The first drops of rain were spattering the stony trail when they reached the first of the hamlet’s half-dozen squalid and ramshackle buildings. It had once been a travellers’ inn, complete with stables and a low-walled compound for merchant carts, but was now unoccupied and partially dismantled, the wood and dressed stone of the kitchen wall scavenged, leaving the interior exposed to the elements. High grasses and herbs rose amidst the brick ovens.

Three small buildings lay just beyond the abandoned inn. Smithy and tack stall, and a tithe-collector’s office and residence. All lifeless. The only structure showing evidence of upkeep was on the other side of the shallow ford. High-walled – the stones revealing disparate provenance – and gated with wooden doors beneath an arch, all that was visible of the structure within was a pyramidal peak scaled in polished copper.

‘I’d guess that to be a temple,’ Toc muttered, standing in the centre of the hamlet’s lone street, his eye narrowed on the building on the other side of the stream.

‘Indeed,’ Lady Envy replied. ‘And those within are aware of us.’

He shot her a glance. ‘How aware?’

She shrugged. ‘We are strangers from Lamatath – a priest within has the power to quest, but he’s easily led. You forget—’ She smiled. ‘I have had generations in which to perfect my innocuous persona.’

Innocuous? Hood’s breath, woman, have you got that wrong!

‘I already have the priest in hand, my dear, all unsuspecting, of course. Indeed, I believe if we ask they will grant us accommodation. Follow me.’

He stumbled after her. ‘Accommodation? Have you lost your mind, Lady?’

‘Hush, young man. I am feeling amicable at the moment – you wouldn’t want to see me cross, would you?’

‘No. Absolutely not. Still, Lady Envy, this is a risk we—’

‘Nonsense! You must learn to have faith in me, Toc the Younger.’ She reached out, curled an arm about his lower back and pulled him close. ‘Walk with me, dearest. There, isn’t this nice? The brushing contact of our hips, the sudden familiarity that sends the heart racing. The dampness of the rain, matching—’

‘Yes, yes, Lady! Please, no more details, else my walking prove most awkward.’

She laughed. ‘I believe I have finally succeeded in charming you, my love. And now I wonder, upon what path shall I lead you? So many choices! How exciting. Tell me, do you think me cruel, Toc the Younger?’

He kept his gaze on the temple.

They stepped into the cool water of the stream, the flow swirling around their ankles but no higher.

‘Yes,’ he replied at length.

‘I can be. In fact, I usually am. I suspected you always knew. I sympathize with your desire to resist, you know. What lies ahead, do you think?’

‘I don’t know. Well, here we are. Do we knock?’

Lady Envy sighed. ‘I hear the patter of feet.’