Page 39 of Circle of Days
Neen said: “I’m having a baby.”
Joia smiled broadly. “How wonderful! A new tiny baby in our family.”
“You’ve never liked babies much.”
“Well, no, but I’ll loveyourbaby. And Mamma must be thrilled.”
“Oh, she is.”
“But you’re not so happy.” That much was obvious.
Neen looked uncomfortable. She stopped, and Joia did the same. They found themselves looking at a calf suckling from its mother. After a long pause Neen said: “The father is Seft.”
“Not Enwood.”
“I’ve never lain with Enwood.”
“Really? I assumed…”
“I like Enwood but I love Seft.”
“A while ago you weren’t so sure.”
“The longer Seft stays away, the more I love him.”
This was bad news, Joia thought. Neen was in love with a man who had vanished. It was sure to make her unhappy. But what could she do?
They walked on around the circular bank. Joia tried to be practical. “When you have a baby, you’ll need a man.”
“That’s what Mamma says. I should forget Seft and make up my mind to have Enwood. I know he wants me—he’s made that clear. He doesn’t know I’m pregnant, but when I tell him, he’ll be happy to raise a child conceived on Midsummer Night—it’s the tradition.”
“And you still don’t know where Seft is?”
Tears came to Neen’s eyes. “I don’t even know whether he’s alive.” Neen began to cry.
Joia hugged her, thinking hard. When Neen’s sobs eased, Joia said: “You can wait a bit longer.”
“I can. But the longer I wait, the more obvious it becomes thatEnwood is my second choice, and I only want him because Seft has disappeared.”
Joia nodded. “Sooner or later that will put a man off.”
“And the baby makes that worse. Oh, Joia, what am I going to do?”
“You could wait until the Autumn Rite. If Seft doesn’t show up for that, you could give up.”
“It can’t be many more days until the Autumn Rite.”
“Twenty.”
Neen smiled through her tears. “You know that sort of thing now, of course—you’re a priestess.”
They had walked full circle around the outside of the Monument and had come to the start of the track that led to Riverbend. “I should go home,” Neen said.
“I’ll walk with you.”
On the way Joia tried to cheer Neen up. “Would you prefer a boy or a girl?” she said.
“Oh, I don’t mind. I’d love a little baby girl. But boys are sweet, too, when they’re little. I adored baby Han. I still adore him.”
