The Rajput seemed not to hear, as he paused to speak to one of the men assisting him. Then he turned and unwrapped a musket, selected a tripod, and passed both to Hawksworth. The other man was bringing a wide velvet belt from the back of the tent, and he handed it to Hawksworth. Hanging from it were a powder flask, bullet pouch, priming horn, match cord, and flint and steel. "The prince will issue orders for deployment of the fil-kash and mardum-kash guns after they've all been harnessed."
"He'd better issue them soon. It'll start growing dark in a couple of hours, three at most."
"I'm sure he's aware of the time, Captain." Vasant Rao turned and disappeared into a circle of bearded Rajputs, barking orders.
Hawksworth watched him disappear, then turned and grabbed two more muskets. Holding them ahead of him like a prow he pushed his way back into the milling street. The air was rank with sweat and the crowds seemed more disorganized than ever. Women jostled in the streets, haggling with the merchants for clay jars of oil, while grooms moved among them leading prancing horses, each wearing a gold-fringed saddle blanket that glowed like ancient coin in the waning sun.
Hawksworth studied the crowd, searching vainly for some sense of organization, then turned to begin working his way back toward Jadar's compound and his own tent.
Shirin was still there, asleep. He stood admiring her again, her soft mouth, the olive skin of her high cheeks, her shining dark hair, and realized he loved her more than ever.
Dear God, we've only just begun to live. Jadar is a madman.
Almost without knowing why, he began to rummage through the remains of his clothing, still rolled in the carpet and lying where he had thrown it. His pulse suddenly quickened when his fingers closed around a hard round object. It was his very last bottle of brandy, miraculously entangled in the remains of his formal doublet.
If there was ever a time . . .
He ripped away the rotting cork with his teeth and pulled deeply on the brandy, twice. As always, it seemed to work at the knot in his gut. He took one more swallow, then shook Shirin.