The needle was still embedded in the ceiling when Aestrith told Tam she needed to rest, and the fact that it had not fallen yet suggested it had been driven in with more force than Tam likely realized.
Tam didn't move out from the bed. Her posture and the slackness in her shoulders gave Beorn enough information to confirm her state. She looked like someone who had spent everything she had without planning, and now had nothing left to muster.
She nodded once, accepting the instruction without argument. Then Beorn told her her work duties were suspended for the time being, and her expression changed before she could fully suppress it. Her eyes moved down to his hands, then back up to his face in sheer panic. She was already missing the four silver per month of her salary.
"I have a different job for you," Beorn clarified. "After you've slept."
She kept watching his face, searching for confirmation or contradiction, trying to determine whether this was a reassurance or a deflection.
