Nannan sat back in her chair and frowned at the table. “This is all very strange,” she muttered. “The dead should stay dead.”
Daranen spoke, joining the conversation. “The Laws of God and Man state that the ways of all Deities, and by extension Their servants, Their priesthoods, shall be respected in every land, so long as those ways cause no harm to their neighbors or their surroundings. Foreign Gods and Goddesses need not be worshipped in someone else’s land, but Their ways and servants are to be respected,” the scribe clarified. “To do less than show common respect for a servant of the Dual One, Darkhan and Dark Ana, is to do less than show respect for a servant of the Married Gods, Kata and Jinga.”
Saleria shrugged and spread her hands when Nannan glanced her way for support. “Daranen has it right. Even I learned that in my temple training, as part of our courses on how to behave as a holy emissary while traveling overseas. If it applies to a priest or priestess of Katan, then it applies in reverse to a priest, priestess, or Witch of Darkhana.”
Caught between three such clearly united forces, Nannan scowled for a long moment, then sighed roughly and slumped against the carved wooden slats of her seat. “Well, it’s still very strange. And very disappointing. And . . . and very strange!”
“You are of course free to feel that way, if you like,” Teral allowed lightly. “It is simply a foreign way of service and worship, and does not cause any harm to the worship or the ways of Kata and Jinga, however strange our Darkhanan ways may appear. Now, to get back to the original topic . . . as you may have noticed, Holiness,” he said, addressing Saleria once more, “neither I nor Aradin need help ‘moving’ our belongings. But I should return to the inn to close out our rental agreement.
“Milady Nannan,” he added, turning back to the housekeeper, “do you think there might be a bit of that delicious apple cake left over from last night? And if there is, could you perhaps have a slice waiting for me when I return, with that spicy-sweet sauce? It’ll be yet another treat my Host, Aradin, will have to miss out on, but I find I am enjoying most of your cooking, now that I am free to enjoy it directly rather than sensing it only secondhand.”
The housekeeper blushed and smiled tentatively, not completely immune to his charm despite Teral’s uncomfortable revelations. Saleria bit her lip again to keep from laughing. From what she had observed, Aradin had a different quality and style of charm, but both men were clearly used to smoothing their path diplomatically in their travels.
I can’t blame Nannan for being re-captivated, she decided, listening to her housekeeper promising to save him a piece. The older woman didn’t quite simper, but she wasn’t quite as dismayed as before, either. I do find Teral charming myself.
* * *
“Good morning, Nannan!”
“Aieee!”
Wits scrambled by sleep, it took Saleria a few moments to process the noises that had awakened her. When she did, she realized her housekeeper was now berating their house guest for scaring the older woman. Dragging the spare pillow over her head, Saleria tried to ignore the argument in the corridor outside her door.
With the feather-stuffed cushion muffling some of the sounds, she couldn’t hear any distinct words, but she could hear how cheerful Aradin sounded as he replied to Nannan’s scolding. Teasing her, from the sound of it. An involuntary smile curved her lips, and she stretched under the covers, luxuriating in the thought that maybe, just maybe, she could sleep in.
Nannan’s voice grew abruptly louder as she marched into the Keeper’s bedroom, “. . . and you’ll never be allowed to do anything of the sort, you—you foreigner!”
Oh, that does it! That was far too rude for her to ignore. Rolling over, Saleria flung her pillow at Nannan the moment she spotted the older woman. Shrieking and flinching as it hit her shoulder, Nannan clutched at her ample chest.
“Oh! Oh, how dare you?” she demanded, facing Saleria.
Pushing up onto her feet on the bed, Saleria towered over her housekeeper. She knew she looked ridiculous, with her hair in a tangled mess and her night-tunic barely covering her thighs, but she had had enough. “How dare you, Nannan of the family Bourain?” Saleria demanded. Two steps moved her to the edge of the bed, where she balanced and glared. “I told you to treat Aradin Teral as an honored guest in this house. Yet you have done nothing but insult and berate him—and for nothing more than giving you a polite greeting.”
“But the man is a—” Nannan protested.
Saleria cut her off, jabbing her finger at the housekeeper. “You will attend the morning prayers in the cathedral today. You will say the Prayers of Penitence—all eight of them—and you will do it twice over. You will do one round of them as you apologize to Holy Kata for disturbing the tranquility of Her Keeper’s house, and for failing to be hospitable to an honored guest. You will do the second round as you apologize to Holy Jinga for lacking a sense of humor, and a sense of grace under pressure.