“You look exactly the same as I remember you though. Except you’re not flat-chested anymore.”
She slapped him on the arm, and they shared the first laugh together in a long time. It might be, she reflected, the first laugh that they had ever shared together. It lasted only a moment though, because his new blue eyes suddenly went cold. Yuah turned to see what he was looking at. Two lizardmen crossed the street at the intersection just in front of their home. They were carrying a large steamer trunk.
“They’re everywhere here,” he said.
“There aren’t any more of them than there were nine months ago, when you left.”
“I didn’t have to look at them then.”
Yuah took Terrence’s hand and led him the last fifty yards to their home. The gardens were covered with snow now, the reflecting pool frozen over, and the fountain empty of water. They reached the bottom of the steps and Yuah squealed as Terrence suddenly scooped her up and carried her to the top of the steps. Once there however, he stopped and unsmilingly set her back down as the door was opened for them by a particularly large lizardman with a yellow ribbon sporting a gold medallion around his neck.
“You remember Tisson,” said Yuah.
Terrence nodded briskly, and then stepped inside. She followed. In the parlor Mrs. Godwin was sitting in the rocking chair with Augie in her arms. She slowly rocked back and forth and hummed. With a smile, she lifted up the baby for Yuah to take. Yuah cradled the child in her arms, gazing with love down into his chubby pink face.
“Here he is,” she said, turning to present her son to her husband.
“He looks like you.”
“Don’t be daft,” she replied. “He’s your bleeding doppelganger.”
“Yes, I guess he is. Poor lad.”
Holding the baby with one hand, Yuah took Terrence by the other and led him upstairs to the nursery. She sat him in the rocking chair and placed Augie in his lap. She pulled the small folding rocker from the corner and sat next to him. They rocked back in forth in silence for more than an hour. When Augie woke up, she nursed him, and when he was full and satisfied, she handed him back to his father, and he looked up with fascination at the strange man holding him.
Yuah had finished getting her dress back on, and Terrence was holding Augie, when Iolanthe walked into the room, practically filling it with her green dress and her presence.
“You look wonderful, brother,” she said, stepping over to Terrence.
“Thanks. You too.” He handed the baby to Yuah and gave his sister a quick hug.
Iolanthe turned around to Yuah and opened her eyes wide, mouthing the words “I’m going to kill you.”
Yuah frowned and shrugged. “I’m going to see if Mrs. Godwin wants to take Augie for awhile.”
Mrs. Godwin was no longer in the parlor, but Cissy was back, hanging up Iolana’s coat on the peg beside the door.
“Hi Auntie Yuah,” said Iolana, looking from behind the lizardman’s tail.
“Hi Sweetie,” she replied, and then to the lizardman, said. “Can you watch both of them for a little while?”
“Yes,” said the reptilian, taking the baby in her clawed hand and leading the little girl in the other toward the library.
Back at the top of the stairs, Yuah met her husband and her sister-in-law.
“How long till we eat?” asked Terrence.
“It’s tea now,” said Yuah. “Are you hungry?”
“No. In fact, I was thinking I would take a nap.”
“A wonderful idea,” said Iolanthe. “Your room is at the end of the hall.”
“Yes, I’ve been here before.” Terrence walked out the door of the nursery and went to the bedroom.
Iolanthe grasped Yuah by the elbow.
“You and I have to talk.”
“What?” demanded Yuah, as she was guided by her sister-in-law down the hall, to the right, and into Iolanthe’s study.
“What did you think you were doing, inviting Radley Staff to stay here?”
“What did you expect him to do? Sleep in a tent on the militia base?”
“There are people doing that.”
“Not him. You know you couldn’t let him do that.”
“I know nothing of the kind.” Iolanthe stuck out her lip. “You know why he can’t stay here.”
“Of course I know. But that’s ancient history.”
“It’s not any kind of history,” hissed Iolanthe. “It’s my life.”
Radley Staff arrived at the Dechantagne home about an hour before supper. Terrence had gotten up from his nap and the two men sat in the parlor and compared notes about the changes that had taken place in the colony since they had last been there. They were thus engaged when Professor Calliere arrived home. Yuah stayed close to her husband.
