"I tell you, deCastries-"
"Said he'd be up here yet today? I don't think so," said Eachan.
She turned, almost to glare at him.
"What makes you so sure?"
"Because he's no soldier. Bright of course - Lord yes, he's bright. But he's not a soldier. That means he's in the hands of those officers of his. Earth-bound types, still thinking in terms of large-unit movements. They might get patrols out, late in the day, but they won't get Dow off."
"What if he simply orders them to get him off?" Amanda demanded.
"They'll promise him, of course, but somehow everybody won't be together, the vehicles won't be set, with everything harnessed up and ready to go, before sundown; and even Dow'll see the sense of not striking out into unfamiliar territory with night coming on."
"How can you be that sure?" Melissa asked her father.
"That brigadier's got his own future to think of. Better to have Dow down on him over not getting off on time than to send someone like Dow out and turn out to be the officer who lost him. The day's more than half over. If Dow and his escort get bogged down for even a few hours by some hairbrained locals fighting back - that's the way the brigadier'll be thinking - they could end up being caught out, unable to move, in the open at dark Strange country, nighttime, and an open perimeter's chancy with a prize political package like Dow. No, no - he won't be here until tomorrow at the earliest."
Eachan cocked an eye on Amanda.
"But if you like," he said, "Melly and I'll take turns on the scope up on the roof. If anything moves out of Foralie we can see it; and by the time we're sure it's definitely moving in this direction, we'll still have two hours before it can get here at column speed. Take a nap, Amanda. We'll call you if you need to move."
Amanda gave in. Stretched out on a large bed in one of the wide, airy bedrooms of Foralie, the curtains drawn against the sunlight, she fell into a heavy sleep from which she roused, it seemed, within minutes.
But, blinking the numbness of slumber from her vision, she saw that beyond the closed curtains there was now darkness, and the room around her was plunged in a deeper gloom that that of curtained daylight.
"What time is it?" she called out, throwing back the single blanket with which she had been covered. No answer came. She sat on the edge of the bed, summoning herself to awareness, then got to her feet and let herself out into the hall, where artificial lights were lit.
"What time is it?" she repeated, coming into the kitchen. Both Eachan Khan and Melissa looked up from the table there, and Melissa got to her feet.
"Two hours after sunset," she answered. But Amanda had already focused on the wall clock across the room, which displayed the figure 21:10. "Sit down, Amanda. You'll want some tea."
"No," said Amanda. "I "was supposed to meet two of the youngsters from the local team just above Foralie Town before sunset - "
"We know," said Eachan. "We had a runner from that team when they saw you didn't leave here. The two you're talking about went, and Ramon went with them. He knows what you want in the way of information."
"I've got to get down there, to meet them."
"Amanda - sit!" said Melissa from the kitchen unit. "Tea'll be ready for you in a second."
"I don't want any tea," said Amanda.
"Of course you do," said Melissa.
Of course, she did. It was another of her weaknesses of age. She could almost taste the tea in anticipation, and her sleep-heavy body yearned for the internal warmth that would help it wake up. She sat down at the table opposite Eachan.
"fine watch you keep," she said to him.
"Nothing came from Foralie Town in this direction before sunset," he said. "They're not starting out with Dow in the dark, as I said. So I came back inside, of course. You could stay the night, if you want."
"No, I've got to get there; and I've a lot of ground to cover - " she broke off as Melissa placed a steaming cup before her. "Thanks, Melissa."
"But why don't you stay the night?" Melissa asked, sitting back down at the table, herself "Betta's already asleep, but you could see her in the morning
_"
"No. I've got to go." Melissa looked at her father. "Dad?"
"No," said Eachan, "I think perhaps she's right. But will you come back for the night, afterwards, Amanda?"
"No. I don't know where I'll light."
"If you change your mind," said Melissa. "Just come to the door and ring. But I don't have to tell you that."
Amanda left Foralie homestead half an hour later. The moon, which had been full the night before, was just past full, but scattered clouds cut down the brilliant night illumination she had woken to early that morning. She made good time on the skimmer toward the ridge where she had arranged to meet Lexy and Tim. A hundred meters or so behind it, she found Ramon's skimmer, empty, and dropped her own beside it. No one was in sight. Ramon could not walk upright without his prosthetics, but he could creep-and-crawl as well as any other adult. Amanda was about to work her way up to the ridge, herself staying low so that any instruments in the cantonment below would not discover her, when a rustle in the shadows warned her of people returning. A few moments later, Ramon, Lexy and Tim all rose from the ground at arms-length from her.
"Sorry," said Amanda, "I should have been here earlier."
"It wasn't necessary," said Ramon. His powerful arms hauled him up on to his own skimmer and he sat upright there.
"Yes, it was," said Amanda. "You didn't let these two go in until things were shut down - "
"They didn't go down until full dark," said Ramon. "Not until the last of the patrols had left and the manufactory was shut down. The townsfolk were all inside and the troops were all in their cantonment area. Tim stayed beyond the perimeter there and Lexy went up to just outside the outer line of huts, close enough so she could hear them talking, but with plenty of room to leave if she needed to."
Amanda transferred her attention to Lexy.
"What were they talking about?"
"Usual stuff," said Lexy. "The officers, and the equipment, how long they'd be here before they'd ship off again. Regular soldier off-duty talk"
"Did they talk about when deCastries would be leaving for Foralie?"
"First thing in the morning. They'd stalled about getting ready, so he couldn't get off today," said Lexy. "They don't think much of those of our people who're left here; but still none of them I heard talking felt much like starting out with night coming on."
"What do they think of their officers?"
"Nothing great. There's a major they all like, but he's not on the general's staff. They really draw the line between enlisted and officer."
"Now, you see for yourself, how that is with Old World troops," commented Ramon to the two young ones.
"It's a pretty stupid way for them to be, all the same, out here in hostile territory," said Lexy. "But they've got a good pool of light vehicles. No armor. Vehicle-mounted light weapons and handweapons. I could have brought you one of their cone rifles - "
"Oh, could you?"
There was a little silence in the darkness, that betrayed Lexy's recognition of her slip of the tongue.
"The whole line of huts was empty. All I did was look in the last one in the line," said Lexy. "These
Earth troops - they're worse than elephants. I could have gone in and picked their pockets and got out without their knowing about it."
The moon came from behind a cloud that had been hiding it, and in the pale light Amanda could see Lexy's face… tightmouthed.
"Ramon," said Amanda. "Didn't you tell them specifically not to go into the cantonment area?"
"I'm sorry, Amanda," said Ramon. "I didn't. Not specifically."
"Lexy, under no conditions, now or in the future, do you or anyone else go beyond the outer line of huts." Exasperation took her suddenly. "And don't bristle! If you have to resent an order, try to keep the fact to yourself."