- nod. 

"Well. Legally we can... get everything squared away."

"Delighted to hear it." She sighs and runs a hand through her hair and sits. Khalil hugs her.

"I don't want you to leave. - I won't stop you."

"I suppose I don't have to flee in the night. It's going to collapse, though - or at least shrink - not likely to be a good return on the investment but at least I haven't spent it all yet, I can give most of it back."

He shuffles his feet unhappily.

"My condolences."

"It was going so well. Right. Well. Clothiers that make things for women close early. Suppose I'd better get on my way."

"Don't -

You asked for me, was that just so I'd - know what happened?"

"- I thought you might like to know. I'm sorry for wasting your time, I suppose this really didn't need to go through you -"

"No! No, I was just hoping - you might've had some way in mind I could fix it - I can change laws, I can't change who people'll work for - but this is stupid -"

She sighs. "You tried to pick me up, a few weeks back -"

" - yes."

"I'm not sure if you've noticed since everyone has to get on the floor when you're around, if they know who you are, but when you have only recently been around, people who know who you are show up."

"...I would be more than happy to keep ordering from your shop," he says.

"Isam - I mean Ismat -" says Khalil.

"Thank you, I'm sure that'll help," mutters Ismat.

"- I think," says Khalil, "she was wondering if you were interested enough to -"

"Khalil -"

"- marry her -"

"Well, yes! But how does that keep her business open?"

Ismat rolls her eyes dramatically at Khalil and huffs a sigh and says, "It's attention, it looks like endorsement and conspicuously so, it might compensate enough to outweigh the hassle of moving to Andoran."

"Might?" he says, kind of wounded.  " - I'm sorry. Let me -" and he casts a spell on himself, saying the incantation in an unfamiliar language, and then puts a hand to his head and thinks.

"I think it would take some work to come up with an arrangement that didn't impede your operation of your business, but it wouldn't be impossible."

"- I meant in terms of Trilliant, not in -" says Ismat. "- what'd you cast?"

"Wisdom. I apparently need some more of it. 

-you declined because - you didn't want me to realize -"

"It would have gotten to be rather conspicuous!"

" - some people pretend because they'd much rather be a man, not just because then people will treat them better but because they'd just be much happier permanently Polymorphed the other way around - is that it for you, or -"

"I could've afforded that by now if I'd badly wanted to, it would have worked out cheaper than paying the blackmail for even just six months."

Nod. "You'd live in the palace and it'd be an enormous production to get visitors and if a customer throws a paperweight at you it'll be a national incident -"

"Well, no deal if Khalil can't move with me, but I'm not attached to working shopfront, scarcely ever do - and could do most consultations by mail if someone won't tolerate the enormous production."

"Is he actually your brother -"