Miami Days and Truscan (17 page)

And in a flood of incoherence from which I don’t know how he picked up one thought from another, I told him. Once I began I couldn’t stop, and when I finished, I waited for him to withdraw his arms, move me off his lap, turn away from me and wait for confirmation, one way or the other, of my maternal status but he merely sat quietly. His first question was not the one I expected.

“Women of your world do this once a
month
?”

“Don’t Truscan women?”

“No. Only a couple of times a year. Haven’t you noticed that Truscan families are not large?”

“There were four of you.”

“And our mother was from your world. Well, I
will
be damned. That explains it. Once each month, no one who knew her well dared cross my mother, not even my father.
Especially
my father, now that I think on it. So that was her secret of fertility, she was just born with it.”

I reflected that certainly a mother didn’t discuss her monthly cycles with her sons, and that the occasion had probably never come up when Dalph and Johnny had had a need to converse on such. But still, this sense of wonderment wasn’t what I expected.

“Dalph, don’t you understand what I’m telling you? I don’t see how it’s possible, but it
could
be! And you need to know, to be certain, who the child’s father is!”

“But I know who the child’s father is, Tess. If a child exists, which, from what you’re telling me, I doubt seriously. It’s me.”

“Dalph—”

“Tess, it’s your own code of honor that’s the problem here, not me. You didn’t lie to me, you didn’t betray me. You came to me straight out of a relationship common in your world, one that carried, in that world, no dishonor with it. And I knew that. So consider your code of honor satisfied. It’s highly unlikely you’re carrying a child. But if you are, then I’ve made my own bed, and I’m perfectly willing to lie in it. As long as
you’re
in it. Children are prized in Trusca, Tess. Surely you’ve noticed that?”

I had indeed. I hadn’t realized that in fact, they were so much harder to conceive in Trusca. A couple of times a
year
?

Dalph continued. “I tricked you into marriage, and I waved the banner of your virginity over the battlements. Any child, in the eyes of the people, is mine. There’s nothing I could do to change it if I wanted to and I don’t. I can’t even understand why—do you know how hard it is for me to imagine a world where people go to such lengths to actually
avoid
having a child?”

I struggled to translate this. “So you’re not mad at me and you’re not upset?”

“What reason would I have to be?”

“Men don’t usually
need
a reason when a woman’s telling them something like this!”

“Are the men of your world really such bastards?”

“Frequently.”

He nodded slowly. “I begin to see why it’s been so hard for you to trust me. Look, consider it this way. You love Dal, don’t you?”

“Absolutely.”

“Why?”

“Why? Well, because—because he’s Dal, he’s—remarkable, he’s—”

“He’s a person in his own right, with all his faults and virtues. And maybe, just a little bit, because he’s mine?”

I nodded agreement.

“Then is it really so astounding to you that I could love a child as it grew just because of who and what he was? And also because it was
your
child? You really, even now, after the last weeks, have that low an opinion of me?”

“Dalph, I don’t—I keep trying to judge you in terms of the most likely reactions of men in my world. You don’t react to
anything
like
anybody
I’ve ever known, and I should know better by now. I’m sorry.”

“As you should be, my Queen,” he said, and gave me a gentle push to indicate that I should rise. I stood up and he followed suit. Then he picked me up again and carried me over to the bed, depositing me carefully on top of the coverings. “And now—”

“Now?” I asked, as he moved beside me.

“Now, I think the time has come again to talk of many things.
‘Of shoes and ships and sealing wax
—
’
”

I smiled.

“And if Tess can love the King.”

“Oh, I’d say that was a done deal some while ago,” I said. He leaned over and kissed me. My lips parted, and he tasted just as good as I’d known he would. I felt the sweetness flow into passion, and he moved his lips down, over my throat, down to the opening of my robe, moving the fabric aside. His kisses moved across the tops of my breast, and down, his mouth capturing and teasing. I felt his hand pull on the belt of my robe, and moved my own hands over the lapels of his robe, savoring the warmth of his bare skin. I didn’t think the convenience of the robe was an accident.

“You came prepared,” I commented.

He raised his head and laughed softly. “Prepared to beg, if I had to. I didn’t know what else was left.”

“Come here,” I ordered, pulling him up, and reaching my hands inside the robe to pull it aside. I ran my hands over his shoulders, down his chest, through the thick mat of dark hair. I felt his muscles bunch and ripple, and his hands moved lower, over the inside of my thighs.

I sent my own hand downward and decided it was a good thing I wasn’t a virgin; he would undoubtedly send a virgin screaming in terror from the room. I felt his gasp, and he raised his head. Surely he wasn’t surprised at my touch? But he seemed to be. Then I had it.

“Truscan women don’t—” I whispered.

“Truscan women aren’t overly bold in bed,” he answered as my hand kept moving. “No wonder my father was my mother’s willing slave,” he whispered, lowering his head and nuzzling the side of my neck.

“And…” I said softly, “you ain’t seen
nothing
yet!”

That, of course, was the moment the knock sounded impatiently on the door.

Chapter Seventeen

Dalph growled, the sound so low it was actually animalistic.

“I’m going to kill him!” he exclaimed.

“Dalph—”

“It’s Dal. He wanted to check on you after Lammas and I told him to stay away from this room if he wanted to live to see tomorrow—”

“Dalph!” Johnny’s voice sounded through the door. “We got us a situation here!!”

“It isn’t Dal,” I said.

“But he’s still dead!” Dalph exclaimed against my ear and, raising his head, shouted toward the door. “Go away, Johnny!”

“I can’t, Dalph, and I can’t stand in the hall shouting about it, neither!”

Dalph spun off the bed, muttering a flood of Truscan which, insofar as I could follow, roughly translated into a string of profanity that would do a sailor proud as he moved to the door.

