Thoko had been right – the weather was very nice, Greg thought while they walked together side by side along the beach. He didn’t know what to say. He’d have liked to reach for Thoko’s hand.

This was the first time that it was just the two of them, ever since the day she had told Theo that he was her friend like the two of them were more than just friends. He wanted to ask if she had meant it – or rather, if she would like for it to be true. But he wasn’t sure if that was a good idea, after she had found out just yesterday that he had children with another woman.

Another Werewolf.

Did that make a difference? Thoko had said that she had expected something like that to happen with Fleur, and she had made it pretty clear that she hadn’t been happy about them together in the woods.

And even if what had happened between Morgulon and him on full moon didn’t make a difference to her – what kind of relationship could they even have?

He’d have liked to one day court a girl, ask her parents for permission to take her out on a walk along the river, bring her flowers and other gifts – the same way Gustave and all the other young men their age and social standing would probably start to do it about now.

But that wasn’t actually his life anymore, was it?

He was a little embarrassed to admit that he had no idea how people who weren’t either rich or noble went about a courtship. And werewolves?

Werewolves couldn’t get married at all.

He was almost certain that Thoko wouldn’t mind what he was. Or that he was a couple of years younger than her. And from everything he knew about Morgulon’s parents, he was almost certain that it would be safe for them to be together, too.

Would it bother her that he couldn’t make an honest woman of her?

“I can hear you over-thinking this,” Thoko interrupted him.

Greg paused in his steps. “Does that mean that you don’t want to talk about – us?”

Thoko stopped, too, smiling wryly. She looked out at the sea, then back towards him. After a moment, she said: “I like you a lot, Greg. I think you like me, too. It doesn’t have to be more complicated than that.”

She paused, head tilted back to look up to his face. When Greg didn’t say anything, she added: “Do you like me?”

Greg wasn’t sure if that was a serious question. He hoped it wasn't. If she still needed to ask that, maybe they weren’t ready for any kind of relationship yet.

Before he could make up his mind how he wanted to answer her question, Thoko continued: “I don’t need flowers from you, Greg, or gifts. I don’t need you to announce our courtship like your brother and deLande. I don’t need an official engagement or some paper that confirms that we belong to each other. I just need to know that you want to stand at my side, whatever the future brings.”

“I – well, yes, I can promise you that much,” Greg said quietly.

Thoko smiled a little wider and reached for both of his hands with her own. “See?” she said. “That wasn’t so hard, was it?”

Greg stared down at where their fingers were entwined and nodded slowly. He wished he could see things that way, wished it really was that easy.

Thoko seemed to sense his doubts, because, after a moment, she added gently: “Tell me what you’re worried about?”

Greg bit his lips. “You don’t mind? At all? That we won’t be able to get legally married?”

“Ah,” Thoko said. “Well, honestly? No.”

Thoko finally looked away from his face, turning a little, so she could stare out across the ocean, but still holding onto one of his hands and leaning her head against his shoulder.

“A marriage is handled differently, where I come from,” she said. “Your uncle would talk to mine, they’d arrange a gift you’d give to my family, that would pretty much be it. No priest of Mithras, no official needs to get involved. And I see no reason why we can’t still do that. I’m fairly certain that mother could talk my uncle into it.”

“I don’t have a living uncle at Loegrion.”

Thoko shrugged. “It just needs to be someone who can speak for your family.”

“I see.”

She glanced up to him again. “Did your parents get married by a priest?”

“Well, yes,” Greg said. “There wasn’t really another choice. Not for people of their standing.”

The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

“So your mother’s family is noble, too? I thought there were no other black nobles here?”

“No peers,” Greg qualified. “There are a few chevaliers. My parents met when my father took the Grand Tour. He stayed at her home province much longer than he would have otherwise, and then they wrote letters to each other daily for about a year. Until she came to the court at Deva with her brother. Her family was on the fence at first, cause father wasn’t quite her rank. I mean – mother’s father was of equal rank to a baron, but considering what a backwater province Loegrion is... Well, mother really needed to work to convince her parents that my father was the one she wanted, enough so that she wanted to live her life in danger of the Rot.”

“I guess that’s not surprising, really,” Thoko said. “But would you really want to get married by a priest, too?”

Greg thought about it. “Not really,” he said slowly. “I mean, I’d like to be able to. But it doesn’t matter to me in a – a religious sense.”

They started walking again, still holding hands.

“If you hadn’t been bitten, do you think your parents would mind that I don’t have land or a title?”

“I’m a fourth son,” Greg shrugged. “There never was much chance that I’d marry higher than the daughter of some landed knight. A merchant’s daughter was always a more likely match for me.”

“Someone rich.”

“Not even that rich, probably,” Greg disagreed. “The really wealthy merchants want a proper title from their son-in-law. Important aristocracy, you know? Asides, you’ll be as good as landed gentry if the duke keeps his word.”

“Right...” Thoko said, drawing the word out.

