victims at such a time. From his already long experience, Stulwig made his
offer: ‘The stypia and the gernay for the dream. For the dalin one hour in my
bed tonight for an assignation.’
Silence. The bright eyes seemed to shrink.
‘What’s this?’ asked Stulwig. ‘Is it possible that with your see-ress’s sight
you believe that this time there will be no evasion?’
Twice before, she had made reluctant assignation agreements. On each occasion, a
series of happenings brought about a circumstance whereby he needed her
assistance. And for that, release from the assignation was her price.
Stulwig’s voice softened to a gentler tone: ‘Surely, it’s time, my beautiful,
that you discover how much greater pleasure it is for a woman to have lying on
her the weight of a normal man rather than that monstrous mass of blacksmith’s
muscles, the possessor of which by some mysterious power captured you when you
were still too young to know any better. Is it a bargain?’
She hesitated a moment longer. And then, as he had expected after hearing the
name of the third drug, she nodded.
A business transaction. And that required the goods to be on hand. Stulwig
didn’t argue. ‘Wait!’ he admonished. ^
Himself, he did not wait. Instead, he backed quickly out of the hallway and into
the greenhouse. He presumed that, with her seeress’s sight, she knew that he
knew about the very special person who wanted the dalin. He felt tolerant. That
prince – he thought. In spite of all the advice the women receive as to when
they are, and are not, capable of accepting the male seed, the youthful governor