Chapter Fifteen
“So, what do you think is best for everyone?” Finnvid asked cautiously.
There was something about this woman that put him on guard.
He had a sudden, reckless urge to introduce her to his mother; he suspected they would either be good friends or instantly set about trying to have the other assassinated.
“Well, as in all cases, I start by deciding what’s best for the women. They are the people I serve. The men?” She waved a dismissive hand. “They’ll do as they’re told.”
“The captain and the warlord will do as they’re told?”
She shrugged. “Eventually. I can be patient.” She frowned at him.
“But you, apparently, cannot. I don’t care what route you take, it’s still dangerous to travel in the wintertime.
And as far as I’m concerned, you’d be going home with a job unfinished.
You were sent here to establish an alliance with the leader of Windthorn, were you not?
You thought that person would be the warlord.
” She leaned back in her chair and her eyes glinted. “You were wrong.”
Finnvid had seen enough interactions between the reeve and the others to know she had a point.
“But he’s the military leader. Correct? At this point, our primary concern is preventing an invasion, which would be a military issue.
We’d certainly be interested in establishing trade later on; I saw some lovely crafts at the market the other day that I’m sure could find a home in Elkat. However—”
“You think that’s what I’m in charge of?
Crafts?” She caught herself. “Of course, I’m very proud of my sisters’ work in that area.
But I’m in charge of everything that doesn’t directly involve men marching around and killing each other.
The food they eat whether they’re in the barracks or off fighting?
My farmers and hunters provide it. The weapons they carry?
My miners find and refine the ore and then my blacksmiths forge the weapons and armor.
And just as important? The young soldiers, the boys who will replace those who die in the campaigns? My women provide those, as well.”
Finnvid nodded. Phrased that way, she did have more power than he’d been giving her credit for. But still . . . “They could take all those things, if they decided to. Right? I mean, the Torian army? Nobody stands up to the Torian army.”
She snorted. “Nobody stands up to a Torian mother, either.” She seemed amused by his surprise.
“There have been, to my knowledge, three attempts by Torian warlords to seize control of the cities they were sworn to protect. In all three situations, there was an immediate mutiny as soon as the orders were given. No planning, no negotiations or power brokering. The men simply refused to raise their swords to the women who’d given them life.
The women who still gave them life, through food and clothing and medicine.
” She shook her head. “The men will never attack the city. That is a guarantee.”
Finnvid thought of Theos, surely one of the more aggressive Torian males, and tried to remember any word of his that had been less than respectful toward the women of the valley.
Any suggestion that he might resent them or feel they were too powerful.
There had been none, Finnvid was quite sure.
As inexplicable as it all was to his Elkati mind, he had to believe what the woman was saying.
And that meant he needed to take a different approach.
“So . . . yes. I did misjudge the power structure. My job is unfinished. Tell me, please, Reeve: what are your interests in the matter? What will be best for your women?”
She smiled. “We like it the way it is,” she said firmly.
“I’ve traveled. I’ve seen how women are treated elsewhere—including in the Elkat valley.
Treated only as mothers? Tied to one man, often one chosen by a parent rather than the woman herself?
Isolated in their homes, given no voice or power of their own?
No. My women don’t want that. There’s no amount of luxury that would make up for a lack of freedom. ”
“Is that—is that something you think might happen?”
“No, because I won’t allow it to happen.
Not here. Which means I need to be on my guard.
I’ve traveled to the east too, and seen the way things are starting to go back there.
I might wish our Windthorn men were less obsessed with war, but I have to admit it keeps them busy.
In the central valleys, those with no battles to distract them, the men have turned to domestic affairs, and are trying to take over women’s concerns.
Now that they’ve seen the potential for accumulating wealth, they’re spending all their time worrying about that.
I’ve heard some of them are already agitating for one man per woman, just so they can keep better track of whose children are theirs.
