“But you’re still just guessing.”
“I am making a calculation of the odds.”
“Uh, right.”
Hunter said nothing for a moment. When he spoke again, he lowered his voice. “Harriet just called to say she is well. She remains with the women in the palace.”
“Good. That’s something in our favor.”
They picked up their saddles and bridles and carried them out to their mounts.
Jane sat in the back of the cart up in the village, near the palace doors. Emrys haggled over the sheep with the same man as the day before. From here inside the walls, she could not see the slope or exactly where Wayne had gone, but she could guess. Ishihara and Wayne had conferred in whispers before Wayne hopped out and Emrys drove up to the palace to sell his sheep.
She knew that Ishihara must have told Wayne something about the location of Hunter and Steve. Because she had not seen or heard any sign of them, she supposed Ishihara’s enhanced hearing had brought him their voices in the distance. She had no real optimism that she could talk Ishihara into changing sides, but she decided to try raising some doubts again.
“The First Law was never intended for situations like this,” Jane said quietly.
“What do you mean?” Ishihara asked. “I have kept you from harm.”
“You’re keeping me prisoner. I would be safer with Hunter. You already know that. I say you are violating the First Law by holding me now that Hunter has arrived.”
“What form of harm are you suffering?”
“I’m being harmed simply by having to stay with you. It’s not my choice.”
“Wayne Nystrom will be harmed if his career is destroyed. I intend to balance his concerns with yours. Neither of you will suffer direct physical harm.”
“Think about the intention of the First Law. Do you really believe that kidnapping was included?”
“To prevent a human from being harmed, it has been an option throughout the history of positronic robots. Otherwise, it would have been explicitly prohibited.”
“I say you are wrong, Ishihara. Think about it.” Jane spoke firmly but did not feel encouraged. Wayne had obviously given Ishihara some effective arguments of his own at some point and, after all, Wayne was also a roboticist.
Hunter found the maneuvers today to be a repeat of the day before. He put most of his effort into avoiding injuring his opponents. While he remained close to Steve, he observed that Steve learned very quickly and did not need specific help.
The day wore on uneventfully. Finally, late in the afternoon, Lucius ordered the troop back to the tor. When the weapons, armor, tack, and horses had been put away, Hunter and Steve walked back up to the village.
Steve looked up at him, grinning. “The trouble with this stuff is, the more time I spend riding and fighting, the more tired I get. The more time you spend out in the sunlight, the more energy you draw from your converters. Imagine what an army of robots could do here.”
“We could not fight humans,” said Hunter. “We would be useless as an army.”
“I was just speculating. Think about it-”
“It makes me uncomfortable to consider it,” Hunter said abruptly.
“All right. Sorry.”
“Harriet called me again just now. She and one of the women she has met have gone for a walk in the village. We will look for them.”
“Okay.”
In the village, Hunter saw Harriet standing with a much younger woman by a stall that sold crockery. Before he and Steve reached them, however, Bedwyr walked out of the crowd, munching on a piece of bread. Steve had introduced him to Hunter last night before they had returned to the camp.
“Well, Hunter, how do you like your training?” Bedwyr turned to Steve. “You have no broken bones, I see.”
“No, we are fine,” said Hunter.
“Come with us,” said Steve. “We’re going to speak to a friend. We’ll introduce you.”
Bedwyr fell into step with them.
“Harriet!” Steve called cheerfully.
Harriet turned and waved.
“That’s your friend?” Bedwyr’s eyebrows rose. “She’s with Gwenhyvaer.”
“Did you say ‘Guinevere’?” Steve asked in surprise.
“You say it oddly,” said Bedwyr. “If you know the name, though, you must have heard. Rumor says Artorius will make her queen.”
“She’s just a kid,” Steve muttered.
“She has her growth.” Bedwyr laughed. “Not too young to become a queen, eh?”
“You know her?”
“Only by sight.”
When they reached the stall, Harriet introduced Gwenhyvaer to Hunter and Steve. In turn, Steve introduced them both to Bedwyr. Gwenhyvaer nodded primly to them all and turned back to the crockery.
“We met Bedwyr in the village last night,” said Steve. “We drank together.”
“We won’t see many taverns on the campaign,” said Bedwyr, grinning.
“Are you from this area?” Harriet asked. “I wondered what it’s like. We’re from Linnuis.”
“Yes, my village is not far. Half a day’s ride. Life is good there. But we must send good men to ride with Artorius, or else the Saxons will have it all.”
“Would you tell me about your village? Really tell me, I mean.”
“As you wish, of course. I doubt it’s much different from your own.”
“Let’s sit down somewhere and visit,” said Steve. “What do you say, Hunter? After all that riding today, I’d like to relax.”
“You go on,” Gwenhyvaer said to Harriet. “After I browse some more, I’m going back to the palace. I’ll remind the sentries to let you in.”
“ All right.”
“I have no objection,” said Hunter.
Wayne encouraged Emrys to leave the village at midday, while Hunter and Steve remained on maneuvers with the troop. He did not know for sure if Hunter would cooperate with his demands or not. However, he told Ishihara to keep a careful watch behind them as the cart left the tor, and Ishihara reported no sign that Hunter or Steve had followed them.
In the late afternoon, Emrys left the hut to hike back to his son, tending the main flock. Wayne waited until Jane used the outhouse and was out of hearing. Then he approached Ishihara and spoke quietly.
“Hunter almost certainly spotted us leaving the tor,” said Wayne. “He will know which direction we took. What do you think the chances are that he will risk trying to rescue Jane instead of catching MC 6 and trading him to me?”
“He has a great deal of room for interpretation of the First Law in this case,” said Ishihara. “However, I believe that my presence gives him the freedom to move slowly.”
“I think so, too. Without you, he would feel he had to rescue Jane right away because I can’t protect her effectively alone. You can.”
“Yes. Given that Hunter knows I must keep Jane from harm, he does not have to come for her immediately.”
“When I spoke to Hunter, I got the impression that he accepted my terms,” said Wayne. “He’ll consider trading MC 6 to me for Jane. But I have to ask if you’ll allow it. I don’t know of any interpretation of the First Law that will cause you to prevent this deal. Do you?”
“No. As long as I protect you and Jane until the time that she is released directly to Hunter’s care, I can cooperate with you in this.”
“Good.”
“I must offer another interpretation of Hunter’s moves, however.”
“What?”
“Hunter may not worry about Jane further, since he knows I must take care of her. He may just get MC 6 and forget about dealing with you for her.”
“You think he can do that under the First Law?” Wayne frowned, gazing out over the cool, gray sky in the distance over Cadbury Tor.
“Perhaps. I cannot be certain. However, since MC 6 is the only component robot remaining at large, Hunter knows you will have no further interest in Jane if he simply takes MC 6 back to our time.”
“You mean he’ll figure you and I will just return, too, and let Jane go.”
“He knows I cannot allow harm to come to Jane. That may free him to ignore your deal entirely.”
Wayne drew in a long, slow breath and let it out again. “I must proceed on the assumption that the First Law will pressure him to act more aggressively toward Jane. To that end, I may instruct you to remain here with Jane while I return to Cadbury. Will this be acceptable under your interpretation of the First Law?”