She can feel her brow furrow; she didn't know that was possible. She imagined that her word, and the fact that no man could say he claimed her, would suffice, but knowing now that there was a way to see she was a maiden? Coral begins to worry about what she had done last night—perhaps the exploration of her body had robbed her of the only dowry she had.

By the time the midday meal is finished, the entire town has gathered. Bushels of crops have been brought, more animals, chests of goods and wears, filling the area next to the animals with the reparations to make up for the...