“Eeep,” is all that came out as she grabbed the blanket and pulled it up.
“I be a bringin’ you some breakfast,” said Stefan, waving at the basket. Try to avoid looking at her or saying anything else…God I sound more than a bit inane…a right idiot.
“Did we…was I…I cannot remember anything,” she almost wailed. “I am sorry.”
What to do? He leant down again and lightly kissed her on the lips to silence her. At least she doesn’t try to avoid me. That would be a start. She has gone quiet. When he pulled back he smiled. “I be likin’ to pretend otherwise, but I canna remember a t’ing either. T’ere be several t’ings we can be doin’ now. One is t’at I can be turnin’ round ’n’ you can be getting’ dressed ’n’ leave. Another be t’at I can take off’n my clothes ’n’ climb in with you ’n’ we can be havin’ breakfast ’n’ get crumbs in t’bed an’ be workin’ out where to be goin’ from here. I t’ink I would like to be a doin’ t’second if it be alright with you an’ I hope t’at you be a wantin’ to do t’same.”
I can see her thinking. I guess she doesn’t know what to do either. She wiggled to the side and looked under the covers. “Unless we did it somewhere else, I don’t think that we did anything last night. So I now have two questions. What do you have in that basket that smells so good and what side of the bed do you prefer?” She smiled up at him.
She looks nervous, but it is a nice smile.
~~~
Hulagu
Hulagu woke up with the two girls beside him holding tight on to each other and sound asleep. They are curled together like puppies. Well, they did more work than I did last night—even if I did have to dance a lot. Let them sleep. I will look after the horses. Some köle they are. They get to sleep and I do their work as well as my own. He dressed in his everyday clothes. All of those from the night before lay tangled in an indiscriminate heap beside the bed. At least the girls can sort them out…when they finally wake. He grabbed his weapons and, buckling up, went out.
I feel a bit fragile this morning. Did I drink that much last night? By the Spirits of the Sky and the soul of the Clan I did…and I made a decision…now to think on it again…I wonder if anyone is on watch and who will be up. We still have a lot to do here before we can all sleep in as much as we want to.
~~~
Father Christopher
I have done them so long I must have the Hours built into my system. He got up and did his prayers before he was even fully awake. I doubt that I will have anyone there, but I said there would be a daily Mass in the mornings, so I need to go and say it. The hall will still be set up for the wedding, but it will have to do. If I am going to stay here I will have to think about building a church…somehow…and the Church is not rich.
Having thought that, his mind turned to the corollary. I am badly in need of a confessor. Lord forgive me, I am lusting after a woman. I might be able to forgive it in others, but every time I see or think of Bianca now I am starting to have impure thoughts. I really shouldn’t have watched her dancing last night in those clothes. It is just luck that my robes hid the reaction of my body and, when we danced later I was in better control…although when I had my arm around her waist…He headed down the stairs still thinking about his situation. I wonder what her reaction would be if I approached her. She might wish to join the Khitan…or she might say yes. I just don’t know and I don’t even have a clue about how to approach the subject. My lack of experience with women is…well…painful…literally. Her upbringing has, however, made her a strong girl and so much more practical than I am. Obviously, even if she said yes, we could do nothing about it until we are married, but she might not want to wait a year until everything is over. Perhaps it would be best to say nothing. Maybe, with prayer, I will conquer my lust.
~~~
Rani
Rani woke up on being shaken. She looked on the other side of the bed. Princess is there, but there is another head between us and Theo-dear is reaching over its owner.
“Didn’t we put her to bed?” asked Theodora quietly. It is Fear. She must have left her bed in the slave barracks and come over to the Mouse Hall and climbed in between them. They couldn’t allow her to do that too often. We are both sleeping naked as it is, but what if she came in when we are making love? She has already seen and experienced far too much for her six years. She doesn’t need to hear me calling out to Devi and Krishna.
They got out of bed and quietly dressed in ordinary clothes, each helping the other with lacings. “We have a lot to do today,” said Rani in a whisper. “We need to look in this mine for a start and set up a guard. I forgot to do that last night and that is not good. If anyone thinks of it, they cannot even do a watch properly. We have the gate opener and the telescope and all of the other things. I think that maybe we need a bag to put them all in. That way we can just pass them from guard to guard.”
Theodora nodded. “I need to think about a spell. It will be hard, very hard, but I may be able to hide the valley…well, not hide it…but at least stop people from looking in using magic. The Masters know where we are, and we know where they are, but they do not know what we are doing here. If we can keep it that way it will put us on the same footing as them. After all, we have no idea what they are up to. I also think we need to see if Father Christopher knows any miracles to find out something about all that magic. We don’t have an earth mage, but a priest should serve nearly as well.”
Rani agreed. “And we need to see how the others feel. I think we need time to prepare before we go further. I mean they may not wish to go further…particularly the men. Here they have a good home, we know from what we read that it is going to be a prosperous one and there are a number of good-looking women for them—why should they risk their lives? Even Thord might like the idea of a mine of his own and to give up on wandering.” It is nice that we seem to agree on things, even before we say them.
