Promises to Keep

by Promises To Keep (lit) (NCP)

  "I see."

  "Maybe you do, maybe you don’t. But you will. I like your touch and I think you like mine." He ran a hand along her arm, felt the tingle there, and heard her soft gasp at the sensation. She was his match, no doubt about it.

  "I want this to continue.... Do you?"

  Her voice was pitched low. "I think so. It’s still hard to accept."

  "You think too much, Earth woman. I’ll have to show you.…"

  A soft chime filled the room, and soft groans resulted as couples broke apart. Bethan took the center of the room. "Only two more minutes for tonight."

  Sarah pulled away from him, and he permitted it, more reluctant than he’d expected to be at losing her from his arms. Reaching into the pocket of his pants, Garran found the narrow band he’d made for her and placed it into her hand, closing her fingers over it. "You will wear it tomorrow if you wish to continue this with me. Think on it...please."

  He’d added the pleasantry as an afterthought, but her soft laughter made him glad he had. "I will think on it."

  The chime sounded again and he rose to his feet.

  "Oh, Gaian man, I think I know one more thing about you." Her voice was soft, a mocking tone in it, but he found it intriguing rather than annoying.

  "What would that be?"

  She held up the marriage band. "You probably find it hard to take ‘no’ for an answer."

  He leaned over her, holding her shoulders, letting her feel his strength, of body--and of purpose. "And in that you would be most correct, my little Earth woman. I don’t intend to take ‘no’ from you. Not when ‘yes’ would be so good--for both of us."

  Her bemused laughter followed him as he joined the other men leaving the room.

  Chapter Eight

  Sarah and the others gathered in the dining room down the hall from their sleeping quarters. The big, open room had become the common gathering place for the women to congregate in during the past couple of days since being brought onto The Promise. Their meeting with the men over for the past hour, they’d collected there after changing from the meeting robes into regular clothing.

  They could have stayed in their rooms, but somehow no one wanted to, not tonight, not after the excitement of having a man attach to them.

  Sarah remembered the big man who’d offered his hand and the tingle of his caress. She wondered at it, how for once a man’s touch hadn’t caused her to feel ill and instead made her giddy with desire.

  Sarah shivered in apprehensive delight. Only in her dreams had a man provoked this kind of response. She could almost believe it had been her dream man in that corridor, holding her hand, caressing her hips. Absently she reached into her pocket and stroked the band he’d given her. Her nipples tightened, her imagination providing her unknown lover’s touch on them.

  "So, what did you think, Sarah?" Laura dropped onto the seat next to her, scattering Sarah’s thoughts. She felt heat in her cheeks at her friend’s bemused scrutiny.

  "Interesting. Certainly that."

  Laura laughed. "Interesting? I saw that big guy haul you away and could see you with him. You were more than interested."

  Well, perhaps, but she wasn’t going to talk about it here! The best defense was a good offense. "And how did you like your man?"

  "Which one?" Laura laughed. "There were two who followed me."

  "Two?" Sarah gasped.

  "Yeah," A trace of embarrassment colored her friend’s face. "Two men came and sat with me, but after a moment one left. It was odd, I liked them both, but the one who stayed...something about him just seemed--nicer, I guess." She shook her head. "The man who left patted his friend on the shoulder, I guess to congratulate him."

  Holding up her arm, she showed off the narrow band decorating her arm. An image was cut into the flat portion of the band, resembling a tree. Laura traced the figure. "I wonder what this means to him," she said, her voice pensive. "Maybe he likes growing things. I hope so. I want to live where there are lots of trees."

  Sarah stared in surprise. "You’re already wearing it?"

  Laura rested her head on her hands and gazed longingly at the band. "I’ve already made up my mind. I can’t imagine being with anyone but him."

