CHAPTER FOURTEEN
JASMINE HAD NEVER seen so much green, even during her first visit to Memcache. The skimmer flew over the capital city and out toward a line of distant mountains. The emperor had sent a skiff to bear Mekashe, Stern, Hahnson and Jasmine to the Fortress, the place the Imperial family called home.
The forests were just like those she’d seen in the holoroom with Mekashe, all those years ago. They looked like massive bamboo forests, with beautiful villas tucked into them, most made of some bright, hard stone that she’d also seen in the holoroom.
“It looks like marble,” she commented, only then remembering that she’d said that in the holoroom with Mekashe, long ago.
“It’s similar,” Hahnson replied. “It’s an igneous stone, but it conducts electricity. It’s used in construction because it retains heat and cold when they’re introduced to it.”
“The Rojoks mine a stone which they use in construction, some amber igneous sort of rock. It radiates heat or cold as needed,” she said.
“I forgot that you’d lived on Enmehkmehk,” Stern said, chuckling. “What was it like, being the only human on the planet?”
“Fascinating,” she replied. “I took a lot of heat at first, because I was such a wimp. But I toughened up pretty quickly when one of my fellow recruits, Rusmok, started chiding me.” She smiled. “He’s been my best friend ever since.”
“Aha,” Stern said. “A romantic interest?” he teased.
“No,” she said, aware of Mekashe’s narrow glance. “He has his heart set on a female who hates the military.” She sighed. “But he lives on hope. We meet on Benaski Port on liberty, when we can, to catch up on news. He’s second in command on one of the big battle cruisers now. He may make captain in a year or so. I’m very proud of him.”
“Maddie Ruszel is like that about Chacon.” Stern chuckled. “He saved her life a couple of times, and she saved his. Dtimun was a little jealous, but he got over it after Komak was born.”
“He sort of got over it,” Hahnson mused. “Chacon is a powerful rival. Or he would be, if he wasn’t head over heels in love with Lyceria.”
“A truly beautiful woman,” Stern said, sighing.
“And kind,” Hahnson added. “Which is more important.”
“Is that the Fortress?” Jasmine asked suddenly, as a huge gray stone structure began to fill the viewscreen. She leaned forward to look out. “It’s magnificent! And look at the gardens!”
There were flowers everywhere. In the late afternoon, with the planet’s two moons just becoming visible and the sun casting red-and-gold clouds as it began to go low in the sky, it was like a fairy setting.
“It’s so beautiful,” she said breathlessly.
Mekashe was looking at her with eyes full of pain. He averted them before she could see. So long ago, he’d dreamed of bringing her here, having her as part of his family, his Clan. And it was impossible. Impossible.
“The Imperial family spends some time in the capital. There’s a building that serves as governmental, religious and residential home. But this province is where they prefer to live,” Hahnson said. “Dtimun and Maddie live here at the Fortress. The emperor and empress have a huge residence of their own over the mountains. Rhemun has a villa not too far away, where he and Edris live with their children.”
The skimmer put down on the large stone-paved area adjacent to the Fortress. A woman with long red-gold hair was standing there with two children. She was accompanied by a tall Cehn-Tahr woman with long silver hair down to her waist.
“We’re truly honored,” Hahnson remarked. “That’s the empress herself, standing with Maddie and Komak and Clint!”
“Gosh.” Jasmine was totally surprised. She was certain that they were there to see the others, not herself. Still, it really was an honor.
* * *
SHE WAS VERY nervous as she exited the ship and approached the waiting group with her comrades. She was still wearing the uniform of the Rojok Republic, a black one with mesag marks on the sleeves denoting her rank. Her blond hair, which had been long and elegant, was now collar length, a visible symbol of her status as an officer. She was beautiful, despite her military trappings, something that was noted by both women in the greeting party.
“You are Jasmine, yes?” the empress asked gently. “I am Caneese.”
“Lady Caneese,” Jasmine said, bowing. “It’s an honor, Your Highness.”
“Just Caneese.” The alien woman laughed softly. “Here is home, or at least our second home,” she amended with a smile toward the other woman, who laughed. “Protocols are put aside when we are with family. Hahnson, Stern, Mekashe. I greet you.”
They bowed. Mekashe approached and she touched his cheek and laid her forehead against his. Jasmine didn’t know, but this was a greeting only used with family.
