As if sensing my darkening mood, Penelope began to talk whileshe worked. “I wanted to see the suitors. That is why I was in disguise. I am not permitted to wander the palace as a princess. But as a slave, I can slip by unnoticed. I used to do it sometimes when my father entertained guests back home.”
“Why did you want to see them?”
“I wanted to assess my options.”
“I thought you didn’t get a say in that,” I said, wincing as she retrieved another shard.
“I have no choice in marriage, but when it comes to choosing a suitor, men can be far more easily swayed than one might think. The trick is letting them believe it wastheiridea.”
“Like yesterday, when you let Polydeuces win your game?”
A wisp of surprise stole across her face, and I hated how much I liked the sight of it, knowing how rare it was to see.
“Yes.” She nodded, staring up at me. “Just like that.”
“Why did you do it? Let him win?”
“Sometimes it is more advantageous to lose. Polydeuces has a terrible temper, and I did not wish to unleash it on you.” She paused as if catching herself, then added quickly, “Or any of those serving him.”
We both glanced away at the same moment, the awkwardness palpable between us.
“This might hurt. I am sorry,” she murmured as she tugged at a larger shard.
“So you just…snuck around in disguise and decided…on a husband?” I forced the question through gritted teeth.
“Not quite.” She kept her focus on her task as she spoke. “I have been gathering information on all the suitors for many moons now. I had narrowed my choices down to a few candidates, but I wished to see them in person before I decided which would be the best fit.”
“And have you? Chosen?”
“Odysseus, prince of Ithaca, is the best match.”
“That suitor in the hallway? He’s a bit old, isn’t he?”
“He’s thirty-eight summers.”
“That’s over twice your age.”
Penelope smiled thinly. “Do you think that matters to my uncle? There are suitors here who have seen over sixty summers. This shard is quite deep.”
I winced, gripping the chair. “So…why him?”
I did not care what her answer was, did not care who she married. This was just a distraction from the pain, a channel in which to focus my thoughts.
That was all.
“They say Odysseus is an intelligent man, and he values that trait in others. He is known to treat his people with respect, and he also speaks highly of his mother and sister.There.” She held up a bloodstained fragment. “I think that’s the last of them.”
“That can’t be all.”
“I think it is. I cannot see any more remnants in there—”
“No. I mean that cannot be the only reason you chose Odysseus.”
Penelope paused, her gaze creeping up to meet mine.
“No, you’re right,” she murmured, drawing in a breath. “Ithaca is a modest kingdom of little renown. Odysseus wishes to build it into something greater. I think it would be…interestingto be the queen of an evolving kingdom. I believe there would be more opportunities for me there.”
She admitted the last part as if it were a secret, as if her ambition were a shameful thing to be kept in the shadows.
