People of the Lakes(103)
“Nice child,” Star Shell commented as she used the flake to scrape up the powder from the hollow in the mortar and pile it into a mussel shell Tall Man had provided. The notion returned to her that the Magician had spent a great deal of his life in the company of nefarious characters.
“Poor old Clamshell.” He inspected the powder. “It hadn’t occurred to me that she’d slipped so much. She knows better than to let lice take over her house. She used to be so fastidious.” Star Shell paused awkwardly. “She says you fathered one of her children.”
Tall Man turned away and poured the contents of the mussel shell into the pot of steaming water. “There, let it steep for a while. Then we can soak the blankets and our clothing in it. As for us, a good scrubbing in the creek will take care of any other little pests. We’ll rub ourselves with some walnut rinds that I’m carrying. That should cure most of the trouble.”
Star Shell pointed at the worn mortar. “What about the residue?
Someone will use this mortar again.”
“Burn it out. It needs to be reshaped anyway.”
Star Shell placed the pestle to one side and studied the dwarf.
“You don’t strike me as a fatherly type.”
He finally sighed at the sight of Star Shell’s arched eyebrow.
“Yes, she had my child. Or claims she did. With Clamshell, it was hard to say whose child was whose.”
“She claims to have been quite a lover.” Tall Man smiled and fingered his chin. “Yes, she was. Made a study of it. Had quite a reputation.”
Star Shell stared up at the rounded shoulders of the wooded hitis. An eagle soared across the open patch of sky, then vanished behind the trees. “Is that why you didn’t stay with her?”
Tall Man stared into the steaming water. “No. It wasn’t that at all. I … well, I couldn’t. That’s all. Sometimes people get themselves into … I guess you could call them situations. I was young, you see. And she was the Evening Star.”
Star Shell started at the name. “But I thought that was just a story!”
Tall Man glanced back at the house. “No, young Star Shell.
She was the most beautiful woman in the world. Men came from all the corners of the earth just to look at her. To my knowledge, at least four men died in fights over her.” “She says five.”
“Five, then. It doesn’t matter.”
Star Shell placed her hands on her hips. “So why didn’t you stay with her? Last night she spoke very affectionately of you.”
“She was married, not that that ever stopped her. No, I … “
He glanced up uneasily, seeing Star Shell’s confusion. “I did something. It was a long time ago.”
“The way she talked, I guess you could say she had some regrets. Maybe her husband wouldn’t have mattered.”
“In her eyes, a husband never mattered.”
“Then is that why you didn’t stay with her? Because she wouldn’t be loyal?”
Tall Man squinted up at the sun. “Star Shell, you must understand.
She was like a fragrant flower. She drew men to her like bees to the bloom. To love and couple was simply her nature. Some women are by nature fine potters. Some women have the talent for weaving, dying, clan politics, or healing. In the case of the Evening Star, hers was coupling. That was where Power gave her her greatest art. Generally, a man and a woman
learn each other over time. She knew intuitively how to make the greatest pleasure out of coupling.”
“So I’m right. You didn,‘t want everyone sharing her bed?”
He seemed to hedge. “No, I wouldn’t have wanted that.”
She studied him, a frown chiseling her brow. “Why do I get the feeling that you’re not telling me everything?”
“You’ve been too close to Power for too long. You’re starting to read souls.” He sighed in defeat. “I suppose you might say that she and the Mask share a great deal in common. Wherever the Evening Star went, controversy, trouble, and ferment followed. Nevertheless, I would have accepted that.”
Star Shell cocked her head. “You keep avoiding the reason, Tall Man. Should I ask Clamshell?”
“She doesn’t know.” He dropped his gaze to the trampled snow. “And I’d prefer to keep it that way. One of these days her ghost will probably find out.”
“Her ghost?”
“Ghosts learn a great deal more than the living do, my girl.
They see through the lies perpetrated by the living.”
“I won’t tell her. But I think I need to know. This is important, isn’t it?””
“Why do you think that?”