Chapter 14
Saskia asked Tuon rather shyly if she might learn marquetry.
"I'd be delighted to teach you" he said. "I have visions of us selling beautiful bars of soap in boxes made to size… though I think perhaps fretwork lids might allow the soap to dry out after use, and lined with stone so the dampness does not spoil the wood."
"It sounds pretty!" said Saskia. "I love looking at the things you make, they are all so pretty! I always look at the stall to see the Master-made pieces and see the lovely things you make."
Tuon had the tact not to mention that she did not, perhaps, yet know enough to know good marquetry from bad; but he was touched that she tried to see his goods.
Saskia would never be a great marquetry artist; any more than Tuon would ever be a great soap maker. But each had enough talent to understand the craft of the other, and that was what they really wanted! And Tuon also started showing Saskia how to make the basic joints for boxes, how to care for her tools, and other basics so that none could say that she was a Journeyman who had no other craft skills once her posting had been declared.
Saskia was working on a piece of marquetry when the paying students came in for a class. Though she had only started recently, her work was already better than any of them except imaginative Tagenar; whether this was through individual tuition, her desire to please Tuon or natural talent in the craftbred, Tuon preferred not to guess.
The Ranking stared curiously at the young woman quietly getting on with her work.
Riona nodded politely to Saskia; and Jainda grinned cheerfully.
"Have we a new class member?" asked Tagenar. "She's not half bad either" he added appreciatively peering at Saskia's work. "Best girl I'VE ever seen."
"That's because you haven't seen the work of true apprentices, my lad" said Tuon. "And in particular those who take it seriously not merely as an extra skill as Saskia here does. The dragon flying on the box you were peering at yesterday was executed by a little girl of thirteen. It's the difference between true dedication and the fiddling about with wood you paying students do. Though you might be VERY creditable, Tagenar, with enough application. That however is in your hands. Saskia missed out on marquetry classes before, she's just adding it to her skillsets at a matter of some interest to her."
Caldana was peering at Saskia.
"She's no crafter, she's only the laundry maid!" she said, in disgust.
"I suggest you apologise for your tone to the Hall Soapcrafter" said Tuon, coldly. "She has also been overseeing the Hall laundry since the death of the previous chief laundress it is true; and were she chief laundress without craft acknowledgement of her skill she would STILL be a more important person in our eyes than a bumptious brat like you."
"I'm not going to apologise to a drudge!" said Caldana.
"Jainda, please fetch Journeyman Elissa for me" said Tuon, pleasantly "As I cannot administer physical punishment to a female."
Caldana gasped.
"But I've not DONE anything to be punished for!" she squealed, memory of Elissa's last slippering of her humiliatingly close.
"Excuse me? Disrespecting a craftsman is nothing? Disrespecting our Hall support is nothing? I don't know what stinking tanner's vat you get your ideas from, my young lady, but we do NOT put up with the airs and graces of the jumped-up brat of a sand-blasted cotholder here!" said Tuon, coldly. "Apology – or Elissa's slipper."
The Tannercraft Hall lay in Igen and Tuon could not resist making reference to it.
"I apologise" said Caldana, sulkily. It was less humiliating than being well spanked again, and she had no doubt that Elissa would not insist that the others should leave.
"So I should hope" said Tagenar. "One must have standards of behaviour to underlings, my girl!"
"Agreed in principle" said Tuon "Save that Soapcrafter Saskia is NOT your underling but outranks the lot of you in our eyes. And if you plan to remain here, all of you, it is OUR rules that count."
"YOU'RE pretty quiet – Soapcrafter" Caldana turned on Saskia.
Saskia looked up indifferently.
"I don't bother to take any notice of the foolish maunderings of silly children in a class I do not teach" she said. "It is Master Tuon's class, and his responsibility. Excuse me, Master, children, I have other things to be doing, even if you foolish younglings wish to waste your own time and the Master's with chatter when you could be learning" and she got up, putting her work in the drawer assigned to her, and walked out.
"And distinctly nice of her not to add 'ill bred' as well as 'foolish' to the word 'maunderings' murmured Journeyman Liemi, who was assisting Tuon.
"And what do YOU know about breeding?" snapped Caldana.
Liemi elevated an eyebrow.
"Oh, being the son of a Holder of a Hold three times and more the size of your father's little place, I have some idea, my good brat And by the way, I require an apology from you for not calling me 'Craftsman' or 'Journeyman' when you address me and for speaking so rudely to me, or I shall also report you to Elissa."
Caldana choked.
"I'm sorry – Journeyman!" she snapped.
She had got out of bed the wrong side that morning with a vengeance, and had been snapping all day, having already been rude to Relina, the housemother, wife of ageing Journeyman Willim. Relina had quietly asked if Caldana's temper was because of the time of the month and had been sworn at.
