1632

But she understood the gist of their discussion. And that, too, she found peculiar. The hidalgo and his men seemed puzzled, as if they were disoriented by their location. They were also confused, apparently, as to what course of action to pursue.

Strange, strange. Again, fear began to creep into Rebecca's heart. The hidalgo's men, for all that they clearly respected him and sought leadership, were not addressing him as a nobleman. That meant, despite his courtesy of manner, that he must be a leader of mercenaries. A bastard son of some petty baron, perhaps, from one of England's provinces. That would explain the accent.

Rebecca shrank back in her seat. Mercenaries were vicious, everyone knew it. Criminals in all but name. Especially here, in the Holy Roman Empire, which had been given over to the flames of war.

Her eyes flitted to her father. But there was no comfort to be found there. Her father was fighting for his life. The Moorish physician was holding him up and giving him some small tablets from the vial he had taken out of his box. Rebecca did not even think of protesting the treatment. The black doctor exuded an aura of competence and certainty.

The hidalgo came back to the carriage. Timidly, Rebecca turned her head toward him.

Relief. There was still nothing in his eyes but friendliness. That, and She found herself swallowing. She recognized that look. She had seen it before, in Amsterdam, from some of the more confident young men in the Jewish quarter. Admiration; appraisal. Desire, even, veiled under courtesy.

But, after a moment, she decided there was no trace of lust. At least, she thought not. Lust was not something Rebecca was really familiar with, except the flowery version of it which she had found in some of her father's books. The romances which she tucked into great tomes of theology, reading in the library of their house in Amsterdam, so that her father might not notice her unseemly interest.

She felt a flash of pain, remembering that library. She had loved that room. Loved its quiet, its repose. Loved the books lining every wall. Her father's mind lived in the past, and tended to be disdainful of the present. But for one modern device her father had nothing but praise-the printing press. 'For that alone,' he was wont to say, 'God will forgive the Germans their many crimes.'

And now here they were, in the land of the Germans. Adrift in time of war, seeking shelter in the eye of the storm. Or so, at least, they had hoped. She would never see that library again, and for a moment Rebecca Abrabanel grieved the loss. Her childhood was gone with it, and her girlhood too. She was twenty-three years old. Whether she wanted them or not, the duties of a grown woman had fallen upon her shoulders.

She straightened those shoulders, then, summoning determination and courage. The motion drew the hidalgo's eyes. The admiration lurking within those blue orbs brightened. Rebecca didn't know whether to cringe or smile.

As it happened, she smiled. And did not, somehow, find that unthinking reaction strange.

The hidalgo spoke. His words came clipped, full of peculiar contractions and idioms. Automatically, Rebecca translated into her own formal English.

'With your permission, ma'am, we need to use your carriage. We have injured people we must get to proper medical treatment.'

'And quickly,' muttered the Moor, still crouched on the floor next to her father. 'I've given him some-' aspiring? Rebecca did not understand the word.

The hidalgo's eyes moved to the chests and crates piled on the other side of the carriage's interior. 'We'll have to remove those, to make room.'

Rebecca started. Her father's books! And the silver hidden within!

She stared at the hidalgo. As he recognized her fear, she thought to see a flash of anger. But if so, it was gone in an instant.

The hidalgo's large hand tightened on the carriage door. His right hand, she noted idly. One of the knuckles was split, scabbed over with blood. An injury from the battle?

But it was his face that she was concerned with. The hidalgo looked away for a moment, scanning the distance. His jaws seemed to tighten. Then, with a faint sigh, he turned back to her.

'Listen to me, lady.' Pause. 'What is your name?'

'Rebecca-' She hesitated. 'Abrabanel.' She held her breath. Of all the great family names of Sepharad, Abrabanel was the most famous. Notorious.

But the name, apparently, meant nothing to the hidalgo. He simply nodded, and said: 'Pleased to meet you. My name is Mike Stearns.'

Mike? Then: Oh. It's those bizarre contractions again. Michael.

The hidalgo flashed a smile. Then, as quickly as it came, the smile vanished. His face became stern and solemn.

'Listen to me, Rebecca Abrabanel. I do not know what this place is, or where we are. But I do not care.' Fiercely: 'Not one damn bit. As far as I am concerned, we are still in West Virginia.'

Rebecca's mind groped at the name. West-what?

The hidalgo did not notice her confusion. His eyes had left her for a moment. Again, he was scanning the countryside around them. His look was fierce. Fierce.

