The Turner Chronicles Box Set Edition

by Mark Eller

  Bare arms wrapped around Aaron's neck. Soft lips pressed against his. Aaron's hands caressed her shoulders, her back, and then cupped the firm roundness of her buttocks. Their kiss continued, gentle, then demanding. Back arching, Missy pressed against him until Aaron had no choice but to pull back and breathe.

  Missy's eyes were warm and caring. Her mouth curved into a gentle smile, lightening her features in the soft candlelight. Her fingers slowly opened his shirt, and their bodies were clasped together, skin to skin.

  "I love you, Aaron Turner," Missy whispered. "I'm not in love with you, but I've always loved you."

  Breath brushed gently across his lips. Shuddering, Aaron broke free and stepped back, aching with want. Her hands remained on his shoulders. Senses swaying, he gazed down the length of her naked body. Breathing shallow, he pulled Missy's hands away. She twined her fingers with his.

  Aaron drew in another breath, released it, and shook his head.

  "You love Patton."

  Missy nodded. "Yes, but Aaron I've always loved you. I've sometimes--no, I've often wondered what it would be like to be with you. I know this isn't permanent. We don't care for each other that way, but we can have tonight, and some other nights when we feel lonely."

  Gods this was hard. He would hate himself later. He hoped Missy wouldn't hate him, too.

  Stepping back, Aaron shook his head once more. "I do love you. The Lady and Lord know I want you. " He swallowed. "Missy-I-I can't. I have so little left. I-I have to hang onto this. I have to."

  Without moving, without a word, something changed within her. The wick turned down on her flame. Missy still drew him, but it was a draw he could resist.

  Missy's voice became almost conversational. "This isn't the land where you were raised. Melna doesn't expect fidelity."

  "I expect it," Aaron said softly. "I've bastardized so much of what I am over the years this is all I have left."

  Her laugh was self-mocking as she ran a hand through her hair. "Oh, now this is embarrassing. I just-I wanted to give you something--a few moments of forgetting. Aaron, I felt you today, and I-I was flattered and intrigued. Look, would you mind if I slept here. I mean a lady has to watch her reputation. I don't want your guards to spread it around that you kicked me out of your bed."

  Aaron weakly echoed her laughter. "Yeah. Yeah. I suppose you could--only Missy, a favor."

  "Hmmmm."

  "Put your robe back on."

  Her chuckle was rich and full. "I don't think so. I know it isn't the end of the world when a girl gets rejected, but, buddy, I want you to suffer."

  "Fine. Just remember Zisst sleeps between us, and it has claws."

  "Cheat."

  "Damn right."

  "So I'll put my robe back on, but now I won't spend the night because you'll have the upper hand."

  "What about your reputation?" Aaron asked.

  "Oh, right. " After tapping a finger against her cheek for a few moments, Missy shrugged, stooped, and retrieved her robe. She stood for a few seconds more with the robe draped over her arm before putting it on and tying up the front.

  "Aaron?"

  "Yes."

  "I'm a little confused. Days ago we slept in the same bed. You wanted me then. Tonight you kissed me. You ran your hands over my body, kissed me again, and then you stopped."

  "I already told you I couldn't," Aaron said, wondering where she was taking this. "I was tempted, and it was close, but I couldn't. It wouldn't be right."

  "No," Missy agreed and cupped the side of his face with one palm. "For you it wouldn't be right. For you, making love to me without your wife knowing would be a horrid, horrible thing to do. It would tear you up inside. The thing is, I was just sort of wondering. How is what happened here so very much different from what Melna did? The only difference I can see is she's too young to have thought out all the consequences.

  Aaron closed his eyes. He saw it now. Missy's desire had not been entirely a lie, but more than one motive existed behind her seduction.

  "You can be a bitch."

  "Yes," she said. "I can be. I can be a friend, too. Why don't we play cards for a couple hours before I leave? I really do have my reputation to think about. "

  Chapter 24

  "I love my husband. I love my husband. I love my husband. I love my husband."

