On Fire's Wings - Christie Golden [22]
A girl stepped into the pavilion. She was about ten years old and very slender. She was dressed in a green and blue rhia with sleeveless arms. A matching belt encircled her tiny waist, and her hair was pulled back in a single braid that fell almost to the floor as she bowed.
“Your husband went to the market on a whim, great lady, and found this pretty bird for your amusement. Her name is Kevla.”
The girl remained bowing. Yeshi couldn’t see her face. Intrigued, for it had been long since Tahmu had bothered to think of her when he traveled, even to the market, she propped herself up on an elbow.
“Come here, child,” she commanded in a kindly voice.
The girl obeyed at once, scurrying over to the bed and dropping to her knees beside it. The deference pleased Yeshi, who reached and tilted the child’s face up to hers.
“Look at me.” The girl did so. Yeshi smiled at her. Somehow, the girl seemed familiar, but that was impossible. Yeshi seldom deigned to visit the marketplace, so it was unlikely she had seen the girl before. All the lower castes looked alike, she supposed.
“A pretty little bird indeed. I am bored, Kevla. What might you do to entertain me?”
“I have many skills and talents, all to be used as my mistress desires,” Kevla replied promptly. Her voice was pleasant. “It is my understanding that the great khashima enjoys massage and adorning her lovely self with henna.”
Yeshi thought of Ranna’s swelling hand. It was a soothing, relaxing day and she had been counting on Ranna’s massage to complete the drowsy pleasure of the afternoon. She rose and sinuously dropped her ornately embroidered rhia on the carpet.
“The oils are there,” she said, pointing to several small jars. She lay back down on the bed on her stomach, resting her head in her arms. “Let us find out if my little market bird can ease her mistress’s aches and pains.”
Moving easily and confidently, the girl poured some scented oil in her hands, rubbed them together, and placed them on Yeshi’s shoulders.
Such small hands to be so strong. Yeshi sighed happily, relaxing under Kevla’s ministrations. She heard a rustling as Sahlik withdrew, then she closed her eyes and concentrated on what she excelled at—enjoying herself.
Tahmu stood behind a large stone statue in the gardens, careful that his shadow not fall upon the pavilion and reveal his presence. He could hear the sounds of voices, but was too far away to catch their words. There was no shout of indignation or the sound of a slap, however, so he dared to hope that all was well.
After a few moments, Sahlik emerged. Their eyes met. Sahlik smiled, almost imperceptibly, and Tahmu sagged against the statue.
Thank the Great Dragon. Yeshi, as they had counted on, was too obtuse to notice how much her new servant girl resembled her husband. He wiped his face with a hand that trembled.
Forgive me, Keishla, my love. But our child is well and safe now. Perhaps, indeed, you and I have been forgiven our transgressions.
As he returned to the duties that awaited him as khashim of the Clan of Four Waters, Tahmu felt that, after so many years, he had reconciled with his past.
He dared to hope the worst was over.
Chapter Five
After the massage, Yeshi and her new handmaiden retired to Yeshi’s quarters.
“Here is the room you will share with Ranna, Tiah, and the other women who serve me,” Yeshi pointed out as they passed a large, airy room with a small table, a basin and pitcher of water, and dozens of soft-looking cushions scattered on the floor. Kevla tried not to reveal her shock at the opulence.
“And this is the room I share with my lord,” Yeshi said, as she opened the door onto a room three times as large as the handmaidens’. There were two or three lounging chairs, cushions on the floor, and glorious tapestries adorning the thick walls. Candles, lamps, and a small brazier sat ready to be lit at nightfall. The bed that Yeshi and Tahmu shared seemed to Kevla to be large enough to accommodate three