In Which Jeda Learns Something Interesting

August 7, 1181

In all her years of knowing Camaline, Jeda suspected she could count the number of times she'd seen her embrace anyone on one hand, but if there was any case worthy of a hug without involving a death, Xeta's was one of them. "Good to hear your sister's all right."

"Well... alive, at least." Poor Xeta. Of course Rona was the one who had Jeda's true sympathies, but her sudden illness had locked the whole family in a fragile limbo that had only by sheer force of will released them on a happy note. It was that same illness that had set forth the chain of events that had resulted in the death of Xeta and Rona's father all those years ago, the same swift poison that had taken Camaline's mother, though under very different circumstances.

Or were they so different? Rona too had been protecting her child.

"Not well, then?"

Xeta shook her head as the two parted. "She's physically fine, but... I don't know, something to do with her and Ashe has her down. My mother won't tell me the details, but basically Rona told him to go west with Isidro and them."

"Hmm. A woman angry with her husband. Never thought I'd hear that before," Camaline quipped as the two of them headed to the couch, earning herself a warning glare from Leara. But Jeda doubted Leara could understand. Surely Lorn never gave her much cause to be angry. "Whatever it is, I'm sure it'll blow over some way or another. Have you seen them together? He's always trailing after her like a pathetic lovesick puppy. He'll make some desperate return to her good graces soon enough."

"I don't think he's pathetic," Jeda muttered, despite not being entitled to much of an opinion. Frankly, a pathetic lovesick puppy was hardly cause to complain from where she was sitting. Not that she was entitled to much of an opinion of Ietrin either.

Leara rolled her eyes. "Oh, Jeda, Camaline thinks every man is pathetic."

"Vicious lies. My son is a man, you know."

"Your son is three."

"And hence he still needs someone to bathe him, and that someone can hardly avoid the sight of between his legs. Believe me, he's a man." Camaline settled onto the cushion beside Jeda, where Xeta had sat before she'd arrived. It didn't come as a surprise that apparently Camaline bathed Prior herself; Jeda never would have guessed it before he was born, but Camaline was such a devoted and thorough mother that Jeda couldn't help but feel guilty whenever Ietrin insisted that any given child-rearing duty was 'servant's work'. Perhaps she'd count her sister-in-law as inspiration to stand up to him when the next one came--if, God willing, there was a next one. "And if I have anything to say about it, he'll be a man any woman will be lucky to have."

"I should hope so." Leara's smile might have read to Camaline as indulgent, but Jeda knew for a fact that Lorn wanted Prior for little Neva. One of the few perks of living at the castle--most arrangements were bounced off the king first, and Jeda happened to hear of a few of them. Of course, it seemed Lorn hadn't brought it up with Sparron, as she suspected Sparron would have told both her and Camaline had such a thing occurred.

Ietrin had yet to make any similar efforts in that area and Jeda wasn't sure how to feel about that. On one hand, given her own marriage, she wanted better for her girls, and she wasn't confident in Ietrin's ability to deliver that. On the other, it seemed like the most basic way a man like Ietrin could show he cared for his daughters at all.

"But back to Rona's problem, though it may not be my business, I'll admit I'm also curious. Celina won't tell me either. She won't even tell Lorn."

Leara turned to Raia, as if somehow she'd know. But Raia just shrugged. "Celina doesn't have to tell Lorn everything. If Rona doesn't want it getting out there, then who is Celina to shout it from the rooftops? Celina would never do that anyway."

"I know, I know. I'm just curious as to what Ashe did to get himself in so much trouble with Rona. I mean, I know she wouldn't have asked him to involve Deian, but it would be silly to fault him for that since it did save her life." Leara cast a confirming glance at Xeta, who nodded. Jeda had nothing to offer but a strained twitch of the mouth. "He's always so good to her. Not that we don't all have our annoyances, but I'm baffled as to what he could have done to get her so angry."

"Maybe he knocked her up again," offered Xeta with a smirk.

Raia shook her head. "Riona said Arydath was there at one point. She would have said something if Rona was pregnant."

"Yes, but she had to dash off so quickly to check on Ell--" A glare from Raia and Leara's hand darted to her mouth, eyes wide and fixed on Jeda.

Raia sighed. "Damn it, Leara."

"Ellona is pregnant?" Jeda leaned forward in her seat, turning slightly for a fuller view of Raia. She supposed she could understand her friends' desire to keep the news from her--it was hardly unheard of for a wife to resent her husband's mistress, after all, even if said mistress was no longer involved with said husband and had found herself a husband of her own--but Jeda wasn't resentful. Or angry. Or even jealous. She didn't know what she was, but she didn't feel bad about it. "Ietrin's former mistress?"

Leara exchanged a quick glance with Raia, who relented with a nod. "I'm sorry you had to find out this way, but yes, she is."

"With her husband's baby, though."

Another nod. "Yes. She won't even speak to Ietrin any more, much less sleep with him."

"Interesting." Jeda looked back over her shoulder at Xeta and Camaline. Xeta looked mildly concerned, but more or less keeping it together; Camaline, of course, was the master of the gambler's face. Since she wasn't screaming or in tears, Jeda wondered if her friends, in this moment, thought the same of her. "How long have she and Casimiro been married, again?"

"Almost a year now," Raia answered. "They didn't start seriously talking about babies until about May, though."

"I see." Jeda bit her lip, overly conscious of the way Raia was studying her. If the light in her eyes meant anything, perhaps they were on the same page after all. "Do you know when she's due?"

"The later part of February, I think."

February. That counted back to... May. They'd scarcely had to try at all.

This after ten years and only two children with Ietrin.

"Interesting..."

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