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her family might annoy her at times, she still loved them.
    In addition to the oatmeal, there were dried apples, honeycomb, and milk from the neighbor’s cow. It tasted much better than the food the servants were given at the castle, and Mara gave a contented sigh as she took a bite of honeycomb.
    “Mara and I are off to market after breakfast,” her mother said. “I thought we could take some fresh nettles for barter. Lily and Pansy, cut me some before you go off to school. And Mara, we’ll take eggs along, as well. Mrs. Weir is always happy to give us some good trout in exchange.”
    “Don’t cut all the nettles,” Mara’s elder sister, Seanna, said. “We need some for our studies with the herbwife.”
    Their mother gave her a sharp look. “Plenty of nettle patches all over. Old Soraya doesn’t need to raid ours.”
    Sean nudged his twin’s shoulder. “We can gather some from beside the baker’s.”
    The twins had been apprenticed to the herbwife since last fall, in an arrangement that seemed to suit everyone.
    Mara’s father, a man of little words, finished his breakfast, gave his wife a peck on the cheek, and departed for work at his small brewery located on the outskirts of the village. He and a good friend had started it up ten years ago, and everyone scoffed at the notion. Little Hazel was too tiny a village to support a brewery!
    But their beers and mead had turned out to be excellent, and they now had a nice export business going, with vendors and even a few inns all over Raine carrying Geary’s Meads and Ales.
    Mara glanced around their cozy cottage, at her family who all seemed content with the fit of their daily lives. Well, except for Pansy, who had already mapped out her future away from Little Hazel and seemed to have no doubts about it.
    Mara wondered, not for the first time, what was the matter with her. Why did she never quite belong? What was the restless itch she’d felt just under her skin ever since she’d been a child?
    Swallowing the last of her tea, and with no answers, she rose and helped her mother clear the table.
     

    “Look.” Mara’s mother prodded her in the ribs. “Thom is over there, by the potato seller. Go and say hello.”
    Mara glanced up from the tray of silver jewelry she’d been admiring. The necklaces were beautiful, like spun moonlight—and far above what they could afford. When her mother asked, she’d say she’d been looking at the braided copper rings instead.
    “Oh look, he’s seen us.” Mara’s mother waved and called a greeting.
    Thom saw them and, smiling widely, started to make his way to where they stood.
    Too late to escape. Mara dredged up a pleasant smile. It was always difficult, trying to be kind to Thom without giving him undue encouragement.
    “Mara!” Thom fetched up before her, his brown eyes shining. He took off his cap and made her a clumsy bow. “You’re back from the castle.”
    “She missed you too much to stay,” Mara’s mother said.
    “Mother!” Mara glared at her mother, then turned to Thom. “She’s teasing, of course. They found they’d hired too many maids, and I was let go.”
    “That’s a pity,” he said. “But I can’t say I’m sad about it, since now you’re home where you belong.”
    More than ever, Mara felt as though she did not belong—but it was hardly the time or place to try and explain.
    “It’s Mara’s birthday,” her mother said. “Seventeen—such a good age to think about starting a family of her own.”
    “I disagree,” Mara said, but the damage was already done.
    Thom gazed at her, the adoration shining in his eyes making her quite uncomfortable. For the first time that day, she regretted wearing her prettiest gown. While she’d always thought Thom a nice enough boy, if she thought of him at all, she’d never returned the force of emotion he so clearly directed at her every time they met.
    “May I come and call upon you soon?” Thom asked, crumpling his cap between his