"Are you a widow?" Dar asked, tone both inquisitive and cautious. To be 27 and childless and unmarried was practically unheard of here unless they were an old maid! Why, by 27 most women had already had their children and were done! At the same time though, he did not wish to be rude by causing her undue heartbreak from a husband she no longer had.
"I'm sorry, that was perhaps too personal..." he trailed off with a frown. "You needn't answer it. Though...you're a teacher?" he stroked his hairless chin for a moment, attention already switched to something else. "Have you seen the library yet?"