Chapter 10

Basta's very presence seemed to immediately quell the dogs' barking. They regarded him through dark, anxious eyes. What other way would they look at man who beat them? But Basta paid them no attention; his eyes were fixed on Dafne.

"Basta," Silvio began guiltily, like a child caught red handed, "We were just, um…"

Basta silenced him with a wave.

"You know it's a funny thing," he said, "I was on my way home when I just happened to run into Ercole. He told me that you'd swapped shifts with him. This surprised me since I hadn't heard anything about it. Since Ercole was very adamant that it was your idea, I decided to check on you. Still the last thing I thought I'd find was a maid out here with you."

"I can explain..." Silvio said before trailing off, looking somewhat defeated. Dafne was sure that the next words out of his mouth would be a complete confession. Silvio seemed unwilling to lie to Basta and this showed the extent of his loyalty to him.

Dafne decided it was up to her and worked up the courage to speak,

"I was out for a midnight stroll," she said, trying to sound bold. It was the first retort that came to her head and it sounded ridiculous.

But when he heard it, Basta gave a short bark of a laugh. He seemed in better spirits than their last encounter. What one thing she had noticed about Basta was that he liked being in control. And in this case, he definitely had the upper hand.

"I don't know what's gotten into you sweetheart," he remarked, "but you're turning into quite the lioness. I guess you're not so much of a little mouse anymore. Still, you won't be much of anything if Mortola finds you out here. She'll force-feed you a poison that will shrink you away into nothingness and that would be a shame, wouldn't it Silvio?"

"I guess so," said Silvio half-heartedly. He was starring at the ground as if in doing so, he might detach himself from the situation. Dafne wished he would look at her. Then maybe she could read something in his face that would make her feel as though this risk had been worth it. But he didn't raise his head.

Meanwhile Basta had less reason to turn away from her, though she wished he would.

"So what now?" she asked him, deciding it was better to get it over with, whatever he had planned.

Basta cocked his head at her, pursing his lips as if contemplating the question.

"Well I suppose I'd better take you back to the house," he said, "That is, unless you'd prefer to stay out here 'til dawn breaks and Mortola comes looking for you."

Dafne sighed, knowing she had no other choice.

"Alright," she said.

But even after her recognition to leave, Silvio still did not look up. Seizing her last opportunity, Dafne removed Silvio's jacket and held it out to him, thinking please Silvio, please look at me just for a second. To her relief, as he accepted it, Silvio tilted his head slightly. Briefly she glimpsed the conflict on his face before he lowered it again. It was heartbreaking seeing this expression on the boy she had wanted to save. And it was with the greatest reluctance that she turned away from him.

As she did, she saw Basta waiting for her. He had taken off his own jacket, expecting her to take it. But she brushed past him, ignoring it. She would prefer to go cold than accept anything from him.

"Suit yourself," she heard him mutter. He sounded annoyed but Dafne didn't care.

As Basta pulled his jacket back on, he turned his attention to Silvio,

"Well aren't you going to say goodnight, Silvio?" he asked. He's teasing him, Dafne realised, couldn't he see that the change in Silvio that she had? Still Silvio played along.

"Goodnight," he echoed obediently.

Basta looked at Dafne expectantly as this was some sort of play he was directing and she and Silvio were the actors. In his eyes, there was a clear message: you'll play my game because I hold the strings, if you don't I'll make you regret it.

"Goodnight Silvio," she said over her shoulder. She said it not because of Basta's urging but because she knew that this was probably the last time they would speak. Even so, she hated how pleased Basta looked with himself because of it.

He strolled past her,

"Come on little mouse," he called.

He flicked on his torch and shone it down a man-made pathway, almost concealed by the undergrowth creeping in on both sides. This must be the road Basta's car had driven along when he had brought her to the village. It was a different way than Silvio had taken her, cutting through the forest. In any case, the thought of being alone with Basta on an isolated road travelling back to the village made her feel uneasy.

