Embarrassed, he tried to form an apology, but Wulfston said, "That's how the story should go in your land, Lenardo. When you visit me, you'll find that I defeated Drakonius single-handed, to hear my bards tell of it.''
"It's only right," Aradia added, "that your people see you as a hero. It will ensure then- love and loyalty. Now reward your man before he makes up something scandalous about you, to an unforgettable tune!"
The formal activities were over for the night, although people continued to sing and dance. When Wulfston took Lilith to join a group of dancers, Aradia asked, "Have you learned to dance yet, Lenardo?''
"Somehow I haven't found time for dancing lessons."
"Then let us sit and watch," she said. "Perhaps when Lilith tires, Wulfston will dance with me. None of your men dare ask me."
"Ah, I can provide you with a partner. Ho! Arkus!" The young man was heading the small contingent guarding Lenardo and his guests. "Put off your sword and dance with the Lady Aradia. Surely partnering a great Lady Adept on the eve of your, wedding will bring you good fortune."
Arkus blushed but stripped off his sword, saying, "You do me great honor, my lady."
When they had gone, Lenardo sat watching the dancers in the flickering firelight. Lilith was attired in green tonight, Aradia in violet, soft summer garments with tight bodices and pleated skirts that swirled as they moved. Wulfston was clearly enjoying himself. Perhaps Lenardo should learn to dance.
He Read Julia, dancing in a circle of little girls beyond the ring of adults. She greeted his intrusion with a merry laugh and continued concentrating on the steps she had just learned. //I'm not tired, Master Lenardo. Don't send me to bed.//
//No, no-go on dancing. I want to learn the steps.// He soon understood the basic pattern and then backed off to watch the differences in male and female movements in the adult dancers.
When he felt secure, he walked around the circle to collect Julia from among the children. She was delighted but protested, "I've never danced with a man."
"Read. The other dancers will tell you what to do."
They entered the dance at a point mat allowed them to go through the pattern together before changing partners; by that time, Lenardo was feeling the flow of the steps in his own well-disciplined body. When the pattern brought him to Aradia, she said, "You certainly learn quickly."
"It helps to be able to Read the best dancers. Unfortunately, I cannot Read the best of all, my lady."
She laughed. "You're learning to turn a neat compliment, too. I knew power would be good for you, Lenardo. You're growing like a young tree that has reached the sunshine at last."
The dance called for her to pirouette and then raise her arms to clap her hands over her head while Lenardo watched, merely keeping rhythm. He had watched several other women perform the move, but Aradia did it with a twist of her hips that set her skirt to swirling, revealing her small feet in their neat slippers, ribbons tied about her delicate ankles. She turned faster, and her garment frothed just below her knees, revealing a swell of calf and enticing Lenardo to imagine what he would not Read.
The women came to an abrupt halt, and Aradia's skirts wrapped tightly about her body for one long instant, molding each feminine curve. Then it was over, her dress falling into its usual modest skimming of her figure as Lenardo nearly missed a step, wondering whether he could have imagined the seductive properties of the move that had seemed totally innocent when performed by other women.
Now it was his turn to clap and stamp, the men's version of this movement calling for more complicated footwork. He concentrated on that but slowly became aware of Aradia's eyes on him and of the picture he presented.
He was dressed appropriately for a savage lord, in a silk shirt and hose in muted gold, topped with a richly embroidered tabard that under normal conditions rode modestly down over his hips. The dance movements, though, pulled it up to reveal the full length of his legs, even the bottom curve of his buttocks.
Again he realized that he had been through this figure half a dozen times without embarrassment. It was only under Aradia's scrutiny that he became aware of being on display. She was watching him avidly. He felt himself blush, but he determinedly kept to the pace of the dance as the final move called for him to take Aradia in his arms. Her violet eyes laughed up at him, but she said nothing. They were both breathing heavily, but it was a strenuous dance. Nevertheless, Lenardo was acutely conscious of his hand on Aradia's waist, her other hand in his, the peculiar intensity of performing the steps in unison.
The dance separated them then, and Lenardo's pulse returned to a rate that could be accounted for by the exercise. He went through the steps with two more women and was not aware of anything seductive in the moves. He performed his own steps without embarrassment, and by the time the music ended, he was quite certain that he had imagined the peculiar ambience of his dance with Aradia. Still, he was glad that she had finished the dance some distance away from him.
Julia, breathless and weary, was happier than Lenardo had seen her since the day he had showed her the joy of touching another Reader's mind.
"You really should go to bed, child," he told her.
"I'm too excited to sleep. Can't I stay up and watch?"
"Lie down on the cushions where Arkus left his sword, and watch until you fall asleep. I'll carry you to bed."
"If you're going to hold me, wake me up for it."
He sighed. "Julia, when are you going to stop thinking you get something more from touching flesh than from touching minds?"
"When it isn't true," she said. "But it is true," she added. "You'd know that if you didn't-" lie to yourself was in her mind, but she dared not speak the words.
He smiled at her. "You have years of growing up, child. All I can tell you now is, wait and see."
The next day was crowded with formal events. Lenardo had nothing to present his guests that remotely approached the value of the gifts they had sent him, but he could grant them free travel across his lands. After that, he began the announcements of formal offices, from the minor village heads up to official appointments for Arkus and Helmuth, in each case handing out a reward along with the title.
The last scheduled event was the wedding. Lenardo, however, had decided to add an event not on the schedule. Julia was sitting with the three Adepts, amusing herself through the long ceremony by Reading far and near, still trying to acquire the clear visual perception that was a young Reader's first major hurdle. She was dressed all in yellow today, a beautiful child sitting carefully in her first grown-up dress with its tight bodice and skirt of narrow pleats. Lenardo had instructed the seamstress to pattern Julia's outfit after the ones Aradia and Lilith wore, but his own was pure empire garb.
All summer, Lenardo had worn the all-purpose empire hot-weather outfit: a knee-length tunic. Soon the cool, comfortable, easy-to-make garment had become standard male garb throughout Zendi. Hair and beards were trimmed in imitation of Lenardo's shorter style, and the women put up then- hair and modeled their dresses on those of the women who had come with Lenardo from Aradia's lands.
His people were proud of Lenardo. He had surprised them today, for they had never seen the formal attire of a Master Reader before. He wore a white ankle-length tunic, banded and belted in black, and over it a floor-length robe of scarlet, the sleeves bias-cut and so wide that they almost touched the ground. When he lifted his hands, the wide sleeves fell from his wrists like wings. It was the first time he had ever worn the robes.
Never in his life had he made so many decisions. The matter of clothing was trivial; his other decision for this occasion was not, and he had really made up his mind only last night, when he had carried Julia to bed. She had cuddled against him when he picked her up, and at home, when he laid her on her couch, she gave a small cry of pain. Wondering if she had made herself sick with excitement and rich food, he Read her and found her in the midst of a nightmare.