"No. It's just that I'm here and you are the only female around and we aren't married and we certainly aren't lovers so how could I have either?"

"But there are other women here, Earl. You've seen some of them. Shamarre, Lydia, Wendy-lots of women. They come when you want them." Then, with a giggle, she added, "Men too. All kinds of men."

Toys for an erotic eleven-year-old child-but Iduna was no longer that age. Dumarest remembered the body he had seen. One belonging to a nubile young woman and she had spent years in the Tau where time need not match the pace of that outside. A day here could be an hour on Esslin. Time for imagination to develop and ancient needs to make themselves known. Time and the power to experiment free of the hampering restrictions of watching adults.

The face he saw now no longer belonged to a child.

"Men," she said again. "Such funny creatures, Earl. They come and they play as you want them to and then they go away. But you, you're different. You're not going away, are you? You're going to stay and play with me."

"I'll keep you company."

"Company? Is that the way you say it? Is that what you do when you play games?"

"There are other things than games."

"Such as?"

"We can talk and walk and examine things together. We can plan and discuss and find out about each other. We can explore. Did you and your father ever go exploring together?"

"Yes, sometimes when he could get away. We'd take a raft and go into the mountains and we'd find flowers and he'd tell me about them. And about other worlds too and the ways the people lived on them. At times he would hold me and that was good because he was so gentle and strong and I felt so safe. And he used to give me things. Tamiras said he spoiled me but I don't think I was spoiled."

"Tamiras?"

"A friend." She dismissed the subject. "What can we do together, Earl?"

"Explore. You mentioned Katanga and the Juntinian Sea. Where do they lie?"

"To the south. I made it that way. And the Burning Mountains lie to the north and the Eldrach Jungles to the west."

"And the east? What lies to the east?"

"Deserts," she said. "And the Place."

"The Place?" He frowned. "Just that? The Place?"

"Yes. I-yes, Earl. But that doesn't matter now. We can forget all about that. And forget the glaciers and the pits and the things I saw when… when…"

"When you first came here?"

"Earl, it was horrible! I don't want to talk about it. I don't even want to think about it and you mustn't make me. Hold me, Earl. Hold me!"

And she was in his arms, clutching him tight as she buried her face against his chest, her shoulders quivering with remembered fears as she clung to the one real thing in her universe.

Chapter Eight

In the shadows a woman was moaning, her voice a gasping threnody of pain, thick, liquid, the gurgle of blood in laboring lungs turning the sounds into the mewing of a tormented beast. Kathryn turned toward it, feeling the tug and constriction of the transparent envelope she wore. A prophylactic measure the physicians had insisted she take and one she had not argued about. Hnaudifida was not a pleasant disease.

"Seven more cases in this area alone since the end of the storm, my lady." Sarah Magill gestured with an upraised arm. Her voice, muffled by the envelope she wore, was only slightly distorted by the diaphragms. "Another dozen suspected but we won't be certain until the end of the week. However all precautions have been taken as regards isolation."

"Separate quarters?"

"Of course."

"And full medical supervision?" If the unfortunates had the disease there was no hope but they should be given their chance. As the woman nodded Kathryn said, "How? How did they contract the disease? I ordered a total state of immobility. No movement between one estate and another and yet you have more cases here, others have been reported from previously clear areas, and there's talk of it even reaching the city itself."

"No slaves have left their work areas." Sarah was defiant. "And no overseers have left this estate. I can vouch for my own."

"But not for others, eh?" Kathryn met the other's eyes. "You've had visits? From whom?" Her voice hardened as the other hesitated. "I need to know, woman! This is an emergency!"

Outside the light was dying, strands of cloud drifting high against the emerald, thin wisps which formed moving patterns of changing complexity. Kathryn stared at them, glad to be out of the gloom, away from the scenes of pain and disrupted bodily functions. She had been a fool, perhaps, to have made the personal visit but anything was better than just waiting and it did no harm to demonstrate her closeness to the people and her interest in their troubles.

But it had not been pleasant to see the afflicted slaves writhing on their cots, skins burning, lips cracked, fevered eyes staring at her with the mute appeal of a stricken beast What had the monk said?

There, but for the grace of God, go I!

And, but for an accident of birth, she too could have been a slave, born to serve without question, living the span of her days in a manner chosen by others. A bad thought which she dismissed as a technician sprayed the envelope with sterilizing fluids and later helped her out of it when they were safely high and on their way back to the palace.

Gustav was waiting and anxiety made him sharp.

"You were stupid, Kathryn. You should not have gone to visit the sick. The risk was too great."

"There was no risk. All precautions were taken."

"Did you filter every cubic inch of air between here and there? Made sure you touched no part of the raft? Floated on the ground? How can you claim you took no risk?"

He was becoming foolish. She snapped, "I did what I considered best and that's all there is to it. A ruler has certain responsibilities and I had to demonstrate my concern. Have you correlated all the data? Good. Your conclusions?"

She frowned as he gave them. From the first reported case the increase and progression were frightening. On every estate there were slaves in the terminal period and others were suspect. A natural progression but what had caused the sudden outbreak? And why was it so widespread?

"I suspected a carrier," said Gustav. "Such are rare but not unknown and so I checked on all movements from ten days before the first case until now. A waste of time, I'm afraid; the movements of slaves can be found but not those of overseers and certainly not those of owners and nobles."

"An importation?"

"It would seem it has to be. No disease is suddenly created and there has to be a reason for the outbreak. I checked all ship arrivals and visitors. Most stayed in the city to conduct their business. Tanya Ell had a guest stay with her for ten days and Marion Cope a visit from her nephew. He is still with her as far as I can gather. Aside from the consignment of slaves brought by Hylda Vroom that is all." He added dryly, "Esslin is hardly a tourist attraction."

"Don't make jokes, Gustav!"

"No. I apologize, my dear. Was it bad?"

"Worse than I thought. A sick woman lacks dignity and a dying one begins to lack all the attributes of humanity. The men-" She broke off, shuddering. "Hnaudifida makes no sexual distinction."

And was no respector of persons. Now the slaves, soon the overseers and free residents of the estates, then the nobles and owners. She thought of the city filled with dead and dying, creatures who dragged themselves over the stones, burning, begging for water, rotting even as they begged.

There, but for the grace of God, go I!

"Kathryn?" Gustav was staring at her. "You said?"

"Nothing." She must have sub-vocalized the words or whispered them-what did it matter? "Run the data through the computer again and make sure the technicians are doing their job. Check on all known movements since the ban. Most don't think it applies to any but slaves. Sarah Magill had visits from Maurneen Clairmont, Ina Hine, Arora Kochbar and Tamiras."