After that, he came daily, sometimes in the morning and again in the
late afternoon. That Habrunt grieved for her suffering was no secret,
although what he ever thought of anything was purely his own affair.
Moreover, he came boldly, openly, letting all see that he was Habrunt
the Slavemaster, and the servant of but one man.
If the Master of the House was aware of any of this, yet did Habrunt
brave the danger willingly enough, apparently heedless if Master
Rababull should experience displeasure.
But Master Rababull, although fully aware of Habrunt's behavior because
of the many tattletales he listened to, found it expedient to consider
the matter settled, and his Slavemaster too useful to chastise for so
light an infringement. Instead, Master Rababull pretended that it was
so unimportant as to be beneath either his notice or his dignity. Had
he not graciously spared Si'Wren's very life? Was she not then worthy
to be restored meekly to a useful, if lower, status in the House, her
social ostracism as a total outcast notwithstanding?
Master Rababull's only publicly announced edict, an iron one, was that
Si'Wren must never again work in the spice tent. It was an honor she no
longer deserved. Habrunt never openly showed the slightest affection to
Si'Wren, but ministered to her with stoic mein.
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