Dafne took one last glance at Silvio. Despite being surrounded by dogs, he cut a lonely downcast figure. She sighed. She turned back to see Basta watching her curiously. She glared at him. In return, he shot her a mocking smile and bowed slightly, spreading his arm in an magnanimous gesture,

"After you."

Grimacing, Dafne crossed her arms against her chest and trudged forward, refusing to look at him. Soon they were walking side by side along the road with the sound of gravel crunching beneath their feet. To her relief, Basta didn't try to talk to her and the last thing she wanted to do was engage him herself. But the silence didn't last. A little while into their journey, Basta spoke up,

"He's a bit young for you, don't you think?" he remarked. She looked at him out of the corner of her eye. He was gazing up into the sky as though it had been some casual observation. But Dafne knew that he meant to provoke her.

"He was showing me the dogs," she replied frostily, "That's all."

To her frustration, Basta chuckled,

"Oh I'm sure it was," he drawled, "He loves those mutts you know. I don't why, bloody stupid beasts if you ask me. But the boss wanted guard dogs…" he shrugged, "Still Silvio likes them, he was taking shifts just so he could stay out with them. One night I went out and found him fast asleep. I made him cut back after that. He didn't like it. 'Basta' he kept saying 'the other men don't treat them right, they're always teasing them'. Nonsense. He's too attached to them, that's his problem."

"Surely there's nothing wrong with that," Dafne said, feeling that she had to come to Silvio's defence.

Basta grunted derisively,

"If I were him I wouldn't waste my time."

"No," Dafne retorted, "You're much too busy dropping snakes into girls' rooms."

Basta glared at her sharply but Dafne starred back determinedly. It was his job to antagonise people and she wasn't going to let it work on her. Once again, she wondered how Silvio look up to a person so different from himself?

"Did you even stop to consider that you could have hurt someone," she went on, "There were four of us in that room besides Resa."

But Basta chose to defend himself, instead of admitting responsibility.

"You're all still alive, aren't you?" he said scornfully, "If you weren't, you wouldn't be here pestering me."

"What about Agnese's friend?" Dafne questioned, "The one that got bitten when there wasn't any antidote around. What happened to her?"

This made Basta stop dead in his tracks. Dafne also paused and turned around to look back at him. She couldn't see his face but he was very still.

"Who told you about that?" his voice rose out of the darkness, low and dangerous.

But Dafne shook her head, "It doesn't matter. Did she die?"

"Of course she didn't die," Basta spat with vehemence, "And furthermore, I had nothing to do with it. It wasn't my fault that the girl was unlucky enough to go treading on a snake. She should have been more careful. Those snakes are everywhere. She was out bringing the washing in and wasn't looking where she was going. Everyone just assumed that I was the one who put it there. I wasn't even that interested in the girl in the first place."

Dafne looked at him uncertainly. Should she believe this story after what she had witnessed? Could she believe that Basta's anger came from being falsely accused, not from guilt?

"How did she survive without the antidote?" she asked.

"Her friend saw it happen and went and told Orlanda. Orlanda found me and I took her to the closest hospital. You could say that I was the one who saved her, not that anyone wants to talk about that" as he continued, Basta sounded less angry, but still agitated, "Anyway, they were able to treat her in time. I left her there and returned to the village. Capricorn wasn't happy about it. He said that I should have just let her die. Less fuss. He sent me to fetch her from the hospital in case she blabbed to anyone. Not that there was anyone she could turn to. Capricorn controls the police, you know. But when I got there, she was already gone. Discharged herself. If she was smart, she would have left the country by now," Basta closed the distance between him and Dafne and thrust his face close to hers, "Does that answer all your questions?"

Dafne turned her head away from the smell of peppermint,

"And what happened to Resa? Just another accident?"

"That's different," he said, gritting his teeth, there was tenseness in his face almost like a grimace, "I was drunk…"

"Oh yes that's a fine excuse," said Dafne sarcastically.

