Chapter 38

When Dafne finally did manage to drift off to sleep, she slept well into the morning. The room was lit with bright sunlight when she awoke. It was probably a nice day outside but that was nothing to look forward to, not with the dilemma on her mind. She wasn't allowed to go out of the house anyway. Basta's orders. Basta wasn't there when she somewhat reluctantly ventured downstairs, anticipating an affectionate greeting from him. To her relief there was only Silvio beaming at her. He informed her that Basta had gone to see Capricorn.

Silvio didn't know why but Dafne suspected he was reporting in about Sara, even though he hadn't been involved in the pursuit. He had to save face by appearing that he had. If Basta had been telling her the truth and his cohorts had not been able to locate Sara, Capricorn was not going to be happy. She could picture him rebuking them right this moment, just as he had done last night. She wondered how Basta was feeling, being at the brunt of his master's vehemence again. He would not being enjoying it, especially when he craved Capricorn's approval so strongly. What kind of mood he would come home in? She could only wait and see.

While she waited, she turned her attention to Silvio,

"I'm sorry about last night," she said, "It must have been weird seeing us like that."

Silvio grinned, leaning back in his chair.

"It's probably the weirdest thing I've ever seen."

This brought a smile to Dafne's lips. If she had been able to watch like Silvio had, she would have agreed.

"Really? The weirdest?"

Silvio laughed,

"Yeah. I mean I sometimes pictured you two together but actually seeing it," he made a face, "Really weird."

"I think we just got carried away," Dafne said, adding more to herself, "I know I did."

"But its fine," Silvio said as if reassuring her, perhaps feeling guilty for his comment, "You guys seem happy."

"Happy?" Dafne said wistfully. She wasn't particularly happy at the moment.

"You are happy right?" Silvio asked, his question prompted by her lacklustre response.

Dafne contemplated her answer. She could lie and smile and nod. But in the end she went with truth.

"I don't know," she confessed, "I think I'm having second thoughts. He asked me and I kind of rushed into it. I should have..." she sighed, "I don't know if you know this, but a couple of days ago Basta told me he loved me and turned him down."

From the look of surprise it was clear that Silvio hadn't been aware of this. She had suspected this. She doubted Basta would have shared his failure with anybody.

"Why?" Silvio asked. It was a fair question. Why had she rejected him and then changed her mind.

"Because I don't agree with what he does," she explained, "just like how you don't agree with it. It wasn't that I didn't like him."

"So why are you with him now?"

Because I was stupid and didn't think things through, Dafne thought but this was too harsh to say.

"I gave Basta an ultimatum," she figured she may as well tell him everything, it was all connected anyway "He has a month to decide if he wants to leave the village with us."

Silvio's eyes went wide,

"Really?" he said, sounding optimistic at first but then his enthusiasm dwindled, "What if he decides he doesn't want to?"

He had automatically jumped to the worst case scenario.

"If that happens," Dafne said, "I'll break up with him," it sounded like such a weak punishment, "And we'll find a way to leave without him."

She put her hand over the boy's and gave it a reassuring squeeze. She could offer him no certainty of this but she could pretend.

Silvio nodded solemnly,

"Without him," he said. There was a sombre pause before he continued, "But he might choose to leave with us."

He smiled but there was doubt in it.

"I hope he does," Dafne said, unable to bring herself to say anything more definite, it was only wishful thinking.

"Well since you're together now..." Silvio said, implying this factor might persuade Basta.

It might not be enough, Dafne thought, I might not be enough.

"Perhaps," she said, "But it's up to Basta to decide."

Admitting this, she felt rather helpless and she hated it. She had no leverage anymore. She had given herself to him so he had nothing to work for. She had rely on his love for her and this didn't fill her with confidence, no matter how happy Basta was to be with her.

"This month will be a..." she cringed, not wanting to say the word because the concept seemed so foolish to her now, "a trial, to see if we can actually work together."

Silvio nodded,

"I see," he said. His expression seemed to be deliberately blank as if he didn't want her to see his true reaction. She took that as a bad sign. Was he thinking about what a fool she was? It would hurt badly if he was, even though she was passing the same judgement on herself.

But the boy smiled,

"I've never Basta so happy before," he lowered his voice conspiratorially even though it was just the two of them, "He keeps smiling and it creeps me out. And he kept laughing to himself at breakfast, under his breath."

Dafne burst out laughing,

"Really?"

