Martin walked through the door, hearing laughter and giggling from the part of the house that held guest rooms. “How has the household taken the news?” Martin asked Derio.
“Wonderfully. Sara has insisted Inessa take a guest room while they wait for the wedding date, as she has nowhere else to go,” Derio said.
Martin nodded. “That’s just fine.”
“Adosina and Sara have roped in Rita and Maria to work on a betrothal party for two days from now. Half the invitations have already been answered.”
Martin looked impressed. “That was fast.”
“Sara is a tree talker. Invitations go out fast and are returned even faster.”
Martin let the smallest of smiles cross his face. “I shall do my duty, then, and stay out of the way.”
“I also have specific instructions to alert her the moment you arrive home. I do believe she is on her way now,” Derio said.
“I will be in my study,” Martin said.
Derio nodded as Martin went down the familiar path to his study. He was organizing his books, knowing this wasn’t over. He would still have to mentally prepare for the Grand Empress of Kiam to visit. To encourage Indenuel to do what he could to bring peace to both sides. But this was a victory, and he would celebrate it as such.
The door opened and Sara walked in. Martin smiled as she walked over to him. “Hello, Sara.”
He barely managed to get it out before she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him. Martin held her, smiling, as he kissed her gently back. Yes, he was in his High Elder robes, but they were also the only ones in the room. For this moment, he would let it pass, even as it was turning into a long moment indeed.
Sara broke away, placing her forehead against his. “You are a good man, Martin.”
He listened to her compliment, ignoring the trunk of sins he was still hiding from her. “I try to be.”
“I pray the other High Elders will not look down on you for this,” Sara said.
“It doesn’t matter what the High Elders think. I did what was right. What I should have done a long time ago.”
“I still worry. I know how much they can bring you down,” Sara said, touching his cheek.
“Navir agrees with my logic. He almost has his own language one must learn to get him to understand.”
Sara nodded, kissing him again. “I don’t have much time. I just wanted to say thank you.”
“Derio mentioned a betrothal party?” Martin asked.
“Yes, it is such a happy time. We must share the happiness with our friends.” Sara headed toward the door but stopped. “I fear I might have been hasty. I invited Inessa to stay at our house without thinking about your feelings. She has nowhere else to go in the city. Is it alright that we have her set up in the guest room?” Sara asked.
“Of course.” In a way, Inessa belonged here, but he wasn’t going to say that to anyone. It would be awkward around her, knowing what he and the other High Elders had done, but it was far more of a relief to know he would never have to touch her again. “Your kindness and hospitality are a beautiful thing to see.”
Sara smiled before reaching over and giving him one more kiss before leaving the study. She hadn’t kissed him in months, and this felt like a patching of their relationship. There was of course some work, there always was with a marriage, but he was moving in the right direction.
He sat down, organizing some books when there was a knock on the door. “Api?”
It was Adosina. Martin looked at the door. “Come in.” She did, closing the door behind her as she moved toward the desk. Their relationship had been rocky ever since the news of the High Elders rejecting her beseeching. She barely talked to him, and she always wore those dresses. He firmly believed she would never wear a fancy dress again. Martin stood, giving her a bow, and Adosina curtseyed. He wasn’t sure where this conversation would go, but he couldn’t deny the gesture of possible peace. He patched up two of his relationships, maybe his luck would hold.
“Permission to speak freely, Api?” Adosina asked.
Martin hesitated. She didn’t seem angry, but that phrase coming from her always made him sweat. “Of course, Addy.”
Adosina looked at Martin, and he braced himself, preparing his mind for a debate. He knew she would have questions, and he tried to stay in his same mindset of compassion and mercy as he had with Indenuel.
“Before I speak my thoughts, I’d like to say I admire your decision today, and the courage it must have taken to make it,” Adosina said.
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Martin bowed again. “Thank you.”
“I am struggling to understand the difference between their wish to marry and mine. Why theirs was granted, and I must remain alone.” There wasn’t any hostility in her voice. She was genuinely curious.
Martin eased himself back in his chair and gestured for Adosina to do the same with the chair across from him. She did so. Martin placed his hands on his desk, trying to gather his thoughts. “They have the same background. They are both from incredibly humble circumstances who found themselves in the highest social class. That common ground alone was enough to start a bond. It will make a strong foundation as they begin this journey.”
Adosina nodded as she absorbed this. “So, it is because Elias and I are from such vastly different classes that you feel so hesitant about granting my wish?”
“I do. The class difference might be too much of a shock.”
“Why is it that only men are the ones who hold titles? Why is it that Inessa could have luxury and wealth because she was your concubine, but I must give mine up to share Elias’ status?” Again, she asked out of curiosity without the malice.
Martin watched Adosina carefully. “The first woman learned the devil’s powers first. The first man followed to make sure she remained close to God and not be corrupted. Such is reflected on our culture.”
“But a man or a woman could be corrupted just as easily,” Adosina said.