  Sarah looked around and realized that several of the women were wearing the bands, others looking at theirs with expressions not unlike Laura’s. She fingered the band in her pocket and pulled it out. When she’d gotten to her room, she’d examined it, and noticed the emblem it bore, a slender crescent moon. The image reminded her of the pictures the view-screen in her room often displayed. Many times there was an exquisite view of Crescent Lake, which seemed to be one of the more picturesque locations on Gaia. To Sarah’s nature-starved eyes, the place looked like heaven with its unusually shaped deep blue lake surrounded by tall green and red trees.

  A coincidence? Most likely. Still, it pleased her that the man who’d asked to be her husband would pick that particular symbol.

  She began to think about what symbol she would pick--assuming she decided to go along with this. It seemed the Gaians used the images on their bands to tell their prospective spouse something about themselves.

  An idea for a symbol she might use came into her mind. Yes, that would work, Sarah thought and she grinned at the whimsy in it.

  The quiet in the room dissipated as the women compared bands and talked about their experiences during the meet. As the intensity of the marriage meet faded away the women began chatting away merrily, excitement building as they realized that the men they’d met really did intend to become their husbands.

  They hadn’t seen their faces, but those dark loose robes couldn’t hide a well-constructed body, and the men’s voices, even speaking quietly, had spoken enticing words demonstrating intelligent minds and loving dispositions.

  Sarah remembered her would-be husband’s voice and a delicious shiver ran down her spine, again firing her latent desire. When he’d told her how he’d not take no for an answer when yes could be so good.… Sarah couldn’t resist the thrill his voice had given her.

  "Look at this!" Lindsey bounced over to the table, her smile triumphant. On her wrist was the band she’d been given. Proudly she pointed to the emblem on the band.

  Sarah peered at it closely, then burst into laughter. The symbol was a chair, not unlike the one Terran had used to defend Lindsey the night he attached to her. Obviously he’d managed to recognize her during the marriage meet.

  "Did you know it was him?" Sarah whispered to the happy young woman. They’d agreed to keep it quiet that the young woman had attempted an escape and that Lindsey had attracted one of the Gaian men’s attention prior to the meet.

  The expression on Lindsey’s became dreamy. "Oh, from the moment he took my hand. It was him, I’d know him anywhere."

  She played with the band, twisting it back and forth. "I can’t believe it happened so quickly." Turning her attention to Sarah’s empty wrist. "Didn’t you find someone Sarah?"

  "Oh I found him. Or I guess he found me. I’m just not quite ready to accept him." Why wasn’t she ready, she wondered? Was it that he’d seemed too good to be true? Even his hands...large, warm, and gentle--they’d reminded her of the man she’d dreamed about. He wasn’t necessarily a mild-mannered man...she didn’t get that impression of him, not with the intensity of his words when he spoke to her. This would be a man to demand what he wanted, not beg or plead. But that didn’t discourage her...far from it!

  Only in one corner of the room were the women quiet. Sarah noticed that Bethan was sitting there, talking earnestly to them. Leaving Laura to chat with Lindsey, each trying to outdo the other with tales of how charming and witty their newfound mates were, Sarah stood to find out what was going on.

  As she got closer she realized that Alison and Jenny were among the dozen women at the table and that no one was smiling. She heard what Bethan was saying.

  "Just because a man didn’t attach to you this time doesn’t mean that one won’t. We have many other men, so
me even on this ship."

  Jenny spied Sarah over Bethan’s shoulder and cast a woeful gaze at her. It was clearly all the big woman could do to not burst into tears.

  Alison folded her arms under her sizable bosom and scowled at Bethan. "I wasn’t thrilled with doing this in the first place. Imagine a man picking a wife without seeing her." She tossed her head and pushed a golden lock behind her ear, her face in a sneer. "It’s not surprising no one chose me, wearing that sack."

  "The meeting gown is designed to keep the man from focusing on the surface image of a woman," Bethan explained. "The chemistry will happen with or without seeing what a woman looks like, but a man needs to feel acceptance to attach to her."

  "I was trying to accept," Jenny interjected, threatening tears evident in her voice. "I was!"

  Bethan spoke soothingly. "I know, Jenny. Sometimes a woman has a very specific man for her." She patted the big woman’s hand. "He just wasn’t there this evening."

