He withdrew his hand at the door, stood aside, said: “Lead on.”
“First, breakfast,” she said. “We have to get your strength back.”
I have to watch myself, Orne thought. This whole family is too open and charming.
He thought suddenly of the charming women on Sheleb—before they had turned on him. His body remembered pain.
“I think a picnic is just what your doctor ordered today,” Diana said. “There’s a little lake with grassy banks out there. We’ll take viewers and a couple of good novels, or anything else you might want to read. This’ll be a lazy, do-nothing day.”
Orne hesitated. “What about your big party?”
“Mother has that well in hand.”
Orne glanced around. Polly had gone inside with a last “Hurry along, you two. Breakfast for you in just a few minutes.”
Orne thought of the things that might occur today in this house, things he should observe. But, no… if he had analyzed the situation correctly, Diana represented a weak link. Time was closing in on him, too. By tomorrow, the Nathians could have the government under their complete control.
He knew he had to make an immediate choice. He said: “Friendly native guide, my life is in your hands.”
And he thought: I hope I’m not a prophet.
Chapter Fifteen
Those who seek knowledge for the sake of reward, yea even to the knowledge of Psi, repeat the errors of the primitive religions. Knowledge gained out of fear or hope of reward holds you in a basket of ignorance. Thus the ancients learned to falsify their lives.
Orne found it warm beside the lake. Purple and orange flowers patterned the grassy bank above him. The water reflected a far shore of dark bushes. Small creatures flitted and cheeped in the brush and trees. There was a groomis in the reeds at the lower end of the lake. Every now and then it honked like an old man clearing his throat.
Diana lay on the ground mat they’d spread for their picnic. Her hands were clasped behind her head, eyes closed. The red-gold hair lay in a spray around her face.
“When we were all girls at home we used to picnic here almost every Eightday,” Diana said. “Weather permitting, of course. They make it rain here too much for my liking sometimes.”
Orne sat down beside her, faced the lake. He felt deeply uneasy. The pattern was so clear. Like Sheleb, like home, like here, he thought.
“We girls made a raft over on the other side of the lake,” Diana said. She sat up, stared across the water. “You know, I think pieces of it are still there. See?” She pointed to a jumble of logs. As she gestured, her hand brushed Orne’s. Something like an electric shock passed between them.
Without knowing exactly how it happened, Orne found his arms around Diana, their lips pressed together in a lingering kiss. Panic came close to the surface in Orne. He broke away.
“I didn’t plan for that to happen,” Diana whispered.
“Nor I,” Orne muttered. He shook his head. “Lord! Sometimes things get in an awful mess!”
Diana blinked. “Lew… don’t you… like me?”
He ignored the monitoring transceiver, spoke his mind. They’ll just think it’s part of the act, he thought. The thought was bitter.
“Like you?” he said. “I’m in love with you.”
She sighed, leaned against his shoulder. “Then what’s wrong? You’re not already married. Mother had your service record checked.” Diana smiled impishly, leaning back to look up at him. “Mother has second sight.”
Bitterness remained like a sour taste in Orne’s mouth. He could see the pattern so clearly. He said: “Di, I ran away from home when I was seventeen.”
“I know, darling. Mother’s told me all about you.”
“You don’t understand,” he said. “My father died just before I was born. He was…”
“It must’ve been very hard on your mother,” she said. “All alone with her family… and a new baby on the way.”
“They knew for a long time,” Orne said. “My father had Broach’s disease. They found out about it too late. It was already into the central nervous system.”
“How horrible,” Diana whispered. “So they planned for you, of course—to have a son, I mean.”
Orne’s mind felt suddenly like a fish out of water. He found himself grasping at a thought that flopped around just out of reach, then was his own, but still struggling.
“Dad was Member for Chargon,” he whispered. He felt as though he were living a dream. His voice remained low, shocked. “From when I first began to talk, Mother started grooming me to take his place in public life.”
“And you objected to all of that arranging and managing,” Diana said.
“I hated it! First chance, I ran away. One of my sisters married a fellow who’s now Member for Chargon. And I hope he enjoys it!”
“That’ll be Maddie,” Diana said.
Orne remembered what Stetson had said about a ciphered note between Diana and Maddie. The thought chilled him.
“How well do you know Maddie?” Orne asked.
“I know her very well. Lew, what’s wrong with you?”
“Politics,” he said. “You’d expect me to play the same game, you calling the shots. Shoot for the top, cut and scramble, claw and dig.”
“By this time tomorrow all of that may not be necessary,” she said.
Orne sensed the sudden hiss of the carrier wave in his neck transceiver, but there was no accompanying voice from whoever was monitoring.
“What’s happening… tomorrow?” he asked.
“The election, silly. Lew, you’re acting very strange. Are you sure you’re feeling well?” She put a hand to his forehead. “Perhaps we’d best…”
“Just a minute,” Orne said, taking her hand from his forehead and holding it. “About us…” She squeezed his hand.
Orne swallowed.
Diana withdrew her hand, touched his cheek. “I think my parents already suspect. We’re notorious love-at-first-sighters in this family.” She studied him fondly. “You don’t feel feverish, but maybe we’d better…”
“What a dope I am,” Orne muttered. “I just realized I must be a Nathian!”
She stared at him, “You just realized?”
He said: “I knew it… I knew it and didn’t want to know it. When you realize a thing… that’s when you have to accept it.”
“Lew, I don’t understand you,” she said.
There was a hissing gasp in Orne’s transceiver, quickly cut off.
“The identical patterns in our families,” he said. “Even to the houses, for the love of heaven! There’s the real key. What a dope I’ve been!” He snapped his fingers. “The head! Polly! Your mother’s the grand boss woman of the whole thing!”
“But, darling… of course. She… I thought you…”
“You’d better get me back to her and fast,” Orne said.
He touched the stud at his neck, but Stetson’s voice intruded. “Great work, Lew! We’re moving in a special shock force. Can’t take any chances with…”
Orne spoke aloud in panic: “Stet! No troops! You get out to the Bullones’, and you get there alone.”
Diana jumped to her feet, backed away from him.
“What do you mean?” Stetson demanded.
“I’m saving our stupid necks,” Orne barked. “Alone! You hear me? Or we’ll have a worse mess than any Rim War!”