The older veiled man beside the counter nodded vigorously, pulling his sheer shawl tighter around his shoulders with an air of smug superiority. "Exactly. It is loose, undisciplined men like him who ruin it for the rest of us. When a man doesn't guard his chastity and lets strange women climb his walls, it makes all the matriarchs think men are cheap!"
They all chuckled nastily, basking in their shared superiority—until the younger man at the edge of the stall spoke up again, his voice dropping to a hesitant, quiet murmur.
"Still... didn't Mrs. Lynn already take five young husbands into her estate over the last ten years?" he whispered, his eyes darting nervously down the street. "And... didn't all five of them die before they even reached twenty-five?"
Instantly, the gloating laughter died.
