Archive of Our Own

Being so heavily chaperoned was an awful nuisance. Aravis and Cor had found that even a few minutes of private conversation could be difficult to arrange. One of the few reliable ways to talk was while they were practicing their archery. They could stand side by side, a few feet apart, out in the open, in plain view of everybody on the training ground, and as long as nobody else was too near, they wouldn’t be overheard. Today nobody was near. They could talk without being overheard. Probably.

“I think I may have figured out a way for us to get some time alone,” Aravis said, carefully lining up a shot.

“What?” said Cor. He turned his head to look at her. She let the arrow fly and reached for another without turning her head. He took the hint and went back to shooting.

“Well, if Corin pretended to be you, and everybody knew where he was, and knew that he was alone, then nobody would come looking for us….” she said.

“I suppose so…but do you really think he could fool anybody?”

“Not up close, but that wouldn’t be necessary.”

Cor thought for a moment. “Did you ask him if he’d do it?”

“Yes.”

“And he said he would?”

“He didn’t promise, but I think I convinced him to agree.”

“How did you do that? You and he don’t exactly get along.”

“Oh, he owes me a favor.”

“What for?”

“It doesn’t matter.”

“Then why won’t you tell me?”

She sighed. “Promise you won’t be angry.”

“I can’t promise that.”

“All right, promise you won’t act angry.”

“I don’t like the sound of this, Aravis. Just tell me.”

Aravis sighed again. “He pretended to be you and tried to kiss me.”

Cor’s head jerked. “He what?” 

“I didn’t let him,” she said. She turned to look at Cor, but by the time she did he was looking straight ahead again. His face was reddening. He fit an arrow to the string, lined up the shot, and let the arrow fly; it went wide, missing the target altogether and landing in the grass. “Oh, don’t be upset,” she said. “He said he just wanted to see if he could fool me, and I believe him. He obviously didn’t really want to kiss me—he had his eyes all screwed shut. That’s part of how I knew who he was. He was probably imagining I was Lucy…” 

“How did he even get that close? You always say you have no trouble telling us apart.”

“It was dark,” she said. "It was a couple of nights ago, dark of the moon."

Cor began at a mutter, but his volume increased steadily: “May he be thrown into a lake of shit and bile stirred by the spiny tails of the Phaterests! May he suck at the stinking blue arsehole of Palisod! May Karitod chew away his tongue! May he—“

“Cor, stop it!”

“May his skin become as scaly as Phaliset’s and his breath as fetid as Grunod’s! May maggots infest his—“

“Stop it! Somebody will hear you!”

“By the Eleven Bloody Hells of Tash, why should I care about that, Tarkheena?”

“Because then we won’t be able to finish our conversation without someone overhearing. So calm down…”

Cor drew a deep breath. “To hear is to obey, Tarkheena,” he said, sulkily. But he didn't stop cursing, he just continued in an undertone.

Aravis shot the last of her arrows. Cor had two more to go, and when he had shot, they both waited. After a moment the signal went up, and they walked out to collect their arrows. “I’m going to give him a black eye,” Cor muttered, pulling arrows out of the target.

“No you’re not. For one thing, you’ll never beat him in a fistfight. For another, if he had a black eye then we’d have to wait until it was healed before he could pretend to be you. And for another, I already boxed his ear for him. I’m the one he wronged, after all. It’s not as though he did anything to you,” she said. She looked at him sharply. “You don’t own me, Cor,” she added.

“I know that,” he said grudgingly.

She nodded at the arrow lying in the grass. “Don’t forget that one,” she said.

They retrieved the rest of the arrows and walked back to their places in silence.

“In any case, here’s my idea,” she said, as they started shooting again. “Most days you and Corin spar together after lunch. Then you usually go up to the library to study, and he goes off and does whatever he does, the lazy brute.”

Cor started to object. Corin wasn’t really lazy, it was just that Cor had a lot of catching up to do. Then he remembered he was angry at Corin.

But Aravis was still talking. “So all you’d have to do is switch clothes while you’re cleaning up after sparring. He goes up to the library, pretending to be you. You saddle up that gelding of his and go for a ride. I’m already in the library, and when Corin comes in we pretend to quarrel and I leave in a huff and go for a ride by myself. That’s what I usually do when you and I quarrel, anyway. And then you and I meet somewhere. We come back separately. You go up to the library and you and Corin change clothes. As long as we get back in time for you to change before supper, nobody will know.”

Cor considered this. “What if somebody comes into the library while he’s there?”

