pastry! What a treat!”
Rema took an experimental bite of the bread. It was thick and floury, and the strawberry jam tingled on the tip of her tongue. “Now here’s something I can’t belittle.”
“Just don’t expect much from the pastry. I mourn for the pastry chef we lost a year ago. Strong men fell to their knees weeping just at the thought of her pies.”
“You lost her?” Rema bit into the pastry. It was some kind of tart, dry and crumbly. The crumbs clung to her tongue and mouth—if only Alys had brought a drink as well. “What happened?”
“My father learned that she was spending a little too much time with my sister, so he sent her away.” Loric blushed. “Poor Elsie. She really liked that one too.”
Of course Elise had sought comfort in the servants. Forceful as she was, it was improbable she would never have tried to satisfy her desires before now. “Does that sort of thing happen often?”
“Not too often. Elsie knows she’s gambling every time. Her dalliances are about the only thing that might convince our mother to pack her away. You’re too tempting for her to resist, though.” Loric plucked a blossom from his shoulder and frowned at it. “If you’re not interested in her like that, I can ask her to stop chasing you.”
The look in his eyes made clear that he wanted badly for Rema to ask exactly that. “Don’t worry,” she said, after an awkward pause. “It takes a great deal to make me uncomfortable.”
“And what does make you uncomfortable?”
“Well, I once saw a man forced to eat himself from the feet up.”
Loric opened his mouth, closed it and opened it again. “That isn’t true, is it?”
Rema replied with her most inscrutable smile. “A diplomat never tells.”
Shaking the leaves from his hair, Loric stood. “Thank you for an image that I’ll carry with me all day. By the way, my brother is supposed to be back tomorrow. I desperately want to be there when you meet him. And I’d like to invite you to dinner with me and Elsie tonight, to spare you from my parents.”
“That’s a gracious offer. I accept. As for your brother, we’ll see what happens.”
“You may have seen some amazing things, but I bet you’ve never seen anything like a fight between Elsie and Calan.” Loric glanced at Rema, not quite making eye contact. “Don’t you feel bad about what you’re doing?”
“I like you both. But I also have to save a kingdom.”
“You know, mostly I’ve felt sorry for Elsie.” Loric’s lips tilted in a crooked smile. “But maybe I really ought to feel sorry for you.”
A little too perceptive for comfort, this one. “I’ve an apple to finish, and I don’t want to eat it in front of you. It’s undignified.”
“I’m tempted to stay now just to see what you look like when you’re undignified.” Loric ran his finger around his neck. He was blushing even under his collar, the poor boy. “Well, back to my hard day’s labor.” He disappeared into the hedgerows, casting a furtive glance backward.
Rema returned to her morning relaxation. A beetle crawled up her sleeve, and she peered with interest at its slick red carapace and seeking, spindly legs. With care she redirected it onto a crisp leaf, placed the leaf on the ground and watched the insect stumble into the grass. Loric’s story was troubling. If Talitha was in a bad mood, then it would be wise to avoid her for a time. Better to wait for the return of Calan, who obviously held influence over his father.
Her thoughts crept, once again, to Elise. The barely-veiled desire in Elise’s eyes had made clear Rema’s mission was to be an especially painful one. At the court of Arann, she was known as a relentless advocate for the vulnerable: slaves, prostitutes, beggars, the crippled and uniquely-minded, those who refused the sex given at their birth, and, of course, people like herself and Elise—women constituted to love women, men constituted to love men. As a Danoshan, Elise
Rema took an experimental bite of the bread. It was thick and floury, and the strawberry jam tingled on the tip of her tongue. “Now here’s something I can’t belittle.”
“Just don’t expect much from the pastry. I mourn for the pastry chef we lost a year ago. Strong men fell to their knees weeping just at the thought of her pies.”
“You lost her?” Rema bit into the pastry. It was some kind of tart, dry and crumbly. The crumbs clung to her tongue and mouth—if only Alys had brought a drink as well. “What happened?”
“My father learned that she was spending a little too much time with my sister, so he sent her away.” Loric blushed. “Poor Elsie. She really liked that one too.”
Of course Elise had sought comfort in the servants. Forceful as she was, it was improbable she would never have tried to satisfy her desires before now. “Does that sort of thing happen often?”
“Not too often. Elsie knows she’s gambling every time. Her dalliances are about the only thing that might convince our mother to pack her away. You’re too tempting for her to resist, though.” Loric plucked a blossom from his shoulder and frowned at it. “If you’re not interested in her like that, I can ask her to stop chasing you.”
The look in his eyes made clear that he wanted badly for Rema to ask exactly that. “Don’t worry,” she said, after an awkward pause. “It takes a great deal to make me uncomfortable.”
“And what does make you uncomfortable?”
“Well, I once saw a man forced to eat himself from the feet up.”
Loric opened his mouth, closed it and opened it again. “That isn’t true, is it?”
Rema replied with her most inscrutable smile. “A diplomat never tells.”
Shaking the leaves from his hair, Loric stood. “Thank you for an image that I’ll carry with me all day. By the way, my brother is supposed to be back tomorrow. I desperately want to be there when you meet him. And I’d like to invite you to dinner with me and Elsie tonight, to spare you from my parents.”
“That’s a gracious offer. I accept. As for your brother, we’ll see what happens.”
“You may have seen some amazing things, but I bet you’ve never seen anything like a fight between Elsie and Calan.” Loric glanced at Rema, not quite making eye contact. “Don’t you feel bad about what you’re doing?”
“I like you both. But I also have to save a kingdom.”
“You know, mostly I’ve felt sorry for Elsie.” Loric’s lips tilted in a crooked smile. “But maybe I really ought to feel sorry for you.”
A little too perceptive for comfort, this one. “I’ve an apple to finish, and I don’t want to eat it in front of you. It’s undignified.”
“I’m tempted to stay now just to see what you look like when you’re undignified.” Loric ran his finger around his neck. He was blushing even under his collar, the poor boy. “Well, back to my hard day’s labor.” He disappeared into the hedgerows, casting a furtive glance backward.
Rema returned to her morning relaxation. A beetle crawled up her sleeve, and she peered with interest at its slick red carapace and seeking, spindly legs. With care she redirected it onto a crisp leaf, placed the leaf on the ground and watched the insect stumble into the grass. Loric’s story was troubling. If Talitha was in a bad mood, then it would be wise to avoid her for a time. Better to wait for the return of Calan, who obviously held influence over his father.
Her thoughts crept, once again, to Elise. The barely-veiled desire in Elise’s eyes had made clear Rema’s mission was to be an especially painful one. At the court of Arann, she was known as a relentless advocate for the vulnerable: slaves, prostitutes, beggars, the crippled and uniquely-minded, those who refused the sex given at their birth, and, of course, people like herself and Elise—women constituted to love women, men constituted to love men. As a Danoshan, Elise
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