"Look, I didn't mean it," Basta snapped, on the defensive again, "Why are you so against me, little mouse?"

He was so close to her. Too close. It made her extremely uncomfortable. She pushed away from him.

"Do you seriously have to ask me that?" Dafne starred at him through disbelieving eyes, "You kidnapped me and brought me to the village to be a slave. You almost killed me with a snake. You tried to hurt my best friend. Can't you understand that you've ruined my life? And what's more you're not even supposed to exist, you came out of a book!"

After her outburst, Dafne drew in a deep breath of air to regain her composure. Basta watched her, his mouth set in a grim smile,

"So you know about that?" he said softly, "I don't know how you found out but yes, I came from another world. A much different world, without cars and cigarettes and guns. To tell you the truth, I prefer this world to the one I left," his tone become lighter, more amiable, "Anyway, what's done is done. I can't go back anymore than you can. It's not so bad living here is it? Better than cleaning an entire house all by yourself."

"You wouldn't know anything about it!" Dafne snapped, "I loved my job and my old master. You took that away from me, you had no right to…"

"Yes, yes, yes," Basta interrupted, "I know, Basta's an evil cretin and so on."

Dafne glared at him. Basta laughed,

"Oh come on, cheer up, little mouse," he drawled, "I'd hate to think that I've upset your night out. Speaking of which, we were talking about Silvio. We seem to have gotten a little off track."

Dafne sighed. There was no point getting frustrated. If they just kept walking, they would reach the village soon and she would be free of him.

"I told you," she began wearily, "He wanted me to see…"

"The dogs, yes," Basta broke in, "But you've struck me as a smart sort of girl, you wouldn't have taken the risk to come out here just for a couple of mutts."

Dafne ignored the sly smile on his face,

"Can we just keep moving?" she said exasperatedly, "I'm cold."

"That's your own fault," Basta reminded her with some satisfaction, "I offered you my coat."

"Never mind," Dafne muttered, somewhat to herself, "I'll find my own way."

She started walking off.

"You're going the wrong way," she heard Basta call cheerfully, "If you keep on that road, you're going to end up strolling slap-bang into the sentries. You don't want that. Come back here, little mouse. If you feel so strongly about it, I'll take you myself this instant."

Dafne was glad it was dark so Basta wouldn't be able to see the humiliation burning in her cheeks. She whirled around and grudgingly trudged back to him.

"Well?" she said when she got there.

Basta pointed the torch in the direction of the forest, "This way."

As they began to walk again, Dafne couldn't help feel that the conversation had only paused instead of ending. Sure enough she was right.

"So are you going to answer my question?" Basta asked her.

Dafne looked at him tiredly, "What question?"

"You know the question," Basta said in a matter-of-fact tone. But when she failed to reply, he nevertheless prompted, "About why you snuck off to see Silvio."

Dafne sighed, "Are you still going on about that?" she said with annoyance; "I've already told you why."

"And I'm telling you that I don't believe it," By the way Basta's voice had hardened, Dafne suddenly realised his interest in her motives was not purely superficial and that he suspected some degree of calculation on her part. It made sense. After all, she was older than Silvio, more inclined to heed the calls of common sense. She had underestimated Basta's ability to pick up on the inconsistency of character. She had thought that his inquiries had been meant to goad her, tease her. Now he was interrogating her, "I want the truth," he finished firmly.

The truth? Dafne almost laughed. The truth. The truth is that I came to see Silvio because I wanted him to come with me when I escape tomorrow. Yes I said escape. Yes Resa and me, not Silvio because for some reason he didn't want to leave this wretched place. But I'm not going to tell you any of this because if I do, none of us will be escaping. Still I have to tell you something. Let's hope you believe it.

"I don't really know what the truth is," she began vaguely, "Silvio asked me to come and I said yes. I don't really know why. Actually I do. I guess I wanted a little taste of freedom. It was foolish but I felt like it was worth the risk. I suppose I was using Silvio to this end, but I didn't mean any harm by it. He was so pleased I came, you know. And I do like him. He's a nice boy."

