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waited until Dara turned to face her. “You are not to go telling stories to Jirod to lure him out here tonight. Do you understand?”
    “I wasn’t going to do anything like that!” Dara said. Her tone was unconvincing, and her eyes slid away from Kayl’s face.
    “No?”
    “Well, all right, but what difference would it make? He’s bound to hear about it sooner or later.”
    “At least if someone else tells him, I won’t have your matchmaking to contend with.”
    Dara flushed. “Mother!”
    “If you want to be successful at that sort of thing, you need to learn a little subtlety,” Kayl went on relentlessly. “Did you really think I hadn’t noticed?”
    “You never said anything.”
    “I’d hoped you would think better of it. And I’m saying something now.”
    “Well, you ought to get married again,” Dara said defensively.
    “If I ever decide to remarry, I’ll choose my own partner, thank you.”
    “Jirod’s nice.”
    “Yes, he is. And he’s a good friend. But I’ve no interest in him as a husband, and I’d rather not have to tell him so to his face just because my daughter thinks we’d make a good match.”
    “But there isn’t anyone else in Copeham!”
    “Then I won’t marry. It’s my affair, after all.”
    Dara’s eyes fell. “I suppose so.”
    “Now, promise me you’ll stop this nonsense with Jirod once and for all.”
    “Well…” Dara sneaked a glance upward. “Oh, all right. I promise.”
    “Off with you, then.”
    Dara nodded, looking considerably subdued, and left. Kayl sighed as the door closed behind her daughter, feeling the familiar guilt rising inside her. Not having a father was hard for the children. Perhaps she should remarry, for their sakes. Jirod was a kind man, and he had made no secret of his admiration for Kayl. He was quiet and steady, too; he would be good for Mark. Yet, much as she liked the thoughtful farmer, she never seemed able to bring herself to encourage him. Or any of the other eligible and semi-eligible men of Copeham Village, for that matter.
    She chalked Corrana’s name on the slate by the stairs, then picked up the broom she had left by the door and went out to finish her sweeping. Perhaps the real problem was that she’d never met anyone else like Kevran. She smiled sadly, remembering the laughter in his face and the warmth of his touch. Five years had done much to dull the pain of his loss, but his memory was still clear in her mind. The time they’d had together had been worth the price they’d paid, and neither of them had regretted it.
    But she’d never found another man worth giving up… what she had given up for Kevran. And she could never be content with less, even now. Kayl scowled and gave the step one final brush with the broom, then went back inside. She hadn’t thought even obliquely of the days before her marriage in years. It was the fault of that woman, Rialynn, Corrana, whatever she called herself. She had no right to come here, stirring up things Kayl had no wish to remember.
    Kayl paused, turning that thought over in her mind. No wish to remember? They had been good times, despite their bitter ending, and Kevran had shared some of them with her. Why was she so afraid of them now? Absently, she set the broom in its corner. Mark had already brought the water in; she could tell by the irregular trail of drops he had left in his wake. She would have to remind him again to be more careful.
    She went into the kitchen to prepare for Dara’s return. The distorted image of herself in the bottom of a dented brass pot was oddly disturbing today, though she had seen it every afternoon for… how long had she had that pot? Kayl shook herself. She was trying to avoid thinking, she realized, and doing a pretty poor job of it. All right then, face the question and answer it. Why was she so disturbed by Corrana’s appearance?
    The answer came almost as soon as the question had been phrased. She was afraid of the disruption the woman’s