Carnal Rites by Ines Johnson (learn to read books .TXT) 📕

bypassing calls from her Mother and Grand Mother. She crossed the threshold of her home and ducked into her conveyance.

Starting the car, Merlyn wasn't sure which direction to turn. She couldn't return to the bordello where Jaspir worked. Jaspir told her not to come back. Merlyn had never been accused of being the most insightful person when it came to emotions, but she did understand why Jaspir turned her out the door.

All odds were against them. They couldn't thrive together. A discarded son and a lady of her stature. Her Mother and Grand Mother would never allow them any level of stasis. Society would be a constant disturbance. She'd never complete her work in such a state.

She should get out of the car and go back into the house. She could thrive with Liam. Together they could reach a high level of stasis. With Liam she could accomplish untold breakthroughs.

Merlyn hunched in her conveyance, and pulled away from the house. Her direction was aimless for the first ten minutes of her journey. Until she pulled up to the familiar two story home.

"Lady Chanyn is in the gardens," said the manservant, Rianald, when she was admitted inside the great house.

Merlyn made her way to the back of the house. Chanyn's gardens reminded her of the gardens of her youth, before her Grand Mother wiped out the budding flowers for practical produce. These gardens were a burst of color as far as the eye could see. Alyss, who'd never visited Chanyn's home, would love the array of color. Jaspir would love to put his hands into the dirt and study the roots.

"Merlyn." Chanyn came toward her, her smile as big as her belly. "What a lovely surprise."

Merlyn accepted Chanyn's embrace. They had been embracing for months now, but the gesture was still awkward for Merlyn. Chanyn never seemed to mind.

"What brings you here?"

"I've had a breakthrough," Merlyn said.

Chanyn smiled. "In what area of your life?"

"In my work, of course. I've made a scientific find that will change the world."

"Merlyn, that's fantastic."

Merlyn nodded her head automatically. "Mother's proud. Grand Mother is elated. If you can believe that."

"I can't imagine it." Chanyn shook her head while smiling. "I'd love to hear all about it. Let's sit outside. It’s such a beautiful day."

Merlyn hadn't noticed the weather. She was rarely outside of her lab. And when she was, she usually kept her head down, looking over her notes on a handheld, and never up towards the sky.

Merlyn looked up now and she saw a pair of birds flying together. They criss-crossed one another, dipping and twining as though in a game of tag. "Do you think animals experience the conditions of love?"

"I do," said Chanyn. "I think every living being has the capacity for love."

"I'm not certain any longer. I've always thought love was a misnomer; a label humankind gave to their biological imperatives. It’s imperative for all living creatures to acquire food, shelter, and the ability to reproduce. Humans choose to meet these imperatives in pair and group bonds. It’s not crucial to remain in that same pair or group bond to survive. Yet humans, and some animals, bond for life."

"Life is more pleasant when you spend it with those who care about you and your well-being." Chanyn ran a hand over her belly. Her hand came to rest in her lap. Her fingers rubbed the gems on her bond band.

"Perhaps." Merlyn looked down at her own bare fingers. In a matter of weeks, she'd have her own stones. "But when you look at the design of copulation, it’s entirely flawed. Did know that males send, on average, three hundred million spermatozoa, per penetrative ejaculate, into a woman's cervix in hopes of fertilizing a single egg?"

"Um, no I wasn't aware of that."

"For twenty-four days of the month, those sperm fail. It’s inefficient," said Merlyn. "The natural conclusion is that routine intercourse is a waste of time."

"Well, I wouldn't go that far." Chanyn reached out her hand and placed it atop Merlyn's. "Listen, Merlyn, it’s understandable if you're feeling nervous about your bonding. I know that Liam cares about you. I can see it in his eyes. But your bonding won't be for a while yet."

"It'll be in a month's time. They've found a suitable second mate."

"Oh? Is he not to your liking?"

Merlyn had never considered what she liked.

"The choice of bondmates is your own, Merlyn," Chanyn continued.

"My life's not like yours Chanyn. Everything has always been planned for me. Planned by my Mother and Grand Mother. The only choices I have are what I do in my lab, and even that has been dictated by their desires."

"What do you want?"

No one had ever asked her that question before.

Merlyn looked up at the sky. The lovebirds were long gone, far off on the horizon. No trace left of their play.

Merlyn's heart beat steadily. Her palms were dry. Her eyes narrowed as she stared into the sun. She took a deep breath, noticing that her head was as clear as the sky. Her life may have been designed by others, but options had presented themselves before. Her choice had always been to stay the course that was set before her or fail.

She could've chosen to fail. It had never occurred to her to try. She didn't want to fail. She loved her work and she wanted to excel at it.

"I want what I've always dreamed: to be a great woman of science."

11

"You'll need to have the final payment in by the end of the month, otherwise you will forfeit your deposit and the land will go to the next bidder."

"Don't worry. You'll have your money," Jaspir told the land agent.

The woman looked at him with doubt, but she took his money. Men were allowed to own land, but the land was typically passed down from Mother to son.

Rarely did young lords buy land of their own. Even more rare could a discard, with no family status or connections, afford even a small parcel.

Jaspir left