Chapter 4

The paying girls were to take one meal a day with the Holder and his family – apart from his daughter who mostly stayed with the other apprentices – and could either eat in the big refectory at other meals, or collect a tray to eat in their sitting room cum classroom. Prisca, being nosy, preferred the idea of eating in the refectory, but as the other girls seemed to favour the idea of keeping themselves select, she sighed and drew up a rota for them to take turns at collecting food.

"Why can't the drudges bring it to us?" Siresha complained, predictably.

"Because it's a small Hold and they are doubtless busy with other duties," said Prisca. "It's once every two days, and you don't have to prepare the food; the kitchen drudges lay it out for us on a tray. Hardly onerous!"

Even the Prisca of old would have accepted that much work – with a bit of grumbling if the tray was heavy – but for Siresha it was an issue of status and she went on about this at some length.

"Really, Siresha, don't be so vulgar," said Adine. "If you were of the Blood you'd understand better that being waited on hand and foot just so marks you out as jumped up."

"I'm not of the Blood, but I know that much," said Prisca, "Being Beholden to a Seahold where ability is prized over Blood, and my father having proved himself."

"Oh, you mean you're next door to being a commoner?" said Siresha in some disgust.

Prisca laughed.

"We all are – as we're none of us Dragonriders," she said. "The privilege to Hold can be rescinded by a conclave, you know; if someone is too fond of being decorative and not fond enough of doing their duty. My father was one of a number of cousins of the previous Holder, who might have had some pretensions to be of the Blood – which in that region is more seawater than blood as you might say – and he impressed Lord Oterel the most out of the dozen or so rather dubious claimants, by presenting him with a neatly drawn up plan of what was needed to pull up the Hold after its previous ageing incumbent had rather let it run down."

Prisca knew this because of her more recent discussions with her father, and had been frankly impressed by his industry as well as grateful that it had been he who had been the one to succeed so she had the opportunity to have leisure.

"Your father sounds like a good Holder," said Adine.

"He is," said Prisca, "and my brother will be too, given a few years. He has the right instincts and will grow out of being a little slapdash. I grew out of being lazy, after all."

"Indolence is such an attractive habit!" laughed Adine. "I confess I rather let myself go when Shavalle thwarted my ambitions, so I shall have to get myself a bit in trim if I'm to hope to rush from class to class without being too puffed to play or sing!"

"You can work out with me, if you like," said Prisca, "I've taken up athletic dancing with acrobatic moves; even the simple moves are pretty good for fitness, vigour and a nice figure."

"That's how you keep so trim is it? I was envying you your figure," said Adine.

"I shouldn't mind joining in too," said Ketalla.

"Well, we shall start that before breakfast on the morrow, then," said Prisca. "I've never taught before but I didn't start so long ago that I've forgotten what I was taught."

Siresha shuddered.

"HOW unladylike!" she said.

"MUCH better sex though," said Prisca.

Adine laughed.

"Well, forthright and honest I see!" she said.

Prisca shrugged.

"There are those girls who are waiting for the special one, and most of the rest want to have fun," she said.

"I was waiting for a special one myself, but I don't have a problem with others having fun, if they're discreet and don't get us all into trouble," said Adine.

"Oh, I'm discreet," said Prisca.

"Sounds like it, boasting of your supposed prowess," sneered Siresha.

"Don't confuse frankness between ourselves with either lack of discretion or boasting," said Prisca. "as far as Valys is concerned, why I'm as pure as driven slush!"

Only Adine got this, and laughed.

The girls finished dressing for the evening meal, which was the one they were to share with the Holder's family, and went to his private quarters along the gallery with the window. Siresha shuddered artistically, and Ketalla stopped to stare out.

Prisca touched her arm.

"You feel claustrophobic in those rooms too?" she asked. Ketalla nodded.

"I've always travelled with a trader train," she said. "My father reckons it's the only way to learn the trade – and to learn not to be stuck up too. His grandfather expected it of HIS sons, and father is the one who stuck with it, and did best."

"He's probably right, at that," said Prisca. "You can't know timber if you don't get out amongst the trees; and I may not be an expert but I know enough not to sound like an idiot when talking to the loggers."

Talking to Felderata's husband had helped with that, as well as the notes her father had made when he first took over. Prisca had never actually considered the process of learning lessons as work because she liked finding things out, so had always appeared quite eager and animated to the loggers, giving them a better impression of her than perhaps she truly deserved.

Ketalla nodded.

