"Are you alright?" Simon asked.
"Yes, thank you." I finished my sandwich.
"In that case let's change. I want to take you to one of our local markets, one the tourists never see." That got my attention.
"What kind of market?"
"If you want to know, you will have to change," Simon said with a wink.
Stewart appeared with fresh towels. All wrapped up and mostly dry, we took the lift up. I put on a dark blue dress with short sleeves and a full skirt with a hem that reached my ankles. The dress drew in at the waist with pleating. I slipped my necklace over my head and pulled on my gold sandals. I brushed my hair into a new ponytail. I met Simon near the lift. He looked casual in pants, shirt, and soft boots. I wanted to replace my boots. I didn't want to think about the miners, though. Simon and I were joined by Cass and Thunderdrop on our way to the transport.
Simon drove us to a building of spectacular wooden construction. The top looked like a bouquet of wooden umbrellas, and the wooden base had been built high atop pylons. In order to enter, patrons had to walk up a set of stairs underneath the building. The bottom step stretched at least twenty feet across, and each successive step grew shorter in length nearer the top. Simon and I stepped underneath the large platform. I looked up at all of the massive wooden beams. "Are those entire logs?" I asked.
"Yes, the market is strong and well-built." We walked down a path lined with ferns and grasses to the base of the stairs. I held onto the railing on the way up. Stepping onto the platform, I noted that the railing curved around and behind the entrance to the stairs and the looped back down as railing on the other side of the stairs. Simon saw my curiosity and said, "That keeps people like me from falling down the stairs." I smiled at him. Shops lined the surface of the open air platform under one large series of interlocking umbrellas that were stunning from underneath. All about the platform was a riot of people, color, and sounds. "What do you think?" Simon asked.
"I want to see everything all at once."
"Well, my lady, since you can't do that, I will need for you to pick a direction, and we will try to get to everything." Thunderdrop perched himself prominently on top of my head. Cass crouched on Simon's shoulder. I took Simon's hand and walked over to the stores on the right. I touched Thunderdrop's leg.
"Thunderdrop, if you see anything that you want, be sure to let me know. Okay?"
"Chirp!" The first shop sold intricately woven blankets and pillows. I thought of Ms. Laura when I saw a set with the colors similar to those she had used in a painting of the sunset on Malta.
"Excuse me, how much is this set?" I asked the shopkeeper.
"Fifty credits, lady," she said with a curtsey.
"Deal," I smiled and held out my bracelet for her to scan. She put the blanket and pillows into a bag. A boy rushed forward.
"Tetho, please place this in Lord Montgomery's transport." The boy gave us a smile that showed two missing top teeth, took the bag from his mother, and darted off. She smiled and bowed to us.
"Thank you. I have a friend on Malta who will adore those," I said to her.
"Who is the friend?" Simon asked.
"Ms. Laura. She paints, and one of her paintings has colors like those in it. I've started my own hobby, though."
"What?" Simon asked.
"I learned how to make cookies and a cake. Maybe Stewart will teach me how to make something else while I'm here." Simon smiled down at me.
"I'm sure he would love that."
We continued into a shop which sold shampoos. I bought three bottles, remembering that our supplies had seemed low when last I cleaned the bathrooms. Again, Tetho appeared at Simon's elbow, gazing up at him with adoration before taking my bag from him. The next store had beautiful handcrafted jewelry. That was when I saw it. The ring had been formed of tiny strands of thin metal wire and sculpted into a band that resembled a beautiful web. It was perfect. A few diamonds were scattered around the web and mimicked the sun glinting off of a web in the early morning. I picked it up and slid it onto my thumb to see if it would fit Yukihyo's finger. I thought it would fit since the band was loose on my thumb. A man smiled at me as I examined the ring.
"How much is this, sir?" I asked.
"The lady has excellent tastes. This is some of my finest work. The best price that I can give you is a thousand credits." Yikes! I had received five thousand reparation credits when Yukihyo saved my life, though.
