Darn. Aridatha
Singh was almost enough to make me change my mind about swearing
off men. He was gorgeous. Tall, well-proportioned, a beautiful
smile that showed magnificent teeth even when he was under stress.
His manners were perfect. He was a gentleman in every sense but
condition of birth.
I told him, “Your mother must have been a
marvel.”
“Excuse me?”
“Nothing. Nothing. Around here, I’m called Sleepy.
You’re Aridatha. That’s enough of an
introduction.”
“Who are you people? Why am I here?” He did not
bluster or threaten. Amazing. Few Taglians ever recognized that as
a waste of time.
“It isn’t necessary for you to know who we are.
You’re here to meet a man who is also our prisoner.
Don’t mention the fact that you’ll be released after
your interview. He won’t be. Come with me.”
Moments later Aridatha Singh remarked, “You’re a
woman, aren’t you?”
“I was the last time I checked. We’re here. This is
Narayan. Narayan! Get up! You have a visitor. Narayan, this is
Aridatha. As promised.”
Aridatha looked at me, trying to understand. Narayan stared at
the son he had never seen and saw something there that made him
melt, just for an instant. And I knew that I could reach him if I
could keep it from looking like I was asking him to betray
Kina.
I stepped back and waited for something to happen. Nothing did.
Aridatha kept glancing back at me. Narayan just stared. Out of
patience at last, I asked Narayan, “Shall I send people to
collect Khaditya and Sugriva as well? And their children,
too?”
This threatened Narayan and told Aridatha that he had been
abducted because he belonged to a particular family. I recognized
the instant the truth occurred to him. There was an entirely
different look in his eyes when he glanced back at me again.
I said, “Not much good can be said about this man, from my
point of view, but you can’t call him a bad father. Fate
never gave him the chance to be good or bad.” Except to the
girl, for whom he had done everything possible, to her complete
indifference. “He’s very loyal.”
Aridatha realized that this was not about him at all. That he
was a lever meant to get some kind of movement out of Narayan
Singh. The Narayan Singh, the infamous chief of the Strangler
cult.
Aridatha won my heart all over again when he squared up his
shoulders, stepped forward and offered his father a formal
greeting. There was no warmth in it but it was absolutely
proper.
I watched them try to find some common ground, some point at
which to start. And they found it quickly enough. We had not found
any evidence, ever, to disdain Narayan Singh’s affections for
his Lily. Aridatha thought quite highly of his mother.
“The man’s a piece of work, isn’t
he?”
I was startled. I had not heard a sound. But Riverwalker was
behind me. River did not have much talent for light-footing it.
Which left me with the perfectly scary notion that Aridatha Singh
really was having an effect on me. “Yes. He is. And I
don’t quite know why.”
“Well, I’ll tell you. He reminds me of Willow Swan.
A bedrock-decent guy. Only smart. And still young enough to be
unspoiled by life.”
“River! You should hear yourself talk. You’re
halfway intelligent.”
“Don’t mention it front of the guys. One-Eye will
figure out why he can’t cheat me at tonk more’n half
the time.” He considered Aridatha again. “Pretty, too.
Better keep him away from your librarian. They’ll elope on
you.”
Another broken heart. “You think? What kind of
clues . . . ”
“I don’t know. I could be wrong.”
“When does he have to be back? Can we keep him all
night?”
“You figuring on testing him out?”
River did not usually rag me much, so I knew I had to be asking
for it somehow. “No. Not that way. The villain in me came up
with an idea. We introduce him to the Radisha before we turn him
loose.”
“Now you’re matchmaking?”
“No. Now I’m showing a four-square guy that his
ruler isn’t in the Palace. He can make the rumors credible.
Because he can tell the truth.”
“Couldn’t hurt.”
“You keep an eye on those two here. I’ll go talk to
the Woman.”
Riverwalker raised an eyebrow. Nobody but Swan used that term to
describe the Radisha anymore. “You’re picking up bad
habits.”
“Probably.”
