"I'm sorry, I ....I've been getting dizzy spells every now and then," she apologised, her expression crumpling into amused consternation when she realised that the something cool had been his own pocket handkerchief dipped into her glass of iced water.

"Please, Marin, do not apologise," he insisted, shaking his head as he sat back down. "I should not have laid it out so abruptly for you, especially since you'd already told me about your condition. My Georgie was prone to attacks like that every time she fell pregnant."

"They don't happen often," Marin assured him with a weak smile. It would be a while before the color would return to her face, but at least Evan wasn't here to expound her distress with what would, inevitably, be his stony silent reaction to the information she had just received. "Once the money is paid back, he can't use that document, can he" It's only in lieu of payment, and he'll receive the payment."

"He has already recieved the payment," Mr Hayes nodded, and Marin felt a little of her tension drain away. "As you know, I have been working closely with the representatives from the Small Business Relief Fund, as well as the Kitsune Foundation, and I can categorically state that as of this morning at 09:30 AM exactly, you and the Brambles do not owe Mr Sidney Rogier a single copper penny."

"Oh, thank the gods." Her reaction was heartfelt and sincere. She'd hated every minute of having that debt hanging over her head, knowing that so long as it did, Rogier could be expected to keep his despicable crony, Dobson, lurking along the perimeter of their land. She'd even seen him a couple of times herself; on one memorable occasion, he had come face to face with her in the stables in the middle of the afternoon. The Shire workhorse she had been grooming, however, had been her savior then. She didn't doubt it had taken a good few weeks for the broken shoulder the horse gave Dobson to heal completely.

Smiling at her relief, Mr Hayes paused a moment before going on, not liking what he was about to say but feeling that it needed to be said. "I feel I should warn you that he has been heard to make threatening comments regarding your husband, Marin," he said quietly. "I believe he has Chad Dobson investigating your Evan's background. They're looking for something to use against him. You should both be prepared in case they find something."

Instantly, Marin's mind flashed to Maggie, Evan's daughter, displaced from them in time and location. She should be safe with Emma in the 1800's of Earth, but Rhy'Din bred a particular type of mind. If Dobson was familiar with how portals worked, would he be able to trace Evan's steps backward and find the little girl left behind" She frowned, unhappy with that thought, envisioning a fresh round of argument with her husband about the safety of his daughter and her foster mother.

"Thank you for warning me," was all she said to the elderly solicitor watching her warily. "I'll make sure Evan knows. We'll ....we'll think of something to keep his past off-limits."

Mr Hayes nodded, clearly unhappy to have offered the warning in the first place, but unprepared to leave them so open and vulnerable. He hadn't met this Evan Lassiter yet, but the change in Marin from grieving, frightened little girl to confident, steady woman over the past months could not be denied. The man who had bound her to him had worked something of a miracle, in the old lawyer's mind.

"But, moving on from such dire possibilities ..."

The rest of his news was far better. He had tracked down several of the old families who had lived on the Brambels and worked the land with the Richards', and most were prepared to return. Those who weren't had offered up the names of friends or family who could take their place, and with these names in hand, Mr Hayes had managed to convince the Kitsune Foundation to release the next part of the grant from the Small Business Relief Fund in order to pay for bed and board for the people who would shortly be flooding back to the Brambles, to prepare the farm for the harvesting season.

This news was wonderful for Marin to hear. She could remember the farm being a place bustling with people, always alive with the sounds of someone doing something or singing something or laughing with one another over their work. It would be joyful to restore that to the Brambles, one step closer to the way she remembered her childhood being. Yes, it was a little less privacy for everyone outside their own room in the house, but such things could be swept aside in favor of bringing the Brambles back to life again.

As she left Mr Hayes' office an hour or more later, Marin was feeling buoyant once again, skipping happily up onto the cart Bill was sat on outside the sombre building to use it as a mounting step, sliding into her accustomed place in front of Evan on his horse with a smile and kiss. Everything was in hand; soon, things would be as she had always remembered them. And if there were clouds brewing on the horizon, she could always reassure herself with the old platitude ....every cloud has a silver lining.