Jaran

replied, when she saw that his introduction was meant for her. Ishii, as attuned to nuances of hierarchy as all Chapalii must be, stepped back to afford them privacy for their conversation.

Sibirin hesitated, mulling over words. 'While I do not, by any means, recommend unquestioning deference to Ilyakoria's leadership in these matters, I do find it inadvisable to provoke him deliberately.''

Tess recalled the execution in vivid detail. 'Yes, I see. Thank you.'

'Well,' said Sibirin apologetically, watching her closely, 'perhaps you do and perhaps you don't. He's not usually so volatile, but when he is, one steps carefully and rides with a light hand on the reins.' Then, to take the sting out of the words, he smiled. By the lines in his face, she could see that he smiled a great deal.

'I have been known to have a quick temper. And I'm grateful for your people's hospitality.' He nodded, satisfied, and she could not resist a question. 'Did you learn Rhuian in Jeds, too?'

'No, no. Only Ilyakoria and three of his kin have traveled so far. But I have always liked other tongues, and I try to learn as many as I can. Most jaran speak only khush.'

'Then I shall have to learn khush.' Having said it, she felt a sudden consanguinity, not so much that feeling of having known someone before but rather of being certain that she would like him very well, and he, her. He smiled and excused himself, leaving her with Ishii.

Three other Chapalii had appeared from inside their tents. They merely stood at the entrance flaps and watched as Ishii bowed again, acknowledging that her attention had returned to him.

'Well,' said Tess to herself in Anglais. Her initial flood of anger had dissipated with Sibirin's gentle words and she was better off for it, able now to measure with a cooler heart what she said. 'Cha Ishii. You will understand very well that I am shocked and disappointed that you and your party, with the connivance of Hao Yakii and unknown others, have willfully chosen to violate the Interdiction of this planet by the duke. But perhaps your explanation will bring matters into a more positive perspective.' She folded her hands in front of herself in that arrangement, palm to palm, fingers of the right hand concealing the left thumb, known as Imperial Judgment.

A hint of violet colored Ishii's face, but it was only a suggestion, paling to white. 'We are pilgrims, Lady Terese.'

'Chapalii have no God.'

A swell of color flooded their faces. One of the Chapalii back by the tent put his hand on his belt. It was a threatening gesture, although there was no obvious weapon there. Cha Ishii raised a hand, and the other turned and went back into a tent.

'You gain nothing by insulting us, Lady Terese. I compliment you on your impressive and scholarly command of our language, but you cannot comprehend all of our culture. And whatever you may choose to believe about us, we have told these natives that we are a priest and his pious followers. It is a currency that they understand.'

'Pilgrims engage in pilgrimages. Where are you going on an unmapped, primitive planet?'

'The duke has satellite maps.'

'Geological maps, not geographical.'

'May I remind you again, Lady Terese, that if you endeavor to expose us to these natives, you will be forced to utterly overturn the duke's Interdiction and meddle irreparably with their cultural development. We have merely asked for guidance and protection, offering horses as coinage, leaving no other trace of ourselves or our culture but our brief presence here. They believe us to be from an empire over the sea. It is a sufficient fiction to leave them unsuspecting. Any other, and you risk obliterating all the protections the duke has put in place.'

Instead of replying, she found herself listening. It was a quiet land; the noises of the horses and the hushed voices of the men tending them, a soft scraping sound coming from inside one of the Chapalii tents, and the high whistle of a bird, that was all-no background noise at all, except the whisper of the breeze through the tall grass. Ishii had her, of course, had the right of it. She could not compound their transgression with a worse one of her own. Perhaps they could manage an entire journey and scarcely mark the cultures through which they traveled. It was possible.

'As well, Lady Terese,' he added softly, and presumptuously, hearing some kind of submission-or admission-in her silence, 'I am aware, as you must be, that the duke has had a handful of men traveling and mapping this world for the last twenty years, for what you call anthropological reasons, and certainly for future resource exploitation, when such times come, as they undoubtedly will. One cannot sit forever on such wealth as this planet holds.'

