"Oh, man, that smells wonderful!" Matt exclaimed as the scents of the food vendors rolled over them. Mercy and Lance laughed.

"Everything edible smells good to you, brother!" Lance teased, but Mercy knew that, if he was like her, his mouth was watering just as much. Breakfast had been some time ago, and it had been a small fair at that.

Dadus, who seemed to have a perpetual smile, said, "Let's go grab us a few meat pies!" His eyes glittered and it swelled Mercy's heart to see the joy on his face at being in town once again.

"Say, Dadus, how come you don't just move into town? I mean, you seem to know everyone..." she asked as they walked slowly, giving him time to keep up.

"Tsk child! Who would take care of the ol' homestead if I did?" He looked at her meaningfully, "Who would take care of Johanna? She's been needing you to come by for some time now."

Tears welled up in Mercy's eyes. "I appreciate Johanna more than I can say, Dadus. But, now that we have met and she has shared her knowledge, perhaps it might be time for you to move on?"

A faraway look overcame Dadus and he mumbled, "Aye, perhaps you are right, child. My talent would be in high demand once again if I lived here..."

Matt smiled and winked at Mercy over Dadus' head and they both knew that it'd not be long before he was looking to relocate.

The wooden walkway they had been traveling on turned to stone as they neared the market square. They could hear the vendors beginning to hawk their wares. Dadus and Matt located the food, mostly by Matt's nose, and Lance purchased breakfast for the four of them.

"Now," Dadus said, wiping his mouth, "let's drop off Lance."

As if one cue, they heard the first of the Blacksmith's hammer blows ring through the damp morning air. Mercy could see Lance's body tighten and she realized how much he really did miss the forge.

"Come on, guys," she said, gathering her and Dadus' trash, "let go find our blacksmith his forge for the day."

Lance grinned sheepishly at her as he shoved his hands in his pockets. "Thanks, Mercy."

The forge was around the corner from the vendors. A gigantic bear of a man pounded on a newly heated piece of iron.

"William! It's good to see you again!"

The man glanced up before doing a double take, "Dadus! My man! It's been ages!"

Willam thrust the iron back into the hot coals and came out of the forge to shake the much smaller man's hand. "The wife mentioned something about you coming by and bringing some young journeyman, Evertree I think she said, with you?" His eyes quickly found Lance.

Lance stood a little taller under his scrutiny. "Yes Sir. I work at my father's forge and am slated to take over when he passes, may that be many years from now."

"Your father? Would he be Smith Evertree of Mount Saint Hope?"

"Aye, that would be my father! I take it you know of him."

"Every Smith knows of Evertree, son. Well, if you are his journeyman, you're welcome at my forge any time." He held out an enormous hand to Lance who shook it with gusto.

"That's much appreciated, Sir." Lance pointed at Mercy and said, "Let me introduce to you my friend Mercy Lane and my twin brother Matthew."

William nodded to Matt before glancing at Mercy, "Well, it's not uncommon for young men to be out and about traveling, looking for adventure, but not so much young women. What might you be doing in these parts?"

Mercy cleared her throat, "It is actually me who is on the quest. I'm hoping to get out of a marriage contract and they have given me my task."

"Oh? Betrothed to some scoundrel are you?"

Lance coughed and blushed while Matt snickered. Even Dadus hid a smile behind a hand.

Mercy's eyes glittered, "A right scoundrel he is, Sir!" nodding her head at Lance.

The smith looked from one to another before roaring with laughter. "Wait! You're betrothed to each other? And he's helping you get out of it? Oh, that is a rich tale!"

Lance blushed even redder as the party laughed, taking the teasing good-naturedly. "Mercy, Matt, and I have been friends since we were children, Sir. She's in love with someone else. It didn't feel right to force her to go through with it."

The smith nodded and clapped Lance roughly on the back, "Aye, that be true." He motioned to the forge. "Let me show you around. What are you considering making today?"

"Well, I'll be happy to create you whatever you need after I make several pounds of nails. We need them for a project."

"Nails shouldn't be a problem for you, then. After that, we'll see if you've your Dad's talent."

They moved off toward the forge, already engrossed in conversation, leaving Dadus, Mercy, and Matt on the sidewalk.

"Well, it seems we've been abandoned, children!" Dadus said with a laugh.

"It would seem so," Mercy said, squinting at the sky. The sun was well above the horizon and she was itching to get started. "Can we find Laura and Teresa?"

"Of course. Her shop is on the other side of the square. Come on," Dadus said and they set off at his slow pace toward it.

As they neared the store, Mercy scrutinized the dresses and other accessories in the window. There was nothing there that was spectacular, though what was there was pretty. It was clear Laura's talent didn't lie with sewing and fiber art. Mercy didn't think they were bad, but she knew that she could easily do better. But, she'd never point that out to Laura; it wasn't her intent to insult the woman with whom she would bargain.

A bell on the door rang as they entered the shop and a young girl about the age of Mercy's young sister, Zephyr, went running into the back shouting, "Ma! They're here!"

It was only a moment or two before a middle-aged woman parted the curtain and walked from around the counter, hand outstretched to Mercy. Laura took Mercy's hand in both of her own, "It is so nice to meet you, Mercy! I've been looking forward to this ever since Johanna told my mother you were coming."

