Twilight was settling in by the time Halla returned to the manor, her hair still wet from playing in the pool with Maukurz. It had been impossible to leave him: the pain in his eyes at her departure was too much to bear. He was so big and fierce and strong that somehow his vulnerability—on high display after his remembrance of Isengard—was all the more precious and heart-wrenching. Halla realized that her life at the manor was temporary; soon she'd have to find a way to escape it. Finnan had bought her a great deal of jewelry, and Halla wondered if it wouldn't be too wrong to take it with her, so that Maukurz and she might have some security. There were a thousand problems she could think of, all the things that terrified her about truly going to him. The first one, of course, was where they would live in a world that was hardened against them.

Halla pushed open the manor door only to be greeted by two snarling, attacking wolfhounds. Screaming, she ran straight for the long hall table where Ailith sat in waiting. Halla clamored to the top of the table before she recovered her wits and realized they could smell Maukurz all over her. "Get down! Down!" she screamed, trying to recover some semblance of authority.

Ailith hurried from her set by the fire, clapping her hands and shooing the dogs out the door. Halla, standing on the board with her hand on her heart, exclaimed, "Why he lets them sleep in the house I will never understand!"

"Likely for protection," Ailith said, and Halla couldn't tell if she was being nasty or not. "Here, my lady, let me help you down."

"I can manage just fine on my own," Halla returned, hitching up her skirts and hopping onto a stool, then to the floor, ignoring horrific ache in her backside. Maukurz, for all his fierce passion, was patient with her and deliciously expert, but there was still a great deal of pain to balance the pleasure of that act. Flushing at memory of her last devastating climax, Halla smoothed her green gown and tucked the lose tendrils of her pale, hastily braided, wet hair behind her ears; then she looked up and smiled brightly. "Have you had supper?"

"Just a bit of bread and cheese in the kitchen. Lord Birchleigh doesn't like the help eating in the hall. But I had to wait for you…"

"I'm sorry, Ailith, I should have told you not to. You needn't ever wait for me to eat, or anything else. But…" Halla grinned mischievously, "I don't think Lord Birchleigh will be troubling us tonight. Why don't you have Blythe bring up whatever delicious thing she's cooked, and then sit and eat with me? I swear I could eat an entire roast myself! And we must have wine as well. And you can tell me all about how your business goes."

It was a challenge: to put their differences aside, to resume friendship. Ailith was no fool. Halla had been pining away since the night of the storm, and now she was returned from a mysterious absence, radiant and famished and calling for wine. And obviously so covered in that beast's stench that the dogs can't even tell she's human! Ailith thought. It was utterly disgusting to Ailith. Yet Halla was Ailith's lady all the same, and Halla had at least gone to him, rather than allowing him onto the property. Lady Birchleigh had kept her word… thus far, anyway. Ailith could hardly imagine how such a woman as Halla could be so obviously smitten with a monster; soon, no doubt, Halla would pay a horrible price for her foolishness. But Ailith pushed her own thoughts aside and said, "Very well, my lady. I'll go to the kitchens and see it done."

Ailith returned with Blythe and even Ailen in tow, bringing roasted chicken and vegetables, a hearty lentil soup, bread, apples, and cheddar cheese. Ailith carried a flagon of wine. As soon as the two places were set Halla tore into her food in a most unladylike manner, making up for the days she spent sick to her stomach over Maukurz. She chased it down with two full cups of wine and then sat back, content. As Ailith took small, dainty bites Halla said, "I see that they are building up the little village. Have you considered my offer to build your tavern in wood?"

Ailith looked at Halla sharply. "I hadn't thought you were serious about that. I've already given you my word, my lady. You needn't buy my silence."

"Ailith…" Halla said, stung. "You don't understand me. I wanted to help you… before. I still do. Maybe more so now. Finnan gives me a generous allowance, yet what do I truly need, that I do not have?"

"I don't want your charity," Ailith said tartly. "I can make my own way. I don't need anyone, nor do I need anyone's pity. Least of all yours."

"Of course," Halla said, taking a deep breath. She should expect Ailith to be prickly with her at the very least, even though Halla found it quite unfair. "All the same, Ailith, it isn't charity or pity. I like to help. I would be glad to see you happy. And since there's so much building going on… I saw a great hall being laid out when I rode by, and even some framing for modest cottages. Whether I want it or not, High Meadow is going to grow. And Finnan is liable to cut down every last tree… Anyway, it would be profitable for you, as long as it lasts; and in the worst case, if the money dries up when the logging is finished, you would have a well-built place of your own, to live in or rent out or whatever you like. And there's only a small alehouse in Birchleigh. If you brewed a better beer, or offered more selections, surely folks would make the short trip."

