"Then the Duke of Savona appeared before me. He bowed, smiled, and held out his arm--and there was no time for thought. It was my very first dance in Court, and I would have liked to try it with someone I knew. But at Court one didn't dance with one's brother. With the Hill Folk, dance was a celebration of life, sometimes of death, and of the changing of the seasons. Here dances were a form of courtship--one that was all the more subtle, Nee had said once, because the one you danced with might not be the one you were courting. Savona did not speak until the very end, and then it was not the usual sort of compliment that Nee had led me to expect. Instead, he clasped my hand in his, leaned close so that I could smell his clean scent, and murmured, "Your favorite color, Meliara. What is it?" No titles, just that soft, intimate tone. I felt slightly dizzy and almost said but I had just enough presence of mind to stop myself. Blue being the primary Renselaeus color, this might be misleading. "Lavender," I said. My voice sounded to my ears like a bat squeak. The music ended then, and he bowed over my hand and kissed it. Then he smiled into my eyes. "Will you wear it tomorrow?" he asked. "Certainly. Your grace," I managed. "Call me Russav." Another bow, and he turned away." --