It was as if a strong, wild wind had blown into the house. Sanford was so obviously stunned by Daniel's appearance that he sat with his hand frozen in the air, his fork full of peas.
"Hello, Daniel," Sanford said, his eyes softening. "I see you finally got that motorcycle you've been threatening to buy."
"You bet I did," Daniel said. "I seem to remember you used to throw around the idea of getting one of your own."
"I was never really serious," he said, glancing at Celine.
"How about you?" Daniel asked me. "You want to go for a ride after dinner?"
"Of course she doesn't," Celine said quickly. "Do you think I would place her in such danger?"
Daniel laughed and continued to eat. I was still too surprised and overwhelmed to speak. He winked at me again.
"I bet you'd like a ride," he said, and he stared at me so intently it seemed like he could see into my soul. I wondered if my soul wore biker leather!
"Stop it, Daniel," Celine ordered. He laughed again and shook his head in defeat.
"Where were you this time?" Sanford asked. Although he meant it to sound critical, I saw a look of envy in his eyes as he waited for Daniel to tell about his adventures.
"The Cape. You would have loved it, Sanford. We took the sea route through Connecticut and rode along the ocean. I swear, with the wind blowing through our hair and the smell of the fresh salt air, felt like we could drive forever. Never come back."
"And yet here you are. I dare not ask who the we was," Celine said as she wrinkled up her nose.
"You dare not? Funny, Mother dared not either." "I'll bet," Sanford said with a small smile.
"Actually, Sanford, she was a very pretty young damsel in distress when I found her, clothed and fed her, and bought her a motorcycle," Daniel told him between bites.
"You bought a strange woman a motorcycle?" Celine asked with a grimace.
"Actually, she wasn't so strange after a few days," Daniel said and winked at me again. "So, tell me all about yourself, Janet. How old are you?"
"I'll be thirteen in a few weeks," I said hesitantly. Daniel seemed larger than life and having him concentrate his questions on me was making me nervous.
"That old? You'll need to negotiate a retirement package as well then," he joked. "Seriously, are they treating you well here? Because if they're not, I have friends in high places and I can have things going your way in no time. They have to obey the rules of the Geneva Convention when it comes to prisoners."
"But . . but I'm not a prisoner," I said quickly, looking from Sanford to Celine for help.
"Will you stop it. You'll frighten her with your behavior," Celine said. She paused and then asked, "How are Mother and Father?"
"Proper well," he said. He turned to me. "Our parents are slowly becoming statues. They sit still as granite and breathe only filtered air."
"Daniel!" Celine chastised.
"They're fine, they're fine. Of course, I saw them only for a few minutes before Mother started in on you know what," he said, nodding toward me.
"That's enough," Sanford said sharply.
"She should know what she's in for, what sort of family she has contracted to do business with, don't you think?" Daniel replied.
"Please," Celine pleaded. He shrugged.
"Okay, I'll be civil. Really. How do you like life here, Janet?" he asked me.
"I like it a lot," I said.
"And they put you in that snobby school?" "Peabody is not a snobby school. It's a special school with advantages," Celine corrected.
"Did they tell you I went there but I was asked to please seek another place for my studies?"