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saw was up on tiptoe, trying to see over the heads of the wedding audience.
Chiun's face wrinkled concernedly. "Now all that remains is to join these two
in wedlock," he repeated in a louder voice. The crowd fidgeted. Chiun pressed
on. "But first, I must speak of what it means to be married. Being a husband,
like being a wife, means devotion to spouse. But unlike in certain barbarian
countries, it requires more than a spouse to make a family. Or a happy
marriage. Others should be considered. Especially the elder relatives of the
married couple. Some people, in some lands," said Chiun, eyeing Remo closely,
"think that marriage means leaving their families. Not in Korea. Not in
Sinanju. Here, when a man takes his bride, both are welcomed into the groom's
family, making for a larger, happier family. Let us not, because we see this
day a new era dawning in our village, abandon the old for the new. "
"Pssst," hissed Remo. "I get the message, okay? Can we wind this up?"
"Cast the old for the tried and true," added Chiun, pleased that he had made
part of his speech rhyme. His neck bobbed this way and that, scanning the
stolid faces of the wedding party.
"By custom, the groom will spend the next three days here, in the bride's
house," Chiun went on distractedly. "At the end of the third day, the
newlyweds will be obligated to come and live in the house of the male line.
Because the groom is from a foreign land and not one of us by birth, I will
now ask him to agree to our honored custom. "
And Chiun turned to face Remo, grinning like a cat. "Yes," Remo said,
brittle-voiced. Under his breath he added, "You always get your way, don't
you?"
"Only when it counts," Chiun answered, turning his back on the bride and groom
so that he again faced the wedding party. Remo saw his shoulders lift, a sure
sign of a deep breath and the beginning of another long-winded oratory. Remo
wondered if Chiun intended to stretch the ceremony over the whole three-day
honeymoon.
Abruptly Chiun turned to face them again.
"I now ask the bride to say that she accepts the groom." Remo heard, for the
first time since he had returned to Sinanju, Mah-Li's sweet voice whisper a
breathy, "Yes."
"I now ask the groom," intoned Chiun, "if he accepts the maiden as his bride,
today and forever."
"I do," said Remo.
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Chiun faced the crowd one last time. He raised his hands so that the sleeves
of his costume fell back, exposing spindly arms.
"I now ask those assembled here to witness this marriage. And before I
pronounce them wed, I further ask if there is anyone present who objects to
the joining of these two. "
The crowd gasped with one voice. Such a question had never before been asked
at a Sinanju wedding. Was it some strange American custom? How were they to
respond? The members of the wedding party looked at one another blankly.
And through the crowd, a tiny face pushed out from between the legs of
Pullyang, causing the old village caretaker to cackle with surprise. Tiny
brown eyes fixed on Remo Williams and widened suddenly.
"Daddy, Daddy!" a childish voice said, a smile breaking over a cherubic face.
Remo blinked. A tiny figure bundled in a blue snowsuit toddled up and wrapped
stubby arms around his right leg. "What's this?" Remo asked awkwardly.
The Master of Sinanju hurled the wooden duck to the ground, causing its head
to snap off. He clapped his hands once, sharply.
"There has been a mistake," he proclaimed. "This man is not pure. I declare
this marriage invalid because the groom is not a virgin."
"Not a . . ." sputtered Remo. "Since when is that news? "
"The bride did not know," said Chiun. "Only one who is pure in mind and body
may take a Sinanju maiden to wive. Remo, I am ashamed of you for leading her
to believe otherwise when the proof of your unchaste behavior clings to your
leg for all to see."
Remo turned. "Mah-Li, I don't know what this is all about," he said,
anxiously. "Honest."
"You do not?" a woman's crisp voice asked from the crowd.
Remo's head snapped around. The voice. It was familiar. Standing at the front
of the crowd, draped in a forest-green cloak, was a tall blond woman with
coils of hair on either side of her face. Her eyes shone an angry green, and
then darkened to a flat unfriendly gray.
"Jilda!" gasped Remo.
Chapter 25
It had all happened so fast that Remo Williams was paralyzed by surprise.
Jilda of Lakluun stood before him, throwing back her long cloak to reveal a
Viking warrior costume of leather and chain mail. She wore a short dagger
clipped to her belt.
"How?" Remo sputtered. "I mean, hi! Uh, what are you doing here?"
"Before you wed this woman," Jilda said frostily, "you should look upon your
child. Then if it is your wish to wed, so be it. "
Remo looked down. Troubled brown eyes stared up at him. The child hugged
Remo's leg tightly.
Remo looked up, his face stricken. "Mine?"
Jilda of Lakluun nodded severely. "Ours." Remo turned to his betrothed.
"Mah-Li, I . . ."
But she was no longer standing there. Remo saw that the white strips of cloth
that had bound their wrists together dangled loosely from his arm. And the
door to Mah-Li's house slammed shut after a scarlet train of silk.
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