The Marshal paled at the mention of Galul. He turned away. Over his shoulder he asked, “Did they give you anything to eat or drink?”
Genevieve had noticed her father’s reaction. “Yes. They gave me tea . . .” She let her voice trail away, for some reason not wanting him to know she had not drunk it.
The Marshal nodded as though with satisfaction. Aufors urged her to rest and followed her into their rooms.
“You started to say something about the tea they gave you, then you stopped. Why?”
“It was a strange question for Father to ask, did they give me anything to eat or drink. And then, he reacted strangely when I mentioned Galul. I just . . . suddenly wanted to keep it to myself, that’s all. The fact that he and the Prince told the Mahahmbi I was here after making such a thing out of keeping it secret is confusing, and I’m sure today’s invitation doesn’t mean what they think it means … or …”
“Or?”
“Or,” she said bleakly, “they both know what it means, but they are not telling me. Us.”
“How much did you drink of the stuff they gave you?”
“None. I didn’t like the smell of it, or the fact that they acted drugged, though I think we should keep that between us. I pretended to drink it while I dribbled it onto my inner robe, hidden by my veil. Most of it dried on the walk back.”
“Let me have the stained robe for a while,” said Aufors, his eyes narrowed. “Assuming it was a drug, why would they have wanted to drug you?”
She laughed, a very chilly laugh. “And why do I suspect it may be a good idea to let my father think they succeeded?”
He said bleakly, “And the Invigilator. He and your father have grown very close, lately.”
“Next time I see Awhero, I’m going to ask some questions.”
She did not see Awhero that night, for the warren beneath the house was empty, and though she planned to sneak away early on the following morning, events moved rather too quickly to allow it.
First, into the bedroom where Genevieve lay beside the chortling baby, Aufors entered with an announcement: “Here’s your robe, love. It’s a little damp around the neck. I soaked some of that tea out of it, I want to know what it is, but the only analyzer is on the ship. We used it to check the well water for purity, remember? So, since I’m going out to the ship, the doctor and the nursemaid want to go along to send messages home to their families. Will you be all right here alone for a while?”
“I’m not alone, Aufors. Father’s here.” She said it with a wry, ironic smile.
Aufors shook his head very slightly. Her father was here, and so was the Prince, but that did not mitigate her being alone. Still, the com-man was in the house, together with the three guards and the household servants.
Aufors had not been long gone when a messenger arrived to invite the Prince, the Invigilator, and Colonel Leys, to go hunting with the Shah. The Prince and Invigilator announced themselves pleased to go. While the Prince put on riding clothes, he gave anyone within earshot a short lecture on the hunting birds of the Mahahmbi. Though the escort said repeatedly they could wait for the Colonel to return, the Prince refused to delay. He did not give any weight to Aufors having been invited, as he had always felt that others valued him as he valued himself. If he, the Prince, went, no more could be desired. Gloved and veiled and walking in an important manner, he and Rongor went out into the desert, where they mounted the preferred horses and rode away.
As was usually the case when Delganor and Rongor were elsewhere, the whole household relaxed—too soon, for a representative of the Shah arrived almost immediately to invite “The Colonel’s woman” to walk again with the wives of the Shah in their garden. The Marshal agreed all too eagerly, and the man said he would return for the Colonel’s wife at once. Since the nursemaid hadn’t returned, the Marshal appointed the off-duty guardsman to watch the child and announced to Genevieve that she was to accept the invitation.