“But Mother Sariah and Father Nesim
took Little Nesim to his village, didn't you meet at least them?”
the pregnant put her hand to her mouth, she seemed to find humor in
damn near anything.
“No.” Vinca decided they didn't
need to know why she was avoiding Mavi at the time. She laced her
hands, carefully making a basket of them, not a club. “I didn't
start taking care of the child until after Harvest Tide.” She still
had problems calling the Kedai brat Mavi's son, though it was getting
easier. It helped that the kid seemed to love his foster father.
“And they took him out in
mid-Harvest, so there was that chance. None of us?” Cap and braids
raised an eyebrow. “Well, said quickly, Sister Karli has introduced
herself, her husband is Bishop Neron Gallegas, he is rather
important, I suppose. Our blooming sister – “ she waved a hand
at the scarf and round face, “is Goodwife Cana Jeremiah, no
relation, although her husband did choose Jeremiah when it came time
to pick once he'd grown past his teener years. He's a bishop as
well, Bishop Tano Jeremiah. We have seven Bishops in the immediate
family, twelve pastors, and assorted clerks and other functionaries,
and that doesn't include the Gallegas and Jeremiah cousins.”
Vinca's head spun a little. “How many
of you are there?”
“In the Bishop's Palace, perhaps a
hundred.” The eldest – Goodwife Mora gestured at the crowd in the
room. Vinca spotted Mavi looking a bit frazzled, chasing Nesim as he
toddled after a cluster of other children “There are only fifty
more in Ilk Payiz, unless your daughter-in-law has had hers, Sister
Vatusia.”
Cap and braids … Goodwife Vatusia –
Gallegas? shook her head sadly. “Not yet, and the doctor has her
on bed rest, the poor girl's going mad with inactivity.”
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