“You look well,” Caneese told him.
He smiled. “So do you, Your Highness.”
“The children keep me young,” she said. “And this is Madeline Ruszel. Lady Maltiche, when she is formally addressed, away from here.” She indicated the woman with long red-gold hair that showed only a few threads of silver.
Madeline laughed. “But since we’re not away from here, I’m just Maddie,” she said with a mischievous glance at the empress, and she moved forward to hug Jasmine warmly. “Welcome to the Fortress, Jasmine.”
“Thank you,” Jasmine said, smiling. “These are your sons?” she asked, brightening.
“Yes. That’s Komak,” she said, nodding to the eldest, who grinned at Jasmine with a very human smile. “And that’s Clint. He was named for my father,” she added as she indicated the younger boy, who was almost as tall as Komak, with the same dark hair and laughing green eyes. Except that his hair was black and Komak’s had red highlights.
“I’m happy to meet you both,” Jasmine told them.
“You’re in the Rojok military?” Komak enthused. “Gosh, that uniform is totally solar,” he added. “You’re a doctor, too, like Mom?”
“I am,” Jasmine replied, smiling. “I serve aboard the Kreskkom, the flagship of the Rojok fleet.”
“Wow,” the younger boy said, impressed. “Just like Mom used to, aboard the Morcai.”
“And Edris.” Madeline chuckled. “She’ll be over soon. Kipling had a test with his tutor, so she’s waiting for his grade. He’s very smart.”
“We’re very smart, too,” Komak murmured wickedly.
“Too smart!” his mother returned, with a glance. “How could you trap Larisse in the Nagaashe grotto?”
“She loved it!” Komak replied smugly. “She and the mother Nagaashe had a whole conversation about how they like snow.”
Madeline rolled her eyes. “Just the same...”
“I won’t do it again,” Komak promised. “Honest.”
“Children!” Madeline groaned. “I had an easier time in combat on Ondar!”
“Do you serve with a forward unit, like Mom did?” Komak wanted to know.
Jasmine nodded. “Yes, I do. We learn combat techniques in basic, and we have ongoing training under fire, even when we’re in port on Enmehkmehk.”
“Chacon and Aunt Lyceria come to visit all the time with their son, Lomek, except right now,” Komak said, “on account of the baby. We get to see as soon as it’s born. Mom’s set up the...!”
“Komak!” his mother warned gruffly. Because her son was about to mention the holon, which was top secret tech and not mentioned in company.
“Sorry.” He grimaced. “I mean, on the multiscanners, Mom,” he added quickly.
She shook her head. “You’ll be the death of me!”
“No, I won’t, and years from now, we’ll wreck bars together!” he replied with a mischievous grin.
She rolled her eyes. “Komak...!”
“You and your brother should go and play now. But we’ll expect you for dinner. And you’ll dress for it,” the empress said with twinkling green eyes.
They groaned, but they hugged her and their mother and ran off, laughing.
“Come in,” Caneese invited. “We have been looking forward to the company.”
“It gives us an excuse to get out of the lab,” Madeline said, tongue in cheek, smiling at her mate’s mother.
“Indeed. Oh, Rognan, I forgot...” She indicated a huge bird who was hobbling toward them, hampered by his damaged leg. He had black feathers and golden eyes and he went right up to Jasmine.
She stood very still, not knowing what to expect. She’d never seen a bird so big.
“You...are Jasmine,” the bird said in passable Standard. “Welcome.”
Jasmine’s intake of breath was audible. “You speak Standard!” she exclaimed.
“Yes.” He bowed his head. “I speak many tongues. She—” he indicated Madeline “—speaks my own.”
“Not as well as Komak does, but after a fashion.” She laughed, stroking the bird’s head. “Where’s Kanthor...? Never mind,” she added as a huge black galot appeared out of nowhere at the bird’s side.
Five years ago, Jasmine would have screamed and gone running out the door. But her fear of cats had long passed, and she surveyed the newcomer with utter fascination. He was as tall as Mekashe if he’d been standing erect. He had green eyes and white fangs. He padded up to her stealthily, as if trying to provoke her into running.
She stood very still and just looked at him. Behind her, Mekashe was grinding his teeth together, expecting a very different response from her.
She smiled. “You’re a galot,” she said, searching his eyes, which were almost on a level with hers. “You’re magnificent,” she added, studying him.
