The Manor looked very different this morning; there were men crawling all over the roof now; three Master Thatchers and their helpers made quite a crowd. The entire end had been rethatched, and there were three separate crews of men working—one stripping the old thatch, one replacing the lathes that underlay it, and one laying new thatch. They would certainly be done by the end of the month and long before the autumn rains. The new thatch, gleaming golden in the sun, made the old, gray, disintegrating thatch look even sadder than it had when she’d first seen it.

Hob was out in the front of the building, helping the thatchers by tying a rope to each bundle of new thatch so they could haul it up, when he turned and spotted them. He ran into the house and came back out with Tobin in tow.

So the whole family is still here, Abi thought with relief, he wasn’t just a treasure hunter.

“’Ere naow—” Tobin began, but warned by Abi, Kat was prepared for him.

“I am Princess Katiana,” she said, in a voice that reminded Abi strongly of her father’s Command Voice. “I am here to see Lady Asterleigh.”

That literally staggered Tobin, who stepped back a couple of paces. Then he began bowing awkwardly—probably the presence of two Guards as well as Kat’s Companion was enough to keep him from questioning her identity, “Aye, ’Ighness,” he croaked. “Right this way, Majesty.”

Abi tried not to giggle.

At least Tobin led them in the front door into the dining hall, where Sussena was seated in her chair, working on what looked like a new gown of brand new fabric—a nice, thick brown wool. She smiled at Abi in recognition, but she looked bewildered at Kat, who was dressed in very fine Dress Grays. Now Abi stepped in.

“Lady Sussena, this is Princess Katiana. She comes from the King with an offer for you.”

Sussena dropped the gown and it slid to the floor, where Lori retrieved it and backed out of the way, clearly not sure of what else to do.

Kat stepped forward, reaching into a belt pocket and removing a folded map that was an expanded view of all the farms around and including Asterleigh Manor, as up-to-date as she could manage on such short notice. Abi fetched a small table from beside the hearth and Kat spread the map out on it and detailed her proposition. At this point, she’d had a couple of days to elaborate on it with the help of the Guard Herdmaster, so she proceeded with confidence.