"That," Daav said, "also bears a remarkable similarity to Miri's remarks on the matter. I am to report on conditions, and present suggestions."

"The conditions are dreadful," Shan said, "and the solution is to bring in a work crew or six to widen, level, and fill. A little paving wouldn't go amiss, either."

"I agree," Daav said, stepping out on the road and taking up his stroll. "And you have given up your soft seat for nought."

Shan grinned and fell in beside him. "I need to stretch my legs."

"I wouldn't have thought that. What difficulty did Val Con and Miri occasion Natesa, I wonder?"

"For once, it wasn't their fault. Somebody noticed the Ring, knew it for Boss Conrad's and called security. Security called Natesa, who straightened it out in time for the two of them to get into the car and be introduced to the world." Shan paused, as if considering. "Pat Rin said that the trip out could have been more fraught."

"Poor children. But they, at least, seemed to have recovered their good humor with a night's rest. I trust that the same was true for their cousin."

"I'm don't think Pat Rin slept," Shan said. "What Nova said about his office not being half busy was an understatement."

"It would seem that he requires staff."

"Mr. pel'Tolian-- Pat Rin's butler-- came in with us. The last I saw him, he was directing a rather large and decidedly annoyed person to the guest parlor, with assurances that he would be called in his turn, and not one moment sooner."

"Excellent."

"It's a good start," Shan agreed.

They walked on for a few dozen paces in companionable silence, Daav noting a trace of mud in a gully that ran across the road, that might speak of a seasonal stream.

"I regret," Shan said, much more formally than he was wont, "that I missed meeting your daughter, my cousin, during her visit. Will she come to us again soon?"

Daav caught his breath against a twitch of pain, and kept his pace even.