In Which Asalaye Hears About Yesterday's Weather

April 29, 1179

Asalaye's second-born squirmed in his papa's arms as Rona cooed over him. Strange sight, really--Rona, former aspirer to Lonriad's affections, over the moon about his baby with her former romantic rival. But she'd been more pleasant since her own marriage, maybe even friendly, and Asalaye herself was too happy with her life to bother with any past tension. Rona could gush all she liked.

Riona, on the other hand, was not so prone to swooning over infants. "Honey, you're stifling the poor kid."

"Am not!" Rona drew her hands in front of her face and let them fly back to the sides; Asalaye didn't have the heart to tell her that Adonis was much too young for peek-a-boo. "We're just playing--aren't we, sweetie?"

The baby yawned. The feeling mutual, Asalaye shot the cluster of bodies a tired smile. "Just give him some breathing room. He's not as social as his brother." Not unlike his aunt in comparison to her; it was a fairly obvious parallel, what with Nanalie settled beside her all silent and uncomfortable. "Nan, I'm thinking you'll be his favorite."

Nanalie acknowledged her with little more than a batted lash, stoic even for her. During the birth, she'd been all business and had said little more than what was required of aunts after the ordeal--also odd, given how she'd indulged Had's two and little Sevvie. "Something on your mind?"

"Probably just admiring her newest little nephew from afar," offered Lonriad with a smirk. Riona lightly cuffed him across the arm, earning a giggle from Rona. "What? I think he's pretty admirable myself. Don't you, Nan?"

"Yes. He certainly is."

She chose not to elaborate. If only the others would go away so Asalaye could ask!

At least, she hoped Nanalie would tell her. Everyone did have their own private secrets, but when Nanalie was thinking about her own, she made a point to never look so far away. If she didn't want to talk about it, she would make sure there was nothing to talk about. "Nan--"

A quick glance Asalaye's way, Lonriad pulled the baby to his shoulder and nodded toward the other two. "Well, ladies, shall we introduce this little fellow to his grandparents?"

It was good to know he wasn't always as stupid as he looked. Thank you.

He strode toward the door and pushed through it, his sister and her friend trailing behind him. Asalaye waited until she heard her stepmother's squeal from the next room, then turned to her sister. "So? What is it?"

Nanalie sighed. "You're not going to leave me alone until I tell you, are you?"

"Of course not."

"Fine." She pushed a strand of hair behind her ear and nudged her pillow upward. "I slept with Garrett."

"Seriously?" Asalaye's lips curled as her sister nodded. "About damn time! When did this happen?"

Nanalie's eyes rolled back in their sockets. She must have thought the details inconsequential. Oh, she was sorely mistaken. "During that storm, when we were both stuck here for the night."

Oooh! Her own castle, the site of her sister's big night! Good to know it wasn't just the randy servants putting those beds to good use. "After you were done, did you spend the night together?"

"Yes."

"Who woke first? You or him?"

"I did."

"Did you leave before he got up?"

"No."

"Then...?"

"Then we got dressed and went for breakfast with you and Lonriad." Nanalie inhaled sharply as her eyes narrowed to slits. "Why does it matter?"

"Because it does." Like it needed more explanation than that. "You're not pregnant, are you?"

"No. I got some precautionary herbs from Laveria on my way home from your place. I've bled since then."

"Good." The chatter in the next room continued as usual; it was lucky for Nanalie that their father wasn't listening in. And if she wanted to get more questions in, it would be better to do so before the baby went down for his first nap. "Have you seen Garrett since?"

"A few times. I was supposed to have supper at his place last night."

Last night? A rush of nausea more powerful than anything those early months had thrown her way took over. How had such cruel timing dared occur? Her own baby and her own sister! "You had to leave supper with Garrett to deliver my baby?"

"Yes, but I probably would have left anyway." Why? Was that supposed to be reassuring. "It got kind of awkward after he asked me to marry him."

...WHAT?

"He asked you to marry him?" Nanalie cringed. At least the nausea was a thing of the past. "How? When? What did you say?"

"Casually, while we were cooking, and 'I'll think about it'." She might as well have been listing vegetables she needed from the market. "Can we not talk about this now?"

Well. Leave it to her sister to treat an out-of-the-blue marriage proposal like yesterday's weather. "Why not?"

"I don't know." Nanalie slumped down against the headboard, their mother's long lashes folding over her eyes. "The fact that it's none of your business comes to mind."

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