“Gentlemen and lady,” Calliere greeted them warmly, shaking first Terrence’s hand and then Staff’s, finally kissing Yuah on the cheek. “It’s good to have you both back; though I must say I wasn’t expecting either of you.”
“What have you been up to, Mercy?” asked Terrence.
“Funny you should ask that.” Calliere leaned toward the other two men. “I received a package today from the Adjutant-General’s office. One of their wizards is arriving in a few weeks to look around.”
“Do you think it’s wise to let him near the Result Mechanism, considering the last wizard to use your machine?” asked Terrence.
“I really don’t plan to let him interfere in my business. Anyway, it was just bad luck that the wizard you picked out was a lunatic and a monster. Staff has worked with wizards in the navy. I’m sure he can vouch that most of them are decent sorts.”
“Well, that might be pushing it a bit,” said Staff. “But I think that the government does at least have control of most of their own. Just the same, it might be a good idea to tell the governor, and see what she thinks would be the prudent course.”
Calliere rolled his eyes. “Yes, of course my wife will have full knowledge. I’m sure she will want to consult with her sorceress.”
“Zurfina? Can she be trusted?” wondered Staff.
Calliere said “No,” at the same moment that both Terrence and Yuah said, “Yes.”
There was a moment of silence, which Yuah broke.
“What is the difference between wizardry and sorcery, Professor? I must confess that I don’t quite understand the distinction.”
“Mind you that I’m an expert on neither,” said Calliere. “Here is what I do know. Sorcery and wizardry are two different ways of accessing magical spells. Sorcery is an innate ability that few are born with. Wizardry is a skill that can be taught and learned. I’ve seen powerful wizards and equally powerful sorcerers. Mark my words though; technology is the new power that will replace both kinds of magic. Now if you’ll excuse me, my dear, I have to wash before dinner.”
“I thought you didn’t get on with the sorceress,” said Staff to the Dechantagnes after the professor had left the room.
“Yes, well… depends on the situation,” said Yuah.
“You’re not getting into anything with her, are you?” asked Terrence. “I saw you consorting with a sorceress of your own on the ship.”
“She was just a dinner companion,” said Staff. “I’m here for the coal.”
There was something of an awkward shuffle at the dinner table that evening. The spot at the head of the table rightly belonged to Terrence as head of the Dechantagne family. During his long absence, Iolanthe had assumed the seat, though by Brech tradition, she should have sat at her husband’s right hand. Terrence didn’t seem to care much one way or another, but Yuah insisted that he receive his due. So as several reptilian wait staff brought heaping trays of food to the table, Terrence sat at its head. Yuah sat at his right. Next to her sat Mrs. Godwin, then the professor’s mother the elder Mrs. Calliere, and then little Iolana in her bright red dress. At the far end of the table sat Professor Calliere, with Iolanthe to his right. Next to her sat Saba Colbshallow, then his m
other, and finally Radley Staff.
A pork roast with potatoes, onions, and carrots was the major feature of dinner. There were also boiled chestnuts with melted cheese and breadcrumbs seasoned with caraway and parsley, winter squash fried in melted butter, and Mrs. Colbshallow’s own dinner rolls. It seemed as if there was a mountain of food, but it disappeared quickly from the large white porcelain platters.
“This is the best roast I’ve ever eaten,” said Saba Colbshallow.
“Quite right,” agreed Professor Calliere.
“How do you find our Port Dechantagne now, Mr. Staff?” asked Yuah.
“It’s certainly not dull,” he replied from directly across the table. “It’s been quite an eye opening day. I mingled with the locals. I saw a dragon. And I had a lovely conversation at the local dining spot. I seem to recall that you were part of the conversation.”
“Oh, well, I seem to be the subject of quite a bit of the talk around town.”
“Who would want to talk about you?” wondered Iolanthe from the other end of the table.
