Page 178 of Phoenix's Fire

Ms. Lawton simply raised her voice and turned her head to address the entire room. "So we do not share this rumor with anyone else, ladies. If a husband hears it, Callah could be punished severely."

"But what if she's right?" the brusque woman demanded.

"Then we'll finally have an insight into what the men are planning for us," Ms. Lawton said. "Trust me, ladies. Callah is smart enough and conniving enough to learn what we need. Mr. Warren is smitten with her. He went out of his way to gain permission to court her - which means no other man will try. The elders gave her to Tobias as a reward. If we're lucky, she'll use it to help us all."

But Helah leaned closer, clasping my forearm with her own damp hand. "And if you find he's not an acceptable match, I'll still yell for you to be banished. I swear it on my first child's name."

"So will I," Deenah promised.

"I'll lift my voice as well," Petra said from my other side.

Ms. Lawton was watching me, nodding her head in approval. "If you're right, you won't have much time to decide, so choose carefully, Callah - but I will yell as well."

"Thank you, Ms. Lawton," I breathed. "All of you. If Ayla's still out there..."

"Then we have something to hope for," Ms. Lawton said. "And in here, it's just Miriam, my dear. We're all women in this room. Nothing more and nothing less."

Fifty-Five

Ayla

It was a beautiful day outside. I had all the windows open in the house, doing something called "airing it out." Rymar had suggested it before he'd headed into town to handle city things, and I liked it. I'd never realized how much the smell of the air changed, but up here, it was always just a bit different.

Unfortunately, opening the windows allowed more dust to come inside. I was doing my best to wipe it away before it accumulated when Kanik walked in the front door carrying a pair of rods, but not the sort I was used to. Still, the sight of two long wooden things in his hands made my guts clench.

"Did I make a mistake?" I asked, heading to the archway between the kitchen and living room to watch as he set those in the corner behind the door. "Rymar suggested opening the windows, but if that's wrong..."

The look he gave me was filled with confusion. "Huh? No, it's a nice day."

"Oh." My eyes jumped to the rods again.

Kanik looked back. "Yeah, um, I thought you might want to go fishing today."

"I don't want to be punished," I blurted out.

His head snapped between the rods and me. "What? Ayla, those are fishing poles."

"They look like rods," I said.

"Well, some people call them fishing rods," he admitted.

I clenched my hands before me. "Husbands are given a rod with their first marriage."

"No, no, no," he hurried to assure me, closing the distance between us. "Not that sort of a rod. It's a tool to catch fish. Nothing more. I'm so fucking sorry, Ayla. I didn't even think of that."

Letting my eyes close, I let out a breath of relief. "Okay, because I've never opened the windows before, and I wasso worried."

"No, the windows were a good idea," he assured me. "I just thought that since it's not hot, you, me, and Holly can all go to the docks and try out fishing. I mean, we probably won't catch much, since it's best to do it around dawn or dusk, but it's easier to see what you're doing during the day."

"Now?" I asked.

He rocked his head from side to side. "Go put on something to sit on the ground. I don't care if that's a dress or pants. We'll have a blanket, but you'll need a bowl for Holly, plus her toy and leash. I'll make up a lunch we can carry with us, okay?"

"Yeah?" I asked. "Pants are good for this, right?"

"Light pants," he said. "Not the leather. That will be too hot."

"Okay!" So I spun and hurried up the stairs.