Darn. Aridatha
Singh was almost enough to make me change my mind about swearing
off men. He was gorgeous. Tall, well-proportioned, a beautiful
smile that showed magnificent teeth even when he was under stress.
His manners were perfect. He was a gentleman in every sense but
condition of birth.
I told him, “Your mother must have been a
marvel.”
“Excuse me?”
“Nothing. Nothing. Around here, I’m called Sleepy.
You’re Aridatha. That’s enough of an
introduction.”
“Who are you people? Why am I here?” He did not
bluster or threaten. Amazing. Few Taglians ever recognized that as
a waste of time.
“It isn’t necessary for you to know who we are.
You’re here to meet a man who is also our prisoner.
Don’t mention the fact that you’ll be released after
your interview. He won’t be. Come with me.”
Moments later Aridatha Singh remarked, “You’re a
woman, aren’t you?”
“I was the last time I checked. We’re here. This is
Narayan. Narayan! Get up! You have a visitor. Narayan, this is
Aridatha. As promised.”
Aridatha looked at me, trying to understand. Narayan stared at
the son he had never seen and saw something there that made him
melt, just for an instant. And I knew that I could reach him if I
could keep it from looking like I was asking him to betray
Kina.
I stepped back and waited for something to happen. Nothing did.
Aridatha kept glancing back at me. Narayan just stared. Out of
patience at last, I asked Narayan, “Shall I send people to
collect Khaditya and Sugriva as well? And their children,
too?”
This threatened Narayan and told Aridatha that he had been
abducted because he belonged to a particular family. I recognized
the instant the truth occurred to him. There was an entirely
different look in his eyes when he glanced back at me again.
I said, “Not much good can be said about this man, from my
point of view, but you can’t call him a bad father. Fate
never gave him the chance to be good or bad.” Except to the
girl, for whom he had done everything possible, to her complete
indifference. “He’s very loyal.”
Aridatha realized that this was not about him at all. That he
was a lever meant to get some kind of movement out of Narayan
Singh. The Narayan Singh, the infamous chief of the Strangler
cult.
Aridatha won my heart all over again when he squared up his
shoulders, stepped forward and offered his father a formal
greeting. There was no warmth in it but it was absolutely
proper.
I watched them try to find some common ground, some point at
which to start. And they found it quickly enough. We had not found
any evidence, ever, to disdain Narayan Singh’s affections for
his Lily. Aridatha thought quite highly of his mother.
“The man’s a piece of work, isn’t
he?”
I was startled. I had not heard a sound. But Riverwalker was
behind me. River did not have much talent for light-footing it.
Which left me with the perfectly scary notion that Aridatha Singh
really was having an effect on me. “Yes. He is. And I
don’t quite know why.”
“Well, I’ll tell you. He reminds me of Willow Swan.
A bedrock-decent guy. Only smart. And still young enough to be
unspoiled by life.”
“River! You should hear yourself talk. You’re
halfway intelligent.”
“Don’t mention it front of the guys. One-Eye will
figure out why he can’t cheat me at tonk more’n half
the time.” He considered Aridatha again. “Pretty, too.
Better keep him away from your librarian. They’ll elope on
you.”
Another broken heart. “You think? What kind of
clues . . . ”
“I don’t know. I could be wrong.”
“When does he have to be back? Can we keep him all
night?”
“You figuring on testing him out?”
River did not usually rag me much, so I knew I had to be asking
for it somehow. “No. Not that way. The villain in me came up
with an idea. We introduce him to the Radisha before we turn him
loose.”
“Now you’re matchmaking?”
“No. Now I’m showing a four-square guy that his
ruler isn’t in the Palace. He can make the rumors credible.
Because he can tell the truth.”
“Couldn’t hurt.”
“You keep an eye on those two here. I’ll go talk to
the Woman.”
Riverwalker raised an eyebrow. Nobody but Swan used that term to
describe the Radisha anymore. “You’re picking up bad
habits.”
“Probably.”