Crushing disappointment and betrayal warred inside of me, turning me icy cold. After promising me he wouldn't, he had. Furious, I whirled to leave, Felicity asleep in my arms. All I could think was I needed to escape, get into the carriage that was still in front of the manor and leave at breakneck speed. Leave here. Leave the warrior. Leave all of this pain behind. I would go to my parents and hope they would let me stay if I explained that, although he was not hurting me physically, he was breaking my heart. I hurried down the steps, but suddenly my husband was in front of me, his hands on my upper arms, his face intent. 

"Calissande, hear me well: I did not request a new camaspoza. I promised you I would not share my body with anyone but you, and I would never break a promise. I do not know how she came to be here, but it was not at my bidding. When Alcarn returns tomorrow, I will ask him what transpired when he returned the camaspoza to the training center. But you must believe me -- I swear on my sword arm that I did not ask for a camaspoza." 

His words sounded sincere, but could I believe him? Could I believe he had truly turned his back so easily on a way of life that was all he had ever known? His pale brown eyes bore into mine, commanding me to believe him. He might be pleading with me, but he was still a warrior.

My mind went over the last few months since he had arrived at Fernwick, of the words he had said to me, the traditions he had explained to me, the promises he had made to me. I thought also of his actions, the attentiveness he had shown, the care he had taken with me, the patience he had displayed. 

I remembered the pain in his voice when he described how my letter telling him I had made plans in the event of my death while giving birth had not reassured him, how he went to great lengths to find the very best midwife he could and how he had prowled the room to protect me when I was giving birth to Felicity.

And I found I could believe him because his actions spoke to a man who would not hurt me any longer.

I did not need to answer him since he could see and feel the tension leave my body, and he knew it was because I believed him.

He pressed a kiss to my forehead. "I will settle this issue and send her back, Calissande. Now that I know you will not run from me again, I will go up to my bedchamber and have her removed immediately. I will arrange transport back for her. Now, my lady wife, give me your leave so that I can fix the problem."

And because I did not want my lord husband to deal with a camaspoza alone, I told him, "I will go up with you and we shall settle this matter together."

From the look on his face, I knew he did not like that. Carrick was clearly uncomfortable with his lady wife confronting a camaspoza, as if her presence would dirty me, but he also read my face and knew I would not be moved.

"Very well, my stubborn lady wife, let us go address the matter and be done with it."

Moments later, I followed Carrick into his bedchamber and found a woman standing at the window, staring down into the gardens. Surprised by our entrance, she spun around, took in Carrick and then me and practically threw herself prostrate on the ground.

"Rise," Carrick told her, his arms crossed over his massive chest. He was not pleased and that was evident not only in his stance but in his tone.

Clearly confused by the order, perhaps thinking this was not how the First Meeting should go, she remained on the floor.

"Rise," he bit out again, and this time her body started trembling but still she did not obey my lord husband's command.

"Please get up," I asked her softly. "We need to speak with you."

My words seemed to get through to her, and I could imagine her confusion since I was sure there was nothing in her training to prepare her for being spoken to by the lady wife. From what Carrick had told me, the only time a camaspoza was in close proximity to the lady wife was at the First Meeting -- and the man was the only one who spoke during that awkward encounter.

She got to her feet, staring at the floor and backing away from us as if she feared we would harm her. I studied the girl and knew she was young, no more than nineteen or twenty. But the most surprising fact was that she was extremely plain. The other one had been plain as well, and both shared the same kind of rough features and non-descript faces that had no claim to beauty. I wondered if that was also part of the consideration when choosing girls who would become camaspozas.

The girl stood in front of us, still shaking, wringing her hands together. 

"There has been an error," Carrick said, his voice hard. "I have no need of a camaspoza and you will be returned, without censure, to the training center for reassignment."

I watched as tears slid quietly down her face and she nodded slowly, now wringing her hands so hard I thought she would twist the very skin off of them.

Felicity stirred in my arms at that moment, and my heart broke at the thought of my daughter one day standing in front of a man in this way, being told she was being returned, as if she was a thing and not a person.

"What is your name?" I blurted out.

I felt Carrick's gaze on me, but I kept my eyes on the girl in front of me.

"Please answer me."

She shook her head and her voice was barely a whisper. "I have no name."

My eyes went to Carrick, then, and he shrugged. "It is trained out of them."

"Everyone has a name," I told her, "and I know you did, too, before you went to the training center. Please tell me what you were called."

For long, tense moments, I waited for her to answer me. Then, finally, another whisper, "Jannip."

"Thank you, Jannip. Could you please tell me how you came to be a camaspoza?"

I could sense Carrick about to explode, so I utilized a weapon I had at my disposal and put my hand on his arm, raising my eyes to his imploringly. "Please, Carrick."

