Honore stationed himself at the end of the hall where he presumed Elaine was staying, since it had been hours now and the whole damn thing could have easily flipped over again by now. Dressed in his "good" civvies--dark blue and brown and cream, with a bit of black ribbon holding back his hair--he bounced on his heels and gave a wary look to his old enemy, the misleading post.

"Go on," he muttered under his breath. "Move. Move. I dare you. Do it while I'm watching."

Which may be why he did not notice the girl who tiptoed up behind him and clasped her hands to both of his shoulders. "Boo!" she exclaimed cheerfully.

She had also put on a dress.

Whereupon Honore let out a girlish scream and shot about three feet forward. "Merde!" He looked her over, panting. "On the name of all the saints, are you trying to scare me to death?"

She cackled, grinning, and stepped back, clasping her hands in front of her. "Only a little!" she answered. "But you were cute when you shrieked," she assured him. "How did the meeting with the Queen go?"

"Oh, a lot of people squabbling about trade arrangements and a general air of distrust and people being too polite to shout at each other," he replied airily. "Your captain turned up late, and the only reason to be there was watching my captain have a very quiet aneurysm when she laid eyes on the Queen." He dismissed it all with a wave of his hand, looking down at Elaine. "And you," he said, "look like a completely different woman in a dress."

Elaine grinned, and smoothed down her lavender skirt. It wasn't a fancy dress, but it fit her nicely and had a bit of swish to it. "Oh?" she teased, tipping her head to one side. "Is that a good thing or a bad thing? D'you want me to go put the trousers back on?"

"Don't you dare." He took hold of her shoulders to keep her from going back to her room. "You look like a little girl playing dress-up in trousers. Now you look like a lady."

"A lady?" Elaine asked nicely. "I don't think I've ever been called a lady before." She turned back around to face him, giving him a playful, curious look. "And you looked like a lobster. Now you look like a gentleman. So. Where do gentlemen take ladies to dinner?"

"Well . . . " He ran his tongue over his lips, eyes sparkling. "As I have been given strict orders not to leave the castle proper, we could be adventurous and slip into the town and see what the faerie do for supper. Or we could be less adventurous and break into the kitchens, which I figured out how to do earlier in the day, just in case. Which would you prefer?"

She gave him a mischievous look. "More adventurous," she answered. "Can you believe I've been here for weeks and barely seen the town? Have you got coin to pay for dinner?" she asked him then, more serious. "I don't want to put you out if you haven't got any. I know what kind of wages a midshipman gets."