“And you are gracious.”
She caught her breath. He’d spoken. She’d never known that the great cats had speech, or that they were sentient.
“Yes, you are surprised,” the galot continued, and he laughed. “We do not share our culture with outworlders. Only with family.”
It took a minute for that to sink in. She fought tears. She bowed to him.
Mekashe’s quick breath was audible. She’d shocked him, apparently. But her concentration was on the huge cat, who seemed far more like a person than an animal. She knew from what Mekashe had told her that the Cehn-Tahr revered the galots, from whom their transforming DNA had been obtained. She could see why they were held in such great respect. She’d never known these things about the species. Her past behavior still shamed her, now more than ever.
The big cat moved closer. “We cannot relive the past,” he said softly, his voice much like a cat hissing, but the words quite well enunciated. “We must go forward. We do not prey on those who offend us. We wait and hope for their understanding.”
She bit her lip. Strong emotion buffeted her. “As we grow older, we grow in wisdom. And we learn from our mistakes. But I am grievously sorry to have offended as much as I did.”
The big cat lifted a huge paw to her shoulder. “You were a cub,” he said. “Cubs are not held responsible for their mischief. If you had offended as much as you fear, you would never have been offered such a position with the Rojoks.” He chuckled. “There was collusion.”
She was all at sea. “I don’t understand.”
“You will.” He brought down his paw. “Welcome.”
She reached out a hand and instantly drew it back, for fear of committing another offense. “Sorry,” she said, flushing.
“I will not be offended if you stroke me,” he said. “I learned to tolerate it from that one’s mate long ago.” He indicated Madeline.
“In that case,” Jasmine said, and she extended her hand to smooth over the beautifully soft fur of his head. She smiled and sighed. “You honor me.”
“Ah,” he said suddenly, and turned. “You have other visitors, as well.” He glanced back at her. “You have no fear of serpents...?”
“I have a virtual Nagaashe who lives with me,” she said, and flushed when she noted Mekashe’s sudden start. He knew where she’d gotten it.
“So.” Kanthor made a sound.
Two giant white serpents appeared beside him, along with a smaller one.
“These are our friends,” Kanthor told her as he and Rognan moved aside to let the serpents closer. “They wanted to meet you.”
She was fascinated. The serpents towered over her. They had blue eyes, like her little virtual one, and rounded instead of slit pupils. They swayed and began to purr.
“How magnificent,” she murmured. She bowed to them, as she had to Kanthor.
They bowed back and hummed. In her mind she heard soft laughter. There was another burst of purring and they vanished as quickly as they’d appeared.
“Oh my,” Jasmine said, stunned.
“Enough shocks for one day, I think,” the empress said, laughing. “Come inside. My mate and my son will be here soon, as will Rhemun and Edris and their children. We have much to discuss.”
* * *
JASMINE WAS STILL reeling from her recent revelations when they entered the enormous living area. There was an open fireplace where virtual logs burned with a blue flame. She knew from the past how the Cehn-Tahr revered trees and knew that wood would never be used in such a fashion.
“I forgot that I had told you that,” Mekashe said softly.
She turned to him. “I remember a lot that you told me,” she said, and her eyes were sad.
He turned away. The pain was terrible.
Caneese looked from one of them to the other, but she wasn’t sad. She was smiling secretly. Madeline caught that smile and echoed it. They were sitting on a major experiment that might have great benefits for these two in the near future. But it was too soon to speak of it openly.
* * *
ROGNAN AND KANTHOR accompanied them into the house, but moved to the patio where Rognan ate a fruit that looked much like a Terravegan apple and Kanthor lapped milk from an enormous earthen bowl.
“How things have changed,” Madeline mentioned, indicating the two. “When I first came here, they were bitter enemies.”
Caneese laughed. “I recall when Komak was born and Dtimun tried to make them leave the room. They defied him.”
“I told him they were family. They are,” Madeline said. She studied Jasmine. “When we have time, I want to know all the new advances in med tech. It’s been a while since I was on active duty.”
Jasmine smiled. “There have been some major changes.”
“I keep up with them on the Nexus,” Madeline said. “But firsthand reports are better.”
A household worker brought a tray with refreshments, including coffee.