His name on my lips did the trick. He nodded, but I could see his displeasure written all over his face.

She began speaking, again in a whisper. "I am the oldest girl in my family. There are ten of us. Da died a few years back, and Mum has been having a rough go of it, so I did it to help out."

"Nine brothers and sisters younger than you. You must have helped raise them?"

Jannip nodded, her eyes still trained on the floor. "Yes, my lady."

"It just so happens, Jannip, that although my lord husband has no need of a camaspoza, we do have a need for a nanny."

Her eyes flew to mine for a brief moment before she trained them back on the floor, and I suddenly found myself propelled from the room by Carrick. He shut the door to the bed chamber behind us and glared down into my face.

"Calissande!" he near bellowed my name. "Have you taken leave of your senses?"

I patted his chest with one hand while I held Felicity in my other arm. "Carrick, that poor girl doesn't want to be a camaspoza. She was driven to it by poverty and unfortunate circumstances. We cannot send her back. It wouldn't be right."

"What is not right is you speaking with her, Calissande! This is not done; there is no precedent for such a thing as you have suggested."

"There never is a precedent until one occurs for the first time." His face remained unyielding, so I went for his weakness.

"Carrick, all I could imagine when she was standing in front of us, crying and trembling, is our own Felicity being in that situation someday, scared and unsure."

He was opening his mouth to chastise me for saying such a blasphemous thing, but I cut him off. "And of course she won't because she has an amazingly strong warrior for a father who would never leave her in such dire circumstances, but the point is, we can help Jannip."

"To have a camaspoza as my daughter's nanny is not going to happen, so you need another plan, lady wife."

Ooohhh, not my lady wife. He was angry, but I would not be cowed.

"She has experience with children, my lord husband, and she is a gentle soul -- that much is very obvious to me. And she has never been your camaspoza, so there is no connection to you that way."

"This is not right, Calissande. It is...unseemly. She may not have been a camaspoza yet, but she has been trained as one, and that is perhaps just as bad."

"Carrick, perhaps she can help me with Felicity on a trial basis, and we can see how that works out?"

"Calissande, you should not be anywhere near a camaspoza or even one who has been trained as such. It is not proper for a pure, innocent lady wife to be around such as her."

"That I am still pure and innocent is your fault, warrior, and results from your inability to be a proper husband to me."

His eyes nearly bulged out of his head and his face flushed red in anger. "Enough, Calissande! This girl must be returned to the training center."

"No, Carrick. We must keep her here and let her find other work within our home. I would never be comfortable with myself again if she were to be returned and forced into a life for which she is not suited. Surely you can see that."

My eyes held his, and I could see much going on in his eyes.

"Please, Carrick. For me? Could you grant me this boon and do what you must to ensure she can stay with us and not be sent back?"

His face hardened and his eyes narrowed on me. 

"I do not like knowing," he bit out each word, "that I will do anything in my power to make you happy, Calissande. I am a warrior, not a milksop content to live on his knees at your feet, and yet that is the position I find myself in continuously with you."

Then, surprising him, surprising even myself, I drew his head down to me and kissed him thoroughly. 

His eyes blazed. "You know this will require much money to make your plan happen."

I shrugged. "What is money compared to doing that which you know is right? And it will cost even more money to send to her mother so none of her other sisters are forced into this life. We need to ensure they all get an education, Carrick. That is why I tutor the local children -- so they may have learning that will allow them to make livings someday -- livings that do not require them to sell their souls."

His eyes blazed for a moment, then he drew me close and held me. "You are the most kind lady wife, Calissande, and though you baffle me, I am proud of you and your tender heart."

When he let me go, he pressed a kiss to my forehead and then to my lips. "This has taken enough of my time. Make arrangements for her to get settled, and then talk to Henrill about compensation to the training center and her family."

Then he was off and I stood for a moment, basking in my victory. I did not know then it would be short-lived.

That evening, as we were all gathered in the common room for the evening meal, I heard a voice I did not know raised in anger, shouting. A woman's voice. There was a commotion at the back of the room before I saw her. Carrick's former camaspoza came storming up to our table, dodging the hands grabbing for her, something clutched tightly in her arms.

She threw me a look of utter triumph before turning her attention to Carrick, who had shot to his feet, his face a mask of anger and extreme displeasure. Yet the hand he placed on my shoulder was gentle, and I knew his touch was an attempt to reassure me.

"How dare you approach? You were sent away and you should stay away," he growled at her. He lifted his chin at one of his guardsmen, but before the man could take her away, she moved the bundle in her arms, revealing a tiny baby.

A baby.

"I thought you would like to meet your heir, my lord. We have a son."