Sabrina had been more right than she knew, she realized as she entered the banquet hall a few hours later. She felt much better after her nap, but she had badly miscalculated her outfit. She had seen no other women on her way to her room, and Ranfir had told her not to worry about local fashions but just wear whatever she chose. Since the palace interior was warm but sheltered from direct sun, she chose a sleeveless silver gown that draped from her shoulders. It wasn't showy, but it was a far cry from what the other women were wearing—billowing dresses of bright hues that covered them from ankles to wrists, with their hair almost completely covered by a complicated turban-like scarf. Practical desert wear, she supposed, feeling almost naked in comparison.
Ford entered a few moments after her and took in her expression of dismay. "You look wonderful," he assured her as he came to stand beside her. "Don't worry."
"Ranja usually figures this kind of thing out for me," she explained. "I feel like an idiot."
"Just keep it in mind while we're traveling. I know you sunburn."
"I took that into account, believe me. But I'm going to have to buy a hat or something; I didn't think I'd need one on a space station." She turned to Ranfir, who was approaching them. "I'm afraid I'll need to go shopping before we leave tomorrow. Can you recommend someplace?"
Ranfir shook his head. "I've taken care of it. I saw that our sun bothered you. A traveling outfit and kit will be provided for each of you before your departure."
"You're not coming with us?" Sabrina asked.
"Unfortunately, my uncle has need of me here. You will be gone several days, and there is pressing business to take care of," Ranfir said. "Chancellor Hanat will escort you. He is very capable."
"Naturally," Ford said. "I don't see any place cards, Lord Ranfir—does this mean we choose our own seats?"
"I'm afraid not. The order of seating is always predetermined. You, your highness, are of course at my uncle's right hand. I will make sure Lady Sabrina finds her seat among the ladies."
Sabrina didn't like the sound of that, but she knew better than to question the arrangements. Ford glanced at her with a sympathetic expression, and she gave him a little smile.
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Sabrina had been to some challenging state dinners in her time, but this one, she thought, won the prize for sheer boredom. Seated at the women's end of the strictly segregated table, she found no one who could speak Lthosyenne or Praxatillian and was reduced to communicating with hand gestures and shrugs. The other ladies seemed polite enough, but she was alien to them in all senses of the word.
She missed the days when Mara had extended the Crystal's massive store of languages to her for translation—after her second adventure with Pharon crystal, Sabrina had resolved to steer clear of all outside access to her mind and had applied herself to learning languages the old-fashioned way. Her Praxatillian had been fluent since the Regency, but Lthosyenne was a more ancient and complex language. So far she had focused on that, and there had been no time to review the Fiersain language on their short journey there.
After dinner, the ladies retired to a large salon, where they had dessert and chatted among themselves. Sabrina found the woman who appeared to be the hostess and pantomimed a headache, succeeding in being excused with a sympathetic smile. She then congratulated herself on being sufficiently unimportant to go to bed early.
It was her old nightmare—being chased through the caves of Giandrah by unseen Reissians—that woke her sometime after full dark. She sat up in bed, panting, and then gasped as one of the shadows near the door moved. Her panicked grab for the stunner under her pillow wasn't fast enough, and she found her wrist caught in an alarmingly strong grip.
"Sabrina, it's me," Ford whispered. He let go of her when she stopped struggling. "Sorry. I just don't care to be shot at tonight."
"Then you should rethink sneaking into my room!" she retorted.
"Ssh. Let's not make any more scandal than strictly necessary," he replied. "Our rooms are so far apart that I wanted to come make sure you were okay. I had no idea what happened after all the women vanished."
"Just chatting," Sabrina said. "I left early, since I obviously couldn't contribute. My plan was to get a good night's sleep."
He chuckled. "And as usual, I have managed to undo your plans. Sorry."
He started to get up, but Sabrina stopped him. "I'm wide awake now. Did you want to talk about something?"
She felt, more than saw, him shrug. "It's early for impressions yet, but I'm wondering if we haven't found a backsliding society."
"Well, the purdah thing is a little worrying, yes. But other than that, I haven't had much chance to judge."
"You've had the creeps since we got here."
