People of the Owl(53)

“Indeed.” He ran his fingers along the scar tissue that ridged his ruined arm. “Thumper gave you a good child when he was your husband.”

“Is that a fact?” she countered crossly. “Did you know that the night of his brother’s return, Mud Puppy was engrossed with a cricket?”

“Some would say that was Power speaking through the boy. Rumor has it that he had a great vision up on the Bird’s Head in the middle of that storm and that Ground Cherry Camp was only part of it. Even the Serpent is overjoyed to have the boy following him around.” Mud Stalker made a tsking sound. “I think the boy’s eccentricities are something else.”

Like half-wittedness? Is that what you are banking on, that my second son is an idiot?

Mud Stalker slapped his knee with his good hand. “What if I could persuade Clay Fat to look elsewhere for a husband for Spring Cypress?”

“Why should I want that?” How much is he going to offer?

Mud Stalker’s eyes followed the first of the fireflies that rose over the grass in the plaza. The dancing yellow lights made magic in the gathering gloom as they hovered and whirled. “I might be willing to consider Pine Drop and Night Rain.”

“Pine Drop and … both of them.”

“It’s not the first time a man has had two sisters for wives.” He sounded so casual about it. “A great deal of prestige could come to a young man who was thought of so highly as to have a clan offer two of its daughters.”

She turned the notion over in her mind. Agreeing would cause a major realignment of influence among the clans. It would be a solid bonding with Snapping Turtle Clan, a reciprocal agreement that changed the entire political landscape. “Pine Drop is freshly widowed, isn’t she? She was married to that Alligator Clan boy.”

“Blue Feather. He died of some lingering illness two moons ago. Nothing she or the Serpent did seemed to shake the evil from the man. It is my belief that White Bird would make her smile again.”

“And Night Rain is …”

“Her little sister. Sweet Root’s youngest.”

“Yes, I remember. She was just declared a woman. I saw her in the Women’s House last moon. She’s a doe-eyed thing in her virgin’s dress.”

“Both are hard workers. They would make a solid household for a man. It’s not like taking two wives from different clans or lineages. They wouldn’t be jealous or spiteful of each other. These are sisters. They already like each other. They wouldn’t distract White Bird into tearing his hair out.”

With forced aplomb, she said, “I appreciate your kind offer, Mud Stalker. In spite of our past, it intrigues me.”

“Let me ask: What if I added nectar to the suggestion?” He was stroking his throat now with the studied indifference of a man who held all the right gaming pieces. “What if I told you I would not only support White Bird for Speaker within the Council, but I would argue, no, insist, that Mud Puppy be confirmed in White Bird’s place should anything ever happen to his brother.”

It was said so casually, almost in an offhand manner. With difficulty she kept her voice even. “Why would you do that?”

Mud Stalker’s head lowered, irritating her that she couldn’t see his eyes. “Sometimes, Wing Heart, the best way to win is not to fight. Sometimes a smart person finally realizes that to win tomorrow, he must lose today. For years I have tried to break Owl Clan. This is no secret between us.”

“No,” she responded flatly. “It isn’t.”

“The night the warriors prepared to counter the Swamp Panther attack, I had a Dream. A very Powerful and persuasive Dream. Bird Man appeared and told me how the fight would end. He told me that I would know the truth of his words. Very well, I have seen the return of White Bird, seen his Power in Trade and war. He will be Speaker—and a very capable one. Perhaps the most capable of all the Speakers in memory.”

“Bird Man told you to make this offer? In a Dream?”

“He did.”

“I will still be the Owl Clan Elder.”

“Indeed you will,” Mud Stalker said grimly. “But you and I both know that it will not be forever.”

She finally chuckled, reading his meaning beyond the words. “When I am dead and gone and another is Elder, my son will still be Speaker.”

“And he will be Snapping Turtle Clan’s friend.” Mud Stalker smacked his gums. “To ensure that, I will make you yet another offer. Snapping Turtle Clan will offer to marry Pine Drop and Night Rain to your second son should anything happen to the first.”

“They’d go to Mud Puppy?”