Page 24 of Dishonor Among Thieves
“Love potion?” I echoed. “Well, it must work, because I think I’m falling in love with this hairbrush.”
“Not really,” she laughed and twisted the last of the oil on her fingers around the ends of my hair, twirling the light-blonde strands into soft curls. “I don’t dabble in magic, so there’s no enchantment there. But I can say many of my heartbroken clients found their true mates after using a bit of this. It certainly can’t hurt. May it soften the heart of that brute you married since you’re stuck with him now.” She gave me a smile to assure me she was teasing me and then helped me into her dress. The garment fit almost perfectly since both Odile and I were both tall and nearly the same weight. She set the crown of flowers on my head and announced that I was ready.
“You’re beautiful!” she exclaimed, clasping her hands together. “A vision, Brex. Just lovely. Exactly as a bride should be on her wedding night.”
“You know that Neo doesn’t love me,” I said somberly. This wasn’t a wedding night. This was simply the first night of my marriage to Neoruzzi Oderisi.
“No matter the circumstance, this is a night to celebrate and remember,” she insisted. “A night of joy and optimism for what might come. I’m jealous, if you must know.” She ran the brush through her own hair and quickly rushed on to explain. “Not that you’re marrying Neo.” She blurted out an awkward laugh. “I pray the gods help you manage that man. He’s… Well, I’ll just say that I know he has a good heart. It’s just buried deep beneath a lot of—”
“Manure?” I asked.
Odile crowed with laughter and shook her head. “I was going to say pain.” She grew serious as she adjusted the hem of my dress to cover my humble shoes, which now looked absolutely awful to my eyes. One bath and one fine dress, and already I was developing the sensibilities of a lady.
“Neo was nearly lost, several times in fact,” she admitted. “When he was imprisoned, his keeper was one of his kind. One who knew exactly how to inflict the most brutal torture. How to bring him close to death and then drag him back. There is love and goodness and so much promise in that man,” she assured me. “But none of us have yet been able to free him from the bonds of memory.” She touched my cheek with a hand. “I hope to learn all about your memories too someday, sister,” she said sweetly. “For now, be gentle with Neo. I believe the hardest materials are sometimes made, not created as such. But time and care can wear away even walls of stone.”
Even without her pretty words, Odile, with her hair styled and wearing a lovely pale-orange colored dress, was a truly stunning woman. Beautiful in a way I’d never even considered I might be. But in her dress, with my hair styled and fragrant, I felt overwhelmed with gratitude. Overwhelmed with hope. Neo might never love me, but I would play the part of the lady of this manor. In time. It was all still so new, it hardly felt real.
Before we left her room and headed to the wedding feast, Odile stopped, twisting her lips into a scowl. “Come,” she said. “You simply cannot wear those shoes!”
I breathed a sigh of relief when she pulled my road-broken shoes from my feet and handed me a pair of very simple, very clean brown leather shoes. The toes were slightly elongated and pointy, and the reinforced heel made a soft but satisfying clack on the stone floor as I walked.
“Here. Try this.” She knelt on the floor and lifted the hem of my dress then stuffed a bit of clean rags into the toes of the shoes. “Better?” she asked. “My feet are just a bit longer than yours, but this should do for one night.”
I tried walking with the rags in, and to my surprise, the shoes felt comfortable. “They are perfect,” I said.
Odile opened the door to her bedroom and waved me out. Before I could leave the sanctuary of her quarters, I stopped and looked at the floor.
“May I hug you?” I asked quietly. “I have no other way to thank you for your many, many kindnesses.”
She said not a word but pulled me into a generous hug before releasing me and smoothing my crown once more. “You are a vision,” she said. “Neo has no idea what’s in store for him.”
What I was soon to discover was how much my new husband had in store for me on our wedding night.
* * *
I’d been impressedby the cart full of food Antonia had prepared upon my arrival last night, but the table set for our wedding feast was unlike anything I’d ever in my entire life beheld. Dozens of slim candles of different heights were set on a circular pillar made of stones, each flicking with soft, warm light. Small wooden dishes held floral arrangements of native grasses and clustered green blooms of garden angelica surrounding clippings of Dragon’s Blood Sedum from the manor grounds. Tiny blood oranges with their pretty mottled skins were scattered along the length of an embroidered table runner. A cask of honeymead was open, and Antonia was calling out to Dale to begin dinner service as soon as the groom arrived.
Odile and I were the first to arrive, which was fine by me. I spent a few minutes in awe, trailing my hands along the surface of the dining table, the planks so smooth under my fingers they might have been coated with wax. I counted six chairs; one at either end of the table, the rest paired neatly on either side.
I reverently held the charm around my neck and spent a moment in prayer, my thoughts drifting to my mother. Emotion bloomed in my chest as I wondered how she would feel today, knowing that her child was married. Stable, secure—for now. I wondered if she too would mourn the love that was lacking between Neo and me, or if she, like Odile would put her trust in whatever the marriage bond delivered.
My thoughts were interrupted by the skidding of feet and a loudly blurted, “By the gods!”
I turned to the source of the voice and met the eyes of the apprentice Flynn. His face was flushed, his hair flopping over his eyes. He brushed the strands back and nodded at me.
“Miss Eloise, you are the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen. I… I…”
“She is Lady Oderisi now, boy. That beautiful woman is my wife.” Neo’s voice boomed from behind me. I had no time to thank Flynn for his compliment before losing my breath at Neo’s words.
“Your wife? Lady?” Flynn continued to stare at me, his mouth gaping open. “I need somebody to catch me up…”
I nodded demurely, completely unused to not only this kind of attention, but to compliments in general. “Thank you?” I said, my voice lifting as though I’d asked a question.
“You. Are. Welcome.” Flynn’s dramatic response relaxed me, and I giggled, while Odile put a hand on his shoulder and steered him toward a wash basin.
“Clean up, Flynnie,” she urged. “We’ll be eating soon, and your hands look like you just shoed a horse.”
“I kind of did,” he said, shrugging, but let himself be led away.
