He straightened.
“How do you think Uncle David is?” he asked, unexpectedly.
“Better than he has been in years. Why?”
“Because I'm thinking of taking a little trip. Only ten days,” he added, seeing her face. “You could house-clean my office while I'm away. You know you've been wanting to.”
She dropped the brush, and he stooped to pick it up. That gave her a moment.
“'Where?” she managed.
“To Dry River, by way of Norada.”
“Why should you go back there?” she asked, in a carefully suppressed voice. “Why don't you go East? You've wanted to go back to Johns Hopkins for months?”
“On the other hand, why shouldn't I go back to Norada?” he asked, with an affectation of lightness. Then he put his hand on her shoulders. “Why shouldn't I go back and clear things up in my own mind? Why shouldn't I find out, for instance, that I am a free man?”
“You are free.”