"David did that.” Jade pointed. “Arnica, he said. He wanted me to spend the night in here with you in case you needed anything. He was worried about your meltdown. He thought you might be distressed to wake up to him, though, so he got me.”
"What is a meltdown?”
Jade grinned. "It’s like melting butter. You were solid and put together, and then you weren’t. I did your room up for you. Hope that’s okay.” Jade looked around, considering her masterpiece. "You can change anything you want. I won’t be offended.” She pointed to the wall behind Hesper. “I gave you a present, too.”
Hesper craned her neck to see a painting of her woods hanging on the wall with the dead pine tree standing out above the other trees. "Did you make that?”
"Mhm. Do you like it? It’ll take some time for the paint to dry. I was painting when David came for me, and I finished in here while you slept.”
"It is beautiful. That must be what I smell.”
"Oils. They have a stink about them, don’t they?” Jade giggled. "I’m so glad you like it. I would love to teach you how to paint! You could paint one for me, too!”
"How did you know those were my woods?” Hesper pushed the blankets off herself.
"I guess David’s nephew talked about where you found him. That was really nice of you, you know.”
"Tom is his nephew?” Hesper asked.
"Remember? Trinity is David’s sister.” Jade grinned. "Do you want some breakfast?”
"Well—”
"Okay. You have to do something first.” Jade gripped Hesper’s shoulders and looked into her eyes. "You have to open the chest they got you, ‘cause it’s driving me crazy!”
Her silly face and desperate grip concerned Hesper. Was she a lunatic? "Chest?”
"Over there.” Jade pointed to the right. "Cole brought it with him last night after you fell asleep. David delivered it.” She frowned and shook her finger, mimicking David. "I’ve been ordered to ‘let you open it for yourself.’” Judging by Jade’s pleading green eyes, the wait had been torture.
"Who is Cole?” Hesper scooched off her bed and plodded over to the large chest, a dull cedarwood box with copper-colored hinges.
"Cole is David’s brother,” Jade said. "He’s been gone on business, but he’s back on the base for a while.”
A familiar, sweet, spicy smell greeted Hesper as she unlatched and lifted the lid—almost stronger than the cedar. She would never escape it, would she?
"This is my favorite part of getting gifts from David!” Jade said. She dropped to her knees beside Hesper and took in a lung-bursting gulp of the fragrance. "He has an eye for size and excellent taste.”
The box contained the epitome of flawless order, with fluffy towels and featherlight gowns, neatly folded and packed together, while boxes, bottles, and trinkets filled in the nooks and crannies.
On top of it all, a cool, orange ball with neat rows of cloves stuck into it, and another ball that seemed to be made solely of cloves. What they had been stuck into was hard to say, but it was dry and small now. She held it to her nose. An apple?
"Cole does all the folding and arranging for him,” Jade said. "He does a nice job. It’s sad to ruin it, b-u-u-u-u-u-t . . . you really need to look at what’s in there. Now! Please?”
"Oohing” and "aahing” each item, Jade entertained Hesper more than anything in the box ever would. Though, it was difficult to show indifference to the crisp, white paper and box of pens.
"Such nice things, Hesper! I bet the box of paper and ball-point pens are really something for you!”
"Nice? Yes, they are nice things.” Ashamed, Hesper tucked the paper and pens under a dress to forget how much they thrilled her. Nothing should be thrilling. It was a mistake to attach herself to anyone here. She must control herself. But . . . No. She must.
"He is so good to us, Hesper. Before long, you will forget this seemed strange at all. He gives us quality time and affection. Gifts are just a nice thing he does. He never uses them to replace himself.”
"What happens if one of you has a baby and he favors the mother?”
Jade laid a towel on the edge of the tub. "Oh, we’re not allowed to have children, so that won’t be a problem.” She turned on the water and plugged the tub’s drain.
"How is that possible?” Hesper asked.
"Only Meros women are allowed to have children with Meros men. Evelyn is the child-bearing wife and Anise is the first. They say I’m the favored one, but I think Anise is, so far.”
Hesper waved her hands and shook her head. "No distractions about favorites. Babies. Tell me. How can it be prevented?”
