"Nick was watching her, too, she realized, as those thoughts clamored in her mind. But not with puzzlement or enmity. He was just looking, tilting his head on the side, with one eye partly closed. "Pardon me," he said. "I was wondering how you knew Sam. Are you a . . . um . . . a princess? Only, if you're his fiancee or something, I thought I should know. To . . . ah . . . offer my congratulations, as it were. And I don't even know your name."