“You know what I know, Mally. Now you must decide what to believe.”

“I'll keep my head down," Mally assured him. "I'll be careful.""If anything happens---""If anything happens I'll tell you immediately."Ivan seemed pleased at that and relaxed against a tree trunk."Good. I don't want your mother chasing me around Lenzar with a carving knife.”

“Crazy, batty Maud," Lita teased, wiping her nose across her sleeve and staring at Mally wickedly. "Ooooh, be careful, she might cut off your hair! She'll bargain for your fingernails!”

“I looked at the faces around me, wondering what was going to happen to me ... wondering when I would see Father again."I will help you.”

“There you go! That's better! You look good smiling! You know, you really shouldn't be gloomy all the time. I've met a good amount of gloomy people and they were just that--gloomy. Mopin' around like the end of the world had happened. Thinkin' that if they crack a grin they'll be carried away by goblins and such...”

“For the first time in some years, I didn't care what Father said to me, even though I knew that by the end of the day my conscience would probably win out and I would end up apologizing to him as well.”

“I always get my way.”