"Nobody expects the person in charge to be an expert in all things, but to have a good passing knowledge of most, and to be ready to ask what they don't know. I'm here to learn politics and law as well as to gain a few womanly skills in case we meet some Holder who wants to marry me, as father is opposed to women leading a trading band. He has ambitions for me that are beyond my own, but as I have a brother willing and ready to take on the family, I have little choice," she made a face, "though personally I am happy to settle for a stewardship or headwoman somewhere if the opportunity presents itself."

"There are worse ambitions to have," said Prisca, having considered working under Keerana.

"WHAT are you two dallying over?" demanded Siresha.

Ketalla and Prisca exchanged a speaking glance and went on in to the meal.

oOoOo

Camtar, the Holder, was a short, stocky figure with a shock of unruly brown hair and laughter lines all about his eyes. He wore his Journeyman Harper knots under his Rank knots. He welcomed the girls to his home with a well trained and melodious voice; Prisca suspected that he might have gone on to make the leap to Master had not duty called him to Hold instead. She felt a pang of pity for him; but at least he could be a part of the life of the Harper Hall under his Holding.

Camval, the older of the two sons, had also succeeded in reaching Journeyman Harper and wore both sets of knots rather self consciously. He most resembled his father, but his brown hair was worn long and tied tightly back, slicked down with sweet oil. His apparel was plainly a matter of importance to him, for he dressed with care to make sure all his garments toned with each other, a contrast to Camtar, who was neat, but looked as though he dressed for comfort. Camval smiled at the four girls in the sort of way that declared without words that he knew his person and position must be attractive to them, whilst conveying the impression that he was aloof from such matters. Prisca recognised straight away the sort of young man he was, rather too impressed with himself and his position, and at his age in danger of becoming simultaneously and paradoxically a prig and a womaniser. She let her eyes dwell on him long enough to take all this in, then slid them off to look at his brother with a faintly bored look that she could see from the corner of her eye both infuriated him and filled him with chagrin.

Prisca could be like that, sometimes.

Valtar was taller, and looked like his mother, save for a shock of that same unruly brown hair; and Prisca felt that of the two he was the more attractive. There was something about that sort of hair that made women want to smooth it down; probably something that had appealed to Valys in their father. He looked as though his eyes would develop laughter lines too. Perhaps he was happier because he had the freedom to pursue his craft, thought Prisca; then abandoned that idea. Camval would have resented being the younger brother where Valtar perceived it as a freedom. She debated with herself the idea of having an affair with Valtar purely because she was the prettiest girl of the four and it would annoy Camval to be passed over; but abandoned the idea. Adine was flushing gently as she looked at the younger Harper. Prisca had her faults, but stealing the object of another girl's interest was not one of them. And actually, marrying Valtar would give Adine the opportunity to stay and study music, even if she never did manage to apprentice and reach Journeyman in her own right, and would be an escape from a stepmother whom Prisca thought sounded most unpleasant. She would do what she might to promote the match.

There was an attraction to the sort of interfering that T'lana was notorious for doing.

Siresha, on the other hand, had no sort of scruples where that might be concerned, though whether she had even noticed Adine's interest was debateable. Prisca somehow doubted that Siresha noticed anything that did not pertain to Siresha. She was preening coyly, and glancing under her lashes at both brothers, plainly assessing her chances of playing one off against the other. She would doubtless never think that Adine was any rival to her dark good looks anyway; Adine had no claim to beauty at all, and Prisca thought it a shame her eyes were so pale or they might have given some animation to her rather placid face. On the other hand, there were men who liked placid and restful. And with some exercise to help Adine lose the excess flesh she was carrying, and her genuine interest in music, that might make Valtar notice her. He was noticing Siresha, but with a smile of cynical amusement playing on his lips. He noticed Prisca noticing him noticing and his eyes twinkled.

Prisca felt an ache of regret. He might have been a fun lover to have while she waited to be tracked down on Search. Well, he would make a nice husband for Adine. Prisca liked Adine even on short acquaintance, and so far as she put herself out for anyone, she was more likely to do so for someone she liked.

Camval also noticed Siresha, and Prisca noticed how the self esteem that had been dampened by her own bored lack of interest plainly grew under the stroking of his ego with all the vigour and enthusiasm of any erectile tissue stimulated by physical stroking. She hid a rueful grin, reflecting that she had been associating too long with people like T'lana to come up with thoughts that coarse.

