“You can take this bed,” a woman with twin black braids said. “I’m Meg.”
“Lu,” a curvy redhead said by way of introduction. “We aresocurious to see what else is in your bag. Quick, get changed and come sit with us.”
Somehow my brain made this warm welcome out to be worse than being ignored—I wasn’t expecting to be the center of attention! My palms were suddenly sweaty around my satchel handle. I set the bag on the bed that Meg showed me.
“I don’t know if I have nightclothes,” I said, trying to remember if I had seen any.
Meg looked at me empathetically. “Did a servant pack for you? I’m sure they included something.” Her skin was a beautiful bronze, like tribal descendants back home. Her frame was petite, and short too, almost as short as Sorrel.
Thankfully, Sorrel had foreseen the need for nightwear that covered my full bottom, and I was quickly settled among the other women, bag on my lap, passing around lip gloss for everyone to try on.
“Mmm,” Lu said, popping her lips. “It feels almost like honey. Sticky.”
A woman who had introduced herself as Denise wondered, “But it tastes like food?”
“Strawberries,” I said.
There were notes of appreciation all around.
“Lu,” Denise said, “finish the story you were telling before Lady Dottie came in.”
“Just Dottie,” I said quickly as they all had shared their first names with me.
I didn’t know what I had been so scared of. Everyone was being kind. They must feel like a sisterhood, rooming together, looking out for each other in patriarchal times. After all, unmarried women had their reputations to protect. I’d only had a few brief clumsy college boyfriends myself, but these noble ladies had probably been forced to be chaste their whole youth.
Lu continued her story with a smile.
“I could tell he was much bigger than Ian when I slid my hand down the front of his breeches.”
There were gasps.
“Lu,” Meg with the braids chastised. “Ian was your betrothed.”
“It was arranged.” Lu shrugged. “And then he died of pox. I had my doubts he’d satisfy me my whole life, and look, twenty-three and he’s already a disappointment.”
Meg frowned at Lu.
Lu mockingly frowned back. “What am I supposed to do, spend my whole youth in mourning over a man who told me I’d whelp eight sons for him?”
If I wasn’t engrossed before, I was positively spellbound now. This was...wild.I hadn’t had many escapades and even if I had, I never would have been confident enough to talk about them with my girlfriends, which I also didn’t have.
“Dottie didn’t hear the first part,” Denise prompted.
Lu looked only too happy to comply. “There he was, leaning under the arch, looking pensive,” Lu continued, glee on her face. “I stopped and”—Lu took an appropriately somber expression—“said how fortunate the queendom was for his services and if he ever had a need I could help with...Ironclaw said he had one big need in particular.”
Laughter rang through the room but my heart had stopped at the mention of Ironclaw. She’d flirted with him that evening?
“Well, I’ve never felt so bold. I moved right close—to pick a thread off his shoulder, mind you—and then carefully positioned my other hand between us as if only by accident as I leaned in.” Lu looked at her fingernails. “What I wouldn’t do to support my queendom. Then ol’ Parable came rambling through, muttering to himself about moonstones, and I had to come here.”
I couldn’t believe it. Ironclaw was ripe for the picking and I missed it.
“Weren’t you worried about,” I started hesitantly, then lowered my voice as if she could hear, “the queen?”
There was silence as if I’d said afaux pas. Then they all laughed.
“Why?” Lu challenged me. “It’s not like anything happened. Ironclaw should be more worried about what our fair queen is doing while he’s away in the forest.”
They weren’t true to each other. I had hope.
