Elisebeth stopped where the side path widened beyond the stores. A low wall separated the path from the wooded slope, putting the busy courtyard out of sight. Nobody else had followed them.
Martin waited beside her. She looked back once, checking the turn they had just passed, then faced him.
"I'm joining your harem," she said.
His breath caught. Elisebeth's golden eyes stayed on his, giving him no chance to mistake what she meant.
"Alexandra, Katherine, Cassandra. I know. I want to be with you while you're with them." She drew a breath through her nose. "That is my answer."
For a moment, Martin could only look at her. He had wanted this for so long that hearing her say it seemed to require a different response from any he had imagined.
Then she reached for his right hand, and he stopped trying to find one.
"Yes," he said. "I want you with me."
