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almost immediately. There were no repeats of the claw incident and Hugh noted with a bit of pride that Miss was much more careful of how she touched the boy.
    By dinnertime, the common room was again full and Miss was doing better with the folk who came to greet her. She wasn’t as shy as she’d been that morning. Playing with Tom had worn off some of her energy and by the time she’d finished eating there was only time to give her fur a quick tongue bath before she curled up in a ball and fell asleep in front of the fire.
    Hugh didn’t count the day wasted. Instead of going out to gather information, the local people came to him. Some were exactly the sort of people he’d had to find some excuse to talk to in the days prior. The gryphlet was enough of a conversation starter that it didn’t seem odd when he turned the conversation to local politics and rumors.
    Hugh gathered more information in that single day spent sipping beer in the common room than he had in the week since his arrival. He sat in the common room until well after dinner, waiting only for Miss to stir a little before taking her back to the small room they would sleep in together for a second night.
    She was able to walk out of the common room, but she was so sleepy, her steps wove almost drunkenly. As soon as they were out of sight of the other patrons, Hugh picked her up in his arms and carried her. It wouldn’t do to show off his unnatural strength in a room full of curious onlookers.
    Someone had been in to clean his room, make the bed and freshen the little nest of blankets for Miss. The fire was already lit as well, and the room was toasty warm while the gale whistled outside past the shuttered windows.
    Hugh placed Miss in her nest and she wiggled only slightly to find a more comfortable position before falling asleep once more. Hugh did as before, finding his place in the bed and reaching down to touch Miss’s back so he could feed her more magic as she slept.
    She was almost up to where she should be as far as her energy levels went. By morning, her magic would be replenished and he could work more on her self-esteem and food intake. She was still scrawny. It would take more than one day of eating properly to put weight back on her skinny body.
    The next day, Tom was gone in the morning, running some sort of errand for his father. He was back by lunch, which he shared with Hugh and Miss, as he had the day before. Afterward, the two youngsters played farther away from Hugh than the day before, scampering around the common room to the amusement of the few people who lingered over their midday meal.
    Their game had brought them back around the room toward Hugh when the door opened to admit a highborn lady, if Hugh didn’t misjudge the quality of her cloak. She paused to gaze at Miss with a measuring look Hugh didn’t care for, then sought out Hobson for a lengthy chat.
    Hugh felt uneasy and was glad when the children resumed their place near the fire at his side. They’d tired themselves out and were rolling the ball quietly back and forth as they both sat on the floor at opposite ends of the hearth. Miss was on the side closer to Hugh’s chair, for which he was grateful. Should he need to protect her for any reason, she would be close at hand.
    Hugh’s gaze strayed often to the quiet corner of the bar where the lady spoke in hushed tones with Hobson. The innkeeper seemed to defer to her quite a bit, which only confirmed Hugh’s guess that she was someone of a higher social class.
    When their conversation finally ended, the woman turned and walked toward the fireplace where Miss and Tomlin were still playing quietly. Hugh watched her. Her gaze was focused on the gryphlet, sparing him only a furtive glance as she’d turned.
    He didn’t know what to make of that glance. Was it shyness that caused her to stop short of meeting his gaze? Or was it arrogance? He had no notion of her motivation at the moment, but if she came any closer, he