Mat had to think. "The Illuminator we kept from getting her throat slit in Aringill?"

"The very one. Juilin and I met her during our travels, and she didn’t know me. Not that she failed to recognize me; you say things to a stranger you travel with, to get to know them. Aludra did not want to know me, and even if I didn’t know why, I saw no reason to impose. I met her a stranger and left her a stranger. Now, would you call her a friend or an enemy?"

"Maybe a lover," Mat said dryly. He would not mind meeting Aludra again; she had given him some fireworks that proved very useful. "If you want to know about women, ask Perrin, not me. I don’t know anything at all. I used to think Rand knew, but Perrin surely does." Elayne was talking with the two white-haired Aes Sedai under the Hunter’s watchful eye. One of the older Aes Sedai gazed in Mat’s direction consideringly. They had the same sort of bearing Elayne did, cool as a queen on her bloody throne. "Well, with luck I won’t have to put up with them long," he muttered to himself. "With luck; whatever they’re doing won’t take long, and we can be back here in five or ten days." With luck, he might be back before the Band had to begin shadowing the madwomen. Tracking not one army but two would be easy as stealing a pie, of course, but he did not look forward to any more days in Elayne’s company than necessary.

"Ten days?" Thom said. "Mat, even with this ‘gateway’ it will take five, or six just to reach Ebou Dar. Better than twenty or so, but... "

Mat stopped listening. Every shred of irritation that had been building since he first laid eyes on Egwene again came to a head at once. Snatching off his hat, he stalked to where Elayne and the others were. Keeping him in the dark was bad enough – how was he supposed to keep them out of trouble when they told him nothing? – but this was ridiculous. Nynaeve saw him coming and darted behind her mare for some reason.

"It will be interesting traveling with a ta’veren," one of the white-haired Aes Sedai said. Up close, he still could not fasten any age to her, yet somehow her face conveyed an impression of long years. It must have been the hair. She could have used the other for a mirror; maybe they really were sisters. "I am Vandene Namelle."

Mat was in no mood to talk about being ta’veren. He was never in that mood, but certainly not now. "What’s this nonsense I hear about five or six days to reach Ebou Dar?" The old Warder straightened, staring hard, and Mat reevaluated him as well; stringy, but hard as old roots. It made no difference in his tone. "You can open a gateway in sight of Ebou Dar. We aren’t any bloody army to scare anyone, and as for popping out of air, you’re Aes Sedai. People expect you to pop out of air and walk through walls."

"I fear you are speaking to the wrong one of us," Vandene said. He looked at the other white-haired woman, who shook her head as Vandene said, "Nor Adeleas, I fear. It appears we are not strong enough for some of the new things."

Mat hesitated, then settled his hat low and turned to Elayne.

Her chin came up. "Apparently you know rather less than you believe, Master Cauthon," she said coolly. She was not sweating, he realized, no more than the two... the other two... Aes Sedai. The Hunter was staring at him challengingly. What had put a bee in her ear? "There are villages and farms around Ebou Dar for a hundred miles," Elayne went on, explaining the obvious to a fool. "A gateway is quite dangerous. I do not intend to kill some poor man’s sheep or cows, much less the poor man himself."

He hated more than her tone. She was right, and he hated that too. He was not about to admit she was, though, not to her, and searching for a way to retreat, he saw Egwene coming out of the village with two dozen or more Aes Sedai, most wearing fringed shawls. Or rather, she came, and they followed. Head held high, she looked straight ahead, that striped stole hanging about her neck. The others strolled along behind her in little clumps. Sheriam, wearing the blue Keeper’s stole, was talking with Myrelle and a bluff-faced Aes Sedai who managed to look motherly. Except for Delana, he recognized none of the others – one had gray hair in a bun; how old did Aes Sedai have to be for their hair to go completely gray or white? – but they were all talking among themselves, ignoring the woman they had named Amyrlin. Egwene might as well have been alone; she looked alone. Knowing her, she was trying very hard to be what they had named her, and they let her walk alone, with everybody watching.

To the Pit of Doom with them if they think they can treat a Two Rivers woman that way, he thought grimly.

Striding to meet Egwene, he swept off his hat and bowed, making the best leg he knew how, and he could flourish with the best when he had to. "Good morning, Mother, and the Light shine on you," he said, loud enough to be heard in the village. Kneeling, he seized her right hand and kissed her Great Serpent ring. A quick glare and a grimace directed at Talmanes and the others, and hidden by Egwene from those behind her, had them all scrambling to kneel and call out, "The Light illumine you, Mother," or some variation. Even Thom and Juilin.

Egwene looked startled at first, though she hid it quickly. Then she smiled, and said softly, "Thank you, Mat."

For a moment he stared up at her, then cleared his throat and stood, brushing off his knees. Sheriam and all those others behind Egwene were staring at him. "I didn’t expect you out here," he said in a low voice, "but then, it seems there are all sorts of things I didn’t expect. Does the Amyrlin always see people off on trips? You wouldn’t by any chance want to tell me what it’s all about now, would you?"

At first he thought she might; then her mouth tightened for an instant and she gave a slight shake of her head. "I will always see friends off, Mat. I’d have spoken with you before this if I was not so busy. Mat, do try to stay out of trouble in Ebou Dar."

He stared indignantly. Here he went kneeling and kissing rings, and she told himto stay out of trouble, when the whole point was for him to keep Elayne and Nynaeve with whole skins. "I will try, Mother," he said wryly, but not too. Sheriam and some of those might be close enough to hear. "If you will excuse me, I must see to my men."

Another bow, and he backed away a few steps before stalking over to where Talmanes and the rest were still on their knees. "Do you mean to stay there till you take root?" he growled. "Mount up." He followed his own order, and everyone but Talmanes scrambled into their saddles.

Egwene passed a few words with Elayne and Nynaeve, while Vandene and Adeleas went to speak to Sheriam, and then it was time, as quick as that after all their dawdling. Mat half-expected some sort of ceremony, with Egwene there in the Amyrlin’s stole, but she and the others who were not going merely withdrew a little distance. Elayne stepped out, and suddenly there was a slash of light in front of her, widening into a hole, the view through it, what seemed to be a low hilltop covered in brown grass, rotating to a halt. Just like when Rand did it. Almost.

"Dismount," Mat ordered. Elayne looked quite pleased with herself – you would never suspect the sort of woman she was from that delighted smile, asking Nynaeve and Aviendha to share her pleasure – but pleased or not, the gateway was not as large as the one Rand had made for the Band. Of course, they were not nearly so many as the Band, but the least she could have done was make it tall enough to ride through.

On the other side, low rolling brown-grass hills ran as far as Mat could see even when he climbed back onto Pips, though a darkness to the south suggested forest. Dusty hills.

"We must not press the horses too hard in this," Adeleas said, swinging quite easily onto her round bay mare as soon as the gateway vanished. The animal looked as if it would be more at home in a barn.