Tess smiled. 'That wasn't actually what I meant. I mean, having this tent, and everything that means. I don't have any idea how to-except that I've worked beside your daughters, but to have my own tent-well, I've lived in a city all my life. I don't know what to do.'
'You are still my daughter. I have daughters enough and grandchildren enough and other kin to share with you the work and the responsibility that this tent gives you. But you understand, Tess, that this is his tent, truly.'
'Oh, yes. I understand that.'
'Yet it must be yours as well. I trust that you have the strength to make it so.'
Tess thought about this a while. Irena allowed her the silence to do so. 'Yes,' she said finally. 'I do. Will you have some cakes?'
Irena smiled and took one. 'You and I will deal very well together, Tess.'
They sampled the sweets for a little while, commenting on their flavor.
'What will happen to Vera?' Tess asked at last. 'And to Karolla Arkhanov?'
'Arina is willing to take Vera back but that is a question that must go before the assembled Elders of both tribes. There will have to be some punishment.' She frowned. 'Arina is also willing to take in Karolla Arkhanov and her two children. I don't like it. I suspect Arina of harboring a fondness for her cousin Vasil which is impairing her judgment.'
'Oh.' Tess examined Irena Orzhekov thoughtfully. 'Didn't you like Vasil?'
'Yes, I liked him. He was utterly charming, as of course he knew he was. But I would never trust him. And should it come to that, Tess,' she said severely, 'neither should you.'
Tess wisely did not respond to this bait.
'Well, Karolla was no different than the rest of us, to fall in love with a handsome face, and she has obviously been loyal to him, so perhaps their children will inherit her heart to make up for having his looks.'
'Ilya is handsome,' Tess pointed out.
'My nephew,' said his aunt, 'is arrogant, ambitious, impulsive, and even vain, but he is not, I think, conceited. Tess. If you have a duty to your kin in this far-off city, you must not let Ilya bully you into staying here. I love my nephew but I am not blind to his faults.'
'It is true, Mother Orzhekov, that I have a duty to my brother. But I also-' She hesitated, twining her fingers together. But you also have a duty to yourself. And sometimes you cannot understand how to serve a greater cause until you understand yourself.
'I also have time-' time enough, that the jaran could not comprehend- 'to fulfill my duty to him in years to come. But I will write him a letter.' Tess paused and smiled, remembering the letter she had left him on the Oshaki that he had never received. 'I will write Charles a letter that explains honestly what has happened and the choice I have made.' Because, she thought, / am no longer afraid to be honest with him or to make choices that he might not approve of.
Irena nodded, as if Tess's unspoken thought had spoken to her as clearly as her words. 'You must be tired, my daughter. I'll leave you now.' She gave Tess a brief but warm kiss on the cheek and left.
As soon as Irena had gone, Tess took Marco's letter out, unrolled it, and began to write a letter to Charles on the blank side. The words came swiftly and with confidence. Just as she finished, Katerina and Ivan tore into the tent and leapt on the pillow vacated by their grandmother. Kolia toddled in after them and immediately grabbed a cake in each hand.
'Vania!' Sonia called from outside. 'I told you not to bother Tess. Katerina!'
'Out.'
Tess started around. 'Ilya!'
He stood in the curtained entrance that partitioned off the inner chamber. 'Ivan. Katerina. Out. Your mother is calling. Yes, here's a kiss.' They accepted their kisses and then ran out, giggling. Kolia lifted his arms, and Ilya sighed, but he picked him up. 'You're a nuisance, kriye,' he said, and kissed him on each fat cheek. 'Now.' He took him over to the entrance and with a firm shove propelled him outside.
'There you are, Kolia,' they heard Sonia say. 'Tess?'
'I'm fine,' she replied. In a lower voice, 'Ilya, are you mad? I'm not supposed to see you for nine days.'
'Why did I mark you, damn it?' He sat down beside her and absently ate the last cake. 'I forgot all about those damned restrictions.'
'You'd better leave.'
'Oh, no, my wife. It is from dawn tomorrow that I may not see you, and I'll, by the gods, stay in this tent until dawn.'
'Yes, my husband,' she said mildly.
He put his arm around her and they sat for a time in silence.
'I want children, Tess,' he said suddenly.
'Yes, Ilya,' she agreed.
He glanced at her. 'I don't trust you when you're in this mood.'
'Which mood?'
'You're being very agreeable.'
'Oh, I'm sure it won't last.'
He sighed, content, and gathered her closer to him.
The two lanterns cast a warm glow across them, the blending of two shifting, impatient fires that, never still, were yet constant. Their light burned on through the night, long since forgotten. Outside, the wind stirred the grass, and the river ran on, and a fire smoldered between tents, ready to take flame again in the morning.
