Close to the Heart

by Rebecca Stratton

  Hooking a finger through the bracelet on her wrist, he lifted her captive arm up between them. 'Did I not threaten to put you in irons?' he asked, and it was Lisa who laughed so uninhibitedly as they approached the Djenoun.

  The gangway was down, but there was no one about, only the lights burning comfortingly against a background of moonlit sea, and Lisa wondered that there was no one on deck. They neither saw nor heard anyone until Ali emerged from the shadows by the companionway suddenly.

  He bobbed Lisa a brief bow, then addressed himself

  in Arabic to his employer. But if his aim was to keep Lisa from knowing what he was saying, he was not altogether successful, for somewhere in the spate of Arabic she caught the unmistakable sound of Geoffrey's name, recognisable even in Ali's strong accent.

  She looked at Yusuf anxiously, wondering why she suddenly felt so anxious to know that Geoffrey and the rest of the group had not put in an appearance while they had been away. Tentatively she placed a hand on Yusuf s arm and he turned quickly, frowning slightly as if he wondered how far he could trust her. After the past few hours of amiable truce it was hard to be back to normal and she regretted it more than she cared to admit.

  'Is Geoffrey here?' she asked, and her lack of enthusiasm must have struck Yusuf as odd. 'I thought I

  heard Ali say '

  'He was here,' Yusuf told her shortly. 'He arrived shortly after we left, but he was alone and asking to see you—demanding to see you.' He sounded as if he had a perfect right to object to anyone demanding to see her, and Lisa was too unsure of her reaction to say anything. 'It is as I thought,' Yusuf went on confidently. 'Your being here is a deterrent.'

  The others didn't come to Zobi at all?' She felt horribly treacherous for speaking as she did; as if she was anxious for the rest not to follow Geoffrey.

  'No one saw them,' Yusuf told her. 'I think it is safe to assume that your—friend was here alone because he is more personally involved than the rest. Or perhaps he was on a reconnaissance; trying to discover how safe it is for them to proceed. With luck he will have been discouraged enough to suggest calling the whole thing off.' But Lisa was less convinced and she looked across at the site, her brows drawn anxiously. 'I doubt it very much; they have the fate of Zobi very much at heart,

  and I don't think the fact that you're holding me hostage will keep them off for good.'

  Beyond the stone pier Zobi appeared closer at night than by day, when the heat made a distorting haze even at that short distance. A couple of lamps hung from two of the palm trees and a fire had been lit in the open at the edge of the village. It looked quiet and incredibly peaceful, with an occasional shadowy figure passing across the firelight, and Lisa regretted that it was the cause of such controversy.

  She had not anticipated feeling as she did when it came to the point, and she could not quite understand why she found herself anxious that nothing should disturb the peace of Zobi and bring a heartfelt but so far purely verbal objection to the point of violent action. She realised that she had come into the situation with preconceived ideas, and not all of them were as clearly cut as she had thought. She felt very small and uncertain, and inextricably involved in a situation that threatened to get out of hand very soon now, and it was somehow instinctive to turn to Yusuf.

  'I—I don't like the idea of a pitched battle/ she ventured, and he looked down at her steadily for a moment before he replied.

  'I doubt very much if it will come to that,' he told her. Tour friends will have sense enough to know that they cannot win, when they realise that they have both the site crew and the crew of the Djenoun to deal with if they come.'

  Lisa glanced around her uneasily, realising at last the reason for the Djenoun s feeling of desertion, and she shrank from the idea of him mustering his men for a full-scale conflict in defence of his property. Looking up at his face with its shadowed dark eyes, she nervously moistened her lips.

  'You've sent them all over to Zobi in case the group

  come in force?' she asked, and Yusufs gaze challenged her darkly.

  'Will they come in force?' he countered softly and, trying to read what was going on behind those unfathomable dark eyes, Lisa hesitated.

  'I don't know.' A mere glimpse of movement at the corner of his mouth brought her head up swiftly and she spoke quickly and urgently, anxious to convince him. 'I don't, I honestly don't! Please believe me.'

