Page 12 of House Divided
“Not once it’s been directed in the right ways,” Enoch replied, adjusting his straps slightly. “Break’s over. Off we go.”
“What are therightways?” Madeline demanded as she matched his pace. Her body was to either scream or collapse, but she wasn’t going to let him know that.
“In positive directions,” observed Enoch. “A strong spirit can be of great benefit, but it can also cause chaos. It must be tamed. Channeled. Controlled.”
“You think women should betamed?” asked Madeline, her tone rising.
“Who said anything about women?” shot back Enoch. “My observations apply to all people of strong spirit. They need discipline. From outside to start with but ultimately from within.”
“And I suppose you’re the person to provide that discipline,” observed Madeline, her voice heavy with sarcasm.
“Not in every case,” replied Enoch, “but perhaps in some.”
“Is that why you…spanked me earlier?” she pressed. “Because you thought I needed some discipline?”
“Be honest with yourself,” returned Enoch. “Didn’t you?”
Madeline was about to fire back a scathing retort, but she paused. In fairness to the man, at that point, she had been on the brink of spiraling out of control. Her fear had transformed into anger, and she had been directing it at him. If she was absolutely honest with herself, Madeline still wasn’t sure exactly how she felt about that spanking.
“I respect that about you,” said Enoch, as they walked.
“You respect…wait, what?” asked Madeline, startled out of her thoughts.
“You could have given a glib answer,” he explained. “Instead, you really thought about the question. For all of your veneer of corporate smoothness and deceptiveness, you’re basically an honest person.”
“My veneer ofwhat?” Madeline exploded. “Did you just insult me while you complimented me?”
Enoch did not reply but simply kept walking. Even though she could not see his face, Madeline would have sworn that the man was smiling.
At the end of the fourth hour of their march, Enoch called a halt for the day.
“We have no idea how dark it will get, or how quickly,” he said. “We’ll set up our tent now. The more rest you can get, the more time it will give your lungs to adjust. You’ve done very well today.”
Madeline was too exhausted for a snappy comeback. She unbuckled the straps on her pack and sat down.
“Take your boots off,” ordered Enoch as he set down his pack and rummaged through it. “I’m going to want to look at your feet.”
“You and your perversions,” muttered Madeline under her breath but did as he asked. When she was done, she allowed herself to collapse on her back against the grass, looking up at the sky, enjoying the sensation of the breeze on her bare feet.
She heard a soft humming noise and sat up. In the time it had taken her to remove her boots, Enoch had erected a two-person tent.
“How on Tarma did you dothatso fast?” asked Madeline.
Enoch shrugged. “It’s mostly memory canvas, powered by that little battery,” he replied, pointing to a small silvery disc connected to the tent by a cable. “Much easier than it looks, really. Same tech is going to give us a nice expandable mattress, as soon as I get it set up.”
“That won’t drain the battery?”
“These little fellows are ingenious,” responded Enoch. “One of the better pieces of Alliance tech. We could camp out here for a year, and this battery would power all of our needs. And they’re so small, we can even carry a backup. I packed one battery in each pack.”
“Very practical,” murmured Madeline. “Look, is there anything I can do to help set up camp?”
“When you’ve had a chance to rest,” said Enoch, “I’m going to go over all the basic steps. But there’s no point right now. Now let’s see those feet.”
Madeline felt suddenly shy, but nevertheless extending her feet for his examination. He took them in his hands and looked at them critically.
“Good,” he said. “No blisters, no abrasions. Those boots are a good fit, thank goodness. Your feet will swell for a little while, but they’ll be back to good working order by the morning. In camp, I’ve set out a pair of basic sandals you can use.”
Enoch’s hands were strong, but he handled her feet with surprising delicacy. His touch was sure, and Madeline had to admit that she was enjoying the attention. “Mmm-hmm,” was all she said.
