I wished Willy had wanted to go riding through the mountains, where we would have needed someone to accompany us. However, I think the aspect of being...alone together was the whole point of this outing for the stubborn man. I firmly reminded myself that since we weren’t going to be around anyone else, like our families, I didn’t need to take any bullshit today. I cringed as soon as we walked through the door, and my heart leapt up into my throat. I wasn’t expecting Tripp to be the one in the. I am no expert but I clearly know more about handling old books than you seem to. Allow me.’ From his pocket he took out a square of leather, and few small pieces of wood, a pair of white gloves, and tweezers. In a few moments he donned the gloves and assembled the wood into a small book stand, then carefully placed the book on the stand, and opened it with tweezers. ‘It’s just a hymnal,’ he said in disappointment. ‘Perhaps it’s a code!’ He looked at me and rolled his eyes. ‘You watch too much. My master, wearing the black armor of a Shizhuthian warleader, pushed aside the silk and stepped into the merchant's office. The man looked up and nodded. He, too, was Halanian, with ebony skin and an oiled, white beard drawn to a point. He wore a thick turban decorated in gold chains and had rings on each finger studded with precious gems.“Welcome, welcome,” Aswunt said. “When my overseer said a Shizhuthian wanted to guard my caravan, well, I had to see that with my own eyes. Very impressive.. A strong woman can make her man do whatever she wants him to." Jason continued preparing the food and we all moved over to the glass table to eat. Jason got ready to join us, but I stopped him. "Are you not going to serve my guests? You are, after all, the chef." "Yes, Ma'am, sure." "Don't be ridiculous, Jason, have a seat and we can serve ourselves," said Marilyn. Jason remained standing, knowing full well the consequences should he disobey. He gave out the food and went to refill the.