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“I won’t.”

“—but I am, nevertheless, choosing to put my trust in you.”

“Don’t. I don’t know where it’s been.”

“Cruel. I was being vulnerable.”

Fairhrim held up a warding hand. “You may keep that to yourself, too.”

“How can you be so mean to your own patient?”

“You aren’t a patient.”

“You’re caring for me.”

“I’m caring for you, not about you.”

“Ouch.”

Fairhrim, pitiless, continued her interrogation. “How is your torpraxia?”

“Worse. Slammed a jug of lye on my foot and didn’t even feel it.”

“A jug of lye?”

“I was dissolving a body.”

“Dissolving a body.” Fairhrim made a tight, pained nod. “Of course.” She produced no further comment on the matter, and said instead, “I’ll speak to Xanthe.”

“Are you Xanthe’s pet? Must everything be run by her?”

“It was her call to wrap me up in this debacle, so she gets to share the burden of the decision-making, yes.”

“And what are we doing about the full moon?” asked Osric.

“We’ve got weeks to work it out. I’ll find an alternative location. I’mnotbreaking into the Færwundor with the man who murdered their Seer. Why would you do that? The Druids are harmless.”

“It was an offer I couldn’t refuse.”

“Monster.”

“The pay funded a large part of your Pox cure, by the by,” said Osric.

“It’s not a cure; it’s an immunisation,” said Fairhrim. “And that doesn’t make it right. You could’ve earned the money through any number of pursuits. But I’m wasting my breath.” With the air of one Moving On, she asked, “Shall we check on your progress while you’re here?”

“Fine.”

“You know the routine,” said Fairhrim.

“Denude myself, et cetera.”

“The things are in that cupboard,” said Fairhrim, leaving the room.

This time, Osric made certain to note precisely which cupboard was indicated by Fairhrim. Within it he found not puce gowns but large flannel pantaloons of the same colour. He arranged a pair at a daring angle at his pelvis.

Then he noticed that the pantaloons had a gaping fly and were missing a button, thus leaving the nudest part of the denudation exposed.

He settled on using Fairhrim’s ugly fuchsia notebook as a merkin.