Julian looks at me strangely and I realize I have tightened my grip on his hand. Looking down at my hand, I see my knuckles turning white.

"Sorry," I say to him, sheepishly.

I try to release his hand but he keeps his grip firm as we head toward the entrance of the estate.

"Are you uncomfortable with me having sent the message to Romeo?" Julian asks.

"No, not at all. You are right in that he and Corwin were good friends and besides, Romeo is the best tracker I have ever known. If anyone could find Corwin, it would be him," I respond, my voice trailing off at the end.

"Should I have explained more to him in the message, do you think?"

"No. You would not want anyone else alerted to the situation should the message not reach its intended recipient. It is better to fill him in when you receive an answer from him, should he choose to respond."

"You have a point. Thank you," he says. "Now, do you think they will have any available guest rooms here?"

"I do not think it will be a problem."

"Lady Mari, welcome back to Gortyn. It has been far too long since you last visited us here," the old overseer of the estate says in greeting.

Again, Julian gets a puzzled look on his face and asks, "You have been here before?"

"Yes, years ago."

The overseer, Hektor, smiles but says nothing on the subject other than, "I will see that your favorite room is prepared immediately. We have not had many such distinguished guests here of late. In the meantime, I will have one of the servants bring you some refreshments in the courtyard."

"Thank you, Hektor. It is good to see you again."

"And you, Miss. Please excuse me."

Julian and I make our way to the courtyard. There is a bench next to a lovely reflecting pool in the center and I sit down upon it, exhausted from our small journey. Julian continues to check out our new surroundings for a bit before joining me on the bench.

"I seem to recall one time, when us guys were out drinking, Romeo sang a song about 'his girl at Gortyn'. That wouldn't happen to have been you, would it?" Julian asks, half jokingly.

I cringe. I had so hoped to avoid having this conversation for at least a little longer.

"In all likelihood, yes," I reply quietly, looking down at the water. "It is a very old song."

"How old?" Julian asks.

"Before you and I met."

A servant approaches and offers us wine. We each take a cup and I drink deeply from mine.

"Why have you never told me this before?"

"Because no one knew about us. We chose to keep it that way. I have never told anyone, and as far as I know, neither has he. Besides, it was rather short-lived."