“Pretty young women are always a topic of conversation,” said Mrs. Godwin, pausing to wipe a stray drop of wine from her chin. “I’ve had quite enough of people always talking about me, I can tell you that.”
“That reminds me of what I heard from Mrs. Eamsham today,” said Mrs. Colbshallow.
“No gossiping at the dinner table,” said Iolanthe. “I want to hear about my brother’s many adventures in the great city.”
The heads of the diners all turned toward Terrence.
“Oh, good,” he said. “Nothing I like better than talking about myself.”
Yuah chuckled. She was the only one who did, but then she was in the best position to know the irony of such a statement. Of all the people at the table, it was probably Terrence who least wanted to talk about himself. Of course, he wasn’t much of a talker, regardless of the subject.
“Well, what did you do in Brech?” demanded Iolanthe.
“Yes,” said Yuah. “What did you do?”
“Nothing much.”
“You were invited to Crown Street, weren’t you?” asked Iolanthe.
“Yes, I met the Prime Minister.” He looked at his sister. “You and I can discuss my meeting with him, later.”
“How exciting!” exclaimed Mrs. Colbshallow. “What was his wife like?”
“She seemed nice.”
“I hear she has a face like a horse,” said the elder Mrs. Calliere.
Saba Colbshallow snorted and Iolanthe pursed her lips.
“Did you go to the theater?” asked Mrs. Godwin.
“No. Sorry.”
“You went to the Great Church of the Holy Savior, of course?” asked Mrs. Colbshallow.
“I was obliged to.”
“Well, I hope you at least did some shopping,” said the elder Mrs. Calliere.
“I did pick up a few things.”
“I’m full,” said a tiny voice from the other end of the table, reminding everyone that a child was there.
Yuah thought that this must be the quietest that Iolana had ever been.
“Iolana, come here to Auntie,” she said.
The conversation continued around the table as the little girl in her bright red dress climbed down from her chair and stepping past her grandmother and Mrs. Godwin, slipping up and into her aunt’s lap.
“Do you remember your Uncle Terrence?” she asked the child.
The little girl tucked her face into Yuah’s shoulder shyly and didn’t say anything. A single eye peeked over her auntie’s lace covered bosom at the frightening man. Yuah gently stroked her blond hair.
“Don’t be shy, dear.”
“I can’t believe how big she is,” said Terrence. “Talking real words, too.”
“You can talk right to her, you know,” said Yuah.
Terrence flashed her an annoyed look, but then spoke directly to the child.
“I’ve got a present for you.” Then he looked up into his wife’s eyes. “I have a present for you too.”
“I should bloody well hope there’s more than one,” murmured Yuah.
She looked down at Iolana, who seemed no more excited about meeting the strange man who just happened to be her uncle than she had been a moment ago. Then she looked across the table at Radley Staff, who seemed stricken. He was staring at the little girl, his face pale and sweaty and his pupils constricted, as though he were choking on a bite of his pork roast.
“Are you all right, Mr. Staff?” she whispered.
He nodded, and then glanced around the table as if to check that no one else was watching him. Most were looking at the professor, who was explaining how steam engines worked. Terrence looked from his wife to Staff, questioningly, but Yuah just shook her head at him and got up to take Iolana to the nursery. She happily chose to forgo dessert to get out of Iolanthe’s way. She suspected her sister-in-law would be in quite a mood, but she was fortunate enough not to see much of her the rest of the evening.
She delivered Iolana to Cissy in the nursery, where Augie was already sleeping. Cissy had taught Iolana a number of what the professor called “lizzie games,” played with blocks of wood with people and animals of the region drawn of the sides. Small strings of symbols indicated attributes of the people and animals the blocks represented. From the small amount that Yuah had viewed, it seemed a bit like chess—at the same time both simpler and more complex. Iolana loved to play, and by now had come to expect that on the nights Cissy put her to bed, she would get to. When Auntie Yuah put her to bed, they followed the more traditional recreation of a storybook. This seemed acceptable, though not preferable in the child’s mind.