Relina did not take that lying down, and had exited sharply to get a piece of lyesoap to thrust into the girl's mouth 'to clean it up'.
Which only served to make Caldana's temper fouler.
The girl had expected to make all the crafter girls envy her and follow her lead, doting upon her for her Rank and beauty; and had found only one older female apprentice there, and that one took not the slightest notice of her. The bevy of younger girls who might be expected – in what Caldana would reckon as a reasonable world – to be fascinated by her only stared and giggled as she flounced her hair and smiled winningly at them. The outside of enough had been when she had tried telling them tales of her glamorous life as a Holder's daughter; and one of them had said,
"Please, Paying Student, I don't think Cousin Asgenar likes me talking to people like you."
Caldana was looking for someone to hurt.
When she later saw Saskia bring klah for Master Tuon and brush his hand she thought she had her mark.
oOoOo
Caldana approached Saskia as the Soapcrafter left the laundry.
Saskia's eyes narrowed.
"What now, Caldana?" she asked crisply.
Caldana flushed angrily.
"You will call me Lady Caldana; and unless you drudge for me I shall tell Masterwoodcrafter Bendarek that you're warming Master Tuon's furs!"
Saskia stared. What a poisonous creature this female was!
"Are you insane, girl?" she demanded. "You really seem to have no concept of reasonable behaviour!"
"I'm warning you!" said Caldana.
"And I, my girl," said Saskia grimly, "Am warning YOU: any more of this aberrant behaviour and you will find yourself not only sent home, but sent to your Overlord for judgement for malicious gossip. I don't know how Lord Laudey deals with it, but I assure you that Lord Asgenar is not lenient on – blackmail, I think the term is."
"You asked for it then!" cried Caldana, flouncing off.
"Stupid wench" said Saskia to herself.
Even without the support she was being given for her skills, she knew that the Master never interfered with the affairs, or even affaires of his people so long as they were discreet and nobody was being forced into anything unwillingly. It might be an ugly scandal; crafters were less free about sexual relations than Weyrfolk and some Holderfolk, but Tuon was, as she admitted to herself, a little notorious for his affaires. Besides, he planned to marry her!
Thinking of this brought a frisson of pleasure to Saskia; and she went in search of Tuon to tell him Caldana's latest. One thing she had always observed about Tuon was his essential honesty; he never pretended to feel more just to seduce a girl, so she KNEW his love was genuine; and she revelled in it!
oOoOo
Bendarek listened to the spiteful outpouring from the Ranking girl whose pretty face was so twisted in hate that she looked quite ugly.
"You are trying to suggest that Master Tuon is playing fast and loose with a laundry maid and is playing Soapcrafter Saskia false? Is that what you are saying?" he asked, feeling confused.
"NO! That Saskia girl is sleeping with him, I'm sure, and she uses that to make us treat her like she's somebody, not just a drudge!" screamed Caldana.
It took a lot to make Bendarek angry.
Sometimes however it did happen.
"How dare you, you filthy-minded slut, interfere in the relations between Crafterfolk?" he demanded. "Master Tuon and Journeyman Saskia are betrothed – not that it is ANY of your business – and I am revolted by your disgusting imputation that there is any wrong-doing or that Master Tuon would act in any way incorrectly out of partiality! If you have been calling the Soapcrafter degrading names, with your own conceptions placed upon them, I admire both her and Tuon for their restraint in not boxing your ears until your empty little head rings! DO YOU HEAR ME?"
In point of fact the echo of his voice could be heard all the way up to Challer's mill, it being a still day and the mill temporarily silent for maintenance work.
Caldana winced.
"But – but she can't be a Journeyman!" she whispered.
"Excuse me? Are you trying to tell the Master of a Craft whom he and his Masters may or may not ratify as Journeyman? You go too far!"
"I – I – I meant, she was working in the laundry! Like a drudge!"
"And you would expect a soapcrafter not to test her own product? You have no brains in that silly head of yours, my girl! I think four times as much of my newest, youngest drudge than I do of a horrid and stupid girl like you! You are a disgrace to Rank and a shame on your Blood! I will be putting in a report to your Overlord about your childish, meretricious officiousness and your spiteful meddling! Now get out of my sight and go and pack; there's a group of traders leaving this afternoon, you can travel south with them!"
Caldana stared.
"But – but the Hall has a dragon!" she said.
"Whom I respect too well to send you home on!" roared Bendarek "I don't want the poor creature poisoned by your presence!"
Caldana fled before his wrath!
oOoOo
Bendarek sent a message asking Saskia to come to his office.
Tuon came too.
"If that nasty tunnel snake has been telling lies about my betrothed, I want to know" said Tuon.