Martin said nothing. There were of course doctrinal reasons. Because the first woman listened to the devil, and through that mistake discovered how to kill the Gods. Men had their own despicable powers of the devil when they sold their souls, a strengthening of the corruption and able to access powers that were otherwise unthinkable, but there was no proof men could kill the Gods. Maybe they still could, but he couldn’t tell Adosina this. The world wasn’t ready yet to know about the Gods’ death.
Adosina’s sigh was small and tired. She shook her head. “Why are all women asked to be a reminder of one woman’s sin? Why can’t I be my own person? Why can’t I focus on the consequences of my own sins instead of being asked to take on another woman’s?”
Martin brought his hands together, interlocking his fingers. “Those are some tough questions, Adosina. You are asking an entire culture to change their way of thinking. That kind of thing takes time. Often a century or two.”
“Well, it’s not fair.” There was a slight tremor in her voice. “And if it has to take centuries, then we might as well start now.”
Martin watched her curiously. “You want your titles to remain, and for Elias to be elevated? Do you think he would want that?”
Adosina gave him a curious look like she hadn’t given it much thought. She frowned, thinking, and Martin allowed her to think. “No, Elias would not like the court. Farming is his way of life. He loves it. He would not give it up.”
“But you would? You have requested for years to have your titles taken away,” Martin said. “What would you do if your titles remained, and you married Elias anyway?”
Adosina thought this over. “I would remain with Elias. Live in his home, adjust to his way of life. But I would not be a lower-class citizen. I would be nobility. I would have those rights and share them with my husband. Our children would have them too. We would live a poorer lifestyle, but… but the Higher Class wouldn’t be able to abuse us as Tolomon and Indenuel have been. Inessa too. Elias and I would teach our children to respect their classmates as though they are their equal, because they are. Because it’s what you’ve taught me.” Adosina blinked. “That sounds beautiful to me, Api.” Martin nodded, doubting very much the High Elders would allow such a thing. But it did sound wonderful to him.
“It is still a huge adjustment for you, Addy. Women train on how to be a wife of a farmer. You have none of the training. Even with the class and title, it will be hard.”
“I love him, Father. Dearly,” Adosina said. “And isn’t that what marriage is? Learning to live with each other? Loving each other while you learn to adjust?”
“And if the classes are simply too far apart for it to work?” Martin asked.
Adosina sighed. “Then maybe we should work on moving them a little closer.”
Martin watched her, curious. “There’s a lot of animosity between the classes.”
“Then let me marry him, and we can work on bridges.” Adosina smiled. “It would be better for society.”
Martin couldn’t help but chuckle. “You honestly think your union would somehow bring the classes together?”
Adosina smiled. “Not just mine. But if we were the first, others would follow. If I keep my titles, the nobles would have to treat me and my children with respect. And if there were others, it would take a generation or two before everyone would simply treat each other like they were in the same class. Would it not?” Adosina asked.
Martin smiled, then looked down at his desk. “It’s a lovely thought, Addy, but I doubt other women would want to marry below their classes, even if all her titles remained.”
“A lot of it comes down to the pride of the upper class, and what we’re willing to give up. And I think, even if the High Elders don’t agree with what we’ve discussed, you still showed an excellent example today. I hope more will follow.”
Martin didn’t say anything. He didn’t feel like he gave up that much. Handing Inessa over to a man who would actually love her was not that difficult to do. “I never wanted a concubine.”
“And you stood up for yourself against the other High Elders. It is a start, Api.”
Martin nodded but said nothing. He remembered Navir’s anger today. He still felt like this wasn’t over. Navir was going to strike him somehow, and it was going to hurt.
Adosina smiled, though there was still some hurt in her eyes. “I realize the situation is complicated, but maybe more conversations like this will help us unravel the problem and come to a solution we both will be happy with.”
Martin stood up, smiling as he gave a bow. “Agreed. I have missed our talks.” He gave a tiny sigh. “I have missed you. We are similarly stubborn, but I do not want to lose you.”
Adosina stood up, curtseying. “I have missed you too. Perhaps…” she paused, then looked up at Martin, hope in her eyes. “Might I invite Elias and his family to the betrothal party?”
Martin paused, taking this in, trying to think it through. “It might be a shock for them.”
“I would very much like for them to see this. Should Elias ever be mine, and I be his, I want them to understand this part of my life. I doubt my family will stop inviting me to parties should I choose the lower class, with or without titles,” Adosina said.
Martin raised an eyebrow, then rubbed the back of his neck. “You have thought this through.”
Adosina smiled. “I have, yes.”
Martin took a breath. “Alright,” he said through his sigh. Coming to extravagant parties would help them decide if such a union could even work. “You may bring them.”
Adosina walked around Martin’s desk and wrapped her arms around him. Martin held her tightly, closing his eyes, remembering the times when she was just a child. It could not have been that long ago. Children grew far too quickly.