ceremonies. ‘
She gave him a long, steady look. ‘You said I have to what?’
There was an ominous tone in her voice.
“it’s the custom. A Peloi bride always lives for two months
with the groom’s mother before the ceremony.’
‘Why?’
‘To learn about him.’
“I already know about you.
‘Well, yes, I suppose you do, but it’s the custom.’
‘That’s ridiculous.’
‘Customs often are, but I am Domi, so I have to set a good
example – and you’ll be Dona. The Peloi women will have no
respect for you if you don’,t do what’s expected.’
‘I’ll teach them respect.’ her eyes had turned flint-hard.
He leaned back on his elbows. “I was sort of afraid you might
feel this way,’ he sighed.
‘is that why you didn’t mention it before?’
“I was waiting for the right time. Is there any wine in that
basket? This might be easier if we’re both more relaxed.’
‘Let’s wait. We can get relaxed after you tell me. What is this
nonsense?’
‘Let’s see if I can explain it.’ He rubbed his head. ‘When my
people say that the bride ‘is “learning about her husband”, it
doesn’t really mean that she’s learning about what he expects
for breakfast or things like that. What they’re really talking about
is the fact that there’s property involved.’
“I don’t have any property, Kring. I’m a slave.’
‘Not after you marry me, you won’t be. You’ll be a very
wealthy woman.
‘What are you talking about?’
‘Peloi men’ own their weapons and their horses. Everything
else belongs to the women. Always before, whenever I stole
something – cattle, usually – I gave it to my mother. She’s been
holding my wealth for me until I get married. She’s entitled to
some of it. That’s what the two months is all about. It’s to give
the two of you time to agree on the division.’
“it shouldn’t take us that long.’
‘Well probably not. My mother’s a reasonable woman, but
the two of you will also have to find husbands for my sisters. It
wouldn’t be so hard if there weren’t so many of them.
‘How many?’ Her voice was very hard now.
‘Ah – eight, actually.’
‘Eight?’ She said it flatly.
‘My father was very vigorous.’
‘So was your mother, apparently. Are your sisters presentable?’
‘More or less. None of them are as beautiful as you are though,
love _ but then who could be?’
‘We can talk about that later. There’s some kind of problem
~’with your sisters, isn’t there?’
Kring winced. ‘How did you know that?’
“I know you, Kring. You saved mention of these sisters until
the very last. That means that you didn’t want to talk about
them, and that means there’s a problem. What is it?’
‘They think they’re rich. That makes them put on airs.”
‘is that all?’
‘They’re very arrogant, Mirtai.’
‘I’ll teach them humility.’ She shrugged. ‘Since there are only
eight, I should be able to do it all at once. I’ll just take them all
out into the nearest pasture for an hour or so. They’ll be very
humble when we come back – and eager to marry any men your
mother and I choose for them. I’ll make sure they’re willing to
do anything to get away from me. Your mother and I should be
able to settle the property division in the morning; I’ll civilize
your sisters in the afternoon, and you and I can be married that
same evening.’
“it’s not done that way, my love.’
“it will be this time. I’m no more enthusiastic about waiting
than you are. Why don’t you come over here and kiss me? Now
that everything’s been settled, we should take advantage of this
opportunity. ‘
He grinned at her. ‘My feelings exactly, love.’ he took her in his
arms and kissed her.’The kiss was rather genteel at first, but
that didn’t last for very long. Things turned slightly savage after
a moment.
‘That’s going to work out just fine,’ Danae said smugly. “I
wasn’t sure how Mirtai was going to take to the idea of living
with Kring’s mother, but she’s got everything in hand now.’
‘She’s going to upset the Peloi, you know,’ Sparhawk said.
‘They’ll live,’ the princess shrugged. ‘They’re too set in their
ways anyhow. They need somebody like Mirtai to open their
eyes to the modern world. Let’s move on, Sparhawk. We’re not
done yet.’
‘How long has this been going on?’ Stragen asked in a slightly
choked voice.
