Maia (Beklan Empire 1)

At this, poor Maia colored still more deeply: and she was on the point of bursting into nervous giggling when Occula, no doubt anticipating the danger, trod painfully on her toe.

"I saw you arrive this evening," said the man, laying a plump forefinger in the bend of Occula's elbow, "and I saw the fellow you call your patron riding and you walking. Your patron--he keeps pussy-cats, doesn't he? Does he ever sell them? Do you ever sell pussy-cats, eh?"

A voice from the far end of the room called out, "How you getting on, Tephil? Want any help?"

The man, ignoring the interruption, pulled a leather scrip out of his pocket, drew the strings and dropped it on the table. Some of the contents spilled out; several twenty-and fifty-meld pieces, a sparkling pupil-diamond, a heavy silver ring and a little figure, rather smaller than a man's thumb, in the likeness of a bear, modelled in gold, with dark-red garnets for eyes.

"You see?" said the man complacently. "I'm well set-up. In fact, in my own country, I may tell you, I'm personally acquainted with the young High Baron, Bel-ka-Trazet--the famous hunter, you know. I'll be perfectly honest with you. I've taken a great fancy to your pretty friend, and I'm in a position to put a lot of money in both your pockets--"

At this moment Zuno walked hurriedly into the room, looked round, saw the girls and stood weighing the situation with obvious distaste. Occula at once rose, turned towards him and, putting her head on one side and slightly opening her mouth, spread out her hands in a gesture implying "What could I do?"

Zuno, approaching to within ten paces--which he evidently thought close enough--said quietly, "A word with you, sir, if you please."

After a moment's hesitation the man stood up and went across to him, while two of the other Ortelgans, scenting trouble, left their corner and joined their friend. Occula also took a few steps in their direction, but remained a little apart, letting it be seen that she was ready to speak if Zuno should call upon her.

Maia remained where she was.

At first the conversation reached her only in fragments. "Quite out of the question, my good man--"

"--no, no; certainly not; not molesting at all, sir. Perfectly civil, I assure you."

"--entirely inappropriate.

You must see for yourself--"

"But, sir," said the Ortelgan, raising his voice, which now reached Maia clearly, "these girls are slaves, surely? I saw them arrive this evening at your cart-tail. Aren't you a man of business? I'll pay you three hundred meld to spend the night with the younger girl. Upon my word, I never saw such a--"

"The matter is not within my power," answered Zuno firmly. "The girls are the property of the noted dealer U-Lalloc, in Bekla. For all I know they have already been promised to some important client in the upper city. If you were taking a consignment of rope to Bekla for which you already had a customer, I would not--would I?-- expect you to let me hire it or make use of it."

At length the man, shrugging, turned away and picked up his scrip from the table, quickly and carelessly shovelling in the spilled contents with his free hand; after which he and his friends strolled away up the length of the room. Zuno sat down.

"That was no fault of yours," he said to Occula. "I should have been here before you. Er--" he hesitated slightly--"it might perhaps be better not to mention this matter to Lalloc. Ah! Here's supper at last. I expect we should all enjoy some wine with it."

An hour later Maia, slightly tipsy, was helping Occula to undress and fold her clothes.

"See what I mean, banzi?" said the black girl.

"About authority? Oh, yes, Occula, you were wonderful! I couldn't never have--"

"No, you dimwit; I meant you! That Ortelgan bastard offered--great gods!--he offered three hundred meld to spend the night with you! That's more than old Domris used to charge for a night with any girl in the place, d'you realize that? You've got a great future, my lass, so cheer up. Better than wearin' sackin' and herdin' cattle on the Tonildan Waste, believe you me."

"I believe you. Oh, Occula, I feel real safe with you, that I do!"

"Safe? You're never safe, banzi, in this game."

"Well, I reckon I've made at least three hundred meld, anyway, and no more work to it than's needed to shut the door." Maia held out her closed fist. "Kiss and don't tell goes halves."

"Three hundred meld? What d'you--oh--Maia!"