"Yeah," Silvio said, "And when I asked him what so funny, he said I would understand when I got a woman in my life."

He rolled his eyes,

"Then he remembered about Netta and made fun of me," he scowled, "I wish he would stop doing that."

"I could talk to him about it," Dafne offered, "But I don't think it will do much good."

"That's okay," Silvio said with a sigh, "I'll just deal with it."

"Are you going to see Netta today?" Dafne asked.

Silvio's face lit up with a smile,

"Yeah I see her almost every day. She's nearly always the one who feeds the chickens so I go around then."

"Maybe I could with you," Dafne said, "If you don't mind me cramping your style."

Silvio looked narrowly at her as if trying to work out if she was teasing him. She was a little bit. But he didn't seem to mind her doing it as much as he did Basta.

"Yeah you can come," he said, adding as an afterthought, "If Basta says its okay."

Dafne sighed. It annoyed her that she had to have Basta's approval to do anything. She could go off without telling him but he would hit the roof.

"I'm sure it will be fine," she said. Basta had no reason to deny her. She was thinking that if she could get some paper, she could write Resa a note for Netta to pass on.

What are you going to say, she thought, Dustfinger wants to help you escape, pass on your plan to me, PS I'm Basta's girlfriend now.

As she was ridiculing herself there was a knock on the door. They eyed each other, knowing it had to be a stranger as Basta would simply let himself in.

"I'll go," Silvio said quickly as Dafne was moving to the door. She knew he was just being protective.

The visitor was so tall that his frame barely let any sunlight in. Dafne recognised him immediately. It was her old friend, the bear.

"Oh hey Giulio," Silvio said, he seemed slightly relieved it was him, considering the more unfavourable possibilities. But Dafne scowled, remembering her experience with his wife. She knew this man thought as little of her as the dirt beneath his boot. "Are you looking for Basta?"

Giulio regarded him in his intimidating taciturn way.

Silvio withered a bit,

"No? You're not looking for Basta?" he tried to interpret the man's silence.

Giulio lifted his sturdy arm and pointed at Dafne. She noticed there was a package wrapped in butcher's paper tucked under his other arm.

"You," he said in his rumbling voice, "Your dress is ready."

He pushed the package into Silvio's arms and turned to leave.

"Wait," Dafne said, rushing forward. Giulio glanced back and all she saw was contempt.

It's not fair that you hate me, she thought, just because you think I'm Basta's woman. She corrected herself. She was Basta's woman now. He was entitled to hate her.

"Please say thank you to your wife," she said.

Giulio's expression remained unchanged. He nodded. Then he left.

Is that the way Resa is going to look at me, Dafne thought with dread. I won't be able to bear it if she does.

"Here Dafne," Silvio was handing her the package.

She took it over to the kitchen table to unwrap it as Silvio closed the door. Inside was a black folded bundle. She lifted it up and the dress unfurled.

"What do you think?" she asked Silvio, admiring Isolda's handiwork. The woman might despise her but that wasn't reflected in her effort.

Silvio shrugged indifferently at it. He was a boy. It was simply a piece of cloth.

"It's nice," he said to please her.

"I'm going to get changed," Dafne said, running upstairs with girlish excitement.

She found it fit her perfectly too. She spent a moment frivolously swishing around in it.

Yes, she thought, I like this much better than Capricorn's stupid red dress.

Downstairs she heard a door slam and Silvio's voice drifting up, "Hey Basta".

She flinched, suddenly going into a panic. He was home. She glanced at the door, expecting it to be flung open and have him standing there.

She still didn't know what she was going to do. She could either let the relationship progress or back out of the arrangement. Neither option was appealing.

Any moment now, she braced herself, any moment he's going to come through the door and will want to kiss you and say how nice your dress is.

But there were no footsteps on the stairs, no turning of the knob. No Basta.

She realised he wasn't coming. Why isn't he coming? The question sounded needy and she reprimanded herself. What did she care?

But obviously there had to be a reason. So she went to find out.

He was sitting at the kitchen table with Silvio standing anxiously away from him.

The boy threw Dafne a cautionary look, inclining his head towards Basta.

But she didn't need Silvio to tell something was wrong.

When Basta saw her, he didn't get up to embrace her or kiss her. He stayed put and smiled. But the smile was more of a grimace as if he really didn't feel like doing it.

"Hello dear heart," Basta said, the pleasantness in his voice sounding forced, "I see your new dress arrived. You look very pretty."

