Chapter 14
“The second opinion,” Aleron said as he stormed into the room, “is that you will have your feet bound as before, and if you don’t mind the healer’s orders, your wrists will be tied as well to keep those mischievous hands still.
” How can she be so beautiful, but as cantankerous as an untamed filly at the same time?
A slight smile crept across Tashama’s face. “Was the lady very offended that you abandoned her to visit me in my chambers?”
“Rewrap her feet, healer.” Aleron wrinkled his brow as the healer reapplied salve. Once the healer finished rewrapping her feet, Aleron motioned to the door. “Everyone, leave us.”
Listra followed the guards and healer out of the room and closed the door behind her. Aleron folded his arms. “You will obey me and those who speak for me.”
“Of course.” Tashama relaxed.
“My personal business is none of your concern.”
“Are you marrying the woman?”
He couldn’t believe his ears. Hadn’t he just told her that Daveal was none of her business? “You seem to have difficulty interpreting the spoken word.”
“She won’t like it that you spend so much time with me.”
“She knows her place, unlike you.” How could he, ruler of all Maldovia, put up with such insolence from this woman…a mere prisoner? Yet, even now, his loins ached for her.
She toyed with a golden curl. “My place is as the ruling head of Karthland—not under your thumb.”
“Your place is beside your husband. I already feel sorry for the poor man.” He could only imagine what her husband would face if he risked linking with her. Still, he couldn’t take his eyes off her.
“He’ll be a kind sight nicer than you, that’s for certain. And he’ll get all the kisses he wishes.” Tashama puckered her full lips slightly.
“He’ll get a lot more than that from you.”
“Of course.” Tashama tucked the curl behind her ear.
“I meant that tongue of yours.”
Tashama laughed. “You know, you say the funniest things even though you don’t realize you say them. So what are you going to do about my dear Cousin Loran?”
“We’ve sent a dispatch to him already. The sooner he takes you off my hands, the better.
” He was annoyed with her, but he didn’t really feel the sentiments he spoke.
If he could, he would keep her here, under his thumb, as she said.
No, under the weight of his body, full of desire.
How could he feel this way about her? His enemy?
His heart increased its pace as he tugged at his tunic.
He didn’t want her to see how much her body could affect his, even as he stood two feet away.
A light scent of jasmine drifted in the air…
her scent. She was more beautiful than anyone in his kingdom.
He was the ruler of all Maldovia after all.
Why shouldn’t he have such a prize to call his own?
“So you’re going to ransom me.” Tashama looked down at the floor.
He wanted to pull her from the chair and hold her close, to feel her warm breath against his neck. “You want to go home. We’ll help you return there.”
“Good.” Tashama ran her hands over her satin skirts. “Sooner, than later, I would hope.”
“As would I.” Aleron turned to leave. How could he say such a thing, when he meant just the opposite? She brought out the worst in him without even trying.
He walked out of the room as Listra walked in and closed the door. “Did he scold you much?”
“Of course not. He loves me. That’s why he gets so perturbed with me.
I don’t share his sentiments,” Tashama said, then, seeing the strange look on Listra’s face, she added, “I don't have the same feelings for him that he has for me. It angers him. His fiancée won’t like that he feels this way for me, I’m certain. ”
“Fiancée?”
“The woman he’s to marry.”
“He hasn’t decided on one yet, though Carissian has urged him on several different occasions to make a choice.”
“And the lady he was walking with in the gardens?”
“Lady Daveal.” Listra nodded.
“Devil. So who is this woman?”
Listra hooked the drapes to the wall. “If you’re not interested in the prince, why are you interested in knowing about Daveal?”
“I’m sick of not being able to get around. A little court gossip would be welcome.”
Listra sat down and lifted her needlework to her lap, but said nothing further.
“She’s a member of a royal family, I take it?”
Listra still said not a word as she concentrated on her work.
A blue fabric caught Tashama’s eye as she turned to look through the window. A young man crouched next to four-foot-high shrubs. Jaran, the youngest thief from the prison tower. He motioned for her to come to him, but she shook her head as she pointed to her feet.
Tilting his head down, he showed he understood. He held his hands together and rested his cheek on them as he closed his eyes. She nodded. He waved, then darted down the path.
Tashama turned to Listra. “So what are you embroidering?”
