That was probably a polite way of telling him he smelled of horse. He couldn't smell it himself; he'd been too close to it for too long. But he nodded. 'Thank you very much. A bath would be wonderful."

And it was wonderful – a big copper tub to soak in, with plenty of hot water to wash away the stinks and the kinks of a journey on horseback. They brought him wine, too, and put the cup where he could reach it without getting out of the tub.

He was thinking regretfully about getting out and getting dressed when the door to the bathing chamber opened yet again. This time, though, it wasn't another servant with a pitcher of hot water. It was Sosia.

"I hope you had a nice stay in the country," she said, politely if not enthusiastically.

"Thank you – I did," Lanius answered.

"I hope it wasn't too nice." Her claws came out, just for a moment.

"Not like that," he said truthfully, though he would have said the same thing even if it hadn't been true. "It's good to see you again," he added, also truthfully. "How are you?"

"I'm going to have a baby."

"Oh," Lanius said, and then, "Oh!" That wasn't the way he'd thought she would answer his question. "I want to give you a hug," he went on, "but I'm afraid I'd soak you if I did."

"You could dry off first," Sosia suggested.

Lanius still didn't much want to come out of the tub, even though he'd been in there for a while. For a baby on the way, though, he put what Sosia wanted first. Out he came. She handed him a towel. He rubbed himself more or less dry, then took her in his arms.

She let out a small squawk. "I thought you'd put some clothes on!"

"Why?" he asked, genuinely curious. He didn't let go of her. In fact, he held her tighter. "What better way to celebrate?" Sosia squawked again. "In here?"

"It's as good a place as anywhere else," he answered, rising to the occasion. "Do you think the tub is big enough for two?"

"I think you're out of your mind," his wife said. "What if the servants walk in on us?"

"Then they'll have something brand-new to gossip about." Lanius kissed her. "The best way to keep them from walking in on us is to hurry."

"The best way to keep them from walking in is not to start in the first place." She tried to sound severe, but her mouth couldn't help turning up at the comers. "You really are out of your mind."

"I know." He kissed her again, and steered her toward the gently steaming tub.

They managed. They did hurry. It was more awkward than Lanius thought it would be, and more water slopped onto the floor than he'd expected. But they had finished and were both dressed by the time a servant did come in.

"Sorry… I was so sloppy," Lanius said. He'd almost said, Sorry we were so sloppy. That would have given the game away.

The servant only shrugged. "You put towels down, anyways," he said. "That's something. Won't be a lot of mopping to do."

"Good," Lanius said. He steered Sosia again, this time toward the door. "A baby!" he repeated.

"It does happen," she said, and then giggled. "If I'd caught this time instead of before, I might have had a mermaid." Lanius laughed, too. Sosia turned serious again. "I hope it's a boy."

"So do I." Lanius said. "If it's a girl, though, we'll just try again, that's all." Ortalis had said the same thing after Limosa had Capella. They had tried again, and now they had Marinus.

Sosia hesitated in the hallway, then asked, "You don't have any bastards I don't know about, do you?"

"No. By the gods, no!" Lanius said. "What brought that on?"

"Mother thinks Father may have another one out in the provinces somewhere," Sosia answered bleakly. "She's not sure, but some things she's heard make her think so."

"I don't know anything about that," Lanius said. Grus had kept it a secret from him as well as Estrilda – if it was true. And if it was, and if Grus could keep secrets like that… Good, Lanius thought. The way things are, good.

CHAPTER NINETEEN

Quite a few Menteshe moving around in front of us, Your Majesty," a scout reported to King Grus. "Don't know what they're up to, but they aren't likely to be there because they like the weather."

"No, I wouldn't think so." Grus turned to Hirundo. "This is – what? – the fourth such report that we've gotten this morning. They're getting ready to hit us."

"Did you expect they'd just blow us a kiss and wave us on to Yozgat?" the general replied. "We both figured they had another fight left in them after we beat them the last time. Now we get to see what their great General Bori-Bars has learned – and what we've learned, too. Doesn't that sound like fun?"

To hear him talk about it, it almost did. Grus said, "I'd sooner they'd run away, if you want to know the truth. Anything that makes this whole business easier is fine with me."

"I don't think they're going to run away, worse luck," Hirundo said.

"I don't, either." Grus' gaze sharpened. "In that case, why don't we run away instead?" Hirundo stared at him. He spent some little while explaining. When he was done, he asked, "Do you think we can bring that off?"

"We'll have to hurry if we want to try." Hirundo started to laugh. "Things will get lively if we do – I'll tell you that." Grus nodded. Hirundo asked. "Do you want me to give the orders?"

"If you'd be so kind," Grus said. Hirundo started yelling.

Horns started blaring. Avornans started riding and marching in what seemed like every direction at once. Such apparent chaos usually had order behind it. Grus hoped it did here.

He assumed it did, and called for Pterocles. Getting the wizard's attention in the midst of the commotion Hirundo was stirring up took some doing, but the king managed. He said, "I want you to block any unmasking spells the Menteshe throw this way."

"I'll do my best, Your Majesty, but we haven't set out any masking spells," Pterocles said, puzzlement in his voice.

"You know that, and I know that, but I don't want the nomads finding out," Grus said. "Send back whatever they aim at us. That will give them something to think about, eh?"

"I'll do my best, but this business doesn't come with a guarantee," Pterocles said. "Some of their wizards know what they're doing. That little affair by the river not long ago could have been much worse than it was."

"If they realize you're blocking them, they'll concentrate on beating down what you're doing, won't they?" Grus asked.

"That's what I'd do, anyhow," Pterocles replied.

"So would I. Let's hope they do, too," Grus said. Pterocles scratched his head. If his own wizard was confused, the king could hope the shamans serving Bori-Bars or whoever was in charge of the Menteshe would be, too.

Along with Hirundo and some of the royal guardsmen, he rode forward in the center of the Avornan battle line. Avornan outriders returned to the main body, driven back by the nomads. Roiling dust ahead hid the main force of the Menteshe. Before long, Grus could make out horsemen through the dust they stirred up. "They haven't lost their spirit – that's plain enough," he said.

"They wouldn't be so much trouble if they didn't have nerve," Hirundo said. "But we've already given them two good beatings this summer. If we can manage one more.."

"We'll know pretty soon," Grus said.

Before long, arrows began to fly. The Menteshe shouted their ferocious war cries. The Avornans yelled back, roaring out their kingdom's name and King Grus'. Grus didn't know if that raised their spirits, but it never failed to lift his.

A Menteshe arrow hissed past his ear. Behind him, somebody groaned. That could have been me, he thought, and shuddered. Even in the best-planned battles, so many things could go wrong. Do I care if we win if I'm not there to see it? Well, I hope we do, but I'm afraid this campaign will fall to pieces without me.