She drew a deep breath. So much emotion, and she had to move away from it for both their sakes. “Good. Then I can stop lecturing you on things you know already and tell you that Korgan and I have been working hard today. Things aren’t going quite as badly on our end as they were for you. We’re close to solving the problem with Director Lakewood, and Korgan turned his attention to Zeus and your other horses…”

*  *  *

Alisa was still leaning back against the stones bordering the fireplace an hour later, drinking another cup of tea, when Korgan came back into the room. “You were a long time.”

“I went back to the council house to negotiate that damn steam room for the women of the village.”

She blinked. “What? Tonight?”

He dropped down in a chair. “It was bothering you. I asked them to get the members back in session because I had an offer. They could smell the profit and came running back.”

“To give the women access to their steam room?”

“Well, not the council’s steam room. There was that tradition thing I’d have had to battle. So I donated the money and labor to have a steam house of their own built for the women of the village.” He grinned. “So that they’d be able to form traditions of their own that might include the right not to allow any male chauvinists to come near their steam house, which will have all the bells and whistles.”

She started to laugh. “Outrageous.”

“I thought that bit would please you.”

“It does. But what about diplomacy?”

“The road to diplomacy is often paved in gold. I persuaded them that it would keep their women happy and add value and prestige to their village.” He paused. “Isn’t that what you wanted to happen?”

She nodded slowly. “I hadn’t thought it out, but that’s what I wanted.”

“Good. Then we’re finished with it. They’re happy, you’re happy. You won’t make any more comments about how I’m gleaming.”

“I don’t promise that.” She took a sip of her tea. “But you went to extravagant lengths to make sure everyone was happy. Thank you.”

“Not so extravagant. A steam house is not the Taj Mahal.”

“But it will be to those village women. It would have been to me when I was a kid.”

“Then you should be the one to design it to get the proper bells-and-whistles element.”

“I might do that. I’ll ask Sasha to help. She’d think it was fun.” She grimaced. “But that’s down the road. She called tonight: Reardon is at Jubaldar, but that’s all she knows. Except that it’s going to be more difficult for Gilroy to contact her.”

“She’s upset?”