Glade and Ivory Ch. 16

"The reason is simple," said Demure without a hint of bitterness. "Men rule the world and it is only through a man that I can possibly hope to share that power and responsibility."

"Is that what you want?" asked Glade who was unsure whether her lover was being ironic or mischievous. "You want power through being the wife of a powerful man, just as you had by being married to Lord Valour."

"How else could I have ever become a Lady?" countered Demure. "I was born to humble parents. My father was nothing but a simple knapper and his ambition rarely extended beyond a single day's hunt. It took determination and perseverance to gain the love and respect of the man who was soon to be lord of the village. And had it not been for my encouragement and advice, Valour would never have risen to any rank of significance whatsoever."

"But Demure, darling," said Glade who was suddenly anxious for her proud lover. "This is not the Kingdom of the Knights of the Savannah. This is an independent republic of democratically governed villages. There are no lords and ladies amongst the Ocean People any more than there ever was amongst my tribe."

"There is nowhere in the world," said Demure, "where human nature is different to what I know it to be. When a man senses the chance to rise above his fellows then he will take that opportunity. If that man is helped in that endeavour by the woman at his side then he is more likely to succeed. Although there is a veneer of equality and an associated pretence that there is no rank or hierarchy, no man can resist the temptations of power and status. My duty is to find the man in the village who can best rise to the challenge."

Glade decided not to tell anyone, least of all her lovers amongst the Ocean People, of what Demure had told her, but she hoped that her lover was mistaken in her analysis. She didn't relish the idea that the Ocean People could come under the sway of a single powerful man, however much he might profess to the virtues of democracy and equality. Glade hoped that the philosophical discussion that characterised the village's government should stay so forever.

It wasn't just that she enjoyed witnessing the debates that took place between the elders and the others. It wasn't just that the very notion of there being individuals of more power and status than others was fundamentally alien to the ethos of her tribe. It wasn't even that she didn't believe that wise government by an individual was possible, although she had yet to see any evidence of this.

What most troubled Glade was the very notion that the real power behind the throne, whether or not it was officially recognised as such, should be a woman as ruthless and single-minded as Demure.