"Well, you call her Colonna, mother, and I'll call her Bakris, and let's see which one she answers to, shall we?"
In an instant the old woman had grabbed her by the wrist and half-dragged her into the back of the shop. Maia, really frightened now as she remembered the jewels she was wearing, was beginning "Let me go! The High Counselor--" when the old woman, speaking low and quickly, said "You little fool! Why did you come yourself? Thought you had more sense! We'd have found a way to let you know. But since you're here, listen! The night of the New Year festival, in the zoan grove at the far end of the Barb gardens. Repeat it!"
Maia, stammering, did so, and the old woman released her.
"Now get out quick! And put your hood up, too."
Now that she knew she was not going to be robbed or hurt, Maia began to feel angry. "My thrllsa--"
"Oh, take it! Take it!" cried the old woman, grabbing up a slab and thrusting it, unweighed, into her hand. "And don't you never come back here no more, d'you see? O Cran have mercy!--" and with this she disappeared through some dark recess between the store cupboards.
Maia, utterly bewildered, dropped a two-meld piece into the scales and returned to her jekzha.
Arrived back, she found Occula alone by the pool, gently plucking the hinnari and running through the ballad--a favorite with shearnas called upon to sing--of U-Deparioth and the Silver Flower. Seeing Maia come in, she broke off.
"Cran's teeth, banzi, we've had quite a time since you left! How'd it go? Could he do it?"
"Oh--yes, fine, thanks," replied Maia rather absently. "What's up, then?"
"Oh, Piggy finally remembered about Milvushina," said Occula. "We had to take her up to him."
"What happened?"
"Well, he made her do one or two things--nothin' to hard cases like you and me, but no fun for her, of course. She took it very well, really: I'd had a word with her outside, you see. 'More fuss you make,' I said, 'more he'll enjoy it. Just pretend you're milkin' a cow or somethin'.' And d'you know what she said? "I've never milked a cow in my life!" So I said--"
"Occula, there's something I want to tell you about; something queer as happened when I was coming back--"
At this moment, however, Terebinthia appeared and, being in a good mood on account of the improvement in the High Counselor's spirits--a mood which improved still further when she had opened Maia's lygol--remained chatting for some little while. Later, at bed-time, Maia slipped into Occula's room and told her what had happened at the confectioner's.
"Whatd' you say she said?" asked Occula, her mouth full of thrilsa. " 'The zoan grove at the far end of the Barb gardens?' Sounds crazy to me: but then a lot of those old dears get a bit that way, you know."
Maia told her how the old woman had bolted out of sight without waiting to be paid.
"Nutty as the thrilsa," said Occula. "Can only be! Well, that's all right, anyway: give us another bit, banzi: thanks. I shouldn' tell anyone else about this if I were you," she went on, munching. "Not Dyphna or Milvushina, I mean. They'll only let it out, and if Pussy gets to hear, you'll be in the shit for goin' into a sweet-shop at all, woan' you? Anyway, tell me about Eud-Ecachlon. You say he was hot stuff? I'd never have believed it! You doan' know your own strength, banzi, that's what."
34: AN UNEXPECTED RE-ENCOUNTER
About noon next day Maia, under Occula's tuition, was practicing the reppa--the spectacular though enormously demanding closing sequence of the senguela--when Terebinthia came in. She broke off at once, but to her surprise the saiyett told her to continue and stood watching for some time.
"You have quite a gift, Maia," she said at length. "At this rate you'll soon be ready to show it off a little. We must find you an opportunity."
"Oh, I don't just rightly know about that, saiyett," answered Maia, panting and leaning against the wall.
"It's only just passing time on, really. But I do enjoy it."
"Well, we shall see," said Terebinthia. "If you keep up this sort of progress there may be prospects." She sat down. "However--"
"Can we help you, saiyett?" asked Occula, smoothly anticipating whatever she had been about to say.
"Yes," replied Terebinthia, "as a matter of fact you can. You can get Maia ready to be at the Barons' Palace in about two hours' time."
"The Barons' Palace, saiyett?" said Maia.
"The governor of Lapan has asked for you," answered Terebinthia. "It seems he's in Bekla again. If it hadn't been for the High Counselor not being himself, he'd have been here in person. That's a disappointment he can bear, apparently, but the idea of not seeing you again, Maia, he found quite unendurable."
Maia felt elated. She remembered the governor of La-pan, and the saucy answer she had given him when he had remarked upon the value of her clothes and jewels. Evidently he had not forgotten it, either. She would enjoy showing him how much she had improved her sexual accomplishments since last she had been in his company. Recalling how much her sumptuous clothes had seemed to excite him, she persuaded Terebinthia to let her put on a full-skirted, cream-colored gown, ornately brocaded with vine-leaves and leopards, bought only recently and never as yet worn. To this the saiyett added a diamond pendant on a fine gold chain.
Having arrived, somewhat overawed, at th
e Barons' Pal-ace, she was received with few words by a grave, elderly saiyett and conducted to a room high up on the south wall, below the Lily Tower. A fair-haired Yeldashay lad, who had just finished making up the stove, bowed to her and slipped out, leaving her alone.
She wondered whether she should undress at once or wait until Randronoth came to join her. In view of his pleasure in clothes, she decided to wait. Anyhow, she reflected, it would be next to impossible to get out of this dress without someone else's help; and he would no doubt enjoy being the helper.
The rain billowed on outside. Through the window she could see the sodden slopes of Crandor rising to the stone quarries and the citadel--a bleak, hazy solitude, indistinct behind the drifting curtain of rain.
How nice, she thought, to be paid for doing what you like! The prospect of an afternoon spent with a warm, good-humored admirer, a sound basting or two and a nice, fat lygol to take home afterwards, was by no means unpleasant. Turning away from the window, she sat down on a bench in front of the stove and held out her hands to the blaze.
The door opened, a deep voice outside spoke a word of dismissal to someone in the corridor, and a moment later not Randronoth, but Kembri entered the room. Taken by surprise, Maia stood up in confusion, raising her palm to her forehead.
"My lord, I-I wasn't--"
"Sit down," said the Lord General unsmilingly. Maia obeyed, the heavy folds of her skirt spreading about her.
"You weren't expecting me?" he asked.
"No, my lord; that I wasn't. Only they told me, see, as the governor of Lapan--"
"It was I, not Randronoth, who had you brought to the Palace. Now understand this, Maia. No one's to know that you've seen me--no one at all, do you understand? The purpose of that message was simply to mislead the High Counselor's household. Your saiyett's not to know that you've seen me. You'll be given a lygol and you'll say that the governor of Lapan gave it to you."
After a moment he added, with a grim smile, "You won't even have to work for it: I merely want to talk to you."