"Is this him?" I barreled down the front steps and nearly knocked the steward's hat off before I remembered to stop. "Emberly!" Lauryn's voice clipped across the yard. "Mind your manners." "Is this the child?" the steward asked again, looking past me to where Nicolas knelt on the mat, palms flat, eyes lowered. "Yes," Lauryn said. "This is Nicolas Arnold. He lives here." The steward's smile didn't reach his eyes. "He is Master Arnold's son. I have a summons." Nicolas kept his head down. "I belong to the Deleon household." The steward straightened, hand on the cloth roll at his side. "Your matron here knows the law. The Arnolds will reclaim their heir." "Not today," Lauryn said. She had been the kind of woman who did not announce anger. She showed it by moving like a blade. "Who sent you?" "Godfrey Chaney, steward to Lord Arnold. He carries Lord Arnold's seal." He held his chin like a man who'd rehearsed the pause on purpose. I snorted before I could stop myself. "Seal or not, you look like a man who gets paid in new cuffs." "Emberly." Lauryn's warning was quiet but sharp. I smiled anyway. Godfrey's lips twitched. "Mock me as you like. The law favors blood." "Then show the papers." Godfrey unfolded the cloth roll, rolled his sleeves, and produced a stamped letter. He held it like evidence in a play. "A formal petition from House Arnold, demanding their heir