Kushiel's Justice - Jacqueline Carey [208]
"Send it away," I suggested, nuzzling her throat.
She wriggled. "Your bandages need to be soaked loose.”
"Do they?" I asked, uninterested.
"Yes." Sidonie kissed me quick and hard, biting my lower lip, then slipped off my lap. I watched her open the door and incline her head graciously, admitting a series of impeccably polite servants bearing buckets of warm water to fill the bath, pouring scented oil into the steaming water.
It seemed to take forever.
She was right, of course. When the servants had finished at last, I let Sidonie undress me with grave deliberation. My once-clean bandages were stuck to my skin, caked with dried blood. I stepped into the bath and sank down, sighing as the warm water loosened the blood-stiffened linen. I rested my arms along the edges of the tub. "Are you going to leave me alone here?”
Sidonie eyed me. "No.”
Water sloshed over the edges of the bathtub as she stripped and joined me. Servants of House Shahrizai came and went, setting forth an elaborate, intimate dinner on the low table before the hearth. Firelight danced over Sidonie's fair skin as she unwound my bandages. Beneath the water, our legs entwined. She frowned with concentration. A few thin threads of blood rose from my cracked scabs, tinting the water.
"So how dangerous is he?" she asked.
"Berlik?”
Sidonie nodded, still concentrating.
I rested my head against the tub's rim. "I don't know. He's travelling as a man now, and not a bear. I don't know how powerful his magic is, now that he's cursed by a broken vow and left Alba's soil." I paused. "For that matter, how dangerous is Barquiel L'Envers? You made an enemy of him today.”
"Not as powerful as he thinks." Sidonie finished her task and dropped the sodden mass of blood-soaked bandages over the side of the tub. "Not anymore. I know you weren't happy with the decision Mother made, but his power has dwindled considerably since he lost command of the Royal Army. I'm not afraid of him.”
"You turned Maslin de Lombelon against him," I said softly.
"No." She shook her head. "Maslin turned himself. I told him once when we were quarrelling what my uncle had done to you, seeking to frame you as a traitor. Maslin has a keen sense of honor.”
"What happened between you?" I asked.
"Ah, well." Sidonie's mouth quirked. "It was a bad idea. I should have listened to Amarante. She warned me that it was too soon, that I was just trying to distract myself. That his feelings were strong. She was right." She was quiet for a moment. "Maslin tried to comfort me after we heard about what had happened. During that time when no one knew if you were going to live or die. It was kind. He was trying to be kind. And I suddenly couldn't stand having him anywhere near me. I'm not proud of that.”
"I'm sorry," I said. "But he's still in your service?”
"Oh, yes." She gazed into the distance. I sensed there was a part of the story she wasn't willing to tell, knowing there was no love lost between Maslin and me. "He insisted. And I felt guilty enough that I assented. Maslin …you know, any man in my guard would be expected to risk his life to save mine. It's a simple fact, true of any royal guardsman. But I don't think any of them save Maslin would welcome the opportunity." A shadow crossed her face. "Anyway, I don't want to talk about him.”
"Fair enough," I said. "How about this, then. Sidonie de la Courcel, do you actually think we could wed without tearing the realm apart?”
"Mmm." Her gaze returned, glinting with amusement and determination. "Well, I don't think it will be easy." She slid forward in the tub, wrapping her legs around my waist. "But if we don't try, we'll never know.”
Her skin was wet and slippery from the oil, sliding deliciously against mine. The last discreet Shahrizai servant placed one last item on the table and withdrew, closing the door behind him with a click. I slid my hands down Sidonie's waist, worked them under her buttocks, and drew