Kris held up a hand to indicate she did not wish to explain but she saw hope flare in Floss's deep blue eyes. "Please tell the head woman that this is a gift offering for her care of you." She ignored Floss's snort, then gestured her to follow her back to Zainal and Chief Materu, who were deep in conversation. Floss kept well behind Kris, trying to look invisible, Kris thought.
"Floss said she's been keeping up her Catteni with Peran and Bazil. Clime did their negotiating with Catteni. Back in DC they managed their own little trading enterprises. Could sell you your own teeth. Those two skinny boys standing with him also know the language."
"Really?" Zainal gave a snort that was half skepticism and half amusement. Just then Peran came racing back, a square of cloth, held tightly in one fist with a spear while he had the framework of a Masai shield in the other. He came to a halt by his father, respectfully silent as Chief Materu was awaiting Zainal's pleasure.
"Does anyone here speak Catteni, Peran?" Zainal asked him. "Yes, that one by Kris does and a couple of the other Terrans. We talk with them sometimes," Peran said with a diffident shrug. "Their names are Clime, Ditsy, and Ferris," Kris murmured.
In Catteni, Zainal asked for volunteers who could speak the lan-guage. Clime, his expression astonished, made his way to the front of his age-set, as did Ferris, hauling the thinner, wiry Ditsy with his free hand. He had a finished shield and two fine spears in the other. Floss, taking no chance of being overlooked, held up her hand, waggling it at Zainal.
"Volunteers for what, Emassi Zainal?" Clime asked, glaring at Floss and urging his friends to catch up to him.
"A special mission to Barevi," Zainal replied.
"The trading planet?" Floss exclaimed and won points, Kris thought, by Zainal's response to her knowledge.
"What else do you know about Barevi?" he asked her.
She made a moue. "Not much except it was a place to avoid if you were captured by Catteni." She gave him an apologetic smile. "And it was low gravity. That's why the Catteni used it as an R-and-R place."
"It's where the Catteni took Terran slaves to be sold," Clime said, frowning. But he spoke in Catteni, his young baritone voice able to growl out the words with a good accent.
"They took a lot of stuff off Earth to Barevi," Ferris remarked. "And we have to reclaim it," Zainal said.
"They're going to keep all the stuff they stole and be allowed to get away with it?" Ditsy muttered in a petulant tone.
"No, Ditsy. But he has the priorities right," Zainal murmured in an aside to Kris, and she grinned back at him. Now he stepped over to Chief Materu. "Chief, these young men and that woman speak my language and may be of use to us all. Will you allow them to accom-pany us?"
Judging by the fleeting expression that crossed the chief's face, Kris thought he would be glad to see the last of Floss, but he seemed more reluctant to part with Clune and the other lads.
His answer was a ripple of words that Kris didn't understand. Zainal looked at Peran for a translation.
"Father, he says that they are not yet in the age-set to be trained for a man's skills and responsibilities."
"Will you answer him for me, Peran, as I do not know his lan-guage, that they are trained in the skills I need for an important mission."
Peran did not smile as Kris thought a Terran boy might, pleased to be translating for his father. He rattled off phrases with a respectful air and waited for the chief to reply.
Materu shrugged but with a wave of his hand, agreed.
"Run, get your things," Peran said in Cattem to the three boys and, almost as an afterthought, included Floss. She angled her hips provocatively and stood closer to Kris.
"I won't need anything they gave me once I'm back in civiliza-tion," she muttered under her breath. But redeemed herself in Kris's good opinion by turning toward the group of women and making a broad gesture of farewell, giving the older woman a dignified nod. "Can I board the ship now?" she asked Kris.
"Can't wait to leave, can you?"
"You better believe it," Floss replied and sauntered, still swinging her hips in a sexy manner, which Kris thought was provocative; she disappeared up the ramp and into the ship. By the time Kris, follow ing her, had made her way to the flight deck, she heard more feet on the ramp and the whine of machinery as the ramp was retracted. Zainal came forward to the pilot's seat. As if it were his prerogative, Peran took the secondary seat. Kris took the jump seat behind Zainal and motioned for the boys and Floss to strap in. As they took off and Zainal dipped Baby in a farewell salute over the Masai EnKang, Floss heaved a long sigh.
"Thank God you came. They were going to marry me off to a bag of bones and shriveled skin," Floss muttered to Kris.
Kris felt a pang of guilt for having forgotten Floss for so long and wondered how the girl had coped. There was little doubt in Kris's mind that Floss had filled out in a very womanly fashion, and she was glad they had rescued her from an ancient spouse. That would only have caused more problems and indubitably Floss would never have waited passively to enjoy marital bliss.
"So what's the caper?" she asked, leaning toward Zainal, her eyes glittering.
Zainal responded in his best Emassi manner but the only words Kris recognized were "know" and "time." Floss had no trouble un-derstanding and leaned back in her seat, folding her arms across her breasts. Full breasts, Kris noticed, and hoped they could get the girl off planet and to Barevi before she caused havoc among the unmar-ried males at the Botanists' main settlement at Retreat. The girl was much too young to settle down, although she seemed to have learned manners and deference among the Masai. Oh Lord, they only had spare beds enough for Zainal's sons. There were, however, bunks and cabins aboard the Baby, which must have been Zainal's thought be-cause he landed in the clearing he had used before, not all that far from their cabin.
"Well, this is a step up," Floss said and winked at Clune.
"You boys can bunk on Baby tonight," Zainal said, gesturing down the companionway to the crew and officer quarters. "Floss, you'd better stay in the main house."
"Main house?" Floss echoed, glancing negligently at the cabin. "Our home," Kris said with a quelling glare.
"Well, it beats a straw but all hollow," Floss replied with more def-erence as Kris ushered her inside. "And I really do like the decor. In-formal, rustic, but neat!"
"Thanks," Kris said. She sniffed, aware of an enticing aroma, and noticed the stew pan on the stove. "That was kindly," she said, pick-ing up the spoon and stirring the mixture.
"I smell spices," Floss remarked, an anticipatory grin on her face. "Smells sort of like home and holiday." And her eyes suddenly filled with tears.
"We don't have many spices but this is one of Dorothy's pots, so we'll know who to thank. There are knives and forks in the second drawer in the chest, Floss, if you can remember how to set a table. I'll call the others," Kris gave Floss's shoulder a gentle squeeze.
Bread had also been left for them so they could make a good meal, which was devoured with much smacking of lips. Floss had forgot-ten which side forks go on but she had found glasses and poured water and put out plates. She was obviously accustomed to assisting, a definite improvement over her attitude before she was sent to the Masai camp.
Clime had asked where to wash his hands and the other boys fol-lowed his example, despite their obvious desire to eat. Kris dished out spartan servings since whoever had brought the food had not antici pated eight people dining on the pot's contents. She had some slightly stale cake to serve for "afters," which the boys and Floss consumed avidly.
"Sorry about the hard rations. But there's usually plenty to eat at the dining hall," Kris said. "We generally eat there and take our turns cleaning up."