Vera came up the rise toward them, holding a child in her arms and another by the hand. Golden-haired, gorgeous children: as soon as they came close enough, Tess knew whose they must be. The girl detached herself from Vera and ran to Karolla.
"Mama," she said, and her face was streaked with tears, "when is Papa coming back?"
"Hush, child. Help me with these pillows, if you please. Can you throw them in the wagon?" The little girl did so, and Vera deposited the other child, younger and not obviously boy or girl, into the back of the wagon.
"Karolla," said Vera, ignoring Tess and Vladimir completely, "Mother Yermolov says she will drive this wagon. I am going with the wounded."
"As you wish, Vera," said Karolla. Vera descended back to the line of wagons forming with its escort of riders. The familiar, acrid scent of ulyan wafted over them, borne by the breeze. "Well," said Karolla, "if you do not mind, Terese Soerensen, may my children ride in this wagon?" The little girl had climbed in and sat huddled next to her sibling.
"No. I mean, you needn't ask my permission." The last thing she wanted was to have poor Karolla begging her for favors. "It isn't as if-" She halted suddenly. "Vladi, how am I getting back to camp?''
Vladimir looked at her, puzzled. "What do you mean, Tess?"
"Did Ilya leave a horse for me?"
"Why would Ilya leave you a horse? There are women here, after all."
"Ah," said Tess. "Of course. Certainly I would go with the women. Naturally you must ride in the wagon as well, Karolla. I am sure Mother Orzhekov and Mother Veselov will treat you kindly when we reach camp, and make some place for you."
Karolla glanced behind at her children-at Vasil's children. "Do you think so?" she asked, suddenly looking far more tired than a woman so young ought to look. "Here is Mother Yermolov.''
Mother Yermolov trudged up the hill with a child and an adolescent girl in tow. She was old and wiry but hale, and she had the look of a woman who has outlived all of her children. She stopped and inclined her head respectfully to Tess, and then inspected the animals in the traces before climbing into the seat. Karolla and the adolescent helped the child into the wagon and got in after her.
"Well, Tess," said Vladimir, "I'll ride close by, in case you-well, Ilya said to stay close by you."
"Thank you, Vladi," she said, and was left standing, watching him go, while the women waited for her.
"Perhaps you will sit next to me," said Mother Yermolov. "The rest are ready to go, and we must lead, of course."
Given no choice, Tess climbed up beside her. "Thank you," she said, determined to be gracious.
"I don't envy you, my dear," said Mother Yermolov, almost gruffly, and they started forward.
By the time they had gone over the second hill, Tess hated the wagon. It was slow and clumsy, and every bump jolted horribly. Perhaps, just perhaps, it was better back among the pillows, but she could not bring herself to look back at Karolla or her beautiful children. She stared enviously at the riders, free as they ranged along the line. True to his word, Vladimir stayed beside her but it was impossible to talk to him, and she had nothing to say to him in any case. Vasil's saber, stuck awkwardly to one side, rubbed into her thigh. The wagon lurched. Tess grabbed at the side and got a splinter thrust deep in her hand. Cursing, she pulled it out with her teeth.
"You are not accustomed to traveling this way," said Mother Yermolov mildly. "Put your hands-yes, there, and there. That's right."
Behind, the adolescent girl was talking to Karolla.
"But Yevgeni wasn't found, so he must have gotten away. He'll find me again!"
Karolla murmured something indistinguishable.
"But is it true that she is Bakhtiian's wife? That they lay together yesterday?"
"Valye, where are your manners?"
Valye lowered her voice but kept on. "It's just it seems cruel to love with death all around."
"Better to be loving than mourning."
A pause, and then a whisper: "They say she comes from a great khaja city in the south, but she can't. She's so clean, and khaja are always filthy. Is it true she rode with Bakhtiian's jahar? That's what I'm going to do, Karolla. I'm going to learn how to fight, and then I can ride in jahar with my brother. When he comes back. I won't go back to my aunt's tribe. I hate her."
"Valye," said Karolla in a weary voice, "what choice do you have? She is your kin, your mother is dead, and though Yevgeni protected you this long, he is gone now. You've no one else."
"I won't," said Valye, and subsided into silence.
The wagon lurched on.
"What will all these women do?" Tess asked Mother Yermolov finally.
"As Karolla said. They will go to their kinswomen."
"They must all of them have lost fathers or brothers or husbands."
"Or sons." The old woman shrugged. "The men make war. We can do nothing about that. We have our own lives."
Tess turned to stare at the column behind. Women and children sat in the wagons, many with wounded men cushioned in their laps or on pillows beside them. Somewhere a woman sang, a pure soprano-as sweet as Fedya's voice and just as sorrowful. The escort rode alongside, up and down the line.
"And in the spring," said Tess, "Bakhtiian will lead the jaran against the khaja and the settled lands."
Mother Yermolov's eyes had a glint about them, a spark, as if at some old joke only she knew. "Then I pity the khaja women who are mothers and sisters and wives."
"But you were with Mikhailov. Do you now support Bakhtiian?"
"Mikhailov is dead. Bakhtiian killed him fairly. I hold no grudge against him. It is men's business, after all."
The wagons halted briefly at midday. Tess climbed down and decided, as soon as she felt earth beneath her boots, that she would walk the rest of the way. But though she had thought the wagons slow-moving, once they started again, she found them passing her. Even knowing who she was, women offered her a seat as their wagons passed her, but she shook her head and plodded grimly forward. The wagons passed her one by one until at last the final wagon rolled alongside and, gaining, moved ahead of her. Four bloodstained, unconscious men lay among pillows. One, young and black-haired, looked dead. Vera sat with them. Her gaze met Tess's for an unmeasurable instant. Her face was white. Then Vera looked away as if she had not seen her. Tess walked on, letting the gap widen bit by bit in front of her. But then, it was impossible to lose their track in the grass, and in any case, Vladimir still rode over to the side, not too close now but never losing her from his sight.
A shout came from far ahead. Riders crested a distant ridge and poured down toward them. The lead wagon lurched over an intervening rise and was lost to Tess's view. The others followed, one by one. A single rider cantered down the line.
"Niko!"
He pulled up beside her. "Tess! Why are you walking here?"
"Have you ever tried to ride in one of those things?"
"Ah, no." He dismounted. "Well, I suppose when I was a child."
"I can't ride in those wagons."
"Look. We've fallen behind." He waved at Vladimir, and Vladi reined his horse forward and cantered away. "I'll walk with you." The grass brushed at their boots. Tess plucked a stem, peeling back the brittle leaves that embraced it. "Tess," he said in an odd voice, "how did you get that shirt? Weren't you in women's clothing when you were taken from the camp? Oh, damn." He led his horse away from her and moved the reins so that he could mount.
The comment was not directed to her. About a dozen riders had crested the near rise and rode down toward them. Ilya was riding Kriye. Tess had to look away from them because together they looked so handsome.
He dismounted. "Tess!" He was so transparently ecstatic that she couldn't help smiling. "Tess. Why are you walking back here?'' He stopped in front of her, so close that if she leaned forward she would touch him. His red shirt had a pungent, fresh scent, and his hair was slightly wild, mussed by the wind. She reached up and brushed a lock of hair away from his eyes. He seemed about to say something. Instead, he swayed into her, slid his hands up her arms, and kissed her fiercely.