Текст книги "Tiger Prince "
Автор книги: Iris Johansen
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Текущая страница: 19 (всего у книги 28 страниц)
"I dream about it every night now. Do you remember when as children on fine days we would go and sit on the hill among the heather?"
"Aye."
"I think it will be like that, peaceful and full of light and happiness." Ian brushed her hair back from her face. "It's waiting for me."
"Then let it wait another fifty years," she said fiercely. "We will fool it. You will grow stronger every single day and there will be a child for Glenclaren and we will—" He was shaking his head. "It will happen. I'll make it happen." She buried her face on his chest, the fear and desperation mounting within her.
"Why, you're trembling, Margaret." His breath feathered the top of her head. "You mustn't upset yourself. All is well. Go to sleep, love."
How could she sleep? He had said all was well, but he had not promised to fight to stay with her and he was wandering farther down that other path with every passing day.
He drifted off to sleep a few minutes later, but she lay staring into the darkness, rigid with fear, holding him.
"You must stop work at once." Margaret swept into Kartauk's workroom and shut the door. "I have to talk to you."
"Oh, must I?" Kartauk asked as he wiped his hands on a towel. "Since you've not deigned to visit me since we've arrived in Cinnidar, I assume it is on a subject of no mean importance."
"Of course it is. I don't waste time on trivial matters." She smoothed the skirt of her gown and sat down on a cushioned fan chair. She glanced around at the gleaming white mosaic floor and walls and multitude of windows whose latticed shutters were thrown wide to let in the sunlight. The furniture was simple but finely crafted, the chamber completely unlike his room at the stable, which she had gradually come to think of as a haven. She forced a smile. "This room is really quite pleasant. I was afraid you'd make a shambles of it as you did your workroom at Glenclaren."
"I've been here only two months. It takes even me an extended period of time to create such glorious disarray."
"Where is your furnace?"
Kartauk nodded to the french doors leading to the veranda. "Ruel had a special cottage built away from the main house. He said he wasn't going to risk me tearing down any of his walls or burning up his palace."
"Very sensible." She straightened the lace on her sleeve. "I suppose you're enjoying dabbling with your precious gold. It seems a hedonistic extravagance when one considers—"
"Why are you here, madam?"
She frowned. "I was getting to it."
"Not with any great speed. I need to finish this frieze before nightfall."
"It's early morning."
"Exactly. Is it Ian?"
"Partly."
"I take it he has not taken a turn for the worse, or you would not be here. Are you satisfied with Tamar's care of him?"
"Tamar? The man is a paragon. Ian has only to lift an eyebrow and Tamar rushes to obey. Jock has nothing to do anymore." She noticed the dog lying slumbering at Kartauk's feet. "What is Sam doing here? I thought he was in the stable."
"Jane asked me to keep him. She has no faith in his intelligence. She was afraid he would start chasing a squirrel and fall off into the canyon."
"A distinct possibility." She smoothed the hair at her temple. "Are you not going to have the courtesy to ask me to have a cup of that foul liquid you call coffee?"
"No, your hand is trembling so much you would probably drop the cup."
"Nonsense." She quickly clasped her hands together in her lap. "What sort of frieze? Are you going to—"
"You did not come here to discuss my 'dabbles,'" Kartauk interrupted. "Has Ian had a setback?"
"No, he is the same." She looked down at her hands. "But he is—" She stopped and then started again. "I'm going to have a child."
He went still. "You told me the physician said that was not possible for Ian."
"He did." She could feel the heat in her cheeks and knew those annoyingly keen eyes would notice her discomposure as he noticed everything about her. "But it must happen. You must make it happen."
He swore beneath his breath and then said caustically, "And how am I to do that? It is one thing to instruct you on the art of arousing and satisfying a man, but I have no magic incantation I can mumble to make Ian able to impregnate you. Am I supposed to—"
"Be silent," she snapped. "There's no reason for you to be testy. If you will listen, instead of ranting at me, I will tell you what I need of you."
He sat down on his stool and looked at her. "By all means, proceed."
"Ian is ... I cannot . . ." She drew a deep breath. "If I do not give Ian a reason to live, he will die. He needs a child."
Kartauk made no comment, waiting.
"Since God has not seen fit to grant us this boon, I've decided to take matters into my own hands." She looked straight ahead and asked quickly, "Will you mate with me, Kartauk?"
He went still. "What?"
She rushed on. "Only until the babe is conceived. After that, I will not trouble you further."
Silence. Why did he not speak? Though she was not looking at him, she could feel waves of emotion sweeping from him.
