The Force of Wind
Page 10
“Tell her how long you’ve known where her father was.”
“Don’t be rude. I don’t have to explain myself to you. You’re in my home.”
“Tenzin,” Giovanni growled.
“And, I’m here in this crazy house as a favor to you. You know how much I dislike being around my father and all the bowing people.”
A bevy of servants scurried about, most of them overseen by a quiet, sweet-faced woman named Nima, who was a personal assistant of some sort. She was older than Caspar, easily in her eighties or nineties, and issued quiet orders as each human servant hung on her words.
“Tenzin,” Beatrice finally said after a silent woman brought a tray of tea. It was hot and sweet-smelling, suffusing the air with the scents of honey and cardamom. “Please tell me how long you’ve known my father was here. You know we’ve been looking for him.”
“You even asked me to call you when we got back from Brasilia, Tenzin. You knew then how upset she was, and you still said nothing,” Giovanni bit out, obviously still angry with his old friend.
“You found my house in Brasilia?” Stephen asked, looking at her with delight. “You did remember the game!”
“Yes, it might have been a bit easier to just leave a note, De Novo,” Giovanni replied. “Or show up to expected appointments. Either one would have worked so your daughter didn’t have to worry that you were dead.”
Stephen’s eyes flashed. “And how was I supposed to know you were trustworthy, di Spada? How was I supposed to know you wouldn’t take advantage of her?”
“Dad…” Beatrice squirmed.
“Maybe because I protected her. Which is more than what you did. Maybe because—”
“Stop it, both of you,” Tenzin broke in. “This is ridiculous. Save your posturing for another time, or leave B and I alone so we can talk.”
“Don’t get mad,” Beatrice said as she grabbed Giovanni’s hand. “Just… let’s talk for a bit, then I want to go to bed. I’m exhausted.” In the back of her mind, she felt as if she should be slightly embarrassed to talk about going to bed with Giovanni when her father was right across from her, but she was too tired to be mortified. “Tenzin, tell me what’s been going on.”
Tenzin looked at Stephen and something passed between them that caused Beatrice to sit up slightly straighter. It wasn’t exactly—
“If you found the house in Brasilia, then I’m assuming you found my journals,” Stephen said. “So you know I came here in August of 2008.”
“And what have you been doing since?” Giovanni asked. “You’ve been here for two years.”
“Working, mostly. I was in a monastery in the Wuyi Mountains for over a year, studying with one of the Bön scholars trained by Elder Zhang. Then I came back here when I was called.”
“And Tenzin? When did you meet her?”
Tenzin curled her lip and reached her foot across to kick Giovanni’s shin.
“Shut up. It’s none of your business, and you don’t ask him. Ask me.”
“Fine.” Beatrice saw the collar of Giovanni’s shirt start to smoke and she put a hand on his shoulder, willing him to calm down. “Tenzin,” he said through gritted teeth, “when did you meet Stephen and why didn’t you tell me you’d found him?”
“I met him about a year and a half ago, and I didn’t tell you because it wasn’t time to tell you yet.” She gave a slight shrug and reached for her tea again.
“Okay!” Beatrice jumped in, knowing Giovanni was about to lose his temper with his oldest friend. “I’m exhausted, and I want to go to bed before I collapse. Gio, where are we sleeping?”
Giovanni pulled back from the argument he was about to jump into and rested his chin on her shoulder. He and Tenzin appeared to be in some kind of staring contest for a few moments until she heard him take a steadying breath. He brushed a kiss across her temple and helped her up before standing himself. She put an arm around his waist and almost pushed him away from her father and Tenzin.
On their way out the door, she paused by Baojia. Giovanni waited next to her with a blank expression, his mind obviously elsewhere.
“Are you calling Ernesto tonight?” she asked.
Baojia cocked an eyebrow at her. “Perceptive as always. Did you have a message for him?”
“Yeah, tell him he has a new family member around.”
“Already on the agenda,” he said before giving her a wink.
“Goodnight, then.”
“Gio,” Tenzin called across the room, still drinking tea with Stephen. “Nima put your bags in the same room as last time.”
“Please, tell me it has more than chamber pots now.”
“Yes,” she sounded bored. “I made Father put a full bathroom in all my rooms here.”
“How very modern of you, Tenzin,” he muttered as they walked out the door.
“Can we pretend all that stuff out there didn’t just happen?” Beatrice asked when they were finally alone. “I just need to be normal with you tonight. That was… too much. There’s a million things to talk about, but I don’t want to talk about any of them right now.”
Giovanni nodded and gave her hand a quick squeeze before he started looking around the room. Even though they were in his friend’s home, he did his typical precautionary search, zipping around the room, pulling back any draperies and generally searching every corner for any unknown threat.
