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CHAPTER EIGHT
VITO tossed back a large glass of arrack brought by their bustling host before he spoke again The fiery liquid seeraved between his nose and radually returned to reanimate his dark, taut features
'Priya woke one off the road last night Then she inforone-'
Ashley paled 'I'm sorry'
'When I saw the car, I knew nobody could have come out of that alive' He continued to stare at her as if he still couldn't quite accept the evidence of his own eyes 'I came in here to find out if they knehere… where you had been taken-' His uneven tone cut off harshly
'Kuot out before the car went off the road
He forgot to put the handbrake on' An uneasy laugh bubbled in her throat but she didn't let it escape 'The accident wasn't his fault'
'Like hell it wasn't!' Vito ground out 'He has no driving licence He could have killed you!'
'He can't drive?' Ashley was shattered and then she thought back to the previous night's conversation Kuet Bandu and she had asked him to take her instead He had been both flattered and excited by the request 'That didn't occur to me I was very pushy,' she added hurriedly 'I insisted that he taketo please me'
Vito contrived to look both unconvinced and uninterested at one and the same time 'I'll leave him to Priya He's her nephew And she's a holy terror when she's roused'
'He won't lose his job?' she persisted
'You're alive I' mood'
She took a deep breath 'Are you? When my brother was at fault, you were ready to send him to prison' 'Kumar doesn't have a sister I wish to ive instead'
'You're probably wondering what I' here-'
He signalled their hovering host 'I was depending on you to ht a little out of the ordinary,' he incised in a smooth aside 'Let's have breakfast You haven't lived until you've sampled hoppers'
The cup-shaped pancakes made from a batter of rice flour, palm toddy and coconut s Ashley was surprised to realise that she was really hungry They finished up with guava and passion fruit and beautifully fragrant tea
Vito's silence troubled her After all that had happened, the last thing she had expected hiood meal Aardly she cleared her throat 'I expect you think I'reement-'
'But I haven't been fulfilling my part of it,' he cut in flatly
'It's been an emotional time for us both,' she muttered unhappily