Maia

"You seem to be ready for that," said another of the young Urtans sitting opposite her. She smiled and nodded, swallowing another large piece of partridge.

"You've only just arrived, haven't you?" asked the man on his left, hardly raising his eyes from her breasts even as he spoke. "I saw you come in."

Soon they were both talking to her with so much animation that she had nothing to do but listen, smile and answer an occasional word. The effect of her beauty was not only to excite them but to make them rather self-conscious and coltish. They laughed a great deal, paid her compliments, teased and contradicted each other, often asked her to corroborate them and continually called the slaves over to serve her with food and wine for which she had not asked. Meanwhile Bayub-Otal, seated on her right, remained silent. Yet it struck Maia that although he was not by nature the sort of man to let himself go, he was nevertheless taking good care not to appear entirely out of accord with the younger men's brash high spirits. It was clear that they respected him and accepted his watchful,

attentive manner as his own way of being in their company. Whenever someone addressed a remark to him, he replied readily and pleasantly enough, once turning a sally against the man who had made it. Maia noticed, however, that he said almost nothing except in answer to somebody else; nor did he speak directly to either Qccula or herself.

"He's sharp enough to hold his own," she thought, "but far as I can see he's kind of got something on his mind. Reckon Kembri's picked the wrong girl. Don't seem like he's one to have his head turned in a hurry. All same, I'll have to have a go."

At this moment, however, Bayub-Otal asked her quietly, "How old are you? Young enough not to mind being asked-I can see that."

In point of fact Maia was, of course, so young as to resent being asked. Just in time she choked back the kind of retort she would have made in Meerzat. Leaning towards him and speaking as though she were telling him something confidential, she replied in an equally low voice, "I'm fifteen, my lord."

"Fifteen?" He paused. "You're sure of that?"

She laughed. "Well, of course. I'll be sixteen in a few days, actually."

"And how long have you been in Bekla? You come from Tonilda, your friend said?"

"Not very long. Yes, I come from Lake Serrelind."

"I was there once: I went sailing on the lake with a friend."

"Then I may have seen you, my lord. I used to swim in the lake a fair old bit."

"I should certainly remember if I'd seen you."

Yet it was said without a smile or any particular warmth, and Maia felt puzzled. A moment later he had turned to Haubas on his other side and the two men opposite were at her again. Occula had slid off Eud-Ecachlon's knee and was now sitting beside him, eating grapes and wiping the pips with the back of her hand from between her soft, thick lips.

It was plain that one of the young men was growing tipsy and not altogether pleasant with it.

"Where do you come from?" he asked suddenly, grinning at Occula in a provocative, taunting manner. "Nowhere in the empire, I'll bet: unless it's Zeray."

"No, a bit further than Zeray," replied Occula. "I shan't be endin' up there, either. Will you?"

"Taken in war, then, were you?" asked the young man. "Your lot ran away, did they, and left you for the Beklans? Any regrets?"

Eud-Ecachlon, shaking his head, seemed about to remonstrate, but as he hesitated Occula spoke first. Her voice was conciliatory, low and pleasant, but Maia, knowing her so well, could sense her controlled anger, like the twitching of a cat's tail.

"People always regret leavin' me. Sometimes they regret teasin' me, too; but only when I decide I've had enough."

"Hoo, what a lot of words!" answered the young man, with a kind of sneering laugh. "That supposed to be clever?"

"Ka-Roton," interjected Bayub-Otal quickly, "don't be stupid!" His tone contained no surprise, and Maia wondered whether Ka-Roton commonly gave this kind of trouble after a few cups of wine.

"Well, hardly, I should say," replied Occula, smiling. "Why doan' we-"

"You should say!" interrupted Ka-Roton. "A black girl! Cran preserve us!"

As he spoke he swirled the wine in his goblet, and by mischance a few drops spattered over Occula's bare arm. Eud-Ecachlon, bending forward, grasped him by the wrist, but Ka-Roton jerked it away.

"How d'you keep her in order, this black leopard?" he asked Maia. He had, she now noticed, a gap between his top front teeth, in which a shred of meat had remained stuck.

"I don't," answered Maia. "She keeps me in order."

"You look much less of a savage. You're the one I fancy." He picked his teeth for a moment, then leant forward and squeezed one of her breasts.

"You're right: I'm the savage one," said Occula suddenly and sharply. "If I wanted to I could make you stab yourself to the heart!"

Ka-Roton slapped his thigh and roared with laughter. "I'd like to see you try!"