dress to reveal her breasts fully. She stroked her nipples, eyes fixed on her husband.
'Why don't we take a bit of time to enjoy this next one?' she purred.
Ullsaard's eyes snapped open and fixed her with a steely glare.
'You have a complaint?' he rasped.
'No! I only thought that perhaps you might allow me to lavish greater attention and pleasures upon you.'
'Maybe after I've seen the king.' Ullsaard crossed the room to the bowl of hot water that had been left on a stand beside the bed. He splashed his face and pulled off his tunic, revealing a muscled chest and back criss- crossed with scars.
Meliu rolled off the bed to her feet and stood behind him, dipping her hands into the water. She rubbed her hands over the taut muscles of his back, massaging the liquid into his tanned skin. Ducking beneath his arm, she took a bottle of scented oil from the table and poured a little into her palms. Rubbing them together, she warmed the oil a little and reached up to apply it to his broad shoulders. He nodded and knelt down, allowing her to better knead his knotted muscles. She moved closer, so that her arms encircled him, caressing his pectorals, and ran her fingers down the ridged muscles of his stomach towards the thick mat of curled hair at their bottom.
'I said perhaps later.' He gently grabbed her wrists and pulled them away. 'Send Donaal in with more soap and my ceremonial armour.'
'Of course, husband,' said Meliu, holding her tears behind a smile. 'Whatever you want.'
III
Garbed in a thin skirt of white linen and a black tunic, Ullsaard joined his wives in the feast room; he would put on his gilded breastplate and don his helm when it was time to leave.
'What have my sons been up to?' he asked as a servant poured wine and water for him.
'Ullnaar has been accepted into the colleges of Meemis,' Meliu announced with a proud smile. 'Luckily he has your mind and not mine.'
'And your looks and not mine,' said Ullsaard with a grin. 'I had forgotten he came of age in the spring. It doesn't seem possible that it has been sixteen years since you brought him into this world.'
'Urikh has bought himself a stake in the copper mines at Saartia,' said Luia.
'What has Ullnaar decided to study?' said Ullsaard, ignoring Luia's interruption.
'Law,' replied Meliu.
Ullsaard absorbed this as he filled his plate with slices of roasted fowl and dark bread.
'He's not joining the Brotherhood,' the general declared heavily.
'Not at all,' said Meliu, passing her husband a platter of hardbaked grain cakes. 'He is going to study city law, not criminal. Like Ahsaam and Heriot, he said.'
'Never heard of either of them.'
'Me too,' laughed Meliu. 'I think they were advisors to the last king. He is so clever.'
Ullsaard turned his gaze on Luia.
'Urikh is expanding his mercantile influence quickly,' he said. 'Kolubrid breeding, part ownership of a ship, and now copper. I suppose he'll want me to put in a word for him with the legion provisioners again.'
'It wouldn't hurt,' replied Luia. 'Though he says he already has a contract with a consortium of Ersuan kettlemakers.'
'Kettlemakers? Not interested in making armour and weapons?'
'He thinks that the legions are well-equipped as it is; he sees little profit in military supply at the moment. But every farmwife and kitchen master needs a good copper kettle.'
'And where is he at the moment?'
'In Caprion, talking to his Ersuan customers. He could be back quite soon, perhaps before you leave. You might see him. That would be nice, wouldn't it?'
'You are staying for a while, aren't you?' asked Meliu.
'I've no idea,' Ullsaard said with a shrug. 'For all I know, I'll be packed off down the Greenwater come tomorrow. We'll have to wait to see what Aalun and the king have to say this evening.'
'Please at least try to stay for a few days,' Allenya said quietly. 'Enjoy the comforts at home.'
Ullsaard smiled and sank his teeth into a peach, the juice running into his beard. His eyes stayed on Allenya. He took another bite and sighed.
'If I stay too long, I'll get used to all this again, and then it'll be harder to leave.'
'Let's not talk about leaving then,' said Allenya. 'You have only just come back to us.'
'Good idea. So, I know about my eldest and my youngest, tell me about Jutaar.'
'He remains in service to Governor Allon. He is still third captain.'
'Not yet made second?' Ullsaard could not hide his disappointment.
'He doesn't have the fire of his father,' said Luia. 'He has neither Urikh's ambition nor Ullnaar's wit. You really should find something more suitable for him than the legions.'
'Perhaps a foreman somewhere,' suggested Meliu. 'He is very practically minded.'
'He loves being a soldier,' said Allenya, directing a frown towards her sisters. She turned her gaze upon Ullsaard with a slight smile. 'Allon writes to me frequently, praising Jutaar's dedication to duty and steadfastness. Our son is content, happy even, which is more than can be said for many who aim above their means.'
'It is just as well that Urikh has a mind to grow the family's fortunes in the years to come,' said Luia. 'If Jutaar were your heir, his happiness and contentment would see our grandchildren labouring in the fields or mines.'
'That won't happen,' said Ullsaard. 'Despite your extravagances, there is still enough put by to give our grandchildren a good start in life.'
'A good start?' There was a sneer in Luia's tone, though her face did not betray her scorn. 'I want my granddaughter to have more than a 'good start'. Luissa will be the envy of noblewomen across Askh, perhaps even marry a prince.'
'She is only four, I think we should stop gossiping about Luissa as if she were come of age,' said Meliu.
Ullsaard laughed, but there was no humour in him. He leaned an elbow on the table and pointed at Luia.
'Not a chance! You may have lofty goals and ancestors of name, but there is not a drop of the Blood in this family's veins. You think your granddaughter will marry into noble lineage? No Prince of the Blood will look at her twice. You might have your fine Askhan heritage, but her name is wrong, her grandfather of Enairian stock. Perhaps you should set about finding her a wealthy merchant or perhaps a respectable officer.'
'Something else to thank my wise sister for,' Luia said, darting a venomous stare at Allenya.
'Enough!' growled Ullsaard, slapping his hand down, sending a wine jug spinning, its scarlet contents splashing across the lacquered wood of the table. He fixed Luia with a stare. 'I am not ashamed of who I am. I have given you healthy sons, provided food for your table and brought you to the palace of the king. Do not think you have somehow missed out in life because of your marriage to me! Lands in my name rival those of the oldest Askhan families. Lands, I might add, that I took by my own hand, unlike most of those entitled bastards that are our neighbours.'
'You have done well by us all, husband,' said Allenya.
'I would choose no other,' added Meliu. 'You know that, don't you?'
Ullsaard kept his gaze on Luia, who returned it with an expression of apathy. Ullsaard mentally dared her to show some sign of defiance. Instead, she smiled thinly and stood up.
'You are one of the greatest generals of the empire and any woman would be proud to call such her husband,' Luia said. 'Please excuse me, husband, I am quite worn out by the excitement of today.'
Ullsaard nodded, eyes still fixed on his middle wife. When Luia had gone, he turned to Meliu. Her lip quivered and she gripped the edge of the table fiercely.
'Ignore your sister's barbs. She is just jealous that you are younger and far prettier than she is.'
'Yes, she is,' replied Meliu with a half-smile. She glanced between Ullsaard and Allenya and the flicker of a smile disappeared. 'Please excuse me also; I wish to write a letter to Ullnaar.'
'Of course,' said Ullsaard. He took two steps towards Meliu with an outstretched hand, but she turned away