“Anyway, no, I don’t think my parents would have minded,” Greg said. “Not that we ever would have met, if I hadn’t gotten bitten.”

“Do you regret it?”

“Meeting you? No.”

Thoko was kind enough to smile at the weak joke. “You know what I meant.”

Greg pulled a little away from her and buried his hands in his pockets, hunching his shoulders up against the wind.

“Right now, it’s fine,” he said after walking a little more. “It’s nice, to be able to fight the Rot, help people, and help free Loegrion. I wish David hadn’t told that reporter about me, though. I kind of get why he did it, and it was just a matter of time, anyway, for word to get around. But still, I’d have liked to return to Deva at least once, maybe talk to some friends there... I guess how much I resent this will depend on how people will react to me in the future. Not just the navvies, I mean.”

He sighed, and forced himself to loosen up a little to reach for her hand again.

“It’s this weird back and forth,” he added after a moment. “At Courtenay, nothing had changed at all, out in the forest – well, at least I have a purpose, there, though I don’t particularly enjoy fighting the Rot. When George Louis said that I needed to lock myself up in that stinking inn in Eoforwic, I hated it all.”

He took a deep breath. “Do you mind?”

“No,” Thoko said. “I’ve been thinking about it, ever since I realized how jealous it made me when you ran around with Fleur on full moon, and no. I don’t mind that you’re a werewolf. Sometimes I wish I could go with you. Transform with you, and fight by your side.”

Greg shuddered at the thought. “I’m glad you didn’t get bitten,” he said.

Thoko made a lopsided smile. “I’d consider volunteering, actually,” she said. “If there was any way to, you know, guarantee the outcome. I’m tired of being useless. All I can do to help is swing an axe to clear trees.”

“You weren’t useless in the mountains at all,” Greg reminded her. “I’m pretty sure Theo would have run me off if I’d shown up alone.”

“It was nice to be able to do that, yes,” Thoko said. “But now that winter is coming, I won’t be able to do it again for a while. And there’s the war...”

“You could learn to fire a rifle,” Greg said. “I could teach you. And some basic sword fighting, too, though if you really want to get good at it, you should talk to David.”

“Yeah, I’ll bet that’ll go over well – a woman who doesn’t just wear pants but carries arms as well.”

“DeLande does it. Actually, I like this idea. We should get you a pistol, too, I think.” Greg grinned. “Let people think you actually are a pirate lady. At least it’ll make them think twice about how they treat you.”

When Thoko didn’t react, he added: “Would you want to?”

“Thinking about it,” Thoko said. “I never considered fighting humans. But yes. Maybe?”

They reached the top of a dune and she looked back towards the village. “How much time do we give Lenny?”

Greg shrugged. “Let’s wait a little bit longer. I think we can have lunch without him.”

He sat down, and pulled his water bottle out of his pack. Thoko got out the food, and they had a somewhat meagre lunch, which was greatly improved by the view and the company. Afterwards, Thoko leaned her head against Greg’s shoulder and he put his arm around her.

When they returned back to the village, Lenny was sitting at the only table in the hut, bouncing the younger one of his grandsons on his knees. He was grinning even wider than the kid. His daughter was smiling gently. All in all, it seemed like the reunion had gone well.

“Thank you for coming with me,” Lenny said, once they were back on their way towards Oldstone Castle.

“Did you get to talk to your sons, too?” Thoko asked.

The older man shook his head. “Some other time.”

But he was still smiling. “I’ve got lots of time now, right?”

Greg nodded. He could only hope that he had been right and Lenny would be allowed to stay somewhere close. If Duke George Louis decided to send him to Deggan or King’s Haven, that would suck.

“When are they gonna build a railway along the coast?” Lenny asked.

“Good question,” Thoko said. “I guess it’ll happen in the next few years, but Eyal hasn’t been made an offer for that yet, so I can’t say for sure.”

“Well, we’ll see. Dorothy said she’s even willing to move.”

“Do you think this Merv guy will be trouble?”

“Can’t do anything, can he?” Lenny shrugged. “Can’t call a hunter on me, and I doubt he’s got the guts to come at me himself. At most, he can bother Dorothy when I’m not there, and she’s tough. Also, she mentioned a rumour in the village that Merv beat his wife to death, so if he does try to come at Dorothy, he won’t even have the support of most of the women. And without that, what’s he gonna do?”

“He might still turn the village against you,” Thoko pointed out. “What’s a dead wife, gone and buried, against a werewolf who’s right there?”

Lenny didn’t seem concerned. “Can’t call a hunter,” he repeated. “And I can always meet Dorothy and the kids at Oldstone Castle. Or Breachpoint. And like I said, she’s willing to move if I get sent somewhere else.”

That was bold of Dorothy, Greg thought, but Thoko nodded along.

“I bet if you get sent somewhere with more of a Rot problem, people will be very happy to have Dorothy along.”

Lenny grinned, showing all his teeth. “That’s what I was thinking,” he said.