"Do you know-" She hesitated. Then, "Can I tell you something?"
He waited silently. The tears were standing in her eyes. They glittered but did not fall, and after a moment she brushed them away.
"When I was just a banzi, my stepfather basted me because I was beautiful. Then my mother found out and hated me, because I was beautiful. The slave-traders bought me because I was beautiful. They got fifteen thousand meld for me in Bekla because I was beautiful. And after that- oh, never mind. Now you say you love me because I'm beautiful-"
"Well, you are," he answered composedly, smiling and not in the least disconcerted by her outburst. "What's all that got to do with us? That's over now. None of those people matter to us. You wouldn't really like it if I said you weren't beautiful, would you? You're just imagining trouble where there isn't any, my darling. It's pointless to ask would I love you if you weren't beautiful. That's like saying would I love you if you were someone else."
She laughed. He made everything so easy. It was like waking up to a new day after a good night's sleep. A little early morning mist on the lake, but the sun was quickly dispersing it.
Later, after they had made love again, she suddenly said, "Reckon you can have all my authority: I don't need it now."
"Your whatV He was puzzled.
"Oh-I was just sort of making a joke all to myself, really. A great friend of mine-kind of a rather tough girl, like, in Bekla-told me once that when you were with a man you should always be sure to hang on to your authority. But it's much nicer not to." She sat up, looking down at him through her falling hair. "My lover! My lord! Tell me what you want me to do and I'll do it. There, so much for my authority!" She made a gesture of throwing something away.
"Maia, I only want you not to forget me; ever. I can hardly believe this has really happened. I love you. I'll always love you. I want to marry you. But for now, I promise I won't forget you. You won't forget me, will you?"
"Forget you? What d'you mean? Why, I'll make love with you again tomorrow and the day after that and the day after that! Whenever you like. There's no question of forgetting you! Fit-"
He only shook his head, staring up at her. Filled with a sudden misgiving, she stopped.
"There is."
"Why?" He did not answer. "Why, Zenka, why?"
"Because I shan't be here."
"You mean-you mean-you mean the king's sending you away somewhere?"
"I ought not to be here as it is: I'm risking trouble for your sake."
Misunderstanding him-this fine young gentleman-the Tonildan peasant was suddenly angry, resentful. "Risking trouble? What, by making love to the likes of me, do you mean? Oh, you'd better go, then, hadn't you? Go on! Hurry up!"
"Oh, Maia, don't! Don't spoil it! That wasn't at all what I meant! If only you knew-"
"But I don't, do I? One moment you say you love me-"
He seemed utterly desperate. "You're entirely mistaken!"
"Am I? I don't reckon so. You said-"
"Oh, how can I expect you to understand? You can't have any idea unless I tell you. Listen, then, and I'll tell you everything. I'm not supposed to-it's the closest possible secret-but it can't do any harm now, and anything's better than that you should think-When I say I shan't be here tomorrow, I mean nobody will."
"Nobody?"
"D'you remember at supper I said you never knew what a man like Karnat might be going to do next? Well, what he's going to do now's just a little matter of defeating the entire Leopard army and conquering Bekla, that's all. At the captains' meeting-"
"Tonight-just now, do you mean?"
"Yes; yes! Listen, Maia, and I'll tell you. Then you'll understand what I meant by saying I ought not to be here. The plan's a masterpiece. It's based on two things. One is that Karnat'll have the help of Anda-Nokomis's Subans, which makes his army about one and a half times bigger than the Leopards think it is: and the other is that although the Leopards think the Valderra can't be crossed below Rallur, we know a place where it can be-just. Only just, but that'll be enough."
"But how can your king be sure the Leopards don't know? P'raps he's not as clever as you think."
"Oh, yes, he is. Since Sencho was killed their spy network's fallen to pieces. We know that. Sencho used to keep everything in his own head, you see, to make sure that he stayed in power and Durakkon and Kembri couldn't do without him. Since his death, all his agents have been at sixes and sevens. He was the only one who knew who some of them were, even. But as well as that, we've stopped anyone leaving Suba for the last month and more.
"The ford-well, you can't call it a ford, really-the crossing-place-it's about two miles below Rallur. The Beklans have got a bridge across the Olmen at Rallur, but they've got no outposts downstream at all, except for three hundred Tonildans on their own, all of two miles downstream from where we shall be crossing. Above Rallur, of course, they've covered every single ford. That's a good joke-we shan't be there!"
"You're sure of getting across, then?"
Her voice held little warmth, but his ardor and confidence took no account of this. He meant her to feel his own pride in the great victory in which he was about to take part. There would be no more doubt in her heart then.
"We've got Ortelgan ropes, brought here secretly. An advance party under the king himself will reach the ford about midnight. I shall be one of those with him. He's going to wade across with the first rope himself, and even he'll be up to his neck-over his ears in places, probably. Then we'll get two more ropes across. After that, we reckon the best part of a thousand men will be able to cross in an hour. They'll go straight upstream and destroy the Olmen bridge-it's only rough timber, of course. Then they'll stay there to stop the Beklans getting over the Olmen while the rest of the army crosses the Valderra. Even allowing for accidents, everyone should easily be across by mid-day tomorrow. By that time the Tonildan outpost downstream will have been completely destroyed-cut to pieces-and we'll go hell for leather for Bekla. The Leopard army will follow us, of course, but we can deal with that. We won't have to fight our way through them to get to Bekla, that's the point. It's sheer genius!"
Maia was about to reply but Zen-Kurel, his eyes alight with excitement, went on, "There's a general for you! Every man in the army would follow him anywhere! Now you'll understand, my dearest Maia, won't you, that it's not just some fiddling little business that I've got to leave you for? Until the meeting after supper I didn't know it was to be tonight. No one did. We've been waiting, you see, for the last few hundred Subans to arrive. But apparently this afternoon U-Nasada warned the king very seriously that the Suban camp was in such a filthy state that pestilence might break out at any moment. "And if that happens," he said, "you won't have an army at all. If it's the bad-water sickness, they'll just go down in cursing rows in a matter of hours-the Subans and your men as well." That decided the king: he made up his mind for tonight.
"The men are being told at this very minute. We're due to start in an hour. I'm supposed to be with the king now- on instant call, anyway-but I came here to be with you. No one but you, Maia-believe me, no one in the world- could have made me take a risk like that-my place with
the king, my reputation, future, everything. Now do you realize how much I love you?"