CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
I expected a chewing out by my host for unwillingly smooching his son but the scolding never came. Indeed, King Pangberan offered me a smile the next morning like the one he’d given me the first time we met. It wasn’t long before I learned why I deserved such a kind greeting.
The first child I’d treated to chocolates stood at the gate to the compound. She held a bouquet of white flowers and her mother stood behind her.
“Someone is waiting for you,” Pangberan informed me as he jerked his head toward the pair.
I walked down the gentle slope over to the pair and offered them a smile. “Good morning. Did you need something?”
The mother leaned down and whispered a few words to her daughter. “Go on. She will love them.”
The little girl shuffled forward and held out
