The Mansions of Idumea (Book 3 Forest at the Edge series) (55 page)

From there she watched her husband pace
nervously for the first three songs, smiling tensely, and nodding
here and there. While a small part of her wanted to try whirling
around the floor in his arms, she knew he’d then be obliged to hold
other
women in his arms, and that thought made her fists
clench. She hoped that wedging herself between the tables signaled
she wasn’t a part of the dancing either. The last thing she wanted
was the arm of an Administrator around her.

A few times during those first songs Perrin
snagged equally nervous enlisted men and paired them up with shyly
waiting young women. But the rest of the time he desperately looked
for ways to be needed elsewhere so that he wouldn’t be obligated to
ask anyone to dance.

Then he stole that baby, and everything
changed.

“Does everyone in the world know Perrin
Shin?” she murmured to herself when she realized there was a line
of a dozen people waiting to talk to him. And for each person who
came up to him, a light of recognition flashed in his eyes, and he
greeted yet another person he knew long ago.

It was unsettling to realize he had a life
she knew nothing about. Already there had been so many secrets
revealed about his past, and now she felt a bit guilty for
underestimating his importance all these years. Apparently he was
much more than
merely
the commander of the fort in the
next-to-smallest village in the world, as he always reminded her.
His influence and changes to the army over the years had benefited
the entire world, and it seemed everyone wanted to shake the
hand—or at least pat the back since the hands were occupied—of the
officer who had improved the world’s ability to deal with its most
persistent enemy. Maybe it was because everyone also saw him as the
future High General of the world.

Mahrree’s mouth went dry whenever that
thought strayed into her mind. She was a very ill fit for such a
man. But she knew that, at some point in the evening, she’d have to
stand next to him. Until then, no one paid her any attention.
Halfway through the dancing she noticed that a silver tray of tiny
tarts from Gizzada’s matched her dress. So, hoping to feel a
connection to him and his back restaurant, she held it up for
guests. Not one person looked her in the eyes as they took the
tarts. She was little more than another piece of furniture, which
was just fine by her.

But now that the dancing was over and guests
were slowly leaving, Mahrree edged her way over to her husband. His
eyes glowed with that familiar spark, because he had no idea how
inadequate she was for him, and she loved him all the more for
that.

She smiled broadly at him. “I see your plan
failed. Holding a baby didn’t keep everyone away! But at least the
wives think you’re civilized.”

He didn’t get a chance to answer, because
Mahrree noticed more people were approaching to speak to Colonel
Shin, and when she recognized a few of them, she steeled herself in
preparation.

Coming with General Cush and his wife was
Colonel Qayin Thorne and a tall, beautiful woman who, Mahrree
noticed, had been eyeing Perrin all evening. Then again, everyone
had been eyeing Perrin all evening.

But her, just a bit more so.

Behind them was another approaching couple,
but Mahrree didn’t pay too much attention because the willowy
blonde was headed straight for Perrin. Mahrree took a small step
closer to her husband as the stunning woman stopped right in front
of him.

He blinked at her without recognition, then
his eyes grew large. “Versula!”

She smiled coyly and dragged her long sleek
finger across the faded scar on his forehead. “I see you still have
a way to remember me.”

“Every time I see my reflection,” Perrin
chuckled with his teeth clenched.

“I think about that often,” Versula Thorne
said as if speaking in code. “And wonder.”

Mahrree squinted ever so subtly. Versula Cush
Thorne also regarded Mahrree as just a piece of furniture, but this
time that bothered her.

Colonel Thorne, standing next to his wife,
nodded curtly to Perrin. “Colonel,” was all he said in greeting. He
ignored Mahrree, who apparently wasn’t a threat.

Perrin nodded back. “Colonel Thorne.” He
reached out and pulled Mahrree close to his side. “Colonel, Mrs.
Thorne—may I present my wife, Mahrree.”

Mahrree looked up into the perfectly carved
face of Mrs. Thorne and felt Edgier than she had all night.

