Naamah's Blessing - Jacqueline Carey [117]
“Do you expect me to believe that?” He pointed a finger at me. “Half-breed or no, you D’Angelines are all alike with your filthy morals, your filthy gods, and your filthy ways! You came here with every intention of using sex—”
Without warning, Bao swung his staff, connecting hard with the Aragonian commander’s steel helmet. There was a dull ringing clang, as though he’d struck a defective bell. The fellow gaped at him in disbelief, wobbling on his feet. Knowing Bao, I guessed he’d used exactly the amount of force he intended to rattle the man without knocking him down.
It happened so fast, the Aragonian guards stood staring for several seconds before drawing steel. Lord Cuixtli gave a sharp command, and the Nahuatl warriors took offensive stances and raised their studded clubs. There were only six of them, but they represented an entire empire.
Balthasar Shahrizai arrived at a run, followed by most of our company. Sizing up the situation at a glance, he ordered them to stand down.
Bao ignored them all. “Apologize,” he said in a flat tone.
The commander looked blankly at him, one hand on his helmet as though he wasn’t sure what had struck him. “Are you mad? I’d be within my rights to put you in chains for assaulting a commanding—”
“You will apologize to my wife, or I will beat you very badly,” Bao said with unnerving calmness. When the commander dropped his hand and made a move toward his sword-hilt, Bao feinted a jab at his face.
Diego Ortiz y Ramos flinched, but held his ground. “I will not!” He glanced at Balthasar with indignation. “You are a sensible man, Lord Shahrizai. Our countries are allies. Do you want to provoke a diplomatic incident here?”
“Oh, mayhap,” Balthasar said in his languid drawl. “Mayhap I’ll send a few of my men here back to Terre d’Ange to report that the Aragonian commander withheld information that might have saved the Dauphin’s life. Do you reckon that will sit well with your patrons in Aragonia?”
Diego blanched. “You would not send away your only ship!”
“Why not?” Balthasar shrugged. “The consensus seems to be that none of us are coming back from Tawantinsuyo alive.”
The commander turned to me, his face still livid. “This is absurd. Doña Moirin, call off your husband.”
“No,” I said thoughtfully. “I don’t think so.”
“I have just spent an entire night trying to convince a very frightened young woman that I did not intend to harm her, while my wife paid for the offense you and your men gave the Emperor.” Bao whipped his staff upright, planting it with a thud. “If you do not wish to apologize, so be it. Draw your sword, and we will fight like men.”
The Aragonian commander hesitated. Lord Cuixtli and the Nahuatl watched the proceedings with interest.
Balthasar contemplated his fingernails, picking idly at a flaw. “If I were you, Commander, I would swallow my pride and apologize. Messire Bao has the reach of you with his pole, and he’s very skilled at wielding it.” He nodded toward the Nahuatl. “Also, it would be wise not to offend them a second time.”
The fellow’s struggle was reflected on his face. At length, he forced himself to say the words in a wooden tone. “Forgive me, Doña Moirin. I apologize.”
“And I accept.” I paused. “Denis?”
Denis de Toluard came forward. “My lady?”
“Will you translate something into Aragonian for me?” I asked him. “I would have the commander and all his men hear it.”
“Of course.”
I thought about what I wanted to say. “Although I did not choose this bargain, I do not regret it. Emperor Achcuatli showed me kindness and respect. He treated me with honor, and I am grateful for it.”
Denis translated my words. Diego Ortiz y Ramos and his men heard them with sullen disapproval, but I saw Lord Cuixtli’s lips curve in a faint smile, and I knew my message had found its intended audience.
“We will not presume on your hospitality much longer, my lord,” I added to the commander. “I am sorry for having unwittingly provoked unpleasantness