The group arrives at Sandry’s “town home,” which is unfathomably large and ornate.  The book and all the characters treat this with a “o.O Daymn, how much gilt does one family even need” attitude, and the characters other than Sandry are all made uncomfortable by how ridiculously wealthy everything is.  

Briar gets flirtatious with one of the maids, to which all the girls roll their eyes, because he may not be annoying the ladies he’s flirting with but he’s sure annoying everyone else.  It’s just an excuse to get Daja thinking about sex, though.  She finds it odd that Briar actually likes it, and their teachers, too, because everything she’s tried has been just awkward.

There’s no hint of judging in this passage.  No thoughts from Daja about anyone’s actions being wrong, not theirs or hers.  She’s merely curious that everyone else seems to have a different view on “kissing” than she does.

Can we just stop and talk about how awesome it is that this book can still bring up sex-related issues, problems, and confusion without judging anyone who’s involved?  Briar is obnoxious and Daja is confused, but it’s all normal human behavior, that’s it.  Because normal humans tend to be squishy and annoying and confusing, and that’s irritating but still okay!

Tris spends the next day up in her room, looking at the wind, as she is wont to do these days.

the wind carried her images of Berenene’s laughing, unforgettable face and those of her courtiers: Quenaill the mage, the angry huntsman of a day ago, a buxom young woman with glossy brown ringlets, a blond man with eyes like turquoises, and other men and women

Jee, I wonder which courtiers are going to be important?

Briar wakes up in the middle of the night because he heard Ambros (Sandry’s cousin/estate manager) coming in.  He goes to investigate and meets the man informally in the kitchen.

“You’ve heard of me?” Briar asked, settling on the bench across the table from Abros.  “I’m sure it was most of it lies.  I’m a reformed character these days.”

“Ambros chewed and swallowed his mouthful before he said, “My cousin only wrote me that you were a very fine plant mage and her foster-brother,” he replied quietly.  “Are you a reformed plan mage or a reformed foster-brother?”

WIT THAT ISN’T MEAN!

LOOK AT IT AND GLORY!

Somehow the conversation gets around again to Briar’s sex life (okay, yeah, I’m over it.  WTF, book?) and he makes a mention of the fact that uses a magic herb that turns men temporarily sterile so that he doesn’t end up with any kids.  Being the son of a single mother, and raised by women hammering responsibility into his head, of course he’s careful.

I mean, I’m tickled pink that there’s a guy doing this instead of pushing it off on the women to try and stop their fertility, because that is actually a big issue.  Did you know there’s a simple process which makes men temporarily infertile, and it’s completely reversible, it’s cheap, and there’s no hormones or side effects involved?  But heaven forbid we talk about that, no, let’s make women take massive amounts of synthetic hormones instead.  And then make that contested, too.  Because in this culture fertility and contraceptives are always the woman’s responsibility, whereas if you suggest that men do the same thing it’s considered emasculating.  Not with Briar, though!  He’s responsible for his own actions and he’s going to own up to that, because he’s a smexy, smexy mature and confident man.

On the other hand, wow, could that passage have been shoved in there any more awkwardly?  I love that you’re progressive, Tammy, but you don’t really need to shove every sex-positive message into the book.  You can stick to just the ones that actually fit.

Sandry shows up, and Briar is impressed to see that she has actually put really subtle magic all over the house to tell her if new people arrive.  (Or, presumably, if anything else unusual happens.)  He notes that he’s been slacking off when it comes to keeping his magic skills in top form, so he slinks off to meditate while Sandry and Ambros chat.

Ambros tries to persuade Sandry to stay forever, instead of her planned visit, because her lands need her.  Sandry says “psh, but why?  You’re so good at all this, and I’m better at running my uncle’s dukedom, and I’d just be bored here if all I got to do was sign the occasional paper that you need signed.”

Apparently, it does not occur to her that she could take over his work and get to know the people and customs (her excuse for why he’s better suited).

Sandry also hilariously (in retrospect) believes that Berenene is “reasonable” and will accept that Sandry isn’t stay in the country so long as Sandry “explains everything.”  Oh, I just love her.  She’s so mature in some respects, so naive in others.  Very age appropriate.  It’s adorable. 😀