By now they were both dressed and armed. Rani looked at Theodora and nodded towards the bed. Her lover shook her head and, taking her hand led her out of the door. They left Fear sleeping in the middle of the bed and went up to check the roof. Bianca is there on watch. She is sitting on the edge of the roof with her legs hanging over. There is an empty basket beside her and a smell of kaf in the air.
“About time you two got up. I am the second watch. Stefan was here when I arrived. Have you two taken to keeping Princess’ hours?”
Theodora blushed. She is grinning and…I think they say…pulling our legs. I must say that I did not expect that reply…I thought my lover was more…formal. She just stuck out her tongue like a little girl. Bianca gave a short laugh. Rani gave Bianca the detector and the gate opener and the two mages left the roof.
“Breakfast is ready in the kitchen,” she heard from behind her, as they went down the stairs, “and Lãdi has not gone to bed yet. You might want to send her there…she might listen to you. She totally ignored both Stefan and me when we tried to persuade her.”
~~~
Astrid
Astrid woke up in a bed…a big bed. There is a man lying beside me, his hand is lying in place, but it is not quite able to cup her boob and there is something around her throat. Oh, that is right. I am married. That is Basil…my husband. She felt her throat. I am in bed naked and I still have my necklace on from last night. She giggled to herself. If only Gudrid could see me now. I am married. Last night I must have felt that I should keep the necklace on as long as possible before I have to give it back. I still want to. Where had it come from? I was dressing, or rather I was being dressed, and people were doing things to me and someone had come from behind me and put it around my neck…a man…I am sure it was a man…it smelt like a man…but I didn’t even see his hands, let alone the rest of him. All I saw was the way the women’s faces in front of me lit up. I didn’t dare move with all the pins that were stuck into bits of my clothes. I didn’t even dare speak.
Astrid looked beside her. Basil has a smile on his face. I have se
en many men who are more handsome, but he is cute and brave and strong and he is kind and Father Christopher was right…he is gentle when it counted—and much more important…I have this warm feeling inside when I think of him…I guess that means I love him. Many women don’t get all of those things. I am lucky. I have never had another man, but I have seen many in the sauna and I suspected that I might be lucky there as well. In addition, his wiry athlete’s body has stamina…lots of stamina. I wonder if I should be up doing things. No, I was married last night. I have better things to do today.
She rolled over and gave Basil a series of kisses on the side of the face and whispered into his ear: “It is time for you to wake up and make me purr,” she said.
~~~
Thord
Thord woke up in his room. Mine now…I have taken over a room that had obviously belonged to another Dwarf. Everything is the right size and even the clothing in the chest at the foot of the bed fits me. The day is good and I am happy. I am doing what I want and used to dream of. I am seeing the world and living life to the full. I don’t have to get up and just worry about something taking one of my flock as its prey. I have enemies. I might have died easily when we took this place. This is what the stories are all about. Mind you we might be here for a while, but that is fine. Even here I have mountains to climb and people who want to learn how to do that and enemies who are going to come to attack us.
What is more, there is a mine here. I am not much of a miner but, as with all Dwarves, mining is in the blood. You hear of a mine nearby, you want to see it. I wonder what it produces…those gems that the Cat was wearing. I wished that I had paid more attention in class and not dreaming so much of open sky and mountains. I have never been good at telling the value of gems, but I have a rough idea. What I saw around her neck, if sold to a ruler—and only a ruler could afford them—would be enough to buy the entire little village that she came from. I wonder if she knows that. If that came from here, a Dwarf could get rich…very rich if he was an owner of the mine. He would have prestige. It might even make up for not seeing the world, but anyway, even in that case someone would have to carry the gems elsewhere for sale. That would mean money, adventure, prestige and travel. He smiled and started to get up and see what had to be done…and that means seeing the mine, for a start.
The day is getting better and better.
~~~
Ayesha
Ayesha didn’t get much sleep. She had not gone to bed until after sunrise prayer. She woke up and looked at the other side of her bed. There was no-one in it. I know that I am feeling disappointed, may Allah, the Virtuous, forgive me. Somehow I had dreamt that I would find Hulagu there…and without his girls. It had all been a dream. I know that I was dreaming that I had Hulagu beside me. Allah preserve me…no…I had dreamt that I had Hulagu inside me…I am even damp. That dancing! The Mullahs were right. Men and women should not dance with each other. I only relented after the other Caliphate women had teased me…I danced with a man and I liked it. From now on I will only dance with women. I still have Hulagu on my mind and I was actually jealous when I thought that he had a harem already. Now I know what is happening I am happier. I don’t mind if he has sex with his slaves—men will do that, even when they are married, but usually because they want to, not the other way around…it was the thought of him being married to a first wife that had…upset me. Maybe I could subtly see what Bianca knows about his feelings. If anyone knows it, it would be her. Mind you, Bianca obviously does not know her own feelings. She danced with the priest and grew clumsier and stumbled over her words when she tried to talk to him alone, and he did the same with her. She has a holy man to marry and doesn’t realise it, nor did he realise that he has a bride eager and waiting for him.