The Weyrwomen and weyrwomen of High Reaches could never be accused of being coy. Somehow Prisca doubted this would be true of the Weyrwomen of Telgar Weyr; and they had no weyrwomen without the capital, for they did not believe in female Green riders nor in honouring their lower cavern staff, if all she had heard was true.

There was, however, no reason not to stealthily find ways to introduce such people as might become female Green riders to Impress in the tiers. Once Impressed, even Telgar could scarcely do anything but keep them; after all, Mirrim and Path were recognised at Benden, and there were rumours abroad that Igen was opening its Weyr to female Green Riders as well as the well established fact at High Reaches. Dismissing High Reaches as cranks and cripples was only feasible when it was the only Weyr to accept the unusual. Benden might be stuffy, but Mirrim could not be denied as the first Impressed female Green Rider.

"Have I got a spot?" asked Ketalla, at whom Prisca was gazing, thoughtfully.

"No… sorry Ketalla. I was thinking about something and you happened to be in front of where I was gazing into the middle distance," said Prisca, diplomatically. Letting her victims know that she had ideas involving them was never a good idea; and Ketalla seemed possible Green Rider material. So did Adine for that matter, if nothing happened between her and Valtar, maybe introduced as a musician to please Bedella.

Siresha finally decided to devote herself mostly to the older brother – after all, he was a possibility for a well-off, fairly well-connected husband – and Prisca smiled brightly, and asked Valtar,

"Has your mother told you that Adine hopes to take her studies further and become an apprentice?"

Valtar nodded.

"Yes, she did mention it. It will be harder work than most paying student expect to engage in, Lady Adine."

"I'm not afraid of that, Journeyman," said Adine.

"And Ketalla and I could help by hearing her," said Prisca. "My friend Feytha has come late to apprentice, I know she'd be so happy to have a friend nearer her age than the little boys she's probably level with."

Valtar smiled.

"Your friend? How nice. Yes, I'm aware of Apprentice Feytha's background – you have a generosity of spirit, Lady Prisca, which I like. She's not the most talented, but she has nimble fingers and a fine voice that has been taught properly, so she should have no difficulty in becoming a Journeyman, possibly even within the normal age, if she is a quick learner. Having two girls of similar age spurring each other on might help both. Lady Adine, if I can test you over the next sevenday, if I feel you can join Apprentice Feytha, will you object to moving directly to the female Apprentice dormitory to take up your apprenticeship forthwith rather than spending several months as a privileged paying student?"

"I'll take it as soon as I can get it, sir!" said Adine. "Will – will I be able to work out with Prisca? She said she'd teach Ketalla and me some acrobatic dancing."

Valtar raised an eyebrow. Prisca felt herself flush.

"I wanted to keep fit and be able to eat as much as I liked," she said, "so I learned some acrobatics from someone born into an acrobatic troupe who had married and settled. She taught me a lot, and it's helped."

"Well well, you are full of surprises!" said Valtar. "Perhaps my sister might like to learn too; if you'd accept her? then she can teach me, so I don't get left out. It would be too much to ask you ladies to accept a man in your classes. Where did you plan to undertake this venture?"

Prisca flushed.

"I was going to ask Valys if there was somewhere we might go."

"Use the Harper Hall exercise hall," interposed Camtar. "The youngsters learn fighting skills there; there's plenty of room. Valtar will show you after the meal so you can find your way, and will square it with the Master."

Valtar nodded.

"A good suggestion, father," he said, "and moreover the doors can be bolted from the inside to prevent prying eyes."

"Thank you," said Prisca.

"It doesn't sound very ladylike," objected Camval.

"That girl Prisca is not very ladylike at all," sniffed Siresha. "I have refused to join them on such a horrid venture, as I hardly need tell you!"

"One wonders why you bothered, then," said Adine, tartly. Valtar gave her a look of interest. Prisca was pleased. Adine could speak up for herself and Valtar would like her the better for it.

Siresha glowered at her.

"Really, Siresha, dear, please don't pull childishly vulgar faces while we are eating," said Valys, placidly.

Prisca rapidly re-assessed Valys. She had thought that she might find Siresha too much to cope with, but apparently she had developed a strategy of no-nonsense manner, and treating the girl like a child not a young woman. Valys caught her eye with apparent bovine docility but her eyes gleamed. Prisca had another sudden realisation. She, Adine and Ketalla only had to deal with Siresha for a few months while they were paying students. Valys was fighting HER corner against having the girl as a daughter in law!