She cast a sidelong glance and said blandly, “Could we skip the nature lesson?”
“Why? Because you don’t want to admit the truth about the way things are between men and women?”
“I don’t want you feeling obligated to put yourself between me and a…a thing such as that, Fire Whip. I wouldn’t ask that of you or anyone.”
“If the occasion arose, it would not be your place to ask or give permission,” he tried to explain patiently. “I would do it because I have both the right and the duty to protect you. I’m your husband, Kalena.”
“So you keep reminding me.”
He stifled a long-suffering groan. “I find myself constantly having to remind you because you seem to forget the fact quite easily.”
She looked down into the embers of the fire and a strange smile touched her mouth. “You’re wrong, Fire Whip. Never for one moment do I forget the fact that you are my husband.”
Ridge fell silent for a moment, watching her face in the faint glow of the fire and wondering exactly what she meant by those cryptic words. The thoughts of a woman could so often be completely unfathomable to a man. No wonder men had been given the strength and forcefulness of the Dark end of the Spectrum. Only such power could counter the greatest mystery of the Light end—a woman’s mind.
“Ridge?”
“What is it, Kalena?”
“What was that thing you killed? I’ve never seen anything like it.”
“Neither have I,” he admitted, “although it looks like something a trader once described to me. He called it a hook viper. But I don’t understand what it’s doing this far from the mountains. They’re very rarely seen, even by the traders who work the mountain towns. They’re creatures who prefer the darkness of caves. They are said to be very shy of men.”
“That one didn’t seem particularly shy.”
“It was probably starving. This far from the mountain caves it was undoubtedly having a hard time finding familiar food. It must have been desperate to come this close to fire and the smell of humans.”
“I wonder what drove it from the mountains?”
“That, Kalena, is a very good question.”
Ridge made certain they found an inn the following night. The village was the smallest they had yet encountered and the facilities were minimal, but it beat another night on the trail. The undeclared truce that seemed to have gone into effect between him and Kalena held throughout the day, right up to the moment Ridge unwittingly ruffled it by sending Kalena upstairs to the bedchamber after the evening meal.
He hadn’t meant to sound arrogant, domineering or selfish, he told himself later when he found himself paying dearly for the act. He had only been exercising his sound judgment as an experienced trade master and a husband. The truth was, he had been quite shocked when Kalena had declared she would like to go into the tavern with him following the meal. He had stared at her from across the low table as if she had just announced she intended to strip herself naked and dance through the dining hall.
“That’s impossible,” he had finally stated flatly. “What in the name of the Stones put such an idea into your head? It might be possible to take you into a tavern in Crosspurposes, but it’s out of the question in a small village like this. Everyone from the tavern keeper to the boy who sweeps the floors would be outraged. I warned you things were old-fashioned and conservative in these little towns on the trail. We have to abide by local customs, Kalena.”
“But Ridge, there’s nothing to do upstairs and I’m not ready to go to bed.”
“I’m sorry about that, Kalena,” he had told her a little helplessly. “But I can’t keep you company. The journey isn’t a pleasure trip. I’m supposed to be working.”
“You call sitting around in a tavern drinking all night work?”
The woman had a way of putting him on the defensive. Ridge didn’t like it. “I learn things in the taverns, Kalena.”
“Such as?”
“I pick up rumors, bits of gossip. For example, I’ll mention the hook viper tonight to see if anyone else says he’s seen one. And there have been a few strange tales I would like to verify.”
“What sort of tales?” she demanded.
He sighed, feeling driven into a corner. Apparently, he still had much to learn about handling a wife—or at least about handling Kalena. He picked up his ale. “There have been one or two odd stories about men disappearing in the mountains. I would like to know more about those stories, especially after what happened to us in Adverse.”
“I still think you could accomplish your job without lounging around a tavern,” Kalena announced.
He thought about pointing out quite bluntly that if she was willing to provide a good reason for him to accompany her up the stairs, he might consider the matter. But wisely he bit back the words. They would only have infuriated her. “That’s enough, Kalena. When you’ve finished your meal, go on up to the chamber. I’ll join you later. I give you my word I won’t be late. I just want to ask a few questions.”
Her chin lifted. “Take your time. Don’t hurry upstairs on my account,” she told him with an awful politeness. She then swung with great dignity around to exit the dining hall.
Ridge watched her leave and groaned inwardly. Things had been going so well all day. He had begun to hope that perhaps tonight he would receive the invitation he wanted so badly. But Kalena obviously wasn’t going to be in any mood to invite his lovemaking. Disgusted with himself and fate in general, he tossed down his fingerspears and stalked out of the dining area into the tavern. He needed a full tankard of ale.
Upstairs in the small cubicle that passed for a sleeping chamber, Kalena paced to and fro in front of the tiny window She was feeling restless and irritated, and the tiny room with its stark furnishings felt like a cage.
In an effort to create a semblance of greater space, she stopped her pacing long enough to shove her travel bag into the little privacy chamber. It gave her a bit more room in which to pace like a tethered cotly.
The image further annoyed her. She was no tame pet to be kept on a lead.
