she'd lived, she also had to be good at coming through danger. And she might find herself in danger if she stayed here, too. 'The imperials are liable to be coming through this place in a few days,' he warned.
'I'm not afraid of them,' Elise answered. 'I have kin south of the High Kirs, too, you know.'
'So you do,' Gerin said. 'If they happen to feel like it, I suppose the imperials could give you an escort to the country south of the mountains-maybe even down to the City of Elabon.'
His voice held a sardonic bite. Elise, though, chose to take him seriously. 'Maybe they would,' she said. 'Why shouldn't they? I'm kin to nobles close to the Emperor.'
Nobles close to the man who had been the Emperor, Gerin thought. How they stand with Crebbig I is anyone's guess. How glad they'll be to see you is anyone's guess, too. They weren't very glad when you came calling on them before the werenight.
He didn't get the chance to say any of those things. Before he could, Elise went on, 'And then I'd be living in the capital of the Elabonian Empire and you'd be stuck here in the northlands. How would you like that?'
She was gloating, loving the idea. She knew how he'd longed for the life of the City of Elabon when he'd been together with her. He still longed for it. But the longing wasn't a vital part of him any more, even if it did stir in his heart now and again. Like her, it had become a piece of his past, and he was satisfied to leave it so.
He said, 'I've spent most of the time since you left me trying to make the northlands into the sort of place where I might want to live. Up around Fox Keep, I haven't done too badly. I'm happy enough to stay where I am. If you'd sooner go down to the City of Elabon, go ahead.'
Elise glared at him. That wasn't the answer he was supposed to give, nor the way he was supposed to respond. He was supposed to get angry, to shout and act jealous. Elise didn't quite know what to do when he failed to perform as expected.
He got to his feet. 'I'm going to go. If you like, I will send a messenger up to Duren. I owe you so much, at least. If you want me to, perhaps you'd better come along with me.' He didn't like that, not even a little, but saw no other choice. 'The gods only know what sort of shape this village will be in after the imperials come through here.'
'The only woman in among your army?' she said coldly. 'No, thank you. No, indeed.'
'You wouldn't be the only woman,' the Fox answered. 'Van's daughter Maeva is along, riding a horse under Rihwin's command.'
That startled Elise. She could fight; Gerin knew as much. She'd never dreamt of making a life of soldiering, though. After a moment, her eyes went hard again. 'No, thank you,' she repeated. 'I'd sooner take my chances with the Elabonian Empire.'
'Have it your way,' Gerin said. 'You were always bound and determined to do that anyhow, weren't you?'
'Me?' Elise exclaimed. 'What about you?'
'You know what the trouble is?' the Fox said sadly. 'The trouble is, we're both right. That's probably one of the things that helped split us apart.'
Elise shook her head. 'Don't blame me for that. You did it.'
'However you like.' Gerin sighed. 'Goodbye, Elise. I don't wish you ill. If you're still here after we drive the imperials out of the northlands, think again about finding out whether Duren wants to see you.'
'Maybe I'll ask the imperials to take me up to his holding-my holding,' she said. 'They're going forward. You're not.'
His face froze. 'Goodbye, Elise,' he said again, and left the tavern. At the edge of the village, he looked back over his shoulder. She was not standing in the doorway, watching him go. He hadn't really expected she would be.
**
'Captain, why in the five hells aren't you getting drunk?' Van demanded. 'Something horrible like that happened to me, I wouldn't be able to turn both eyes in the same direction for the next three, four days.'
'When I first set eyes on her, I thought that was just what I was going to do,' the Fox answered. 'But do you know what? It's been so long, she's not important enough to me for me to want to do that.'
Van's eyes got wide. 'That may be the saddest thing anybody ever said.'
Gerin thought about it. 'I don't know. Not getting over her in all this time would be worse, don't you think?'
'She's… not much like Mother, is she?' Dagref spoke very slowly, picking his words with obvious care. He didn't want to offend the Fox, who had, after all, fathered his half-brother on Elise, but he also didn't want to speak well of her. He balanced the one and the other better than most youths his age could have done.
Gerin considered the question as carefully as Dagref had asked it. 'Some ways yes, some ways no,' he replied at last. 'She's a very bright woman, the same as your mother is. But I don't think Elise is ever happy with what she has. If it's not perfect, it's not good enough for her.'
'That's foolish,' Dagref said.
Van guffawed. 'This from the lad who, if you tell a dirty story twice and say the whore was awkward the first time and then that she was clumsy the next, will call you on the difference then and there.'
Dagref had the grace to blush, or perhaps the embers got a little more ruddy. He said, 'Actually, I think you called her stumblefooted the first time I heard that story, didn't you?'
'Stumblefooted? I never-' Van broke off and glared at Dagref. ' You're having me on. Do you know what I do to people who try having me on?'
'Something dreadful and appalling, or you wouldn't be telling me about it,' Dagref returned, unabashed.
'What are we going to do about him, Fox?' Van said.
'To the five hells with me if I know,' Gerin answered. 'The way I look at it, it's the world's lookout as much as Dagref's.'
'The way I look at it, you're right,' Van said.
Dagref didn't rise to that, as he might have a couple of years before. Nor did he let himself be diverted, asking, 'If she's different from my mother, why did you marry her?'
'It seemed like a good idea at the time,' the Fox replied. Dagref folded his arms across his chest, not about to let an answer like that be fobbed off on him. It was a pose Gerin had assumed many times with larcenous peasants, stubborn nobles, and his own children. Having it aimed at him made him chuckle in spite of everything. He said, 'You can't always know ahead of time how you'll get along with somebody. You can't always know ahead of time if you'll get along with somebody.'
'That's so,' Van agreed. 'Take a look at Fand and me.'
'Oh, nonsense,' Gerin said, glad to be talking about someone else' s marriage instead of his own. 'You knew perfectly well that you and Fand didn't get along.'
'Aye, true enough.' The outlander's grin was on the sheepish side. 'But we make a sport of fighting, if you know what I mean. Most of the time, we make a sport of fighting, I should say. Some of it, now, some of it turns real.'
'I don't understand.' Dagref turned to Gerin. 'Why would you want to fight with someone you love, someone you're living with?'
'Why are you asking me?' the Fox said. 'I don't want to do that. He does.' He pointed at Van. 'It's the first time I've ever heard him say so out loud, though.'
'To the crows with you.' Van spoke without much rancor. 'You want so much peace and quiet, Fox, you want life to be dull all the bloody time.'
'No.' Gerin shook his head; this was an old argument, and one in which he could take part without bruising. 'I just don't want life to blow up in my face, the way a pot of bean stew will if you leave it in the fire with the lid on too tight for too long.'
'Sometimes life does blow up in your face, though,' Dagref said, a truth as self-evident as any at the moment. 'What are you going to do about… this woman?' Again, he took a little thought to find the phrase he wanted.
'Nothing,' Gerin replied, which made both Dagref and Van stare at him. He went on, 'I won't send her up to
