CHAPTER 5

Mal found Inara fixing tea for herself in the early morning hours, probably hoping to steal some food before anyone else stirred. Her face had the tranquil glow of a woman who’d spent the last hour in prayer, and Mal could make out a faint smile on her lips.

“Mornin’,” Mal greeted cautiously, pulling out a cup so he could share in the tea she was making.

“Hello, Mal.” She kept her eyes averted.

“Sorry about what I said yesterday. About …” Mal dropped his head abashedly, wiping out the empty cup with his finger. “I didn’t mean to upset you.”

“You wanted to rile me,” she countered.

“I –,” he began, almost suckered by her bait. But he didn’t want to fight her. “Not like that. That’s quite a cut you got there. Painted over it pretty thick.”

“You can see?” she asked, touching her forehead self-consciously. Mal suddenly wished he hadn’t mentioned it.

“I hit it when I was taking down some of the tapestries,” Inara lied.

“You don’t have to do that.”

“Mal, I can’t –”

“I mean …” She thought he was asking her to stay! “I can get Jayne to help you with the heavy stuff.”

“That won’t be necessary,” Inara smiled in her coy, condescending way. She poured the tea, then looked at him graciously, and he felt the anger rise as he made out the ridge of her well-concealed cut and black eye.

“‘Nara, I’m sorry for what I said earlier.”

“You said that already.”

“Right. I just…” Mal wanted to tell her he knew what had happened. Wanted to tell her he would kill that man if they ever met face to face. He wanted to tell her not to leave. He wanted to say a billion things, but instead he just sipped his tea and backed out of the room like a coward.

“I got a few things to get done before lunch. You joinin’ us today?”

“I’m not sure.”

“Mattie’s preparing something fun. I swear if we had the coin, I’d bring her on as ship’s cook. Always wanted a cook.”

Inara smiled hopefully at him as he left. “Maybe.”

*~*

Inara sat at the dining room table, relishing the smells bubbling over from Mattie’