Free Thendara House by Marion Zimmer Bradley

popular her friend must be. “She is working in the Terran Trade City.”
Byrna made a face. “Among the Terranan ? I thought that was against the Guild House laws!” The tone of her voice made Magda realize how wise she had been to conceal her identity. She knew in general terms of the prejudice against Terrans but had never encountered it at close range before. Byrna asked, “What is your House, sister?” and Magda replied, “This one, I suppose - I am here for half a year training -
“Well, I hope you will be happy here,” Byrna said. “I’ll try to help make you welcome when this is over - ” she patted her bulging belly.
Doria jeered. “Maybe next Midsummer you’ll sleep alone!”
“Damn right,” said Byrna, and Magda mentally filed that away with what Mother Lauria had told her about contraceptives. “Where is she going to sleep, Doria? In your room?”
Doria giggled. “There are five of us in there already. Mother Lauria said she’s to have Sherna’s room while Shema’s in Nevarsin.” She led Magda along the hallway, pushing open the door of a room with half a dozen beds. She said “We got permission this year for all of us to share - Mother Millea said we could all room together if we promised to be quiet so others could have their sleep. We have a lot of fun. Here are the baths - ” she pushed a door, showing a room with tubs and sinks, “and here is where you put your laundry, and here is the sewing room, if anything needs mending and you can’t do it yourself. And this is Sherna’s room - yours now; she and Gwennis shared it for two years, then Gwennis moved in with her friend - ” She gave the word the inflection which made it also mean lover . Well, that must be commonplace enough, Irmelin had asked it about her, casually, and gone on to make a comment about the bread dough!
Doria pointed to a bundle on the bed. “Mother Lauria arranged with the sewing room to find you some spare clothes - nightgowns, undertunics, and a set of work clothes if you have to work in the garden or stable. I think most of them were Byrna’s - she is so pregnant now that she can’t wear any of her clothes, but by the time she has her baby and needs them back, you’ll have made your own.”
Well, thought Magda, looking at the clothes on the bed, they were sparing no pains to make her feel welcome; they had even included a comb and hairbrush, and some extra wool socks, as well as a warm fleecy thing she presumed was a bathrobe; it was fur-lined and looked luxurious. The room was simply furnished with a narrow bed, a small carved-wood chest, and a low bench with a bootjack.
Doria stood watching her. “You know that you and I are to take training together? But you are so much older than I - how did you come to the Amazons?”
Magda told as much of the truth as she could. She said “A kinsman of mine was held to ransom by the bandit Rumal di Scarp; there was no one but I to ransom him, so I went alone, and wore Amazon dress to protect myself on the road; when I met with Jaelle’s band on the road I was discovered and forced to take the oath.‘’
Dona’s eyes widened. “But I heard - was that you ? It is like a romance! But I heard that Jaelle’s oath-daughter had been sent to Neskaya! Camilla told us, when she came back after escorting Sherna and Devra to Nevarsin, and bringing Maruca and Viviana home - that must be why Irmelin thought you were Jaelle’s lover, that you had come here on purpose to be with Jaelle! But Jaelle is working now in the Terran Zone, isn’t she?”
Magda decided she had answered enough questions. “How did you come to the Amazons so young, Doria?”
“I was fostered here,” Doria answered. “Rafaella’s sister is my mother - you know Rafaella, don’t you? Jaelle’s partner - “
“I have not yet met her; but Jaelle has told me about her.”
“Rafaella is a kinswoman of Jaelle’s foster-mother Kindra. Rafi bore three children, but they were all boys The third time, she