Before I answered, East Keep sat down behind Covington, completing the line. “We do a braiding line every week. We all have to braid someone’s hair, and we each get our own hair styled. This way, it’s easier on all of us. Plus, before each session, we catch up on all the latest gossip.” She clapped her hands. “That’s the best part.”

“Not everyone likes that part, East Keep,” Hannibal said. “Some of us would do quite fine without it.”

“Well, we relish news—right, girls?” East Keep grinned at the twins.

They nodded agreeably.

Covington smiled, though I saw her mind was elsewhere.

“Arika, you’ll learn quickly which of us is fun and exciting, and which of us is a lame nut,” East Keep said. She laughed along with the twins, then hurried over to kiss Hannibal’s cheek. “Oh, you know I’m just teasing, don’t you, Hanni?”

Hannibal grinned. “I suppose.”

“Good!” She clapped her hands. “Now, who has something to share?”

The twins began talking over each other in their effort to tell the same story.

I listened with only half an ear. I’d wondered how Covington would get East Keep to forgive me, but, after only a few minutes, the answer was clear. East Keep was as changeable as the twins were affable. From anger to teasing to laughter and back again—all in the same minute.

“Now, has anyone heard anything more about the rebellion at Point Landing?” East Keep said, turning the talk to more serious matters.

My ears perked up.

“Well, we know it’s the third this year,” Hannibal said. “One at Hannibal House, one at Bankhead, and now one at Point Landing. And we know that Record Keepers were murdered, which brings the total to seven. I also heard rumors about a fire,” Hannibal added, her face tense with apprehension.

“I heard the same rumors,” Covington said. She sat forward, blowing her nose in a handkerchief. “Do you know if the fire damaged the crops? Will it affect the quota?”

“I don’t know,” Hannibal said, apologetically.

Moved by their anxiety, I spoke up. “I know something about Point Landing.”

They both turned to me, eyes wide.

“I can’t tell how I know, but the fire was in the village. The outfield crops weren’t damaged.”

Covington sighed. “That’s good, at least. If it had reached the outfield, I’m afraid the Assembly would have to be informed—which would be really bad news.”

I bit my lip. “Not necessarily. I’m not saying the Assembly should get involved. But the Senators do have power and there may be some truth to the Rebels’ complaints, at least when it comes to the poor condition of the village.”

“No, really!?” East Keep sounded more scandalized than disappointed.

The twins gasped.