She felt her face redden. “My period. I started my period last night,” she stated baldly.
When she’d felt the familiar cramping just after they started their nightly trek yesterday, she’d inwardly raged at Mother Nature for compounding her predicament with yet another situation she was unprepared for. The handkerchief-sized scarf she’d worn to protect her head from the fierce sun saved her from total humiliation. Now she gladly welcomed the cramps and discomfort. It might just save her from the rebel leader’s repulsive attentions.
Ancient Nawakan tradition prohibited men from touching women during their monthly cycle. From their conversation this afternoon, it seemed Mwana had assimilated every aspect of being a Nawakan. Dared she hope he had adopted all of its traditions as well? She mentally crossed desperate fingers, almost afraid to blink as his expression darkened.
He captured her chin in his hands, proving that he didn’t believe in the no-touching rule at the very least. “I hope you’re not trying to play me for a fool, Belle.”
She stopped breathing. “I-I’m not. I promise.” She deliberately softened her voice and relaxed her body.
For an eternity he stared at her. Finally, he said, “I could ask you to prove what you’ve just told me, yet I am choosing to believe you. But understand this. Break my trust, and things will not end well for you.”
Relief swept through her. “I understand.”
His gaze dropped to her lips once more. Belle tugged her chin away and spoke before he could put the clear intention in his eyes to action. “What about releasing my colleagues?”
“The ransom demand has already been set in motion with the Dutch couple’s family. I will make my decision about the priest in the morning. As for you, i
f you’re being truthful about your reasons for coming to Nawaka, about your respect for my country and my people, then you will be given a chance to prove it.”
A scream rose in her throat. She quashed it. She would not break down, would not give him the satisfaction. She almost laughed at the twisted irony of her thought.
Heart hammering, she folded her arms to hide their trembling. “I meant every word.”
For several heartbeats he regarded her, then took another step back.
“Good. You’ve bought yourself a few days’ respite with your colleagues.” His gaze drifted to the bed. “I’ll ask you to make good on your promises before long, so rest while you can.” With that, he turned on his heel and left the cave.
Shaking with relief and a letdown of adrenaline, she sank to the rough ground, her breath coming in ragged heaves as silent, grateful tears filled her eyes.
She was in the same position an hour later, staring unseeingly into the gloom, when he returned, followed by two soldiers who marched Edda, Hendrik, and Father Tom into the cave.
One look at her face, and Edda burst into hopeless tears.
…
TWENTY-FOUR HOURS LATER
Belle stared at the chessboard in front of her, fighting to keep terror from taking over.
“Your move,” Mwana said, his tone as cordial as it had been since his return to the cave with the other captives yesterday.
Since then, Mwana had treated them more like roughly housed guests than captives, but a knife-sharp instinct warned her it was all a carefully balanced act that rested solely on her cooperation. Cooperation that had included being separated from the others and accommodated in yet another hollowed-out space in the dark cave.
And chess games like this one, interspersed with long, endless conversation.
At his raised eyebrow, she moved her bishop.
His brow rose higher. “A curious move. If you hadn’t won two out of our last six games, I’d think you were in a hurry to sacrifice this game.”
Her fist clenched. “Sometimes sacrifices have to be made for the greater good. I believe that’s one of your tenets.”
His very genuine smile lightened his usually flat eyes. “I’m flattered you’ve been paying attention to my ramblings, Belle.”
“Of course I paid attention. I told you, Nawaka is a special place to me. And your plans for it— I find them…interesting.” Horrific was a more accurate term. In the last day he’d off-handedly named several prominent, unworthy government members he planned to get rid of in order to secure his rise to power. That he’d chosen to share such information with her made fear pound through her heart with every breath.
In one smooth move, he took her bishop and brought the game one step closer to completion. She hid her relief.
“So you agree with me that Nawakans need to control their destiny and choose their path wisely, even if it means a quantitative sacrifice of a few?”