"They issue prophylactics to prevent it. David might explain it to you,” Jade said, too casual. "If a Gentle does become pregnant, it’ll be taken care of. If it’s a big problem, it’ll be taken care of forever.”
Prophyl—what? A problem? Taken care of? Were they talking about the same thing? Surely not. "Children?” Hesper asked. "Are we talking about being pregnant with a child, or is this poetry for something else?”
Jade lapsed into a series of choppy movements, averting her eyes.
"Are you well?” Hesper took a few steps toward her.
"Yes, I’m fine. Your bath is almost ready. Will you need any help preparing for breakfast? It’s in”—Jade glanced at the clock—"twenty minutes. When the short hand is on the number eight and the long hand is on the number twelve.”
"I will be ready.”
Jade’s sunny disposition returned. "See you later.” With a quick wink and smile, she opened the door and made her exit.
A bath every day could not be healthy.
Hesper sat on her bed and put her face in her hands for one more cry.
Being here could not be healthy.
Twelve | Post-Conquest: 232
Cole lifted his chin over the pull-up bar.
Eighteen. He lowered himself.
David had a new girl.
Cole pulled up. Nineteen.
The guy who swore off more wives had a new girl.
Surprise, surprise, surprise.
Twenty. Done.
He lowered himself to the floor. David had come to the exercise room earlier and finished his preferred eastern methods ten minutes ago and now sat on the floor with a cup of water, running through a series of annoying behaviors over and over. He scratched at the lotus tattoo on his arm, closed his eyes, furrowed his brow, scratched the back of his neck, made a statement about something to do with self-hypnosis for kicking nicotine, then repeated the process all over again. Normally, his quirks and the differences between the brothers didn’t bother Cole—except for the orange eastern bathrobe and harem pants David often wore. Those would bother Cole forever, but besides that . . .
Today, however, whacking David’s head with that giant wooden lollipop gada mace he liked so much was a satisfying thought.
David had called yesterday while Cole was working. Out of uniform, trying to handle a dispute between a market shop owner and a Unified hunter, Cole wasn’t about to stand there with a military communicator to his ear for a half an hour while David blathered about his latest find. He got the stuff David wanted, came home, folded it pretty-like, and crashed in his bed.
Hands on his hips, Cole finally snapped. “Why did you take a new Gentle, Dave?”
Eyes closed, brow furrowed, David asked, “It’s your business, how?”
“And she was your business, how? Take care of the women you have! You’ve already got a blasted harem. Not to mention, I’m the one who digs your women out of trouble in court. Unless they let me study the Book of Light, I’ve got nothing new to help you. You know they won’t. They’ve rejected my request five times. I’m tempted to appeal to it someday. Just to see them squirm.”
David opened his eyes. “Your religious awakening hasn’t done much for your compassion and mercy score, has it?”
“I’m quite compassionate when it’s—”
“They were going to give her to Vincent, Cole.�
��
Cole paused. “Okay. Trinity said that?”
David nodded once.
“It’s hard to watch women go to him,” Cole said.
“I don’t watch if I can help it.” David downed the rest of his water. “Officer Marotz showed up here late last night.”
“Not Marotz.”
“Oh, yes.”
Cole cringed.
“Sobbing. She’d been dealing with this for months before taking the risk to get help. That’s what I get to watch. I’m not interested in being directly responsible for Vincent’s taste being inflicted upon someone.”
“He doesn’t do it to everyone.”
“Just the ones he likes,” David said, quietly. “And he’d like the new girl.”
David knew what he was talking about with people and their nature, much to Cole’s indignant chagrin. His frustration settled.
“Okay.”
“So glad to have the approval of Boy Genius.” David stood and put on a t-shirt. “Remember how Jade was? A total innocent. It’s the same with this one. Something drew me to her. I need her. She needs me.”
“Sure. Savior of the innocent, hope of the defenseless, David Chandler, the—”
David laughed. “Ooh, is that jealousy in your pocket, or are you just in dire need of a woman?” He waggled his eyebrows. “You’d better judge me harder, baby, ‘cause I can’t feel a thing. I do what I feel is right, even if it makes people think I have a savior complex.”