Versula Thorne, who finally acknowledged
Mahrree with a slight smile, was even more exquisitely Idumeaic
than Joriana. Her dress of light blue silk clearly had not heard of
Perrin’s coverage specifications. Tightly wrapped around her
girlish torso and no higher, the dress left her creamy shoulders
and arms completely exposed, along with a generous dose of
cleavage. Most of the women as The Dinner seemed to be firm
believers in cleavage, Mahrree couldn’t help but notice. Versula’s
blond hair was similarly wrapped, as if the entire of her had been
put together by a highly concentrated tornado.

Mahrree felt wholly out of place in the small
crowd of people that now clustered around them.

Mrs. Thorne was the definition of
sophistication, and her husband, with his sharply defined features
and penetrating stare solely focused on Perrin, was as imposing as
General Shin used to be to her.

Cush, with his substantial girth, could have
been two men, especially with the authority with which everyone
regarded him, and his wife had nearly caught up to him in size and
influence.

Mahrree was used to the power that
accompanied her in-laws, but she began to feel as if she were
suffocating. Who was she compared to this group of important
people? And there were even more to meet, standing behind them, and
not a table with food nearby for her to use as a shield.

Mahrree sucked down her feelings of
inadequacy and smiled at Mrs. Thorne. “It’s wonderful to meet you!
I’ve heard a few stories since I’ve been here.”

“I’m sure you have,” Mrs. Thorne said
pleasantly enough, her voice even smoother than her gown. She
bobbed her head toward Perrin, “but not from him. You have a very
charming daughter. She’s turned a few heads this evening.”

Perrin glanced over to the leftover food
tables and saw Jaytsy still talking with two young officers and two
sons of officers, each several years older than her. She laughed at
something, and the young men smiled in approval.

Perrin did not. He made a move to step away,
but Mahrree caught his arm.

“She’s fine,” Mahrree whispered.

Perrin took a deep breath and looked at
Versula with an expression Mahrree couldn’t interpret.

“Don’t
worry
, Perrin,” she simpered.
“My Lemuel’s armed. He knows how to take care of a young
woman.”

Perrin looked again at the little group and
saw one of the young officers was Lemuel Thorne. Mahrree noticed
Perrin’s boot licker didn’t seem as amused as the other three young
men, but sat nearby on a chair by the table picking at the remains
of a pheasant while studying Jaytsy.

Versula Thorne pulled Perrin’s attention away
from them by saying, in a tone as rich as cream, “Quite a show you
put on with that baby.”

Perrin turned back to her again, startled as
if at first not understanding what she said. “Oh, oh,
that
.
I was just looking for a friendly face, someone who wouldn’t expect
me to dazzle them with anything witty.” He smiled at Mahrree. Then
he pulled her even closer to him.

Mahrree hid a smirk. She suspected there were
a few more stories she needed to hear. Versula Cush Thorne still
made him nervous, and she didn’t have a stick in either hand.

“Well, Perrin, with any luck, you can be
holding another baby in just a couple of years.” Mrs. Thorne
smiled, watching closely for his response.

Perrin’s face was the very definition of
bewilderment.

“Your daughter? She could give you your own
grandchild in a couple of years.”

“Jaytsy?” Perrin said so loudly that, across
the Great Hall, she stopped talking and looked over at him. She
tilted her head as if asking what he wanted, and he waved her
off.

Mrs. Thorne laughed in a manner that
suggested she’d practiced it to be just the right pitch, length,
and tremor. “Yes, of course! Goodness, Perrin, scare the poor
thing.”

“We were nearly twice her age when she was
born,” Perrin said, squeezing Mahrree’s shoulders and jostling her
a bit in his earnestness.

Mahrree chuckled stiffly. “I don’t think
we’re ready for her to do anything so, so
grown up
.
Sometimes I think
we’re
not really grown up yet!”

Perrin nodded at that.

“There’s nothing wrong with having your child
early and getting on with life,” Versula said. “I haven’t missed
out on anything. Just because Perrin was exceptionally slow to get
around to parenthood doesn’t mean your children will be.”

Perrin and Mahrree looked at each other, the
thought never having occurred to them before.

“Come now,” said Mrs. Cush, her several chins
jiggling. “Look at them over there. You come back to Idumea and
that sweet little thing will have her pick of husbands! And I can
think of a
perfect pick
already,” she giggled.

“Now, Mother,” Versula said reprovingly,
“it’s not our place to interfere. To suggest and give ideas, yes,
but full-out interference? No!” The women laughed together in a
practiced chorus, but Mahrree just put on a polite smile.

