“In fact,” she replied with a touch of asperity as she handed it back to him, “Professora Alhamrai sent me a paper in which she detailed the manufacture and results of your experiments with ice lenses in detail.”

He slipped it back underneath his clothes. My hands twitched, wishing to follow its path along his chest. “It is still not my place to speak of it. I just want all of you to see that I am not withholding crucial information from you. Is Catherine not to join us for our meal?”

“We may all wish to say a few things to you before we invite Cat to join us,” said Kehinde.

“I certainly do,” remarked Bee with an ominous smile.

“Yes, I’m well aware of your—” Vai broke off to look heavenward, as if the Lord of All might grant him the patience and calm he so sorely lacked. He splayed his hands on the table to brace himself. After sucking in several short breaths he took in a deep breath, let it out, and addressed Bee directly. His tone was as taut as a strung wire. “I acted in an insupportable manner. In fact, I was an ass. May Catherine join us now?”

“You are impressively persistent, I’ll give you that,” said Brennan. “Rory, go and ask—”

“I’ve not yet said everything I mean to say,” interrupted Bee.

“Nor have I,” said Kehinde. “What Catherine chooses is up to her. But I have something to say to you, Magister. If I had not seen you this afternoon in a far more convivial light, I would have called you irredeemable. It was an illuminating decision by Rory to take you to the carpenters’ guild. You spoke well, and treated those humble men with respect. That gave me a different opinion of your character. You are a man of immense power and prestige. At your young age you are heir to one of the most powerful lineages in Europa. If you thereby feel this gives you the right, or perhaps more correctly the need, to treat others with contempt, then I believe you must examine your own self. And to speak so to a woman you claim to love… oh! When I was fifteen—”

Brennan got up to take a turn around the courtyard. Kehinde kept speaking, although her eyelids flickered as she forced herself not to watch him go.