He said slowly, each word enunciated precisely, "You are saying I'm to father an infant which you will then pass off as your husband's?"
She nodded jerkily.
"And may I ask why you have chosen me to act as stud to your mare?"
"Don't be crude." She moistened her lips. "You seem to be the reasonable choice. I believe you have a fondness for Ian. You're strong in body and mind and capable of fathering a fine bairn."
"Anything else?"
"It should be no hardship for you. You can't deny you have a lustful nature. Ellen MacTavish and those other women were—"
"Look at me."
"If it wasn't necessary, I wouldn't do this. A child is nec—"
"Look at me, madam."
She reluctantly shifted her gaze to his face. Anger. She had never seen Kartauk in a rage before, but she saw it now.
"You will not use me, madam."
"It's not such a terrible ... It has to be you. I thought of Ruel, but I—"
"Ruel!"
"He, too, has a lustful nature and he might do it to save Ian, but I could not place that burden on him."
"What burden?"
"Adultery," she whispered. "It's a terrible sin and one I don't expect God to forgive. It is better I suffer his anger alone."
His lips twisted. "And you think me too much of a heathen for God to notice my transgressions?"
"It would be an act of mercy on your part. God would surely understand you're not at fault."
"Dear God, now bedding you is an act of mercy! You're a mad woman."
"When I first realized I might have to do this, I thought perhaps I was mad." She had to stop to steady her voice. "But I've pondered long and hard and there's no other solution. This must be done. Do you think asking you was easy?"
"I've not noticed you asking me. You've only told me what I must do."
"I did not mean to be rude. It is my way to be blunt."
Abruptly his anger vanished and his expression softened. "I know. Blunt, sharp-tongued, and giving. Well, you cannot give Ian his child." He raised his hand to stop her as she opened her lips to protest. "I won't do it, madam."
"Why? Ian will be destroyed if I don't do this."
"And you'll be destroyed if you do. I know you well. You try to bend that straight moral backbone and you'll shatter." He moved toward her. "I'll have no part of it. I have never had a taste for destruction. I ran away from Abdar to avoid it, and I will not help you embrace it."
"I've made my decision, Kartauk."
"Which requires my cooperation." He looked down at her. "No, madam, you'll get no child from me."
He was close enough to her so she could smell the scent of soap, coffee, and clay that clung to him and see the pulse pounding in his strong brown throat and the distended veins in his muscular forearms. She had a sudden sensation of unfamiliarity. She was acutely conscious of his bigness, the wideness of his shoulders, the massive strength of his calves and thighs in the loose trousers, the craggy strength of his features. She felt a sudden flutter of apprehension before she firmly dismissed it as imagination. This was the Kartauk she had known for three years. Her uneasiness must be derived from the prospect of the intimacy she had proposed. "There is another reason I chose you," she said haltingly. "I regard you as my friend. I have had very few friends in my life. I hope I'm not mistaken."
"Mother of God!" His hands hovered over her shoulders as if he'd like to shake her.
"You appear to have an uncommon understanding of me." She blinked rapidly to rid her eyes of tears. "This will be a most difficult undertaking, and it would comfort me to have you with me in this."
His hands clenched and then dropped to his sides. "Go away, madam."
"We haven't finished our discussion. I can't leave until we come to an agreement."
"We are not going to come to an agreement."
"It is necessary we do so. I realize what I propose is neither virtuous nor Christian, but somehow I believe it's right. If there is a child, Ian will live. Can it be so wicked to save a life?"
"Leave me."
"I have no fondness for the act, but Ian seems to think I perform it well. I'll do everything you've instructed me to do and it should not be too unpleasant for you."
He jerked her to her feet and propelled her toward the door.
"I know I'm not bonnie like Ellen MacTavish, but I will endeavor to—"
"My dear madam." He opened the door and pushed her out into the hall. "You're not at all bonnie and as far from the likes of Ellen MacTavish as Cinnidar is from Scotland."
She felt a queer pang even as she drew herself up and stared determinedly at him. "Bonnie or not, it won't hurt you to accommodate me until I'm with child. I shall not insist on any immediate consummation. I, too, must become accustomed to the idea of—" She hesitated.
"Fornicating."
"Conceiving. I'm sure we will both be more comfortable if we make an effort to more fully understand each other. You might make a start by calling me Margaret." She turned and walked down the hall. "I'll pay you another visit tomorrow. Good day, Kartauk."
"Good-bye, madam. Don't return." The door slammed behind her.
