Lion's Bride - Iris Johansen [47]
It was not yet sunset when they rode through the gates of Dundragon.
He reined in his horse and lowered her to the ground. “Go to your chamber and rest.”
She shook her head. “The trees must be planted at once.” She motioned to Abdul. “They’re very fragile when they’re uprooted. They could die.”
He nodded and started to turn away.
“Will they follow us?” she asked abruptly.
He stopped to look at her.
“I want to know,” she said fiercely. “You’re not being fair. It’s my life too. Will they come? Will it be like Jedha?”
“No.”
“How can you be sure? Who was it?”
At first she thought he would ignore the question. “Vaden.”
He rode his horse toward the stable.
She doubted if she could wrest any more from him than that one word.
But the name was vaguely familiar. Where had she heard it?
On the battlements, the night of the massacre. The tiny campfire on the third mountain.
Vaden…
The last tree was not planted until well after dark.
Would they survive? Thea wondered. The green was open to the sun and winds, and it would require great care to make sure the roots took hold. She rubbed the small of her back as she rose from the ground.
“It is all done?” Abdul held the lantern high, surveying the row of trees.
She nodded. “Thank you, Abdul.”
“With these fine trees, you will not need us to go and pluck any more leaves?” he asked hopefully.
She smothered a smile. She did not have the heart to tell him these trees would not be ready for a long time. “We have sufficient.”
He breathed a sigh of relief. “There is no dignity in this plucking of leaves.”
Ware had expressed the same sentiment. “Yet you didn’t object when Lord Ware told you to do it.”
“My lord always has a good reason.” They started for the castle, the lantern lighting their way. “But I’m glad this plucking is over.”
“I was sorry you fell from the tree.”
He suddenly grinned. “So was I. It was not funny when it happened, but I found it very amusing with the others. Laughter is good. We needed it.”
She was silent a moment. “Did you lose someone in Jedha?”
His smile faded. “My family was already dead, but I had friends who died that night.”
“But you don’t blame Lord Ware?”
He looked at her in surprise. “Why? He did not do it. These things happen in war. Our village was starving, our young men without hope, when he came to Dundragon. He fed the poor and the helpless and gave the rest of us back our honor.”
“So you will continue to serve him?”
He nodded, then made a rueful face. “But I hope that he asks me only to fight his wars, not climb trees.”
She chuckled. “I don’t think he will do—”
“My mother sent me to get you.” Tasza stood in the doorway, gazing coldly at Thea. “She said that it is foolish for you to stay out and risk the night devils bringing you the fever.”
Abdul smiled at the girl. “But I was here to protect her from the night devils, Tasza.” He bowed to Thea. “I must go have my supper. Good night.”
“Good night. Thank you, Abdul.” Thea smiled at him. “No more leaves, I promise.”
He nodded and strolled down the path that led around the castle to the courtyard.
“You had him helping you dig in the dirt,” Tasza said curtly. “You should not have done it. He is a very important man, a leader.”
Thea smiled. “He’s already told me I have injured his dignity.”
“It’s not funny.” She turned and moved back into the castle. “Don’t do it again.”
Tasza was bristling with protective outrage, Thea realized. “I didn’t mean to insult your friend, Tasza.”
“He is not my friend. Whores do not have men as friends.” A world of pain layered the sharpness of her tone.
Thea did not know what to say. She couldn’t tell Tasza she understood. She knew little of whores or the men who used them and then condemned them. “Abdul seemed to treat you as a friend.”
“Because he is kind…and he pities me. I’ve seen it in his face.” Her tone was suddenly fierce. “I don’t need his pity. I have such skill, I can make men weep with pleasure. Can you say the same?”
“No.”
“Of course not. My mother says you’re a virgin.” She paused. “Are you going to couple