“He says as little as possible and pretends to be you. Besides, who would come in?”

He shrugged. “Sometimes Mistress Bik sends up somebody with a snack for me.”

“She does? Nobody never brings me anything!”

“You don’t need feeding up.”

“Oh. Well, I suppose you should just warn Corin so he’s not surprised if someone brings him something to eat….Do they really do that?”

“Not often these days. I’m not as skinny as I used to be.”

“Yes, I’ve noticed. You’ve filled out very nicely.” She watched out of the corner of her eye as a blush crept up his cheek. It was so easy to make him blush. “So what do you think?”

“I don’t know. I suppose it might work. I’m not sure he and I can wear each other’s clothes, though. He’s taller than I am, and bigger all over.”

“It’s not that big a difference,” she said. “I know it bothers you, but hardly anybody else sees it. It’s only obvious that he’s taller when you’re standing right next to each other.”

Cor made some grumbling noises.

“As long as neither of you is wearing really tight clothes, it should be all right,” she persisted. “And if it’s a cold day and you’re wearing something bulky, so much the better. You’ll just have to plan it carefully.” She lowered her bow and looked at him. “Cor,” she said softly. He turned his head. “Don’t you want to have some time alone together?”

He swallowed. “Well…yes. Of course I do.”

“Good.” She turned back toward the target. “But, you know…we’ll still have to be careful. I mean, we have to be chaste….” 

He sighed. “Yes, I know.”

“You could at least make a token protest!”

“Aravis, what are you trying to get me to say? That I think about it—about you—all the time? I do. Sometimes I can hardly think of anything else. It makes me…oh, never mind….”

“What?”

“Never mind.”

“What were you going to say?”

“Never mind.”

“Oh, all right. You don’t need to bite my head off…”

They shot in silence for a while.

“I think about it too,” she said. “Not all the time, but a lot.”

“Well then,” he said, “exactly how chaste do we have to be?” 

“I suppose we’ll have to see….”

Not long after that Shar came along to check up on them. Aravis had been shooting well, and he said she could put her gear away if she wanted to. But Cor had to stay and practice a while longer while Shar coached him. This didn’t surprise Cor—while he and Aravis were talking he hadn’t been able to concentrate, and he’d been shooting poorly. Even though they hadn’t been aware of him watching them, apparently Shar had noticed.

When Cor got back to the armory Corin was there, getting ready to go out and do some practice himself. “Well, well,” said Cor, clapping Corin on the shoulder. When Corin turned around, Cor jabbed at his jaw, but Corin got a hand up in time to block him and keep the blow from really connecting. Cor knew he had lost his only chance to get in a good punch, but there was no backing out now. A scuffle ensued. It wasn’t long before Corin knocked the wind out of his brother.

“I gather Aravis told you. Honor satisfied?” Corin asked, backing away and rubbing his knuckles.

“I suppose so,” said Cor breathlessly. He was bending over with his hands on his knees.

“Good, because I’m not in the mood to beat you up.”

Cor looked up and glared at his brother.

“I didn’t really want to kiss her,” Corin said. “You know that, don’t you? I just wanted to see if I could.”

It occurred to Cor that there was a much better way to get back at Corin than with his fists. He paused for a minute, pretending to catch his breath, while he planned exactly what to say. “Yes, I know,” he said. “That’s what Aravis said. She said you were probably imagining that she was Lucy.” He glanced up to gauge the effect of this remark. The expression on Corin’s face was everything Cor could have hoped for.

“You didn’t tell her, did you?” Corin asked, horrified.

“Of course not. I gave you my word. She figured it out on her own.”

“How?”

“I don’t know. She’s around you a lot, and she’s not stupid…”

Corin groaned. “Do you think anybody else knows?”

Cor shrugged and managed to repress a smile. This was much more satisfying than a fistfight.

“I hope she hasn’t said anything to Lucy…”

Cor was not quite malicious enough to tell Corin that she had; more to the point, he didn’t want Corin so angry at Aravis that he’d refuse to help them. So he shrugged again. “If you don’t want anybody to know, you’ll have to be a little bit less obvious about it.”

Corin was cursing under his breath. “I didn’t think I was being obvious.”

“Oh, don’t worry about it,” said Cor. “I’m sure there are a few people between here and Cair Paravel who don’t know about your little pash. Probably. Somewhere….One or two hermits, at the very least.”