They want to train the next wave of businessmen, and they want to be sure the fortunes they’ve hoarded stay together, in the hands of one of their own children. ”
Finnvid wasn’t sure he agreed with all the conclusions she’d drawn, but he couldn’t argue with what she’d seen. “So you want your men to go to war with Elkat to distract them from what you’re doing?”
She frowned. “I’m not quite that hard-hearted.
And I don’t care about them going to war, with Elkat or anyone else.
” She leaned forward as if telling him a secret.
“One of the reasons the men give for protecting the women as they do is that we are needed for reproduction. They say that the Torian war machine needs fuel, in the shape of young recruits.”
He nodded cautiously. Theos had explained things the same way.
She leaned back with a satisfied smirk. “We actually have fewer babies per woman than most nations, because the women control reproduction. I have five children, and that’s actually a bit higher than average.
Our women are strong and healthy and not exhausted from constant pregnancies, so we have a good survival rate for our young, but in terms of actual numbers, we don’t have that many.
And we could have even fewer, if our men stopped getting themselves killed in wars. ”
“I know a Torian who has forty-six children, with two more on the way. And he’s still quite young.”
She nodded. “Theos is very popular. However, there are other men who have no children, or only one. We track fertility through the women, not the men.”
“But you knew which man I was referring to, just because I mentioned the number of children?”
“Those children are my grandchildren,” she said quietly. “Theos is my only son, so it’s not too hard for me to keep track.”
Theos’s mother. The Sacrati had said his relationship with his mother was difficult, but surely this went beyond “difficult.” “You have a son who could die in a war between our valleys, but you’re not concerned whether one starts or not?”
“I have one son. I have four daughters. And Theos?” She sighed. “Theos has been looking for a heroic death since he was old enough to crawl toward danger. War or peace, he’ll find a way to die young. There’s nothing I can do about that.”
Finnvid stared at her. He wasn’t sure if he was more horrified by the idea of strong, vibrant Theos dying, or by the reeve’s apparent indifference to his fate. “Maybe he just needs something to live for! Maybe his energy could be redirected, if he found the right reason.”
She raised an eyebrow at him. “Well, I’d certainly like to thank you for all you’ve done in that regard. Losing his rank and his faith in his leader and friends? I’m sure that’s gone a long way toward giving him a reason to live. Not to mention whatever went on between the two of you personally.”
She held his eyes for a moment, then smiled, clearly serene in the knowledge that her point had been made.
“So. Neither one of us has been able to do much for Theos. But I want my women content and free, and that will be most probable if we can hold off any attempts to ‘reform’ or ‘modernize’ the Torian system that has served us so well. I’m confident that the Sacrati captain shares my goals in that area, and I therefore support him.
I am much less confident about the warlord.
It’s very troubling that he hid your presence from the rest of us for as long as he did, and I certainly don’t like hearing that he was meeting with you behind our backs.
So, Elkati prince . . . I will support your nation’s quest for peace, if you will support my goal of maintaining the traditional Torian way of life. ”
She watched him closely as she added, “What’s more, I have been in communication with the reeves of Cragview and Greenbrook, and they agree with me in principle.
They do not support any changes to the Torian system.
If they feel that Elkat is their ally in this, they will be inclined toward peace with your valley. ”
The room was quiet for a moment, both of them waiting for what came next.
“And of course,” the reeve said, “if any of us see Elkat as a problem . . . if we find that Elkat has made alliances with factions from our valleys that threaten to upset the lives we currently enjoy . . . then we will urge our men to respond to the threat. And as I’m sure you know, our men respond to threats in only one way. ”
She relaxed back into her chair and gave him another peaceful smile. “You made a mistake, dealing with the warlord instead of with me. But now you have a chance to rectify that mistake. I suggest you take advantage of the opportunity.”
She was clearly done with him, which was just as well because he had no idea how to reply.
So he stood up and bowed formally; the reeve inclined her head in return.
“Go see your men,” she said, as if sending a boy to look at a litter of puppies.
“But don’t take them anywhere. Not until you’ve come to say good-bye. ”