Lanius opened the door to the storeroom, and quietly closed it behind him. He smiled to smell the spicy scent of the cedar shelves on which the linens rested. The cedar was said to help hold moths at bay.
And he smelled another sweet scentâa womanâs perfume. âWhy, hello, Your Majesty,â Oissa said, as though theyâd met there by chance.
âHello, sweetheart,â Lanius said, and took her in his arms. The serving girl was short and round, with curly, light brown hair, big gray eyes, cheeks always rosy even though she didnât seem to use rouge, and a dark beauty mark by the side of her mouth. She tilted her face up for a kiss. Lanius was glad to oblige.
They met when and where they could. The floor of the storeroom wasnât the best place for such things, but it was better than a few theyâd tried. Lanius didnât think Oissa was in love with him. He didnât think he was in love with her, either. He hadnât made that mistake since his first affair with a maidservant. He enjoyed what they did together even so. He tried his best to make sure Oissa did, too; heâd always thought it was better when his partner also took pleasure.
Afterwards, they both dressed quickly. âThese to remember the day,â Lanius said, and gave her a pair of gold hoops to wear in her ears.
âThank you, Your Majesty,â she said. âYou didnât have to do that, though.â
âI didnât do it because I had to. I did it because I wanted to,â Lanius answered. He thought she meant what sheâd said. She wasnât greedy or pushy. He didnât care for people who were. Nothing would make him break off a liaison faster than someone pushing him for presents.
He coughed once or twice. No, that wasnât quite true. Sosia finding out about an affair could make him break it off in nothing flat. He was reasonably, or even more than reasonably, discreet, and he tried to pick partners who wouldnât blab. It didnât always work. He didnât like remembering what happened when it didnât.
This dalliance wasnât going anywhere. Even if his wife didnât learn of it, Oissa would find someone she wanted to marry, or else Lanius would tire of her. But it was pleasant. He enjoyed the variety. What point to being a king if he couldnât enjoy himself once in a while?
After a last kiss, he slipped out of the little room. No servants were walking along the corridor. Lanius nodded to himself. No scandal this timeânot even a raised eyebrow.
Had things been different, Grus might have gotten furious at him for being unfaithful to his daughter. But Grus had been known to enjoy himself every once in a while even before he became a king; Arch-Hallow Anser was living proof of that. And he hadnât stopped after he wore a crown. He was hardly one to tell Lanius what to do and what not to.
Lanius hoped everything down in the south was still going well. Grusâ letters were encouraging, but they took longer to come back to the city of Avornis than Lanius would have liked. He knew the Avornans were over the Stura and disenchanting thralls. That theyâd done so much was reason enough to celebrate. But Lanius wanted them to push on to Yozgat. Like Grus, he cared more about the Scepter of Mercy than anything else.
He could have known more, of course, if heâd campaigned with Grus. He shook his head at the mere idea. The one battlefield heâd seen was plenty to persuade him he never wanted to see another. Listening to vultures and ravens and carrion crows quarreling over corpses, watching them peck at dead menâs eyes and tongues and other dainties, smelling the outhouse and butcherâs-shop reek, hearing dying men groan and wounded men shriek ⦠No, once was enough for a lifetime.
He supposed he ought to be grateful to Grus for going on campaign. The other king had already usurped halfâmore than halfâthe throne. He
And he smelled another sweet scentâa womanâs perfume. âWhy, hello, Your Majesty,â Oissa said, as though theyâd met there by chance.
âHello, sweetheart,â Lanius said, and took her in his arms. The serving girl was short and round, with curly, light brown hair, big gray eyes, cheeks always rosy even though she didnât seem to use rouge, and a dark beauty mark by the side of her mouth. She tilted her face up for a kiss. Lanius was glad to oblige.
They met when and where they could. The floor of the storeroom wasnât the best place for such things, but it was better than a few theyâd tried. Lanius didnât think Oissa was in love with him. He didnât think he was in love with her, either. He hadnât made that mistake since his first affair with a maidservant. He enjoyed what they did together even so. He tried his best to make sure Oissa did, too; heâd always thought it was better when his partner also took pleasure.
Afterwards, they both dressed quickly. âThese to remember the day,â Lanius said, and gave her a pair of gold hoops to wear in her ears.
âThank you, Your Majesty,â she said. âYou didnât have to do that, though.â
âI didnât do it because I had to. I did it because I wanted to,â Lanius answered. He thought she meant what sheâd said. She wasnât greedy or pushy. He didnât care for people who were. Nothing would make him break off a liaison faster than someone pushing him for presents.
He coughed once or twice. No, that wasnât quite true. Sosia finding out about an affair could make him break it off in nothing flat. He was reasonably, or even more than reasonably, discreet, and he tried to pick partners who wouldnât blab. It didnât always work. He didnât like remembering what happened when it didnât.
This dalliance wasnât going anywhere. Even if his wife didnât learn of it, Oissa would find someone she wanted to marry, or else Lanius would tire of her. But it was pleasant. He enjoyed the variety. What point to being a king if he couldnât enjoy himself once in a while?
After a last kiss, he slipped out of the little room. No servants were walking along the corridor. Lanius nodded to himself. No scandal this timeânot even a raised eyebrow.
Had things been different, Grus might have gotten furious at him for being unfaithful to his daughter. But Grus had been known to enjoy himself every once in a while even before he became a king; Arch-Hallow Anser was living proof of that. And he hadnât stopped after he wore a crown. He was hardly one to tell Lanius what to do and what not to.
Lanius hoped everything down in the south was still going well. Grusâ letters were encouraging, but they took longer to come back to the city of Avornis than Lanius would have liked. He knew the Avornans were over the Stura and disenchanting thralls. That theyâd done so much was reason enough to celebrate. But Lanius wanted them to push on to Yozgat. Like Grus, he cared more about the Scepter of Mercy than anything else.
He could have known more, of course, if heâd campaigned with Grus. He shook his head at the mere idea. The one battlefield heâd seen was plenty to persuade him he never wanted to see another. Listening to vultures and ravens and carrion crows quarreling over corpses, watching them peck at dead menâs eyes and tongues and other dainties, smelling the outhouse and butcherâs-shop reek, hearing dying men groan and wounded men shriek ⦠No, once was enough for a lifetime.
He supposed he ought to be grateful to Grus for going on campaign. The other king had already usurped halfâmore than halfâthe throne. He
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