Deek brought over the next batch of wash, which was of mingled saffrons, tawnys and bright yellows, and dumped it in the cauldron. Lyle got up and took the stick from Skif without being prompted and began energetically thrusting the floating fabric under the water.

“Ye kin hev two eggs, boy, an’ then Deek’ll get ye ’thin sight uv Hollybush,” Bazie declared. “Eat ’em on th’ way.”

“Yessir!” Skif said, overjoyed, mouth watering at the idea of having two whole boiled eggs for himself. He picked a pair out of the bowl, tucking them in a pocket, and followed Deek out the door and up the rickety staircase.

Once down on the street he and Deek strolled along together like a pair of old friends, Deek putting in a laconic comment now and again, while Skif nibbled at his eggs, making them last. He’d had boiled eggs before this—they were a regular item at Lord Orthallen’s table—but not so often that he didn’t savor every tiny bite. Once Deek darted over to a vendor’s wagon and came back with a pair of buns, paying for them (somewhat to Skif’s surprise) and handing one to his new “mate.”

“Why didn’ ye nobble ’em?” he asked in a whisper.

Deek frowned. “Ye don’ mess yer nest,” he admonished. “Tha’s Bazie’s first rule. Ye don’ take nuthin’ from neighbors. Tha’ way, they don’ know what we does, an’ ’f hue-an’-cry goes up, they ain’t gonna he’p wi’ lookin’ fer us.”

Well, that made sense. It had never occurred to Skif that if your neighbors knew you were a thief, you’d be the first one they looked for if something went missing. He ate his bun thoughtfully, as Deek pointed out landmarks he could use to find his way back tomorrow.

“I got lessons,” Skif pointed out reluctantly, and Deek laughed.

“No worries,” the boy replied. “Bazie won’ be ’wake ’till midday. Ye cum then. Look—ye know this street?”

Skif looked closer at the street they had just turned onto, and realized that he did—he had just never come at it from this direction before. “Aye,” he told Deek, “Hollybush be down there—” and pointed.

“G’wan—” Deek gave him a little push. “See ye midday.”

The other boy turned on his heel and trotted back through the gloom of dusk along the way they’d come, and in a moment Skif couldn’t make him out anymore.

With a sigh and a bowed head, he trudged toward his uncle’s tavern and the cold welcome that awaited him. But, at least, tonight he had something to look forward to on the morrow.

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