'I will kill him for you,' Fenn offered. 'I never liked Onka, but now I hate him.'
'When the time comes I will kill him myself,' Sidudu squeezed her hand, 'but thank you, Fenn. I hope you will be my friend.'
'We are friends already,' Fenn told her.
Taita finished his examination. 'Already he could discern the faint aura of the unborn child, shot through with the black evil of its father.
Sidudu sat up and smoothed down her clothing. 'There is a baby, isn't there, Magus?' Her smile faded and she looked woebegone again.
'In the circumstances, I am sad to have to say, yes.'
'I have missed my last two moons.'
'The only good thing in this business is that you have not gone too far. So early in your term, it will not be difficult for us to dislodge the foetus.' He stood up and crossed the room to where his medical bag stood. 'I shall give you a potion. It is very strong and will make you vomit and purge your bowels, but it will bring down the other thing at the same time.' He measured a dose of green powder from a stoppered phial into an earthenware bowl, then added boiling water. 'Drink it as soon as it cools, and you must try to keep it down,' he told her.
They sat with her as she forced herself to swallow it, a mouthful at a time, gagging at the bitter taste. When she had finished she sat for a while, panting and heaving spasmodically. At last she grew quieter. 'I shall be all right now,' she whispered hoarsely.
320
I
'You must sleep here with us tonight,' Fenn told her firmly. 'You might need our help.'
Sidudu's groans woke them at the darkest hour of the night. Fenn sprang from her mat and lit the oil lamp. Then she helped Sidudu to her feet and led her, doubled over with cramps, to the nightsoil pot in the small adjacent room. They reached it just before Sidudu voided, with a spluttering liquid rush. Her cramps and pains grew more intense as the hours passed and she strained over the pot. Fenn stayed at her side, massaging her belly when the cramps were at their height, sponging her sweating face and chest after each bout passed. Just after the moon set Sidudu was convulsed with a spasm more powerful than all those that had gone before. At its height she cried out wildly, 'Oh, help me, Mother Isis! Forgive me for what I have done.' She fell back, spent, and the foetus made a pathetic mound of bloody jelly in the bottom of the pot.
With fresh water and a linen cloth, Fenn cleaned and dried Sidudu's body. Then she helped her to her feet and led her back to the sleeping mat. Taita gathered up the foetus from the pot, washed it carefully, then wrapped it in a fresh linen headcloth. It had not developed far enough to tell whether it had been a boy or a girl. He carried it out into the stableyard, called Meren to help him and they lifted a paving slab in the corner of the yard. They scooped a hollow in the earth beneath it, then Taita laid the bundle in it.
When Meren had replaced the slab Taita said quietly, 'Mother Isis, take this soul into your care. It was conceived in pain and hatred. It perished in shame and suffering. It was not meant for this life. Holy Mother, we pray you, treat the little one more kindly in its next life.'
When he returned to the chamber, Fenn looked up at him enquiringly.
'It is gone,' he said. 'The bleeding will soon staunch, and Sidudu will be well in a few days. She has nothing more to fear.'
'Except the awful man who beats her,' Fenn reminded him.
'Indeed. But she is not the only one: we must all fear Captain Onka.'
He knelt by the sleeping mat and studied Sidudu's exhausted face. She was sleeping soundly. 'Stay with her, Fenn, but let her sleep as long as she can. I have matters to attend to.'
As soon as he had left the chamber, Taita sent for Nakonto and Imbali. 'Go back to where we killed the apes. Hide the carcasses in the forest, then find the pack horses and dispose of the hogs. Pick up the spent arrows and cover any signs we were there. Come back when you have finished.' After they had left, he told Meren and Hilto, 'Colonel
That said that his agent in Mutangi is the headman, Bilto. He will take any message to That. Go to Bilto secretly. Tell him to let That know that we have the girl Sidudu with us—' He was about to go on when they heard many horses galloping down the lane that ran past the front of the house. Loud hectoring shouts rang through the village, then the sound of blows, the wail of women and the whimpering of children.
'Too late, I fear,' Taita said. 'The soldiers are already here. I have no doubt that they are searching for Sidudu.'
'We must hide her.' Meren jumped to his feet. At that moment they heard hobnailed sandals on the paving of the stableyard, followed by pounding on the door. Meren half drew his sword from its scabbard.
'In the name of the Supreme Council, open up!' It was Onka's angry voice.
'Put up your blade.' Taita told Meren quietly. 'Open the door and let them in.'
'But what of Sidudu?' Meren looked towards the door of the inner chamber, his expression distraught.
'We must trust to Fenn's good sense,' Taita replied. 'Open the door before Onka becomes truly suspicious.' Meren crossed the room and lifted the bar. Onka burst in.
'Ah, Captain Onka!' Taita greeted him. 'To what good fortune do we owe the unexpected pleasure of your company?'
With an effort Onka regained his composure. 'I beg your understanding, Magus, but we are searching for a missing girl. She is disturbed and may be raving.'
'What is her age and appearance?'
'She is young and pretty. Have you seen her?'