"Ah, yes," he said blandly, "the tavern wench. I seem to recall your name was Mara. I owe this headache to you?"

"It was all her idea," Mara blurted, pointing the tip of her jeweled fan at Sariana. Gryph nodded and turned back to face Sariana. "Somehow that doesn't surprise me." He drummed

his fingers lightly on the tabletop in a gesture of barely suppressed annoyance. "My own fault," he muttered. "I must have seen the bottom of too many ale glasses by the time Mara the sexy tavern wench sat down at my table. I was careless."

"About our business proposition," Sariana continued in a brisk tone.

"What about it?" Gryph eyed his weapon kit and wondered if he was up to making a quick grab for it. The heaviness that gripped his muscles was fading, but not very rapidly. Whatever had been put into his ale had probably mixed with the alcohol already in his bloodstream and created a strong drugging effect. Given the small differences between a Shield's physical reactions and those of other people, it was predictable that the drug hadn't worked quite as planned.

Sariana spoke quickly. "A certain valuable object has

been stolen from the Avylyns. We wish to engage you to get it back for us."

Gryph glanced at her, considering. "Why didn't you just ask me straight out if I wanted a job? Why the

drug routine?'

Sariana sighed. There was regret in her eyes but her voice didn't falter. "We sent three messages to the apartments you are renting. You chose to ignore all three."

"You were behind those stupid little notes requesting a business meeting?" he asked in astonishment. If he'd known she'd been the author of those very formal, very elegant, very arrogant notes he would have been at the Avylyns' front door immediately.

"Yes, as a matter of fact, I was," Sariana replied. "Now, as I was saying, if you hadn't ignored them - " "I ignored them," Gryph said calmly, "because I'm not looking for a job at the moment." Bryer spoke up, his curiosity getting the better of his nervousness. "Then why are you here? Shields

rarely spend much time in Serendipity or any other town unless they're looking for a job."

"Or a wife," Gryph reminded him. The Avylyns stared at him.

"I wondered if that might be your reason," Lady Avylyn said quietly. She looked uneasily at her daughter.

Gryph could have told her not to worry about her precious Mara. He had absolutely no interest in the young woman. She might have made an amusing bed partner for one night, but she was not a potential Shieldmate. He had known that as soon as she had sat down across from him and asked him to buy her a glass of ale. He'd already had a fair amount to drink and he had given up his search for the

evening. Under such circumstances, Mara had appeared temporarily interesting. Sariana was paying no attention to the undercurrents in the room. She seemed unaware of the Avylyns'

new source of anxiety as she plunged ahead with her business proposition. Gryph had to admire her perseverance. And her tongue. The latter never seemed to be still for long. He leaned on his hand and fantasized briefly about shutting her up with a kiss. It would be interesting to see how much longer she could continue to chatter once he had his tongue inside her mouth.

"When you proved unwilling to meet with us," Sariana was saying crisply, "I made the decision to use a mild hypnotic in the hopes that it would put you into a more, shall we say, receptive state of mind while we negotiated. I realize that probably strikes you as somewhat bold, but under the circumstances I felt I had no other option."

"Bold?" Gryph examined the word. "No, I wouldn't say it was bold. Dumb, perhaps. Stupid, maybe. But I don't think bold quite captures the spirit of such a piece of idiocy."

Sariana's brows came together in a quelling expression. "Look, I have apologized for the inconvenience you have experienced. Believe me, I would not have attempted such a thing if we had not been quite desperate."

"Inconvenience! Is that how you describe what you did to me? You have an interesting way with words, lady."

"I am trying to explain to you exactly what happened so that we may proceed in a rational manner to conclude a perfectly reasonable business deal," Sariana said with obviously forced patience.

"Plan A has obviously failed. Have you got a Plan B?" Gryph told himself that if he weren't feeling so rotten he might almost be enjoying himself. The lady was amusing, as well as a challenge.

And she still had her small, silvered fingertips around his weapon kit. He knew she sensed its importance to him and he also knew she was frantically trying to figure out how to use the kit to get what she wanted. It would be interesting to see what she did next.

Sariana Dayne was no great beauty, Gryph decided objectively. But her sleekly styled hair and quietly refined clothing made her stand out in comparison to the vivid Avylyns. He liked the sparkling intelligence in her hazel eyes, her small tilted nose and the fullness of her lower lip.

She had vital, appealing features. She was the kind of woman who drew a man with more subtle lures than those used by giggling, fluff-headed beauties such as Mara Avylyn.

"We don't have what you might call a Plan B," Sariana said slowly, tapping her silver nails absently against the black kit under her hand. "But I would like you to listen to our original proposal."

"Did anyone warn you that a Shield's services don't come cheap?"

Sariana rallied to the challenge as if she thrived on this sort of encounter. Her smile was more dazzling than ever. "I was told such services are quite expensive, when they can be purchased at all. I understand

you usually spend your days chasing bandits, but that you will occasionally take on private commissions."

"Occasionally." Gryph tried a smile of his own. One that showed plenty of teeth. "For a price." "Yes, well, I should make it clear right from the start that the Avylyns have something of a cash flow

problem at the moment."

"A cash flow problem," Gryph repeated blankly. "Just a small one," Sariana assured him breezily. "Nothing that. won't be under control within the next few months. It means, of course, that you would have to be willing to accept your payment at a later date than you might under most circumstances, but that shouldn't be a major hurdle in our negotiations."

Gryph held up a palm in an effort to stow her down. He was finding it difficult to follow the conversation. "Wait a minute. You mean you want me to do the job now and then sit around and wait a few months for my pay?"