"I'd feel even worse." On an impulse she turned up her face and kissed Glawen's mouth.
Glawen asked: "Is that just from gratitude?"
"Not entirely."
"Let's do it again, and you tell me which part is which."
"Mother is coming. She wants to know too. Goodnight, Glawen."
The time was an hour short of midnight. Aries arrived home to find Spanchetta waiting up for him. Aries, his attention fragmented, had not yet decided upon what should be his version of the night's events and so was forced to improvise a tale with Spanchetta's un winking stare fixed upon his face.
Spanchetta made no secret of her skepticism.
"Please, Aries, it is insulting to be lied to; it is even more insulting to be taken for a half-wit. I find your story bewildering. As I understand it, you had an appointment to meet a girl along the beach, where you intended to help her with her schoolwork. Who was the girl, incidentally? Not that awful Drusilla?"
"She's not awful and she doesn't go to school," muttered Aries.
"She's out doing promotional work for the Mummers."
"Well, then: who was it?"
Aries had been told that the most proficient liars used as much truth as possible.
"If you must know, it was Wayness Tamm, from Riverview House. She's just a bit of trollop, if the truth be known--very selectively, of course."
"Hmf," said Spanchetta.
"So selectively that she beat you and gave you that awful black eye when you made advances?"
"Of course not! When I went out on the beach, I found that a couple of drunken tourists had accosted her and were giving her trouble. I piled into them and set them right, but in the process I took a blow or two myself. I think I'll stay home from school until the black eye is better and my face is less swollen."
"Absolutely not!" declared Spanchetta.
"You can't afford to miss any more school."
"I look a fright! What shall I say when people ask questions?"
Spanchetta shrugged.
"Apparently you intend to tell no one the truth. Just say that you fell out of bed. Or that you were playing whack-doodle with your grandmother."
So in the morning Aries willy-nilly went slouching off to the lyceum, where, as he had feared, his appearance aroused attention. When asked questions, he followed Spanchetta's advice and said: "I fell out of bed."
Wayness and Milo came to school as usual, but paid no attention to Aries. After the social anthropology class, Aries waited for Wayness in the hall. She walked wordlessly past, but he called out to her.
"Wayness, I want to say something to you."
"As you like, but make it short."
"You didn't take me seriously last night, did you?"
Wayness clamped her lips and turned her face away. She said softly:
"If I were you I'd be ashamed even to bring the matter up."
"I am, in a way. It seems that I became overexcited, so to speak." Aries attempted a lame grin.
"You know how it is."
"I think that you intended to kill me."
"Nonsense!" scoffed Aries.
"What a fantastic idea!"
"So it is," said Wayness with a shudder.
"I don't want to talk anymore."
"One question! Last night somebody hit me. Who was it?"
"Why do you ask?"
"Hah! Need you ask? It was a cowardly thing to do! Look at me, with this ridiculous black eye!"
"You can express your indignation to my father. You'll be seeing him shortly."
"I don't want to see your father," growled Aries.