“Dalph, wait!” I struggled to bring my robe together and just managed to re-belt it as he reached the door. He glanced rapidly back to the bed, saw I was decent, and jerked it open.

“What?’” He growled between gritted teeth.

I saw Johnny take in the scene, as the King stood before him, bare chest heaving in exasperated frustration, robe barely closed. His eyes moved lower and then back up and over to me as I sat up, clutching my robe tighter and moving my hand up to my tousled hair.

“This is not a good time,” he said slowly, shaking his head.

Dalph’s hand shot out and latched onto Johnny’s shoulder, virtually pulling him off his feet as he hauled him into the room and slammed the door.

“What—is—it?’” he ground out. I moved to his side and reached up, tugging at his hand which still held Johnny’s shoulder in a vice grip.

“Dalph, let go! You’re going to hurt him!”

He let go, but his expression didn’t change.

“This better be good,” he warned.

“A rider just came in from Krenor,” Johnny said, reaching his hand up to rub his shoulder. “The Krenorian Tornans went out on regular patrol day before yesterday. Only one of ’em came back. The rest are pinned up in the hills about ten donas north of the city. Word is they won’t last much longer. If they’ve survived this long.”

“The Prians are
in
Trusca?” I asked.

“Krenor’s closer to the border,” Dalph threw over his shoulder as he moved toward his dressing room. “Johnny, gather the Tornans. We ride sooner than expected.”

“Already sent out word.”

“Make sure they have full provisions. We won’t have time to come back before tomorrow night. We’ll have to start night patrols from Krenor.”

“Did that, too.”

“Then go get Dal and get him ready.”

“Dalph, this isn’t just patrol! This is battle, you can’t take Dal!” My objection was fierce, spontaneous, and without thought.

“I won’t take him into battle, but he has to go.”

“No!”

“Tess, you don’t understand and I don’t have time to argue or explain right now. You have to trust me. I’ll keep him safe. Johnny—”

“On my way,” he said, but he turned back from the door. “Dalph?”

“Yes?”

“Crayton’s with the Tornans. Cretor’s the rider who made it back to Krenor.”

My heart contracted. I’d yet to meet Johnny’s boys, but Crayton was fourteen and Cretor was twelve! And Dalph was taking Dal! Just when I thought I was getting assimilated, this world came back and bit me in the rear.

“Does Kiera know?” I asked.

“Yes. And Tess, if you could—”

“I’ll go straight to her,” I promised.

The door closed and I heard the sound of Dalph’s patrol gear hitting the floor as he tossed the items out of his dressing room into the middle of the main floor. I moved toward him, intent on one thing and one thing only. He wasn’t leaving me until this marriage was a physical fact. I couldn’t let him. I had just fully found him and I might lose him. Already, before we were ever actually part of each other. That wasn’t going to happen.

“Dalph, it’ll take a few minutes for the Tornans to assemble—”

“I’ve waited this long. I won’t have our first time marred by haste.”

“I don’t care. I need you. I need us to be part of each other before you go. Please.”

“You aren’t ready, I’ll hurt you.”

“You might be surprised,” I said, and pulled him toward me and toward the bed.

“Tess—” he protested, and I moved my hands again, falling back onto the bed. “Trusco’s sword!” He groaned, and capitulating, covered me. And filled me. All I’d wanted was the physical contact, simply for the sake of it. I didn’t expect anything more; I knew there wasn’t time for any extended finesse and honestly didn’t want any. But when I felt his release, and saw his face, and knew how close I’d come to ruining this, I went over the edge, too. He raised his head and looked at me with something akin to wonder as he felt me climax. Truscan women were not overly bold, he’d said. Well, they needed to have a sexual revolution, that was pretty obvious. Maybe I’d start my own campaign.

We stared at each other for a few seconds, all the time we had, of course, and I pushed his shoulders back gently.

“You have to go.”

He kissed me swiftly and moved to rise, dressing quickly. I adjusted his heavy fur tunic, noticing that it was different from the ones he usually wore, which were pullovers; this was an open sleeveless tunic, split in front, with no closures. Battle gear, I assumed, for ease of movement. I heard Johnny striding swiftly back down the hall toward us.

“Your equipment?” I asked.

“Always ready. In the stables,” Dalph said and strode to the door to meet Johnny. “Dal’ll be ready in a few minutes,” he said. “Saraya’s helping; he’ll be in the stables.”

“Then let’s ride!” ordered the King. But before he took more than a few steps, he turned back to me and kissed me again, so thoroughly that I grabbed the door frame for support when he let go. Dalph surged forward out the door, striding rapidly down the hall, almost leaving Johnny standing still. I heard Johnny’s low commentary.

“Well, thank the gods of both worlds!” he exclaimed. “I sure as hell wasn’t looking forward to Dalph’s company tonight after interrupting that!”

“Johnny!” I called him back as he turned to go.

“Yeah?”

I couldn’t let him leave thinking that I’d never forgive him, either.

“You were right. It would have taken me too much time to get here if you’d let me go on my own.”

“You love him, girl?”

“Yes.”

“That’s good. ’Cause the boy’s been in love with you since the minute you made him knock you unconscious.”

Johnny broke into a jog to try and catch up with Dalph, and with that propitious comment putting some humor back into the dark situation, I re-belted my robe more securely and went to sit with Kiera. I had responsibilities. I was the Queen of Trusca.

Chapter Eighteen

The night finally passed, and the dawn light streamed across the bed, falling on eyes that felt grainy and gummy from lack of sleep. Kiera, somewhere past midnight, had insisted that I return to my own chambers and that we both try to sleep but I had not been particularly successful in such activity, and I knew that she had not been either.