  Melna repeated the words over and over in her mind. They rested heavy there, piling up in a cluttered mess until they became a meaningless jumble. She started saying them out loud. The words took wing and flew around the room.

  At least she liked to think of it that way. In actuality, the words probably landed on the carpet with a loud thud. Lies had a way of doing that. Still, she had heard if a person told herself something often enough she would eventually believe it. This was a good time to strongly convince herself she was deeply in love with Aaron. A strong enough conviction might keep her from killing him the next time they crossed paths.

  Alternately cursing and praising Aaron, Melna kneeled on the floor and scrubbed blood out of the carpet. The small amount on the living room floor had not been difficult to clean, but the bedroom provided problems. The woman had bled copiously. Melna found blood on the floor, on one of the walls, and even on the ceiling.

  Melna groaned as she worked on a particularly stubborn stain. Fortunately she was not sickened by the sight of blood. The Two Gods knew she had seen enough of it over the years. She was, however, sick and tired of cleaning it up. The servants remained stubbornly absent so the job was hers. At least they had left four full water buckets behind. Foresight, maybe, but she doubted it. Most likely fortuitous chance.

  Melna bore down on the stain and mentally cursed. Damn it, she did not have time for this. She had a dinner to go to. Aybarra told her to dress casual. Melna somehow doubted casual meant arriving with bloodstains on her clothes. She would have liked to order up warm water, but once again, the servants were absent, which left her with only the water in the last remaining bucket.

  Brushing at a strand of hair hanging in her eyes, she groaned and rose when a knock sounded on her door. Fucking damn son-of-a-bitch. Not again. "What do you want?" she called out.

  "Mistress Turner, a person wishes to see you. " The voice was muffled through the thick wood door, but it was female.

  Double, double damn. Were they back again? "Is it seven o'clock yet?"

  "What?"

  "Is is seven o'clock? I'm supposed to meet some people about then. " And where the hell were the servants. Hiding, most likely. Probably something she should be doing.

  "Mistress, it is closer to six than to seven. Will you see this gentleman?"

  Not alone she wouldn't. With her luck, the fellow would be Clack. She'd had enough of private meetings. "Set up an appointment for tomorrow evening. We can meet in one of the sitting rooms downstairs."

  "Melna, you open this door now!"

  Dropping the bucket, she raced out of the bedroom and through the living room to reach the door. "Daddy! Is that you? Hold on!"

  The locks slowed her for only a moment, and then she stared at the smiling faces of a young page and Hal Linley. Neither smile held for long.

  "By the Gods, girl," Linley demanded. "What happened to you?"

  Holding out her blood smeared hands, Melna laughed. "None of this is mine. I'm cleaning up after my last visitors. They wanted to talk politics."

  "I've talked politics more than once," Linley said doubtfully. "I don't remember anyone bleeding because of it. " He shook his head. "I suppose I should be grateful you didn't talk religion. "

  Melna moved back so her father could enter. The page's mouth hung open in disbelief.

  "Shoo," Melna told the girl. "Don't tell anyone about this. I will be unhappy if you do."

  "Yes, Mistress. I mean no, Mistress. I mean--"

  Melna closed the door.

  "Politics seem to be played by different rules in this part of the world," she said. "I'm still figuring them out. " She raised her voice so it rang off the w
alls. "Ladies, this here is my father. Please be careful with him."

  "Who," Linley asked carefully,"are you talking to?"

  "My bodyguards."

  He took a careful look around. "I don't see anyone."

  "Neither do I," Melna admitted. "I keep misplacing them, but they're around when they're needed. Daddy, what are you doing here?"

  He released a small laugh. "I finished my business early. It'll be a few weeks until I'm needed again, so I decided to come by and see how my favorite daughter is getting on. I thought things might be a little tense between you and Aaron. They often are in new marriages, and we both know yours didn't begin under normal circumstances. From the looks of you, I'd say things are rockier than I suspected."

  Melna led him to the bathing room. She poured half the remaining water from her last full bucket into a raised basin.

