"Mr. Shepherd, you worry too much," Uriah said with a chuckle. "Mavis has never been scared of these things. She''s got guts, always has. If she was ever afraid, she sure didn''t learn it from me."


    "Whether or not she''s scared is her business," Norton replied, ncing up at Uriah, "but as a man, it''s your job to look out for your girl."


    He gestured around them. "Look around, Uriah. Every guy here is taking care of his girlfriend or wife."


    "Women deserve to be protected, that''s all there is to it. Especially someone as pretty as Mavis. She ought to have someone by her side."


    Uriah''s jaw clenched. He shot Norton a furious re, but when he looked around, he realized Norton was right. All around them, women of every age were being shielded by the men with them, from grandmas to teenage girls to little kids.


    Uriah noticed Mavis'' attention had drifted to Norton again. The two of them were chatting,ughing about something, and Mavis was smiling brighter than he''d seen in a long time.


    It made Uriah feel prickly and left out, but there wasn''t much he could do now except hover nearby, stewing in jealousy. He wished he''d gone to her sooner, but it was toote for that now. The crowd had gotten so thick, even Norton was getting pushed to the side.


    Elsewhere, Calliope was hanging out with Ss, the two of them watching the festivities and exchanging quietments.


    Monty and the rest had tagged along, but as more people poured into the street, they got separated and pushed into the heart of the swarm.


    Suddenly, Monty and his group stumbled into what looked like a sacred circle around a priest, who was blessing baskets of bread and cheese, an old town ritual that everyone took seriously.


    "Hey, watch it! You just disrupted the blessing!" someone snapped.


    "Who let you push through here?”


    "If you''re visiting, that''s fine, but show some respect for our traditions, will you?"


    "You''re out of line!"


    The crowd was not happy, and Monty and his group were surrounded by angry locals, their faces flushed with embarrassment.


    "We''re sorry! We didn''t mean to!"


    Monty stammered. "Really, it was


    . We''ll leave right awaet


    never meant any disrespect


    We


    But even after their apologies, the crowd stayed angry. In this town, the annual blessing was a time-honored tradition, and nobody took it lightly.


    In the end, Monty and his group had to pay a small fine to the priest and apologize again before things finally calmed down. They left the square looking like they''d crawled through a hedge backwards, not daring to look anyone in the eye.


    When they tried to rejoin Calliope and the others, more locals blocked their path. "Didn''t you say you were leaving? Go on, move along! You''ve caused enough trouble for one night."


    Monty and the others exchanged sheepish nces and hurried back to the hotel,


    not wanting to risk another confrontation.


    Back in their rooms, everyone took long showers, trying to wash off the embarrassment.


    Meanwhile, Lisette found an excuse to slip away and knock on Ulysses'' door.


    Ulysses, surprised to see her, looked up with a puzzled expression.


    "What brings you here?" he asked warily.


    The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and


    continue reading tomorrow, everyone!