Maia, smiling broadly, was displaying on her palm the golden bear with garnet eyes.

Occula stared at it speechlessly. Then she sat down on her box, looking up at Maia in bewilderment.

"I doan' understand, banzi. Why on earth did he give you that?"

"He didn't," answered Maia complacently. "He opened his purse--on the table--remember? Then when Zuno came in he went over to talk to him, and so did you. That was when I took it, when no one was looking."

Occula, without replying, sat staring fixedly at the floor. After a few moments Maia realized that her silence was due to fear. Her hands were trembling and beads of sweat were standing on her forehead. At last she whispered, "Banzi, do you realize we can both hang upside-down for this? O gods, what's to be done? You blasted little fool--"

"But--but why?" stammered Maia. "You said we was to be tough--stand on our own feet. What's wrong?"

"Every damn' thing's wrong!" cried the black girl desperately. "Can' you see? You're not a banzi stealin' apples now! This is the real world, where slaves are thieves and thieves are hanged! O Cran and Airtha, why did I ever get mixed up with a little goat like you! That's an Ortelgan, Maia, for pity's sake! They worship a bear; didn' you know? They believe the sun shines out of its damn' venda! They believe it's goin' to return from God-knows-where and lead them all to Buggery-in-the-Sky or somewhere. That man probably prays to this! Once he's missed it he's liable to raise the damn' roof! And the first people he'll suspect is us --that's for sure. He'll go to Zuno; he's bound to. And if they find it--"

She bit her lip, breathing hard and beating her fist into her palm.

"What's to be done? What's to be done? I suppose there's just a chance he may not have missed it yet. We might have given it back to him and told him some damn' nonsense or other. But we're locked in! And they may be here any moment!"

She stood up. "Give it to me, banzi!"

In the very moment that she took the bear out of Maia's hand they heard footsteps outside, followed by the rattling of the chain and the turning of the key in the lock.

The door opened and Zuno came in alone. Maia, who was wearing nothing but her shift, threw a blanket round her shoulders. This, though she did not know it, was impertinence on her part, for she had neither ri

ght nor business to be covering her nakedness from Zuno. As a slave, she had no privacy and it was of no importance whether he saw her clothed or naked. Occula, naked to the waist and knowing better, merely faced him with lowered eyes.

Zuno, perceiving at once that both the girls seemed tense and frightened, looked at them for a moment in some surprise. Then, shrugging his shoulders, he said, "I have been giving some further thought to the offer made by this Ortelgan rope-dealer. The man and his friends are leaving tomorrow. I have decided that as long as the matter is not mentioned anywhere else--you follow me?--perhaps I need not stand in your way if one or other of you wishes to take the opportunity of making this rather large sum of money by giving the man what he wants."

He paused, but as neither girl replied asked abruptly, "Well?"

"I'm greatly obliged to you, sir," replied Occula. "It's most kind and generous--it is indeed. Speakin' for myself, I'd have been glad to gratify the man, but unfortunately it happens to be the wrong time of the month. As for Maia--"

"Can't she speak for herself?" asked Zuno rather sharply.

"She's extremely young, sir," went on Occula, "and knows nothin' whatever of this work as yet. Speakin' from my own experience, I think it would be better for her not to take this offer, invitin' as it appears."

"And you? What do you think, young woman?" asked Zuno, turning to Maia where she stood beside the bed.

"It jus' seemed to me, sir," continued Occula, in her low, smooth voice, "that Maia is well above the ordinary run, and will command a high price in Bekla. This Ortelgan--we know nothin' about him, after all; and for so young a girl, first experiences are very important--"

"What is that to do with you?" replied Zuno.

For the briefest of moments Occula raised her head and looked him in the eye.

"I am U-Lalloc's property, sir. His wish is my wish. I'm only tryin' to guess, as I'm sure you are, what that wish might be."

It took Zuno no more than a few seconds to grasp her meaning and also there was no getting round it. "I thought," he said coldly, "that you would have been glad of the opportunity to make so much money. You and the girl might have kept it for yourselves."