"Oh, she has. I've sent her home" said Bendarek "And I'm holding the rest of the half turn's fee as compensation for her slanderous tongue. It should take her, oh, three to six weeks to get there Trader-pace. Maybe more. Time to reflect on how much I do not like interference with my people."
Tuon brightened.
"Thank you, Master" he said.
"I suppose you two couldn't have waited?" Bendarek sighed. He did not doubt that they were intimate from the way hands strayed towards each other.
They exchanged a look.
"NO!" they both said.
"Ah well. Saskia, I was planning on giving you Journeyman's knots along with Josis; I'm bringing that forward to tonight. I wanted it to be a nice surprise but I'll not have my people treated with disrespect. Everyone else thinks of you as a Journeyman – so we might as well make it official."
"S-sir? Me?" Saskia stammered.
"You. It's been ratified by the Masters."
"Tuon? You knew?" she turned to him.
"I too wanted the surprise for you…I wondered if you'd guess; I don't pursue girls who feel they can't say no. You know that."
"It wouldn't ever have stopped ME, Tuon, if I'd not liked the idea" said Saskia. "I'm not afraid to stand up for my rights; I've defied Ruika, you know. And….well, it did sort of just happen; there wasn't any pursuing about it."
Tuon reddened and smiled down at her.
"Oh go and order your wedding gown; you're almost as nauseatingly tied up in each other as Gerney and Elissa" said Bendarek cheerfully.
oOoOo
The Master made the announcement at the evening meal.
"It is customary to make up Journeymen at the time of Autumn; but the time has come, because of certain unpleasantness, to acknowledge with formal knots a crafter who has been considered for a while to be effectively a Journeyman by the Masters, but who had perhaps some confidence issues that I was waiting for her to resolve. I think she has resolved them well. Journeyman Soapcrafter Saskia is going to be teaching this new craft and will, I feel certain, be declared the first Master of the craft as the only real expert on Pern! Walk, Saskia!"
Journeyman Liemi, his own promotion a little irregular, had volunteered to walk Saskia to the Journeyman table from the apprentice table where she had been sat next to Josis for this meal.
"And while I'm at it" said Bendarek, when the clapping had died down from those eager to try a new craft – if not, in the case of many of the smaller boys, its product – "I may as well make up another Journeyman who is deserving, and who will be leaving us before the Autumn as the Hall's candidate for the Weyr. Josis, Walk!"
Josis got to her feet somehow, her eyes shining; and Saskia claimed the privilege of walking her!
The children clapped loudly; Josis was popular with the little ones.
"This is, I remind you, extraordinary and should be taken as no precedent" reiterated Bendarek "but I am glad to say that we shall be celebrating with bubbly pies!"
The cheers were even louder perhaps for bubbly pies than for new Journeymen; as was hardly surprising.
Tuon stood.
"One more piece of good news" he said. "I wish it to be known that I am to be wed to Journeyman Saskia who has done me the honour to accept my proposal."
"Hope he didn't kneel in runner dung this time" said a clear treble from the junior table.
Tuon burned.
Elissa stood.
"Thirty lines on a failed sheet of paper, best hand writing, 'I will keep a civil tongue in my head' to give to me by after breakfast" she said.
Ambreen choked and looked sore.
"Serve you right" said Sifora "Idiot!"
oOoOo
"Did you kneel in runner dung to propose to Sadvia?" Saskia asked later.
Tuon looked uncomfortable.
"You know? Oh dear. I – well, she's pretty and glamorous and – well, I suppose I wanted what Gerney has with Elissa as a crafter wife. And I liked the idea of being related to Lord Asgenar by marriage… and I was drunk" he added.
Saskia touched his face,
"I love your honesty, Tuon" she said. "I've no rank; and I'm not really a woodcrafter though the marquetry is fun. Are you sure you really want me?"
"Oh my dear!" he pulled her to him, "You are feisty and clever; and as much a crafter as anyone here – more so than many for being so inventive! It's not just the wonderful loving we do together, I love chatting with you, discussing the craft; and logicating too, now! I'm vain, I'm a snob and I've been a womaniser; and I don't suffer fools gladly. But if you'll have me with all my faults I want no other woman!"
She hugged him fiercely.
"I know your faults, my dear – and your virtues! Your honesty, your kindness, your tact; and I'm no paragon! I've wanted to tear the hair out of the girls you've been with; I have a hot temper and I don't suffer fools at all, let alone gladly!"
He laughed.
"We appear to be admirably suited then!" he said.
"Then you ought to be kissing me" she retorted.
The Marquetry Master complied readily to the Journeyman's suggestion!
Saskia knew that Tuon would not stop appreciating pretty women; and she accepted that. Appreciating was one thing. But he had given his word that she was woman enough for him, and that Saskia believed. Tuon did not lie.
And she was the happiest woman on Pern!