Masha would have got rid of him long ago if she had been able to. But the law ofthe empire was that only the man could divorce unless the woman could prove herspouse was too diseased to have children or was impotent.

She whirled and walked towards the wash-basin. As she passed her mother, a handstopped her.

Wallu, peering at her with one half-good eye, said, 'Child! Something hashappened to you! What was it?'

'Tell you in a moment,' Masha said, and she washed her face and hands andarmpits. Later, she regretted very much that she hadn't told Wallu a lie. Buthow was she to know that Eevroen had come out of his stupor enough to hear whatshe said? If only she hadn't been so furious that she'd kicked him ... butregrets were a waste of time, though there wasn't a human alive who didn'tindulge in them.

She had no sooner finished telling her mother what had happened with Benna whenshe heard a grunt behind her. She turned to see Eevroen swaying in front of thecurtains, a stupid grin on his fat face. The face once so beloved.

Eevroen reeled towards her, his hands out as if he intended to grab her. Hespoke thickly but intelligibly enough.

'Why'n't you go after the rat? If you caught it, we coulda been rich!'

'Go back to sleep,' Masha said. 'This has nothing to do with you.'

'Nothin do wi' me?' Eevroen bellowed. 'Wha' you mean? I'm your husband! Wha'ssyoursh ish mine. I wan' tha' jewel!'

'You damned fool,' Masha said, trying to keep from screaming so that thechildren wouldn't wake and the neighbours wouldn't hear, 'I don't have thejewel. There was no way I could get it - if there ever was any.'

Eevroen put a finger alongside his nose and winked the left eye. 'If there wa'ever any, heh? Masha, you tryna hoi' ou' on me? You go' the jewel, and you lyin'to you' mo ... mo ... mama.'