Listra smiled as she showed her the tapestry. Tashama touched the green shimmering-scaled tail of the mermaid reclining on a moss-covered boulder while the surf splashed spray into the air. “It’s lovely. Where will you display this?”
“The tapestry is for the prince’s coronation. He will be crowned king of Maldovia in two days. I’ll make it into a pillow to add to the rest of his collection.”
“Oh.” Tashama turned her attention back to the window. “He’s already so full of himself, he’ll never be able to fit into his crown, unless it’s as big as the circumference of his lake.”
“You say the oddest things.”
“Yes, but they’re true.” Tashama ran her fingers through her silky hair.
Listra set her needle in a pincushion. “They say you’re quite taken with the appearance of the prince.”
“He’s different than my kind. That’s all.”
“There are many who are intrigued by your fair coloring. I heard one of the guards say he couldn’t get enough of that blond hair. That’s why you must wear a veil.”
Tashama reached back to braid her hair. “Do you have something to tie this with? A ribbon or some such thing?”
Listra reached her hand into the pouch tied at her waist, then handed a blue ribbon to Tashama.
“Thank you. I hope that I haven’t been too much of a bother to you.”
“I’ve been given the task of being your lady-in-waiting for the remainder of the time you’ll be here. Many are anxious to serve you.”
“Why?”
Listra ran her hands over her skirt. “Because of your confrontations with the prince. There’s been quite a bit of conversation in the ladies’ chambers concerning this when we turn in for the night. Because of my assignment, my position has been somewhat elevated.”
Tashama laughed. “Well, at least someone appreciates I’m here.” She finished braiding her hair, then set the tail of the braid in her lap. “I heard one of the men call you a princess, though.”
“I’m the prince’s first cousin. My mother was the king’s sister.”
“I would think your position is already quite elevated.”
“There are twenty-two princesses. We are all cousins of Prince Aleron.”
“I see. Then, as one of many of the prince’s first cousins, who would you like to see the prince marry?”
“A woman who will satisfy the prince’s desires so he will be happy in his reign over Maldovia.”
“The prince should please his wife, and in doing so, she will find favor with him.”
Listra smiled. “The ladies find you amusing. You twist our concepts so. It’s difficult to imagine you can be a Karthlander and the ruler of your people with such strange notions.”
“Will you help me with something?”
Listra tied Tashama’s braid. “If I can.”
“I would like to sit in the gazebo.”
“With veils covering your hair.”
Tashama studied the gardens, then finally nodded.
“I’ll have the guards carry you and will sit with you before the meal.”
After Listra applied veils to Tashama’s hair, she opened the door and made her request known to the guards.
Soon Tashama sat with Listra in the lacy white gazebo overlooking a pond she hadn’t noticed before.
Orange-scaled fish swam under the hogwort pads.
Tashama leaned forward to get a closer look.
Suddenly, a water sprite flew into her face, and she sat back, startled.
“Tashama,” the sprite whispered on the breeze as she fluttered about Tashama’s head. “Tashama, they’ve got you again.”
“Go away, you pesky sprite.”
The blue-winged creature giggled and dove into the water as Tashama shook her head. Listra’s mouth dropped open.
“What’s the matter?”
“Did you understand what she said? Could you hear her words?”
“Certainly. They’re annoying, aren't they?”
Listra’s eyes widened.
“Do not tell me that you cannot understand them.”
“Nobody I know can, my lady. They make strange tinkling noises, and like the birds or other animals of the wild, we cannot understand their speech. What did she say?”
“Nothing important. They are like gnats, annoying! By the way, please call me Tashama.”
“But you are...”
“A princess and so are you.”
“But you will be queen of Karthland.
“Not if your prince has his way.”
Listra cleared her throat and changed the subject. “Our people say you have the gift of future sight. Can you tell me what you see for me?”
Tashama shook her head. “I cannot tell for everyone.”
“Will you try?”
“I don’t want to see anything ill.”
“Please?”
Tashama nodded. “All right.” She reached out for Listra’s hand as a lady’s laughter peeled through the quiet. “Devil?”
Listra corrected her, “Daveal.”
“Well,” the prince said as he and Daveal walked into Tashama’s view, “I had not expected to see you here.”
Listra stood up and curtsied. “Her hair is veiled.”
“Good, then she can sup with me.” He turned to the raven-haired lady who still clung to his arm. “Later, my lady.” The woman cast a scowl in Tashama’s direction, then turned and hurried away. The prince motioned to one of his guards. “Carry her to my quarters.”