Dafne looked down at the dress as if she had forgotten putting it on.

"Thank you," she said quietly.

"Sorry I couldn't be here when you woke up," Basta went on in the same horrible tone. There was a grating edge to it, a sign of how he was actually feeling. He was angry, Dafne knew it, and he was about to tell her why, "But I had to report to Capricorn about the missing girl. Those idiots couldn't find her. Just like I told you they wouldn't," he closed his eyes and let out a seething sigh, "Capricorn was not pleased. Not pleased at all."

"Did..." Dafne ventured cautiously, "Did he find out you didn't go to search for her?"

Basta slammed his fist on the table, startling Dafne and Silvio.

"No," he snapped, "He was none the wiser to that," he grimaced as if in pain, "But he called a useless worm, too busy crawling on my belly trying to please you that I've forgotten how to do my job properly."

He sounded deeply hurt by this. Capricorn's opinion meant the world to him.

"I'm sorry," Dafne said somewhat automatically, wanting to comfort him.

Basta glared at her with such intensity she took a step back.

"You're sorry? What do you care? You don't care what my job means to me. You don't care how Capricorn thinks of me. But I do."

Well you shouldn't, Dafne thought but it would have been unwise to say, given his volatile state.

"I understand that," she said gently. She knew his fury came from pain.

"I didn't say you didn't understand," Basta growled, in his anger he had risen in his chair, "I said you don't care. You don't care how I feel. You just expect me to do what you want. To hell with Capricorn. Leave the village. Throw your life away."

Dafne felt a tiny stab of guilt. It was selfish of her asking him to give up his life here but it was the right thing to do. That had to count for something, tipping the scale in her favour.

"It's the right thing to do," she said.

"I've just seen what doing the right thing has gotten me," Basta said bitterly, "It's put me in the dog house. I shouldn't have said anything to that stupid girl."

It disappointed Dafne greatly to hear him express regret for one noble action. Had he forgotten that it had helped bring them together? Did that not matter anymore, just because Capricorn was upset?

"You saved her life," she said, "Isn't it worth it, knowing she's safe?"

"How does that help me?" Basta said, "Is that going to make my life any better around here? Is it going to help me win favour with Capricorn? No, it's not."

"It helped win my favour. Don't I make your life better?" Dafne asked him.

Basta laughed hollowly,

"You make my life better? Sometimes you make it hell."

"Hell seemed pretty great to you last night," Dafne shot back. It was fine for him to be upset about Capricorn but it starting to get on her nerves.

"Oh it was. I won't argue with that," Basta said smiling genuinely for the first time, but only briefly, "But look how long it lasted."

"That's no fault of mine," Dafne said, crossing her arms, "It's Capricorn's."

Basta lowered himself down on his seat with an air of exhaustion,

"Yes yes you blame him and he blames you," he said wearily, "And me in the middle trying to pick which one I want to please."

He sat looking sorry for himself. Dafne felt more the urge to slap him than to express sympathy. He wasn't being torn between to people who cared about him equally. It frustrated her that he couldn't see that. Capricorn didn't give a damn about him yet he could speak just a few words of disapproval to make Basta want to jump through hoops.

"It feels like your leaning towards one of us at the moment," Dafne observed, her voice flinty.

Basta sighed, tearing his fingers through his hair,

"Great, now you're both mad at me."

"You're mad at me," Dafne pointed out.

"Well I've just had a rough time of it," said Basta frustratedly, "So excuse me for not being all lovey dovey at the moment."

"I don't care about lovey dovey," Dafne retorted, "Just don't take it out on me."

"It's hard not to when you're part of the problem," Basta said, immediately cringing when he saw the hurt expression on her.

"I'm sorry you feel that way," she said quietly, moving to return upstairs. She had heard enough.

"Wait," Basta was up from his chair in an instant, calling her to desperately, "Wait, I didn't mean it like that."

He caught up to her, quite easily because she was only walking, her pace suggesting perhaps she wanted him to reach her. But when he tried to put his arms around her, she struggled,

"Don't!"

But he didn't let go.

"I'm sorry," he said as she tried to break free, "Really I..." he paused, grabbing hold of her arms and locking them to her sides. She couldn't move now and she glared at him resentfully, "I know you don't like me doing this but I want you to listen. Are you going to listen?"

Dafne didn't respond, just went on glaring. He took that as a yes.

"What I said before, I only meant that I have a lot to think about and most of that stuff is to do with you, what you want me to do," he said.

