Ariana tried to catch Keirth’s eye, but he was still seething over the news article.
“Freetha...” How should she explain?
“But you are in love,” said Freetha. “I can tell you are.”
Ariana nodded, looking into Freetha’s eyes.
But Keirth said, “I’m sorry we lied to you. What’s your father planning on doing with this information?”
Freetha looked crushed. She shook her head slowly. “I was sure from the way you looked at each other...”
“You kidding?” said Keirth. “Was there any man on this planet that didn’t look at her like that when we got off our ship? Now, what’s your father planning on doing with this information?”
“He wants to keep you here,” said Freetha. “He’s going to try to turn you into the sector and claim a reward. He’s haggling over the price right now.”
“Damn it,” said Keirth. “That’s why he’s been dragging his feet on this trade with me.”
Freetha nodded. “My father’s asleep now. I came to you to tell you that you should leave now, before he wakes up. I don’t want...anything to happen to you.” She looked at Keirth. “Ariana says you’re a good man, and I believe her. I don’t believe you hurt her. If you’d done what the article said, I don’t think she’d be happy with you.”
Risciter was alive. He was alive and telling lies to the press.
Keirth looked back at the article. “‘Above all,’” he read, “‘the Duke of Risciter wants to see Miss Gilit again.’” He looked at Ariana. “I’m sure that’s true. I’m sure he does want to see you again. I guess you got your wish. It’s not really safe now to send you back there. You’re coming with me.”
Ariana’s heart leapt. At least something was going right.
Keirth turned to Freetha. “You’re not going to mind if I steal one of your father’s ships?”
“I want to help,” said Freetha.
“Thank you,” said Keirth. “You didn’t have to tell us this.”
A thought occurred to Ariana. “Will this get you in trouble? With your father?”
Freetha shrugged. “What could be worse than being in a black veil for a year, not able to speak to anyone?”
Suddenly, Ariana wished they could take Freetha away as well. Maybe this planet was simply too backward. But she knew that was out of the question. She went to Freetha and hugged her. “Thank you. Thank you so much.”
Keirth was yanking on his shirt. “We can’t waste a lot of time,” he said, heading for the door.
Ariana looked down at her nightgown. “Well, can I get dressed?”
“Hurry up,” said Keirth.
* * *
Freetha watched the ship until it disappeared into the clouds of the night sky, then she hurried back to her room. She sat down on her bed and got out her net tablet. A few key strokes tethered it to her comm, and then she keyed in a few more numbers.
A man’s face filled the screen. “It’s done?”
She nodded. “The ship just took off, and I put the tracking device inside that you told me about.”
He smiled. “Good job. Thank you for contacting me. I might never have found them otherwise.”
“I recognized them immediately when I saw the news on the net,” she said. And to think they’d believed that her father could possibly be plotting against them. Her father was a ridiculous old fool, ignoring the universe around them in favor of their tiny planet. He paid no attention to what happened elsewhere, but Freetha did. There was a reason she’d tried to marry a man on a ship. She wanted to leave Trioth. “I’d like the rest of my credits, please. That was the deal. Half before, half after it’s done.”
“But of course,” said the man. “I believe if you check your account, you’ll see that it’s all there.”
Freetha tapped her screen and looked at her account. He was right. She smiled. This would be quite useful. She had nearly the amount of money that she needed. She’d be off Trioth in no time. “Mr. Risciter,” she said.
“It’s Lord Risciter,” said the man on the screen.
“Lord Risciter, can I ask you one question?”
“What’s that?”
“What are you going to do with them when you find them?”
The man’s lips curled. “Feeling guilty about selling them out, are you?”
Freetha snorted. “Quite the opposite. I hope they suffer.” Ariana had stolen Keirth from her, and she’d wanted him badly. She’d lied and said they were married when they weren’t. By all rights, Keirth should still be hers. Of course, Keirth had abandoned her in robes of waiting for a year, and, if he hadn’t needed something, never would have come back. No, she had no sympathy for either of them.