Perrin let out a small groan only his wife
heard and released his hold on her. “If you’ll excuse me ladies,
gentlemen, I’ve yet to meet a few people tonight.”

He strode to the food table as the Cush women
giggled in unison. The four young men quickly got to their feet and
faced the colonel. Annoyed, Jaytsy put her hands on her hips.

General Cush chuckled. “Mahrree, think you
should go rescue those poor boys? If anyone can handle young men, I
understand it’s you.”

Mahrree shook her head. “This is a father’s
domain, General. Perrin has it well in hand.”

They were out of earshot, but Perrin seemed
to be introducing himself. As he shook the hand of one boy, his
left hand caught another by the shoulder as the young man tried to
make a less-than-subtle exit. Jaytsy was insulted, embarrassed, and
furious.

Lemuel Thorne had jumped from his chair and
stood at attention, and the other young officer, still in the
clutches of the colonel, realized too late that he should’ve done
the same thing.

Colonel Thorne stepped away from his wife and
in-laws to watch his son. He nodded slightly to Lemuel and his son
returned it. Perrin was too busy trying to meet the third boy while
holding on to the other two to notice the Thornes’ silent
communication. But Mahrree saw it and wondered what the message may
have been.

She was aware of the other couple nearing as
she watched her husband, but didn’t think much of them until she
heard, “Mrs. Shin, I’m Doctor Brisack, Administrator of Family
Life.”

Every muscle in Mahrree’s body tensed.

“I spent a most entertaining afternoon with
your husband last week, and of course saw you when we presented you
with that certificate, but I haven’t yet had the pleasure of
formally meeting you.”

Mahrree forced her attention away from her
husband’s show and turned, with her Dinner smile in place.

She knew who this was: the doctor who
perfected The Drink. The man who improved the means to deny her and
thousands of other women a dozen children.

She analyzed him, expecting to see a monster,
but his pale blue eyes were gentle, and the wrinkles around them
reminded her of Hogal Densal. Something in his expression twinkled
with a genuinely pleasant demeanor.

“And this is my wife,” he added as an
afterthought, not bothering to mention her name. “Mrs. Shin, we
were wondering, why did General Cush call you an authority on young
men?”

His wife had a sweet smile on her wrinkling
face. “I’m having difficulty picturing it, I must admit.”

They weren’t what Mahrree expected at all.
They could have been Hogal and Tabbit Densal’s friends in another
time and place. “I’m not a real authority, sir. But I teach some of
the troubled teenage boys in Edge,” she explained. “It seems I’m
responsible for them during the day, and the colonel is responsible
for them in the evening and night. We have a bit of a theft
problem.”

The Administrator nodded sadly. “As do
we.”

His wife elbowed him. “Maybe the Shins could
help write up your new parenting guide, after the emergency guide
is completed.”

Administrator Brisack nodded again,
thoughtfully. “Well, I’ve only asked doctors for their input, but
the Shins might have some interesting tips.”

“A guide?” Mahrree asked.

“We seem to have a whole new generation of
parents who know nothing of parenting,” Doctor Brisack said, his
voice full of concern. “Since we have only one or two
children—”

Whose fault is that?
Mahrree thought
bitterly. She was getting better as saying these things in her head
and trapping them there. She couldn’t remember one potentially
libelous thing she had said all night, and she wasn’t about to
start now that it was ending.

Strangely, she began to feel calmer. This man
didn’t invent The Drink. He just made is safer and less painful. He
wasn’t the mastermind behind the idea. But still, he
contributed—

Mahrree heard him continue.

“—then don’t see grandchildren for another
twenty to thirty years, we older generations don’t seem to remember
any wisdom to pass down from our parenting days.”

“The lieutenant’s wife—the mother of that
baby Perrin held this evening—she didn’t seem to know anything
about cutting teeth,” Mahrree told him. “I learned that from the
mothers who came to visit me right after I had my babies. And I
learned everything else on Holy Days after the meetings. We shared
midday meals, and everyone sat around and talked about parenting
successes and disasters.” Her voice faded as she felt a sudden
sting of homesickness. Tonight Edge seemed a thousand miles away,
and a hundred years ago, and she yearned to be there again right
now.