He leaned over and touched his lips to a red dent in her neck where one of the malice scabs had finally flaked off. “Not for nothing, Spark.”

“Yeah, but they don’t know much about malices, either.”

“So,” he said slowly, as if feeling his way, “if your Sunny has ’fessed up, you will have one situation, and if he hasn’t, you’ll have another.”

“He’s not my Sunny,” Fawn said grumpily. “We were both real clear on that.”

“Hm. Well, if you don’t tell your folks why you really left, you’ll have to make up some lie. This creates a tension and darkness in your ground that weakens a person, in my experience. I really don’t see why you feel any need to protect Sunny. Seems to me he benefits more from you keeping this secret than you do.”

Fawn’s eyebrows rose. “The shame of the thing goes on the girl. Used goods, they call you. You can’t get another suitor with good land, if word gets around you’re no virgin. Though…I think a lot of girls do anyhow, so you really have to wonder.”

“Farmers, eh.” Dag pursed his lips. “Does the same apply to widows, then? Real ones, not grass ones.”

Fawn colored at this reminder, though she had to smile a little. “Oh, no. Widows are a whole different matter. Widows, now…well, nobody can do as they please, really, there might be children, there might be no money, but widows hold their heads up fine and make their own way. Better if they’re not poor, to be sure.”

“So, ah…do you hanker after a suitor with good land, Spark?”

She sat up, startled. “Of course not! I want you.”

He cocked an eyebrow at her. “So why are you worrying about this, again? Habit?”

“No!” She hesitated; her heart and voice fell. “I suppose…I thought we were a midsummer dream. I just keep trying real hard not to wake up. Stupid, I guess. Somewhere, sometime…someone will come along who won’t let me keep you. Not for always.”

He looked away, through the deep shade of the walnut trees and down the side road where dust from the recent passage of a pony cart still hung golden in the westering sun. “However difficult your family is, mine is going to be worse, and I expect to stand up to them. I won’t lie, Spark; there are things that can take me from you, things I can’t control. Death is always one.” He paused. “Can’t think of anything else right at the moment, though.”

She gave a short, shaken nod, turning her face into his shoulder till she got her breath back.

He sighed. “Well, what you’ll say to your people is not my choice. It’s yours. But my recommendation is to tell as much truth as you can, save for the knife priming.”