Mercy likewise clasped Laura's hands, "As I have been looking forward to it as soon as Johanna told me about your shop."

Apparently not one to beat about the bush, Laura asked, "I understand that you have Johanna's talent of spinning sunshine?" Mercy could see the greed in Laura's eyes.

"Daughter! Don't be rude!" said an old woman whom Mercy guessed was Teresa coming from the back. "At least offer them some tea before settling into business."

With Teresa was a younger woman, obviously a relation by the shape of her face compared to her elder, in a charming, yet simple, dress. Mercy heard Matt suck in a breath and saw him stand a little straighter. The girl blushed and looked down at her hands clasped in front of her.

"I am so sorry," Laura said with false sincerity. "Can I offer you some refreshment?"

"Well, actually," Mercy replied, "If this were purely a social visit, I would say yes, but, truth be told, I am here to make money and bargain for embellishments for three dresses I am making."

Laura's pasted smile broadened into a genuine one. "Well then! Let me show you what I have and then we can settle on a price."

Laura took her to a set of trunks and display cases, opened them up and allowed Mercy to see her wares. It was all Mercy could do to not gasp in astonishment. Everything she saw was beyond anything that she could hope to find at home. She wondered why the dresses in the window didn't have such finery on them.

It didn't take her long to decide. She wanted several measures of delicate laces, handfuls of glittering buttons, and many strands of pearls. She was delighted to find hair clips that matched the themes of the buttons, too.

With her pile of things on the table, she turned to Laura and fished out a small bobbin of spun sunshine to hand to Laura. She secretly felt vindicated when Laura gasped before delicately taking the bobbin from her.

"Oh, this is lovely, Mercy." She made as if to scrutinize it before saying, "Not quite as good as Johanna's from what I have been shown, but lovely."

Mercy scowled, knowing that it matched Johanna's quality easily, and the bargaining began. They settled a price of three full bobbins of spun sunshine for the table full of embellishments. Mercy felt that it was a bit much, and Laura claimed it wasn't quite enough, so both were mostly satisfied.

"I understand that Johanna once had an arrangement with your mother Teresa," Mercy said as Laura's teenage daughter, still blushing under Matt's gaze, bagged up her purchase.

"Oh?" Laura's eyebrows raised and she looked expectantly at her mother. Mercy's mouth twitched in amusement; Teresa had deliberately not told Laura of the bargain.

"Yes, Johanna would sit outside the shop and spin sunshine into her gorgeous thread. I would buy it from her then mark it up three times what it was worth," Teresa explained.

"Really now?" Laura said, head swiveling back to Mercy. "And you wish to engage in this bargain?"

"I do. I can only do it for one day, however, so you should be prepared to mark it up more..." Mercy said.

"And, I suppose you want to be paid more in return," Laura stated with a wry grin.

"Of course."

As she haggled on the price with Laura, Mercy couldn't help but notice Matt was enthralled by the young woman. So much so he hadn't said a thing since entering the shop.

Satisfied with the amount, she added, "There is yet one more thing."

Laura was taken aback. "Well, you are a bundle of surprises, aren't you?" she said, smiling at Mercy. Apparently, driving a hard bargain was the way to make friends with her, and Mercy had done her share of that.

Mercy laughed, "Yes, actually, this is much more for your mother, Teresa, than for you." Mercy smiled at the older woman who had also noticed Matt's infatuation. She winked as Mercy and nodded her head at the two of them standing close to each other, but studiously ignoring each other.

"Matt is skilled in languages. It's his talent. He can read anything. Johanna said that you had some patterns that you would love to have translated. I recommend asking Matt if he would like to offer his talent... for a reasonable fee, of course."

"Oh, of course. I'm thinking the 'reasonable fee' might include a chaperoned lunch," Teresa said and they all laughed, a sound that Matt and the young woman obviously didn't hear.

Laura turned to Mercy, hands on her hips. "So, anything else that you'd like to bargain?"

Mercy held her hands up as if in surrender. "No, no! I'm quite done now."

She and Laura grinned as Mercy headed for the door.

"What do you need from me, Mercy?" Laura asked, nice as honey now that her bargaining was done.

"Well, a small table with something to drink would be lovely and, maybe that young woman with whom Matt is so taken would sit out here with me? I thought she might make bracelet trinkets to hand out to help entice people to shop for the thread?"

"Oh, splendid idea!" Laura agreed before poking her head back in the shop, "Helena! Come and help Mercy set up and let her tell you what she wants you to do."

The young girl was shy, but, as fate would have it, adept at making the children's craft bracelet. "I make them for my little sister and her friends all the time," she explained quietly.

Just as Mercy was going to sit and find her wheel, there came a commotion from the alley beside the shop. Matt was manhandling a table while Laura carried a chair and desk supplies, followed closely by Teresa with a box of small books.

"It seems that Matt needs some fresh air today and doesn't want the women folk out here alone with such valuable wares," Teresa said to Mercy with another solicitous wink.

"Oh, perfect idea," Mercy said, the sarcasm in her voice eliciting a chuckle from the grandmother.

At last, Matt was settled and Helena was waiting on thread. Mercy took a few steps into the walkway so that the flow of traffic would have to go around her and sat to find her wheel. Soon, she was using a handful of the fibers she'd brought in her pouch to spin the midmorning sun into golden thread.