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By the time dinner is ready, I’m on the other side of tipsy and inordinately pleased that Daysa lets me help her serve the food. It’s wonderful to feel included.
Placing a trencher filled with roast pork, potatoes, and carrots in front of Luka, I lean into him subtly. “My deve.” Our eyes meet and I swear I see want there.
“Princess,” he rumbles, “are you well?”
“Yes,” I reply innocently. “Why do you ask?”
He quirks a brow. “No reason. Get your food and come and eat with me.”
Goodness but the man is handsome. “Okay.”
Eldon’s booming laugh fills the room, scaring me.
“You can keep your mouth shut,” Luka tells him, his voice all jagged edges.
“I haven’t said a single word, cousin,” Eldon shoots back. “Actually, I think I’ve held back so well all evening that you’ll be sending over another jug of this fine drink we’ve been enjoying.”
“We’ll see.”
I’m not sure what they’re talking about, but I smile anyway, happily muddled by the wine. When I finally sit with my food and take my first bite, I moan. “Ohhh. This is so good.”
Eldon lets loose another half-drunken laugh. “Does the deve not feed you, Rina?”
“Oh, you know,” I say with a slight wave of my hand. “I’m sure I eat better than the pigs themselves, but this,” I take another bite, “is divine.”
Through gritted teeth, Luka says, “I found out Noé had her on prisoner’s rations.”
Eldon winces. “Remind me never to get on that man’s bad side. He can be a right bastard when the mood strikes.”
Dinner is a boisterous affair, one I enjoy more than any other in my life. Even when Luka says I’ve had enough wine. Even when Eldon makes fun of my southern accent. Even when Trudy asks when we’re to be married. I love every moment.
Later, after the children are put to bed in the back room, Eldon pulls Daysa down onto his lap and begins to whisper sweet nothings to her.
I turn away to give them privacy, but Luka chokes on a laugh. “Are three children not enough for you, cousin?”
“Not nearly.” He doesn’t bother to lift his head from Daysa’s neck. “You’ll see.”
“See what?” Luka swirls the last of his wine in his cup.
“See that there’snothingbetter than fucking a baby into your woman’s belly.”
My mouth falls open and the low-level arousal I’ve been feeling all night ratchets up a few notches.
“Well,” Luka drawls. “As much as I’d like to stay and watch this play out, I’ll take that as our cue to leave.”
Daysa’s intoxicated titters are overshadowed by Eldon’s possessive growl as he pulls his wife closer. “You weren’t invited to watch. Though I’m sure you’d learn a thing or two.”
Luka pushes to his feet as he laughs, and again, I marvel at the sound. “Cousin, I suppose if I were to take lessons, it would be from you since there’s so much proof of your expertise.”
Clearly pleased, in a drunk, glassy-eyed kind of way, Eldon reaches for the hem of his wife’s dress. Daysa swats at his hand good-naturedly, saying, “For the love of all that is sacred, go and saddle the horses, while I fetch a cloak for our a’deve.”
My protestations that I don’t need one go unheeded as Eldon and Luka slip out into the night to ready the horses and Daysa disappears into the back room. When she returns, I’m studying the half-finished fabric on her loom. She’s woven a clever pattern into her work. “This is beautiful,” I tell her, skimming the wool with my fingertips.
“Thank you.”
“I can spin like most women, but I haven’t had much opportunity to learn to weave. Do you think you could teach me if the opportunity presented itself?”
“Oh, well I, I wouldn’t –” she stammers.