Jasmine caught her breath. “Java!” she exclaimed. “Real java! I haven’t had it in so long...! Rusmok managed to get two cups of it for our last liberty. He wouldn’t tell me how he managed it, but we were on Benaski Port. You can get almost anything there. Even java!”
Madeline sipped her own, noting Caneese’s pained expression. “They don’t understand this human compulsion to consume caffeine,” she told Jasmine teasingly. “They drink herbal tea that’s caffeine free. But I have to have my java jolt. I have it shipped in from the Terravegan colonies.”
“Admiral Lawson has it shipped in,” Caneese corrected mischievously, “and you have Dtimun wheedle it out of him. It is illegal in the Terravegan military,” she added for Jasmine’s benefit.
Madeline chuckled. “I got in trouble for brewing it in my medical bay,” she confessed. “The commander used to hold it over my head whenever I did something he didn’t like. The former commander,” she added, smiling at Mekashe, who grinned at her.
“That was when Dtimun commanded the Holconcom,” Mekashe volunteered. “Long ago.”
“Not so long,” came an amused deep voice from the doorway.
They all turned. Dtimun entered, smiling. He touched Madeline’s cheek and laid his forehead against hers, then repeated the action with his mother.
“Where is Tnurat?” Caneese asked.
“Trying to restrain himself from choking the president of the Dectat.” Dtimun sighed. “I wanted to assist him, but he said that one member of the family, at least, should keep a cool head. He will be along momentarily.” He approached Jasmine and smiled. “Dr. Dupont,” he greeted. “Chacon speaks highly of you, as does my sister.”
“They’ve both been very gracious to me,” she said, smiling. She bowed. “It’s an honor to meet you, sir. You’re legendary among the Rojok.”
He chuckled. “Chacon and I have had some interesting encounters over the years as enemies. However, our friendship goes back to the Great Galaxy War, when we studied together at the military academy on Dacerius.”
“He spoke of that, as well,” she said.
“Rhemun and Edris will be here shortly,” Dtimun added. “Kipling is being spoken to very sternly about his marks.” He glanced at his mate with sparkling green eyes. “It appears that our sons have been helping him evade his study hour in the evening.”
“Again,” Madeline groaned.
Jasmine was listening with fascination. She’d been in awe of the Royal Clan for years, even through her resentments. It had never occurred to her that they were like any other family, with the same problems and concerns.
Dtimun glanced at Mekashe. “I believe you expressed an interest in the new pavilion we erected near the religious compound. Dr. Dupont might find it enlightening.”
Mekashe hesitated.
Madeline cleared her throat. Dtimun and Mekashe read her mind. Mekashe sighed.
“Very well, Lady Maltiche. If you are certain...?”
“Most certain,” she replied. She opened her wrist scanner and performed a function with the minicomp. Seconds later she beckoned to Jasmine. “Two ccs in the artery at the base of the neck,” she told her with a mischievous smile.
Jasmine frowned. “I don’t understand.”
“You will,” Madeline said.
The others waved them away.
Mekashe led the way outside, opening the door for Jasmine before they wandered into the bamboo forest toward a group of stone buildings in the near distance.
“What is this?” she asked him, indicating the discs she carried in her palm.
“Dravelzium,” he said shortly.
She frowned. “I remember. It’s used to sedate large animals.”
He turned to her. “Also to prevent mating behaviors in susceptible Cehn-Tahr,” he interrupted gruffly. He opened the collar of his uniform. “If you please.”
She hesitated just briefly before she pulled out a laserdot and put the dosage into the artery. “I don’t understand why it would be necessary,” she said stiffly. “You don’t have those sort of feelings for me. Not after what I did and said.”
He drew in a breath as the drug took effect. He fastened his collar. “Emotions are less easily controlled than you might imagine, even after such difficulties.”
She looked up into his somber blue eyes. She sighed. “I was so stupid.”
“You were, as Kanthor told you earlier, a cub,” he said. “Cubs cannot be held to the same standard as adults.”
Her face was sad. “I destroyed my father’s career and cost him his life because I was spoiled and thoughtless,” she said. “I’d give anything to go back and relive those days on the starliner.”
He moved a step closer. He touched her soft, flushed cheek with the tips of his fingers. “I should never have taken you with me to see my cousin in the gym,” he replied. “It was reckless. I knew that he abhorred the humanoid form we must effect in company of other races.”