"I would like to buy this, please." The artisan scanned my chip and placed the ring into a small box and then into a small silk bag. Simon carried it for me. The artisan bowed to us and beamed with pride as we moved on to the next store. Thunderdrop began to chirp and lift his claws up and down against my scalp. He was messing up my ponytail. The store had sculptures carved from wood from the Arachnean forests.
"This is nice, Thunderdrop." I breathed in the clean wood scent. Thunderdrop leapt to the ground and scampered across the floor to a sculpture of one of the majestic trees that grew on Simon's property and across Arachne. This one only reached to about six feet or so and had realistic branches and leaves carved from the wood. Thunderdrop climbed its trunk and crawled over each branch all the while chirping happily. I threw back my head and laughed. Simon joined me. Thunderdrop blinked at me.
"May I be of assistance. Lord Montgomery?" an older lady with graying hair asked.
"It seems my little friend is enamored of your work," Simon said to her. Simon smiled at her and kissed her hand.
"I made this from one solid piece," she said as she lovingly caressed the trunk.
"How much is this?" I asked.
"I would like five hundred credits for this piece," she said.
"Okay. I just wonder how I'll get it on Tora."
Simon said, "Leave it to me, Teagan. Can you have it delivered to the foyer at my estate?"
"Yes, Lord Montgomery." I let her scan my chip. I held my arm up toward Thunderdrop, who crawled it back to my head.
"Okay. It's yours, Thunderdrop. Now, you need to decide where to put it."
"Chirp chirp chirp chirp!"
With sparkling pale blue eyes, Simon said, "If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I would never have believed that you had taught an Arachnean Silk spider to shop." Simon chuckled to himself and shook his head from side to side.
"Hey! Do I smell coffee?" We entered a small cafe and ordered cups of the steaming hot brew. Our coffees were served with chocolate syrup and whipped cream.
The next store we entered sold extravagant hair combs, clips, and jeweled hair nets. I thought of Felicia and her love of wearing her hair up. I bought her a set of the carved wooden hair combs. When we entered the next store, I lifted my hands to my cheeks, and scanned the displays. It was the most amazing shoe store that I had ever seen, and I looked at everything. "Simon, do you mind if I try on a few?"
"Not at all," he said. I bought five pairs, two of which were boots in both black and brown. Tetho appeared for my bags. I turned scanning the area. I felt a chill like someone watched us. I reached for Simon's arm. Thunderdrop chirped down at me.
With a concerned expression, probably since I had a death grip on his arm, Simon asked, "Is everything okay?"
"I don't know." Simon patted my arm. Then, he waved at someone who was across the platform.
"Aw! Here is someone I would like for you to meet!" Simon said. A tall man, with black hair that reached his shoulders, shook Simon's hand.
"Eliot, allow me to introduce Mrs. Teagan Lee. She is the wife of our dear friend, Yukihyo." I released my grip on Simon and extended my hand. Eliot took my hand, turned it over, and kissed it. I blushed. My eyes chanced a look at his and beheld eyes of an ice blue even lighter than Simon's.
"It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Mrs. Lee." Thunderdrop chirped. If Thunderdrop was chirping, maybe this person was safe.
"It's nice to meet you, sir. This is Thunderdrop." Eliot smiled at him and inclined his head. Simon and Eliot spoke for a little while, and then Si
mon invited him to join us for dinner. Eliot accepted.
Cass led the way down the steps to Simon's transport. My bags were neatly arranged in the back. Simon handed me the silk bag with the ring and the bag with the combs. "Have you been friends with Eliot for long?"
"Oh, yes! I've known him all of my life. His family is even more prominent than my own." I looked at him askance.
"I find that difficult to believe, Simon."
"Why?" Incredulous, I turned to face him.
"You're the richest person I've ever met."
Simon smiled mischievously, "You've just met richer."
My forehead wrinkled. "How am I supposed to act around him?"
"Like you always do."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes."
Stewart met us at the door. He sent one of his assistants for my bags. I followed him to my room and put my things away. I opened the silk bag and box to look at my gift for Yukihyo. I couldn't wait to see it on his finger. It was stunning. I put everything away, washed my face, and replaced my ponytail. Thunderdrop touched his ball and chirped.
