Da made me wash my face and wet down my hair. Then Baine mussed it up with both her hands. She said the summer breeze would do the rest.

She gave me a saucy wink. "Not bad when you're cleaned up, laddie. You haven't got a shred of your Da's looks!"

Nion hooted. He made a brave attempt to stand tall but his crookback only lets him stand so high. He tried to make up for it by throwing his head to one side and shifting his shoulders. Looking at me sideways, he slapped my back - a straight, strong back - and growled.

"You're the only one the innkeep wouldn't know, m'boy! She's seen the rest of us, or else she might know us by word of mouth. Leave yer horse here now and go on foot. A good quick walk will get just enough sweat on ye to look like ya been travelin'. Don't forget to give her a little smile but don't smile like yer wanna drag 'er into the woods, see? Be sure to mention you travel alone! Now then, here's the questions to ask -"

He goes over them and over them again to be sure I don't forget a one.

By the middle of morning, I'm ready to go to the Inn. Down the road I go.

It looks like a pleasant enough place, tidy thatch and the path swept clean. I steal around back first to see if there's any signs of menfolk. Keu said she mentioned some brothers when he was there before, and the man who stole his slave away was a big man with a fancy sword. I peek into the stables and sneak up to the back door to listen for men's voices. All I hear is a woman singing soft and sweet and lazy, like she's only singing to herself. A song about men gone off to tend the stock in the fields.

Good! Grinning like a fox, I repeat the important questions to myself once more, just to be sure. Then I go back to the front door and saunter into the Inn.

The innkeeper looks up from what she's doing. Right away, I forget everything except that her blue eyes are bright as two summer skies. Her red hair is tied up but a few curls have come loose to hang damp around her face. When she smiles at me, I can't think of what I'm supposed to say. All I can do is listen to the sound of her lilting voice. It was that voice I heard singing.

She brings me ale and a bowl of stew with a hunk of that fresh baked bread. I realize my mouth is hanging open. Da warned me not to stare. I snap my mouth shut and think of the questions I was meaning to ask.