He smiled at her, and reached a hand out to her. "Well, you're more than welcome," he replied. "I would never refuse you anything; you know that, don't you?"

She took his hand and propped herself on his knee. "Nor I you. I just want to get married. I almost don't e'en want to get married; I just want to kick everyone else out and stay like this fore'er and not e'en let the matter trouble us." She swallowed. "Dear, we do need to go soon, now that you're more or less together. Meg's misplaced the Acorn."

Marcello blinked. "What?" he asked. "As in...actually put her somewhere? Or is she missing?"

She nodded. "They just now started looking for her." Then she remembered Marcello would have no idea when 'just now' was. "Right before Moira set you right, I mean. As long as she's in the house, she should be fine. But--" She gave him a meaningful look.

"Well, she wouldn't leave the house, would she?" Marcello asked. "The house wouldn't let her go anywhere dangerous."

"It scarce lets her very far away from Morgana," she assured him. "If she's just wandered off playing, we'll find her right quickly. And no one would take her out of the house."

Marcello nodded, and gave her a nervous look. "Well, let's find her. Can't we just ask the house where to go?"

Niabheara looked pained. "We can try. I don't know that Cnoch-na-Niall really knows who people are, specifically. It just sort of nudges you toward them." She slipped down from his knee. "I'm looking for Acorn," she said. "The little girl? Meg's little girl? Could you take me to her? Or lead her back to her mother?"

She held her breath, then let it out in relief as a door slid into place on the far side of the room.

Marcello got up, and smiled. "Good neighbor," he said to the door, as he held it open for her. "There," he said. "We'll find her in no time."

The door let in an immediate blast of wintry air and the floor fell sharply away to the steep wall of the castle. Niabheara gasp and jerked away, pulling Marcello with her lest he should try to step through. She gave him a wild, panicked look.