“These are newly arrived prisoners. I am taking the woman to her quarters.”
The commander glared at Niall and Veig with obvious contempt. “Then why are the men going too?”
“They are her sons. They are going to visit their sisters in the nursery.”
The woman shrugged and unlocked the gate with a huge iron key, then stood aside to allow them through. Niall and Veig kept their eyes averted from her scornful gaze. Niall asked Odina:
“Why did she seem so angry?” He meant “bad tempered” but felt it would be tactless to say so.
“Men are not allowed in this part of the city. To be caught here without permission means death.”
The streets here seemed totally deserted. There were no platoons of slaves, no wolf spiders, no charioteers waiting for passengers. Even the spider webs stretched across the streets seemed dusty and old, as if abandoned long ago. Many of the windows were broken, and they could see through into empty rooms whose walls were often in a state of collapse.
At the end of another long, narrow street, they emerged suddenly into a large square. In its centre was a tall column surrounded by lawns and flower beds. After the uniform grey of the buildings, the colours were dazzling. Odina said:
“This is where the women live.”
The buildings that surrounded the square were all in an excellent state of preservation; their windows gleamed in the sunlight. Many of them had impressive columns in front of the main door. On a lawn at the far end of the square, a group of women were being drilled by a commander clad in black. Other women, dressed in identical white tunics, were kneeling in the flowerbeds or pushing barrows. Odina pointed to a building with a pink façade.
“That is the hostel for newly arrived women prisoners.” She tapped one of the charioteers on the shoulder. “Stop here.” She explained to Niall and Veig: “Men are not allowed to approach within a hundred paces on pain of death.” The cart halted in the middle of the square. She and Siris climbed out. Niall watched them cross the lawn and disappear into the pink building.
The charioteers stood at attention, holding the shafts of the cart. Niall and Veig sat there in the sunshine, staring with appreciation at the flower beds. He had never seen so many colours in such proximity: reds and purples, blues and yellows, all surrounded by the soothing green of the lawns. There were also bushes, many covered with tiny red flowers, or with magnificent purple blossoms.
They soon realised that they were also an object of curiosity. Women broke off their work to stare at them. Then a tall blonde woman who had been working nearby, trimming the edges of the grass with a small sickle, came over to them. Niall smiled at her and said hello, but she ignored him. She was looking with interest at Veig. Then she reached out and felt the muscles of his upper arm. Veig blushed. The woman smiled at him invitingly, then reached up and touched his cheek.
Niall became aware that a girl standing by the edge of the flower bed was signalling to him. When he stared at her, she beckoned imperiously and called: “Slave!” When Niall pointed to himself, she nodded, and again beckoned to him. Niall looked towards the charioteers for advice, but they were staring straight ahead. Finally, since the girl seemed to be growing impatient, Niall climbed out of the cart and went across to her. She was a pretty, dark-haired girl with a snub nose and firm chin; something about her reminded him of Merlew.
“What is your name?” she demanded.
“Niall.”
“Come here, Niall.” The girl turned and walked away from him. Slightly mystified, he followed her towards the bushes that formed the centrepiece of the flower bed. When they were within their shade she turned to him and said imperiously: “Kiss me.”
Niall gaped; it was the last thing he had expected. The girl grew tired of his hesitation, pulled him towards her and wound her arms round his neck. A moment later, her body was pressed tightly against his own while her lips kissed him swiftly and repeatedly. After his initial surprise, Niall found the sensation delicious, and abandoned himself to its pleasure.
After a few moments, the girl gave a sigh of delight and drew back to look at him. “Now kiss me,” she said. Niall obeyed without hesitation. The soft lips parted, and she placed both her hands behind his head to hold their faces together. They clung together for so long that he became slightly breathless.
The girl pulled away from him, gently released herself, and peeped round the edge of the bush. Satisfied that they were unobserved, she took him by the hand and said: “Come over here.” Her voice was trembling and breathless. Niall allowed her to lead him to a patch of long, unmown grass. She dropped down in it and held out her arms. Niall was puzzled. He could see no advantage in kissing horizontally rather than vertically. Nevertheless, he obeyed, and allowed himself to be pulled down beside her. A moment later, her hands were once again locked behind his head, while her lips moved so urgently against his own he felt as if she were drinking him.
A tremendous blow on the ear made his head explode with light. He looked up and saw Odina bending over them, prepared to hit him again. His head ringing, he scrambled to his feet. Odina’s eyes were blazing with anger. She gave the girl a violent kick with her boot. “Get up, you slut.” She turned on Niall, and he had to dodge another blow.
The girl seemed quite unafraid; the main expression on her face was of regret. When Odina drew back her foot to kick her again, a dangerous expression came into her eyes, and Odina changed her mind.
“Get back to work! I’ll deal with you later.” She turned on Niall. “You, get back in the cart.”
The cart was empty; the four men at the shafts looking stolidly ahead, like patient horses. Odina strode past them, into the clump of flowering shrubs in the centre of the next flowerbed. Niall considered whether to shout a warning to his brother, then remembered Odina’s furious eyes and decided against it. There was a cry of pain, and a few moments later, Odina stormed out of the shrubbery, dragging Veig by the ear. Niall could not prevent himself from laughing, but an angry glare from Odina checked his mirth. The blonde woman followed them, looking cowed. Odina pointed silently to the cart. Veig came and joined Niall there. Without giving them another glance, Odina strode back into the pink-fronted building. The women went on with their work as if nothing had happened. From the far end of the square, they could hear the sound of feet marching in unison.
Veig said: “Do you think she is very angry?”
“She looks furious. But it wasn’t my fault. I thought that girl wanted to show me something.”
Veig chuckled: “She did.”
A quarter of an hour went past. Finally, Odina came back, followed by Siris. She snapped an order at the charioteers, and they launched into simultaneous motion. Odina looked from Veig to Niall, but they avoided her gaze. She said:
“You’re lucky it was me and not some other commander. The penalty for unlawful bundling is fifty lashes.”
“Bundling?”
Siris was mystified. “What have you been doing?”
“She asked me to help her move a heavy wheelbarrow,” Veig said. “When we got into the bushes, she leapt on me. I thought she was going to eat me.”
Odina looked sternly at Niall. “I suppose that dark haired girl asked you to go and help her?”
“No. She did this with her finger, and I went to see what she wanted.”
“You’re a couple of fools. Don’t you realise that the women’s section is forbidden territory to men? If I reported this you’d lose both your ears.” But her tone had a note of protectiveness.
Niall said: “But what’s wrong with kissing? Why is it against the law?”
Odina took a deep breath; for a moment, it looked as if she might get angry again. Then she shook her head pityingly.
“You have much to learn. There is nothing wrong with kissing, provided the right people are doing it. But sometimes the wrong people do it.”
“Who are the wrong people?”
“Have you seen any of the slaves yet?”
“Yes, we passed some of them this morning.”
“You saw how horrible they looked?”
“Yes.”
“That is because their parents were the wrong people. You see how strong and healthy I am?” She stretched out her shapely arm and flexed the muscle.
“Yes.”
“That is because my parents were the right people.” She smiled at them with genuine kindness, as if she had explained everything.