shuffled his bare feet on the coarse runner.
âSay it!â
He shot a quick glance at Aleytys and mumbled a few words.
âLouder.â
âIâm sorry, sabbiyya.â His voice wavered uncertainly.
âNow.â Zavar straightened. âGet your clothes on.â She glared at Kurrah, who sat openmouthed on the other bed. âYou! Get off that. Get into your tunic.â She tapped her foot gently on the floor. âWell?â
Kurrah scrambled quickly out of the quilts and thrust his head through the neck of the brown hooded tunic.
When the boys were dressed and shod, Aleytys helped Zavar strip the beds. As she bundled the sheets together, she asked curiously, âWhereâs Kahruba? I thought she paired with you this month.â
Zavar shrugged. Then the corners of her mouth curled up. Her eyes flicked from Kurrah to Jorchi. âWell,â she said temperately, âyou know Ruba.â
Aleytys eyed her for a moment, seething with curiosity. Then she sighed. âYeah. Shall I get the clean sheets?â
Zavar chewed on her bottom lip, then she grinned. âNo. Ruba can make the beds when she crawls out of her own.â She turned briskly and pushed the boys out of the room. Aleytys snorted, then kicked the sheets out the door and followed.
Half an hour later they emerged from the majlis for the last time, blown out on the winds of the morning chant to the Madar. Zavar shook her head and ran her fingers through her hair. âAlmost time for breakfast. I could eat a gav raw. Come on, Leyta.â
Aleytys caught her arm and pulled her around. âCome on yourself. Stop teasing, Vari. What is wrong with Ruba?â
Zavar flicked a cautious glance up and down the hall. Then she faced Aleytys, hands on hips, mouth flashing into an ear-to-ear grin. âMorning sickness.â The grin erupted into a giggle and she leaned back against the wall shaking all over with little spurts of laughter. âMad enough to set her hair on fire too,â she gasped.
Giggling helplessly, Aleytys leaned beside her. After a minute she wiped her streaming eyes and pushed the straggling hair out of her face. âThatâs making the punishment fit the crime. Any idea who got her that rattled?â
With a derisive grin Zavar touched her forehead in a mock shalikk and tilted her head to look up at her taller cousin. âSince when does our regal lady bother to talk to us lowly babes? But I think itâs a Khug. I saw her down by the waterfall poking around the mills about midthaw. And I kept seeing Nar Khugson drifting around there a lot at the same time. You know what heâs like.â
Aleytys wrinkled her nose. âHuh! Think sheâll marry out?â
âA Khug? Not a hope.â Zavar stood up and shook out her abba. âNo, indeed. You know damn well her aimâs higher than that. Havenât you seen her snuggling up to Vajd? Give her eyeteeth to be consort. Itâs enough to give you sweetsickness to hear her talk to him.â
The laughter washed out of Aleytys. Her stomach knotted into a cold hard lump. âWhat about him?â she asked as casually as she could.
Zavar caught her hand and squeezed it warmly. âSheâs got about as much hope as Qumri getting Azdar back in the sack. Vajdâs Zeb fast to her dumb Aab. He saw through her years ago.â She gnawed on her lower lip and gazed seriously at Aleytys. âBe careful, will you, Leyta? If she ever suspected â¦â When Aleytys said nothing, she smiled and dropped the subject. After stretching and groaning, she said, âI nearly forgot. You go on down, Leyta. I better roust out the little mother and tell her she had a dozen beds to make. How sheâll love me â¦â Trailing a laugh behind her, she danced away down the hall.
Whistling cheerfully, Aleytys clattered down the stairs. The patio doors stood open to the warming morning air and the corridor was a highway for