  "Things aren't so very bad. I was almost raped once, but nothing really happened. Aaron fought a duel with one of the men who tried it. He thought he crippled the man only the fellow died later so I don't have to worry about him. Other than that, I can't think of anything interesting."

  Not the least bit self-conscious, she stripped to the waist. Hal Linley had hauled her over a good many parts of the world. Not all of them had a nudity taboo. She gasped as she dipped her blood smeared hair in the water. Even though the water was room temperature, it felt freezing.

  "I suppose there might be a few other insignificant matters," she added as she closed her eyes to keep the soap out. "It seems my husband is one of the richest people in the world. "

  Her father's breath caught, and Melna grinned. That was her father. He showed a greater reaction at the mention of money than to her attempted rape and Aaron's duel. Melna did not allow herself to make a mistake on one issue however. If the rape had gone through, her father would have ruined himself and committed murder to get at the culprits.

  "In fact," she continued,"the necklace on my bed is worth at least a million silver."

  Linley moved up to her and pushed her head into the water.

  Melna grinned again when she came up. Sometimes her father could be so petty.

  "Your hair is done. " Linley said. "Melna, I love you dearly. I truly do, but you're a terrible liar. Why don't you take the pouch from around your neck? It's wet enough."

  Dipping a cloth in the water, Melna soaped her arms and face. After rinsing off, she saw that the basin's water already needed to be changed. She emptied the water into one of the soiled buckets and set the basin back on its stand. The servants would have to deal with the mess later. Bloodstains she would do in private, but Melna refused to haul filthy water downstairs. Appearances had to be maintained, and Aaron's reputation preserved.

  "Now look at the thing," Linley complained, pointing at her pouch. "It's soaked through."

  "It will dry," she told him. Refilling the basin with the last of her water, she tossed the empty bucket aside. "I haven't had my Talent Stone long enough to be willing to take it off. Besides, I'm told if it gets far enough away from me it will be destroyed."

  "What!"

  "Hmmm. What? The Stone. Daddy, Aaron has scads of them, which is good because he lost the one he normally carries. Some friends of his stopped by to give him a new one. They brought an extra for me."

  "Melna."

  Gods she loved hearing his tone. Not often could she pull one over on him. This time was the best because every word she spoke was true. Yowz.

  "Daddy, I need to get dressed. I have a dinner engagement tonight."

  "Melna," his voice sounded weary. "Where is your husband? Tell me you're having dinner with him and not some other man."

  He followed her from the bath to her bedroom door, but Melna closed the door on him instead of answering. Humming, she quickly stripped off the rest of her wet clothes and drew on some others she hoped would fit the Chin definition of casual.

  "Melna!" Linley called through the door. "Where is your husband?"

  My, her father certainly had an authoritative voice. "He's in Jutland," she called out. "He had to go there because his daughter's been kidnapped and several of his servants killed. He asked me to fill in for him while he's gone. That's why I have the dinner engagement tonight. It's inconvenient, but I suppose these sort of things happen when you're married to the world's richest man. " She slipped the string of sapphires and diamonds around her neck. Strangely, the baubles really weren't to her liking. She found them busy and gaudy and far too large to be tasteful. Still, Aaron had bought them for her so she would wear them when the occasion warranted it.

  She opened the door. "Daddy, do you think these diamonds are too much for a casual dinner?"

  The reaction was wonderful. Her father's eyes grew huge. They stuck out so far she could almost hang the laundry from them.

  "Yes," she mused. "I thought they might be. " Pulling the necklace off, she nonchalantly tossed it on the bed. "You better clean up. You've been days on the road, and I think there are limits to just how casual they meant by casual. Clean up and get dressed. There is still water in the basin."

  Linley finally managed to bring his eyes back into their sockets. "What do you mean?"

  "You're invited too. I was told to bring guests. Be a nice, Daddy, and hand me my gun. It's on the table right over there. Thank you."

  "Exactly who," Linley asked, tight voiced as he carefully handed the unfamiliar weapon over to her,"are we having dinner with?"

