Bruna snorted. âMidwife a village and tell me that,â she said.
âIt wouldnât even matter if I was flowered,â Leesha said. âThen Gared and I could marry, and I could do for him as a wife should.â
âEager for that, are you?â Bruna said with a wicked grin. âItâs no sad affair, Iâll admit. Men have more uses than swinging axes and carrying heavy things.â
âWhatâs taking so long?â Leesha asked. âSaira and Mairy reddened their sheets in their twelfth summers, and this will be my thirteenth! What could be wrong?â
âNothingâs wrong,â Bruna said. âEach girl bleeds in her own time. It may be you have a year yet, or more.â
âA year!â Leesha exclaimed.
âDonât be so quick to leave childhood behind, girl,â Bruna said. âYouâll find you miss it when itâs gone. Thereâs more to the world than lying under a man and making his babies.â
âBut what else could compare?â Leesha asked.
Bruna gestured to her shelf. âChoose a book,â she said. âAny book. Bring it here, and Iâll show you what else the world can offer.â
5 (#litres_trial_promo)
Crowded Home 319 AR (#litres_trial_promo)
Leesha woke with a start as Brunaâs old rooster crowed to mark the dawn. She rubbed her face, feeling the imprint of the book on her cheek. Gared and Bruna were still fast asleep. The Herb Gatherer had passed out early, but despite her own fatigue, Leesha kept on reading late into the night. She had thought Herb Gathering was just setting bones and birthing babes, but there was so much more. Herb Gatherers studied the entire natural world, finding ways to combine the Creatorâs many gifts for the benefit of His children.
Leesha took the ribbon that held back her dark hair and laid it across the page, closing the book as reverently as she did the Canon. She rose and stretched, laying fresh wood on the fire and stirring the embers into a flame. She put the kettle on, and then went over to shake Gared.
âWake up, lazybones,â she said, keeping her voice low. Gared only groaned. Whatever Bruna had given him, it was strong. She shook harder, and he swatted at her, eyes still closed.
âGet up or thereâll be no breakfast for you,â Leesha laughed, kicking him.
Gared groaned again, and his eyes cracked. When Leesha drew her foot back a second time, he reached out and grabbed her leg, pulling her down on top of him with a yelp.
He rolled on top of her, encircling her in his burly arms, and Leesha giggled at his kisses.
âStop it,â she said, swatting at him half-heartedly, âyouâll wake Bruna.â
âSo what if I do?â Gared asked. âThe old hag is a hundred years old and blind as a bat.â
âThe hagâs ears are still sharp,â Bruna said, cracking open one of her milky white eyes.
Gared yelped and practically flew to his feet, distancing himself from Leesha and Bruna both.
âYou keep your hands to yourself in my home, boy, or Iâll brew a potion to keep your manhood slack for a year,â Bruna said. Leesha saw the colour drain from Garedâs face, and bit her lip to keep from laughing. For some reason, Bruna no longer frightened her, but she loved watching the old woman intimidate everyone else.
âWe understand one another?â Bruna asked.
âYesâm,â Gared said immediately.
âGood,â Bruna said. âNow put those burly shoulders to work and split some wood for the firebox.â Gared was out the door before she finished. Leesha laughed as the door slammed.
âLiked that, did you?â Bruna asked.
âIâve never seen anyone send Gared scurrying like that,â Leesha said.
âCome closer, so I can see you,â Bruna said. When Leesha did, she went on, âBeing village healer is more than brewing potions. A strong dose of fear is good for the biggest boy in the village. Maybe help him think twice before hurting someone.â
âGared would never hurt anyone,â Leesha said.
âAs you say,â Bruna said, but she didnât sound at all convinced.
âCould you really have made a potion to take his manhood away?â Leesha asked.
Bruna cackled. âNot for a year,â she said. âNot with one dose, anyway. But a few days, or even a week? As easily as I dosed his tea.â
Leesha looked thoughtful.
âWhat is it, girl?â Bruna asked. âHaving doubts your boy will leave you unplucked before your wedding?â
âI was thinking more on Steave,â Leesha said.
Bruna nodded. âAnd well you should,â she advised. âBut have a care. Your mother is wise to the trick. She came to me often when she was young, needing Gathererâs tricks to stem her flow and keep her from getting with child while she had her fun. I didnât see her for what she was, then, and Iâm sad to say I taught her more than I should have.â
âMum wasnât a virgin when Da carried her across his wards?â Leesha asked in shock.
Bruna snorted. âHalf the town had a roll with her before Steave drove the others away.â
Leeshaâs jaw dropped. âMum condemned Klarissa when she got with child,â she said.
Bruna spat on the floor. âEveryone turned on that poor girl. Hypocrites, all! Smitt talks of family, but he didnât lift a finger when his wife led the town after that girl like a pack of flame demons. Half those women pointing at her and crying âSin!â were guilty of the same deed, they were just lucky enough to marry fast, or smart enough to take precautions.â
âPrecautions?â Leesha asked.
Bruna shook her head. âElonaâs so eager to have a grandson sheâs kept you in the dark about everything, eh?â she asked. âTell me, girl, how are babies made?â
Leesha blushed. âThe man, I mean, your husband ⦠He â¦â
âOut with it, girl,â Bruna snapped, âIâm too old to wait for the red to leave your face.â
âHe spends his seed in you,â Leesha said, her face reddening further.
Bruna cackled. âYou can treat burns and demon wounds, but blush at how life is made?â
Leesha opened her mouth to reply, but Bruna cut her off.
âMake your boy spend his seed on your belly, and you can lie with him to your heartâs content,â Bruna said. âBut boys canât be trusted to pull from you in time, as Klarissa learned. The smarter ones come to me for tea.â
âTea?â Leesha asked, leaning on every word.
âPomm leaves, leached in the right dose with some other herbs, create a tea that will keep a manâs seed from taking root.â