In a burst of defiance Kalena opened the door of the room and stepped out into the corridor. If nothing else she could kill some time by going down to the stables to talk to the creets.
She was halfway down the corridor, passing the closed door of another guest chamber, when she heard the low moan. Startled, Kalena halted in her tracks and listened. The soft, pain-filled sound came again from behind the door.
Kalena hesitated, but when the moans continued she went over to the door and knocked.
“Hello?” she called softly. “Are you all right inside there?” All she heard was silence. Kalena tried again. “Do you need help?”
This time she heard a movement from behind the door, but it didn’t open. A woman’s voice reached her through the wood.
“Please.”
Alarmed by the fear and pain in a single word, Kalena tried the door handle. It turned easily in her hand, and after a second’s hesitation she stepped into the small chamber. A woman lay huddled on the pallet. She was very young and very pregnant. It didn’t take an experienced Healer to realize the occupant of the room was in labor. Kalena went forward instantly.
“By the Stones, madam, don’t tell me you decided to go through this all by yourself,” she said, summoning up a cheerful, encouraging smile. “Has a Healer been called?”
The young woman looked up at her with a strained, frightened expression. “I don’t know any Healer in this village. My husband…”
“Yes, where is your husband?” Kalena asked briskly as she straightened the bedding and reassuringly gripped the woman’s hand.
“I’m not sure. He said he had business in town. Perhaps he stopped at a tavern.”
“Exactly where one would expect a man to be at a time like this.”
The stranger managed a fleeting smile that ended abruptly as a contraction gripped her body. “He doesn’t know. The pains started so suddenly.
I couldn’t get downstairs to summon him.”
“What you need is a Healer, not a helpless man. I’ll be right back.” Kalena got to her feet and raced out of the room.
She could hear the noise from the tavern as she swept past it on her way to the innkeeper’s desk. Fortunately, the innkeeper’s wife answered Kalena’s summons immediately.
“I’ll fetch the village Healer at once,” the older woman promised. “Go back upstairs to the poor girl. I saw her earlier. She’s so young. This is probably her first and she’ll be scared to death.”
Kalena nodded and ran back up the stairs. For the second time she ignored the shouts of laughter and the smoke that emanated from the tavern doorway.
Her breath was coming quickly by the time Kalena had finished her dash back up the stairs. She paused to collect herself before she reentered the young woman’s chamber. A good Healer always presented a calm and soothing image, she reminded herself.
A good Healer. That was a joke. She was no Healer and never would be. The thought brought a wave of unhappiness that was all too familiar. Kalena would have given a great deal to have been born with the Talent. She had certainly been cursed with a longing desire to learn the arts of healing, it had always seemed so unfair to have the wish and not the ability.
Quickly, she produced a comforting smile and pushed open the door. “There is no need to worry” she assured the patient on the pallet. “The village Healer will be along very soon. We might as well get ready for her.”
“You’re very kind.”
“Don’t be silly. Women must stick together at times such as this. What woman would turn her back on another about to give birth?” Remembering the occasional glimpses she’d had of Olara at work, Kalena lit a fire on the tiny hearth and put water on to boil. She dampened a cloth to cool the mother’s-to-be brow and generally tried to make the young woman as comfortable as possible. Mostly she just held her hand and felt the woman’s nails dig into her palm as each new wave of pain arrived. Kalena would have given anything not to feel so helpless.
If she were a Healer she would be able to do so much more. She had seen Olara use certain herbs to blunt the pain and stop excessive bleeding. Certainly, she knew Olara’s skills could make the whole process so much easier and safer. But Kalena knew so little of them. Only a trained Healer with the Talent could really help.
The woman cried out and Kalena began to fret that the village Healer would not make it in time.
“You’re doing just fine,” she said soothingly as she began to push aside the bedding. If no one came she would have to deliver the babe herself. She could only hope the birth would be normal.
“Breathe deeply and don’t fight the pain. It will soon be over. Just breathe deeply.”
Olara always used an almost hypnotic monologue to quiet her patient’s fears. Over the years Kalena had heard bits and pieces of it. She tried to remember the soft, soothing sounds.
“That’s it. Everything’s going to be just fine. Don’t be afraid to yell if you want. You’ve got every right.”
If only she knew more, Kalena thought in a mixture of anger and despair. She should know more. It wasn’t fair that such knowledge had been kept from her. She should know what to do. Something within her insisted she had a right to know.
There was a quick, perfunctory knock, and then the door swung open. Kalena looked around gratefully to see a woman in her middle years step confidently into the room. The innkeeper’s wife was right behind her.
“No need to ask which of you is my patient,” the Healer said cheerfully. “How are we doing here?” She was removing a packet of herbs from her bag and handing them to Kalena. “Looks like everything’s under control. Here, mix these in some warm water and let the little mother have a few sips. The drink will ease the pain.
Humbly, Kalena took the herb packet and did as she was instructed. The Healer took charge and the whole process of birth was soon moving along its inevitable path under the watchful eye of a trained expert with the Talent.
