Page 27 of The Boy Bride

“He’s alive,” Vanu signed to Mikhi. “He’s at our house.” To Faru he replied, “If Padunu says so, I’m sure it is.”

Mikhi repeated that aloud without missing a beat. She made it sound exactly as dry as Vanu had intended. She was so good at this.

“Insolent child,” Faru hissed.

“Don’t speak to my daughter like that.”

“Da, do I really have to translate that?”

“No.”

Padunu, apparently sensing that there was some insult to him implied in all this, said stiffly, “I assure you, Lord Faru, I have been strictly truthful. As I always am.”

“Hello, Da, Lord Vanu. Padunu! You’re back so soon?” Khatu came strolling out of the great house, Barda on his heels, their mother following like a herd dog behind a couple of wayward sheep.

“I have informed your father of your disobedience,” Padunu announced.

“We knew you would,” said Khatu cheerfully. “How did you like our present, Lord Vanu?”

“He looks like he liked it,” said Barda. That must have been because Vanu was still grinning.

“We just thought it would be a waste,” Khatu went on. “Chopping him up and throwing him over the wall the way you wanted us to do.”

“We thought you’d reconsider if you got a chance to really get to know him.” Barda made a jerking motion with his hips, just in case his meaning wasn’t clear.

“So we chucked him in your window.”

“Expressly flouting your father’s orders!” cried Padunu.

“Nah, we were flouting Lord Vanu’s orders. Hey, Lord Vanu? That’s why we’re begging his pardon now.”

Most of the time, Khatu Gukhártu displayed all the shrewdness of a wood mushroom, but he had his moments.

“They weren’t my orders,” said Vanu.

“Oh, whoops!” said Khatu. “Da, you’re lucky, then. Hey? If we’d done what you said, Lord Vanu would be mad.”

You could almost hear Faru grinding his teeth. He said nothing.

“So what did you think?” Barda persisted. “How did you like him?”

“Haven’t seen him,” said Vanu aloud. He didn’t like to make Mikhi translate any part of a conversation about his enjoyment of the lowland boy. “Been out.”

Khatu and Barda exchanged surprised looks.

“Oh, we thought you were home when we made the delivery.”

“When?”

“About noon.”

Well, that was peculiar. It was mid-afternoon now. Noon was about when Vanu had heard the brothers arguing with Padunu outside his door. If they’d put the boy in through the upstairs front window—that was his bedchamber. He’d been in there. He’d gone up to put away blankets, not long after hearing the commotion outside, and the boy had not been there. Had he? This was all so absurd already …

Vanu gave Khatu and Barda a long, sceptical look. Barda flinched visibly, and Khatu’s bright grin dimmed a little.

“Padunu can tell you—we did do it,” said Barda.

“He must still be in there,” Khatu suggested.