Oh, you had to be kidding! Rosella resolved to work better on her stealthing skills because she was pretty sure this was one of the boys her mother had tried to get her to talk to.

Really, Valanice, were you really getting this desperate.

"No," Rosella said. "My name is Wendy. I don't even know anyone named Rosella, but what an awful name. I can only imagine she's completely horrible and an utter waste of your time."

Rosella had to admit, that was a pretty decent try, but she had far too much experience in this sort of matter, and here, she had what she didn't have in Daventry, and that was the benefit of not being known by everyone in sight.

"I don't know what you are talking about," she insisted, frowning deeply. "My mother is deeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaad."

But that would mean abandoning Alexander, which would only leave Valanice to change her focus to let's find Alexander a woman who we know actually exists still, and Alexander had to actually deal with these people on a regular basis.

So if there was one thing to betray her, it was her eyes flitting briefly toward her brother. He was, after all, that rogue element she wasn't quite used to entirely.

But they settled back on the young man soon enough. "I'm sure," she said, "if your advice made any sense at all, I would thank you for it greatly, sir, but, as it is, I honestly do not know what you are speaking of."