She realised what she was thinking and was shocked. My thoughts have gone back to where they should not. I cannot marry Hulagu…or can I? I have heard Mullahs argue that for a woman to marry outside the Faith, if she kept hers and raised her children in it, it means that the Faith grows and reaches new lands. On the other hand if I were to stay outside for all of my life, and keep others here of the faith, we will need a Mullah eventually and he would then be the right person for me to marry. She thought about the Mullahs that she knew who were of her own age. I would, at best, be a second wife with one of them and, more importantly, none of them appealed to me and I cannot imagine waking up damp from dreaming of them. That thought alone was funny. Unless they are very different men when they are in their homes, they are all far too serious and have no idea of what the word ‘fun’ meant…except to condemn it…and public dancing, of any sort, would shock them voiceless.
Well, from the light outside the windows it could even be nearly Dhurhr and I have responsibilities to the other women to lead them in the prayer. It is time to get up again and to get on with the day.
Chapter XIX
Theodora
Theodora came out into Mousehole’s courtyard holding Rani’s hand. Father Christopher was going into the hall. “Time for Mass, I think. I want him to do something for me, so I had better keep him happy. I have seen more religion since I left home than I used to see in a year in the Palace. Mind you, I find it comforting. I wonder how he would take it if I asked him to marry us.” She looked anxiously at her lover and tentatively smiled. How would she take that suggestion?
White teeth showed in Rani’s brown face. Rani love has the most gorgeous smile. She should do it more often. At least she is smiling back and she is leaning down to give me a kiss…a long kiss.
When they had finished she spoke again, “Then we can be a proper family, since we seem to have found a daughter.”
~~~
Rani
Alarmed and flustered at Theodora’s idea Rani headed for the kitchen while Theodora went toward the hall. I don’t know how to take what my lover just said. Does she really want to try and marry me as if we are to be man and wife? Can we? I know that it is not just lust on my part. I love my exotic Darkreach Princess…and we are fated to be together…I know all of that…but marriage? Surely we cannot get our priest to do that for us…or can we…he is not much like the priests at home. How would my family in Haven react to that?…that is, if they ever managed to hear of it at all.
~~~
Theodora
Theodora saw Verily standing beside the guardhouse. She was throwing knives at a well-used target with a look of determination on her face.
“I have had to practice in my room by throwing blunt knives at firewood before and I had to hide what I did. Now I can work at longer range and get better.” She cannot get much better. Standing nearly thirty paces from the target the girl is using both hands to draw and throw and is landing six knives within half a hand of each other at a speed I have never seen before. It took a mere count of three for an entire hand of blades to be on their way to the target. It is a blur of flying steel. On its own just one thrown knife blade will not do much but the way this girl throws, a person drawing a sword would have six in their body before their blade even left its sheath and only one of them has to strike an eye or cut a vein for it to be fatal.
“I am going to Mass,” said Theodora. “If you want to come with me, we can see Rani afterwards. She wants to start looking to see if she can teach magic to you. I mean, I could as well, but that is one of the things she does and she would be much better than me.”
“Yes, I want to see this priest and talk to him again. He seems to have sense and I do not know what I should do and what I should feel. I just feel empty and sad and I should be happy. Before you came I had rage and revenge to keep me going…to make me feel alive. Now I don’t have that,” she said dejectedly, “and I have nothing to replace it with. It is as if there is nothing for me now. I am an empty vessel with just an ache inside and last night there was nothing to help me fight my dreams…I have very bad dreams.” Even her voice sounds hollow and far away. It is sad that this velvet-voiced and beautiful girl has been ruined in such a way.
&nb
sp; “Come,” Theodora said. “You were raised in a different religion, but let the Mass wash over you. It is a consolation and there is a peace in it. I am sure that, if you offered, Father Christopher would teach you the songs to sing.” She thought back to some of the castrati she had heard at home. “There is one that is called the Kyrie that you would sound beautiful singing and there is calm and contemplation in those sorts of songs. They may help you.” She smiled. “Rani wants to teach you magic, Ayesha wants to teach you how to kill, and now I want you to get the priest to teach you songs. Your life is soon going to be too full to be empty.”
~~~
Father Christopher
Christopher was setting up for the service when they started to come in. Despite last night there are quite a few. The milkmaid is here with the farmer, the dressmaker sits beside the smith. On the other side of the smith is Sajãh. The three are obviously together. What is more Eleanor—what had she been?—oh yes, a guard, not only has the bowyer beside her, but is holding his hand. There are a couple of other women as well, even one of the Havenite girls, as well as young Valeria and four others whose names I do not remember and two of the children. We will have to organise something for them, a school, and someone to look after them. We cannot just let them run around. Now Theodora has come in…I will wait a little longer. I am not sure about the expressions on the faces of the women. Some of the women sitting with men just look determined while others look like a cat that has caught a mouse. The men look…I suppose stunned is the right word. Rani is now here. She is looking a little nervous as she sits beside Theodora.
Engaging Evil (Warriors of Vhast Book 2) Page 22