Aleron walked in front of his guards, and Tashama whispered to Listra, “Will you stay with me the whole time we dine?”
Aleron looked back at Tashama and raised a brow. “Are we afraid, my lady?”
“Of course not, but I’ve been told I’ve been too agreeable in your presence before.”
“Hardly.” Aleron sighed deeply, then shook his head as he made a face.
They arrived at his chambers, and he turned to Listra. “You may have the rest of the evening off.”
“Am I not to attend to the lady tonight, Your Highness, after she has retired to bed? Should she need something to drink or another pillow or some company or some such thing?”
“No, dear cousin, you have earned the evening off.”
Tashama frowned at Aleron.
Listra curtsied deeply. “As you wish, sire.” She hastened out of the room.
The guards laid Tashama on the pillows, then Aleron gestured for the servants to bring the feast. He sat beside her as she fiddled with the ribbon tied in a bow at the end of her braid. “You can remove your veils now, my lady.”
“They feel good where they are now, thank you very much, sire.”
He smiled. You are afraid of me, though you deny it. Aleron waved for the lobster to be brought forth.
Tashama smiled at the red-shelled creatures garnished in parsley-type leaves. A servant leaned over to pull the meat from the shell for her, and she slipped her fingers around the sweet meat.
“You seem to like lobster best of all of the meals we’ve had here.”
“Oh, yes.” She ate the tender meat.
After she finished her lobster, she turned to him. “I’m afraid to say this as you may think me rather piggish, but could I have another?”
Aleron smiled. He waved to his servant who bowed then hurried away. I cannot give her to Loran no matter how much Carissian advises me to do so. “I think you must be like the mermaid who relishes such delicacies of the sea.”
“Oh, yes. Living in the heart of Texas like I did, lobsters were so expensive and brought in from such a distance, I rarely had the opportunity to enjoy them.”
“Tell me about this Texas.” Aleron took a drink of his wine.
“It’s a big place with rolling hills, lakes, rivers, prairies, semi-tropical areas, palm trees, pine forests, canyons, beaches, the Gulf of Mexico. You can just about see anything you’d want to see without ever leaving the state.”
“Like here.”
Aleron studied the veils on Tashama’s hair, then turned to a servant. “Leave the trays of food here. We’ll serve ourselves. You may withdraw now.”
Aleron handed a bowl of cherries to Tashama. She examined the purple fruit. “Does it have a pit?”
“A pit?”
“A seed?”
Aleron smiled. “You say the oddest things.”
She bit gently into the fruit to ensure she didn’t bite into a seed, then, finding none, she smiled. “No seeds.”
“Do the cherries in Texas have seeds?”
“We remove them before they’re served, usually.”
“This Texas sounds like a peculiar place. I’ve given it much thought. I cannot fathom where it would be located in connection with Maldovia, Karthland, and the land of Inherian.”
“Far away from here. You couldn’t imagine how different it is from your, well, our world.”
A servant walked into the chambers with another lobster as Aleron considered her gown. “You don’t think me too…”
“Go right ahead, Princess. Eat to your heart’s content. If you wish, you may have another after this.”
She dug the tender, pink-veined meat out of its shell. “I believe this will satisfy me.”
Aleron finished his wine, then ate a bowl of rice while Tashama finished off her lobster. After she wiped her hands on a linen napkin, she sipped her wine while he lay down on his side to observe her. “Why did you not wish to wear the veils?”
“The pins poke into my scalp, and the veils weigh down my hair. They feel cumbersome and unnatural to me, just as wearing them would be for you, I would imagine.”
Aleron smiled as he touched Tashama’s braid, which curled on the pillow beside him.
“I have not the lovely tresses to attach such a thing to as you do.” He took a deep breath.
“I do not believe your wearing sheer veils will be a sufficient deterrent to interested admirers. The glimpse of beauty screened beneath the cloth tantalizes the viewer even further, rather than discouraging interest in the sight. Therefore, you may remove your veils.”
She ran her finger over her full lips, indicating the vaguest of smiles as she considered Aleron. “All right.”
She reached up to pull the pins from her hair while Aleron poured another goblet of wine for himself. She folded the veils onto the floor beside the pillows, then sipped his wine as she lay back on the cushions.
“Better?” he asked.
“Much.” She knew she would get her way eventually. But for other things, she would have to be the one to make it happen.