Free Mouse and Dragon by Steve Miller, Sharon Lee

frowned slightly. "I would not say transparent , only . . . strangely obvious. It is odd, but not unpleasant." She looked over to him. "Do you find it so?"
    "Unpleasant? No. Surprising, I would say."
    "And not precisely what you anticipated," Aelliana murmured, her fingers warm on his knee. "What did you anticipate, Daav?"
    He hesitated. "Any number of things, since last evening, and been joyously proved wrong in most." He took a breath. "May I ask that we pursue this topic . . . later, after we have made you known to my cha'leket , gained his smile, and seen you comfortably settled? It may be that a few hours more will illuminate that which is presently obscure."
    After a moment, she nodded. "That may be wisest. Tell me about your brother."
    Encapsulate Er Thom? Almost, he laughed again, but—no. Aelliana was tentative among strangers. Her manner was—or had been, he corrected himself—self-effacing, and her manners , while not boorish, were . . . unpolished. Well she might be shy of meeting a High Clan lordling in his own house. Especially with the example of her own brother before her.
    "Er Thom is . . . very dear to me. And you must forgive me for miring you immediately in another of Korval's muddles."
    "Is he not your brother, then?" Aelliana teased.
    "Ah, you think it a simple question! We are the children of identical twins, near enough to the brothers our hearts believe us to be. However, Er Thom was born to Petrella yos'Galan, and I to Chi yos'Phelium. More! The delm ordered our births, and thereafter took both of us into her care and training. We were two seeds in one pod, you understand, neither one greater nor lesser than the other, until we came halfling. At that point, the delm decreed that I be sent to the Scouts, as the children of yos'Phelium often are, and that Er Thom join his mother aboard Dutiful Passage , there to learn all he might of the mysteries of trade."
    "It must have been very hard," Aelliana said softly. "To have grown so near, then parted so sternly."
    Daav sighed. "Certainly, it seemed so at the time. But, Delm's Wisdom will out, you know, and in the end we both saw that it had been no random cruelty. Er Thom now stands as Korval's master trader, thodelm of Line yos'Galan, and heir to the delm. I trust him with my life—indeed, I trust him with Korval! And that was wisdom—to weave us together, so that either might become what the other is, at need, for the profit and the strength of the clan."
    "Your delm was . . . farseeing," Aelliana murmured.
    "She did her best, which is all any of us may do. Even those of us doomed as delm." He gave her a swift smile. "But of Er Thom! He is lifemated to Honored Scholar of Linguistics Anne Davis, and his heir, young Shan, is a joy and a terror to all."
    "Scholar Davis?" Aelliana sat up straighter. "I have not yet read her book!"
    He gave her an amused glance. "She would scarcely have expected it."
    "Truly? I have read reviews in the journals, and seen discussions among the scholarly forums—indeed, the scholar's work seems to me to be at least as weighty as you would have me believe the Revisions to be. Perhaps more! Jon had said he would lend me his copy, when he was done."
    "I am certain Anne will be happy to give you a copy of her book, if you truly wish to read it, though I warn you, she may seem bemused. She had expected, you see, that the work would be of interest to perhaps another dozen scholars in her immediate field. The excitement that it has caused among—shall we say, among those who are not scholars?—has quite taken her by surprise."
    "Shall I not mention her work?" Aelliana asked worriedly. "I would not wish to offend—and it is true that a mathematician is not a linguist."
    "As you have an interest in the work—and an opinion!—I believe you will not offend. And, you know—Anne is a native speaker of Terran."
    Her eyes widened. "Of course she is! Would she care, do you think, if I were to practice my Terran