that it had grown in the telling. It certainly guaranteed that there were no food fights again.
She noticed the three older boys had unbent and were treating Jadrie and Kira more as their equals than usual. This meant, of course, that instead of being ignored, the girls came in for teasing and surreptitious prodding and poking. For a while, they seemed to enjoy it, but when the sweet was served, they were clearly beginning to lose their tempers. She debated interfering, but Merili beat her to it.
'Weren't there supposed to be some gentlemen at this table, besides our teachers?' she asked Tarma pointedly, after a quick flash of a frown at Larsh.
'I thought so, but I haven't seen any,' Tarma replied, hiding her amusement.
'That's too bad,' Merili said with a dignity that was so funny Tarma nearly spoiled everything for her by laughing. 'If there had been gentlemen here, I was going to ask them to come riding with me after dinner.' She sighed and looked only at Tarma. 'Well, if any gentlemen appear, the invitation will still be there.'
The three older boys secretly worshipped their 'Little Princess,' and that put a stop to the tormenting. All through dessert, they remained on their best behavior, much to the relief of the other two girls. None of them wanted to fall under the Royal Disfavor, for Merili was as good-natured as she was pretty, and never minded helping when one of Jadrek's lessons proved difficult to conquer, or when something needed mending or embellishing.
As usual, the children inhaled their sweets; before many moments had passed, they had all scattered to the four winds to ride, continue last night's work on a pair of snow forts, or run off the last of their energy in games, until a candlemark before bathtime, when they would be herded to the library for study. That left the adults alone except for the baby, and they looked at each other, heaved a sigh of relief, and laughed.
'Does it get noisier every year, or is it my imagination?' Jadrek asked, prying Jendar's chubby fingers off the handle of a knife, and giving the boy his heavy silver bracelet to play with instead.
'Of course it gets noisier every year; there are more children every year,' Ikan Dryvale replied, wriggling his finger in his ear as if to clear his hearing. 'Even if you didn't take more students, Kethry would be providing the increase herself!'
'Oh, come now!' Kethry laughed. 'You make me sound like a brood-hen!'
'I overheard you delivering the Lecture to the boys, Tarma,' Justin interjected. 'How did they take it?'
'We'll have them all back after Midwinter,' she was able to tell him, with great satisfaction. 'We'll still have to pound sense into their heads, but we aren't going to be the enemy anymore.'
'Oh, really?' Ikan's eyebrows arched. 'I wasn't all that sure of young Hesten. There's a strong streak of rebellion in that one.'
'There always is in the smart ones,' Justin pointed out, refilling his cup. 'It was Belton I wasn't certain of. He hasn't completely trusted us since the day he arrived.'
'Warrl says he does now,' Tarma replied. Justin glanced over to the fireside, where Warrl was finishing his own dinner, and the kyree looked up and nodded in confirmation.
'Well, that's a relief,' was all Justin said, and the conversation turned to other topics and other students.
As the servants finished clearing the table, leaving only the pitchers of drink, Tarma sat back in her chair at the foot of the table and pondered her 'family' with a feeling of complete contentment.
Justin looked far more prosperous than he had in the old days; there were threads of gray in his blond hair, and his face was craggier, but other than that he carried his age lightly. That might have been due to Estrel, his wife, who sat beside him -- their baby Kethren was in the nursery asleep, where Jendar would be shortly. Estrel looked like what she was, a fresh-faced young shepherdess of a mere seventeen. What didn't show on the surface was a vast knowledge of herb-healing and midwifery, a very shrewd and clever mind, and an utter devotion to Justin. She first saw Justin at the school, where she and the other village younglings were taking short lessons in reading, writing, and figuring from Jadrek, who gave those lessons gratis. She had also been apprenticed to the village midwife, and had naturally come into close contact with Kethry.
Estrel had fallen in love with Justin immediately, and set about winning him for herself with a determination that surmounted each and every obstacle in her path. She fit in very well here, and was in charge of the nursery when Kethry was busy with her own students.
Justin and Estrel sat in the middle of the table on Tarma's right. Ikan sat across from them on the left.
His amber hair betrayed no gray yet, and if someone didn't know what to look for, he could be mistaken for a plowman. He still had utterly innocent blue eyes, and the face of a country-bred dolt straight out of the fields. That might have been why the younger boys responded better to him than to Justin; he didn't look nearly as intimidating. He had yet to settle down, distributing his favors to as many women as cared to fling themselves at him -- and plenty did.
Kethry and Jadrek sat at the head of the table -- and equal distribution of teachers ensured that mayhem at supper was kept to a minimum. Since they'd come 'off the road' and settled down here, on the estate that King