Ailith sighed. "There is a great deal of building going on. Carpenters have come from miles around to take it on. One of them, Harlan—who buys at least two pints and a pie every day on his break—tells me the large hall will be a warehouse, and the two master loggers will build homes in wood as well. There are a good fifty laborers sawing trees, and their families have come; they will be my customers for now. This fellow Harlan says there will be work for a year at least, since the coming winter will slow things down quite a bit."

"So you're doing good business," Halla said, refusing the anger she felt over the destruction of the forest. There was nothing at all she could do about it. And practically speaking, Finnan could never have them working so high up the mountain as to disturb Maukurz and the other Uruks.

"I'm doing well enough," Ailith replied. "Many people have enquired about suppers, especially the single men. I could use a kitchen on site, and a place to seat my customers…"

Halla nodded, excited to see Ailith biting. The woman's severe face actually brightened a bit thinking of her tavern, and Halla realized that Ailith could be quite a beauty if she wanted to be.

"But I would insist on paying you back, in full," Ailith said primly.

"Sure," Halla said, grinning, not caring a bit about the money. "I've near twenty pounds in silver in a chest upstairs. That ought to start you off quite well."

Ailith's slow, hesitant smile dissolved as quickly as it came. "You don't owe me anything, Lady Birchleigh."

Halla shook her head sadly. "Ailith… I don't know how to say this…"

"Then perhaps you'd best not say it at all, my lady"

Halla closed her eyes. How could she begin to tell Ailith what she'd learned about the lives of the Uruks in Isengard? She herself was only just coming to understand bits and pieces, and she certainly wouldn't betray Maukurz, revealing the horrors of his very first day alive. Yet if only Ailith knew! Might she hate him a little less? Or might a little of her fear be relieved? Sadly, Halla doubted it; and she had no point of reference, no way to imagine how a woman might feel after being so publicly violated. The only thing Halla could imagine was the scorn her community would show, because Halla herself would surely receive it—and perhaps in much higher measure than Ailith.

It's unreasonable to ask her to forgive, and I would never expect it. Yet Maukurz and the others… they knew nothing better than what they did. Is it so impossible, the idea of some sort of reconciliation?

"I wish so many things were different, Ailith," Halla said earnestly. "I do so wish we could be friends!"

Ailith sucked her teeth and said, "You wouldn't want that. Because I could never allow any friend of mine—had I any left—to put herself in constant danger. One day he will kill you, Halla."

"No," Halla said firmly. "You don't understand at all, and I don't expect you to. But Maukurz would never hurt me."

AIlith curled her lip at the sound of his name. Somehow she'd never thought of them as having names or identities; she didn't wish to start to think of them that way. It would lead her down a dark path, and she might think about the small Uruk that she'd forbidden herself from seeing as a child. "He bit you, Halla," Ailith said in a hard, tight voice. "If that isn't hurting you—and endangering you!—I don't know what is."

Halla turned her head, her tucked chin to the shoulder Maukurz marked, her eyes closed. She felt that she must say something in defense of Maukurz, in defense of their relationship. Oh, if only she could tell Ailith how wonderful it was! But how hideously inappropriate that would be; and Halla didn't have it in her to be cruel, certainly not to a woman who didn't deserve it. "It wasn't a hurtful thing," Halla said quietly. "Please, Ailith… I know this must be difficult for you, and it's very difficult for me. Can't we just let it be? Please? Tell me… tell me if you had sisters or brothers. I know nothing about you! Let's drink this wine and talk all night, and be friends."

For a moment, Ailith was tempted. Halla was so ardent, and quite vulnerable underneath all of her liveliness. Halla was an orphan, Blythe had told Ailith; maybe that was why she was so eager, so naïve… But Ailith couldn't look at Halla: tiny and delicate, curvy and full lipped, bright eyed and physicaly graceful, without imagining that brute pounding away at her, scarring up her body... If Halla had been morbid, miserable, Ailith could have accepted it better. But to see her lady delighting in such horror hurt Ailith too deeply.

