A Spear of Summer Grass - By Deanna Raybourn Page 0,93
Dodo murmured.
“He started it.”
I turned on my heel and went straight to Moses. He had only a small cut on his head. I looked him over carefully, but he seemed fine, probably better than I was. My shoulder throbbed and I could barely lift my arm over my waist.
“Moses, was that the first time Mr. Gates hit you?”
He shook his head.
Wincing, I put both my hands on his shoulders and looked him squarely in the eye. “Moses, you work for me and no one else. Nobody, and I mean nobody, has the right to mistreat you. If anyone does, you come directly to me, do you hear? You are my responsibility, and I won’t let anyone hurt you.”
He ducked his head a moment then slipped a small beaded bracelet off his wrist. It was blue and white, like many I had seen in their village, worked in an intricate pattern with a slender and distinctive green stripe for contrast. It was primitive but somehow as elegant as anything I’d seen in Paris. He pressed it into my hand, and before I could say a word he had vanished. I slipped it onto my wrist, admiring the chic exoticism.
“He won’t thank you for that when you’re gone,” Dora said, her tone edged with something green and spiteful.
“Shut up, Dora. I’ve had my fill of you. You’ve been like this for ages now. If you hate Africa so much, go home. Nobody will miss you.”
She lifted her chin and for a moment I thought she was going to yell. I would have liked her better if she had. Instead she tucked her chin down again and withdrew into herself, a small dull wren with a wretched attitude.
“I’m sorry you think I’ve been difficult. But I’m not wrong. Not about that boy. Not about anything.”
And she turned on her heel and went to serve lunch.
17
The next morning I instructed the farmhands to plow the field of cannabis under and reroute the irrigation pipes to the struggling pyrethrum crop. Gideon shook his head and looked mournfully at me, but he would say nothing beyond, “This was not wise, Bibi.” He disappeared then, and I walked out to the fields to make sure the farmhands were doing as instructed.
I was standing propped against a tree and watching them when Rex strode up behind me. He was dressed for town with a lightweight suit and a freshly shaven chin.
“Good morning, Rex.”
He didn’t bother with a greeting. “I came to see if you were all right.”
“Surely you didn’t walk all the way from your farm dressed like that.”
He didn’t smile. “I’m on my way into Nairobi. I left the car on the road.” He paused, his eyes searching my face. “You haven’t answered. Are you all right?”
I smiled. “It would take a bit more than an oaf like Gates to rattle me. I’m just sorry I wasted two bullets making my point. Those rounds are damned expensive.”
His expression relaxed then, and he even attempted a small smile. “I’m glad to hear it. I hate you living here so unprotected.”
“I can take care of myself, Rex.”
“That’s what I’m afraid of.” He stepped forward and laid his hands on my shoulders. “Delilah, things are changing. Things I can’t discuss just yet. I wish I could talk to you, tell you everything. But that just isn’t possible. I can only say that you are important to me, terribly important. And your safety is paramount.”
If that little speech was meant to comfort me, all it did was muddy the waters. And to add to the confusion, he suddenly bent his head and kissed me on the cheek, hard and quick.
He released me and turned on his heel, striding back in the direction he’d come. I stood staring after him, trying to figure out what the hell had just happened.
Dora walked over. “What was Rex doing here?”
“Making certain we were all right.”
“By kissing you?”
“So you saw that, did you?”
“It was difficult to miss.” She gave a little sigh. “Delilah, he’s married.”
“I know that,” I told her, my voice sharp with indignation. “I didn’t kiss him. He kissed me.”
“I didn’t see you push him away.” I didn’t answer. “Would you have if he had continued?”
“I don’t deal in hypotheticals,” I said loftily.
“Delilah, really. You can’t go on like this, doing whatever you like with no thought to the consequences. One of these days someone is going to get very badly hurt in your little games.”