by Speer, Flora
“I don’t understand it at all,” Eirena fumed. “Basil woke me at dawn to insist that Maura must have new clothes. He says my old gowns are too small for her.”
“So they are,” Lenora observed mildly.
“What does that matter? They are perfectly good material.” Eirena tugged at the light green silk dress Maura had hastily donned. “This will last for years.”
“Then give it to a servant to wear,” Lenora said. “Maura should be decently covered.”
“For what?” Eirena regarded the two women with a suspicious expression.
“Perhaps she will want to go to church.”
“Could I? That would be lovely. I know it’s different from the church I am accustomed to, but at least it is Christian. May I go with you, Eirena?” Maura’s pale gray eyes were wide and innocent.
“Oh. Well, yes, once you have a respectable dress and a cloak. I hadn’t thought of that.” And that was the end of Eirena’s protests for the moment.
It was later in the morning when Lenora, bored with the chatter of the seamstresses who had cluttered every corner of her room with their work, went looking for Erik. She found him with Eirena in a chamber off the inner courtyard.
Lenora had quickly learned that in the Panopoulos house information was usually gained by eavesdropping on the conversations of others rather than from an open exchange of facts or plans. She had been repeatedly shocked at finding servants -and on several occasions Eirena herself – listening at partly closed doors or behind pillars. Lenora had done this for the first time the evening before, with Maura, as almost by accident they had overheard Basil and Erik. Now, more deliberately, Lenora stood in the empty courtyard and listened to Eirena and Erik. They were discussing her.
“Shameful,” Eirena was saying. “If my personal maid is talking about it, you may be certain all the other servants know. Lenora does not set a good example.”
“Then neither do I, for I was with her, and she was in my room. She has been my slave for well over a year now, and we have—”
“Lenora is a slave?” Eirena was horrified. “But she is a Christian. Not Orthodox, but Christian nonetheless. It is only acceptable to have heathen slaves. You must free her at once.”
“Must I?” Erik sounded amused.
Eirena changed the subject abruptly. “I have a plan, Erik. I know how you can stay in Constantinople and go into partnership with Basil as you wanted. It is very simple.”
“I’m surprised to hear that. I would expect any plan you concocted to be intricate and totally clandestine.”
“Erik, be serious.”
“I am. I know you. I have been here before, remember?”
“I remember. I remember an evening at our villa on the Bosporus, when the moon was dark.” Eirena paused suggestively.
“Tell me your simple plan.” Erik’s voice was businesslike.
“You will become an Orthodox Christian. Then you and I will marry. Once you are the husband of a respectable woman of Constantinople and the brother-in-law of Basil Panopoulos, it will not be difficult for you to become a citizen. After that, you may stay in Constantinople for the rest of your life.”
Lenora, listening outside the door, was livid with anger. Instead of bursting into the room and confronting Eirena, however, she clamped her hands over her mouth to smother any sound she might make and forced herself to listen as Erik made his calm reply.
“You make it sound very easy. I doubt matters could be arranged as smoothly as you suggest.”
“In the past,” Eirena said, “prisoners of war have been baptized and granted citizenship. If our former enemies can do it, why not an honest trader from the northlands who comes in friendship? Once you are his brother by marriage, Basil will admit you to all of his business secrets. He is much richer than you imagine.”
“Indeed? This is all very interesting.”
“And you will have me.” Eirena said this as though it were the final, irresistible inducement to Erik joining her scheme.
Lenora peered around the edge of the doorway. She saw Eirena’s hand snake out in a graceful motion and rest on Erik’s arm as she gazed at him with her face upturned.
“You will find me a compliant wife, Erik.”
“Compliant? You?”
“We have kissed, and although we never went beyond that, you know I can be warm.”
“A warm and compliant wife,” Erik mused, looking down at her with a half-smile.
“And,” Eirena went on, “I know a lot more about Basil’s business than he suspects. With my help you could take the business from him and make yourself a wealthy man. We would do it slowly, so he wouldn’t notice, but in a few years it would all be ours.”
“You are an amazing woman, Eirena.”
“Thank you. I do make one condition to this plan, however. Lenora must leave Constantinople. I do not want your cast-off mistress making trouble or causing me any embarrassment.”
“What do you suggest I do with her?”
“Free her and give her a little gold. She could go back to Kiev with your friend Harald the merchant, or take passage by ship to Venice and from there return to her homeland. But from the day we are betrothed, you are never to see her again.”
“And what of Maura?”
“Maura is of no importance. It is obvious she has never been your mistress. Maura is free to do whatever she wants.”
“That’s very generous of you.”
“Are we agreed then? We can tell Basil at once.”
“I think we should wait.”
“Wait? Why? Is this not a good plan?”
“It is a remarkable plan, Eirena. I compliment you on your cleverness. But you must see it would not be wise to be too hasty. There is the matter of my conversion. Surely you don’t want me to accept your faith without thought, without careful contemplation of what such a step means?”
“Of course not, but-”
“And then there is Basil. We should tread cautiously where he is concerned. I have already talked with him about a partnership and he has refused. I must not seem too eager or he may become suspicious and forbid you to marry me.”
