added to Rohan’s discomfort. Lenala and Naydra had been present when Rohan had arrived for the morning session at Roelstra’s tent, and served him wine while eyeing him in the most embarrassing fashion. The other princes winked and nudged each other. At the midmorning break, Ianthe and Gevina had shown up to bring refreshments; more grins and elbow-poking had made Rohan blush to his earlobes. At least, he told himself ruefully, it added to his guise of fool.
He had the daughters sorted out by now. If he had looked over the women at Stronghold and found them lacking, then these princesses fell even farther short of the perfection he associated with Sioned. Gevina had a tendency to giggle; Rusalka behaved as if Rohan was of an entirely different species from herself and invariably looked surprised, as if she had doubted that he ate, drink, and scratched his nose like other men. He thanked the Goddess for Sioned, whose laughter was honest and who met him on human terms as well as man to woman.
Naydra was very lovely if one appreciated the type. But Rohan’s tastes had been formed by his mother’s golden beauty and his sister’s vivid dark looks, so Naydra seemed to him simply brownish. She also had a certain covetousness in her eyes and tended to look at his lap as if to measure him. He was equally thankful for Sioned’s frank sensuality; Naydra’s furtiveness was disgusting.
Lenala stared at him outright, and he supposed it might have been flattering to have his looks so openly admired if there had been the faintest spark of wit in her eyes. Grateful for Sioned’s intelligence, he pitied the man who married this empty-headed princess.
As for the other two—they were undeniably beautiful. Richly colored, graceful, they behaved like women and not girls. Pandsala affected a slightly distant manner which Rohan assumed she thought would intrigue him. Ianthe, on the other hand, issued an open invitation with her eyes every time she looked at him. Rohan was honest enough to admit that if not for Sioned, Pandsala would indeed have been tempting and Ianthe well-nigh irresistible. He was finding that to be a young, wealthy, good-looking prince could be very enjoyable indeed.
It ceased to be pleasant when Roelstra got him alone after the day’s session was over. “My girls can’t keep their eyes to themselves,” the High Prince chuckled. “I’ve kept them at Castle Crag too long, without many young men to look at. I shall hate to part with them, you know.”
Did he think Rohan would take the whole lot off his hands? Rohan made his expression bashful and mumbled something about their being very nice girls.
“Cousin, you might assist me with a small matter having to do with them. I can never decide which is the prettiest. I’d value your opinion of my girls—your mother was one of the great beauties of her day, and your sister is the most exquisite woman I’ve ever seen.”
Rohan fended off making this impossible judgment with another mumble and a question about the output of Cunaxan wool, information that might allow them both to wring another concession out of tight-fisted Prince Durriken. Rohan had become an expert at the art of blushing evasion, as if the very thought of Roelstra’s daughters flustered him so completely that he had to take refuge in practical matters. And all the while he coaxed the High Prince into signing more and more documents.
He had managed several of them that day: a renewal of the agreement that Feruche belonged to Roelstra but all lands below it were Rohan’s; a pact of mutual assistance should the Merida attack and interrupt trade; and, foolish enough to Roelstra but important to Rohan, an agreement that Princemarch would conduct a census of dragons when they flew north to summer in the Veresch Mountains next year.
“I heard about your first dragon,” Roelstra said. “Valorous work! And to burn him along with your father, their ashes scattered by faradh’im on the morning winds—I know Zehava would have approved.”
“I don’t mind confessing that I was scared half out of my wits when I saw that dragon coming at me,” Rohan replied.
“Only a fool isn’t frightened when there’s danger. But only brave men do what must be done despite their fear.”
Rohan heartily agreed. He anticipated a nasty test of his courage when Pandsala or Ianthe maneuvered to be alone with him. But it was nice to be wanted, if only for his money and power. The thought teased