'Why, then, did you approach the palanquin?' I asked.
'That the truth might be spoken in Corcyrus,' he said, 'that the misery and anger of the people might be declaredt'
'Prepare his neck,' said Ligurious. A man seized the fellow's head and pulled his hair forward and down, exposing the back of the fellow's neck. Another soldier unsheathed his sword.
'No!' I cried. 'Free him! Let him go!'
'Tatrix' protested Ligurious.
'Let him go,' I said.
The man's hands were freed. He stood up, startled. The crowd about, too, seemed startled, confused. The face of Ligurious was expressionless. He was a man, I sensed, not only of power, but of incredible control.
'Have him given a coin!' I said.
One of the soldiers, one of those who had had a bag of coins, and coin bits, about his shoulder, came forward. He put a copper piece in the man's hand. The man looked down at it, puzzled. Then, angrily, he spit upon it and flung it to the stones of the street. He turned about, and strode away.
I saw another man snatch up the coin.
There was a long moment's silence. Then this silence was broken by the voice of Ligurious. 'Behold the glory and mercy of the Tatrix!' he said. 'What better evidence could we have of the falsity of the lunatic's accusations?' 'Hail Sheila, Tatrix of Corcyrust' cried the man who had snatched up the coin. 'Hail Sheila!' I heard. 'Hail Sheila, Tatrix of Corcyrust'
In a moment the retinue resumed its journey back to the palace.
'Is there anything to what the fellow said?' I asked Ligurious. 'Is there unrest in Corcyrus? Is there some discontentment among our citizens?'
'From what city does Drusus Rencius derive?' I inquired.
'Ar, Lady,' said Ligurious.
'Our allegiances, I thought,' I said, 'are with Cos.'
'Drusus Rencius is a renegade, Lady,' said Ligurious. 'Do not fear. He now serves onlv himself and silver.'
I inclined my head to -Drusus Rencius. He was a darkhaired, tall, supple, lean, long-muscled, large-handed man. He bad gray eyes. He had strong. regular features. In him I sensed a powerful intelligence.
'Lady,' said lie, bowing before me.
He seemed quiet, and deferential. But there was within him, I did not doubt, that which was Gorean. He would know. what to do with a woman.
'He is to be your personal guard,' said Ligurious.
'A bodyguard?' I inquired.
'Yes, Lady,' said Ligurious.
I looked at the tall, spare man. He carried - a helmet in the crook of his left arm. It was polished but, clearly, it had seen war. The hilt of the sword in his scabbard, at his left hip, too, was worn. It was marked, too, with the stains of oil and sweat. His livery, too, though clean, was plain. It bore the insignia of Corcyrus and of his standing in the guards, that of the third rank, the first rank to which authority is delegated.
In the infantry of Corcyrus the fifth rank is commonly occupied for at least a year. Promotion to the fourth rank is usually automatic, following the demonstrated attainment of certain levels of martial skills. The second rank and the first rank usually involve larger command responsibilities. Beyond these rankings come the distinctions and levels among leaders who are perhaps more appropriately to be thought of as officers, or full officers, those, for example, among lieutenants, captains, high captains and generals. That Drusus Rencius was first sword among the guards, then, in this case, as his insignia made clear, was not a reference to his rank but a recognition of his skill with the blade. That these various ranks might be occupied, incidentally, also does not entail that specific command responsibilities are being exercised. A given rank, with its pay grade, for example, might be occupied without its owner being assigned a given command. The command of Drusus Rencius, for example, if he had had one, would presumably be relinquished when be took over his duties as a personal guard. His skills with the sword, I suppose, had been what, had called him to the attention of Ligurious.
These, perhaps, had seemed to qualify him for his new assignment. To be a proper guard for a Tatrix, however, surely involved more than being quick with a sword. There were matters of appearances to be considered. I felt a bit irritated with the fellow. I would put him in his place.
'The guard for a Tatrix,' I said to Ligurious, 'must be more resplendent.' 'See to it,' said he to Drusus Rencius.
'As you wish,' responded Drusus Rencius.
Ligurious had then left.
Drusus Rencius looked down at me. He seemed very large and strong. I felt very small and weak.
'What is wrong?' I asked, angrily.
'It is nothing,' he said.
'Whatl' I demanded.
'It is only that I had expected, from what I have heard, that Lady Sheila would be somewhat different than I find her.'
'Oh,' I said.
He continued to look at me.
'In what way?' I asked.
'I had expected Lady Sheila to seem more of a Tatrix,' he said, 'whereas you seem to me to be something quite different.
'What?' I asked.
'Forgive me, Lady,' be smiled. 'If I answered you truthfully I would fear that I might be impaled.'
'Speak,' I said.
He smiled.
'You may speak with impunity,' I said. 'What is it that I seem to be to you?' 'A female slave,' be said.
'Oh!' I cried, in fury.
'Does Lady Sheila often go unveiled?' be asked.
'Yes,' I said. 'A Tatrix has no secrets from her people. It is good for her people to be able to look upon their Tatrix?'
'As Lady Sheila wishes,' he said, bowing. 'May I now withdraw?'
'Yes!' I said. He had seen me without my veil. I felt almost naked before him, almost as though I might truly be a slave.
'I shall be at your call,' he said. He then withdrew.
I twisted on the couch and turned again to my back. I looked up at the ceiling. The effects of the wine I had had for supper were still with me. I think it may have been drugged.
It was not easy to sort things out. I had had a strange dream, mixed in with other dreams.
'I am the Tatrix of Corcyrus,' I had said to Ligurious, in the palanquin. 'Of course,' he had said.
How can I be the Tatrix of Corcynis, I asked myself. Does this make any sense? Is it not all madness? I could understand how women could be brought to this world to be put in collars and made slaves, like -Susan, for example, and doubtless others. That was comprehensible. But why would one be brought here to rule a city? Surely such positions of privilege and power these Goreans would reserve for themselves. The more typical position for an Earth girl, I suspected to find herself at the feet of a master. I wondered if I were truly the Tatrix of Corcyrus. Surely I had seldom exercised significant authority. Too, at times, my schedule seemed a bit erratic or strange. At certain Alin I was expected to be in the public rooms of the palace and, at others, even at the ringing of palace time bars, for no reason I clearly understood, I was expected to be in my quarters.
'Certain traditions customarily govern the calendar of the Tatrix,' Ligurious had informed me. At certain times I bad been conducted to my quarters I bad thought that sessions of important councils had been scheduled, councils at whose sessions it would be natural to expect the presence of the Tatrix. The matters to be discussed in certain of these meetings, however, I had learned from Ligurious, were actually too trivial to warrant the attention of the Tatrix. Thus it was not necessary that I attend. In certain other cases, I was informed, the meetings had been postponed or canceled. Protocols and customs are apparently extremely significant to Goreans. What seemed
