"You wouldn’t let them kill me, would you? You wouldn’t let them do this to me? We could have… we might… you

, would you?"

The crowd hesitated. This sounded like an important plea. A hundred pairs of eyes stared at Agnes.

She took his hand.

, said Perdita. But Agnes thought about Escrow, and the queues, and the children playing while they waited, and how evil might come animal sharp in the night, or greyly by day on a list…

"Vlad," she said gently, looking deep into his eyes, "I’d even hold their coats."