She took it and held it to her nakedness, eying him coldly. He turned, heard her drop quietly to the floor. "Where are the others?" she asked, and he could hear the rustle of the gown as she put it around her. "And where can I pick up my clothes?"
He turned to look at her, found her at the side of the room in front of its only mirror, inspecting her face and pushing her lush hair this way and that and grimacing. "How long ago did we land? What's Ostarpa like?"
She was lovely and not unlike Karen in manner and it was going to be harder for him than he thought.
"Was I the first or the last? Or was I in the middle? Just like me to be in the middle." She laughed a little and he was glad to hear her, though her laughter was a little lower in pitch than Karen's. And then her eyes found his in the mirror and they widened. She turned. "Why don't you say something? Is anything wrong?" Now she was frightened.
She was very young and he was glad to hear her voice and he wanted to tell her so, but he knew she wouldn't understand. So he said only, "I want to talk to you."
"What's happened?" Her eyes were panicky.
"There are no others," he blurted out.
"No others?" Her voice was shrill.
He shook his head. "I awakened you because my wife died and I needed someone." It was blunt, but he wanted to be honest with her. "The others are still asleep out there."
She stared with round eyes and a round, open mouth, and her hands fell away from her face and were lost when the gown's long sleeves fell over them.