Outside the Gilded Horns, Micheline waited near the handsome, flame-haired knight… No, flame-haired witch, she reminded herself, as he leaned casually against the front door of the restaurant. It seemed that he intended to allow her aunt, Maela, to reunite with her daughters privately, and even though it was cold outside, Micheline couldn't find any reason to protest.
"Sir Heartwood, was it?" Micheline said in an awkward attempt to make small talk. "Which, um, which barony of Lothian do you hail from? I confess, I don't know the western baronies that well. Might it be Hanrahan?" she asked innocently. "Or Dunn?" Micheline added in the hopes of teasing out more information about the apparent rise of the Dunns' station within her cousin's empire.
"I was born here," Ollie said politely, pointing at the towering edifice of Lothian Manor on a nearby hilltop. "In the manor. Until recently, this was my home."
