Virgil gladly rode with Dove — and it did not escape Arven's notice that the ferret hadn't taken to any stranger as quickly as he'd taken to her.

They headed on, and Arv could hear finches in the branches and a river through the trees. "Did you grow up here?" he asked, wondering if she and Robin had spent a happy childhood playing hide-and-seek in these trees, or if the estate was a newer procurement.