The Dragon Revenant - Katharine Kerr [183]
“What a revolting way of putting it!”
“My apologies for your tender feelings.” The old man was grinning at her. “I didn’t realize my lady was so delicate.”
“Oh, don’t tease!” She could feel her face blazing with a blush. “But do you truly think I can bear children?”
“I most sincerely do. Once you’ve had six months or so in the dun, with a soft bed to sleep in, and plenty of warmth and leisure, and the best food to eat and clean water to drink—you wait and see. You’ll be carrying an heir for Aberwyn soon enough.”
“Oh. How wonderful. I, um … that gladdens my heart.”
Nevyn raised one bushy eyebrow and looked her over with questioning eyes. She turned her back on him, studied the water foaming under the bow, and refused to answer. In a few moments she heard him sigh and walk away.
Jill did compromise, however, for the landing at Abernaudd. Since they were nearly to land, Elaeno let her commandeer the last of the fresh water on board to wash her hair and as much of the rest of her as the supply would allow. Although she refused to wear a narrow and constraining underdress, she did put on a regular dress over her brigga and even kirtled it with a length of the red, white, and brown plaid of the Red Lion, Lovyan’s clan, which the regent had thoughtfully sent along. Since her father served the tieryn, that plaid would be Jill’s until her marriage. By hitching the crisp gold-colored silk up around her waist, she could leave the ship on her own terms and ride astride once they were on land, too. At the jewelry she balked, because every piece of it, ring brooch and armlet and medallion, had the dragon of Aberwyn worked into its design. Wearing it would have made her feel branded.
Once she was dressed, Rhodry went out of his way to tell her how lovely she looked. Even though she knew that he was only trying to make her feel better, she was furious with him.
Just before noon Nevyn released the dweomer-wind, and on a normal breeze the Guaranteed Profit glided into Abernaudd’s harbor with the strangest cargo it had ever carried. Once they were well within the funnel-shaped bay, Elaeno took over from the helmsman to bring his ship in. From her place in the bow, Jill could see a crowd on the main pier. In a clean shirt, with the plaid of Aberwyn pinned at one shoulder by an enormous ring brooch, Rhodry came up beside her and slipped his arm around her waist.
“There’s Blaen, my love. Can you pick out him out? There in front with the red-and-gold plaid.”
“I can just barely see him. You’re the elfin the family.”
“You know, we’re going to have to stop making jests about that, aren’t we? It would ruin everything if anyone found out who my father was.”
“True enough. I’ll keep a watch on myself from now on. By the Goddess herself there’s a lot of people there! Who else can you see?”
“Aderyn. Ceredyc, Gwerbret Abernaudd. And—it’s your father, Jill! Cullyn’s here!”
She nearly wept out of sheer joy. As the boat eased itself into dock under Elaeno’s expert piloting she was as impatient as one of the Wildfolk dancing around her in the bow. Yet when they were finally secure and tied up at the pier, she had to wait upon ceremony. Nevyn went ashore first to announce Rhodry’s presence to the other two gwerbrets in attendance and to ask Ceredyc’s permission for his lord to land. Once that was given, the men of Rhodry’s warband came off to form up as an honor guard before Rhodry could jump down to the pier. Even though Jill started to clamber over the side of the low-riding merchantman herself, he insisted on catching her and lifting her down beside him. As Blaen stepped forward, all the men in attendance—and there was Rhodry’s full warband of twenty-five, the twenty-five Blaen had brought with him, Ceredyc’s and Sibyr’s escorts and a miscellany of captains and on-lookers—began to cheer, calling out Rhodry’s name and that of Aberwyn. Laughing