The noise of the gunshot made her almost drop the pin she was trying to slide into her hair. Looking irritably into the mirror, Inara wondered idly why Mr Boden would be going after the rats at this time of the morning, although she was later than she normally liked. In the ten days since Serenity left, something about being back in her own bed had started her sleeping late, as if it was safer, more secure …

She tried again with the pin, trying not to see the bandages still wrapping her arms, and almost had it in place when another bang reverberated through the house.

“ Run tse duh fuo tsoo ,” she swore, her fingers trembling, the pin slipping from them to fall to the floor. She reached down to pick it up, then stopped. What if it wasn’t Mr Boden after rats? What if it was rats of a bigger, more terrible kind? Her reflection was pale, shaking.

Standing up she hurried to the window, almost afraid to look but more afraid not to. What she saw made her grip the curtains so tightly she crushed the fabric. Another gunshot rang out.

“ Ching-wah tsao duh liou ,” she breathed, heading for the door, pausing only to grab the scrunchy she used for catching her hair up when she had a bath. Pulling her heavy tresses through it, she ran down the stairs and outside into the frosty morning air.

“Nah, girl, you’re holding it too tight,” came a gravelly voice from the orchard. “You gotta keep it in your palm like it’s your lover. Too soft and she’ll drop, too hard and the recoil’ll break your hand.”

“Like this, Mr Cobb?” A young female voice now.

“That’s better. And you can call me Jayne. Mr Cobb makes me sound too old.”

“It’s what Inara told us to call you.”

“You listen to everything she says?”

“Some.” The girl giggled, joined by others.

“Well, I’m saying you call me Jayne. Most everyone else does.”

“Okay. But why -”

“What the hell is going on?” Inara demanded, striding through the trees, her anger keeping her warm.

Valentia Reilly was standing on her own, her ar