Free Revolutionary Hearts by Pema Donyo Page B

village where they had last been seen. He swallowed hard and marched toward the kitchen. They should’ve left earlier in the morning. Damn him for getting too comfortable in one place. Within seconds, she was inside the room as well.
    Parineeta’s aunt was in the process of pouring water over some of the dishes. She moved with a slow pace, oblivious to the soldiers outside her home.
    He watched the woman beside him march toward her aunt and place a gentle hand on her arm. “Aunty, we have to leave.”
    Ankita sighed and set aside one of the tin bowls. “You just arrived.”
    Warren placed his back flat against one wall and twisted his shoulders to peer through the glass window. Five British soldiers marched down the street in a pack of pith helmets and pressed brown uniforms, asking questions of Indian men passing by. The Indians they talked to were well-dressed in newsboy caps and collared shirts with gray pants fit for a proper suit. There was little fear in their postures, unlike the poorer villagers he had seen before. Maybe it had nothing to do with their level of wealth. Perhaps the revolutionary fever merely coated this village thicker than the others.
    Each Indian in the group shrugged his shoulders and shook his head, but the soldiers still seemed to be walking in his and Parineeta’s direction all the same.
    His attention flickered from the soldiers to the scene inside the kitchen once Parineeta spoke again. “It’s urgent. I will be in contact with you soon. Don’t worry.”
    He turned around and jerked a thumb over his shoulder. “There’s no time to lose.”
    Ankita grabbed one of his hands and surrounded his palm with both of hers. Wrinkles pulled up against the sides of her mouth as she smiled at him. Her touch was warm. “I hope your journey to Lucknow will be safe.”
    “I hope so, too. I cannot thank you enough for your kindness and hospitality,” he said in Hindi. He placed his other palm over the top of the woman’s weathered hands.
    She leaned in closer. Her green veil fell forward on her forehead until it covered her gray hair. “Take good care of my Parineeta, won’t you?”
    He didn’t need to think twice. “I will protect her with my life.”
    An unceremonious snort echoed from the other room. When had Parineeta left the kitchen?
    “He needs my protection as well!”
    “That I do!” The corner of his mouth quirked upward as he left the room to join her.
    Crazy girl.
    • • •
    Parineeta pushed aside one of the low swinging branches of the mango tree. The sticky air around her smelled damp, cool, and fresh. Even after she’d disguised Warren, she felt much more comfortable traveling through the dense jungle than through populous towns and villages. The last problem they needed was someone recognizing either of them on the main road.
    “Look what I found!”
    She turned around at the sound of his excited voice. He stood a few feet away from her, pointing to a mango tree. A plethora of ripe, juicy mangoes drooped down from the branches, just above his head.
    She frowned. “All you think about is your stomach.” She searched the branches above the mangoes for any other signs of life up there. “There will be food when we find my brother. Let us continue on for now.”
    But Warren jumped up anyway, grabbing a mango and yanking the fruit off the tree. He grabbed another and another. She walked over to him and placed both of her hands on his shoulders.
    “Stop!”
    He halted with a jerky motion. The confusion etched across his brow almost made her laugh. His hands clenched around the reddish-orange fruits. “Why should I?”
    As if on cue, she heard the familiar sound of the tree’s inhabitants and felt dread sink into the pit of her stomach. She swiped at the fruits to try to knock them out of his hands, but he extended his arm up and away to keep the mangoes just out of her reach. “Because those do not belong to you.”
    “That’s ridiculous.” Warren held up his fruit