Kartauk stared at her coldly. "I told you not to come back. I have no time for your nonsense."
"I will be no bother." Margaret closed the door and moved toward him. "I understand that you have no interest in anything but your work and I've thought of a way to accomplish both our aims."
"I can hardly wait to hear what it is."
"I shall help you." She rolled up the sleeves of her gown. "This is the time of morning Jock gives Ian his bath and after that he takes a nap, so I have three hours free. I will come here every day and aid you in fashioning your dabbles."
He gazed blankly at her. "You're offering yourself as my apprentice?"
"If that is what it's called. We will also talk and become better accustomed to each other's ways. Now, what do I do first?"
"Leave."
"Why do you wear that leather apron? Should I have one on also?"
"I require no apprentice."
"Of course you do. I'm sure every craftsman has an acolyte to do menial tasks. I will sweep and—" She paused, uncertain, before adding vaguely, "Hold things."
"I could have one of Ruel's servants do that."
"But you wouldn't trust them in the same room with one of your precious models," she said triumphantly. "You know I'm not clumsy and would take care not to damage any of your dabbles."
"Madam, I do not . . ." He tried a new direction. "Your plan is without purpose. You have visited me many times during the past three years. I'm sure we have no more to learn about each other."
"You believe you know me, but I have a great deal to learn about you. I was the one who always talked. You asked questions and I answered."
"Sometimes with much reluctance."
"It is not my nature to confide in all and sundry. It was difficult for me to—but you know that." She added wistfully, "You have been very kind to me in the past. Why can't you be kind to me now?"
"I am being kind to you. More than you know." He gazed at her a long moment. "You're a very obstinate woman. You're not going to give up on this, are you?"
"Certainly not."
He threw up his hands. "Oh, very well."
Her eyes widened. "You mean you'll—"
"Not that, dammit," he said quickly. "I mean I'll take you to apprentice. If I do not keep you busy, you'll only sit and stare and plague me with chatter."
"I do not chatter." She had not realized he had regarded her confidences as chatter and the knowledge gave her a hurtful pang. She said stiltedly, "Though I can see how you would think me verbose. I should not have afflicted my ramblings on you. Please forgive me."
"You did not force them on me, I took them," he said curtly. "And, by God, you needed me to take them. I was your priest in the confessional. I gave you haven and absolution. Have you considered if I did what you asked of me that I would no longer fulfill that need? Your haven would be gone."
She felt a surge of loneliness at the thought. "Ian's need is greater than mine."
"You're a foolish woman. You gave years of service to a selfish father only because he seeded the woman who bore you and now you wish to sacrifice yourself for Ian." He paused and then added deliberately, "And all because you feel guilt that you do not love them enough."
She gazed at him, shocked. "I did love them."
He shook his head. "Love must be nurtured and your father gave you nothing in return."
She could not deny that truth. "But Ian is—"
"You loved Ian as a playmate and a friend. In time it might have changed, but because of the accident he also became your child. That's what he is now, a beloved child who must be protected."
"You lie," she said fiercely. "He is my husband and I love him with my whole heart."
"Not with your whole heart, that's why guilt is making you willing to destroy yourself to make amends to him."
"It's not true," she whispered. "You should not say such things."
"Why not?" He smiled recklessly. "I've always known however honest you are with others you've never been honest with yourself."
"Then why did you not state your views before?"
"You're a rare and splendid woman, and I had no desire to hurt you." He met her gaze directly. "But, if you continue on this course you've set, I will never let you hide again. Build a wall and I'll tear it down. Tell me a half-truth and I'll probe and rip until the entire truth is laid bare. No more comfort. No more haven."
She had never felt more vulnerable or frightened. She smiled with great effort. "Life should be faced head-on. I'm a woman grown and need no havens. You're wrong about me, Kartauk."
"And you're willing to risk learning I'm right?"
"Since it's not true, there is no risk." She took a step closer to the table and looked down at the frieze. "Now tell me what the markings on this dabble are supposed to represent."
He did not immediately answer, and she looked up to see him watching her, smiling faintly. "You will no longer refer to my work as 'dabbles,' madam."
"Margaret," she corrected him. "And I will speak my mind as I see fit."
"No, from this day forward you will speak only the truth. You have a great appreciation for my work, for all beauty. Perhaps a greater appreciation than anyone have ever known."
"Why do you say that?" she asked warily.
"I have seen you look at a sunset." He added softly, "And I have seen you look at my 'dabbles.' "
She felt a tiny flicker of alarm. She had realized how insightful he could be, but he had never indicated he had seen this deeply. "Why should I pretend not to admire something when I do?"
