page53 (1/2)

She lathered fragrant le steam rise off her skin After the incident with Aunt Stace, she’d given brothels little thought They were usually located in neighborhoods into which she rarely ventured, kept out of sight, really, and out of mind While brothels weren’t banned in most towns in Sacoridia, they weren’t exactly condoned, either, particularly by the ht” citizens of her aunts’ disposition

Some brothels purchased textiles directly froan they were only naers They were treated as any other custooods

And yet…she could never i away its ht man, one whom she loved, and one who returned that love, and e for currency She couldn’t even give herself over to the casual pairings so theerous and often solitary, and she couldn’t bla co very human needs In fact, she’d been tempted herself by more than one offer…

Still, while Karigan’s own urges were alive and well, they were overridden by her desire for a relationship of deep trust and respect, one that transcended baser needs She remembered how her h Kariny died when Karigan was young, she recalled the tenderness between her parents, the soft touches, the wordplay—even if she hadn’t understood it all back then—and the way they gazed at one another This lesson left an even more indelible impression upon her than Aunt Stace’s slap, and it was the standard by which sheless?

She sank beneath the water to wet her hair, and ree for the kind of love her parents had shared The way her life was going, however, she feared itshe was never destined to experience

When Karigan finished her bath, she found her uniform laid out for her, clean and dry, and she dressed Still exhausted fro other than to crawl back into bed, she needed to find out how Fergal fared through the night

She hurried down the corridor and found Rona at the bottoan a

“I hear Trudy looked after you during the night,” she said

“What? No, no She looked in Not after”

Rona chuckled “We do try to look after our guests Cetchu his fast in the kitchen You should join him”

“Cetchum?”

“Yes, dearie, the ferry master My husband”

Oh, so that explained why she ended up here Karigan entered the kitchen and found hi as regal and perfect as the previous evening She sipped on a brew that smelled like kauv

“Coan, dear,” Silva said, “and join us for breakfast”

Hesitantly, Karigan sat at the table across fro,” she said

Cetchuht better, sir”