“Did Christ say you should?” It was an honest question. Hæra couldn’t remember anything about that either.

Honest or not, it seemed to strike Madeleine as funny, since she laughed and shook her head. “I guess he didn’t. So much for that, then. Goodbye.” She turned to go.

“Will you return?” Hæra blurted.

Madeleine glanced back, seeming surprised by the question too. “Jonathan’s invited me back tomorrow. He said he’ll give me a tour of the farm.”

“And—and you’ll come?”

“I think so. I want to talk to him more about what happened when he’s not making excuses for your rudeness.”

Hæra could manage only a sputtering sound.

“There won’t be any need for our paths to cross again, I think,” Madeleine continued. “That’ll be for the best. For various reasons.”

Various reasons? The only one she’d named was Hæra’s rudeness which, admittedly, was justified. “What are the other reasons?” Hæra demanded. If Madeleine thought she could so easily walk away after all this time, she was mistaken.

Madeleine looked taken aback. She turned pink. “Um…well…none. Never mind that.”

“I won’t be rude again,” Hæra assured her. “And if Christ tells you to ask for an apology, I’ll give you one.”

Madeleine opened her mouth. Closed it again. She looked what Jonathan called “gobsmacked,” though Hæra had no idea why that should be. Of course it was only right to offer an apology after she’d been so wrong in her assumptions.

Since Madeleine seemed to have nothing to say, Hæra added, “I assume that settles things. I’ll see you tomorrow. You’ll arrive in the morning?”

“I…uh…” Madeleine still looked thrown, for some reason. “I don’t know? I’d like to go on a walk on the beach first. Where it happened. Just to see⁠—”

Yet again, Hæra’s human body acted beyond her control.

Her hands went around Madeleine’s biceps. They tugged Madeleine close to her body, almost as close as they’d been on the shore that night, except Hæra was wearing clothes this time. Her heart raced, and her lips curled back, baring her teeth.

Madeleine gasped, “What⁠—”

“The shore is dangerous,” Hæra snarled. “The waters are treacherous. There are things in there you can’t imagine.” Asgall, Beathag, teeth and tails… “Stay away!”

“Good Lord!” Madeleine’s hands were curled against Hæra’s chest, but she wasn’t pushing away. Her face was much pinker now. “What’s the matter with you? Of course I wouldn’t go swimming. It’s not dangerous just to walk on the beach!”

“No?” Hæra pulled her in even more. “What happened the last time you did?”