauty"

"No, for you are too fierce and manly," Jayr said as she draped a hand towel over his wide shoulders "That is why God gifted you with this glorious les that a restless sleep had tied in his hair She then plied the shears, cautiously snipping away to restore his hair to its forth She stepped back to view the cut and then brushed the tri up the comb and the small ties she used to secure the ends of his braids

Jayr remained silent, but Byrne could alious interest and ti him, a rather feminine penchant for a seneschal, but he enjoyed the attention and always sat in front of the glass so that he could watch her work Had she not cut her hair so close to the scalp, he would have done the same for her

She had not alorn her hair shorn short, Byrne remembered The day she had saved hi as snares of ht silk His memories of that encounter were blurred, but he had the distinct iaze ?"

"No, ’tis cleverly done" He had never cared what she did, only that she did it "Couided her in front of him

Jayr e your boots, h her short, dark locks, lifting the for the memory of what he had done with it all those centuries before It seemed shorter now than it had earlier in the day "Why do you cut your hair so?"

"I do not… I mean, I have always kept it so"

"No, when you came to me you had hair down to your hips" As he sifted the dark strands through his fingertips they shiht "The first part of you that touched me was your hair, wasn’t it? I own"

"I owned nothingher expression "The nuns intended to shear ave me another reason to run away"

"I cannae criticize them, for they drove you to save me" Byrne slid his hand over the back of her neck to feel the fine, tiny hairs that grew there "It still feels like satin, only a fringe instead of a ribbon" He tilted her chin up "What happened to this defiant vanity, then?"

"It became besotted with another head of hair One far more beautiful than its own" Her hand lifted and adjusted one of the narrow braids near his teic" Byrne smiled and bent to breathe in her scent When she stiffened and tried to stand, he put his hands on her shoulders "Let your hair grow long again, Jayr, and I will braid it for you"

Confusion chased the dismay in her eyes "My lord, I cannot"

"Why?" He cupped her cheek with his hand "Do you still fear your vanity?"