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The two were both frozen, wide-eyed. Since they’d both seen him naked he could only presume that it was the blood.

“It got a little messy.”

“I can see that,” Anastasia replied.

“So we thought we’d just go take a shower,” Adams said, walking past.

“Good idea,” Daria said, tittering.

“So, I guess I’ll see you two tomorrow,” Mike continued, heading to the stairs.

“Okay,” Anastasia said. “Try to keep from tracking things up too badly.”

“I will,” Mike said. “Oh, and Anastasia?”

“Yes, Kildar,” the harem manager said, her hand over her mouth but the smile in her eyes.

“Could you make sure that before the Rite Gretchen has had a bath?”

Chapter Five

“You look perfect,” Anastasia said, picking a bit of lint off of Mike’s shoulder.

“I look like a fucking fruit,” Mike replied, frowning. “This get-up… ”

“You always say that the Rite is for the benefit of the young lady,” Anastasia said, playing with a curl of hair. “Not for you. And ladies like it when you dress up.”

“I know that,” Mike said, fiddling with the God damned lace ruff. “But, God, I hate this!”

The Rite of Cardane made virtue of necessity. The Keldara had long had the custom of dowry. Dowry was a poorly understood function of many early societies. The first year or so of marriage was a tough time for a new couple and women just had less economic worth in agricultural societies than males. Among other things, they spent a great deal of time pregnant and less able to do work than ever. Dowry was a response to this, providing the young couple with a starter fund.

In the Keldara, dowry was set at the approximate income of the male for six months. When it was first explained to Mike, the sum of five hundred rubles or equivalent in materials seemed laughably small. But it was a function of how very poor the Keldara had been before his arrival.

The issue had first come to light in regards to Lydia and Oleg. Lydia’s family simply did not have the available cash, at that time, to pay her dowry. Mike, therefore, offered to just grant them the funds, Lydia was a fast-coming intel specialist and Oleg one of his top team leaders; just handing them the cash, more, seemed like a natural action.

However, the Keldara also had a hatred of debt that was deep and abiding. Thus Mike simply handing them the money with in his eyes absolutely no strings attached, was out of the question. A debt of honor would remain. In a way the Keldara were more stuck on honor and propriety than Japanese giri and gimu.

There was, however, one clear alternative: The Rite of Cardane. In Western Europe, the term was “droit de seigneur.”

In most feudal societies, the very bodies of the “serfs” was owned by the lord. And many lords required that the first person to “open” a virgin be themselves.

The Keldara may have been tenant farmers, may have had various overlords over the years, but calling them “serfs” must have always been a stretch. But the pressure must have been there. The Ottomans, for example, were big on virgins. So were the Tartars, who had clearly been in the area. Hell, the Russian tsarist lords rarely left a lady “pure” for her marriage bed. However, at some point they had made a “virtue” of both problems; in return for a young lady’s “virtue”, she would be gifted with her dowry.

When Mike finally understood what they were saying he nearly had a heart attack. While Lydia was a… well a fucking hotty, the guy he was going to be leaving to sloppy seconds was… his top team leader. Oleg was going to be at his back with a weapon a lot. Not to mention being a fucking ox. Pissing him off was very low on Mike’s list of things to do. And Mike couldn’t imagine “The Rite of Cardane” not pissing him off totally and permanently.

Oleg, however, had been fine with it. His biggest worry was that Mike would turn them down. Mike got along with the Keldara incredibly well, they even had similar senses of humor which was unusual, but sometimes they could blind-side him.

He had, therefore, reluctantly agreed to the “Rite.” However, he put several stipulations in place. If he was going to do this he was going to do it right.

First, he insisted that she be given some classes. Riding horses for one. But he also insisted on, as he put it, “other riding classes” conducted by Mother Savina, his housekeeper, and Anastasia. He also insisted that there be a little ceremony. He wasn’t going to just yank her up on the horse without any “by your leave” and ride off. Among other things it got way to close to where some of his demons lurked.

On his part he did his best to make the night special and the dowry much more reasonable than the cost of a good pair of jeans. Lydia had walked away with about four thousand dollars, plus five one hundred ruble notes, a pearl necklace and matching earrings.

The result, once Lydia let loose some of the juicier details, was that the unmarried females now considered the “Rite” a Right. They wanted their evening with the Kildar, damnit, and the dowry had nothing to do with it anymore.

Anastasia had added a few details to his original plans. Mike had to agree that they were popular, but he didn’t have to like them.

Which was why he was dressed in a pair of polished riding boots, a short, tight, black velvet horseman’s jacket that made him feel like a waiter, a silk shirt with a ruffled front and skin-tight velvet pants.

A waiter, hell, he felt like a God damned gigolo!

“I would rather face a thousand deaths… ” he muttered, turning to the door of the caravanserai.

“Don’t give me that,” Anastasia said, grinning. “We’re talking Gretchen, Michael Whateveryourrealnameis.”

“Yes,” Mike said, looking at her for a moment. “There is that,” he added, grinning.

“Just remember to take your time,” Anastasia said, picking at another bit of lint. “Be a good boy.”

“I’ll try,” Mike said. “Now you need to go.”

“Yes,” Anastasia said with a sigh. “I have a date as well. But if you need any help… ”

Mike rolled his eyes and strode out the door.

Petro was holding Dumbass’ reins and bowed as the Kildar came down the steps followed by Anastasia. He also had a lack of expression that bordered boredom. At this point he no longer had to try not to grin. The first three or four were grin making, after that, well…

“Thank you,” Mike said, mounting then taking the lead rein of the palfrey. “Now scat. You’ve got duties as well.”

“Yes, Kildar,” Anastasia said, finally grinning.

* * *

The pouring rain of the night before had led to a cooler day but clear as a bell. The sun had just set, it was what the military called “early evening nautical twilight” and Mike referred to as “blue time.” He wanted to arrive at just full dark and visibility was already a bit bad so he took the road down carefully. But he had to admit it was a beautiful evening for riding.

Dumbass was getting used enough to the routine that he didn’t try to canter. This wasn’t a run where he was going to get oat cakes and apples. This was work.

Mike ignored the fire burning on the dun. It was smaller than the Samman bonfire but, to someone who knew the processes and practices of the Keldara, an announcement of a ceremony of a different type. A group of young men were clustered there, one of them Kiril.

There was a younger Keldara female waiting by the door of the Mahona House when he arrived. Mike had requested that the minimum possible males be involved in the Rite and now getting the horse-holding duty was a perk among the younger Keldara girls. That way they got to peek without any fear of retribution.