"Perhaps because beauty can hurt as well as please. Perhaps because you consider such a love of beauty a softness that would get in the way of your revered duty."
"That is not—" She stopped, feeling more helpless and unsure than she had since she was a small child.
"No haven, madam." He added softly, "And no mercy."
"I have asked for neither." She glanced away from him. "You did not answer me. Will I need one of those leather aprons you wear?"
"By all means." His smile contained an element of sadness as he reached in the cabinet beneath his table, drew out an apron, and handed it to her. "We must not have you soiling yourself. You clearly have an impulsive nature that leads to such disasters."
Screams . . . thunder . . .
Jarred from sleep, Jane jerked upright on her cot.
The scream came again and was followed immediately by the thunder.
"Come!" Li Sung burst into her tent. "Hurry. The tracks."
Li Sung, who was never armed, was carrying a rifle. She threw the covers aside and quickly thrust her feet into her boots. "What's happening? What is it?"
"Elephant."
The scream came again, wild, angry, demonic. "That couldn't be an elephant. It doesn't sound like anything we've heard before." She jumped to her feet and ran toward the tent opening.
"Dilam says it's a rogue."
She caught sight of Dilam running down the rows of sleeping workers, torch in hand, rousing them. "Forget that," she called. "Come with us. We may need you."
Dilam nodded, and the next moment she was beside her. They ran down the tracks in the direction from which the screaming was coming with Li Sung limping as quickly as he could behind.
"What the devil is a rogue?" she asked tersely.
"An elephant that has been cast out from the herd," Dilam said. "Sometimes he goes mad with loneliness. Very dangerous."
The scream came again. Closer.
Then a grinding metallic noise frightened her more than the enraged trumpeting. "Dammit, he's tearing up my tracks!"
They rounded a corner and Jane caught her first sight of the elephant.
He was a huge gray-brown monster with one tattered ear. He stood with a section of a rail in his trunk, and as she watched he hurled it away from him as if it were a toothpick and reached for another. "Stop him!"
The elephant's head lifted and he glared at them with small bloodshot eyes. He trumpeted with rage and whirled to face them.
Jane could feel the blood stop in her veins. He was like a demonic creature from the nightmare depths of hell.
Li Sung muttered a curse as he moved to the side of the track and lifted the rifle.
"No!" Dilam shouted. She reached out and knocked down the barrel of the rifle. "It's Danor."
Li Sung said, "I don't care what—"
The elephant charged toward Li Sung, deadly tusks lowered.
Dilam dove out of the way. Jane pushed Li Sung to the side with such force, they both fell to the ground and rolled out of the way just as the rogue reached them.
The elephant thundered past them.
Dilam grabbed the rifle from the ground where Li Sung had dropped it. "Stay down."
"And let him step on me with those monstrous feet?" Li Sung asked. "I think not. Give me the rifle."
Dilam ignored him, lifted the rifle, and fired over the elephant's head.
The elephant stopped, his trunk weaving back and forth.
Dilam fired two more shots.
"What are you doing?" Jane asked impatiently. "Warning shots won't help. An elephant can't know a bullet will hurt him. You'll have to shoot him."
"No!" Dilam fired three more shots over the elephant's head.
The elephant shifted from foot to foot and lifted his trunk again. Then, abruptly, he turned and lumbered off into the jungle.
Jane let her breath out in a little rush, trying to steady her heartbeat. "Will he come back?"
"Not tonight," Dilam said. She handed the rifle back to Li Sung and bowed politely. "I regret being so rude as to take your weapon, but it was Danor. I could not let you hurt him. He is a very special elephant."
"You said he was a rogue."
Dilam's jaw set stubbornly. "I did not know it was Danor. It is possible he has not gone rogue and, even if he has, he is still very special. I cannot let you kill him."
"He almost killed us," Jane said.
"Me," Li Sung corrected her grimly as he rose to his feet. "He charged me. He evidently thought this lowly cripple was the weakest link. I have a desire to show him his error. I'm going after him."
"Don't be ridiculous, Li Sung. The elephant is just plain crazy. How could he know you were crippled? We don't have time right now to go after him," Jane said curtly as she turned to examine the tracks. "And Lord knows what he did to the—my God!"
She gazed with horror at the devastation before her. Kails were uprooted, ties broken as far as she could see. She grabbed the torch from Dilam and began to walk down the track. She was scarcely aware of Dilam and Li Sung following her as she encountered disaster after di-saster.
