Page 46 of The Red Woman on Mars

“And what does our AI overlord say now?” Luz asked wryly.

“The Intelligence counsels patience and an eye toward the end goal. It assures us this is all part of the plan.”

“Mm-hmm.”

“I didn’t know.” Wim’s voice was soft.

She snorted. “Yes, you did.”

“No, I mean, I didn’t know what it would feel like to watch you suffer. I’ve never much cared about the suffering of others before.”

“Charming,” Luz drawled, but she was smiling.

Wim pulled back, wiping tears from his cheeks. “You did ask me for the truth. Always.”

“Alright, then here’s some hard truth. I’m pregnant with a child designed for an alien planet’s gravity, and these nine months are going to be hell a lot of the time. But I’m here because I chose to be. And I’m glad I chose you.”

The moment was too intimate for Vivian to stay a second longer. As quietly as she could, she rose and made her way to her guest room. She wondered when Delilah’s first calcium treatment would be. And hers—she couldn’t put it off much longer. Would the nausea come upon all of them so quickly or would their symptoms vary?

She would not soon forget the look of anguish on Wim’s face as he argued with the Intelligence. It was the scenario Xavier wished to avoid, she realized suddenly.I’ve tried not to love you. I don’t want to love you. I love you against my will and my reason.Who would be willing to subject the person they loved to such treatment?

Not Xavier.

She needed to forget all about him. He would never be her partner.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

20 Sols to Presentation Day

Later that afternoon, after she’d seen Luz put to bed for a nap, Vivian slipped out to further her exploration of the well-manicured grounds of Secretary Yarrow’s estate.

Near the great house, she was drawn to a one-room ornamental greenhouse. The air inside was richly humid and heavy with large tropical plants. The lush, colorful garden gave her a powerful wave of homesickness for the hot Carolina summers of her childhood. Then, she stopped short.

Xavier.

Again.

Seated at a wrought-iron bistro table, he held a pen hovering over a stack of cream-colored papers written in a close hand. “Ah.” He glanced down at the paper, and his lips pinched.

“I can go,” Vivian offered.

“No, wait, please. I have just finished writing you a letter.”

“A letter?” Vivian raised her eyebrows, curious despite herself.

He gave a helpless little gesture at the paper. Vivian lifted the top sheet up and read aloud, “Miss Bowen, I fear I expressed myself most inappropriately. I can only say that I was quite overcome with emotion and unable to think clearly. While I have no intention of bringing you pain or humbling myself, I do ask that you read this letter so that I may better explain myself.” She met his eyes,and her mouth lifted in one corner. “No intention of humbling yourself?”

“I …”

“You’ve never unbent at all, have you?” She returned to the letter. “You have accused me of two very different offenses. The first is that I took Caspian away from your sister, and the other, that I ruined the prosperity and prospects of Silas Gatlin.” She met his eyes again and couldn’t hold back a smirk. “You’ve listed my accusations so clearly. I do like a man who can listen.”

Xavier covered his mouth with one large hand.

Vivian sat down across from him at the table and continued, “At the evening of the ball at the Hayes Estate—where I had the honor of dancing with you—I watched Caspian and your sister together. Caspian, I saw, was falling in love with Delilah. But your sister, while polite and kind, was not, I judged, in love. She had many suitors to choose from and did not single out Caspian in her affections. If she agreed to an arrangement with Caspian, she would do so out of a sense of duty, and my dearest friend would be perpetuating a system of injustice against everything we value as Martians. If you are correct here, then I must have been in error. Your superior knowledge of your sister must make the latter probable.” Vivian stopped again. “How kind of you, Mr. Dorsey, to give me superior knowledge of my own sister. That must have been difficult for you.”

Xavier seemed unable to contain his own smile. “This may be the most humiliating moment of my life.”

Delight bubbled up in her chest at his willingness to let her poke fun at him. Had she realized he was capable of putting aside his pride?