“No,” Lorana said. “And as you’ve promised to help me, I’ll ask that you—both of you—say nothing of this to Kindan.” She met Fiona’s eyes. “He’s paid enough already.”

“Very well,” Fiona said. She chewed her lip thoughtfully before finding the courage to ask, “Does he know? About the child?”

Lorana shook her head. “It’s far too early for anyone to know.”

“Except Bekka,” Terin corrected with a giggle.

“You do seem to surround yourself with the most amazing people,” Lorana told Fiona.

“Just lucky,” Fiona said with a shrug.

“Luck?” Lorana said. “Or something more?”

Fiona shrugged again. “Whatever it is, I’m grateful for my friends.” She looked toward the Records Room. “We’d best join them unless you want Kindan to ask why we’ve been here so long.”

“What should I do about this?” Lorana asked, gesturing to the brooch.

Fiona thought quickly and pulled out her brooch, passing it to Lorana. “Here, wear this.”

“It looks just like Kindan’s!” Lorana exclaimed as she examined it.

“Which is why I think there must have been a mistake,” Fiona said. She felt Lorana’s reluctance and told her firmly, “Look, if you don’t wear it, Kindan will wonder.”

With a sigh Lorana took the harp brooch and attached it. “I don’t like lying to him.”

“You’re not lying,” Fiona assured her. “You’re wearing a brooch.”

“And if he asks about yours?”

“I’ll tell him it’s none of his business,” Fiona said waspishly. She shook her head and gave Lorana an apologetic look. “I’m sorry, but I’ll handle it.”

“You probably will,” Lorana said. She grinned, then, and gestured for Fiona to lead the way. “Just as you’ll figure out what to tell him about the note.”

“Oh, that’s easy!” Terin piped up. “Just tell him that it said that you’d pay a dragon gold to save Pern.”

Lorana and Fiona turned back to face her, eyebrows raised.

“Well, it’s not a lie, is it?” Terin said.

Fortunately, when they entered the Records Room they found all the others deep in concentration as they combed the older Records.

“They’re mostly either too new or too faded to be useful,” Kindan said as he irritably replaced a stack of musty Records, shaking his head. “The weather here is harder on paper than it is at Benden.”

“Igen had clean Records,” Fiona said.

“Perhaps we should go there?” H’nez said.

“That might be a good idea,” Kindan said, his eyes slipping toward Fiona before returning quickly to the Records.

“But I’ve got some numbers to go by …” His words trailed off as he grimaced over a slate filled with numbers and terse lettering. He found another slate, glanced at its contents, and absently wiped it clean before transferring a cluster of numbers to it.