laughed, and probably still did, but she couldn’t hear their laughter from this elevation.
And she trusted herself enough not to fall.
She’d find the right time to tell Sanyu about the invitation. She’d go to the conference and make Njazans proud. She’d help her friends at Njaza Rise Up achieve their goals. She’d help Sanyu set up the Rail Pan Afrique deal.
She’d save Njaza from itself, with a week left in her marriage trial and no guarantee Sanyu wasn’t going to send her away.
Totally doable.
There was another knock at the door and she wondered if there might be more packages, but she found Sanyu waiting there and her stomach tumbled again at the sight of him.
She lifted her brows. “It’s daylight, Husband. You might be seen lurking around the quarters of the person you’re married to.”
“And what if I am?” he asked in a tone so light that she squinted to make sure it was really him and not an impostor. “Besides, you’ve revealed your martial arts skills to the council. If anyone asks about today, I can just say that I’ve taken you on as my official bodyguard.”
She didn’t know how to respond—she wasn’t the one who felt a need to hide the fact that they spoke to one another. She appreciated that he was comfortable enough with her to joke, she’d rather he tell people he spent time with her because she was his queen and he wanted to keep her by his side—and for him to mean it.
She didn’t dig deeper into what it would mean to her, apart from her lifelong goal, if he did.
“I came to see if you’d like to come on a royal visit with me,” he said.
“You want me to leave the palace with you? Do I have to hide under a blanket so no one sees me in the car?”
He laughed. “No, though if you want to hide under my robe I won’t complain.”
Heat flashed through her.
“I don’t think that’d be a good idea,” she said, glancing at the hem of his robe. “We both know you can be a bit loud and I’d rather not include an unwilling chauffeur in our business.”
He laughed. “Fine. It’s a visit to the terraced farmland, which is requesting aide for new crops,” he said. “You said you grew up on a farm so I thought—”
“—that I might be able to provide insight into what will be needed?” she finished.
The divot on his forehead, which had been shallower than she’d ever seen it, deepened.
“No. Tomorrow is the council meeting and you’ve worked so hard on all the proposals.” He sighed. “I thought you might enjoy the trip. Since you grew up on a farm and miss home.”
He seemed almost ashamed to admit it, and she saw the tenseness she’d so often mistaken for brooding start to reclaim his body. It came together then, how she’d mentioned being mad that he hadn’t tasted her stew, so he’d had her make it for him. How she’d told him about her packages not getting through, and suddenly they had appeared. How she’d made an offhand remark about her grandparents’ farm that may have sounded a bit wistful, and now he was inviting her to visit one. Sanyu hadn’t told her he wanted her to stay, but what did his actions say?
“That’s thoughtful of you. Thank you.”
He grunted.
“I’d love to go. I just need to get changed.”
He grunted again, and she understood that he was embarrassed. She headed into her quarters, stopping to grasp hold of his arm and lean up to kiss him on the cheek. His skin was hot against her lips—he was blushing.
As she changed into a spring-green caftan and slacks paired with durable low-heeled boots, something similar to the daily wear of the residents of the farmland not far outside the city limits, she wondered at the blessings the goddess had bestowed on her that day. An invitation to the conference of her dreams, and a day out with Sanyu to further convince him that she was made for the role of queen. She would have to make an offering when she returned—and figure out how to tell Sanyu about the invitation.
Chapter 16
This really is a beautiful country,” Shanti said as their old armored car rolled along the slim, winding country road. She was right; even when he’d run away, he’d always missed Njaza’s majesty. On either side of the road, flat marshy land covered in peat flared out toward mangrove trees and the river beyond