---
Mira continued, "They have sat too long. Your board has been corrected twice, and the chalk on the edge line has already been rewritten where one earlier price failed to move them. One of them is old enough and sick enough that no ordinary buyer will touch her except for charity, desperation, or cruelty. The others are with weak market appeal, no current bidding pressure, and no household mark worth fearing." Her eyes settled on his. "You will not get your first numbers from anyone by dusk."
The broker's smile weakened only slightly, but Mira saw the irritation beneath it at once.
He answered the way men like him always answered when truth entered the negotiation too early.
"My lady sees only surface time, not hidden interest. Markets often look still before they move."
Mira turned her gaze back toward the holding line.
