Horizon Storms - Kevin J. Anderson [128]
He held her tighter. “We may never know the drogues’ precise reasons. All we can hope is that we defeat them one way or another.”
“Right now I’m not concerned with grand political implications, Peter. I was just grieving for my brothers, and my home.”
One of the dolphins swam beside them, to play, but Estarra kept her arms around Peter’s neck. He knew there was nothing he could say, so he just swam alongside her, being there and sharing her sadness.
Chapter 64—SAREIN
When Basil asked her to join him at sunset in the rooftop gardens, Sarein was girlishly pleased that he would choose such a romantic rendezvous. She wondered if he would surprise her with a fine dinner, complete with Dremen saltpond caviar and preserved Theron insect steaks from Rlinda Kett’s last gourmet stockpiles.
The fantasy lasted only a moment, though. Sarein knew the Chairman well enough to recognize that he would never “waste” an evening just enjoying himself in her company. There was always work to do, and therefore he must have some important business purpose to discuss, and this was the best way to keep it private between the two of them.
She felt a flicker of disappointment, then chided herself. That was who Basil had always been. His drive and competence was what had attracted her in the first place, long ago when she’d first come to study on Earth.
She arrived on the rooftop of the Hansa pyramid precisely on time. The sun was a brassy sphere on the western horizon. At the edge of the gardens, Basil stood with his back to her. Potted dwarf orange and lemon trees, bursting with perfume-filled white blossoms that attracted noisy bees, were placed at precise intervals. Paths of faceted gravel were laid out with an exactitude of randomness, designed by a committee of Asian gardeners.
“There’s a pitcher of iced tea on the table. Would you pour us each a glass?” Basil said without looking at her. His reputation of having eyes in the back of his head was well earned. “It’s your favorite flavor, I believe.”
Sarein did as she was told, trying to remember when Basil had ever asked her preference in tea. She smelled a tart infusion of mango and cinnamon; the unfamiliar taste was delicious, though she couldn’t imagine why he thought it was her “favorite.” He was making some sort of gesture, setting the tone for their conversation. He wanted something from her.
Through Basil, she had learned how to manipulate people and politics in ways that no innocent treedweller from Theroc had ever thought to do. Sarein had repaid Basil with her body and her companionship, and finally, with her advice and support. She also gave him a hint of her love, but she had to keep that secret, of course. He would only treat romantic notions with scorn. She had never dreamed their affair would last for almost a decade. Now they were certainly a team, though Basil didn’t seem to want to recognize it.
Despite his position of power, the Chairman wasn’t a womanizer, and she doubted he kept other secret concubines. Not that she would have allowed herself to feel jealousy, and not that he wouldn’t have insisted on the right to have other women. In all probability, he considered other women to be too much bother. As far as Sarein could tell, searching out distractions—even pleasurable ones—was not in his nature. She gave him everything he wanted or needed, and therefore he could concentrate his energies elsewhere. They had a tacit understanding.
Sarein rarely let herself analyze her true feelings for the Chairman, though. She stayed with him because she wanted to, not just because of the advantages that came from being his lover. Basil kept his heart carefully shuttered, and she could never pry loose a glimpse of his inner thoughts. She knew he cared for her, which he proved—as far as she was concerned—by visibly withdrawing whenever he felt himself getting too close. It was his method of self-protection.
Now, standing together on the rooftop, the two of them looked toward the Whisper Palace. Basil’s steel-gray hair