  "And when will he be there?" Sarah asked, stepping into sight and the conversation. "Are you planning another opportunity for the ones who are left over?"

  Bethan turned, eyes wide. "Sarah!" She faltered, then raised her gaze to meet Sarah’s stare. "Perhaps that would be best, to arrange a second meet. There are men who didn’t get the chance to be here tonight." She rose to her feet. "I could make arrangements for it."

  "Don’t do it on my account." Alison drawled. She stood and headed for the door. "I wouldn’t do this again on a bet."

  The rest of them followed Alison’s example, leaving Jenny with Bethan and Sarah. She looked at them, wide-eyed. "Bethan, I wouldn’t mind. I want someone so much." Her voice turned desperate. Jenny turned to Sarah. "I can cook! Tell her, please. I’m a good cook, really. I’d make a man a good wife."

  Sarah hugged the big woman. "Of course you will. It’s just like Bethan said. The man for you wasn’t there tonight. He exists and we’ll find him."

  It just wasn’t fair. Jenny, who wanted someone to care for her so much, was left alone. Sarah exchanged glances with Bethan. Surely there was someone for this good-hearted woman.

  Bethan nodded. "We’ll arrange another meet as soon as we can. Don’t worry, Jenny."

  Mollified, Jenny pulled herself to her feet. She glanced wistfully at the rest of the ladies, chatting excitedly about the men they’d met. "I’m not picky. Any man will do." Her broad face grimaced. "Well, any man but the Beast, I guess. I’d be too terrified of him." Without another word she took off for her cabin.

  Bethan frowned as she watched Jenny leave. "What does she mean by that, Sarah?"

  Bethan must not know about the General’s nickname. "She’s talking about General Doranth. During the war he was called ‘The Gaian Beast’."

  The dark-haired woman’s mouth dropped open. "Why would he be called that?"

  Sarah sighed. Bethan obviously cared for the man but apparently didn’t know how hated her friend was and why. "The broadcasts he made. The ones that made jokes about the Earthforce ships that were lost."

  Bethan’s frown intensified. "Broadcasts? The ones reporting the ships we’d taken? But those.…" Her eyes went wide. "You saw those broadcasts?"

  "Everyone on Earth saw them. They were sent out on the network channels at the start of the war."

  Bethan’s posture stiffened and her lips settled into a thin line. "I believe I understand some things now. We’d wondered why his name kept coming up as a target."

  She patted Sarah’s hand and glanced at her wrist. "You received a band, didn’t you?"

  Sarah pulled it from her pocket and showed it to her. "I haven’t made up my mind yet."

  Running a finger over the crescent moon design, Bethan’s face turned thoughtful. "I hope you can give him a chance, Sarah. Take the time to get to know him before making any quick judgments." She rose to her feet.

  Before she left, Bethan made one further comment, her face once more flushed with anger. "Don’t believe everything you were told about the war, Sarah. Governments lie."

  "Even Gaia? Have we been lied to, Bethan?"

  For a moment Sarah wondered if Bethan was going to say more. The woman looked like she had too many secrets and needed to get one off her chest. Then she shook her head. "There are things we can’t speak of, Sarah, not yet. But believe me when I say that we don’t like lying and we never wanted to hurt anyone."

  * * * *

  After Bethan left, the women gathered around the machine the Gaians had brought in and began to design bands for their husbands. Again Sarah thought about her choice, but she wasn’t ready to commit to making a band for this man of hers. Not yet. Instead she left the dining hall for her private quarters.

  Once in her room, Sarah took the time to plug in her datastore and review everything she’d recorded about the war and the Gaians. It was interesting viewing. There were the terrible images of General Doranth announcing the destruction of the Earthforce fleets, but otherwise there was little about how the Gaians had fought the war or about why Earth had finally capitulated. With more questions than answers, Sarah turned off her machine and instead tried to find information from the Gaian network.