“I have thought of that. I can handle Basil.”
“Before we say anything to anyone let me think over everything you have said. In a few days we will talk again and decide exactly what to do.”
“Very well, if that is what you want. I’ll do whatever will please you. Kiss me, Erik. I want you to kiss me. I have waited for you for five long years.” Eirena strained upward, reaching for Erik’s mouth.
He did not embrace her. He took her hands instead, and kissed each one. Then, dropping them, he moved apart from her.
“I dare not do more than this,” he said softly. “If I were to touch you now, I might not be able to control myself. Who knows what I might do?”
Eirena bowed her head in agreement. “I understand,” she said.
“Do you? I wonder. Excuse me now, Eirena.” And with that, he was gone.
Eirena drew a deep breath. “Good,” she said, so softly that Lenora, still watching and listening outside the courtyard door, had to strain to hear her. “It won’t be long now and he will be mine, and that miserable slave-girl will be gone.”
Lenora saw Eirena spin around as Basil entered the room.
“Where is Maura?” he demanded. “I want to speak with her.”
“She is still with the seamstresses. What are you going to do, Basil, make her your mistress? I have never known you to waste money on a woman before.”
“Mistress? Certainly not. I feel sorry for her. The poor woman has had a dreadful time. Her husband and child slaughtered before her very eyes, herself half-starved and forced to make a long journey through a dangerous wilderness; it’s a miracle she survived. She deserves a few pretty things after all that.”
Eirena wasn’t really listening. “I have some news for you,” she said. “Erik has asked me to marry him.”
“What? How dare he? I forbid it. I won’t
have my sister marrying a barbarian.”
“It’s not such a bad idea, you know. If – I say only if – I were to accept him, you could use his connections with the Rus to make even more money. And use them as a political lever. Imagine having a monopoly on furs and amber.”
“Too much prominence is a danger. The government would keep an even closer watch on my activities than it does now.”
“You could find ways around that problem. Basil, consider the possibilities.”
“I am considering them. What did you tell Erik?”
“That I needed time to think about his proposal. I wanted to talk to you first.”
“How do you feel about Erik? About being his wife?”
“I will do whatever I must. Like most northerners, he is transparently open and honest. I’ll be able to manipulate him easily.”
“Hmm. Well, I must think about this. If he presses you for an answer, make some excuse to delay.”
“Basil, don’t tell him I’ve reported this to you. His feelings might be hurt. He was very emotional when he proposed.”
Brother and sister left the room together, and Lenora, deep in thought and appalled at Eirena’s lies, made her way back to the chamber she shared with Maura.
The seamstresses had left. Maura sat in a carved chair, idly turning a scrap of brocaded fabric over and over, her face serious.
“Basil is very kind to me,” she said.
“Be careful, Maura. In this house people are not always what they appear to be.”
“I am certain he would never hurt me.” Maura’s pale gray eyes were soft. “Basil is a good man.”
“All the same,” Lenora cautioned, “be careful.”
* * *
Lenora was not sure what excuses Erik had made, but there was no objection when she announced she was going for a walk with him. She met him in the entrance hall at midday and together they left the Panopoulos house.
The late September day was cool, with gray clouds scudding across the wind-whipped sky, but Lenora did not care about the weather. She pulled her borrowed cloak about her and looked around, trying to absorb as many details of the city as she possibly could. Erik kept his hand firmly on her elbow, guiding her through narrow, crowded streets to a tiny brick church.
As they entered Lenora blinked several times, trying to adjust to the dim light inside. Except for one black-robed priest kneeling in prayer before the altar, the building was deserted. A deep silence filled the little church, the more noticeable for its contrast with the noisy street outside. Painted figures of saints, highlighted with gold, lined the walls, and a red glass lamp suspended from a gold chain glowed before the iconostasis at the far end of the nave. Incense hung heavy in the still air.
“Remember it well,” Erik told her softly. ”Eirena is sure to question you about it, just to be certain you really were here.” He led her to one side, where they stood sheltered under a rounded Roman arch, hidden from the view of anyone entering the church but able to see who came and went.
“I must warn you,” Erik began, “not to trust anyone in Basil’s house.”
“Are you going to marry Eirena?”
He looked astonished. “Have you been spying?” he said. “How much do you know?”
“Enough to be certain Eirena will betray you.” And she told Erik what she had heard that morning.
“I thought so,” he muttered. He slapped one hand against the plastered arch, then leaned his forehead on his hand.
Lenora watched him, knowing he was making an important decision, waiting patiently until at last he straightened and faced her again.
“We cannot stay in this city,” he said. ”I thought we could. I thought we would all be safe here, and that I could work with Basil. But I hate the rules and restrictions on merchants, I loathe their mean-minded intrigues, I despise their corrupt officials. What a fool I’ve been. How I long to breathe clean northern air again!”
“Then you won’t marry Eirena?”
“Marry a woman who would plot against her own brother, then turn around and betray her intended husband? I’m a fool, but not a madman. I never planned to marry her, and never gave her reason to think I would. One kiss five years ago is hardly a proposal. Besides,” he looked deep into Lenora’s eyes, “how could I agree never to see you again?”