  "Nobody special," Melna said as she tucked the gun into her waistband. "Just the Chin Emperor and a few of his people. He wants to talk to me. I think it's because I'm sort of his daughter-in-law since he thinks of Aaron as his son. I guess it's only natural since they both originated on a different world from ours. "

  She gave her father an innocent look with a smile to match. "Isn't it amazing what happens when you force your daughter to marry a man just because he slept in her bed? Hurry up, Daddy. Emperor Klein is sending somebody over to fetch us. They should be here in less than an hour."

  * * *

  "Do you realize," Linley asked her as they headed toward their appointment,"just what kind of trade deals our family can make inside of Chin when it becomes known we are personally connected with the emperor. " His eyes roamed the manor grounds as they made their way through the ordered chaos of tents and pavilions that were really not spread about in a hap-hazard manner despite appearances. Melna had been assured there was a system to the layout. The fact she had not yet figured the system out had no bearing on the fact the system did exist.

  Melna made sure to keep their guide in sight. The middle-aged woman had not been the soul of civility when she arrived at their door. Her manner had been abrupt, and her demeanor of someone doing something distasteful. This did not surprise Melna. As best she knew, the Chins did not have pages. They were herders, warriors, and sometimes farmers. They were never servants.

  "I don't think you can get much advantage out of this. The Chins have little worth trading for. I've seen some interesting textiles, but they're handmade so I doubt they have a large surplus on hand."

  "We're talking of an empire here," Linley insisted. "There has to be something we can use."

  Melna smiled, loving the drive that kept her father moving, kept him looking for the next deal. Her family really was rich. They might not be so fabulously wealthy as Aaron, but they had more than enough for her father to settle into a comfortable retirement. She had never heard him mention the idea. Retirement would interfere with his wanderlust, and how could he connect with his scattered wives and children if he didn't have a reason to travel?

  Melna gestured toward the Chin encampment. "It's a poor empire, but they do own a lot of grass."

  "Not much you can do with grass."

  "Cows eat it," Melna pointed out. "People make lawns out of it."

  "Most people already have grass in their yards," Linley returned,"and herders feed their cows grass that's growing wild. It's cheaper."

  "Ah, well, just trying to
help. Those are the Chin tents up ahead. Put on your best behavior. " Melna changed a few gears in her head and addressed their guide in her native tongue. "Ho Luk, how many people will be at this dinner?"

  Stopping, Ho Luk turned to view Melna with surprise. "You know our language?"

  "I'd be a poor guest if I couldn't speak to my hosts. " Melna gave Ho Luk her most winsome smile. "Actually, I have a knack with languages. " She tapped her head with a finger. "Got several of them up here."

  "You have no accent."

  "It's an interesting language, and Chins are an interesting people," Melna said. She patted herself on the back for practicing her diplomatic skills. Maybe she should enter politics. She could suck up and flatter with the best of them. "So, how many people will there be?"

  "Everyone will be there," Ho Luk said. "Our emperor will make an announcement. Please, we must continue."

  Her father looked at her strangely. Melna patted his shoulder reassuringly. "I told you I have a Talent Stone. Come on. Dinner waits."

  They wound past half a dozen large pavilions before finding themselves standing in front of the largest tent on the grounds. Four Chin warriors stood guard at the entrance. Their faces scowled unhappily, but they parted to allow Melna and Linley through once Ho Luk spoke briefly.

  The inside was simple, almost spare, no luxurious wall hangings or decorative gold emblems. Embossed shields and fantasy weapons were not hung from the walls. The tent contained only two separated tables near its far end and a multitude of folded blankets set upon the ground. Dozens of Chins sat attentively on the blankets. Some had food. Some did not. A number of Chins gathered around one of the tables where they filled their bowls from common platters. Klein and a dozen others sat at the second, smaller, table.

  Klein's eyes fastened on them. "Come on up here. I have bowls set aside for you."

  "We're an informal family," Melna said to her father. She suddenly felt nervous. Klein was no longer a stranger. After all, she had sat more than once among his entourage. Still, he had set the wheels in motion to bring Aaron to this conference. He wanted something, and Melna had no idea what that something was.