"What d'you say she said?" asked Occula, her mouth full of thrilsa. " 'The zoan grove at the far end of the Barb gardens?' Sounds crazy to me: but then a lot of those old dears get a bit that way, you know."

Maia told her how the old woman had bolted out of sight without waiting to be paid.

"Nutty as the thrilsa," said Occula. "Can only be! Well, that's all right, anyway: give us another bit, banzi: thanks. I shouldn' tell anyone else about this if I were you," she went on, munching. "Not Dyphna or Milvushina, I mean. They'll only let it out, and if Pussy gets to hear, you'll be

in the shit for goin' into a sweet-shop at all, woan' you? Anyway, tell me about Eud-Ecachlon. You say he was hot stuff? I'd never have believed it! You doan' know your own strength, banzi, that's what."

34: AN UNEXPECTED RE-ENCOUNTER

About noon next day Maia, under Occula's tuition, was practicing the reppa-the spectacular though enormously demanding closing sequence of the senguela-when Ter-ebinthia came in. She broke off at once, but to her surprise the saiyett told her to continue and stood watching for some time.

"You have quite a gift, Maia," she said at length. "At this rate you'll soon be ready to show it off a little. We must find you an opportunity."

"Oh, I don't just rightly know about that, saiyett," answered Maia, panting and leaning against the wall. "It's only just passing time on, really. But I do enjoy it."

"Well, we shall see," said Terebinthia. "If you keep up this sort of progress there may be prospects." She sat down. "However-"

"Can we help you, saiyett?" asked Occula, smoothly anticipating whatever she had been about to say.

"Yes," replied Terebinthia, "as a matter of fact you can. You can get Maia ready to be at the Barons' Palace in about two hours' time."

"The Barons' Palace, saiyett?" said Maia.

"The governor of Lapan has asked for you," answered Terebinthia. "It seems he's in Bekla again. If it hadn't been for the High Counselor not being himself, he'd have been here in person. That's a disappointment he can bear, apparently, but the idea of not seeing you again, Maia, he found quite unendurable."

Maia felt elated. She remembered the governor of La-pan, and the saucy answer she had given him when he had remarked upon the value of her clothes and jewels. Evidently he had not forgotten it, either. She would enjoy showing him how much she had improved her sexual accomplishments since last she had been in his company. Recalling how much her sumptuous clothes had seemed to excite him, she persuaded Terebinthia to let her put on

a full-skirted, cream-colored gown, ornately brocaded with vine-leaves and leopards, bought only recently and never as yet worn. To this the saiyett added a diamond pendant on a fine gold chain.

Having arrived, somewhat overawed, at the Barons' Palace, she was received with few words by a grave, elderly saiyett and conducted to a room high up on the south wall, below the Lily Tower. A fair-haired Yeldashay lad, who had just finished making up the stove, bowed to her and slipped out, leaving her alone.

She wondered whether she should undress at once or wait until Randronoth came to join her. In view of his pleasure in clothes, she decided to wait. Anyhow, she reflected, it would be next to impossible to get out of this dress without someone else's help; and he would no doubt enjoy being the helper.

The rain billowed on outside. Through the window she could see the sodden slopes of Crandor rising to the stone quarries and the citadel-a bleak, hazy solitude, indistinct behind the drifting curtain of rain. How nice, she thought, to be paid for doing what you like! The prospect of an afternoon spent with a warm, good-humored admirer, a sound basting or two and a nice, fat lygol to take home afterwards, was by no means unpleasant. Turning away from the window, she sat down on a bench in front of the stove and held out her hands to the blaze.

The door opened, a deep voice outside spoke a word of dismissal to someone in the corridor, and a moment later not Randronoth, but Kembri entered the room. Taken by surprise, Maia stood up in confusion, raising her palm to her forehead.

"My lord, I-I wasn't-"

"Sit down," said the Lord General unsmilingly. Maia obeyed, the heavy folds of her skirt spreading about her.

"You weren't expecting me?" he asked.

"No, my lord; that I wasn't. Only they told me, see, as the governor of Lapan-"

"It was I, not Randronoth, who had you brought to the Palace. Now understand this, Maia. No one's to know that you've seen me-no one at all, do you understand? The purpose of that message was simply to mislead the High Counselor's household. Your saiyett's not to know that you've seen me. You'll be given a lygol and you'll say that the governor of Lapan gave it to you."

After a moment he added, with a grim smile, "You won't even have to work for it: I merely want to talk to you."

Her pride aroused, the Tonildan urchin peeped out. " 'Twouldn't be no trouble to me, my lord-" but clearly he was in no mood for such sallies. Silencing her with a gesture, he sat down on the opposite side of the stove, leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees. She waited silently.

After a time he asked, "The High Counselor-is he seriously ill?"

"He's-well, he's not been at all himself just lately, my lord, and that's a fact."

"I know that." His tone was brusque. "Anyone else could say as much. It'll be best for you to speak frankly and straight to me, Maia. Forget you're a slave-girl and forget who you belong to. You're an informant, now, telling me as much as you can in reply to my questions, d'you see? The more you can tell me, the better I shall be pleased; as long as it's the truth. When I send messengers to inquire after the High Counselor's health, they're told what he wants me to hear-or perhaps what that saiyett of yours wants me to hear-that he's suffering from a temporary indisposition. She wants me to think there's nothing wrong. I need to know the truth. What is the truth?"

"Well, 'tis hard to tell, just, my lord, with a man like that. Way he goes on, you see, he's bound to be taken bad every now and then. He gets bilious, like, in his stomach, or else he wakes up with headache an' that. I've seen him bad of a morning and then come the evening he'll be right again and stuffing himself."

"And you admire that, don't you?"

"Well, want to know, my lord, I reckon he knows how to enjoy himself; leastways that's to say he did, till a little while back."

"But this-now. Is this different-serious? Is there any more to it than after-effects?"

Maia considered. "Yes, my lord, happen there is; only it's hard to say 'zackly what. It's bin going on that long now, you see, and it comes and goes, like."

"Is he going to die, Maia?"

"I don't reckon so, my lord: but then of course I don't know a great lot about such things. It's more as though he was kind of-well, bemused-fuddled, like. Occula could

probably tell you more. Only he seems to rely on Occula a great deal these days."

"If ever you have reason to think he's going to die, Maia, you're to let me know at once-before anyone else. Either you or Occula must find a way to tell me-quickly: do you understand?"

Maia looked up into the scowling, bearded face, tawny in the firelight.

"You told me as I was to speak freely, my lord, so I'll ask you. Do you want him to die?"

"No, I didn't say that. And it's not going to be any part of your work to kill him, either, if that's what you mean."

Maia was genuinely shocked. "Well, of course I didn't mean that, my lord! I'd never do such a thing!"

"If I require it, you may find yourself doing just that, though not to the High Counselor. But killing's no part of what I want to talk to you about now. I was merely inquiring after your master's health, which is a serious matter tome."