Basta had been watching her intensely as she gave this explanation. Now, he relaxed, seeming satisfied with her answer.

"Well I can understand why you did it," he remarked, nodding sympathetically, "I'd imagine it isn't fun being cooped up all the time."

Don't you dare pity me! Dafne thought furiously, you're the one who put me in this situation.

"No," she muttered, biting back her anger, "It's not."

"Still, I hope that you won't make a habit out of sneaking out," Basta continued, adopting a sterner, more cautionary tone, "Next time, it might not be me who finds you. It might be Cockerell or one of the others. Just remember that, little mouse."

"What about Silvio?" Dafne asked, changing the subject.

Basta pursed his lips,

"What about him?"

"I don't want him getting into any trouble on account of me."

Basta chuckled,

"You don't have to worry about that. After all, he made a good choice."

He glanced across to see her reaction, his mouth curled in a teasing smile. Dafne obliged by rolling her eyes. However, there wasn't any maliciousness in Basta's voice when he talked about Silvio. There was only a paternal-like amusement.

"He seems to look up to you," Dafne remarked, "I've noticed, the way he talks about you."

There was a hint of surprise in Basta's voice, but he also sounded pleased, "Really? I found him, you know. Brought him here and taught him the ropes. He's a good kid, has a lot of potential."

"Yes, he is," agreed Dafne, somewhat sadly, reminded of the fact that Silvio had chosen the village over starting a new life. Yes, he has potential, but not in the way you intend or the way Silvio thinks himself. Still Dafne tried not to dwell on her disappointment, "Are we almost there?" she asked.

She was tired and was beginning to notice the weariness of her own body. She couldn't wait to crawl onto her lumpen bed in Capricorn's house and drift off her sleep. Maybe in her dreams she would be able to find some solace from the village's strange inhabitants. Silvio. Basta. Orlanda. They were unlike any people she had ever met.

"Just a little further," Basta reassured her.

He was right. It was not long until they emerged from the forest onto one of the village's abandoned streets. The undergrowth had begun to extend into it; it's vines creeping over the walls of the closest houses. Dafne barely paid attention to the route from there to Capricorn's house but it was a short journey. They approached the house from behind, the same way Silvio had come to pick her up. Orlanda was waiting for them on the porch. When she saw Basta, the top of her lip curled up in a sneer,

"Well, well, what a surprise," she remarked dryly, "It's been a while since you've shown up at my door."

Like her mistress, Orlanda didn't seem to have any fear of Basta and the two surveyed each other with dislike.

"I don't have to explain myself to you," Basta growled. Then he turned to Dafne, "You'd better hurry in, little mouse. You don't want to deprive Orlanda of her beauty sleep, ha."

Orlanda smiled dangerously, "I can see how your wit works wonders with the ladies."

This comment made Basta clench his teeth.

"Come on, girl," Orlanda ordered briskly, ignoring the seething man.

Dafne didn't need any more prompting. Sleep awaited beyond the door. But she glanced back at Basta, who was glowering in his usual Basta fashion, and decided that he at least deserved some little courtesy. After all he had brought her all this way.

"Goodnight," she said.

All the anger drained from Basta's face. He seemed taken aback, a little uncertain. He looked at her with slightly bewildered eyes.

"Er, goodnight," he managed to reply.

In the background, Orlanda gave a grunt of impatience. Dafne heeded the call, climbed the porch steps and sidled past her into the house. Once they were both inside, Orlanda took Dafne straight to the servants sleeping quarters and pushed her through the door. Dafne's hands were suddenly clasped by another set of hands. She knew it was Resa. She couldn't see her but she pictured her wearing an anxious expression.

"It's okay," she whispered. And then she told her everything. When she had finished, Resa patted her hands in an understanding gesture. With her tale told, Dafne collapsed on her bed. It wasn't long before she was fast asleep. It would be a big day tomorrow.

To Be Continued…