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And still none would make eye contact with hfare,up the distance to my apartment at the far end of the Rim At the base of my tree, I stared at the balcony andtowith the air currents of a person passing close by thee of thethe periuards were posted No surprises waited for me

It looked like Fern was serious

I climbed up to my apartment and slipped in the doorway She hadn’t lit any candles, the di sun the only illu her hands over theain Every few o to the , and carefully peek out How had she ?

I didn’t move from the shadow I stood in "What do you want, Fern?"

She spun froot your letter"

With a speed that hadher ar me to her Had it been anyone but Fern and I would have been pulling my spear; she was a total powder puff

Draped overher body "Oh, Lark, you have to help me Your father said I should come to you"

I pried her off me and helped her sit in my favorite chair The overstuffed leather see the sense you were being held She burrowed into it and I flipped a soft blanket over her tre shoulders, despite the fact that it wasn’t really cold out The suhts were still warm; autumn hadn’t made its presence known yet

"What do you need help with?" And why the hell would my father send his mistress to me for help in the first place? The second question I kept to , she twisted her hands in her lap "So to kill uess who she meant "Cassava"

"How did you know?"

I snorted "Are you serious? You’re my father’s mistress, and while we all know that’s acceptable, and even encouraged in the other families, Cassava doesn’t play ith others Does she?"

Fern shook her head, long looping brown curls dancing over her tightly corseted breasts "No, she doesn’t play ith others" She gave a soft laugh "But there isI didn’t tell your father I wasafraid of ould happen"

A wave of nausea rolled over ulped "Can I have a drink please?"