“Not to worry. I will strangle them for you,” Thratta offered.
Eurynome smiled. “Thank you, Thratta. That’s very kind.”
“There will be no smotheringorstrangling,” I sighed, rubbing my temples to try to settle my brewing headache.
“But thereisa funeral shroud?” Hippodamia ventured.
“Just listen to Penelope’s plan, will you? All of you? Please,” I groaned.
Penelope’s eyes met mine, humor dancing in them as she read my exasperation. It was nice, seeing that lightness in her gaze, given all that weighed upon us.
A rare, attentive silence enveloped the room as Penelope rose and walked toward the loom we had carried in from her bedchamber. Absently, she plucked a thread.
“As you know, I have told the suitors I will take a husband,” shesaid. Her expression was steady, but then it shifted, eyes growing misty, voice thick as she continued. “But I shall inform them that Laertes, my dear father-in-law, is dying, and I cannot possibly think of marriage until I have completed a funeral shroud in preparation for his imminent departure for the realm below.”
Hippodamia sat bolt upright from her mound of cushions. “Laertes is dying?”
Penelope blinked, and the emotion in her face vanished, replaced by a small, cunning smile. “No. No more so than any other aging mortal at least. But the suitors need not know the details of his condition.”
“They will have no choice but to accept Penelope’s request,” I said. “It would incur the wrath of the gods if they denied her the right to properly perform Laertes’s burial rites.”
The handmaids shared a look, lips curling as understanding sparked between them.
“How much time will it give us?” Autonoë asked.
“As long as we need,” Penelope said, running her fingers over the loom. “Each day, I will make progress, and each night, we will undo it. Only a little at a time, so we do not arouse suspicion.”
Actoris snorted. “Those pigs will be too drunk to notice.”
Beside her, Thratta grumbled, “I prefer the strangling plan.”
“I do too,” I admitted. “But if we shed their blood, we could start another war. A war we cannot win.”
“But it is ourright,” Thratta insisted. “These men have dishonored us.”
“It does not matter if it is rightful or not. If we take revenge, it will spark outrage across all of Greece,” Penelope pointed out. “The only person who could do such a thing is Laertes or Odysseus. And we all know Laertes is far too old and has no interest in the throne.”
“So if Odysseus were here, it would be his right to kill them?” Hippodamia asked.
Penelope nodded. “That is why I have sent messengers far and wide to spread word of the suitors infesting the House of Odysseus.My husband might have been beguiled by the promises of a goddess, but I know Odysseus loves this land and would be loath to let his throne fall to anyone but his own blood.”
“Do you really believe that will be enough to bring Odysseus home?” Autonoë whispered. “After all this time?”
“If he is still the man I once knew,—yes,” Penelope said, returning to her chair beside Eurynome. “In the meantime, I have instructed Telemachus to secure whatever allies he can while we delay the suitors for as long as possible.” She paused then, taking her time to look each of us in the eye before continuing. “It will be dangerous. The suitors will grow impatient eventually. There is only so much wine and food that will satiate them, and we saw last night what kind of brutality they consider entertainment. That is why I am going to temporarily rehome as many palace slaves as feasibly possible. I will place them with families in Ithaca until it is safe for them to return to their duties here. I would like you all to consider this option as well.”
I felt the others shifting around me, a mix of surprise and sadness staining the air.
Penelope’s smile was thin as she went on. “You are all incredibly important to me. For the past seventeen summers, I have had the honor of living beside you, of building a home together. But now…” She swallowed, her voice catching as she admitted, “I can no longer guarantee your safety within these walls.”
“We can handle ourselves,” Thratta interjected, her tone softened by the sadness in Penelope’s eyes.
“She knows that,” I said gently. “Hear her out.”
Thratta nodded, signaling for Penelope to continue.
“If I placed you with another family in Ithaca, you would have some protection from the suitors…but I also have another offer.” Penelope paused, lacing her hands in her lap before proceeding. “As a woman, I cannot give you your freedom, however much I wish I could. But I can secure you safe passage out of Ithaca. A boat that will take you wherever you wish to go. You will notlegallybe free, but youwill have your freedom—as much of it as I can grant you.”
“You’re sending us away?” Hippodamia whispered, eyes shimmering.
