CHAPTER FORTY-TWOWhile we ate, Lajos told me that this unit under Colonel Drényi was detached from Bem’s main army with the special duty of mopping up the resistance of the Romanian guerrillas who would otherwise have plagued the Hungarian rear.
“We move forward again tomorrow. Will you be able to travel?”
I nodded, and he regarded me, asking after a moment, with a deceptive casualness, “How did you manage to become separated from your family?”
“I — fell out of the cart we hired in Szolnok.”
Lajos blinked. “Didn’t they notice?”
“István was — angry.”
Lajos went very still. “He pushed you?”
“You know what his temper is like,” I said uncomfortably. “Everything recently has been such a strain on his nerves, making him worse. And you know, it was just bad luck that I bumped my head and k
