Read Online The Search for Kä by Randall Garrett - Free Book Online

washcloth to my skin, opened the drain, and stepped out. It was only then that I realized that I had failed to bring a robe or fresh tunic. I rubbed away most of the water, then wrapped the roughly woven towel around my middle. I left the bathhouse with my skin tingling and my feet bare; I carried my boots and the rags I had been wearing at arm’s length.
    The aroma of roasting meat greeted me, and I left the stone-laid path to go around the back of the house to the kitchen side. The ground was covered with grassy plants; the wide, soft blades cushioned the sound of my bare feet as I rounded the corner of the house.
    A girl was tending the fire in the bottom section of the domed brick oven. She shoved the ceramic door back into place and turned toward the house at about the same moment that I became part of the view. She shrieked, whirled to run, stopped to look, blushed furiously, and started to giggle.
    I tried not to laugh with her—even a bare-assed Captain needs dignity. Lucky for me, Shola had heard the commotion and now she hurried out the door, drying her hands on her apron. She did a fair job of hiding her own amusement as she scolded the girl.
    â€œYena, where are your manners?” Shola said. She took the boots from my hand and held them out to the girl. “Take these down to the river and freshen them—mind you shake off all the dust before you touch them with water. Go on, now.”
    The girl took the boots, looked me over one more time, then fled, still giggling. Shola reached out for my clothes, then seemed to think better of it. “If you will put those on the ground beside the house, Captain,” she said, rubbing her hands on her apron as if she had actually touched them, “I’ll see to it Yena burns them—
after
dinner.”
    I tossed down the clothes and unconsciously mimicked Shola’s gesture, rubbing my hands on the towel—which came loose. I grabbed at it in panic and replaced it before it slipped too far. I discovered I needn’t have worried; Shola was looking at the heap of shredded cloth.
    â€œYour clothes speak of suffering, Captain.” She looked up into my face, her own expression soft and caring. “They make me grateful to have you with us again.”
    â€œThank you,” I said. “You make me feel welcome, in every way but one.”
    Her face closed down and turned away. “If there is anything you need, Captain—” she said, her voice formal. I touched her arm.
    â€œI think you know what I need, Shola.”
    Come on, Shola
, I urged her silently.
Talk to me. Don’t shut me out.
    For a moment I was afraid she was going to do exactly that, and I was poised on the edge of disappointment. Then she took a deep breath and announced to the wall of the house: “I am not the sort, Captain, who can pretend what she does not feel.”
    â€œThen why not say what you
do
feel?” I asked her.
    She looked at me then, her eyes flashing. “There is no place in the Lieutenant’s home for rudeness.”
    â€œYou have made a place for it,” I said, more sharply than I had intended.
    â€œHave I not been polite to her?” Shola demanded.
    â€œA cold and insincere gift that speaks your disapproval more clearly than words,” I said. “You’re deliberately trying to hurt Tarani. I want to know why.”
    â€œThis is a personal matter between us, Captain—hardly worth your attention.”
    â€œI see,” I said, meaning that I could see how this attitude was frustrating Dharak. “Tarani and I will be moving across the river after dinner, Shola.”
    â€œWhat? But … you cannot do that, Captain!” she said, stepping between me and the kitchen door as I moved toward it.
    â€œOf course I can,” I said. “As I recall, there are a number of vacant homes; we will not inconvenience anyone.”
    â€œI do not mean that,” Shola said.
    â€œWhat else could