The Sixth Discipline
Page 45
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Ran-Del had thought his prison quarters had been the height of luxury. One glance at Francesca’s rooms changed his mind. The entrance was a small room in itself, with pictures on the walls and colorful flowers in vases on two small tables. From there he stepped into a spacious sitting room full of gracefully grouped sofas and tables. Windowed doors on the far wall opened onto a broad stone terrace where bushes and flowering plants softened the straight line of a low brick wall. Beyond the terrace, Ran-Del saw a large garden laid out in formal lines.
“The bedroom’s through here,” Francesca said, walking through the sitting room to open a wide doorway.
Ran-Del followed her into a large room where the walls were hung with pale blue fabric. The same color hangings draped the enormous bed. A stone fireplace took up most of one wall. On the opposite wall, the doorway to an opulent bathroom was just a wide archway with no door. In addition to a shower, Ran-Del could see a raised stone bathing tub with a skylight over it.
“This is it,” Francesca said. “Do you want to share these quarters with me, or would you like your own?”
It struck Ran-Del as a foolish question. “We’re betrothed. We must share the same living space.”
She nodded, a hint of satisfaction in the curve of her mouth. “That’s settled then. I’ll get us some tea.”
She stepped back into the sitting room and opened a cupboard in a small nook. Ran-Del followed her and sat down, bemused, taking in the statues on the tables, the paintings and tapestries on the walls. So many things to look at, so many things to learn. A minute later, Francesca handed him a mug of dark, fragrant liquid.
Ran-Del took it thankfully. In spite of the speed with which she had produced it, it was the most familiar thing he had encountered so far.
“I’m going to change,” Francesca announced. “I won’t be a moment.”
Ran-Del sipped his tea and watched her disappear through the bedroom door. So this was home? He would get used to it eventually. The terrace made a better view than the walled courtyard—less closed in.
“Now,” Francesca said, coming back into the room in her city clothes, “let’s talk about you, Ran-Del.”
“What about me?” Ran-Del asked as she sat down on the sofa across from him.
“There’s a lot you need to learn,” Francesca said, with something of her father’s briskness. “We need a plan. We need to determine what you need to know, and then figure out the best way for you to learn it.”
She paused, but Ran-Del made no comment. He wanted to see what her plan would entail.
“The first thing,” Francesca said, “is for you to learn to read and write. We can get you a tutor if you like, or if you prefer, there are automated programs that can teach you all by yourself, on an educational terminal.”
It sounded not only intimidating but humiliating. She wanted to put him at the mercy of machines. “No.”
“You’d rather have a tutor?”
“No,” Ran-Del said, setting down his cup of tea. “I don’t want a tutor, and I don’t want one of your machines.”
Francesca's mouth set in a straight line. “Then how do you propose to learn to read and write?”
“I don’t propose to learn at all. I’m a grown man. I have no intention of being turned back into a child with teachers and lessons. I’ve lived this long without reading, and I shall do well enough without it in the future.”
Francesca frowned, looking more like her father than ever. “Don’t be stubborn, Ran-Del. You’ve never lived in the city before, so you didn’t need to know how to read. Now you do.”
It struck Ran-Del as a sweeping statement, delivered with no supporting evidence. “Why?”
Francesca gave a small sigh of annoyance. “So you can read books and learn things, for one thing. So I can leave you a message for another.”
Ran-Del was happy her requirements were so easy to refute. “I have no desire to read books. And don’t you have a way to leave a message that doesn’t require reading?”
“Well, yes, of course,” Francesca said, annoyance giving way to exasperation. “I could always record a message instead of writing it, but you still need to learn how to read.”
Ran-Del began to enjoy himself. “Why? Give me a reason why it’s necessary—not merely convenient for you but necessary.”
“So you can get around in the city,” Francesca said triumphantly. “You don’t want to be stuck here in the complex all day. If you want to go out into the city, you need to know how to read.”
“Why do I need to know how to read to walk around in the city?”
“So you won’t get lost, and so you can tell a restaurant from a clothing store or a bar.”
She had to explain what those establishments were before Ran-Del could present his counter-arguments.
“Reading still doesn’t matter,” he said imperturbably. “I have a very good sense of direction, so I won’t get lost, and I have no money, so I won’t be going into any of those places.”
Francesca clenched her teeth together. Ran-Del could sense her rising vexation quite easily, but it didn’t sway him in the least.
“See here, Ran-Del Jahanpur,” she said, “if you’re going to be part of our family, then you’re going to have to unbend enough to accept what you need from us, and that includes money.”
“No.”
“Damn it!” Francesca said angrily. “Will you put away that stupid Sansoussy pride and admit that you can’t survive in this city without help? I needed you out on the plains; you need me here. Is that so terrible?”
“No. I’ll accept your help, Francesca, but I won’t take your money.” Ran-Del got to his feet and moved to the door to the terrace. He looked out at the Hayden compound. It seemed odd to see it and know that he could walk out into it any time he wanted. “We trade for our metal goods from peddlers from the cities so I know about money; I know some people will do anything to get it, and some people think they never have enough of it.” He turned back to Francesca. “I also know that it must be earned honestly or it corrupts. I haven’t done anything to earn money, and I won’t take it from you.”
She argued with him for quite some time, but Ran-Del held firm. He went back to his chair and finished his tea, but he refused to learn to read or to accept money from Francesca or her father.
Francesca was livid. “This is senseless! You’re just being proud and stubborn, Ran-Del, and I have no patience with you at all!”
“You’ll have to learn patience, then,” Ran-Del said, still calm, “because I don’t intend to change to please you.”
Francesca jumped up from the sofa and began to pace back and forth, cursing.
Ran-Del watched her, as unmoved by her profanity as he had been by her arguments. “Among the Sansoussy, women don’t swear in front of men.”
“We are not among the Sansoussy,” Francesca retorted. “I wish you could get that through your thick head!”
Ran-Del stood up. He didn’t mind arguing with her, but he didn’t like having to look up. “I’m quite aware of where I am. It’s hard not to be, when all I see are strange things and strange people.”
Francesca stopped pacing and looked at him. “I suppose we must look as strange to you as everyone in your village looked to me.” She surveyed him from head to toe. “What about clothes, Ran-Del? Are you going to be stubborn about that, too?”
Ran-Del shrugged with indifference. “Clothes don’t matter. I’ll wear what you think is best. I have no desire to attract undue attention.”
Francesca was still staring at him. She moved closer to him almost reluctantly. “You would attract attention. The Sansoussy don’t seem to feel a need to cover nearly as much we do in the city.”
“Not in the summer,” Ran-Del said.
Francesca was close enough to touch him now. He could feel warm waves of desire radiating from her. “I’m glad I met you in the summertime.” She slipped her hands inside his vest and then slid it from his shoulders.<
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Even having sensed her passion, Ran-Del was still surprised. “I thought you were angry at me?”
“I was—I am.” She ran her hands up and down his bare back. “It’s just difficult to remember it at the moment.”
Her stroking made Ran-Del's passion rise suddenly. He put his arms around her and pulled her close. “I know exactly what you mean.”
Francesca reached up and pulled his head down to kiss him. “Damn. We’ll be late for dinner.”
Ran-Del was too busy figuring out how to remove her city clothes to pay any attention to what she was saying. Living in the city had some compensations.