Dafne's face softened,

"I just don't want you resenting me for getting you make this decision," she said.

"I don't," Basta said, gripping her tighter, "I don't resent you."

"It sounds like you do," Dafne said.

Basta sighed,

"Well maybe I do," he confessed, added hastily as Dafne's face fell, "Just a little bit. But it's because you're asking me to do something I would really prefer not to do."

"I know," Dafne said, looking down sadly.

Basta lifted her face up to meet his gaze. He had looked at her with such anger before but now there was only tenderness.

"I still love you though. Even though you drive me crazy," he said, causing her to smile involuntarily, he smiled back, "That's better."

He released her arms but she stayed where she was.

"Do you really wish you hadn't warned Sara?" she asked.

Basta shrugged,

"What's done is done. I can't change what I did. It made you happy at least and I want you to be happy."

Dafne nodded.

"It did make me happy."

"Well I'm about to make you even happier," Basta said, "I have some news I think you might like."

She looked at him enquiringly.

"What?"

"Before I do I think you should give me a kiss good morning," Basta said.

"I'll give you one afterwards," Dafne said a little impatiently. She was more interested in finding out what he knew.

But Basta shook his head,

"No. I'm not telling you until you do."

Dafne gave a small sigh of exasperation and kissed him.

"Now tell me," she said as he regarded her with a look of satisfaction.

"You know what would make it more interesting," Basta said, "If you tried to guess what it is."

"Why can't you just tell me?" Dafne said.

"It's more fun this way," Basta said.

"For you."

Basta shrugged unsympathetically. He had the knowledge, he made the rules.

"Guess."

Dafne had no choice but to play along.

"I don't know. Did Cockerell drop down dead?"

Basta found this incredibly funny.

"No, wrong," he said when he had finished laughing.

"Mortola?"

More laughter,

"No."

"Give me a clue."

"It's about something you were going to today," Basta said, "Something you hate doing."

Dafne mulled this over for a moment then shrugged,

"I don't know. "

"You aren't even trying," Basta complained, "It should be so obvious."

"Obviously it's not to me," Dafne said with irritation. How long had this been dragging out?

"Where am I taking you today? Where I take you almost every day."

"Capricorn's?" Dafne said uncertainly.

"Yes and what do you do at Capricorn's?" Basta prompted like a teacher with a slow pupil.

"Stop talking to me like I'm an idiot," Dafne snapped.

Basta ignored her,

"You give him lessons right?"

"Yes we have lessons," Dafne drawled, "We don't have high tea and discuss the weather."

"There you go," Basta said, "You have it. No more lessons."

Dafne took a moment to register this. It didn't help that she had been distracted by her frustration with Basta.

"No more lessons?" she said excitedly.

"Yes little mouse, no more lessons," Basta said with a smile, "Capricorn told me to tell you. He doesn't need you anymore."

Dafne broke into a grin.

She seized hold of Basta's jacket, shaking him,

"Damn it Basta," she said happily, "Why couldn't you have just told me that."

"Well I didn't think you would that bad at guessing," Basta replied, "Careful, don't rip my jacket."

But he needn't have worried. Dafne was already letting go and moving over to Silvio,

"Did you hear that," she said to him, "No more Capricorn for me."

Silvio grinned back at her,

"Yeah that's great."

Dafne felt like jumping up and down giddily. No more Capricorn with his awful voice and his awful eyes and his awful proximity. She was so happy she didn't know what do with herself.

Basta watched her amusedly,

"See I told you I'd make you happier. So come back over here and thank me."

"Hmm. I don't know. It's really Capricorn I should be thanking," Dafne said, just to be difficult, just as Basta had been in relaying the news.

"Oh? You want to go over to his house and do that?" Basta said.

Dafne shook her head.

"No," she replied cheerfully.

"Come here then," Basta said.

"You have legs. Use them."

Basta muttered something under his breath. She thought she caught the word "ungrateful". But in the end he grudgingly trudged over to her.

When he did, she threw her arms around him so fast it startled him.

"Thank you. That news has really made my day."

"I'm glad," Basta said, adding when she was withdrawing her arms, "Unfortunately I have also some news you might not like as much."

She regarded him uneasily,

"What?"

He didn't make her guess this time.

"Capricorn wants you start teaching us how to write that note."

Dafne's face fell.

"Oh," she said without enthusiasm, "Che palle."

To be continued...

Che palle – Italian expression equal to saying "What a pain in the a**!"