" Elisandra read while I tried my hand at embroidering a pillowcase that she lent me. The results were execrable. I had no skill with a needle, and no desire to learn, either.

"I wouldn't shame a dog by laying this upon his bed," I remarked, showing Elisandra my efforts. She actually smiled.

"I like it," she said. "I'll put it on one of my pillows."

"Bryan won't let you sleep in the same bed with him if you bring this as your dowry," I said with an attempt at humor.

She bent her head back over her book. "Then stitch me another. "

― Sharon Shinn , Summers at Castle Auburn