Yuah was perfectly happy to place her niece in Cissy’s care, because she had to get ready for bed, and she had scheduled herself almost three hours to do so. A quick bath taken standing in an eight gallon bucket washed away the smell of fire-heated rooms, and thick wool clothing. The Brech custom was for women to be completely hair free below the neck, a condition achieved with a straight razor, which was normally a part of morning toilet procedures. Terrence’s unexpected arrival necessitated a change to the evening duties. Then copious amounts of lotions had to be applied for the whole body— a new lotion made of Aloe Vera plant resin and iguanodon liver oil scented with orange for her feet, hemp with butter oil for soft smooth legs, palm oil lotion with jasmine and lavender for her arms, a lotion of petroleum jelly and lanoline for her sensitive nursing breasts as well as winter chapped hands and face. Finally with more than a little embarrassment, she applied her latest acquisition over her stomach, her derriere and her front bits. It contained wild orchid extract, rose petals, snails, and powdered triceratops horn, all suspended in olive oil. All of these concoctions had to be rubbed completely into the skin, before she could take the time to give her hair four hundred brush strokes.
Yuah had purchased a new nightgown from Mrs. Bratihn specifically for the night her husband returned. It was long sleeved, and draped well past her knees, but was made of a light Mirsannan silk and trimmed with lace all around. It was very light and translucent. She thought it was rather scandalous, like something Zurfina would have worn, and blushed when she looked at herself in the mirror. Later, when Terrence entered the room, she pretended to be asleep, but watched him get undressed. He climbed into bed with no nightclothes at all.
That night Terrence and Yuah spent the night together as man and wife for the first time in almost nine months. After they made love, she tried to get comfortable. She wasn’t used to sleeping in the same bed with anyone else, and had not really gotten used to sleeping in the same room with a man. It wasn’t that he took up that much space, it was more the idea that he was there. When morning came, and her husband got up and dressed, Yuah was happy and finally asleep.
Yuah didn’t really wake up until late in the morning, when Cissy brought Augie in to nurse. She stayed in bed and had Cissy close the door. After the baby was fed, she kept him there with her and played with him, mo
re contented than she had been in a long time. For once no one bothered her, and she and Augie eventually both dozed off into a luxurious mid-day nap.
When she finally did get up, she fed Augie once again and placed him in his crib in the nursery. Kheesie was playing on the floor with Iolana, so Yuah left her to watch the baby as well, and summoned Cissy, who had been cleaning the nursery, to come to the bedroom and help her get dressed. After donning the myriad of undergarments required of Brech women, and having the lizardman cinch down her corset as far as it would go and then a little bit more, Yuah slipped into her blue dress with the plunging back. She felt a little thrill that she had not felt when she had worn it before, and attributed it to the knowledge that her husband would now see her in it. She slipped into her black shoes and had Cissy fasten them with the buttonhook.
“What time has it gotten to be?” she asked.
“Haff tast newn.”
“Half past noon? Then lunch is already over?”
The lizardman nodded her head.
“Keep an eye on the children, please. I don’t know if Kheesie can handle the two of them at once.”
“Kheesie good. I watch. Hoonan kid hard work.”
“Yes, a human baby is hard work.”
Yuah practically skipped down the staircase, which might not have been the best idea, because she felt light-headed upon reaching the bottom. After a moment to catch her breath, she walked back to the kitchen, where a flurry of activity was going on. Mrs. Colbshallow sat in a chair in the corner, supervising as five massive lizardmen cleaned the dishes from lunch and put the leftover food in the icebox. Iolanthe had vowed to replace the icebox with a magical froredor, but it seemed like a wasteful expense when the window ledge was covered in snow.
“Is it too late to grab a bite, Mrs. Colbshallow?” asked Yuah.
“Of course not, dear.” Then Mrs. Colbshallow barked out a series of orders half in Brech and half in the lizards’ native tongue, which sounded to Yuah like. “Sssss pork sssss tititit sandwich ssss kikikik ssss now.”
One of the reptilians pulled a plate of pork from the icebox and began cutting off pieces with a large knife, while another cut two slices of bread and coated them with mayonnaise.
The Drache Girl Page 14