It took about a week for them to perfect their plan. Cor and Corin could talk privately whenever they wanted to, of course, and they were the ones who would have to make the switch, which was the trickiest part of the plan. After a while Corin started to get into the spirit of the thing—mischief of any kind was like catnip to him. A few days after Cor and Aravis's conversation during archery practice, the weather turned cold. This was all to the good, they decided. Bulkier clothes would be better disguise. Also, Aravis and Cor would be unlikely to meet anybody else out for a picnic or a ramble. It was late in the season for snow, so as long as it didn’t rain they would be fine. They could bring blankets and make a fire. Neither of them minded the idea of cuddling together to keep warm.

Shar usually coached the two boys while they sparred, but luckily he had gone up to Cair Paravel for a visit as soon as the pass was open. The twins still sparred, of course; Shar expected them to work hard while he was gone and would be cross if he came back and found that they had skived off. But at least they didn’t have to dodge him afterwards when they went to the armory to change. Corin put on Cor’s clothes, minus one of the layers Cor had been wearing, and Cor put on Corin’s, along with the extra tunic to make him look bulkier. They had decided not to bother exchanging boots, since these were nearly identical anyway. Besides, wearing boots that have been broken in by somebody else is excruciating.

Cor looked up from buttoning his—or rather Corin’s—breeches and found Corin regarding him. “What are you looking at?” Cor asked.

“I’m just wondering how much of that is going to come off again this afternoon,” Corin said.

“Shut up. That’s not why we’re doing this.”

“Really? I doubt you’re going to all this trouble so that you and Aravis can hold hands and gaze into each other’s eyes all afternoon.”

“Well, if anything else happens, I won’t be telling you about it.”

“No, no, you have to tell me—that’s part of the bargain!”

“Oh no, it’s not! I never agreed to that!”

“What do you think? Is Aravis planning to give it up?”

“Give what up?” Cor asked, and then belatedly realized that he should have kept his mouth shut.

“Her maidenhead, you idiot.”

Cor blushed to the roots of his hair. “Will you please shut up?”

“I’m just interested…”

“Well then, find a sweetheart of your own. Nobody will watch over you like they do over us.”

“I don’t like any of the girls here. And they’re all either too young or too old.”

“I thought you liked older girls. Or is it only the one?”

Corin growled.

“Or if don’t mind someone younger, I think Kit is sweet on you,” Cor continued.

“Kit? She’s just a baby!”

“She’s 14. And she’s very pretty. In a couple of years she’ll be just right for you.”

“No, no, there’s only one woman who’s just right for me.”

“That’s not what it looked like last year when we were up in Narnia for the Summer Festival….”

Corin smirked. “Those nymphs go around half naked. You can’t expect me not to look! You did, too. I even caught Father looking a couple of times.”

“You did more than look at that little dryad. What was her name, Lydia?”

Corin lost his smirk. “I didn’t think you knew about that.”

“I woke up when you crept out of the tent. And then again when you crept back in. If you could call it creeping—you’re not very good at stealth. Did you tumble her, or did you spend all your time holding hands and gazing into each others’ eyes?”

“Shut up.”

“I’m just interested…”

Corin thought for a moment. “You didn’t tell Father, or I’d have heard about it by now.”

“Of course I didn’t tell him. What do you take me for? Besides, I wasn’t sure what there was to tell.”

“Does anybody else know?”

“Know what? You still haven’t told me what happened. Although the way you’re reacting, it’s pretty obvious…”

“Swear you won’t tell anybody, or this whole business is off!”

“Anybody in particular you’re worried will find out? A certain royal lady?”

Corin growled again.

Cor grinned. “All right. I swear, I won’t tell anybody..."

Corin expostulated to himself for a moment, then said, “I don’t know why I’m helping you, but anyway, Baranod should be saddled and ready. I told Gab I was going riding after we were finished. The blankets and the flint and everything are in the saddlebag.”

“Thanks. I’ll be off, then.”

Corin hunched his shoulders and looked down at his feet, shuffling along the way Cor used to do when he first came to Anvard. “How do I look?”

“I don’t do that any more. I’m told I have excellent posture. I’m known for my grace and dignified bearing.” 

“Of course you are. Well, have a good time…” Corin winked and feinted at his brother's jaw. Then he started across the ward, making a beeline for the West tower. Cor looked up at the library window and thought he could see Aravis standing there, but the window was in shadow, so he couldn’t be sure. He thought of waving to her, but Corin wouldn’t do that, so he didn’t. Instead he went to the stable, doing his best to imitate Corin’s walk, which was rather looser than his (it was true that Cor’s posture had improved a lot, but it was still a bit stiff and mannered compared to Corin’s). Baranod, Corin’s roan gelding, was saddled and waiting. Cor waved cheerily at the groom, Gab, and mounted. He had ridden Baranod a few times and the horse didn’t behave as though anything was amiss. “I ought to be back before supper,” he said. Gab nodded. So far, everything was going like clockwork.

