The shelters of stone - Jean M. Auel [211]
For a moment, Ayla wondered if she should try to bring her to the meeting with the women, but she decided against it. The women were likely to be much more sympathetic toward a pretty girl carrying a clean baby than they would be if a woman who had probably drunk too much barma was with them. Ayla started to go on, but her eye was caught by the man. He did not turn in with the woman, but kept on coming.
There was something about his shape and the way he moved that seemed familiar. He saw her and kept looking at her while he approached. As he drew closer, Ayla identified the man and, watching him, suddenly knew what she had recognized. The man was Brukeval, and though he might not like it, what Ayla saw was the sturdy shape and confident, effortless movement of a man of the Clan.
Brukeval smiled at her as though he was genuinely glad to see her, and she smiled back before she turned around and hurried Lanoga and the baby toward Proleva’s dwelling. She glanced back for a moment and noticed that his smile had turned to a look of anger, as though she had done something to displease him, and she wondered what it was.
She saw me coming and then turned away, Brukeval thought. She couldn’t even wait to exchange a greeting. I thought she would be different.
20
She’s coming now,” Proleva said. She had stepped out of her dwelling to look for Ayla and was glad to see her. She was afraid the women she had invited were getting bored and would soon be making excuses to leave, curious as they were. She had told them only that Ayla wanted to talk to them. The fact that the mate of the leader had asked them into her home was an added incentive. Proleva held the drape open and beckoned Ayla and the children in; Ayla signaled Wolf to go home, then urged Lanoga with the baby to go first.
There were nine women inside, making the dwelling feel rather small and cramped. Six of them held infants, all newborn or slightly older; three were in the late stages of pregnancy. In addition, two toddlers played on the floor. They all knew each other, more or less, some only in passing, though two were sisters, but conversation flowed easily. They compared babies and discussed the intimacies of birth, nursing, and learning to live with a new and often demanding individual in their households. They stopped talking and looked up at the new arrivals, showing various expressions of surprise.
“You all know who Ayla is, so I won’t go through a long formal presentation,” Proleva said. “You can introduce yourselves later.”
“Who’s the girl?” a woman said. She was older than most of the others, and one of the toddlers got up and walked to her at the sound of her voice.
“And the baby?” someone else asked.
Proleva looked at Ayla, who had felt rather overwhelmed by all the mothers when she first walked in, and it was obvious they were not shy, but their questions gave her a way to begin.
“This is Lanoga, Tremeda’s oldest daughter. The baby is her youngest, Lorala,” Ayla said, sure some of them should have known the children.
“Tremeda!” the older woman said. “Those are Tremeda’s children?”
“Yes, they are. Don’t you recognize them? They belong to the Ninth Cave,” Ayla said. There was a murmur among the women as they spoke to each other under their breaths. Ayla caught comments both about her unusual accent and the children.
“Lanoga is her second child, Stelona,” Proleva said. “You must remember when she was born, you helped. Lanoga, why don’t you bring Lorala and sit down here, next to me.” The women watched as the girl lifted the baby from her hip and walked toward the leader’s mate, then sat down with Lorala on her lap. She would not look at the other women, but watched only Ayla, who smiled at her.
“Lanoga came to get Zelandoni because Bologan was hurt. He had been in a fight and had a head injury,” Ayla began. “It was only then that we discovered a more serious problem. This baby can count only a few moons, and her mother’s milk has dried up. Lanoga has been taking care