Page 64 of Vistaria Has Fallen

“When they trouble you so much, they’re my concerns too.”

He reached out and lay his hand over hers. It felt cool. “I’m sorry,” he said. “I thought that here we would be insulated from such things.”

“We are, mostly. I don’t pretend to know what your day-to-day life must be like, Nick,but it must be a good deal busier and carry far more interruptions than the six hours I’ve experienced so far.”

“That is true.”

“If this is a petty concern, then share it with me and let me help it go away for a while.”

He shook his head. “I would not sully your thoughts with even a petty Vistarian concern. I would prefer you remain aloof from it all. Untouched.”

“That’s impossible, Nick.I got involved when some asshole blew up a party full of young army officers.”

“Is that your oblique way of reminding me what Vistaria owes you?”

“Hell, no. I just want to help.”

He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. “A local farmer came here a while ago. He said there are signs of soldiers in the area. Footprints in muddy fields, flocks of birds disturbed. Small things.”

“Isn’tthe rebel camp somewhere around here?”

“No one knows. Besides, they stay on the move. The area where we think they are is miles south of us. On the other side of Pascuallita.”

“So who are the soldiers?”

“It may not be soldiers. Or rebels. It could be someone wearing army issue boots. There’s a healthy trade in used and surplus army equipment in Vistaria.”

“Only, someone is hanging around,right?”

“The signs stopped appearing two days ago.”

“You’re still worried.”

“The worry is passing,” he assured her.

“You’re also a liar,” she reminded him, softly.