Cole put up his hand and turned away to start another set of reps. “I have no use for a woman, and I’m not jealous of the prison you’ve made for yourself in the least.”
“I think she’s from one of the communities you’ve worked with. North of here.”
“Doubt it. None of the women there are stupid enough to leave.”
“She was helping Tom. She had a noble reason for what she did.”
Cole’s stomach hollowed out and sank. He had been about to take the bar. Instead, his fingers grazed it as he let them fall to his side and whirled around to face David.
None of them would do it. Not even for a boy. They were logical, cautious people.
Why had he let himself care about them? It wasn’t worth the stress.
Yes, it was.
Absolutely.
It was worth it to care. He could only hope that if the new girl was from a community he worked with and she recognized him, she wouldn’t try to kill him in his sleep. She wouldn’t succeed, and she’d lose her life.
He grabbed his glasses from the weight bench and put them on his face. “I’m calling it quits early. I need to pray.”
* * *
Scrubbed and dried, Hesper put on the thickest dress in the chest. Nothing felt as safe as hides, but it was better than the whisper-soft dresses that made her feel naked. With a glance and curl of the lip at the perfume bottles David had sent, she reached for the door just as someone knocked.
Dressed, refreshed, and emanating a rich, peppery-sweet fragrance, a giddy Jade held something behind her back. "I have a gift for you.” She held out a heart in the palm of her hand. "It’s a rhodonite. You don’t have to take off your other necklace. Anise told me what it was, and I think two is fine.”
Jade hung it on Hesper’s neck by a silver chain and clasped it. "Where I come from, they say rhodonites are for friends to share with each other, and its energy helps you to balance your mind and focus when facing a challenge.” She placed a hand on Hesper’s shoulder. "I hope it helps you.”
The cool weight of the stone rested in the center of Hesper’s collarbone even as the warmth of the gesture washed over her. She tried to turn her lips upward, but they twitched and fell. What a kind woman Jade was; a presence to rest in.
"I’m sure there’s a reason you’re here.” Jade leaned in and kissed Hesper’s cheek. "We have to hurry, or we’ll be late for breakfast.”
Hands laced together, Jade and Hesper descended the stairs to the left and rounded a corner to the right, entering an enormous room with ceilings as high as Hesper’s oak. A window spanned almost an entire wall and permitted enough light to make the shining dark wood glimmer like water. The quiet, richly colored room provoked the same euphoric, breathless awe Hesper felt when standing amid a group of red pines. Blue and white plates and colorful bowls, filled with fruit, adorned a long, shining table.
Jade elbowed Hesper, gently. "Life often looks better in the morning.”
Evelyn stood by David’s side as he spoke with a strange man in the corner. David’s eyes snagged on Hesper, and with a smile and a quick appraisal of her appearance, he approached, hand extended.
Unexpected heat cobwebbed through her cheeks. David had touched her, held her, and seen her with her wits pouring down her face. Still, he did not take advantage of her weakness. He covered it, just as he ordered Burns to cover her nakedness. Releasing Jade’s slender hand, Hesper almost accepted his warm offer but simply could not bring herself to do it. Quickly, she pulled her hands back.
David’s smile spoke of respect even as it laughed at her decision. Sometimes, his facial expressions were too complex to understand. He smiled, and that had to be good.
Near to her, he whispered, "You’re fine, honey. You don’t need to be embarrassed or feel guilty, okay? Your hand seems to be improved. I’m glad.” Speaking aloud, he said, "I’d like you to meet my little brother, Cole. Boy Genius. He works closely with your people. An expert in customs and laws—both Meros and Gentle. He’s been to more schools than I’ve been to restrooms.” He laughed. "Mother always loved him best. Cole?” David beckoned to his brother, who spoke with Evelyn in a darker corner of the room now. Cole’s tall, slim body stiffened, and he held his face as if nursing a headache. A sneeze echoed off the walls and ceiling, ushering in a period of awkward silence.
"Is he unwell?” Hesper whispered to David. "I am quite good at relieving headaches.”
