Molly.
"Phew, you're sweaty. Frat said you were cutting wood."
"Oh, yeah. Well, I thought I'd leave your dad with a good supply. Or he could sell it, help pay for all the food we ate. Don't know how to pay him back for saving our lives. Are you okay?"
She ran her hands through uncombed hair, pulling the sun-kissed blond strands behind her. "So you know, then."
No point in lying, he thought. "Yes. I sort of eavesdropped last night through the basement air vent. None of my busi-ness, I know, Molly. Your uncle painted a pretty ugly picture. What did your parents say?"
"They just told me to do some thinking, and we'd talk about it more today. But I've already made up my mind."
"Not the Masada solution, I hope."
A hint of her old smile crossed her face. "No." She took a deep breath. "I'm going to do it, of course." It came out as a single word: I'mgoingtodoit. As if by saying it faster, it would be over with all the more quickly.
Valentine had a feeling all morning that would be her decision. What alternative did she have? Perhaps he could offer one.
"Did you tell your parents?"
"Not yet. I... wanted to tell you first. I know that sounds dumb. I mean, it's not like you're my husband, but-"
"Molly," he interrupted, "I've been thinking about getting your family out of here. And not just since yesterday, either. It's a slim chance, I'll admit. Here's what we do-"
"David, don't start. It's okay."
"No, listen to what I've-"
"No, I want you to listen to me. Your slim chance, it involves us trying to slip out, becoming runners, right?"
"Not just us, everyone. Your parents, the horses, even the dog."
"Listen, David, you're crazy. None of us are in shape to ride or walk for days and days. And they're watching us. If my uncle's letting us see two men, that probably means there's six more all around somewhere. He's no doubt let the Breitlings know that if we try something stupid, they can get the five-year bonds just for calling the patrols.
"They're only giving me an illusion of choice in the matter. My mom didn't say it, but I think that one side of the coin has the promise of the bond, but the other has a threat. If the bishop says frog, my uncle jumps. He's not going to let something like family get in the way of orders."
Valentine opened his mouth, but she stepped toward him and gently cupped her hand over it. "David, I'm glad you were thinking about getting us out. Before this stuff with Touchet, it would have worked, I'm sure. No one would have expected us to up and disappear. We could have done it with you guiding us. You know, almost nobody has maps anymore. None of the roads have signs. I couldn't find my way to Madison if I wanted to, or anywhere else outside a twenty-mile circle." She pulled her hand away and hugged him. He put his arms around her, strangely unhappy at the embrace. "You're being good and brave," she said. "But let's face facts. I'm not a damsel in distress, and there are too many dragons anyway. This guy is a big shot. He's going to get what he wants. I see a few cow farms I've never seen before, and some backwater towns. I get a trip to Madison. Maybe he just likes having a girl on his arm to impress people, who knows. So I sleep with him. One thing's for sure, I don't want a baby. My mom said there's a way-"
"Molly, don't say it. I don't want to think about you doing that," Valentine said, twisting his mouth in disgust.
"What, pregnancy? Well, you're a man. I guess you don't have to think about it if you don't want to. You seem a little old not to know the facts of life, but women have to consider the possibility."
"No, I've just heard things. About women dying that way, you know."
She looked down the aisle of horses and patted Lucy on the nose. Valentine looked at her, in an old pair of her father's pants cut off at the knee, breasts swelling under a T-shirt. In her disheveled state, she looked younger than her eighteen years, too young to be cold-bloodedly discussing abortion.
"Well, with luck, the old fart's incapable," she said, closing the discussion. She walked down the line of horses. "Great, the hay nets are empty. Mary only wants to ride and groom horses; she leaves the mucking out to Frat and me. Poor things! Sorry, guys, we can't turn you out in the new field until the fence is done! These two new horses ate up what grass you guys left in your pasture. Do me a favor, David. Can you get two bales from the loft? I'm going to water these two."
Valentine crossed to the barn and climbed into the hayloft. He liked the sweet smell of hay and alfalfa up there, masking the cow odor from beneath. A couple of sparrows hopped and played in the air, and spiderwebs caught the sunlight like little silver flowers.
He heard the ladder rungs creaking. Molly joined him in the loft, a determinedly cheerful smile showing off her good teeth. She had washed her face at the horse-pump, her T-shirt had a wet, face-shaped patch over the belly where she'd used it to dry herself.
"Thought I'd give you a hand with the bales. They're really loose. Sometimes they're hard to handle. But if you bale hay tight, it gets all mildewy and rots. We can't afford to waste anything."
Valentine sniffed .a bale. "Hey, you're right. I didn't know that. All the hay I've ever seen has been packed too tight. Doesn't smell as good as this."
"That's the clover. We grow that on the other side of the road."
She cut a bundle and spilled it onto the floor of the loft.