Counterweave

8. MISADVENTURE AT A LADIES' TEA

Chala arrived at Mistress S'ar's tea, still trembling, but not with desire. Salettin could have ravished her. Instead, he left the responsibility to his slaves, who had somehow managed to brutalize her while leaving her "intact."

She was no longer under any illusion that the two slaves had ever belonged to her.

"You're so late I considered cancelling," S'ar said as ba Tir guards walked her into the apartment. "It seems it's very hard to disengage you from your husband."

"You're the only one who wanted an afternoon ladies-only tea instead of an evening ball."

S'ar laughed. "That's me, the unique one. So, what were you doing?" She paused a beat. "No, please don't answer that. There are things about your life I never want to know."

How true, Chala thought. She intended to make her responses light, as if they shared a joke, but she couldn't even smile.

"Anyway, I wanted some time alone with you. Your wedding is just days away. You must be so excited."

"Excited is one word to say about it." Terrified is another, she thought. At one time she believed Salettin could be nothing like his father.

"Not once within the last six mooncycles did you contact me. Not even a vid call."

There is no vid in my rooms. Why Mistress S'ar believed she ever accessed one puzzled her.

"Since your husband moved you onto his floor, no one has been able to contact you. And when you party, you're so involved with him, no one can get through."

Why wouldn't I be involved with my husband? Is anyone as important? Besides, she didn't remember living in any other apartment. "Which apartment?"

S'ar studied her a moment. "All right. People told me you changed. But you're treating me like a stranger. I'm your sister. We used to share everything, Tadessa. What's wrong?"

"My sister?"

"Interesting." S'ar stared at her a long time. "Come with me. Your mother wants to talk to you."

"Mother does?" Why does Mother want to speak to me now?

"Yes. I'll let you use the vid in my father's office. He and my mother are gone for the afternoon."

Resigned, Chala nodded and followed S'ar. May as well get this done.

Completely confused when S'ar entered a code, she wondered. How does this Outsider know Mother's private vid code?

S'ar left her facing the vid's screen, and closed the door behind her.

"Darling..."

When the Lady D'ey Sol's face appeared on the screen, Chala almost disconnected. She knew she would never live through another repeat of this morning, not after Salettin's slaves had told her exactly what they would do to her if she ever disobeyed their master again.

"Darling?"

Then she remembered her mother taking her away from her aunt Suzin, not telling her why at first, but making it appear that she was giving her daughter the option of staying with the aunt who loved her. It would have been easy to stay, except she wanted to live with her mother more.