( Was close, she says, but Jill has seen too much fighting to believe that's really all there is to it. )

And do you expect this peace to last? ( Hoping is one thing, having it be so is another. But dealing with leaner times is not new to her; she makes a note of it to share with Clive later. Perhaps they can see what they can do to aid those who suffer most from the lack of food. ) I've no wish to end up fighting someone else's war. But Thorne has chained us to them for survival, and they will pull upon that leash if need be.

( She doesn't know if that's true. Yet why else would they see to it that they want for nothing, that they need nothing that the castle cannot provide? )