“She kissed me. Right there in the hallway of the—”
“Spare me the geography,” Leoh cut in. “What did she say?”
“I bumped into her in the hallway. We, uh, started talking ... sort of. She seemed, well ... worried about me. She got upset. Emotional. You know? I guess I looked pretty forlorn and frightened. I am ... I guess. When you get right down to it, I mean.”
“You aroused her maternal instinct.”
“I ... I don’t think it was that ... exactly. Well, anyway, she said that if I was willing to risk my life to save yours, she couldn’t protect her father any more. Said she was doing it out of selfishness, really, since he’s her only living relative. I don’t believe she meant that, but she said it anyway.”
They had reached the building by now. Leoh grabbed Hector’s arm and steered him clear of a collision with the half-open door.
“She’s agreed to let us put Dulaq in the dueling machine?”
“Sort of.”
“Eh?”
“The medical staff doesn’t want him to be moved from the hospital ... especially not back to here. She agrees with them.”