Please don't think you have to change your direction for my sake," I said. "I'm...

Please don't think you have to change your direction for my sake," I said. "I'm just out wandering about, and my steps took me past Merindar House."
"And lose an opportunity to engage in converse without your usual crowd of swains?" Savona said, bowing.
"Crowd? Swains?" I repeated, then laughed. "Has the rain affected your vision? Or am I the blind one? I don't see any swains. Luckily."
A choke of laughter on my right made me realize--belatedly--that my comment could be taken as an insult. "I don't mean you two!" I added hastily and glanced up at Savona {I couldn't bring myself to look at Shevraeth}. His dark eyes narrowed in mirth.
"About your lack of swains," Savona murmured. "Deric would be desolated to hear your heartless glee."
I grinned. "I suspect he'd be desolated if I thought him half serious."
"Implying," Savona said with mendacious shock, "that I am not serious? My dear Meliara! I assure you I fell in love with you last year--the very moment I heard that you had pinched a chicken pie right from under Nenthar Debegri's twitchy nose, then rode off on his favorite mount, getting clean away from three ridings of his handpicked warriors."
Taken by surprise, I laughed out loud.
Savona gave me a look of mock consternation. "Now don't-- don't--destroy my faith in heroism by telling me it's not true."
"Oh, it's true enough, but heroic?" I scoffed. "What's so heroic about that? I was hungry! Only got one bite of the pie," I added with real regret. I was surprised again when both lords started laughing.
"And then you compounded your attractions by keeping my lazy cousin on the hop for days." He indicated Shevraeth with an airy wave of the hand.
Those memories effectively banished my mirth. For it wasn't just Galdran's bullying cousin Baron Debegri who had chased me halfway across the kingdom after my escape from Athanarel. Shevraeth had been there as well. I felt my shoulders tighten against the old embarrassment, but I tried not to show it, responding as lightly as I could. "On the contrary, it was he who kept me on the hop for days. Very long days," I said. And because the subject had been broached and I was already embarrassed, I risked a quick look at the Marquis and asked, "When you said to search the houses. In the lake town. Did you know I was inside one?"
He hesitated, looking across at Savona, who merely grinned at us both. Then Shevraeth said somewhat drily, "I…had a sense of it."
"And outside Thoresk. When you and Debegri rode by. You looked right at me. Did you know that was me?"
"Will it make you very angry if I admit that I did? But the timing seemed inopportune for us to, ah, reacquaint ourselves." All this was said with his customary drawl. But I had a feeling he was bracing for attack.
I sighed. "I'm not angry. I know now that you weren't trying to get me killed, but to keep me from getting killed by Debegri and Galdran's people. Except--well, never mind. The whole thing is stupid."
"Come then," Savona said immediately. "Forgive me for straying into memories you'd rather leave behind, and let us instead discuss tonight's prospective delights."
He continued with a stream of small talk about the latest entertainments--all easy, unexceptionable conversation. Slowly I relaxed, though I never dared look at Shevraeth again.