There would be no show at Meiersdorf, given that it had begun to snow and not even the inhabitants were eager to brave the cold in a tent, no matter how exotic the promised production was. They had planned to camp in the field normally used by the village for their little festivities, for it was a good long day’s journey to the abbey under the best of circumstances. Giselle was not expecting to see Rosa until then, but to her great joy, her friend was waiting, bundled up in her gorgeous scarlet cloak and hood, mounted on a sturdy hunter, right at the entrance to the village.

Giselle did not actually see Rosa right away, as she was in the middle of the caravan. Rosa waved at her, but then turned her attention back to Kellermann and Cody. Giselle understood perfectly, and got her vardo maneuvered into the circle it belonged to in the meadow they were using to camp overnight. All of the wagons were circled up at night since they’d left Freiburg, rather than parked in rows. This was to provide a windbreak for people who were still forced to sleep in their tents. The horses were left tied at night to wagons outside each circle, each with his own blanket, bucket, and pile of hay and grain. The cattle were corralled inside a circle of the transport wagons. The buffalo went into the same space as the cattle. They didn’t seem to mind.

The cooks came around to each circle with a big pot of stew and some sort of hard cracker—unless it was possible to buy bread where they were camping, which case everyone got a piece of a loaf instead. There was bread tonight. For the sake of making things easier on the cooks, each of them was responsible for his own plate, cup and utensils, and coffee was made on the central circle fire. Giselle lined up with the rest when the cooks arrived. That was when Rosa turned up, armed with plate and cup herself.

They got their food and quickly retreated to the relative warmth of the vardo. “Is your watcher still watching?” was the first thing Rosa asked, once they were settled into seats on casks of peppercorns and salt.

“No,” she said shortly, and Rosa smiled with relief.

“Good. I was hoping once you were on the move, he’d lose track of you, or simply would not be able to scry you out at any real distance.” Rosa ate with a good appetite, and so did Giselle. It was lovely to have hot food after a long cold day of driving.

“I’m glad you came to meet us,” Giselle said. “How are things at the abbey?”