Ivory and Bone(15)

“You shouldn’t listen at doors.”

“I couldn’t help but hear,” I lie. Still, what difference does it make now? After I raised my spear at you, your opinion of me is clearly unsalvageable.

“You misunderstood my refusal of that gift,” you say. “Maybe my words were too strong, but what I meant was, you can’t purchase a person’s affections. They have to be won naturally.”

Behind me, I hear the clan waking up. People stir inside their huts. I feel the need to end this awkward conversation before there are witnesses to it.

“Well, we have Pek and Seeri as an example, don’t we? They have certainly come to share a mutual affection naturally. Clearly ties between our clans will be forged by those two.”

You drop your eyes and take a step backward toward the kitchen. “I don’t think that will happen.” Your voice, like your eyes, has dropped. You speak so low I can hardly hear you. “They are an impossibility—Pek and Seeri—she is promised to a boy in our clan—one of Chev’s closest friends.”

Your words confuse me, though their plain meaning is clear. Still, it can’t be true. If Seeri is betrothed to a boy in your clan, why would she lead my brother on the way she has?

And why would Seeri be betrothed before you, since she is younger? Certainly your family wouldn’t have looked for a match for Seeri before you were betrothed.

Or could it be that you are already promised, too?

I’m sure it’s obvious how your words have stunned me. I shift the packages in my arms and steady myself on my feet when, without warning, someone knocks into me from behind.

I spin around to find my brother Roon, his face flushed. Though he’s younger and smaller than me, he’s strong and sturdy, and when he grabs hold of my shoulders he upsets my balance and sends three packs of meat tumbling from my arms to the ground.

“Roon! Watch what you’re doing!”

I bend to pick up the dropped packages, which, thankfully, did not unwrap and spill into the dirt. You retrieve one that landed at your feet, and my brother takes it from you and hands it back to me.

“I’m sorry; I just ran all the way from shore. I got up early this morning—very early. I’m not sure that I ever really went to sleep last night. It was as if I could hear someone creeping outside the huts, wandering through the dark. Anyway, when I got up I found nothing, but I could feel something there; you know? It was like the Divine was calling to me. I found myself all the way down on the western shore before the sun came up, and I kept walking until well after it rose. And what do you think I found?”

“Don’t make me guess, Roon. Just tell—”

“Another clan! There is another clan, Kol, camping on the western shore of the bay. Two of them—a brother and sister—were out gathering kelp and they spoke to me. They said they come from land to the north and west.”

“A brother and sister?” Your voice is urgent and unexpected, like a crack of thunder out of a clear sky.

“Yes—”

“From what clan? What name are they known by?”

“I don’t know—I didn’t ask them.”

The color drains from your face, but I can’t begin to guess why news of this clan should affect you so.

“Girls . . . ,” Roon whispers. I know he’s excited to talk to me, but I find myself watching you as your attention turns inward. You gaze into the air as if looking at something, but your eyes stay unfocused. “The brother and sister who spoke to me told me there are several girls in their clan. . . .”

Dragging my eyes from your face to Roon’s is difficult, but when I finally turn my attention to my brother I see the triumph in his expression. He has explored over the grassland and along the coast, searching for some indication of another clan—any clan—but especially a clan with girls of marrying age.

I want to tell Roon how proud I am that he finally accomplished the goal that’s been driving him for so long, but I’m interrupted by the sight of your brother coming through the door of the kitchen, followed closely by Pek and Seeri. Pek carries another three packs, identical to the ones in my arms. Chev sweeps his eyes over me, and I become acutely aware that I left the kitchen quite a while ago, claiming to be heading to your boat. His eyes move from me to you. “I’m sorry to take you away, Mya,” he says, “but it’s time for us to leave.”

“We’ll walk you down to the shore,” my mother says. “Pek, why don’t you carry Seeri’s pack—”

“That’s quite all right.” Chev’s voice is stern and his tone fills in some answers to questions that have been swirling in my mind. Now I understand this unexpected early departure. Chev is anxious to separate Seeri and Pek, to return her to his friend at home.

If Seeri is promised to another boy, this trip wasn’t meant to find someone for her. Perhaps Chev came here to find a wife for himself? I always assumed your brother had a wife, though I’m not sure anyone has actually said so. But if he were searching for a wife, why would he bring his two sisters along? No, this trip could have been for only one purpose—to find someone for you.

Chev’s eyes meet mine and he holds my gaze for a moment before turning his attention to you. “We have appreciated your hospitality greatly. Isn’t that right, Mya?”