But he did not.

“Will you come, Avisha?” Mai asked.

She hesitated.

“Keshad, I would like your opinion as well. The sheep market is today, is it not?”

“It is, verea. This late in the day the best animals will already be sold.”

“I’m not buying,” said Mai. “I want to see what the lesser quality of animal looks like.”

“I’ll go.” Avisha glanced at Sheyshi’s sour expression. “Maybe Sheyshi would like to go, too.”

So it was arranged. Avisha went back into the garden to tell Zianna she was going out, but the little girl was napping. A contingent of guards was assembled, the big man pulled from his counting frame to accompany them, and another of Anji’s senior men, Chief Deze, left in charge of the compound in Tuvi’s absence. Sheyshi brought straw sandals suitable for a trip to the market.

They left the house through the warehouse, where women and children sat on the long benches, waiting their turn to be interviewed. The supplicants carried baskets and bags with rice balls and se leaves to eat during the long wait. Children dozed on the floor. Women looked up as they passed, eager to speak, but the escort of Qin soldiers intimidated them.

The sheep market lay down the hill outside the gates of the inner city, on open ground untouched by the building that consumed Olossi’s outer districts. Mai was fascinated by the sheep. She and O’eki asked interminable questions of the herdsmen and farmers who had brought their lots to market. Keshad stuck next to the mistress.

It was odd to walk in public accompanied by the Qin. Chief Tuvi had detailed a dozen soldiers, and while they did not swagger or push, they cleared a path for Mai simply by being armed and alert. Avisha dropped back to where Chaji walked as part of the rear detail. He smiled briefly and then ignored her as his gaze roved the crowds.

Many glances were cast their way, not all kindly ones. A pair of men garbed in the homespun of farmers bent close over a ewe. By the way their eyes watched the Qin, they might have been whispering about the condition of her mouth or they might have been muttering complaints. A woman dragged her daughter out of the path of the Qin, as if she feared they would kidnap the girl.

“A blessing on you, verea. A blessing!” A beggar wearing a greasy red cap and ragged kilt trolled for alms, holding out an offering bowl.

The forward group reached an intersection. Avisha hurried to catch up as Tuvi shouted an order. The soldiers halted, blocking the intersection. Mai turned. Then she smiled.

Captain Anji and four soldiers strolled up the other avenue, which was lined with pens and booths selling songbirds, chickens, crickets in miniature cages. The crowd melted away to give them room. Conversations faded to silence as the two groups met, and merged.

“Will you attend me, husband?” Mai asked with a smile that made the captain grin, even though he was in public, and caused Keshad to look away.