The Dragon Revenant - Katharine Kerr [173]
She went stone-still, her lips half-parted, as surprised as if he’d barked at her like a dog. Since he’d been counting on her answering, one way or another, he began to feel a little desperate.
“Ah well, think you could put up with me?” he went on. “We wouldn’t make such a bad pair, you and I. We’ve both been through too much to babble about love and suchlike.”
“So we have, truly.”
For a long moment they stared at each other, half-listening to Rhodda as she sang to the Wildfolk. Cullyn struggled to find something to say, then broke off a bit of bread and offered it to her, the way a man would do to his wife. She hesitated only briefly before she bent her head and took it from his fingers. He smiled and felt that the sunlight had just turned a little warmer.
“I’ll be asking the tieryn for permission to marry this afternoon, then,” he said. “I wonder if I can find a jeweler to sell me a brooch for you straightaway. We’re going to have to be quick about it. Spring’s almost here.”
“Do you think there’s going to be a war in the rhan?” Unconsciously she laid one hand on her throat.
“I don’t know. There’s a lot of powerful men working to keep the peace. I just want to make sure that nothing gets in the way of us marrying, one way or the other.”
“I see. You know, in its way that’s more flattering than any fine words or poetry I ever heard.”
He grinned, thinking that he’d made the right choice for a certainty.
Although Tevylla had always considered the captain an efficient man, she was surprised at the ruthless speed with which he got them married. That very afternoon Tieryn Lovyan called her into her private chamber to congratulate her on the coming wedding.
“We’ll have to get a lass to help you with Rhodda,” Lovyan said. “You’ll need time for your husband now, too.”
“My thanks, Your Grace. What about that new lass, Glomer? She struck me as a clever sort.”
“More clever than you know, actually. She’s a very good choice indeed. Speak to her about it today, will you?”
“I will, my lady. Oh, do you know where Cullyn’s got to?”
“He’s down in town, talking to the priests about the wedding.”
“I see.” Tevylla dropped her a curtsey. “I’d best go find Glomer. I’ll doubtless be needing her soon.”
After some searching, she found Glomer out in a storage shed by the back wall. Balanced precariously on a pile of wooden crates, the lass was untying onions from a long garland and filling a basket with them. She was more than pleased to come down and hear about her new job, which she greeted with a shriek of delight.
“I’ll get to work in the broch itself? Oh, that’s so splendid, Mistress Tevylla! I promise HI work truly hard.”
“Good. Let’s go tell Cook, and then you can come up to the women’s hall and meet Rhodda. I’ve left her with the serving women, and she’s probably driven them daft by now.”
As they were walking round to the kitchen hut, they saw Calonderiel, rubbing down his golden horse with a twisted swatch of straw. At the sight of him a big-eyed Glomer stopped and made the sign of warding against witchcraft. Since Tevylla had been born and raised in Dun Gwerbyn, she’d seen elves before, but she couldn’t deny that they made her nervous.
“Tevylla?” Glomer’s whisper was barely audible. “Is that one of Nevyn’s demons?”
“It’s not, but a man of flesh and blood. Very real flesh and blood for that matter. Now listen, lass. I don’t know why myself, but a lot of women fancy the Westfolk men the way a cat fancies catmint, and the Westfolk men have absolutely no honor where women are concerned. You leave him strictly alone, or we’ll end up with another babe to watch over.”
Tevylla slipped her arm through the girl’s and led her firmly away, but once or twice Glomer looked back, furtively, reluctantly, as if she couldn’t quite help herself. Tevylla could only hope that Calonderiel hadn’t noticed.
When Cullyn returned, late that afternoon, he brought two things with him. One was a silver betrothal brooch, made of two wires so cunningly interlaced and spiraled that they looked like a single strand. The other was a priest of Bel,