Eddings, David – Tamuli – 02 – The Shining Ones

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

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