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.He had no family, no station, and if he had not joined the Legaciatti, his future would not have been bright.“You want children, when you retire?”“Maybe.”“You’d make a great father.” His thoughts turned to Isolda.Like Drusus, she had no family to support her, but in her case there was no retirement stipend coming her way.Her prospects were severely limited, and she seemed to know this, since she was concentrating all her energy on Rory.“Do you think the emperor and empress would approve of Isolda?”“Of course not,” said Drusus.“She isn’t even legal.”Marius sighed.Lucien and Vitala had given him so much, and he didn’t want to anger or disappoint them.Lucien wanted Marius to make a marriage that befitted his station—gods, that hated word again—and Marius granted that this wasn’t much for Lucien to ask.Lucien was building a family, and the woman Marius married would become part of that family.Isolda had little to recommend herself to the emperor.She wasn’t wealthy, or connected, or magical, or educated.As Drusus had pointed out, she wasn’t even legal.She had street smarts, business smarts.But what use was that in the imperial palace?He supposed it made little difference what the emperor would think of her.She’d run away again, and he hadn’t the slightest idea where to find her.∞Isolda scooped Rory up from the storeroom floor before he could reach a stack of wrought-iron lanterns.He could now walk a few steps unassisted, but when he really wanted to get somewhere, he dropped to all fours.His crawl was so fast, and his curiosity so insatiable, that she had to keep a close eye on him all hours of the day.“No lanterns for you,” she scolded, and carried him out into the general store.Tiwar, who was manning the counter, gave her a nod.The store had tripled in size since she’d first come here.Over the past year and change, Jauld’s General Store had earned a reputation for quality, variety, and fair prices.As a result, they’d begun to draw more business than they could handle.She and Jauld solved the problem by buying some of the adjoining property and building on additions.They’d also hired a couple of clerks.Now that Isolda had her hands full with Rory, it was impossible to keep up with the store on her own.“I’m heading home.Got to feed the little one.”“See you in the morning, Miss Isolda.”The walk home was two blocks along the dirt road, and the evening was fine.She inhaled deeply, breathing in the scents of clover and pine.Glancing at the side of the road, she spied a few bees hovering over the white flowers.Honey would be in season soon.She’d have to contact the local beekeepers tomorrow and make sure she got some in stock the moment it was available.In her arms, Rory squirmed and fussed.He wanted to walk, probably to meander and look at the bees, but Isolda was dead on her feet and eager to get home.Not that home life was enjoyable.Ever since that day in the shop when Jauld’s friends had insulted her, Jauld had become cool and distant.He wasn’t the loving husband she’d dreamed of.It was clear now that no matter how hard she tried, her husband was never going to warm to her.He wasn’t violent or cruel; just indifferent.It was as she’d feared—she wasn’t pretty enough to be loved.And yet she could not help feeling angry at his scorn.She’d never tricked him.He’d known exactly what she was and made the marriage offer of his own volition.At the time, it seemed he’d liked her.Now, for some reason, he didn’t.He ought to appreciate one thing about her: she was making him wealthy.She’d transformed his business from a dingy junk shop to a clean, modern store that customers traveled miles to visit.Through her efforts—Jauld seldom lifted a finger to help—his fortunes and hers had improved.They’d been able to make renovations to their house.She’d bought a nicer wardrobe and some face paint in hopes of appealing more to Jauld’s eye.It wasn’t working, as far as she could tell, but he did still come to her bed.She didn’t enjoy sleeping with him, but she was glad he did.It was the only way she’d have more children.Rory was the one bright spot in her life.He wasn’t an easy baby—he was insatiably curious, always getting into trouble—but, even so, he was a delight.For years she had envied her sisters their fine marriages and fine children.Now she had a baby of her own, and little Rory had become the center of her world.It didn’t matter whether Jauld appreciated her improvements to the store.She wasn’t doing it for him.She was doing it for Rory, who would one day inherit the fruits of her labor.Stepping inside the house, she shut the door behind her and set a squirming Rory on the floor.When she looked up, her eyes met those of a strange woman sitting at the kitchen table.Isolda froze.The stranger was little more than a girl, perhaps sixteen years old, or at the most eighteen.She didn’t look dangerous—her wide eyes suggested she was more scared of Isolda than Isolda was of her—but what was she doing here?Isolda snatched Rory up from the ground.“Who are you, and why are you in my house?” Rory kicked and began to cry in frustration, but Isolda clung to him.The girl’s mouth fell open, but she said nothing.“Isolda, you’re home.” Jauld emerged from a back bedroom.“This is Chari.I’m sure you two will be like sisters before long.”Isolda trembled.This could not be happening.Please, let this not be happening.“What is she doing here?”“She lives here now,” said Jauld.“Chari is my new wife.”Chapter 13“You’re putting far too much effort into this.”Marius ignored his bodyguard’s words.Yes, they’d been at it for a while, and his first idea, of going to the Riat City Guard to ask them for information about where the Sardossians hid, had failed.He’d tried to frame his inquiry in terms of public health: there was a fever going around in Sardossian circles, and he wanted to heal it before it got out of hand.A prefect named Caellus had ushered him into a back office and asked him a lot of questions, most of which Marius had to dodge so he wouldn’t get Isolda into trouble.And Caellus had given him no information in return.After leaving the guardhouse empty-handed, he’d come up with a better idea.He knew that Rory worked at a fruit stand.Isolda had not said which fruit stand, and of course there were many in a city the size of Riat [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]