After about five minutes of this Sara shrugged and turned to the man.

“About two thousand gold. Each. That price is the one for friends here. I wouldn’t expect it to last once they go into manufacturing.”

The man didn't even blink. No one else did either, not even the Dean. Two thousand gold? That seemed high. High enough that Tor felt uneasy holding on to the one in his pocket for a second, before realizing that the price didn't really apply to him. Or the man in front of him come to that. Not if his family was going up against Ward. That guy… annoyed Tor. The whole getting Ursala pregnant thing still rankled a little when he thought about it, and then his trying to sleep with Varley hot on the heels of that… Sure, the Count wasn't exactly bright, but Maria should have coached him not to go after the Princess just then, shouldn't she? Not that he felt any great love for Maria either, but… Well, he wasn't going to hold what she'd done at fourteen against her forever. Maybe she'd fixed herself already even? People could change, if they tried.

The man started to speak about arranging the funds, catching Sara's attention and a few of the other students, for some reason. Tor shook his head, and took the last bite of the fish dish, making an effort not to scrape the delicious sauce up with the side of the silver fork. Real silver too. Everything here was nicer than what they had at the other school. Probably because that one housed the rabble, fighters, scholarship kids and… The Prince. At least one full Count too.

That made sense though. A lot of royals had their kids over there too. Was that too keep them from getting too full of themselves? Heh. The idea that some of the nobles where that smart impressed him suddenly.

“Oh, those are gifts… For your parents and you. Really, let me know if you need anything else. I won't let my friends be harmed. Not if it’s within my ability to stop.” He couldn't explain why, not in public, because that would have compromised Ursala, and Tor wouldn't do that, which could have made things difficult to explain if a small gasp hadn't gone up around the room. That distracted everyone nicely.