The feminine whine droned in her ears. “Please?”

“No.”

The tone grew grating. “Please.”

“No.”

Sill fell to her knees at Teddy’s feet. “Please!”

Sill had been nagging her for three hours and Teddy was wearing down. “Fine. Yes. I will go to dinner at Stavin’s with you to meet the Grand Champion.”

Sillohoran clapped her hands and got to her feet. “Excellent, I will pick out your clothes and you can grab a shower—you have been in that chair for far too long. You stink.”

“Flatterer.” Sighing, Theadora pushed away from the desk to make a face at her friend. As a data researcher, it was nice for her to have her best friend as her agent, but it had the effect of Teddy not being able to claim work-related business without Sill knowing the truth.

The shower took less than five minutes, but when she got out of the shower, it looked like her friend had strewn her entire wardrobe around her bedroom.

“What’s all this?”

Sillohoran sighed and looked at the options. “It’s no good. You will have to borrow something of mine.”

“No, I won’t. I will wear this dress with this jewellery.” Her dress was modestly cut but very flattering, slit to mid-thigh on either side. The jewellery was Arkhage in design, spiralling geometrics in an earring and necklace combination that always warmed her when she wore it. It gave her a quiet confidence.

“Really? That stuff is so boring!”

“I like it. It’s comfortable and I won’t be worried about it shifting to one side and flashing skin.”

“Your race is such prudes.”

“Not my race. Just me. Some of the others are party girls. And boys for that matter.”

“Well, you are one of a kind then. Come on. I want to arrive in time to have drinks before dinner.”

Bounding out of her room, her friend gave her a jaunty wave and tapped her watch as she rounded the corner. Teddy grimaced and put on some nice underwear, the gown and a nice pair of strappy sandals. She brushed her hair over and over until it crackled. Reaching back, she bound it into a long tail and then took the collar-necklace and draped it into place. The heavy weight on her chest made her breathe more deeply, calmly and she felt control rippling through her. The earrings merely completed her look. She could have been quite complete with only the necklace.

Makeup was not her thing, so she merely put on some lip balm to protect her from the spices in Mer-th cooking. She could digest them well enough, but they inflamed her lips to the point of pain. The balm went into her small evening bag with her credit slips and some data sticks so that if the evening went badly, she could slip off to Stavin’s study and get some work done.

“Are you ready yet?” Sill’s voice snaked around the corner.

“Yes. I am ready, but you won’t approve.” Taking a deep breath that flexed the front vee of her gown, she strode out into the living room to face her jury.

“It isn’t as bad as I had anticipated. It looks like Theadora, not Teddy though.” She cocked her head and circled Thea slowly. “Not bad at all.”