“You are too hard on me, Janni,” said Orain uneasily, “But sure you must see that Mistress MacAran cannot travel with men and live rough in a camp with hard men such as I command!”
“In spite of the fact that she has done so for a span of ten-days,” said Jandria, with that flicker of a wry grin. “Well, you are right, this is the place for her, and if she is good with horses and birds, we can always make use of her, if she is willing to live by our rule.”
“How do I know until I know what that is?” demanded Romilly, and Jandria laughed. “I like her, cousin. You can go and leave her to me, I won’t bite her. But wait, you said you had another charge for me.”
“Yes,” Orain said, “Lyondri Hastur’s son; Carolin. He was a student in Nevarsin monastery, and he came into our hands as a hostage – never mind how, it’s better if you don’t know. But I have given my word I will have the boy sent back to Thendara under truce-flag when the passes are open, and unharmed. I cannot go myself.”
“No,” Jandria said, “You certainly cannot; for all your head’s stuffed with old rubbish and ugly as sin, it adorns your shoulders better than it would adorn a pike outside Lyondri’s den! Yes, we’ll take the lad to Thendara for you; I may even go myself. Lyondri has certainly not seen my face since we danced together at children’s parties and would not remember it without long curls and bows in my hair.” She chuckled as at a secret joke. “How old is young Carolin now? He must be eight or nine.”
‘Twelve, I think,” Orain said, “and a nice child; it’s pity he got himself mixed up in this, but he saved my neck and my men’s and Carolin has cause to be grateful to his godson, so guard him well, Janni.”
She nodded. “I’ll take him south as soon as the passes are open, then; you can send him to me here.” She chuckled and gave Orain another of her quick, offhand hugs. “And now you must go, kinsman – what of my reputation, if it is known I entertain a man here? Worse, what of yours, if it is found out you can speak civilly to a woman?”
“Oh, come, Janni-” protested Orain, but he rose to take his leave. He looked, embarrassed, at Romilly, and stuck out his hand. “I wish you well, damisela.”
This time she did not bother to correct him. If he could not see that she was the same whether in boy’s clothes or the name of a Great House, well, so much the worse for him; he did not sound like her friend Orain at all, and she could have cried again, but she did not, for Janni was staring appraisingly at her.
After the door closed behind Orain, she said, “Well, and what happened? Did he try and lure ye’ to bed, and recoil in unholy horror when he found out you were a woman?”
“That’s not quite how it happened,” said Romilly, moved to defend Orain without knowing why, “It was – he had been kind to me, and I thought he knew I was a woman, and wanted me so – I am not a wanton,” she defended herself, “Once I came near to killing a man who would have had me against my will.” She shivered and shut her eyes; she had thought she was free of the nagging horror of Rory’s attempted rape, but she was not. “But Orain was good, and I-I liked him well, and I only thought to be kind to him, if it was what he wanted so much.”
Janni smiled, and Romilly wondered, defensively, what was funny. But the older woman only said, quite kindly, “And you are a maiden still, I doubt not.”
“I am not ashamed of it,” Romilly flared.
“How prickly you are! Well, will you live by our rule?”
“If you will tell me what it is, I will answer you,” she said, and Janni smiled again.
“Well then; will you be sister to all of us, whatever rank we may bear? For we leave rank behind us when we come into the Sisterhood; you will not be My Lady or damisela here, and no one will know or care that you were born in a Great House. You must do your share of whatever work falls to us, and never ask quarter or special consideration because you are a woman. And if you have love affairs with men, you must conduct them in decent privacy, so that no man can ever call the Sisterhood a company of camp-followers. Most of us are sworn to live celibate while we follow the armies and the sword, though we do not force it upon anyone.”