He rode south on the road, through pine woods, toward Lake Gale. They had arranged to meet on the north shore of the lake, which was sheltered by limestone cliffs that captured what little sun there was this time of year. With any luck it would be warm, or at any rate warmer than the south shore. Also, the main road went along the south shore of the lake, so it was unlikely that anybody would come upon them. They had agreed to meet in a little clearing in the woods near the lakeshore, where they had had a picnic in the autumn when Edmund and Lucy were visiting Anvard. Cor dismounted, tied Baranod where he could browse, and started unpacking the saddlebags. Plenty of blankets, as Corin had promised. A bottle of wine. Some apples. He gathered some firewood and built up a small fire, which he lit using pine needles for kindling. Then he gathered more wood to keep the fire going and stacked it nearby. He spread one of the blankets on the ground under a tree and sat down to wait for Aravis.

When Corin came into the library, Aravis was sitting at the big table with a book open in front of her. She looked up at him.

“Corin backed out,” he said, glumly.

“Oh, don’t be ridiculous, Corin, I know that’s you.”

He glared at her in frustration. “How? How do you know?”

“I’ve never had trouble telling you apart. Everything went according to plan?”

“Yes.”

“All right. Now we just have to pretend to quarrel.”

There was an awkward silence. Although they sniped at each other constantly, they never really quarreled—at least their arguments were nothing like the spectacular ones that Cor and Aravis had sometimes.

“I can’t curse like Cor does, you know…” said Corin.

“You don’t have to. He doesn’t always do that—only when he’s really furious. This is just going to be a little quarrel.”

“All right, what should we argue about?”

“I don’t know.”

“Cor promised me he’d tell me everything you two do this afternoon,” Corin remarked.

Aravis eyes widened and she drew in a sharp breath. Then she relaxed. “Oh no he didn’t! He would never do that!”

“Hah! You think you know him, but you should hear the things he says about you when you’re not around.”

“It’s no use. I know you’re trying to goad me, and it isn’t working.” She opened the door and looked down the staircase. It was empty. “There’s nobody to overhear, anyway, so we don’t need to quarrel, we just need to act as though we’ve been quarreling. I’ll slam things around on my way downstairs, and if anybody comes in during the next few minutes, you be sulky, all right? Kick the table leg, that’s what Cor does.”

“All right.” 

Aravis hesitated for a moment, then gave Corin a peck on the cheek and said “Thanks.” Then she stalked out into the hall, slamming the door behind her. Corin laughed and sat down at the table. He wondered if Cor really spent all his time studying when he was in the library. He ought to get out a book and have it open on the table for the look of the thing. Maybe he could get away with taking a nap while he was waiting.

Cor had not been waiting long when he heard a noise on the trail. He looked up to see Aravis riding toward him through the mist. She was still the best rider he had ever seen, exquisitely graceful in the saddle....She looked so beautiful, for a moment he couldn't seem to breathe. She reined in, leapt to the ground, and threw herself into his arms. He managed not to topple over, and they kissed for a long time. He started to feel dizzy. “Let’s sit down before my knees give out,” he suggested.

He sat on the blanket with his back against the tree while she tied up her horse. She sat down next to him and he put an arm around her. “This is nice,” she said. “Just think, nobody’s here to pull us apart.” It was so long since they’d had more than a few minutes alone that it took some getting used to. They cuddled together. The fire was starting to die down, but Cor didn’t feel like getting up to put more wood on it.

“Come on, let’s lie down,” she said, after a while.

“Are you sure?”

“Why not?”

He got up then and put some more wood on the fire. When he turned around, she had taken off her cloak and was lying down on her side. He hesitated a moment, then pulled off his bulky outer tunic and lay down next to her. 

“Is there another blanket?” she asked.

“Yes, it’s right behind you,” he said. He reached over her, searching for the blanket with his hand, but he couldn’t see what he was doing because she was kissing him. His hand instead found the small of her back, and he hitched his body closer to hers. She made a funny little sound in her throat and pressed up against him.

She loosened the lace on her bodice and somehow he managed to get his hand in. After a while she loosened the underblouse, too, and he got his hand all the way inside. “Mm, that feels nice…” she said dreamily.