She winced at the memory. “We were so close,” she said. “I know what you must have thought when I behaved as I did.” She lowered her eyes. “I can’t imagine the pain. I behaved like a spoiled child. At least, now I understand why things happened the way they did when we got to Memcache.”
“The emperor had deep regrets about your father,” Mekashe said. “Our laws are absolute, although many have been changed in the past few years. Until Madeline bonded with Dtimun, it was forbidden for a Cehn-Tahr to mate with any other species.”
“Yes, well, that law was probably one of the better ones,” she said heavily. “It would have caused many tragic deaths.”
He nodded solemnly. He studied her lovely face. “You humans are so fragile,” he said softly. He smiled sadly. “I had dreams. Not until after your father was sent home was I allowed to know the truth, and then I had it from Hahnson. We are not allowed to discuss intimate subjects among ourselves, rarely even with Clan intimates.”
“Dr. Hahnson has had a tragic life,” she said.
He nodded. “He never recovered from the loss of his mate.”
“He seems like a kind person.”
“He is. Although he, and many of the crew, harbored resentment for you when you first came on board the Morcai.” He chuckled softly. “The humans in the Holconcom think of themselves as Cehn-Tahr.”
“I deserved what I got,” she confessed.
“As I said, you were a child.” His face hardened. “Compared to me, a very small child.”
She searched his solemn blue eyes. “The memories were sweet. Even when I hated everyone, I couldn’t stop remembering.” She lowered her face. “I grieved for a long time.”
“As did I.” He smiled. “You kept the virtual Nagaashe,” he commented.
She grimaced. “Well, yes. It was all I had of happier times, when we were close.”
“I had the jeweled clip you wore in your hair, the night we went to the last concert aboard the starliner.”
Her eyebrows arched. “That clip... I thought I’d lost it!”
He shook his head and his eyes made a faint green laugh. “In fact you did. I found it on the steps that led to the second deck. I would have returned it, but after I was required to report back to the emperor, I could not bring myself to do it. As you said, it was a reminder of happy times.”
“Neither of us knew how hopeless things were.” She sighed.
“No. But I think it would have made no difference. We were very much alike.”
“Except that I was terrified of cats,” she murmured drily.
He cocked his head. “A fear you seem to have discarded.”
She nodded. “I had therapy when I first joined the Rojok military. They don’t have cats as religious objects, but there’s a form of sand cat that they’re very fond of. They keep virtual pets of it. I lost my fear of cats soon after I enlisted.”
“I should have been kinder to you, when you first came aboard the Morcai, but my resentments ate at me.”
“So did mine.” She touched the trunk of a nearby tree. “I was actively hostile. But after I learned the truth, people were kind. Especially Dr. Hahnson.”
“He knows how it feels,” he said simply.
“Yes, he does.”
He started walking again.
“It’s so beautiful here,” she said. “I remembered the holoroom where you showed me your villa. It was lovely.”
“We must make time to visit it, while we’re in port.”
She turned. “I would love that.”
He drew in a breath. “We might take Rhemun and Edris with us, however,” he said. “It would be unwise to venture too far alone together.”
She searched his eyes. “You haven’t given me anything. I haven’t accepted anything,” she added, recalling that gift-giving was a prelude to courtship.
He smiled sadly. “That would not matter, if I became careless with you.” His eyes darkened slightly. “Even touching can initiate it, when strong emotions are involved. Thanks to Hahnson’s drugs, I was able to touch you when we were aboard the starliner. But the drugs become less effective with long use. Even with the dravelzium, it would be reckless to become too...involved with each other, physically. Once begun, the mating cycle is relentless and brutal. Past a certain point, control is lost. A Cehn-Tahr male, as I told you once, will kill any other male who comes close to the object of his interest.”
She bit her lower lip and moved forward. “Cehn-Tahr women are lovely,” she began.
“I have never been involved with any of them,” he replied. “Nor have I wished to be. Only one female has ever moved me to thoughts of a shared life.”
Her heart jumped. Of course, he might not mean her. But even as she processed the thought, she looked up at him and saw the helpless attraction in his face that found an echo in her own heart.
She felt the pain to the soles of her feet. “It’s so hopeless,” she said miserably.
He averted his eyes and fought for control. The dravelzium had a short life span. “Yes, it is. We should return to the others. It is unwise for us to remain here.”
