Mary scooped the heavy leather purse into her arms, wrapping her fingers around the reinforced straps and clutching it tightly against her chest as if her absolute life depended on it.
"Mother, let me carry that for you," Roy whispered, a look of profound embarrassment crossing his face as he reached out toward the bulky bag. "It's entirely too heavy for you, and we are right in the middle of the sect's courtyard."
"Get your hands off, boy!" Mary hissed back in a fiercely protective, suffocating whisper, her eyes darting around the courtyard like a cornered beast guarding its golden eggs. "I am perfectly fine! This bag stays right where I can feel it against my ribs! Go watch the perimeter!"
