“You do not seem upset by the fact,” Antonina said. The statement had almost the air of an accusation.
For the first time since she entered the chamber, life came back to Rukaiya’s face. The girl chuckled. Her face exuded a cheerful acceptance of the world’s whimsies. The expression, combined with the little laugh, was utterly charming.
“My family is used to it. All the women, for generations, have been skinny. My mother’s thinner than I am, and she was rejected four times before my father’s family decided to take a chance on her.”
Rukaiya gave Antonina a level gaze. “I am her oldest daughter. She has had three more, and two sons. One of my sisters, and one of my brothers, died very young. But not at childbirth. My grandmother had nine children. None died in childbirth, and six survived into adulthood. Her mother—my great-grandmother—had twelve children. She died before I was born, but everyone says she had the hips of a snake.”
Rukaiya shrugged. “It just doesn’t seem to matter, to us. My mother tells me that it will be very painful, the first time, but not so bad after that. And she is not worried that I will die.”
Well, so much for that problem, thought Antonina wryly. But I’m still puzzled—
“You did not simply seem surprised, when you heard me call out your name. You also seemed upset.” Again, Antonina’s statement had the air of an accusation.
The mask was back in place. Rukaiya opened her lips, as if to speak. It was obvious, to Antonina, that the girl was about to utter some sort of denial. But, after a moment, Rukaiya lowered her head and murmured: “I was not upset, exactly. It would be a great honor, to become the wife of the negusa nagast. My family would be very proud. But—”
She paused, then raised her head. “I have enjoyed my life. I am very happy, in my father’s house. My father is a cheerful man. Very kind, and very intelligent.”
Rukaiya hesitated, groping for words. “I have always known, of course, that someday I would be married and have to leave for another man’s house. And there is a part of me that looks forward to that day. But not—” She sighed unhappily. “Not so soon.”
Her next words came out in a rush. The girl’s face was full of life, now, and her hands gestured with animation.
“I don’t know what I would do, in another man’s house. I am so afraid of being bored. Especially if my husband was a severe man. Most husbands are very strict with their wives. Since I was ten years old, my father has let me help him with his work. He is one of Mecca’s richest merchants, and he has many caravans. I keep track of most of his accounts, and I write almost all his letters, and—”
Antonina’s jaw dropped. She didn’t think there were more than two dozen women in all of Arabia—and they were invariably middle-aged widows—
“You can read?” she demanded.
Rukaiya’s own jaw clamped shut. For an instant, her young face reminded Antonina of a mule. A beautiful mule, true, but just as stubborn and willful.
The expression was fleeting, however. Rukaiya lowered her head. Her quick-moving hands, once again, were demurely clasped in her lap.
“My father taught me,” she said softly. “He insists that all women in his family must know how to read. He says that’s because they might be widows, someday, and have to manage their husbands’ affairs.”
Again, the words started coming in a rush. “But I think he just says that to placate my mother. She doesn’t like to read. Neither do my sisters. They say it’s too hard. But I love to read, and so does my father. We have had so many wonderful evenings, talking about the things we have read in books. My father owns many books. He collects them. My mother complains because it’s so expensive, but that’s the one subject on which my father lays down the law in our house. Most of our books are Greek, of course, but we even have—”
She stopped talking, then, interrupted by Antonina’s laughter. The laughter went on for quite a while. By the time Antonina finally stopped, wiping tears from her eyes, Rukaiya’s expression of shock had faded into simple curiosity.