She sighed. "My diplomatic face really has gone to hell, hasn't it?"
"No. I just know you. What do you think it is?"
"I don't know. Something in the air. A smell, maybe. My lizard brain isn't all that forthcoming," Sabrina said.
Ford laughed quietly. "You are not the least bit lizardlike, Sabrina."
"No, I mean, that's what we call it on Earth. It's the part of our brains that's the oldest and least evolved. It signals danger, and we don't always know why. It can be a real problem in a modern society. Other times, though, it can be useful if we listen to it. Mostly I ignore it, but you're right, this place does give me the creeps. Maybe I'll feel better when we're out in the country. Palaces sometimes do that to me. The possibility of murderous intrigue, I suppose."
"No one is going to murder you here, Sabrina. I'm going to make absolutely certain of it," Ford assured her. "I could not face going home to Mother and making that report!"
She huffed a little laugh. "That would certainly end your diplomatic career in a hurry!"
"It would make a mess of my life generally," he agreed. "Now, I'm going to sneak back down to my room, and you're going to get the rest of that sleep you need."
"Is that an order?"
"Yes." His hands landed on her shoulders, and she thought he was pushing her to lie back down. But instead he pulled her forward into a warm hug. Sabrina relaxed into it almost immediately.
I missed this, she thought. I didn't know how much.
"What was that for?" she asked as they separated.
She thought he smiled, though she couldn't see his face clearly. "There haven't been a lot of perks in being my assistant so far. I thought I'd better make some up."
She chuckled. "Since I'm not getting paid for this, you mean? Well, I appreciate it."
"Good. Go to sleep, Sabrina."
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Their first foray into a Fiersain agricultural district was unremarkable. Sabrina, almost lost in a huge lightweight dress and veil (the complicated turban style proving beyond her capacity to achieve), trailed Ford as they inspected crops and distribution centers, speaking to various workers and supervisors. As they returned to their aircar for the next leg of their journey, Ford said to the Chancellor, "Thank you for starting with a fully functional area. It's always good to see a baseline before confronting problems."
Chancellor Hanat shrugged. "They are not all that different. Our problems have been exaggerated by our enemies. But you will see for yourself."
When they landed again, it was even hotter. Sabrina took a long drink from her water bottle before getting out of the aircar. Ford, under the guise of helping her sort out all the material she was wearing so she could fit through the door without tripping, whispered, "See if you can get a little lost, will you?"
"What about Stecklan?"
"I'll tell him."
"Okay." Sabrina was grateful that Ranfir had chosen a beige outfit instead of the bright colors favored by the women at court. She would have looked hideous in most of them, she knew, and this was far better camouflage. The workers tended not to dye their clothes at all; she supposed all the blowing dirt would make it fairly useless.
Ford insisted on wading into a field of tall grains to start a technical conversation with one of the tenders, and Sabrina took the opportunity to wander down to a nearby group of women working around a large pile of stalks. It occurred to her that what she could find out would be limited by the language barrier, but she could at least look for signs of malnutrition or other problems.
She murmured a quick greeting in Fiersain—so far the only phrase she had been able to learn—as she joined them. They made way for her immediately, with furtive, curious glances at her pale skin. But they did not respond to her attempts to communicate. They looked healthy enough, she thought, but it was hard to judge in their enveloping clothes.
"Sabrina!" came Ford's shout from alarmingly far away. Sabrina smiled apologetically at her fellow workers and brushed her hands off before slipping away from the group. Stecklan was the first out of the field, and he slowed down immediately at the sight of her.
"My lady," he panted. "The prince is looking for you."
"Thanks," she said, giving him a wry grin at his playacting. Unless, of course, Ford had neglected to mention his plan after all.
A moment later, Ford burst out of the field, shattering grain stalks around him. His look of relief changed instantly to anger. "There you are!" he exclaimed in Lthosyenne for the benefit of the Chancellor, who was only a few steps behind him. "How many times must I tell you not to wander off?"
"I'm sorry," she said. "I was curious about what they were doing. I wasn't actually lost this time."
