Alysanne found some comfort with Alvin, whom she regarded as her only friend. Even he didn't seem as comfortable in her company as he used to be, though, and Alysanne didn't know how much was due to her changed circumstances and how much was simply because of them both being older now.

She didn't ask, she only knew that when she gathered the courage to repeat the terrible things Mertin had said to her, Alvin blushed and tried to change the topic quickly.

But by then Alysanne was speaking fast, too glad to have someone to talk to.
"...it was mostly how he said it, you know. And the fact that he obviously never bathes. I would never kiss someone who smells like that, ugh! On the other hand..."
"Stop." Alvin said suddenly. "What your father did was a sin. If you did it, regardless of the other person's personal hygiene, it would be a sin as well."
Alysanne stopped in the middle of her sentence and used the first excuse she could find to escape.

Back into her lonely post-earthquake existence, then. Not that it was too different from the one she had led before it, or at least that was what she tried to tell herself. There was still work around the house and at least father Ambrose still admitted her to his classes. And the load of work he gave her only seemed to grow.

She had also started painting a portrait of her mother, partly from the apparition she had seen and partly from her imagination. She wanted it as a consolation, but for that it had to be a picture of her mother how she could have been had things been happy - healthy, beautiful, wearing a nice gown and surrounded by flowers.

Still, none of these things helped enough and Alysanne still couldn't help but worry how she was going to live. Would she ever get a husband?

At least she made one new friend. Lissa was almost a social outcast herself, which may have explained why she was willing to talk to her. Or maybe she just didn't care about reputations all that much.
"...but people don't want me there! They just stare and... how do you deal with that?"
"Ignore them? At least when you watch out you don't end up in the pillory or a convent, that's so not fun. But when you don't get in too deep, you don't have to care about those idiots."
Alysanne sighed. "You're so much braver than I would be..."

Still, she allowed Lissa to persuade her to go to the market with her. Not being alone made it a bit better, even if Alysanne had to wonder whether her choice of company was helping her at all.
But Lissa had to know what she was doing. After all, she had a husband already, while Alysanne herself...
"I just wish I had someone to kiss me."

Despite Lissa insisting that finding a man was really easy, Alysanne had seen enough to not think much about her chances. It was like all the boys in the village were disdaining her. Or actively avoiding her, which was possibly even worse.
Just then she noticed they were standing right next to a new stall, pink curtains and a sign promising "your fortune told and true love guaranteed." It sounded almost too good to be true... but also definitely too good to pass up.
She approached the ragged gypsy fortune teller with determination as she felt for the last few coins she had left.

"Sure, sweetheart. I can find you a man, exactly the right one for you. And, ahem, the right one for the money you have given me. Just look deep into the crystal ball and think of your dream husband..."
Alysanne crossed her fingers and wished for somebody who wouldn't care about her father... who wouldn't be restricted by the strict judging of society.

"Your wish has been heard." The gypsy smiled through her crooked teeth. "Tomlin here doesn't care one smallest bit about such trifles as rules or laws. Have fun with him."
She gave Alysanne and her supposed true love one last look before she sat down to her crystal ball again.

At first, Tomlin seemed friendly enough, or at least willing to show off his knife-throwing skills.
"This is amazing! Are you a fighter? A soldier?"

But when an unexpected shower of rain drove the pair to seek shelter away from the targets, things started to get much less promising.
More than fun and adventure, Alysanne wanted romance, but when she tried to use the intimacy of a market stall to get close to her date, he pushed her away.
Alysanne silently cursed herself. "I'm sorry, I thought..." She stopped in mid-sentence. She had thought Lissa had said "get close to them, put on the charm and they'll be falling over themselves to have you", but she couldn't tell Tomlin that.

"If I wanted that, I would go back to sea. There are girls in every port with no strings attached, WAY prettier than you, when you want them. And when you don't, nobody can bother you in a ship.
Alysanne wanted to reply, to apologise again or maybe, just maybe to try once more, but then the man walked off, leaving her wondering just what had she done wrong.
The gypsy had said this was supposed to be true love, hadn't she?

She only had one person to go to with her worries that she would never find real love, or marry at all.
"Why does everyone hate me, Father? I haven't done anything wrong, haven't seduced anyone...
"The Watcher sees everything and will guide you to the right man at the right time. You are still young and I have no doubts that you will marry well if you only trust the Watcher."
"But..." Alysanne tried to protest, but father Ambrose continued.
"Sometimes I think that your mother married too early, without consulting anyone, and it destroyed her. You have her eyes and her loving heart, but don't have to make the same mistake."

Meanwhile, another wedding was being prepared, as the local lord had decided to take a new wife. Liam desperately needed an heir, one that wasn't born in a convent and that was his without any doubts.
Madeline came from a good family and she didn't seem to have any other ambitions than to be a good wife and make him happy. At that point, he didn't care about anything else, except the bride's ability to bear children.

Father Ambrose joined the pair in marriage, hoping Madeline's influence would help Liam get over his lingering anger at Dorian. He was getting old and just wanted things to be calm and smooth for a while.