Growling, now, almost snarling: 'You-and your father-are under the protection of the people of West Virginia.' His eyes moved to his men, clustered nearby. They were watching him, listening to him. The hidalgo's jaw tightened. 'Specifically,' he stated, 'you are under the protection of the United Mine Workers of America.'

Rebecca saw the hidalgo's men lift their shoulders, swelling their own determination and courage. Their sleek, delicate-looking weapons gleamed in the sunlight.

'Damn straight!' barked one of the younger men. He cast his own hawk glare at the countryside.

Rebecca was heartened by that reaction, but her confusion deepened. America? Her jaw grew slack. There are almost no English in America. True, that little wretched colony of theirs is called Virginia, if I remember correctly. But America is-

Hope flared. Spanish, of course. But Sephardim are there too. Since the Dutch took Brazil, eight years ago, America has been a refuge. My father told me there is even a synagogue in Recife.

Rebecca stared at the hidalgo. Was he a hidalgo? She was completely adrift, now. Her mind groped for reason and logic.

Her confusion must have been apparent. The hidalgo-Michael, think of him as Michael-chuckled. 'Rebecca, I am just as puzzled as you seem to be.'

The brief moment of humor passed. Severity returned to his face. Michael leaned forward, placing both hands on the open window of the carriage. 'Where are we, Rebecca? What place is this?'

Her eyes went past his shoulders. She could not see much, they were so wide. 'I am not certain,' she replied. 'Thuringia, I think. Father said we had almost reached our destination.'

Michael's brows furrowed. 'Thuringia? Where is that?'

Rebecca understood. 'Oh, of course. It's not well known. One of the smaller provinces of the Holy Roman Empire.' His brows were deep, deep. 'Germany,' she added.

His eyes grew wide, almost bulged. 'Germany?' Then, half-choked: 'Germany?'

Michael turned his head, staring at the landscape. 'Rebecca, I've lived in Germany. It's nothing like this.' He hesitated. 'Oh, I suppose the countryside's a bit the same. Except for being so-so raggedy-looking.' He frowned, pointing a finger at the corpses still lying in the farmyard. 'But there are no men like this in Germany.'

Michael barked a sudden laugh. 'God, the Polizei would round them up in a minute! Germans love their rules and regulations.' Another barked laugh. 'Alles in ordnung!'

Rebecca's own brows were furrowed. 'Alles in ordnung?' What is he talking about? Germans are the most unruly and undisciplined people in Europe. Everybody knows it. That was true even before the war. Now-

She shuddered, remembering Magdeburg. That horror had taken place less than a week ago. Thirty thousand people, massacred. Some said it was forty thousand. The entire population of the city, except the young women taken by Tilly's army.

Michael's blue eyes were suddenly dark with suspicion. No, not suspicion. Surmise.

'Guess not, huh?' He shook his head, muttering. 'Later,' she thought he said. 'Deal with it later, Mike. For now-'

There was a shout. Several. Michael pushed himself away from the carriage, looking toward the woods. Rebecca leaned forward, craning her neck.

Many more men were coming out of the woods. For an instant, Rebecca was paralyzed with fear. But seeing the odd costumes and weapons, she relaxed. More of Michael's men. More of these-Americans?

Then Rebecca saw the first women coming through the trees, their faces filled with worry and concern. Like a child, she burst into tears.

Michael. And women.

Safe. We are safe.

***

For Rebecca, the rest of that day-and the next, and the next, and the next-passed in a daze. She was lost in legends not even Sepharad had ever dreamed. All she ever remembered were glimpses and flashes.

***

Bizarre vehicles, not drawn by anything other than a roar from within. But those roars, soon enough, she understood to be machinery. She was more fascinated by the speed of the vehicles-and still more by the smoothness of their progress. A carriage traveling at that speed would have been shaken to pieces. The secret was only partly contained in the incredible perfection of the road itself. There had also been When she climbed out of the vehicle, in front of a huge white-and-beige building, curiosity overcame concern for her father. She stooped to examine the vehicle's wheels. Odd-looking, they were. Small, squat, bellied-almost soft-looking. She poked the black substance with a finger. Not as soft as she thought!

'What is that?' she asked the hidalgo. He was leaning over her, smiling.

'Rubber. We call those 'tires.' '

She poked it again, harder. 'It is filled with something. Air?'

The smile remained as it was. But the hidalgo's eyes seemed to brighten. 'Yes,' he replied. 'That's exactly right. The air is-ah, pumped-into