  &quot;Are you quite finished jabbing me in the hip with pins?&quot; I demand testily of the clumsy maids who are currently trying to fit me for my wedding dress. I am not certain we ve decided on the exact design for that exalted garment--I am determined to have straps or sleeves of some sort, while the couturiers insist that I ought to wear a strapless dress with some sort of wrapper--and so I am not sure what the point of these fittings might be, but far be it from me to argue with Zinaida s decisions, after she treated me so kindly yesterday at luncheon.
  &quot;So sorry, milady,&quot; the offending maid stammers as she tries once again to get the pin through the white fabric (which I find more than a bit itchy) without also piercing my skin.
  &quot;We re almost finished with today s fitting session, Aerys, I promise,&quot; Malina assures me. She seems worn down. I haven t seen muc

  &quot;Well, it seems we ve come across some free time,&quot; Dmitri observes casually as we leave luncheon. &quot;Perhaps you d like to go for a ride? We haven t visited Excalibur in quite some time. I fear he s getting lonely, and I m convinced that he s under-exercised.&quot;
  &quot;By all means. It s been quite some time since we ve had any time for such wonderful, leisurely pursuits. We should certainly take advantage of it,&quot; I agree immediately. Some time out of the mansion together, away from Giacomo and the problems he causes, could only do us good. My conversation with Malina yesterday convinced me of that much, if of little else.
  We need not exchange more words as we make our way through the passageways to the stables. Roderick helps us with Excalibur, as usual, and we depart from the mansion mere minutes from when we left the dining room. I breathe a deep sigh of reli

  &quot;Dmitri, that was not enough rest and you know it,&quot; I grumble, hiding under my duvet and praying that he ll just go away.
  &quot;It doesn t matter. Our presence is required for luncheon in less than five minutes. I m not thrilled about it, either, but we have to go, and that means you have to get out of bed,&quot; Dmitri replies, pulling the covers off me. I m being invisible again, but the covers had more or less revealed my position and so Dmitri s arms wrap around me before I can escape. He pulls me out of bed, very much against my will.
  &quot;But I m still tired!&quot; I whine, clutching at the bedposts as I release the invisibility (there s no point in it now).
  &quot;You re putting up far too much of a fight to be really tired,&quot; Dmitri points out irritably. &quot;Will you just come along quietly? The sooner we go, the sooner it s over and we can move on to more

&quot;Are you quite finished jabbing me in the hip with pins?&quot; I demand testily of the clumsy maids who are currently trying to fit me for my wedding dress. I am not certain we ve decided on the exact design for that exalted garment--I am determined to have straps or sleeves of some sort, while the couturiers insist that I ought to wear a strapless dress with some sort of wrapper--and so I am not sure what the point of these fittings might be, but far be it from me to argue with Zinaida s decisions, after she treated me so kindly yesterday at luncheon.
  &quot;So sorry, milady,&quot; the offending maid stammers as she tries once again to get the pin through the white fabric (which I find more than a bit itchy) without also piercing my skin.
  &quot;We re almost finished with today s fitting session, Aerys, I promise,&quot; Malina assures me. She seems worn down. I haven t seen much of her lately. I wonder what they ve been making her do that has her so tired.
  &quot;I m sure t

Chapter 41 Malina