Chaos everywhere.
"Very bad," Dilam murmured after they had traveled lor some distance along the track.
It was worse than bad, Jane thought grimly. Over two miles of damage to be repaired and that meant losing a full day.
"It can't happen again," she said. "I don't care how special your elephant is. I won't lose any more time cleaning up after him."
Dilam offered tentatively, "Perhaps he'll decide not to do it again."
"Decide? How does a rogue elephant decide anything? You said yourself he was insane."
"That was before I knew it was Danor. Danor has superior understanding."
"He damn well understands how to destroy my railroad." She ran her fingers through her hair. "How did one elephant manage to do this much damage so quickly? We didn't even hear him until fifteen minutes ago."
"Because he didn't want us to hear him."
"What do you mean?"
"He started trumpeting only the last quarter-mile or we would not have heard him. He must have had some reason for wishing to attract our attention."
Jane gazed at her in astonishment. "You're saying he planned this?"
"I do not know, but he is not as other elephants."
"I don't care if he's not like other elephants. I want to know if this will happen again."
She hesitated, troubled. "It is possible. He obviously did not like being interrupted."
Jane had a fleeting memory of deadly tusks lowered to charge. "I noticed that."
"But I will put guards on the track tomorrow night," Dilam assured her.
"You can't put guards along the entire line," Li Sung said. "It is best we hunt him down and shoot him."
Dilam's expression became shuttered. "I will not help you do this."
"Did you see what he did? Those tracks are—" Jane stopped, trying to control her temper. "I wouldn't kill any animal needlessly, but this elephant is vicious. Why won't you help us?"
"He saved the life of my child. It would be dishonor if I destroyed his savior."
"Then find someone else to lead us to him."
"I cannot do that," Dilam said stubbornly. "It would be the same thing. I will place guards on the track."
"I could try to find him by myself," Li Sung offered.
"You'd get lost," Jane said curtly. "You don't know anything about jungles."
"And less about elephants," Li Sung conceded. "But I know I don't like this one, and even I could hit a target that size."
"If you shoot him in the right spot. I'm not even sure a bullet would pierce that skin. It's too dangerous. He almost killed you tonight."
"I told you he did not like me." His lips tightened. "I assure you the aversion is mutual. I will go after him."
She shook her head.
Li Sung gave her a cold glance. "You think the task too much for a cripple?"
"I didn't say ... Li Sung, don't do this to me right now." She turned to Dilam. "This must not happen again. I want those guards armed. Do you understand?"
"I understand."
But she hadn't promised she would tell the guards to shoot the elephant, Jane thought in frustration. She turned on her heel and headed back toward the camp.
Li Sung walked beside her. "You are worried about the deadline?"
"Of course I'm worried."
"We still have one day's grace."
"If that blasted elephant doesn't do any more damage."
"If he does, I will go after him."
He meant it. For some idiotic reason Li Sung was taking this elephant attack on an intensely personal level. Now she would not only have to worry about meeting the deadline but about Li Sung storming around in the jungle, trying to find that rogue. She suppressed a sudden surge of panic and desperation. She still had two days. She would just have to work harder to make sure two days was enough to repair the damage and clear the crossing.
And pray that demented elephant didn't take it into his head to wreck any more of her track.
Chapter 15
Li Sung knelt beside Dilam's blanket and shook her shoulder. "Wake up."
Dilam drowsily opened her eyes. "You wish to nesting?
"No, I certainly do not."
Dilam yawned, rolled over, and closed her eyes. "Then I need to sleep. I just got back into my blankets and must be up again in three hours. We will talk tomorrow."
"Why should you sleep when I cannot? You're the only one who can give me the answers."
"What answers?"
"Tell me about elephants."
Dilam opened her eyes and raised herself on one elbow. "What do you wish to know?"
"Everything."
"Because you wish to go after Danor?"
"Perhaps."
"What other reason could there be?"
"Very well, I want to go after him."
"Why are you so angry with him?" Dilam asked curiously.
Why was he angry, Li Sung wondered in frustration. He was aware his emotion was entirely out of proportion. All he knew was that when he had looked at that tattered-eared monster he had felt something explode inside him. "He tried to kill me. Isn't that reason enough?"
"Yes." Dilam studied his face. "But I don't believe you are ... I think you heard the makhol."
"Makhol?"
