Kushiel's Justice - Jacqueline Carey [176]
"Would you swear such an oath?" I asked Morwen.
Her chin rose. "I will.”
She wasn't lying, or at least there were no tell-tales. Beyond that, I couldn't read her. Frustration, yearning, and foreboding warred in me.
Beside me, Dorelei was shaking her head, but her face was troubled and unsure. I glanced up at the sun. "I must confer with my wife," I said to Morwen. "I'll return at sundown to give you my answer.”
The bear-witch nodded. "So be it.”
With that, she turned her back fearlessly on Urist's men with their drawn bows, melting into the forest. Urist glanced at me, and I shook my head at him. "Let her go, but post a guard on the woods.”
No one spoke on the walk back to the castle.
I wished I knew what to do.
As the news spread through Clunderry, Dorelei and I retreated to our bedchamber to talk in private. I propped pillows on the bed so she could recline in comfort, then sat on the end with her feet in my lap, rubbing them. Neither of us knew what to say.
"I don't like it," Dorelei finally said. "And I don't trust her.”
"Nor do I," I murmured.
"Good." She hesitated. "Still…”
"What if it's genuine?" I asked.
Dorelei nodded. "I've thought…betimes I've thought about the blessing they offered. At our wedding. I've wondered if we were right to refuse it. If I was right. I made that choice, and I'm not sure it was the right one. This choice is yours.”
"But you don't think I should dare take her bargain," I said.
"I don't know!" Her voice broke. "No, I don't, but…what comes next, Imriel? That's the thing. Every time I hope mayhap they'll leave us in peace, they come back. Charms, tricks, oaths, seductions…" She drew a long, shaking breath. "What if this truly did put an end to it?”
"Wouldn't that be nice?" I said wistfully.
"Yes." Dorelei was trembling. "Hold me, will you?”
I set her feet down gently and shifted to the head of the bed to enfold Dorelei in my arms from behind. She leaned back against me, resting her head on my shoulder. I laid my right hand on her straining belly and felt the babe kick. "Oof!”
She made an effort to smile. "That was a strong one.”
"Little Gartnach is restless," I said.
That made her laugh. "You know, I did have a thought. Isn't it odd how things occur to you at the strangest times? My father's mother died in childbirth, and he grew up bearing his father's name. Gartnach mab Aniel.”
"Aniel," I mused.
"It nearly sounds D'Angeline, doesn't it?" she said.
"Anael is one of Blessed Elua's Companions," I said. "And Phèdre's lord and mentor was named Anafiel Delaunay.”
Dorelei folded her fingers over mine. "So he'd be named for both our families.”
"And if it's a girl?" I asked. "Anielle?”
"Anielle." She tasted the word. "It's not an Alban name, but it almost could be. And it could be D'Angeline, too. It's pretty, don't you think?”
"I do," I said.
"Aniel, Anielle." A smile curved her brown cheek. "I like it.”
I tried to peer around her to see her dimples. "It could be twins, you know.”
"It feels like it." Dorelei twisted awkwardly in my arms. "Imri… I do want you to be free. I want it more than anything for you. For us. For the babe. Whatever the future holds, I'd have you face it as a free man.”
"And you, too." I stroked her face. "The bear-witch was right about that. You're bound as surely as I am, only in a different way.”
"Love and blood, and the fog that clouds my vision." She smiled wryly. " 'Tis true. It's like a great dark cloud hanging over me, Imriel. I'd breathe easier if I were free of it. To dream once more, to face the woods without fear …mayhap it's worth the risk.”
We regarded one another.
"Firdha would administer the