“Would you?”
“Yes.” His fingers went white on the wheel. “He saved my life, more than once, in the war. We had a traitor, and our fleet was betrayed. Lost a lot of ships and men, got badly damaged—only made it out because of the colonel. If there’s one thing I hate—he hates—it is traitors.”
Oh. Dear.
She summoned up courage, told the truth that rested in her bones. “I too would lay down my life for Theo.” Not for you, but yes, for Theo. He hates traitors. She twisted her thoughts away from there. No. I’m loyal.
She must have passed inspection. He grunted. “Good. I believe you.” He held out his hand, and she clasped it, her fingers dwarfed by his huge ones. With a small effort he could have mangled her hand.
Well now. It seemed they truly were at peace. Maybe Dankyo wasn’t that bad after all. Something floated loose inside. Inkline was gone—it’d been weeks since she’d seen him, and it seemed as if he’d never return. Maybe her dream could come true. Maybe she could stay here.
Dankyo ratcheted the throttle forward. The buggy leaped into motion and surged over the road’s edge, over the undergrowth, its legs telescoping out until they were a yard above ground level. “Now I get to show you what she really can do!” He grinned. They bounced over a small tree.
She clutched at her skirt as it billowed up, tucked it back under.
“Isn’t that skirt a bit impractical for tree pruning?” he yelled.
Heat flushed across her face. It was true. She’d worn it because Theo liked to run his hands up underneath dresses and skirts to fondle her—not something she’d admit to Dankyo.
“I, uh, didn’t know I’d be doing that when I dressed this morning.”
He slightly raised his eyebrows, then gunned the engine again. The vehicle bucked like a horse while he negotiated a gully pocked with craters. Her teeth rattled. Lord. Dankyo truly had a thing for driving fast over impossible terrain.
He slewed the car to a stop. The rain had moved on east, and the sky showed patches of blue. She’d no doubt have smelled the fresh scent of the rain if it hadn’t been for the nose-clogging odor of engine oil and singed rubber.
“One last question.” From the way he gripped the wheel in both hands and stared forward, this question would be worse than the last.
What else could he need to know?
He cleared his throat. “You don’t have to answer this, and…ah, do not repeat this to anyone. Why is it that a strong woman like you lets a man lord it over her?”
Perplexed, she stared. Is he blushing? She shifted in the seat, tapped her fingers on the sway bar. The question was exceptionally personal.
Ah. A ray of light dawned in her mind. She’d never seen him with a woman, though Kirsten sure wanted to latch on to this impenetrable man. If any man could be an island, that was Dankyo. But he’d laid himself open here, shown her the crack in his armor. Somehow, she doubted anyone else had seen this side of him. It pleased her no end.
Then she remembered the spanking. Had that brought this on? Heavens no, she was not ever going to follow up that train of thought.
She screwed up her mouth. “I don’t know. I don’t know myself the whole answer to that. But, believe it or not, I enjoy it. Maybe that makes you think I’m stupid.” She shook her head. “Or crazy.”
He raised his thick fingers on the wheel, one by one, like a pianist ready to play. “No. I don’t think that. But…thank you for answering. I’ll take us back now.” He revved the engine and drove off smoothly.
Puzzling. Maybe she should drop some hints to Kirsten. Would it scare her away?
“By the way, we’ve confirmation just today that the PME have admitted to planning mass assassinations. They’ve made assurances that all such plans are now defunct. Without your information, we’d never have known.”
“Oh. That’s fantastic news.”
“Yes.” He accelerated.
Thank the Lord. I’m free for sure. No Inkline to worry about ever again. Free.
Only, on the way back, in the far distance, she thought she glimpsed Francine de-camouflage from a tree trunk and then merge back in. It was for the barest second, so she couldn’t be certain. It bothered her all the way back.
If Inkline truly was gone, why would Francine be here? If that was her, was Francine spying on her, or had she too escaped the grasp of the PME?
Chapter Nineteen
The afternoon before Theo left, they visited Filip again at the kennels. He presented Claire with a wriggling puppy. All soft gray-brown fur and pink licking tongue, it squirmed until she had to put it down. Once there it went straight to Theo’s shoe to gnaw on a shoelace.