I wouldnt recommend it.

Why not?

I could not tell him. Trust me. If youre there youll regret it.

I doubt it. They couldnt give me much more trouble than they have already. I want to see them when you disappoint them.

You do, youll never forget. Dont go.

I insist.

I warned you. Him being there would not do him any good but it would be good for me. I told myself Id done my best. My conscience was clear.

Ram finished dressing me. I told him, I need Narayan. Abda! Would you look after the prince? If youll excuse me?

I got Narayan into a corner where we could whisper. I told him what had happened. He grinned that damned grin of his till I was ready to rip it off his face. But he jumped to another subject. The Festival is almost upon us, Mistress. We have to make travel plans soon.

I know. The jamadars want to look me over. But I have too much on my mind now. Lets get through tonight first.

Of course, Mistress. Of course. I didnt mean to press.

The hell you didnt. Is everything set?

Yes, Mistress. Since early this afternoon.

Will they do it? When it comes to the moment of decision, will they?

You never know what a man will do till hes faced with a decision, Mistress. But the men are all former slaves. Very few of them Taglian.

Excellent. Go. Well be leaving in a few minutes.

The square was called Aiku Rukhadi, Khadi Junction. It had been a crossroads long ago, before the city swamped the countryside. It was Shadar then but Vehdna now. It was not a big square, being a hundred twenty feet in its greatest dimension. It had a public fountain in its center, water for the neighborhood. It was crowded with priests.

The cult leaders had come and had brought all the friends they wanted to witness the humiliation of the female upstart. They had dressed for the occasion. The Shadar wore white, simple shirts and pantaloons. The Vehdna wore kaftans and glamorous turbans. The most numerous contingent, the Gunni crowd, was subdivided by sect. Some wore scarlet robes, some saffron, some indigo, some aquamarine. Jahamaraj Jahs successors wore black. I guessed the crowd at between eight hundred and a thousand. The square was packed.

Every priest whos anybody is here, the prince told me. We entered the square behind a half dozen incompetent drummers. They were my only bodyguards. Even Ram was absent. The drummers cleared a space against a wall.

I told the prince, Thats the way I wanted it. I hoped I looked sufficiently impressive in costume. Atop my great black stallion I loomed over the Prahbrindrah, whose chestnut was no dwarf. The priests noticed him and started whispering. Eight hundred men whispering make as much noise as a swarm of locusts.

I positioned us with the wall behind and the drummers in front.

Would it work?