"Do you want your ball downstairs?" I picked up his striped ball, and Thunderdrop clung to my hip as we made our way down in the lift.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Eliot had arrived, and Simon sat with him in the room with the fireplace and all of the windows. They both stood when we entered the room. "Please, don't trouble yourselves on our account," I said. Thunderdrop crawled up to my shoulder. It was then that I noticed a massive Arachnean Silk spider behind the couch and near the left wall of windows. The spider's legs were at least as long as mine, and I thought, from cephalothorax to abdomen, it had to be at least three feet. Its legs were black, and its abdomen was a pale blue with white striations. I reached my hand up to rub along Thunderdrop's leg.
Eliot said, "Please, do not be afraid. ZeeZee will not hurt you." I walked over to ZeeZee and held my hand out to him. He touched my hand with one of his feelers.
"Hello, ZeeZee. I'm Teagan. I'm not afraid of you. I was alarmed when I saw you. I couldn't help but think that one day Thunderdrop may be as big as you. If he's as big as me, I won't be able to carry him around anymore." I turned toward Eliot. "Eliot, how do you manage to hold ZeeZee?" Eliot's eyes of frozen ice focused on me.
"Hold him?" I turned back to ZeeZee and tried to figure out how it would work. Thunderdrop chirped. ZeeZee just blinked and didn't say anything.
"Please, join us." Simon motioned for me to sit on the couch.
"Are you enjoying your stay on Arachne?" Elliot asked.
"Oh, yes! It's beautiful here, and the air is so clean. Of course, Simon has kept me entertained all day, too."
"Chirp!" Thunderdrop touched his ball that I still held in my hand and stared at me.
"Poor, baby! You want to play with your ball?"
"Chirp!" I sat on the floor and waited for Thunderdrop to move to his selected position. He decided to plant himself in front of the fireplace. I adjusted the skirt of my dress and then rolled his ball to him. He caught it with three legs and rolled it back to me. ZeeZee moved closer to watch. On the seventh roll, I rolled it too much to the right, and Thunderdrop shot a line of silk at the ball and brought it back. ZeeZee came right to my side. I caught the ball as it rolled to me.
"ZeeZee do you want to roll the ball to Thunderdrop?"
"Clack."
"I'll take that as a yes." I placed the ball in front of ZeeZee. He pushed it. The ball rolled to Thunderdrop, who rolled it back to ZeeZee. I moved back up to the couch. Eliot stared at me. Simon laughed uproariously when Cass joined the game, and they began to pass the ball between the three of them. Eliot still looked at me.
"What, Eliot?" I asked.
"It's a shame your husband and I are such good friends," he said.
"Why?"
"If we were not, I should try my best to win you away from him."
Laughing, I said, "Shame on you, Eliot."
"Shame on you indeed because you would have to get in line behind me as well!" Simon teased.
"You are both welcome to my friendship, but Yukihyo already has my heart."
"Dinner is served," Stewart announced. While we enjoyed baked fish and a pasta dish that had been baked with cheeses, I noticed a dimple in Eliot's chin. He caught me looking.
He said, "If you see anything you like, please let me know. I would love to share."
"Eliot!"
"Teagan, he's decided he likes you. He will flirt shamelessly with you now for the remainder of his days."
"It's nothing, Eliot. You just reminded me of someone for a moment."
Eliot said, "I'm curious. Who could be handsome enough to remind you of me?" I cocked my head at him. Simon laughed.
"Someone I briefly met once on Scipio. He's friends with Phillip."
"Do you remember his name?" Eliot asked.
"He's a captain in the Galaxic Militia," I supplied. Simon roared with laughter. I turned to him in surprise. Eliot scowled at him.
Simon calmed himself and asked, "Was it by chance a Captain Eric Alaric?"
I nodded, "Yes, I remember now. He told me to call him Eric. He was very nice and invited me to dinner, but I had plans with my family. Then, Phillip scared him off and teased me about him."
With a straight face, Simon asked, "What did Phillip say?" I rolled my eyes.
"He tried to make my nickname, baby seal."
Curiously, Eliot said, "Why?"