  She found little of use there, nothing to explain Bethan’s cryptic remarks. There were many files describing Gaian philosophy, the reliance of the family unit, the couple, man and woman the fundamental building block of their society. There was also a firm belief in fairness and in the right of all creatures to life and happiness, something she found strikingly refreshing after her life on Earth.

  When she was done, Sarah thought she understood why Bethan and Symon had been so upset at the younger women’s accusations of not caring whether they lived or died. The Gaians did care about the lives of others...passionately. No Gaian would harm another deliberately and that reluctance for violence extended to others as well.

  It even extended to Earth people.

  Confused, Sarah ceased her search. Relaxing in the big comfortable armchair in her room, she considered the facts.

  The Gaians respected life, almost to a fault. And yet, they’d destroyed countless numbers of Earthforce personnel during the war. Or so it seemed. Certainly those individuals had never come home.

  So what did it mean that the Gaians respected life and the Earth people hadn’t come home? She couldn’t figure it out--too little data.

  So what did she know? Sarah leaned back and let the view-screen change to its usual image, the view of Crescent Lake. The lovely picture soothed her and reminded her of the band in her pocket, the one she still hadn’t put on, signifying her acceptance of her Gaian lover’s suit.

  He wanted her to be his wife. That was what the gift of the band meant. A man, unseen, but real, had asked to be her husband. He’d touched her, caressed her and told her it would be good between them.

  And she believed him. Again Sarah felt that odd thrill at the thought of her would-be husband. For the first time in her life a man’s touch had excited rather than repelled her, made her feel passionate rather than queasy. This unknown man had given her a glimpse into what her more knowledgeable friends had talked about, the world of physical love.

  He would become her lover, her husband, and father of her children. Unlike her dream lover, he was a man of flesh and blood who wouldn’t fade away in the morning, but stand beside her.

  It could be so very good between them--he’d said so himself. And all she had to do was say yes. Sarah pulled the band from her pocket, examined the crescent moon shape, comparing it to the image of the lake on the wall. A good sign that it so closely matched her favorite picture of Gaia. Maybe he’d take her to see the lake sometime.

  Her hand was steady although inside she quivered like a leaf on the trees near that distant lake. Sarah took the band and carefully fastened it around her wrist. It didn’t matter what secrets the Gaians kept. This man wanted her and for reasons she couldn’t name she wanted him. They were matched as Bethan liked to put it.

  Rising to her feet, she headed back to the din
ing hall. If she was going to accept her unknown lover, she needed to make him a band as well.

  Chapter Nine

  Men crowded the room, watching the wall’s view-screen with eager and anxious eyes. From his position at the back, Maxxa waited, nearly as anxious as the younger men were...but not for himself. Sammul had stayed with Garran last night leaving Maxxa free to spend time with his wife, Gretta, but like many of the other married people on The Promise, Maxxa had gotten up early to learn the results of the meet.

  Last night the women who’d decided to continue with the meet had registered the bands they’d received and created ones of their own. By scanning the symbols into the computer they indicated their choice and now the men waited to see if their symbol would show up--if today they would be granted the opportunity to meet again with their lady and collect a band of their own, a band that would make them married men.

  Maxxa thought he’d never seen the men so tense. It was far worse than when he’d attached to Gretta. But then, Gretta was born Gaian and was used to the Gaian method of courtship. No one could guess how the Earth women would react to a blind selection of mates, the reliance on attachment and matching. Perhaps many of them would reject their would-be husbands and insist on leaving The Promise to continue to the Outer Colonies.

  Perhaps none of them would wish to stay.

  Maxxa’s gaze wandered over the unmarried men’s faces, their blank stares and tensed jaws. Many had a haggard look to their eyes and gulped cups of javi with desperate speed. Sympathetic humor provoked a wry grin that Maxxa struggled to suppress. He remembered his own experience with the physical aspects of first attachment, what happened when that part of his body suddenly woke up. He doubted if many of the men had gotten much sleep last night.

  The view-screen flashed, and as one the all faces turned to it, all eyes fixed on the blank screen. The room quieted to the point that Maxxa thought he could’ve dropped the feather from a green-goose and heard it hit the floor.