And we all needed that power now.
I was thinking about how to use that when I dumped our clothing into the wash basin. Slowly, the water sank into the cloth, but I simply watched it, trying to find a way to make our numbers help the girls who were about to wed these men.
A set of hands reached across me and began wringing the fabric in the water. "Is your husband a disappointment?" Felicity asked, proving she'd caught me lost in my thoughts.
"Oh, I've got it," I assured her, joining in.
"And you didn't answer the question," she teased. "Seriously, Callah. How are you adjusting to being a wife?"
"I do not think my situation is the same as most," I told her. "My husband is fine."
"And the breeding?"
My hands stilled. "It's..."
"Horrific," she finished for me. "You can say it." Then she moved the soap closer. "But I don't have a fray. I just hoped you'd have some way to help these girls."
"The girls?" someone asked from another basin. "The ones who just got married?"
"And the ones about to get married," Felicity said.
So the woman grabbed her things and dragged them dripping to drop them before us. It took her two trips, but she spoke the entire time. "I'm not sure there's anything we can do. Did you see the way those men punished them right in front of us?"
"Abused," I grumbled.
She dropped her last armful and stared at me. "What was that?"
"Abused," I said, stronger this time. Then I lifted my head, daring her to say I was wrong.
"Which one are you?" she asked.
"Callah Warren," I told her.
"Juness Chatham," she replied.
"And she's right," Felicity said as the outer door opened, making us all pause.
But the person who wandered in was a face I was pleased to see. Ms. Lawton. Like me, she had a basket of laundry. She was also watching the floor, clearly as lost in her thoughts as I'd been in mine.
"Ms. Lawton," I greeted her.
She paused, her head snapping up. Then, slowly, a smile began to appear. "It's Miriam, Mrs. Warren."
"Still Callah," I reminded her. "And we were just talking about today's ceremony."
"A pile of manure and rot!" she snapped, tossing her laundry into the bin just a bit further down than mine. "Stoning?"
"Do you think they made that up on the spot?" Juness asked.
"Wouldn't shock me," Felicity said. "The rate the rules are changing? How are we supposed to keep up?"
"And all of them to benefit the men!" I grumbled.
"Speak up, child," Juness chided.
"Men!" I said, lifting my voice. "They lowered the age. They've ignored the covenant that founded this place. And now?Now they're not even holding their hands before the entire community! This is abuse!"
"It is," Felicity agreed.
