(A/N: I was going to wait to post this chapter until I finished chapter 5, but I got my first real job today at a company that seems like a made-up land of awesome, and I am too excited to keep it to myself!)

Chapter Four: A Dastardly Clever Plan

He was leaning against the wall when she came out, fidgeting with the ties to a cloth-wrapped bundle in his hands.

"Dawdling as always, I see," he said as he looked up.

"So sorry that I did not abandon my meal to attend to you immediately." She rolled her eyes. "I had no idea that this was such an important meeting." In truth, she had spent the time convincing Pepper and Jester that she was sure it was squire business, no, not a moonlit walk, and no, she really did not think he was going to clobber her over the head and dump her in a ditch and fine, she would take her sword.

"Uh…right." He cleared his throat. "This…I thought you could use this. Maybe it will make you a little bit less pathetic."

"How…kind of you," she said bemusedly, reaching for the package as he held it out.

"You cannot keep it!" he added quickly before she took it. "It is a loan. If it is dirty or torn or anything when you give it back, then you shall have to pay for it. And—and I am sure you cannot afford it. So you had best not lose it!" he said in a rush.

She frowned quizzically, unwrapping the cloth to reveal a strange parchment scroll, the likes of which she had never seen. "Well, I shall be careful with…whatever this is."

"A scroll from the Far East," he said. "They have…techniques for unarmed fighting, ones that focus on using your opponent's strength against him." He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "My father bought it third-hand off a trade caravan some years ago, but he has never managed to resell it. I thought you might find it useful. Uh…being such a…flirt-gilled little dove—kitten—pigeon and all."

She raised an eyebrow. "Kitten?"

"I said pigeon."

"I see." She carefully opened the scroll, revealing a great many strange markings that she could not make any sense of in the dim light. "Um…Gunther? I have no way to read this."

"Of course not, but there are pictures." He pointed to some of the larger markings, which did look vaguely people-shaped. "They are small, and not very detailed, so we will probably need to—ah—experiment to get them right."

She blushed. "I—thank you, Gunther. This was…very thoughtful."

He coughed, looking away. "Yes. Well. Like I said, it is a loan, so you had best be careful with it. No flying about with it or leaving it on the ground or anything like that."

She nodded. "So…erm…why were you gone for so long?"

He scoffed. "I had to work to pay for it, what do you think?" He shrugged. "All for the best. Father was…cross that I do not come help as much as I used to. This will please him a little."

"Pay for it? But you said it was a loan, and that I could not possibly afford it. I can afford a week's work, you know!" she exclaimed.

"You still have to pay for loans, Jane," he said condescendingly.

"Not that I have ever heard of. But I suppose it is your father. He would rob a miser of his last coin."

There was a time when he would have argued the last bit, but they both knew that it was true. "You cannot tell me you have never heard of usury? And here I thought you were decently educated."

"Not that family would charge you, no. Or was it because the scroll is for me?"

He let out a short, mocking laugh. "You think he would have let me borrow it if he knew that I intended to give it to you? No, as far as he knows this is for my own personal use."

"And how exactly did he expect you to use it without a partner?" she asked, hand on her hip.

He smiled sardonically. "He must just think me a clever lad."

She pondered for a moment. "I suppose that is one of the few good things that can be said about you."

If she did not know better, she would have sworn he blushed.

(Random References: The scroll in question is something along the lines of the shijuuhatte, the 48 positions of sumo...except for some form of grappling rather than for sumo, and probably from China instead of Japan. The original 48 positions inspired a kind of Japanese Kama Sutra of the same name several hundred years later, so don't look it up unless you're prepared to deal with that as well. My point is, the scroll looks vaguely like this. (Remove spaces, of course) img. photo bucket . com/albums/ v221/Ammeh /shijuuhatte .jpg)