Ford rolled his eyes. "You are lost when I don't know where you are. I must insist that you either stay within my range of vision, or tell me where you are going. You don't know what dangers may lurk on this planet under innocent guises."
"I'm sorry," she repeated, hanging her head in her best imitation of Marie caught playing truant.
"Just don't do it again!" Ford said in exasperation, taking her arm and pulling her along. "We don't have time to send out search parties for you everywhere we go. And I shudder to think what Mother would say if I came home without you!"
——————————
For verisimilitude, Sabrina wandered off again at their last stop of the day, for which Ford scolded her all through dinner at the modest hostel where they were spending the night. She suspected he really enjoyed his speech about her irresponsibility and subsequent explanation to the Chancellor that she still managed to get lost occasionally in Dansestari. The Chancellor apparently had not heard of or did not believe in Sabrina's diplomatic reputation for effectiveness, and he commiserated with Ford, telling anecdotes of his young children getting lost. Sabrina was bored and went to bed early.
She was not surprised when Ford slid through her window later that night. "Some security," she noted.
"I'd never have gotten past Stecklan," he grinned. "I could tell he was just barely resisting giving me pointers on my technique. It does lead me to wonder how many windows he's climbed into and out of over the years...one wouldn't think there would be much call for that in the Household Guard."
"As opposed to being an essential skill for a prince."
"Well." Ford gave her a mock-modest look. "There's a certain school of thought that irate parents add spice to courtship, but I don't subscribe to it. It's so much easier just to avoid them."
Sabrina couldn't help a smile. "As if there's a set of parents on Praxatillus who would have the least objection to you courting their daughter."
"That's where you're wrong," Ford said. "But as it happens, I have done all my window courting on other planets, usually incognito. Now, how about telling me what you discovered today?"
"Hardly anything. The language barrier is formidable. The women I met seemed okay—nobody starving to death that I could tell."
"We're staying well out of the trouble areas," Ford frowned. "The mountain foothills are reported to be the center of the problem. I'll have to figure out a way to make the Chancellor take us there."
"He certainly doesn't let you out of his sight," Sabrina said.
"Not for a moment. I find that a bit suspicious, don't you?"
"Well, he could just be security-minded."
Ford snorted. "I suppose. He was definitely upset when he noticed you were missing."
"I have to compliment you on your fine acting abilities, by the way."
"Ah." He grinned again. "I have to say, I never thought diplomacy could be this much fun. But getting to scold you for doing exactly what you're told is a novel treat. Especially when I know you're not going to fight back. Do you do it to Thad very often?"
"I have yet to use him as my stalking-horse," Sabrina replied. "I have no doubt he'd do it well, though. Probably with a better grace than I have! Do you think I could distract the Chancellor long enough for you to go chat with the natives in private?"
"I doubt it. He doesn't seem to think much of you, which is surprising. Refreshing, but surprising."
"I know what you mean. I haven't been this ignored in years. It's a kind of freedom. If only I could speak this dratted language!"
"Well, if you hadn't been so stubborn about the Crystal...." Ford reminded her.
"That's my right," Sabrina retorted. "And if you're thinking devious thoughts about making yourself at home in my brain again, don't you dare!"
"Under these circumstances it would be useless; I wouldn't get sharp enough impressions from you to translate," Ford said. "Besides, you've made your feelings quite clear on the subject."
"You always act like it's a personal insult. It's not."
"No, I understand. If you won't forgive me for a link that enabled me to save your life, you're not going to forgive me for a link that endangered it, no matter what extenuating circumstances there were."
"It's not a question of forgiveness, Ford. There wasn't anything to forgive. Look, I know no Miahn can really understand what it's like to be totally alone in their own mind. But no human can imagine anything else. We are never going to truly understand each other on this, Ford. But I wish you'd accept it. Since I can't sustain a link myself, any attempt to initiate one with me feels like an invasion. It's happened to me more than any other member of my species ever. I've already set the record. I don't feel a need to widen the margin."
Ford gave a sigh. Sabrina added, "Besides, you have better things to do than rummage through my mind."
"Inarguably."
"Then go climb through the window again and let me get some sleep."
"I have to wait until the moons go behind the clouds again."
It was Sabrina's turn to sigh.