Kalena watched in fascination, holding the young mother’s hand and letting her sip from the mug of herb tea as needed. There was something about all this that reinforced Kalena’s deep sense of longing. She wanted to know exactly what to do. She wanted to be able to offer comfort and skill. The desire to be doing what the Healer was doing was so deep and so painful that for a moment Kalena felt her eyes burn with frustrated tears.
And then the baby arrived and everyone, including Kalena, was much too busy to think of anything but the present.
Downstairs in the tavern, Ridge lounged at a table, a tankard of ale in front of him, moodily considering his past, present and future.
For some reason they all seemed tied to Kalena. The past because he was just beginning to realize how empty it had been without her. The present because he didn’t know how to deal with her now that he had her. And the future because he had a deep fear that he might not be able to hold on to her.
At times, he felt he was making progress with her. But inevitably such moments disintegrated all too rapidly usually because of something he said or did. He gripped the tankard of red ale and wondered broodingly if he would ever receive the welcome he wanted from Kalena.
He was a fool to wait for it, he decided after another swallow of ale. A man’s obligation was to insist on his marital rights. He had been crazy to think he should wait until Kalena came to him. At this rate he would wait forever.
By the Stones, he didn’t have forever. No one did.
Surging to his feet, Ridge threw a few grans down on the table and stalked out of the tavern. He had been taking the wrong approach with Kalena. If he let her establish the rules of this game he would find himself sleeping alone for the rest of the journey. He had to ensure the bonds between them. He couldn’t afford to waste any more time.
Ridge was still telling himself that when he reached the top of the stairs and shoved open the chamber door. His mouth opened to tell Kalena that things were going to be different henceforth. The words were clear in his head and his body was taut with an assertive determination.
But he blinked and floundered to a halt when he realized the room was empty. Bewildered, he glanced around and saw that Kalena’s travel pack was gone.
For an instant he simply stood staring into the empty chamber, trying to adjust to the obvious fact that Kalena had left him.
Somehow he hadn’t expected her to run from him. He was at a loss to comprehend the depths of his own stupidity. Of course she would run at the first opportunity. And tonight had provided that opportunity.
A wave of fury washed over Ridge. “Damn you, Kalena. You can’t leave me.”
But of course she could. All she had to do was slip out while he was downing ale in a tavern. She knew how to saddle a creet. What else did she need to know to make good her escape?
He had been a fool to indulge her. He must have been out of his mind to be so gentle and restrained with her. What had he been thinking of when he had assumed she had accepted her fate as his wife?
Whirling around, Ridge went back to the door. She couldn’t have gotten far. He would find her and bring her back, and this time he would make certain she understood her place. She was his wife, and by the Stones she would learn what that meant.
A heavy, bewildering sense of frustration that bordered on pain rose inside him to counter the explosion of anger. Ridge stormed through the door and out into the corridor just as an anxious looking young man reached the top of the stairs and pounded on one of the chamber doors.
“Betha?” the young man called, sounding frantic. “Betha? Are you all right?”
Ridge ignored the other man’s obvious state of distress, his attention turned inward as he made for the stairs. He would have walked right past the other chamber without a single glance if the door hadn’t swung open in that moment to reveal his flame-haired wife.
“I suppose you are the husband?” Kalena demanded of the young man in front of her.
“Please,” the man said helplessly. “My wife. Is she all right?” A cry sounded from the chamber and he looked stunned. “The babe!”
“Congratulations,” Kalena said disdainfully. “You have a fine son. Your wife and child are doing well, no thanks to you.”
Ridge heard the chastisement in her voice and winced on behalf of the hapless young man. Kalena didn’t pause in her lecture.
“What sort of husband are you to take your lady traveling when she was in this condition? She should have been safely at home with her village Healer who knows her and is familiar with her background. She should have had her women friends around her at such a time. Instead, poor Betha finds herself in some strange inn with only strangers to help her. And where is her husband? Downstairs drinking in the tavern while his son is brought into the world. I’ll wager you were willing enough to participate at the conception of your babe, weren’t you?”
“Please, lady. I would go to my wife,” the man pleaded.
“But you took little enough responsibility for the havoc you caused,” Kalena continued, undaunted. “It is a man’s duty to protect his wife. She is in his care and it is his business to look after her. Where were you when you should have been honoring your obligations to your wife?”
Ridge let out a long sigh of relief and lounged against the wall, his arms crossed on his chest, to listen to the rest of Kalena’s speech. Never had he been so glad to hear a sharp-tongued female tearing into a defenseless male. He simply gave thanks that he wasn’t the man she was ripping apart. Safely out of range, he watched his wife with a mixture of amusement and admiration and overpowering relief.
She hadn’t run from him after all.
Nine
I thought you’d left.” Ridge stood at the tiny window and stared down into the inn yard below.
Kalena closed the door of the small chamber and leaned back against the wood. She had been surprised to see Ridge in the corridor outside Betha’s room. He hadn’t said a word as she had lectured the young father, but as soon as she had released the poor man to go to his wife, Ridge had stepped forward to take her arm. He asked her quietly if she was ready to go back to their chamber and she had nodded her agreement. His first words once inside the room startled her.