Her hands had found their way under his tunic, and his were moving south. After a while they rolled over so she was on top of him, and her legs fell down on either side of his body so she was almost straddling him. He knew she could feel him, even through his breeches.

Abruptly, he sat up, partly dislodging her, and said “Aravis, wait a minute…Aravis…”

“What is it?” she asked, dazedly.

“I think…we need to stop.”

“Why? Nothing can happen if we don’t take our clothes off. And it feels so good…”

“Yes, but if you keep doing that I’m going to, um…” he was having trouble thinking of a word that wasn’t rude. “…I’m going to spend…”

“So? What’s wrong with that?”

For a moment he couldn’t remember exactly why he was so worried about this. Then he said, “Well, these are Corin’s breeches…”

She looked confused. He wondered if she was as foggy with lust as he was.

“Just trust me on this, all right?” he said.

“All right.” She rolled all the way off him and sat up, looking a bit disoriented. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to get carried away....”

“Don’t be sorry,” he said, sitting up. “I’m not sorry. Well, I’m sorry that we have to stop…”

She flopped back down on the blanket and groaned, closing her eyes. He regarded her as she lay there on the blanket. Her bodice was still open, and her braids had started coming undone. “You look so pretty like that,” he said.

“Like what?”

“All rumpled. And your hair’s all messed up.”

She opened her eyes. “You do realize that you’re the only person in the entire world who thinks I’m pretty, don’t you?”

“Then I’m the only person in the entire world with any sense.”

“Regal and imposing, maybe. Handsome, even. But not pretty.”

“Yes you are!”

“It’s the nose,” she continued. “Apparently many people find it intimidating.”

“Your nose is beautiful,” he said. He bent down and kissed its tip. 

“Now I know you love me,” she said.

“I do,” he said. “Very much.”

He got a couple of apples and gave one to her. They didn't talk much while they were eating, and when they finished he lay down next to her again, putting his hand on her waist.

“Are you all right?” she asked.

“I think so. No immediate danger, anyway…”

“Good,” she said, taking his hand and guiding it back inside her bodice.

The sun was low in the sky when they decided it was time for Aravis to start riding back. She rebraided her hair and tried to straighten out her clothes. “How do I look?” she asked.

“Regal and imposing.”

“Not too rumpled?”

“No…But your mouth looks a little red, or bruised, or something…”

“Does it? So does yours. Well, it’s not too noticeable. A lot of people have chapped lips this time of year.”

She mounted up, and then leaned down to give him another kiss. Only Aravis could do that without losing her balance, he thought. “I love you,” she whispered.

“Why are you whispering?”

“Because it’s private.”

“There’s nobody around to hear,” he pointed out.

“Oh, all right,” she said. “I love you! Are you happy now?”

“Yes.”

She laughed. “I’m going to go east where the trail forks. You’d better take the other fork and go up the bluff and around on the north side of the castle. That’ll take a little longer, and we won’t come back to Anvard at the same time or from the same direction.” She rode up the trail.

Cor put out the fire and packed up the blankets and other gear. Then he rode back to Anvard, taking the longer route she’d described. A little after sunset he arrived back at the castle. He handed off Baranod to Gab, and from the man’s placid response it was clear that their ruse hadn’t been discovered.

Corin was waiting for him in the library. “Where the hell have you been?” he asked.

“It’s not that late. Hasn’t Aravis come in?”

“Yes, yes, I saw her ride into the stable yard about half an hour ago.”

“Then you knew I was on the way. Why were you worried?”

“I’ve had nothing to do all afternoon but stew. I am never going to do this for you again, Cor! Never!”

“Oh, please! Don’t be like that! Everything went fine!”

“No,” Corin said, shaking his head. “Never.”

“We can talk about it later. Come on, let’s go back to your rooms to change. I didn’t see anybody on the stairs.” They walked down one flight of stairs to Corin’s rooms and started trading clothing.

“So, did she give it up?” Corin asked.

Cor didn’t answer.

“You have to say something!”

“No I don’t.”

“Did you have a good time? If you know what I mean….”

Cor sighed. “I can tell that if I don’t say anything you’re going to think I’m hiding something. So I’m going to say this, and it’s all I’m going to say. No, Aravis did not ‘give it up,’ nor did I try to convince her to. And yes, I had a very good time.” He grinned.

“You’re no fun at all….”

“I dare you to ask Aravis about it.”

