Nomvula

18 - The Son

"Ah, Mamkhonto!" Khaya called from across the yard. "Eyi, woman, coming in here with the glow of a new bride!"

Nomvula used a trick she learned from her mother and arched an eyebrow to keep from smiling. Khaya swaggered across the yard like a bachelor in the streets.

"Ah, Great Storm of the East, Child of the Suns, mother to beautiful men," he said, bowing with each epithet. Two of his agemates giggled as they passed -- kindling to a performer. "Sparkling child of the Sunlands! Keeper of the Hundred Hills! When we broke our fast without you my heart broke with it. My stomach is fine, but my heart..."

Nomvula huffed. "Woke up in a good mood, did you?" 

"In my own bed, alone, after walking Lukhanya home." 

"Oh, so I did raise you."

"Like the morning raises the songbird," Khaya said.

"And the rooster," Ma added.

Nomvula slipped her arm through the crook of Khaya's elbow. Her son talked all the way back to the manse, but she noticed the red corners in his eyes anyway. 

"How'd you sleep?" she asked.

He shrugged. "Eventually."

Nomvula tensed. "And Lukhanya? Is she alright?"

"She mentioned a headache on the way back, and a little dizziness, but that happens to everyone I spend time with."

"Her mother might mistake those for pregnancy signs," Ma said, lip twitching as Khaya's face fell.

"Khulu, you know Lukhanya's a friend."

"Mhmm, spouses have been accused of worse. "

"She's welcome to stay here for a few days," Nomvula cut in. "Our healers can keep a closer eye on her while she recovers." Khaya's face started lighting up so she pressed on. "But you won't be able to give her your time today, I'm afraid. I need you and Asanda to take charge of Third Hill for the day."

"Ah, that explains you dressing up," Khaya said as they walked into the coolness of the foyer. " Where are you going?"

"I'm taking the Inner Plains delegation on a tour of the grounds."

Khaya's arm tensed. "Are some of the guards taking a tour too?"

"Enough to make you comfortable but I won't need them," Nomvula said, slipping her arm out so she could put it over his shoulders. "Go talk to your sister, you'll have to split Ndoda's caretaker duties on top of your own."

"Can we hand them to Jabu instead? You know, offer him a lesson on hard work, or just work."

"If only, but he's coming with me."

As soon as her son set off, Nomvula turned towards the guesthouses. She thought about knocking on Dumani's door, but only briefly. Instead, she decided to offer him a lesson on barging into a house uninvited. 

The latches were made to open only to a specific bolt, but, on a whim, she'd asked the metalworkers to make a small modification. Nomvula slipped a fingernail under the latch and found a subtle little switch that gave at the slightest touch.

She kicked the door open and smiled. "Good morning, General. May I enter?"

Dumani sat on the edge of his bed, his beard white with suds as he stared into a sheet of polished bronze. He continued shaving without looking up.

"Why bother with permission?" he said pleasantly. "This is the Queen's house and you've found one of her outfits, it seems."

"She won't miss it," Nomvula said, "but she'll be glad to see you keep a tidy mouth, for once." 

"You walked all the way over here to make me smile?"

"If I'd known you were holding a razor I'd have walked faster, but no. A good host offers their guests a tour of the land. Your arrival was a sudden surprise, so I insist on returning the favour.

"While I'm not opposed to sightseeing, one can only admire so many hills."

"Oh, I'm sure your scouts admired them all on the way here." Nomvula smoothed a bump on her fingernail. "But the Wayfarer looks better when the sun's up, so I thought we'd have lunch on the water... with Ndlovu."

Nomvula turned to leave, but not before a thin red line blossomed where the General nicked his jaw. She closed his door with all the care in the world.