Naamah's Kiss - Jacqueline Carey [104]
"Ch'in, eh?" My father looked startled, but he shrugged. "Well, mayhap Raphael was only the bridge meant to guide you to him."
"Mayhap." I wasn't sure how I liked the idea.
My father looked sidelong at me. "You're not ready to surrender the notion of Raphael de Mereliot, are you?"
"No." I put one hand on my chest. "It is a very strong feeling. And it hasn't gone away. We are bound together somehow."
"And Jehanne?"
"Ohhh…" My cheeks turned warm. "No, that had nothing to do with my diadh-anam."
"That's good." He smiled a little. "At least it makes matters a bit less complicated."
I sighed. "It was still foolish."
My father gazed into the distance. "There's no folly in desire. Jehanne is very beautiful. She may not be an exemplary ruler, but she was always an outstanding courtesan." He smiled again. "And she does smell very nice."
"Mm-hmm." I tried not to remember.
He laughed. "There's a reason for it. They say his majesty had a special fragrance concocted in her honor as a patron-gift when he was courting her. No one else is allowed to wear it and the head of the Perfumers' Guild has sworn to take the formula to his grave."
"Terre d'Ange is a strange place," I mused.
"Says my strange child." My father rose with easy grace, scarlet robes flowing. He gave me his hand and helped me to my feet. "Would that I had better counsel for you, Moirin," he said soberly. "You come from a culture that is foreign to me. I cannot speak to the will of the Maghuin Dhonn, and I've had no practice in being a father. But I am very pleased to find myself one, and honored to have you in my life. Whatever the purpose drew your mother and I together, I hope you find it."
I searched his face. "You're not disappointed in me?"
"Name of Elua, no!" He let go my hand and touched my cheek. His smile curved his lips and lit his eyes. "You're a wonderment." I had a father. I liked him very, very much.
* * *
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
I passed the night in the Temple of Naamah that had been built in honor of my great-great-grandmother.
In the City, I'd seen how my father was loved.
Even folk who didn't know him, loved him.
We walked through the marketplace together. Amid the clamor of vendors hawking their wares, a little silence followed him. Men and women lifted their heads and gazed after him, abandoning their tasks. He gave them his gentle smile like a gift.
They smiled back.
In the Tsingani quarter where the temple was located, the same sallow-faced woman I'd seen on my first visit was once again hanging laundry on her balcony. She gazed down at my father in his red silk robes, her hands going still and her face softening. He lifted his head, smiling at her. For a moment, she was beautiful.
When I glanced at him out of the corner of my eye, I saw his gifts coiling around him, green and gold shimmers in the air, warm and embracing, like a blessing made visible. The heritage of Naamah and Anael. .
"Your gifts are lovely," I murmured.
His brows quirked. "You see them?"
I nodded.
"Strange child." He kissed my forehead. "Would that I could see through your eyes."
"So do I," I whispered.
At the temple, Noemie d'Etoile welcomed us gladly. We ate and drank and talked until the small hours of the night. There was a young couple seeking refuge there—a sweet young lass and a stalwart lad from a prestigious family in Camlach who opposed their union. Before we dispatched them to their bed, my father gave them good counsel and promised to travel to Camlach to speak to the lad's family on their behalf. Although I understood it was in keeping with his priest's oath, it saddened me to think of his leaving so soon.
"Will you come back?" I asked him in the morning.
"Of course," he said promptly. "Do you think you might manage to avoid further entangling yourself until I do?"
"I can try."
He laughed. "Seek out the Ch'in physician you mentioned. If he's truly linked to whatever destiny awaits you, mayhap he'll have some wisdom to impart."
"I'll do that," I agreed.