“Don’t be rude. I don’t have to explain myself to you. You’re in my home.”
“Tenzin,” Giovanni growled.
“And, I’m here in this crazy house as a favor to you. You know how much I dislike being around my father and all the bowing people.”
A bevy of servants scurried about, most of them overseen by a quiet, sweet-faced woman named Nima, who was a personal assistant of some sort. She was older than Caspar, easily in her eighties or nineties, and issued quiet orders as each human servant hung on her words.
“Tenzin,” Beatrice finally said after a silent woman brought a tray of tea. It was hot and sweet-smelling, suffusing the air with the scents of honey and cardamom. “Please tell me how long you’ve known my father was here. You know we’ve been looking for him.”
“You even asked me to call you when we got back from Brasilia, Tenzin. You knew then how upset she was, and you still said nothing,” Giovanni bit out, obviously still angry with his old friend.
“You found my house in Brasilia?” Stephen asked, looking at her with delight. “You did remember the game!”
“Yes, it might have been a bit easier to just leave a note, De Novo,” Giovanni replied. “Or show up to expected appointments. Either one would have worked so your daughter didn’t have to worry that you were dead.”
Stephen’s eyes flashed. “And how was I supposed to know you were trustworthy, di Spada? How was I supposed to know you wouldn’t take advantage of her?”
“Dad…” Beatrice squirmed.
“Maybe because I protected her. Which is more than what you did. Maybe because—”
“Stop it, both of you,” Tenzin broke in. “This is ridiculous. Save your posturing for another time, or leave B and I alone so we can talk.”
“Don’t get mad,” Beatrice said as she grabbed Giovanni’s hand. “Just… let’s talk for a bit, then I want to go to bed. I’m exhausted.” In the back of her mind, she felt as if she should be slightly embarrassed to talk about going to bed with Giovanni when her father was right across from her, but she was too tired to be mortified. “Tenzin, tell me what’s been going on.”
Tenzin looked at Stephen and something passed between them that caused Beatrice to sit up slightly straighter. It wasn’t exactly—
“If you found the house in Brasilia, then I’m assuming you found my journals,” Stephen said. “So you know I came here in August of 2008.”
“And what have you been doing since?” Giovanni asked. “You’ve been here for two years.”
“Working, mostly. I was in a monastery in the Wuyi Mountains for over a year, studying with one of the Bön scholars trained by Elder Zhang. Then I came back here when I was called.”
“And Tenzin? When did you meet her?”
Tenzin curled her lip and reached her foot across to kick Giovanni’s shin.
“Shut up. It’s none of your business, and you don’t ask him. Ask me.”
“Fine.” Beatrice saw the collar of Giovanni’s shirt start to smoke and she put a hand on his shoulder, willing him to calm down. “Tenzin,” he said through gritted teeth, “when did you meet Stephen and why didn’t you tell me you’d found him?”
“I met him about a year and a half ago, and I didn’t tell you because it wasn’t time to tell you yet.” She gave a slight shrug and reached for her tea again.
“Okay!” Beatrice jumped in, knowing Giovanni was about to lose his temper with his oldest friend. “I’m exhausted, and I want to go to bed before I collapse. Gio, where are we sleeping?”
Giovanni pulled back from the argument he was about to jump into and rested his chin on her shoulder. He and Tenzin appeared to be in some kind of staring contest for a few moments until she heard him take a steadying breath. He brushed a kiss across her temple and helped her up before standing himself. She put an arm around his waist and almost pushed him away from her father and Tenzin.
On their way out the door, she paused by Baojia. Giovanni waited next to her with a blank expression, his mind obviously elsewhere.
“Are you calling Ernesto tonight?” she asked.
Baojia cocked an eyebrow at her. “Perceptive as always. Did you have a message for him?”
“Yeah, tell him he has a new family member around.”
“Already on the agenda,” he said before giving her a wink.
“Goodnight, then.”
“Gio,” Tenzin called across the room, still drinking tea with Stephen. “Nima put your bags in the same room as last time.”
“Please, tell me it has more than chamber pots now.”
“Yes,” she sounded bored. “I made Father put a full bathroom in all my rooms here.”
“How very modern of you, Tenzin,” he muttered as they walked out the door.
“Can we pretend all that stuff out there didn’t just happen?” Beatrice asked when they were finally alone. “I just need to be normal with you tonight. That was… too much. There’s a million things to talk about, but I don’t want to talk about any of them right now.”
Giovanni nodded and gave her hand a quick squeeze before he started looking around the room. Even though they were in his friend’s home, he did his typical precautionary search, zipping around the room, pulling back any draperies and generally searching every corner for any unknown threat.
