Chapter 17

With a mother, Farzana and a half-dozen aunties in almost constant attendance, the twins were growing quite rapidly. Tessa had begun pressuring Sam to produce a crop of offspring – half-siblings to Rob and Marge and to each other. She didn’t miss opportunities to point out eligible women: several maidens, two widows and one whose husband had disappeared over a year ago. Sam was weakening. He wasn’t partial to being a ritual deflowerer, but the widows (Amy and Rita) and the grass-widow (Nancy) were far from repellent.

“I’ll check the menstrual cycles with the aunties,” Tessa said. “I think they’re all regular, so they’ll be most fertile around days 12 to 14.”

“So I get three days each?”

“You won’t need it. You’ll see.”

It turned out that Rita would be first. She was just under 30. Her husband had been a driver at the diamond mine when his bogger broke through a pocket. She was larger than Tessa, but not fat. Sam spoke with her several times and found her shy and withdrawn, but not unfriendly.