Читать книгу Ahuitzotl - Herb Allenger - Страница 18

IX

Pelaxilla sat on a stone slab serving as a bench in the garden behind the royal palace and anxiously awaited her lover’s arrival. Normally she would have found serenity from the tenseness which clouded her recent days amidst the lofty contorted cypresses, the myriad of green shades in the shrubbery, and the brilliant hues of a thousand blooming flowers. But today she could not relax, and while she usually eagerly longed for these meetings with Ahuitzotl, there was now considerable stress in her. Calm yourself, she told her beating heart, or he will detect something is wrong. She repeatedly tried to focus her thoughts on the beauty surrounding her, but always she came back to how she was going to conduct an interrogation without arousing his suspicion. The empress said it did not have to be consummated at one time, so maybe she ought to forget about it altogether this day and just enjoy herself with him. That’s what she should do, Pelaxilla convinced herself; she should abandon her scheme and simply have a good time.

Her cerebration was useless. She could not be distracted from the purpose Tlalalca had instilled in her and, continuing to feel uncomfortable over it, she decided it would be best for her not to see Ahuitzotl today. She was set on leaving just when he came into view. When she saw his gleaming white teeth behind a broad smile and lighted face, all her apprehensions vanished and the elation she always felt at seeing him repossessed her. She rushed into his welcoming arms and they clasped each other in joyful embrace in their reunion.

“Ah, Pelaxilla,” Ahuitzotl sighed blissfully, “Your presence—how I cherish it.”

Pelaxilla gave no reply, but her cheerful glee and the manner in which she held firmly on to him defined her contentment. They remained locked in their enrapture while relishing the closeness of their bodies and the pleasure of their embrace. Then, after what seemed an all too short time, Ahuitzotl loosened his grasp and released himself from her.

“It’s pitiful—surreptitiously meeting like this,” he said. “The entire court knows how we feel about each other.”

“I want nothing more than to share my time with you,” Pelaxilla said, “but what can we do when I am pledged to Lord Tizoc?”

“I can ask him to release you from that pledge.”

Pelaxilla could scarcely contain her excitement, “Would he acquiesce to that?”

“If he loves Tlalalca so much, he should understand. Has he any special regard for you?”

“Not that I can tell. He does not make use of his mistresses as you would expect. Many of them complain over how he ignores them. He’s always with Lady Tlalalca.”

“That helps. For such a person, one less mistress should be of no consequence.”

“When will you ask him?” Pelaxilla asked eagerly.

“After the Tolucan affair is ended—in about five weeks.”

“That long?” Pelaxilla was clearly disappointed, thinking Ahuitzotl spoke of a nearer date.

“Be patient. The timing presently is inappropriate. It won’t take long to crush this revolt, and when he is rejoicing in our victory, that’s when I’ll ask him. Better to wait than proceed now and have all our hopes dashed because we caught him in poor temperment.”

“Sadly I must agree,” sighed Pelaxilla as she slipped back into his clutches. “He hasn’t been in a good mood lately, owing to Toluca I think, and has shunned all contact with us.”

“The time will pass quickly enough,” he assured her.

They sauntered slowly along the garden’s pathway, happy in each other’s arms and enjoying the tranquility and pleasure which comes when love’s glow immerses the heart and spirit. Their situation was delicate. Ahuitzotl had his share of mistresses, as a noble of his station was expected to, although he never mentioned these. As far as Pelaxilla knew, he was not emotionally involved with any other woman except herself. He had been married for four years but had preemptorily divorced his wife when she failed to produce an heir, as the law allowed in such cases, and made no further attempt to secure another one. For a man of his age—a year under thirty—to be unwed was extremely rare and generally frowned upon by the nobility, but this seldom troubled Ahuitzotl who was typically not constrained by the dictates of convention. Most men needed to be married out of economic necessity—it took hours to make bread from corn and a wife was necessary to perform such chores—but Ahuitzotl, being of the royal house, had his servants for this and his mistresses to provide for his sensual desires. If anything, he was ‘married’ to the army; it occupied most of his time and energy and gave him pleasures few women could. He was able to take them or leave them at will with no preference for any particular one of them.. This was so until he met Pelaxilla.

Ahuitzotl had on occasions seen Pelaxilla among Tizoc’s ladies, and from the beginning was struck by her beauty, but it was not until he attended a dinner with Tizoc and Tlalalca somewhat over a year ago where she happened to be one of the guests that he chanced to speak with her for the first time and was immediately captivated by her charm. He initiated his advances slowly and did not begin visiting her regularly until six months later, usually in the royal garden, but at times in the market place or central plaza when she told him she would be there. Not long after that it became evident their meetings amounted to more than mere casual get-togethers, and this complicated matters because a Revered Speaker’s mistresses were not for sharing. So while they loved each other, they could not become intimate in their affection, and as yet, both had honored this formality.