“No thanks, I think I’ll pass…”

Corin inspected his breeches carefully before putting them on. “Let me guess,” he said. “You have an appointment with your hand later…”

Cor gaped for a moment, then collected himself and said, “Don’t be disgusting!”

“You can’t pretend you didn’t know what I was talking about, though.”

“No, but…don’t talk about it.”

Corin smirked. “There doesn’t seem to be much I’m allowed to talk about.”

“Well…Did you sit alone all afternoon?”

“No, Pen brought me something to eat, like you said.”

“Oh. Yes, she’s usually the one who comes up.”

“Why didn’t you warn me she was going to flirt with you? With me. With me, thinking I was you.”

“She flirted with you?”

“Oh come now, you mean you haven’t noticed? She wasn’t exactly subtle…”

“She’s just friendly.”

Corin rolled his eyes. “Of course she’s friendly. If she’d been any friendlier she’d have climbed into my lap. No wonder she brings you food when you’re all alone in the library! She wants to get into your breeches!”

“Don’t be ridiculous….Maybe she does flirt, but I’m sure it’s very innocent.”

“Hah. If I’d given her any encouragement, I could have had a better time this afternoon than you did.”

“Oh…” Cor was taken aback. “So what did you do about it?”

“Nothing. I pretended not to notice. For one thing, I’m a gentleman.”

Cor snorted.

“And for another,” Corin continued, “she thought I was you! I do have some pride, you know…She’s never acted that way with me! I’m a little hurt…”

“Not to mention that she'd have figured out who you were eventually, and then we’d all have gotten caught. And you know Father would skin you alive for dallying with a servant.”

“Very true…What I don’t understand is why she would prefer you to me. I’m much more dashing. Not to mention better looking.”

“You couldn’t be that much better looking or we wouldn’t have been able to pull this whole thing off today.”

“She just didn’t recognize me because I was acting like you—all shy and awkward.”

“I am not shy and awkward!”

“Oh yes, you are, my friend. You are.”

“Not everybody’s as cocky as you are. Fortunately.”

“Ready to face the world?” Corin asked.

“I suppose so.”

“Remember, you had a quarrel with Aravis, and you have to make it up.” 

When Aravis got back she made sure her horse was properly stabled; the grooms here were very good, but her father had taught her that she should always make sure that things were done well, that ultimately her mount was her own responsibility. Then she went up to her rooms and changed her clothes. People here didn’t always change for dinner, but she wanted to be absolutely certain there wasn’t anything amiss about her clothing, and the best way to do that was to get completely undressed and then dress again. Besides, she knew King Lune didn’t like her to wear her trousers around the castle—he had enough trouble accepting the idea that she wore them for riding. Then she lay on her bed for a while, dreamily thinking about the afternoon. It had been nice—frustrating in some ways, but nice. She heard Cor ride into the stable yard just after sunset, and she resisted the urge to look out her window. She hoped he would remember that they were supposed to have quarreled this afternoon. When she came down she was just in time to see the twins, dressed in their own clothes again, leaving the West tower and crossing the ward, heading toward the hall. When Cor saw her, he said something to Corin, who grinned and fell back. Cor walked up to her. She looked at him coolly. There were a lot of people around. None of them seemed to be paying much attention, but you never knew.

“Aravis, can we talk, please?” he said.

She shrugged noncommittally.

“Please? I want to make it up…”

She repressed a smile. “Oh, well, all right…” she said, as grudgingly as she could.

They walked toward the garden together, not speaking. He tentatively took her hand, and she let him. Pretending to make up was fun, she decided. Almost as much fun as actually making up. They walked along next to the wall.

“It looks like everything worked out,” said Cor, quietly. “The only person Corin talked to was Pen, when she came up to bring him some food, and he says he’s sure she didn’t recognize him.”

“Good.”

“He says he’s never going to help up like this again, but I think I can convince him to change his mind.”

“I hope so.” She kissed him.

“Does that mean we’ve made up?”

“Oh! Yes, I suppose so.” She came closer and put her head on his shoulder, and he put his arms around her.

A few minutes later they heard somebody coming along the path. It was Kit. “Sorry to interrupt,” she said, grinning cheekily, “but my parents sent me to fetch you in to dinner. You know we can’t leave you two alone. Who knows what you’d get up to?” She paused reflectively. “As a matter of fact, I don’t know. Would you explain it to me?”

Aravis smiled. She was reasonably sure that Kit’s mother, who was unusually frank about these things, had explained it to her already. “Never you mind,” she said, and they all went in to dinner.