Court nodded. “Will do. What about you?”

She shrugged her muscular shoulders. “I hope by me showing up like this you didn’t get the impression that everything is okay between us. I’m absolutely fucking furious with you about what you did.”

“Yeah. You conveyed that effectively in the dungeon of the castle.”

She touched her right hip. “And I’m not talking about this.”

Court nodded. “I know exactly what you’re talking about.”

“Good. That’s good. I don’t know if I can ever forgive you, to be honest. I have my reasons for that, just like you have your reasons for what you did.”

Court said nothing. He wasn’t going to fight with her. He figured now he’d take some abuse, and then she’d shuffle back down to her ride, and she’d leave him forever.

“But,” she continued, “I keep thinking that, for better or worse, the only person out there for someone like me, is someone like you. Maybe not you . . . but someone like you.”

“There is no one like me, Zoya.”

She sighed. “That’s exactly what I’m afraid of.”

Court made a face that revealed his confusion. He had next to no experience discussing relationships, but all this sounded so obscure he couldn’t make out her point, if there even was one.

Zoya continued. “And even though I’m still pissed, I wanted to come see you off before I fly back to D.C. out of Oban this afternoon.”

He climbed off the boat now and stepped onto the pier in front of her. They stood a few feet apart a moment, then he moved closer and took her in his arms.

“Carefully, please,” she said.

“Hey,” Court said as he embraced her, “I’m still pretty beat up myself.”

“We make quite a pair, don’t we?” she said, and she hugged him back gently.

After a time Court stepped back and looked at her. “Please take care of yourself,” he said.

“You, too. I’ll see you around.”

She kept the dispassionate expression up for a few seconds more, and then, for the first time in a long time, he saw her smile. It wasn’t much of a smile; it hinted at anger and suspicion and trouble ahead, but for now, at least, it was good enough for him.

She reached out and touched the side of his face tenderly, then she turned away and began heading back up the dock, while Court watched her go.