but then ignored them, redoubling his attack on the unfortunate man who had volunteered to
be his partner.
"Ramil knows how to wield his blade," remarked Merl, watching him critically.
"Yes, he bested the Inkar in the practice courts. She thought him a match for Fergox," said Tashi, admiring the Prince's elegant pattern of strikes.
"He should perhaps ease up a little though," said Nerul, striding up behind them. "I do not want one of my best men in the infirmary." He bowed to Tashi. "Good morning, cousin."
"Good morning, Your Grace."
"I have a messenger leaving for the coast today if you would like to send word to your people.
Merl here will show you our codes."
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"Thank you."
Merl held out his arm. "Let us return to our desk, cousin, and I will induct you into the delights of the codebook."
The following days, Tashi spent much of her time with Merl, reading correspondence,
summarizing reports for Nerul, and generally managing the information coming into the
resistance headquarters from all over Brigard and beyond. Merl made sure she saw all
communications concerning the search for her and Ramil. Fergox had despatched hunters over
the
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surrounding areas, concentrating on the paths to the mountains and to the coast. He was
reported to be increasingly frustrated by the lack of information or sign of his fugitives. The
soldiers who had been on duty and survived the escape attempt were the least fortunate for
they had been executed the following day and their bodies now hung on the battlements as a
warning to others. Spies said that the Inkar Yellowtooth had killed a man on the practice courts
in her fury at the loss of her favorite horse.
Tashi said a prayer for the soul of all those who died, even though they were her enemies. She
hoped the Inkar's victim had not been her trainer who, though stern, had always been fair to her
under the rules of his faith.
Sifting through the papers, Tashi began to enjoy her work, finding she had an aptitude for
translating codes
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back into Common. Concentrating hard on a defined task like this took her mind off her
precarious position and made her feel useful--a pleasant change from the last few months. She
also expanded her knowledge of parts of the Empire to the south of Brigard: the warmer climes
of the forested Kandar, the Inkar's domain given to her by her brother after his first conquest;
the slave plantations of the lands around the Inland Sea and the heart of the Empire, the capital
Tigral. She even read despatches from those who had travelled all the way to the edges of the
Southern Desert, an ungovernable land inhabited by a nomadic people cal ed the Horse Fol
owers, the tribe from which Ramil's mother had come. They were no friends to Fergox, but kept
themselves hidden in their desert, beyond the march of any army foolish enough to attempt to
cross that waterless expanse. As yet, they stood apart from the resistance, wishing it well but
considering it none of their business.
The only shadow over her days in Nerul's tent was the continuing campaign by Merl to win her
favor. He was witty, kind, complimentary and Tashi was not impervious to the charm of being
gently wooed by a handsome man. Yet she found it all very confusing, not certain of her own
part in this game. In the Islands, his behavior would have been an affront; here it seemed that
gifts and sweet-talking were an accepted part of life between men and women, not even
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necessarily meaning courtship. He presented her with a ribbon for her hair and tied it on
himself; he caressed her fingers
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on handing her papers, leant over her as she worked so that his breath tickled her neck. He'd
even once kissed her playfully to congratulate her on her first mistake-free translation. She had
been stunned at the familiarity, wondering if she should protest, but he had moved on quickly to
another subject as if it had all meant nothing. It was most perplexing.
After seven days of this treatment, she decided to go to her friends for advice. As Easterners,
Ramil and Gordoc should be able to tell her how to respond to these approaches. She sought
them out in Melletin's tent after dark one evening, taking care not to be seen by anyone as she
crossed the camp. Her luck was in: they were alone, tending their weapons, checking straps and
sharpening blades.
"May I come in?" she asked shyly, leaning on a walking stick.
Gordoc jumped up. "Princess, of course you may join Old Gordoc and Ram.
We've been wondering what had become of you." He guided her to the cushions. "We thought
you'd quite forgotten us."
She shook her head. "Of course I hadn't but it would look strange for a cousin of Nerul to spend
too much time with mercenaries. I have my family's reputation to think of."
"How's the leg?" Ramil asked tersely, not looking at her.
Tashi thought his manner cold but put it down to their being affronted by her failure to call on
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them earlier. "Much better, thank you. The stitches have 204
been taken out. I think I'm fit again, though Professor Norling still wants to cosset me a while
longer."
"So what have you been doing closeted with Merl all week?" Ramil enquired, polishing his blade vigorously.
She raised an eyebrow. "How did you know about that?"
"The camp gossip. They're talking of how he's hardly left your side."
She rubbed her ankles, pulling her knees to her chest. "Actually, that is what I wanted to talk to you about."
"Oh, yes?" Ramil's tone was stil hostile.
Tashi turned to Gordoc's more friendly face. "I'm a stranger to your ways and I wondered if you
could tell me about . . . well, you know . . . how men and women treat each other here."
Ramil dropped his sword with a clatter. He grabbed it up again swiftly.
"What do you want to know, my pretty?" Gordoc asked, his expression one of puzzlement. "Do you want me to scare Merl off--thump him for you? Just tell him your Uncle Gordoc will have
words with him if he offends you."
"No, no, I don't mean that." Tashi smiled. "He's not insulted me--at least, not by Eastern 211
standards, I suppose." She wrinkled her nose.
"What's he done?" growled Ramil.
"Well, first there's the gifts--flowers and jewelry, mainly. What should I say when he gives me
things?"
"Thank you' usually does the trick," said Gordoc
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bluntly. "That's what the girls I know do. They put them away for a rainy day."
"So it doesn't mean anything if I accept them?"
"It means you are encouraging his attentions. Do you want to encourage him?" Ramil asked,
mustering all his self-control. She was free to be romanced by whoever she liked, he reminded
himself, though he really wanted to tell her to throw the gifts back at the red-haired, fox-faced
flirt.
Tashi shrugged. Ramil now noticed she had a new chain around her neck--a costly one by the
looks of it.
"I don't know." She sighed. "I want to be nice to him. I'm grateful for all that he's done for me."
"And what else has he done?" Ramil couldn't keep the suspicion from his voice, but Tashi did not seem to notice.
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"Well, he pays me extravagant compliments all the time--"