"I’m sure you are.” A half-smile slid onto his lips. "Trinity thought you might be a medicine woman. Seems she was right?”
"I’m sorry. Excuse me.” Cole’s high, nasal voice came as a surprise. Still holding his face, he passed Hesper with great, noisy strides, a breeze of market fragrance drifting in his wake.
"Is it just me, or did that smack a bit of foppery?” David asked no one in particular. After a few moments of silence, he shrugged. “Well, he’s a big boy. I’m sure he’s fine.” He stepped past Hesper and kissed the corner of Jade’s lips. "Thank you for being so good to Hesper last night. I owe you.” Waggling his eyebrows, he winked and slid his hand across her waist as he moved on to the table.
A bit unsteady, Jade approached Hesper and stood beside her to whisper, "I said it before, I’ll say it again”—she tittered—"anyone who pities me can suck an egg.”
Lorelei served a breakfast of eggs and toast to go along with the fruit on the table. Some of these fruits were unfamiliar, all were out of season, and most were sprinkled with different shades of brown spices, smelling of special days in the forest. Hesper followed Jade’s example and scooped fruit onto her plate. After a taste of a sliced apple, her hunger awakened. Wedges of sunset, chunks of bright yellow, little purple fruits that burst between her teeth, green slices speckled with black seeds, and blueberries. She ate, heedless of those around her. The new flavors sang in her mouth the way books had sung in her mind, the way soil and plants sang on her skin. This was . . . this was . . . eating a paradise.
Poetry? Poetry for eating?
"Whoa.”
Evelyn’s voice?
Whoa? Hesper’s heart sank. Were they looking at her? She lifted her head.
They were.
"I told you you’d find things to enjoy here.” David took a bite of his toast. "Carry on and let the woman enjoy her food.” His lips twitched upward. "She’s hungry, and goodness knows the fruit options are limited in the woods.”
Evelyn cleared her throat. “Have you had sex with her yet?”
David shot a look at Hesper. “Evelyn
, if you attempt to humiliate her again, the two of you will be trading rooms.”
Evelyn clanked her fork against her plate and said, "Is your new toy still going to see the doctor?”
"Not a toy. No, dear.” He frowned at his egg as he dipped his toast into it. "I’ll be spending time with my brother. He has to give his report to the Kyrios and successors, and then we’re—”
"Well—”
"Must you persist in this interrogation?” He raised his voice through a mouthful of toast.
"You’ve got the corner on that market, I suppose?” She sneered. "Yes. I must. I don’t want you to catch a disease from her and pass it to me.”
He stared at her in disbelief as he brought the napkin on his lap to his lips. The chair creaked as he leaned back with a charming smile and cold eyes. "Did you intend to give me the opportunity to pass things along to you anytime soon, Love? I have my own concerns in that area, and I might need a rain check ‘til you’ve had a checkup.” His smile darkened. "No, Hesper won’t be seeing the doctor today, and no, you may not take her yourself!” He took a bite of a sunset wedge. "You may, however, go shopping if you’d like.”
"I think I will.”
* * *
The ladies showed Hesper the garden behind the house. The apple tree alone impressed Hesper. She parted from the women, bunched up her dress, and climbed the squat tree. It felt like home. Sort of.
Delighted, Jade gathered up a fistful of her own dress and joined Hesper with some help. "Whew! I’m out of practice!” She shifted around to get comfortable and smacked her head on a branch.
Hard.
Silent, she blinked a few times and Hesper grabbed her arm to steady her.
"Jade, are you all right?” Dulce asked.
Jade smiled and waved the concern away. "I’m fine. I’m fine.” She touched her head. "Maybe not. A lump! It’s huge.”
Hesper felt the spot. No blood. Jade was right, though, a big lump had formed. Hesper cupped her hand over the lump and stroked through the air, conjuring good thoughts and energy, pushing it out through her hand, soothing the inflammation.
Grief, love, hope, and devoted affection scrambled through her mind like a pack of panting, tumbling wolf cubs. Not her own feelings. Jade’s?
Tree of Life Page 10