"They weren't either." Quiet enough to be a mere whisper, but clear as window-glass and with no hint of blame. "They rode to deal with Farson's men, all of them, and the oil they'd taken, while I waited. Things would have been different otherwise, I wot, but they say in Gilead ka has neither heart nor mind, and they're not wrong. They kennit, though, for what Roland saw in the glass." Sorrow, now, in her voice. "I told thee it were an evil, cruel thing."

Susan squeezes his hand, and meets his eyes with a clear and steady gaze. "Thee won't cause me pain, Caspian. I'd not hurt thee again like I did this morn, but thee'd never hurt me, and well I kennit. So I'd have thee stay, if thee would, and I'd be glad of it."