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shook her head. ”I can’t always tell who’s lying and who isn’t.”
    ”With practice you could.”
    ”Can you?”
    He grinned. ”Most of the time. There are those with greater powers than my own.
    They can fool me from time to time.”
    ”Magic is unreliable.”
    ”Everything is unreliable, from time to time.”

    A small smile flashed across Elaine’s face before she could stop it.
    ”See, not so bad,” he said.
    Elaine swallowed the smile, but couldn’t quite chase away the warmth that had accompanied it.
    Mala refilled Elaine’s mug without asking. She motioned to the mage. ”Would you like some more, sir?”
    ”Yes, please.” He held out his mug. He offered her the empty cookie plate, as well.
    ”Would you like some more sweets?”
    ”Some more of those excellent cookies would be quite nice.” Mala blushed and dropped a rough curtsey. It wasn’t as though Mala weren’t complimented on her cooking often by the entire household.
    Elaine watched the plump cook hurry away. Did Harry the stableman have a rival? No, that was silly.
    Mala would know that Jonathan would never let a wizard court her.
    Elaine’s stomach clenched in a cold, icy knot. Would Jonathan be able to abide a wizard under his own roof? Even if it were her? Mala returned with a plate of cookies for both of them. She set it on a little stool before the fire.
    ”Thank you, Mala,” Gersalius said.
    Mala giggled.
    A mere thank you, and she giggled. Elaine had never seen the cook like this, not even around Harry.
    Mala left to stir something at the stove. The back of her neck was red with a blush of pleasure.
    Was the mage that charming, or was it a spell? Elaine wanted to ask but didn’t want to embarrass Mala.
    Gersalius sipped his tea and looked at Elaine. There was a twinkle in his eye that seemed to say he knew what she was thinking. ”Do you know what I’m thinking right now?”
    ”Yes, but it is not magic.”
    ”How, then?”
    He leaned forward, lowering his voice. ”Your body posture was very disapproving when your cook catered to me just now. Your face is like a mirror, child. Every thought chases across it.”
    She frowned at him. ”I don’t believe that.”
    ”You don’t want to believe it,” he said. ”The thought that your thoughts, your feelings, are so easily read by a stranger frightens you.” She opened her mouth to deny it, but didn’t. It wasn’t so much the mind-reading mage that bothered Elaine, but the others. Did Konrad know how she felt? Did everyone?
    Was she that transparent?
    ”I am a very noticing kind of person, Elaine. Most people aren’t, even people that see you everyday. In fact, I have found, people that have watched you grow up are often oblivious to you. You know what they say, ’familiarity breeds invisibility.’ ” ”I thought it was, ’familiarity breeds contempt.’ ” ”Well, yes, maybe it was, but I don’t think he has contempt for you, do you?” ”You are reading my mind,” she said.
    She sat very straight, hands gripping her mug tight.
    ”Perhaps I am, a little. The fact that you are an untrained mage makes it easier for me. Strong emotions are also easier to decipher.” Elaine’s hands trembled. Hot tea sloshed onto her skin. Mala darted forward, scooping the mug from her hands and dabbing at the spill with a clean towel. ”Have you burned your hands?”
    Konrad knelt beside Elaine’s chair. He pressed a cloth to her hands. She started at the coldness. He had scooped snow into the cloth. ”Cold is the best for a minor burn.”
    His hands enfolded hers, pressing the snow to her skin. Her chest was tight. The weight of his hands round her own chased the last of the cold from her body. Even with snow touching her skin, Elaine felt warm. She felt the warmth creep up her neck, and she knew she was blushing.
    Konrad stared only at her hands, at his task as a healer. He never looked at her face.
    Elaine’s eyes met the mage’s gaze. Gersalius was right, Konrad