Her heart pounding hard in response to his words and the tender tone he used, Lenora raised one hand to brush his cheek. He pressed his lips against her fingers.
“What shall we do?” she asked. “Can we go back to Kiev with Harald? If we did, we would be going to meet Snorri, I think.”
“Kiev isn’t the only place in the world.”
“I know that look, Erik. What are you planning?”
He grinned at her with a touch of his old humor. “I’ll tell you later, Trust me.”
“I do. You are the only person in this entire city I do trust. Even Maura is behaving strangely.”
“Maura.” Erik chuckled. “I don’t think we will have to worry about her too much longer. Basil asked me about her this morning, wanting to confirm what she has said about her recent past. I told him she is a free woman of good family and a Christian widow. I think he plans to marry her in time.”
“Marry Maura? But she’s so timid, and so afraid of men.”
“Not of Basil. You saw them last night. He is wooing her in the cleverest way possible. He makes her feel safe, and pampers her with new clothes and attention.”
“A few baubles and clothes wouldn’t win me,” Lenora stated.
“You, my sweet, are made of stronger stuff than Maura. We should both remember how harshly she was been treated since she was taken from her home, and how completely her spirit was broken. Basil is repairing that damage and I am happy to see it.”
As Erik smiled down at her, Lenora realized again, with a sudden constriction of her heart, just how handsome he was, and how precious to her. He towered above her, his black, smoothly brushed hair shadowing his tanned face. That streak of white, toward which her eyes were always drawn, caught a shaft of light from a window set high in the church wall. His emerald eyes watched her with an expression of great tenderness. She swayed toward him. His hands took her shoulders and pulled her to him. His lips brushed hers as he folded her against his chest.
“This is not the right place,” he whispered, “but how I want you, Lenora. How good it is to know that you are an honest woman.”
She knew he was thinking of Eirena.
Erik released her as they heard a step behind them, and a priest came into view. Under his disapproving eye they hastily left the church.
“There is one matter on which I do agree with Eirena,” Lenora said as they walked along. “You should free me, Erik.”
“I will do so as soon as it is safe,” he replied. “For the moment it is better for you to be my slave. No one thinks it strange for a man to take his property with him when he travels.”
She slipped her hand into his, feeling the strength of his long fingers as they closed around her softer ones.
“Are we going to travel?” she asked.
“What do you think?” he teased.
* * *
A few days later Maura was given her own room.
“It’s lovely,” Lenora said, admiring the marble floor and the view of the Sea of Marmora from the three tall windows along one wall. A mural covering two walls depicted a lush garden with trees and flowers in brilliant greens, yellows, and reds. A large, comfortable bed was draped in deep green silk. There were carved wooden chairs inlaid with ivory, and several low tables adorned with enamel plaques of bright-colored design. Many of the furnishings, and the silks, were obviously new.
A servant was busily putting away the first of Maura’s new gowns, which had arrived from the seamstress that afternoon. After the woman finished and left the room, Lenora spoke more freely.
“Basil must be growing fond of you if he gives you a chamber as rich as this.”
“He is so kind.
You know how frightened I have been, Lenora, but here with Basil I feel safe. Basil says that is right and proper, that women shouldn’t flaunt themselves in public, that it is good I want to stay inside the house. He says he will always protect me.”
“Will you marry him?”
Maura blushed a deep red.
“I don’t know. Perhaps, if he asks me. When I came here I wanted nothing more to do with men, not after Snorri and Sven treated me so badly. But Basil is different.” Maura blushed again.
“He kissed me last night,” she confessed, “and I liked it. Yes, I may marry him in time.”
The amazing thing, Lenora thought, was not that Maura had so quickly learned to care for Basil, but that Eirena seemed to have no idea what was going on between her brother and Maura. Eirena was only interested in Erik and in her own plans. She complained briefly at dinner about Maura having her own room, made a sarcastic comment about Maura’s new blue-and-gold brocade gown, and then dropped the entire subject. Lenora, catching Erik’s glance across the table, imagined she saw a thoughtful twinkle in his green eyes.
Late that night, as Lenora lay alone in the bed she had previously shared with Maura, there was a light knock at her door and Erik slipped inside.
She sat up in surprise and would have gotten out of bed.
“Hush,” he warned, a finger over his lips.
In an instant he was beside her, his mouth stopping her exclamation of joy at his presence. He pushed her down onto the silken sheets, pressing his hard, passionately erect body over hers. She responded to his touch with a sudden, fiery desire that would not wait. She clutched at him, pulling aside the short tunic he wore.
“Hurry,” she moaned, now tearing at her own sheer linen nightgown with her free hand, pulling him toward her with the other. “Oh, please, my darling, hurry.”
He answered with a triumphant laugh just before his mouth seared hers with a passion that answered her own. She felt him enter her and move once, twice, and then she was plunged into a blinding white heat of sensual delirium that exploded with such force, it threatened to destroy her. Her nails raked at his back as she pushed upward against him, consumed by urgent need.