He seemed to brood a moment, studying his own curled fists, then looked up at her with a smile. “So, are you bored?” he asked hopefully. “Would you be willing to play a round or two of choisin? Or teach me some more vocabulary words?”

She smiled and rose from the bed. “I’d be glad to,” she said. “Take your choice.”

*   *   *

The next two days were essentially a repeat of the first, except that Chay did not again call for Kit. She tried to persuade herself it only meant that he was busy, not that he had grown suspicious of her again, not that he was feeling too ill to see her. He had not forgotten them, that was certain. Delicious food was delivered to their door on a regular basis, as well as fresh clothing and, occasionally, flowers and other gifts. She had neglected to ask Chay about reading material for Nolan, so the next morning she asked a guard, and that night, a stack of novels arrived with the evening meal.

“I’m astonished,” Nolan said, browsing through the choices. “I really wasn’t expecting him to have anything, but these are classics.”

“Gifts from my father, I would guess,” Kit said, for she recognized titles that she had been encouraged to read. “My father always said cultural literacy is essential if you want to interact with another nation, and he would spend hours—days—telling Chay some arcane point of indigo history. But Chay may have read these on his own without my father’s encouragement. Chay knows five or six languages besides goldtongue, and he probably has sampled major literature in all of those languages. He is nothing if not informed.”

“Any of these you particularly like?” Nolan asked. “I haven’t read these since—since my schooldays back in-country.”

“A Wanderer’s Tale, by Lorella Tibet,” Kit said, smiling. “That was one of my favorites when I was growing up.”

“I don’t think I’ve read it. Heard of it, of course. Leesa and my sister each read it about a dozen times.”

“Well, it is sort of a young girl’s adventure book,” Kit conceded. “You might not like it.”

“But I might,” Nolan said. He settled onto the couch and gestured for Kit to sit across from him. She did, wondering what he planned now. He opened A Wanderer’s Tale, glanced down at the first page, and began reading aloud.