She turned and walked beside him, subdued. “It’s probably a good thing that I’m stationed aboard a Rojok flagship and you’re confined to the Morcai.”
“I agree.”
They walked in silence.
* * *
WHEN THEY RETURNED to the Fortress, a tall Cehn-Tahr in the blue uniform of the Imperial Guard was standing beside a small blonde human female. Beside them was a tall boy with long, curly blond hair and blue eyes. Next to him was a little girl with black curly hair, laughing.
Mekashe smiled. “Rhemun and Edris.” He introduced them to his companion. “And their children, Kipling and Larisse. This is Dr. Jasmine Dupont.”
“You’re in the Rojok military!” Kipling said excitedly. “I’d love to hear some of your adventures, Doctor!”
She laughed. “I’d be delighted to tell you, although I don’t do much actual fighting. I’m a doctor.”
“So was Mom,” Kipling said.
Edris groaned. “I flunked out of combat school with the lowest grade in academy history,” she confessed. “I was better at being a doctor!” She laughed.
“I’m happy to meet all of you,” Jasmine said, smiling. “I’ve heard a lot about you from Mekashe.”
“Did he tell you that I can beat him with the Kahn-Bo?” Kipling asked excitedly. “Almost nobody else can!”
“Stop blowing your own horn, mister,” Edris chided.
“Okay, Mom,” he said. But he grinned and his eyes flashed green suddenly, the color of humor.
Jasmine’s surprise was obvious.
“I look like my mom, but I have a lot of Dad’s characteristics,” Kipling said, revealing that he read Jasmine’s thoughts.
“Amazing,” Jasmine said, and she wasn’t exaggerating.
“Too many, at times.” Rhemun chuckled.
“Are you coming in now?” Lady Caneese said from the door. “Cook almost has the meal ready, and we must dress.”
Jasmine ground her teeth together. “Oh dear...”
“We have a surprise.” Lady Caneese chuckled. “Come with me, if you please.”
Jasmine glanced at Mekashe, who still wore a faintly pained expression. She smiled at him, and then followed Lady Caneese inside.
* * *
“I’VE BEEN ASKED to pass something along,” Hahnson said to Mekashe when they were briefly alone after they’d dressed in contemporary finery for the meal. “By the emperor.”
“Oh?” Mekashe asked.
Hahnson looked around to make sure they weren’t attracting too much attention. “Holon.”
Mekashe frowned. “Excuse me?”
“Holon,” Hahnson repeated. “You know what it’s used for primarily, and why.” He waited until Mekashe got the message.
The Cehn-Tahr’s chiseled lips fell apart on an expulsion of breath. “But the other obstacles...”
“The primary one is the mating drive, which is alleviated by mating,” Hahnson said. “The holon would allow a relationship that was almost normal. Of course, there couldn’t be children.”
“That would not matter,” Mekashe said at once. “We both love them, but even that sacrifice would be preferable to a lifetime apart.”
“I thought you’d say that,” Hahnson said with a smile. “You would still have to bond, and there would be the issue of separation. But it’s better than the alternative.”
Mekashe felt his heart lift. “Far better. I had not even considered that it was a possibility.”
“You’ll have to talk her into it,” Hahnson continued. “But the emperor has given you permission to share the holon tech with her.”
“I’ll ask her today.”
Hahnson chuckled. “I think I can guess what she’ll say.”
Mekashe hoped that she would agree. It would be a sort of half life. But without her, his life had no meaning at all.
* * *
WHILE HE WAS pondering the possibilities, he heard her step on the winding stone staircase and looked up.
His heart stopped and ran wild. Jasmine was wearing a white gown with blue and gold accents. It reminded him very much of a gown she’d worn on board the starliner. Her hair was curled toward her lovely face. The gown clung to her exquisite figure. Mekashe was so captivated that he didn’t even notice the amused stares of his family around him.
Jasmine had eyes only for Mekashe. She came the rest of the way down and stopped in front of him.
“The empress had it woven for me,” she stammered, nervous now. “I haven’t worn anything feminine since... Well, not for a long time.”
“You look enchanting,” he said huskily.
She smiled softly. “You look devastating.”
They stared at each other for several seconds.
“I have something to discuss with you later,” he said.
“All right.”
“But for now, we should join the others.” He held out his arm. She put her hand on his forearm and let him lead her into the enormous dining room, where a table laden with all sorts of foods had already been set.