Custom specified that mistresses belonged to the noble who had acquired them, through prizes of war, payment of debts, purchase as slaves, voluntary submission, or, as for many in Tizoc’s case, inheritance. No particular inducement existed on his part to consider giving up Pelaxilla, nor was it proper for Ahuitzotl to make such a request. Were Tizoc to grant such a concession, it would be more out of gratuity or benevolence than any other motivation, and Ahuitzotl had not done much lately to render himself any kind of endearment out of his brother. A chill ran through him when he reflected on this.

“I’m puzzled by you, Ahuitzotl,” Pelaxilla broke the long silence. “You don’t strike me as someone who is content to let things be as they are at present.”

“An odd thing to say. What do you mean?”

“Oh, I don’t know for sure,” she mused, “I often wished things were somehow different—that I had a more meaningful life. I thought you might have similar thoughts.”

“I suppose I do, but I don’t think it wise. Cihuacoatl once advised me this can poison your mind. He’s right.”

“When you do ponder over such things, even if infrequently, what do you wish for?”

“Many things—all of them foolish, for they can never be.”

Pelaxilla detected his reluctance to be specific and decided to proceed in a different manner. “So do I,” she said. “Often I see myself as a head priestess so that I am honored by worshippers and am able to instruct them and have them obey me.”

“I didn’t know you had such aspirations.”

“I have even loftier ones. I wish to be the empress some day. Do you suppose that means I hunger for recognition or power?”

“You tell me.”

Pelaxilla paused momentarily, satisfied that she held his interest, then answered, “I would say so. Yes, I aspire for glory. The longer I am at the court, the more that prospect appeals to me. I feel as if I’m beckoned to become her. Don’t you think I’ld make a good one?”

“Such talk is foolishness, Pelaxilla.”

“Yes, but entertaining.”

“Also dangerous, if anyone hearing you takes it seriously.”

“They know I say it in jest. You haven’t told me if I would make a good empress.”

“Must you persist? How should I know?”

“Well, I think I would. There is a seductiveness in ordering the ladies of the court around, in being attended at my bath, in having all my cares and desires provided for. Yes, I would take a fancy to that.”

“You do persist.”

“Really, Ahuitzotl, I only pretend. There’s no harm in it. I well know my wishes are but dreams. You’re the one who is too serious about it.”

“Perhaps, but if so, it’s because your pretensions closely mirror certain realities I grapple with daily. For this reason, I’m probably oversensitive about it.”

“What realities?”

“Nothing. Forget what I said.”

Pelaxilla was taken aback by the abrupt manner in which he cut her off; yet his defensiveness fueled her curiosity—she had obviously struck a raw nerve. “As you say, Ahuitzotl,” she continued. “Apparently what I consider merely frivolous has some serious overtones for you, but I have no desire to pry into your personal affairs.”

“Then don’t!”

“You don’t have to get irritable about it,” Pelaxilla reacted critically. “If I offended you, I apologize for it.”

“These things you talk about, what you wish for and pretend to be, make me uncomfortable, not only because your are at risk for saying it, but because I am guilty of having similar damaging ideas. But there’s a big difference between us—to you, it’s merely playing,”

Tlalalca was right, Pelaxilla thought in her amazement. The implication was clear, even if Ahuitzotl had not come right out and actually said it. She was convinced that whatever was going on, he was a crucial element in it.

“It isn’t to you?” she pressed on.

“I’ll speak no more on the subject. Stop your prying.”

“Very well,” Pelaxilla said. “At least I learned what some court ladies say about you is true, and I appreciate that.”

“What do they say?”

“That you are ambitious and will go to great lengths to get what you want. Some say you are vain and seek the adulation of others.”

“And you like that.”

“Yes I do. I prefer someone who professes high-minded goals to one who is content to let things be as they are. There is a drive in such men—something very stimulating to me. I find myself attracted by the aura of excitement that surrounds them.”

“I didn’t know you felt that way.”

“See what you can discover when you open yourself to someone? You should tell me more about yourself—it may surprise you what I think.”

“Perhaps.”

“Will you tell me what your plans are?”

“There are no plans, Pelaxilla,” he sharply reproved her. “Let the matter rest.”

She had to be careful, Pelaxilla thought, so as not to draw erroneous conclusions about what he imparted in the course of their conversation. All she really knew was that Ahuitzotl admitted to having thoughts suggesting a possible desire for the crown, and even this was vague. She knew nothing in terms of details—certainly nothing concrete to relate to Tlalalca. Clearly he had no intentions of revealing any more about this and she decided not to press him further. In time, she would discover more.

As for Ahuitzotl, he thought their entire exchange perplexing and was trying to reconstruct the topics discussed which led up to what he deemed a careless disclosure on his part. He had never previously heard Pelaxilla speak about political subjects—he was unaware that she even possessed an interest in these. It was unusual, although not unknown, for women to express a proclivity towards such matters. Nezahualpilli had his famed Lady of Tula, one of his many mistresses renowned for her wisdom, who advised him regularly on political and judicial issues, but she was a rarity and, in general, women did not involve themselves over what was regarded as a predominantly male domain. It could be that Pelaxilla was also an exception, but Ahuitzotl remained skeptical about this as it had never come to light before; he concluded that he needed to exercise greater caution over what he related to her.