"Phillip said watching me meet Eric was like watching a baby seal meet a shark. It's okay. He calls me Cupcake instead." Eliot and Simon started laughing pretty hard.
"Dessert, my lady?" Stewart asked.
"Yes, please." By the time Stewart brought out lemon cake and coffee, they had almost stopped laughing. Eliot wiped at his eyes with a silk square.
"Eliot, do you know Captain Alaric?" I asked.
He nodded, "Yes, I even had to change his diapers once or twice." Simon supplied the reason.
"Eliot is Eric's older brother." My cheeks burned.
"Oh, no wonder you look so much alike. I'm sorry about the whole shark thing."
"Don't be. I'm sure he is still kicking himself for not insisting on that dinner. I am pleased that I have had dinner with you and have had the chance to enjoy your company. It isn't often that one of our sisters is returned to us."
Puzzled, I looked to Simon. He met my eyes from across the table.
"Teagan, we have not discovered any instances of Arachnean Silk spiders bonding with anyone not of our ancestry, not that it isn't possible. What do you know of your mother?" Simon asked. I felt myself close down emotionally and had crossed my arms over my chest.
"Not much. She left when I was little." I heard a skittering sound, and Thunderdrop flew to me and wrapped himself around my neck.
"What is he doing?" Eliot asked.
"He hugs me when I'm upset," I answered.
"I did not mean to upset you. During the worst of our conflicts with the Parvacs, our grandmothers were targeted. The Parvacs tried to take the women for themselves, so that their offspring would inherit greater intellectual abilities. The Parvacs' efforts were thwarted, but not before some of the women were lost. Your mother may have been a daughter of one of our grandmothers. There is no other explanation. You are not from the Laconian sector or of direct Laconian descent," Eliot said. I looked at him quizzically.
"You think we might be related?"
Simon said, "We think it highly probable that you are related to one of the original Arachnean houses."
"I want to know which one. After all, it would be awkward to flirt shamelessly with one's own cousin," Eliot told Simon. I didn't think it was funny. I wanted to go to my room.
"Simon?" He prevented me from asking to be excused by getting up and walking over to me. Simon knelt in front of me.
He said, "You and Thunderdrop have learned to communicate. When he first bonded with you, I thought he had sensed your severe distress and decided to become you
r protector. It is very rare, but the circumstances warranted it. Now, I believe there must be more to it. How else would you understand ZeeZee and Cass? Having Laconian ancestry would also explain Yukihyo, and how you managed to save him."
"I didn't save Yukihyo. He saved me!" Simon gave me a small smile.
"Why don't you sleep on all of these ideas? Perhaps you will discuss this with us in the morning," Simon suggested. Simon lifted my hands and kissed each one. He helped me to my feet. Eliot bowed to me. I was eager to escape. ZeeZee and Cass watched us from the side of the room.
"Goodnight, ZeeZee. Goodnight, Cass." ZeeZee gracefully moved toward me on eight legs. I held my hand out to him in case he wanted to shake. Instead, he rubbed one of his feelers against my hand. "Well, aren't you a sweet boy," I whispered to him. I rubbed one of his front legs where it met his cephalothorax.
"Clack," he said. I went up in the lift.
"Did you hear them down there, Thunderdrop?" I filled his bowls. Stewart had closed the wall panel and turned down my bed. Feeling unsettled, I went into the bathroom and filled the deep tub with hot water. Shampoos and soaps lined a table. I sniffed each of them while I peed. I tossed all of my clothes in the laundry basket and made sure towels were within reach. I pulled the tie from my hair and sank into the tub. I had to wash my own hair. Also, I would have to sleep without my warm strong husband. "What would Yukihyo think of all of this?" I wondered if being related to someone on Arachne would be good for his business. After my fingers began to shrivel, I wrapped my hair in a towel, drained the water, and dried off with another towel. I brushed my teeth and found undies and a gown. Thunderdrop, knowing I missed Yukihyo, slept on my pillow. It wouldn't make any difference what Simon and Eliot found out, one way or the other. I had two men who had become my brothers, a man who had become my uncle, and a man who had become the other half of my soul. Also, I had a spider baby. I fell asleep.
The Space Merchants Page 26