‘Since I was a little girl,’ Melidere replied. ‘My father made
the dies when I was about seven or so.’
‘Do you realize what you’ve done, Baroness?’
“I thought we were going to drop the formality, Milord
Stragen.’ She smiled at him.
He ignored that. ‘You’ve struck a direct blow at the economy
of every kingdom in Eosia. This is monstrous.”
‘Oh, do be serious, Stragen.’
‘You’ve debased the coinage!’
“I haven’t really, but why should it make any difference to
you?’
‘Because I’m a thief. You’ve devalued everything I’ve ever
stolen!’
‘No, not really. The value of the coins doesn’t really have
anything to do with their true weight. It’s a matter of trust.
People may not like their governments, but they trust them. If
the government says that this coin is worth a half-crown, then
that’s what it’s worth. Its value is based on an agreement, not
on weight. If the coin has milled edges, it has the value that’s
stamped on its face. I haven’t really stolen anything.’
‘You’re a criminal, Melidere!’
‘How can I be a criminal if I haven’t stolen anything?’
‘What if they find out about what you’ve been doing?’
‘What if they do? They can’t do anything about it. If they say
anything or try to do something to me, I’ll just tell the whole
story, and every government in Eosia will collapse because
nobody will trust their coins any more.’ She touched his cheek.
‘You’re such an innocent, Stragen. I think that’s why I’m fond
of you. You pretend to be depraved, but actually you’re like a
little boy.’
‘Why did you tell me about this?’
‘Because I need a partner. I can handle these affairs in Eosia,
but taking on Tamuli as well might strain my resources just a
bit. You have contacts here, and I don’t. I’ll teach you the business
and then lease Tamuli to you. I’ll buy you a title and set
things up so that you can start immediately.’
His eyes narrowed. ‘Why?’ he demanded. ‘Why are you being
so generous?’
‘i’m not being generous, Stragen. You will pay your rent every
month. I can see to that. And you won’t pay in coins. I want
bullion, Stragen – nice, solid bars of gold that I can weigh – and
don’t try mixing any copper in, either. I’ll have your throat cut
if you ever try that.’
‘You’re the hardest woman I’ve ever known, Melidere.’ He
sounded slightly afraid of her.
‘Only in some places, Stragen,’ she replied archly. ‘The rest of
me is fairly soft. Oh, that reminds me. We’ll be getting married.’
‘We’ll what?’
‘Partnerships aren’t made in heaven, Milord, marriages are.
Marriage will give me one more hold on you, and I’d be an idiot
to trust a man like you.’
‘What if I don’t want to get married?’ He sounded a little
desperate now.
‘That’s just too bad, Stragen, because, like it or not, you will
marry me.’
‘And you’ll have me killed if I don’t, I suppose.’
‘Of course. I’m not going to let you run around loose with
this information. You’ll get used to the idea, Milord. I’m in a
position to make you deliriously happy – and fabulously wealthy
to boot. When have you ever had a better offer?’
The look in Stragen’s eyes, however, was one of sheer panic.
‘Now that was something I didn’t expect,’ Danae said as she
and Sparhawk crossed the lawn.
Sparhawk was almost too shocked to answer. ‘You didn’t
know about Melidere’s little hobby, you mean?’
‘Oh, of course I knew about that, Sparhawk. Melidere bought
her way into mother’s court several years ago.’
‘Bought.?’
‘She paid an old countess to step aside for her. What I didn’t
expect was the direct way she approached Stragen. I thought
she might soften things a little, but she was all business. She
carved him into neat little slices, and she didn’t give him any
room to move at all while she did it. I think I’ve misjudged her.’
‘No, actually you misjudged Stragen. She used the only technique
that had any chance of success with him. Stragen’s very
slippery. You’ve got to pin him to the plate with a fork before
you can carve him. He probably wouldn’t have listened to an
ordinary marriage proposal, so she was all business with him.
The marriage was only an incidental part.’
‘Not to her, it wasn’t.’
‘Yes, I know. She did it right, though. I’m going to have to