Tavi gently tilted her head up to look at him. “We do as we please,” he said calmly, “and dare anyone to disagree. We give our child all of our love and support, ignore the law where it could hurt him, and we challenge to the juris macto anyone who tries to do us harm over the issue. We do something for all the bastard children of the Realm, starting with our own.”

Kitai’s eyes flashed a brighter shade of green as something fierce kindled to life in them. “We can do this?”

“I don’t see why not,” Tavi said. “I’m going to be the First Lord, after all. Anyone who is going to turn against me will do it regardless of what excuse they use. Anyone who supports me will do so regardless of what order we did things in.”

Kitai frowned at him. “Chala,” she said quietly, “I do not care about other Alerans. I care about what you will think.”

He took her hands between hers, and said, “I am told that a Marat woman’s custom is to offer a potential mate a trial by contest before The One.”

She smiled slowly. “You’ve been asking about it?”

“The professor who gave me the assignment was most insistent,” he said drily. “I have drawn a few conclusions from this fact.”

“Yes?” Kitai asked.

“That since the woman chooses the contest, she has ample opportunity to reject her suitor. If she doesn’t care for him, she simply selects a contest at which he is unlikely to prevail. Say, a young woman of Horse doesn’t care for the attentions of a Wolf suitor, she challenges him to a horseback race.”

Kitai’s eyes danced, but her tone and expression were both serious. “The One witnesses the contest. The Marat most worthy prevails. This is known, Aleran.”

“Of course,” Tavi said. “I doubt that The One cares for his children to be forced to mate with those whom they do not desire.”

“Many young Marat males would disagree with you quite loudly. But in this, you are very nearly as wise as a Marat woman,” Kitai said solemnly. “Not quite. But very nearly.”

“I seem to recall a trial by contest between a certain beautiful young Marat woman and a foolish Aleran youth. It was quite a number of years ago, and the trial was held in the Wax Forest near the Calderon Valley. Dimly though I recall such an ancient time, I seem to remember that the young man was victorious.”

Kitai opened her mouth to reply hotly, then seemed to think better of it. She let out a rueful chuckle. “Only because the young woman willed it so.”

“How is that any different from any other young Marat woman who wishes to accept a young man as a mate?”

Kitai arched an eyebrow at him. “It...” She tilted her head. “It... is not.”