"The summons. My father told me that sometimes an elephant will lay its will upon a man and for the rest of their lives elephant and man are one. Only rarely does this happen even with a mahout, an elephant handler." She frowned thoughtfully. "Very curious. I've never heard of anyone but a very young child hearing the
Li Sung said sarcastically, "I assure you, I heard no summons and have no desire to be one with any elephant, much less that brute."
"So you wish to know about elephants only so you can kill Danor if he comes again?"
Li Sung nodded jerkily. "And now I suppose you won't talk to me."
"I did not say that."
"What about protecting this noble savior of your child?"
"I do not fear for Danor."
"You should," Li Sung said grimly.
"I do not think so." Dilam smiled as she sat up and wrapped her blanket around her. "Very well, I will tell you all I know of elephants. They are very like us, you know. They live very long lives, sometimes over sixty years and do not reach adulthood until they are in their teens. They travel in family herds of eight or ten and often join together with larger herds. I have counted over a hundred in Danor's herd. Usually the leader is the largest cow elephant of the herd."
"Another matriarch," Li Sung said sourly. "No wonder you like elephants."
Dilam smiled slyly. "I told you they were intelligent. The herd bull has to be very clever and strong to maintain his position. If another male elephant challenges and wins, the defeated bull leaves the herd and goes off alone. Often despair makes him turn violent and he turns rogue."
"Like Danor?"
"Perhaps." She shrugged. "I know Danor's mate is leader of the herd. I have seen them together. An elephant sometimes eats over a thousand pounds of food a day and his favorite fare is the top branches of low trees. They are very tender, and if he cannot reach those branches he will push the tree over to get at them. That is why you see all those fallen trees as an elephant moves through the jungle. They must eat all the time or grow weak."
"I am not interested in Danor's menu."
"No, you would rather know how to kill him. I will tell you this also, but you asked for everything and that is what you will receive. Only the males have tusks and t hey can do much damage with them."
"I noticed."
"I am not sure Danor meant to trample or gore you. They can be very surefooted and he could have swerved when you jumped aside."
"He meant to kill me."
"You will clearly not believe anything else." She made a face and went on. "Elephants like water and are very at ease in it. I have seen an entire herd swimming underneath the water to get to the opposite bank, only occasionally lifting their trunks above the surface to breathe air. It is like watching—"
"That is not important to me. Since I do not swim, I have no intention of confronting him anywhere but on dry land."
"Do not interrupt. I will say what I wish to say."
Li Sung opened his lips to argue and then closed them with the words unspoken. He had learned in the past months Dilam could be very stubborn and it would do him no harm to hear her out.
She nodded with satisfaction and again began to speak. Another twenty minutes passed before she finally fell silent.
"You have given me a great deal of information I cannot use," Li Sung said. "I will have to filter the gold from the dross."
"It is all gold," Dilam said. "You merely have to fashion it to your needs." She yawned. "Now, if that is all you wish to know, I will go back to sleep."
He should go back to his own blankets, Li Sung thought. He'd learned all he needed to know. Yet, there was something else bothering him.
"Well?" she prompted.
"You never mentioned you had children before this," he said slowly.
"You were not ready to be interested in that knowledge. I have two children, both fine boys. Medor is nine and Kalmar is four. They are being cared for by the women of the High Council while I am on this mission."
"Males?" He scowled. "How unfortunate for you. No females to carry on your tradition of domination and glory."
She sighed. "You do not understand. We do not dominate, it's merely . . . If a male wishes to sit on the High Council, he may do so. He must just prove himself worthy." A grin lit her face. "But the tests are hard and the men of our tribe usually prefer to enjoy life and leave the decision-making to us."
"And does your husband also prefer to let you make the decisions?"
Her smile vanished. "My husband is dead, but no, he never wanted to govern. Senat was a hunter and took joy in it. He took joy in everything he did."
"Which of your children did Danor save?"
"Medor. He was only five then. You wish to hear about it?"
He nodded.
She hesitated and then shifted her shoulders as if bracing herself. "My husband Senat, Medor, and I often went down to the banks of the river near our village in the evening to watch the elephants. Medor loved to see them play and spray one another. One evening while we were there a tiger came to drink. There was no warning. One moment we were laughing together on the bank and the next the tiger was charging toward us. Senat pushed me aside and stepped in front of the tiger." She had to stop a moment before continuing in a whisper. "There was blood, so much blood. Senat was on the ground and I yelled at Medor to run back to the village for help. I grabbed Senat's lance and rushed toward the tiger, hoping to distract his attention from mauling my husband. Medor did not obey me. He rushed toward me, screaming. The tiger ignored me, left my husband, and raced toward Medor.
