Magic Can Be Murder (19 page)

The fact that he had been doing nothing wrong nor potentially embarrassing apparently wasn't enough. "Don't
ever
do that again," he told her. "I would hate to have to shave my head just to ensure privacy."

"I'll never do it again," she promised.

Then, finally, he pulled her in closer for an embrace. He buried his face in her hair and didn't even seem to mind that it was hair the color of dead grass rather than ripening wheat.

Nola's mother was practically bouncing with joy. "Oh, your father is if pleased," she said. "And so's Grand-mama, and the abbot, and Mother Superior—the baby, of course, is too young to understand—but King Fenuku is very excited. Whew!" She waved her hand in front of her nose.

As her mother continued to chatter, Nola shook her head. "I'm sorry," she told Galvin. "She gets these strange fancies—"

"Another never," Galvin told her. "
Never
apologize for your family."

Nola looked at her mother, looked back at Galvin, cook a deep breath, and gave an emphatic nod. "You're right."

"Of course I am," Galvin said. He, too, took a deep breach. "And with that in mind," he cold her, "you're going to
love
my mother."