Faced with her brother's flouting of his own rules, she could scarcely claim to be righteous-after all, she had come to Rhui, and to this pass, with no one's permission but her own. 'Very well, Cha Ishii. There is some justice in your claims, although you will understand that I must report this infraction. Nevertheless, since I will be journeying with you, if you and your party behave appropriately, I will ask that the penalties be softened.'

'You are most gracious, Lady Terese.' He inclined his head to signal his obedience. She could read neither his tone nor his skin to give her a clue as to what he was thinking now. 'If I may ask your indulgence, I have ablutions to perform.'

'You may.' She watched him bow and back away into the tent, followed by the two remaining Chapalii, and then she turned and walked back toward camp. His quick acquiescence made her uneasy, but what could he do now that she was here? Kill her? She dismissed the idea as quickly as it occurred-it was simply too alien and revolutionary an idea to the chapalii psyche as she knew it. Hierarchy was too ingrained for one of lower rank to consider doing harm to any person above him. She had only to wait and watch, listen and be patient. Eventually they would betray their true purpose for being here.

At the top of the rise she paused to look back, at the round, tall white tents of the Chapalii and then at the men examining the horses. She could not be sure any of them was Yuri. One man detached himself from the group. By his walk and his dark hair and by the single-minded purpose of his stride, she guessed it was Bakhtiian-coming to talk to her. She started forward as fast as she could at a walk, not wanting to seem to run. She had no desire whatsoever to talk with Bakhtiian, not yet. She had a story to get straight, facts to invent. More than anything, she had to absorb the Chapalii's presence here and what this meant to herself and to her brother. If Charles were here, he would know what to do. But Charles wasn't here. It was up to her. And I'm not the right person to be his heir. She wanted to glance back to see how close Bakhtiian was but she refused to let him know that she knew he was following her. Why can't Charles see that? I don't want this work.

Then what do you want? It was a mocking question, thought at herself, but the answer appeared unexpectedly, although it was the answer to a different question. Tess saw Sonia, walking at the edge of camp with a boy, midway in age between the babe-in-arms and the older girl, in reluctant tow. She saw Tess and halted, smiled, and then, looking past Tess, smiled broadly.

'Tess.' As soon as Tess was close enough, Sonia took the boy's dirty hand and pressed it into Tess's.

The boy, who had been wailing insincerely a moment before, snapped his mouth shut and gazed up in awe at Tess with eyes as blue as the summer sky. 'You're tall,' he said. 'You're as tall as my papa.'

Sonia chuckled. 'Vania, your manners. Tess, is that Ilya I see? He looks quite angry.' She seemed quite cheerful. Tess did not have the nerve to turn around enough to see the contrast between Sonia's fair, blonde prettiness and her cousin's harsh, dark features.

'I don't suppose you can hide me? I don't want to talk to him right now.'

Sonia's eyes widened in surprise. 'Then don't talk to him. But here, you just stay quiet.' Tess took a step back, turning, as Bakhtiian came up to them.

''I would like-' he began without preamble, ignoring Sonia.

'Well, Ilya, what is it you would like?' The curtness in Sonia's tone shocked Tess. Yuri had practically slunk away from Bakhtiian's anger.

Bakhtiian himself ceased speaking for three whole breaths together. 'I beg your pardon, Sonia,' he said in a softer tone. 'Cousin, perhaps you would allow me to speak with your companion, Terese Soerensen?'

'Well, Ilya, really, now that Mama has taken her in, you must approach Mama with that request, I think. Although Mama is out with the younger Kolenin girls today, since there was a herd of grazel seen by the scouts, so she'll be gone until dark. But there will be supper in any case. Mama may be back by then.'

It was not difficult, Tess reflected, to see that Bakhtiian was seething with fury, having had something he wanted denied him. She tried very hard not to smile. Sonia was being very earnest, but a mocking and almost scolding tone still crept through.

'As you say, Sonia.' He gave a brusque bow. 'Excuse me.' He left.

'But, Sonia,' said Tess when she realized she was still breathing, 'he just ordered Yuri to do what he wanted him to do.'