"I am sorry my lady." Ailith shook her head. "If you wish to help me as you said, I would welcome it. But as for—" Ailith closed here eyes before she wept. She had fought too hard to push those memories away, just to have them torn up by a stupid noblewoman too pretty and lustful... too sick, obviously, for her own good! Ailith rose from the table. "Forgive me. I will see to your bath now." You most certainly need it, my lady!

Halla slumped in her chair, watching Ailith leave sadly.

But Halla wouldn't go back on her word. The very next day, she walked with Ailith out to the new village of High Meadow, taking in the sight of laughing families thatching rooftops on newly built huts, breathing in the fresh smell of sawdust and new lumber. She tried to feel excited, but Halla had such a feeling of dread that was well beyond anger. Beyond the village the denuded mountain lay like a stripped, violated woman. Halla shook her head, banishing her feelings as Ailith approached with a tall pale-haired man with broad shoulders, a thick beard, and sun-bronzed skin.

"This is Harlan, my lady, the carpenter I told you about. He says he has enough time to build my tavern."

Harlan bowed. "Lady Birchleigh, it is an honor. I told Miss Ailith here that I've several commissions, but I'd juggle things around for her. A tavern would be a fine thing for High Meadow, and I've never had such remarkable ale as Miss Ailith brews."

Halla blinked for a moment, and then a slow smile flushed her face. Harlan wants her! Halla could see it quite plainly, even if Ailith could not. "In that case," Halla said with a warm smile, "we must start immediately. Can you design buildings as well?"

"I can, my lady. I've some learning. Not much, of course, but my father made sure I could read and figure and draw, and I know all the principles of building safe and well."

"Then you must plan something for us right away," Halla said enthusiasticly. Harlan bowed deeply to Halla. Then he turned to Ailith and bobbed a bow to her as well. It was all the carpenter could do to rip his eyes off Ailith and return to his work. Watching him walk away, Halla said, "Well he's a fine Man, don't you think?"

Ailith shrugged harshly. "I hadn't noticed."

Nonsense, Halla thought. You'd have to be blind and senseless, and you are neither. "He didn't mention a wife," Halla said coyly.

"He told me he had a wife, but she died in the War. She was pregnant at the time. I needn't tell you how she died, I suppose. It's all too common."

Halla pointedly ignored that last remark. "Well, perhaps he's thinking of taking a new wife…"

"That I wouldn't know," Ailith murmured. "But surely if he did want a new wife, there are enough suitable, fresh young women here and about. He'll have no trouble finding one of them."

Halla didn't push. But over the next two weeks, as the month of August passed warm and sweet, Halla saw Harlan relish the chance to work so close to Ailith. Halla also saw the way some of the women in the town would turn away and whisper behind their hands when Ailith walked by, for which Halla's palms itched to slap them. Yet this meant that it was common knowledge what had happened to Ailith… which meant that Harlan surely knew, and he cared enough about Ailith to overlook her past. It was an exciting thing to see Ailith flustered by Harlan's solicitous questions and courteous behavior. Ailith had iron walls around her heart; she judged herself as harshly as the village women did, if not more. But all the same, Ailith couldn't miss how Harlan found any little excuse to speak with her. Halla hoped and prayed that Harlan would ask Ailith to marry him. It would be a great blessing for Ailith, and she could begin living her life again instead of merely enduring it.

After Halla checked on the progress of Ailith's tavern—or rather, the progress of Harlan's discrete yet dogged courtship—she ran to the forest to spend long delicious hours with Maukurz. The Uruk used all of his ill-got wisdom and skills to make Halla's body thrill with a pleasure that seemed endless. When they were both finally spent, Halla held Maukurz in her arms and coaxed him to purge the poison of Isengard. Sometimes she bathed him in a stream or shallow mountain pool, quietly attending his hard, scarred body as he spoke in his low, rich voice. He trusted her with his secrets now. Halla knew she would never tire of listening to him, and the love she felt for him would never fade. Those weeks were sweet for Halla, and she was so happy that she didn't even realize what she was missing.

Until the morning she woke too nauseus to go to the building sight. After a harsh round of vomiting in her night pot, Halla sat shaking on her bed, clutching her belly and wondering if she'd ate a bit of tainted meat, or if there was any sickness amongst the laboring people of High Meadow.

And then it hit her: Halla realized that she'd missed her monthly period.

For all their caution, Maukurz had gotten Halla pregnant.