Talon watched the flakes falling for a moment, then said, ‘I never thought of it. In my village, snow means months inside our houses or hunting in drifts as high as your chest.’ For some reason, just mentioning the word ‘chest’ caused his eyes to drift to Lela’s ample bosom, though after an instant he averted his eyes. ‘My toes always hurt after a hunt.’
‘Oh,’ she said in mock disapproval. ‘You have no sense of beauty. I come from a land that never sees snow. It’s wonderful!’
Talon smiled. ‘If you say so.’ He looked into the rear of the wagon and saw that it was empty. ‘I need to go tell the driver I’ve finished.’ He closed the large wooden doors down into the cellar, then moved around to the kitchen door. Once inside, he realized how cold the air outside had become, for the kitchen seemed hot and close to him.
The wagon driver and an apprentice teamster sat at a small table in the corner of the kitchen, eating the meal Martha had prepared for them. They looked up as Talon approached. ‘Wagon’s unloaded,’ he said.
The teamster, a gaunt man whose nose looked like a buzzard’s beak grinned, showing that he was missing two front teeth. ‘Be a good lad and unhitch the horses, will you? We’re not done quite yet and it wouldn’t do to leave them shivering out in the cold. We’ll be staying the night and heading back north first thing in the morning.’
Talon nodded, and turned back towards the door. Lars intercepted him. ‘You shouldn’t have to see to his team. That’s his job.’
Talon shrugged. ‘I don’t mind. No guests to worry about and it’s either see to horses or scrub pots in here. Not much to choose from.’
Lars said, ‘Suit yourself,’ and returned to his duties.
Talon went back outside. The few moments in the kitchen had turned the air outside from brisk to uncomfortable. He hurried to the wagon and led the horses to the mouth of the barn. He had developed a fair hand in dealing with the fractious animals, and while his few attempts at riding had been less than pleasant, he found stable-work easy and mostly enjoyable. The heavy wagon had been drawn by a team of four, and it took a bit of convincing to get the animals to back up enough to put the wagon neatly out of the way. He quickly unhitched each animal, took it inside and got it into a stall. Then he set to brushing each of them. Even after having stood motionless for nearly a half-hour while he unloaded, the horses were still damp from their long pull to the inn that afternoon. Steam rose from their backs as he brushed, as the air turned bitterly cold.
By the time water and fodder had been placed in the stalls, Talon knew that the weather was turning serious. He went out into the stabling yard and looked up at the sky. The sun was setting, but he could see that the clouds were growing darker and thicker and the snow more insistent. He thought the teamster and his apprentice needed to be quick on the road to Latagore or else they would find themselves in snow up to their hubs in the next few days. If they were lucky. If a big storm was heading their way, they could find themselves snowed in for the winter at Kendrick’s.
Supper passed uneventfully. After the kitchen had been cleaned and the bread readied for baking in the morning, Talon was about to retire to the room he shared with Lars and Gibbs, when Lela approached him. ‘Don’t go to your room, yet,’ she said in a whisper. She put her hand upon his arm and led him to the pantry between the common room and the dining room. She pushed the door to the common room slightly ajar.
Gibbs was sitting quietly before the hearth, staring into the dying embers as he nursed a mug of ale. Lela closed the door, a mischievous smile in place. ‘Lars needs the room for a while.’
‘For what?’ asked Talon.
Her eyes widened and she giggled. ‘For what? You don’t know?’
He frowned. ‘If I knew, would I ask?’
She playfully put her hand on his stomach and gave him a gentle push. ‘He and Meggie are there.’
Talon said, ‘Why?’ Then before she could answer, he realized. ‘They need to be alone?’ he asked.
‘Of course, you fool!’ she said playfully.
‘With my people it is different,’ he explained. ‘We live in community buildings during the winter, and often a man and woman will lie together under bearskins. Everyone else pretends not to notice.’
‘Around here we notice,’ she said. Looking at him with a glimmer in her eye, she said, ‘You look troubled. What is it?’
Talon’s mind returned to Meggie’s quirky smile and upturned nose, and the way her thin frame swayed slightly when she walked. At last he said, ‘I don’t know.’
Suddenly, Lela’s eyes widened. ‘You’re jealous!’
Talon said, ‘I don’t know that word.’
‘You want Meggie for yourself!’ she said with a merry laugh.
Suddenly Talon’s face was flushed and he wanted to be just about anywhere else. ‘I don’t know what you mean,’ he stammered.
Lela gave the boy an appraising look for a long minute. Then she said, ‘You’re turning into a handsome young man, Talon.’ She put her arms around his waist and pressed closer, her face just in front of his. ‘Have you known a woman before?’
Talon felt his pulse race and he found himself speechless. Eventually, he shook his head.
Lela laughed and thrust herself away from him. ‘You are such a boy.’
Abruptly, Talon found himself angry. For some reason the remark stung and he almost shouted, ‘No, I am a man of the Orosini! I went upon my vision quest and …’ He paused. ‘I would have had my manhood tattoos upon my face had my family not been killed.’
Lela’s expression softened, and she stepped back towards him. ‘I’m sorry. I forgot.’
His anger soon fled as she pressed herself against him and kissed him, her soft, warm lips causing stirrings that threatened to overpower him. He grabbed her hard, and pulled her into him, eliciting a squeak of protest. She pushed him back slightly and said, ‘Gently.’
Talon blinked in confusion, his mind swimming in feelings he could put no name to; he ached to pull her back into an embrace.
She grinned. ‘You know nothing of the game of women and men.’
‘Game?’
She took him by the hand. ‘I’ve seen those games Robert and Magnus have taught you. Now I think it’s time to teach you the best game of all.’
Feeling fearful and flushed with anticipation, Talon clung to Lela’s hand as she led him through the common room towards the room she shared with Meggie.
Seeing what was transpiring, Gibbs grinned and hoisted his ale-jack in salute. As they climbed the stairs to the now-empty guests rooms, he said, ‘Got to get another girl working here; that’s all there is for it.’
Lacking any other comfort, he elected for one more ale before finding a place for himself for the night.
• CHAPTER FIVE • (#ulink_799d42bc-c58c-5612-b7f4-dfd6074a5bcd)
Journey (#ulink_799d42bc-c58c-5612-b7f4-dfd6074a5bcd)
TALON SNEEZED.
‘Too much pepper,’ said Leo.
Talon wiped away the tears in his eyes with the hem of his apron and nodded. He had been working in the kitchen for a year now and over the last four months had come to feel at home there. He still served elsewhere at Kendrick’s discretion, but most of his time recently had been spent with the cook.
Four months earlier Leo had walked in one day and beckoned Talon to his side, showing him how to prepare dishes for baking pies, a simple task involving lard and wheat flour. From there he had moved on to washing vegetables and fruits. He then worked his way up to preparing simple dishes. In the last few weeks, Talon had learned the basics of baking, cooking meats, and was now being trained how to make sauces.
Talon smiled.
‘What’s amusing you, young fellow?’ asked Leo.
‘I was just thinking how much more there is to getting food ready to eat than what I learned as a boy. My father and the other men of my village would sit around a large spit upon which a deer turned, talking about the hunt or crops or which son was the fastest runner, and the women baked bread or cooked stews or soup.
‘My mother would have gawked in wonder at the spices in your cupboard, Leo.’
‘Simple fare can be challenging, too, Talon. A spit of beef must be dusted lightly with salt and pepper at the right moment, then graced, perhaps, with a kiss of garlic just before presentation.’
Talon grinned. ‘My mother would never have understood presentation.’