  'Would you tell me if you did? Yusuf demanded in the same softly persuasive voice, and she shook her head; a short jerky movement that showed how reluctant she was to answer.

  'I don't know that either,' she confessed.

  For what seemed like an interminable time he watched her small, anxious face, then he shook his head. 'I do not think they will do anything tonight at least,' he told her, and when she glanced up quickly to remind him that he had sent his men over there in force, she noticed he was smiling, and his eyes gleamed darkly at her between their black lashes. 'With my men over there to ensure nothing happens, we may enjoy our dinner on deck in the moonlight without fear of interruption.' His voice dipped a full octave as he bent his head slightly. 'Unless you refuse to dine with me, Lisa.'

  Lisa made no pretence of even thinking about refusing, for her heart was beating hard and fast and her legs felt oddly unsteady, so that she needed something to cling to as she tried to sound cool and unaffected. Looking down at the trousers and shirt she had worn all day, she wished she had something more glamorous to wear for a moonlight dinner on deck with him; but his sister's wardrobe did not run to evening dresses.

  'I won't refuse,' she told him, in a not quite steady voice. 'It sounds like a pleasant way to end a very pleasant day.'

  His eyes had a deep gleaming darkness in the moonlight, and she told herself she was much too susceptible. Indicating that she should precede him down the com-panionway, Yusuf followed her, his feet taking the steep steps with much more confidence than her own more careful ones. "What will you wear?* he asked, and she turned and looked over her shoulder at him as he followed her along the passage to her cabin. Coming to a halt outside her cabin door she turned to face him, but he was pushing one of the packages he carried into her hands before she could answer. 'You have been wearing Zeineb's clothes,' he said. 'I see no reason why you should not continue to do so/

  'What is it? 1

  He smiled at her suspicion. Take it/ he urged. 'I always buy Zeineb something whenever I go away, and I got her a caftan while I was in Tiznit. It does not matter that such a garment is a little too big/

  'Oh, but I can't take a present that you bought for your sister,' Lisa protested. 'Not even to borrow it/

  'Of course you will wear it/ Yusuf insisted. 'Zeineb has no need of a new caftan, and you have need of something to help your morale—she would be the first to insist that you wear it/ Looking down at her in the dim lighting of the passage, his eyes glowed darkly. To please me?' he murmured persuasively, and Lisa held the soft package tightly while she sought for the door handle with her free hand. 'I just hope you're right/ Her hands were trembling and she felt oddly lightheaded when she recalled that he had made her take the gift for her comfort and pleasure, and she whispered hasty thanks as she turned the handle and opened the door. Thank you, Yusuf/

  Her use of his name had been quite automatic and she did not even realise she had used it until he took her hand from the door handle and raised it to his mouth.

  'De rien, ma chZre,' he said softly, and pressed his lips to her fingers.

  Lisa did not remember when she had felt so good in anything as she did in the caftan that Yusuf had insisted she wear. It was made of a deep rich red brocade embroidered in silver and black, and it made her light skin appear almost translucent by contrast. Considering it had been bought for someone who was two sizes bigger than she was, it fitted her well, although the flowing lines of it suggested rather than emphasised the shape beneath it.

  The only mirror in the cabin was inside the door of the wardrobe and she pushed it
wide to enable her to admire her new image speculatively, before she went to join Yusuf on deck. It was just the right length and it was when she saw her toes peeping from below it that she frowned suddenly. Running her hands down over the richness of the material, she eyed her reflection thoughtfully, frowning once more over her toes showing below the hem of the caftan.

  She had it on good authority that Zeineb Boudri was quite a bit taller than she was, and it had been confirmed by the over-long dresses she had been wearing for the past couple of days. Lisa found it curious, therefore, that a man as knowledgeable about women's clothes as Yusuf had shown himself to be should choose a caftan for his sister that would be much too short for her, but which fitted Lisa perfectly.

  Catching sight of her reflection, she realised that she was smiling, and there was a bright glowing look in her eyes that made her shake her head as she turned away. Her fingers twirled the heavy silver bangle round and round on her wrist and she found she could remember with startling vividness, the light touch of Yusuf s fingers when he slid it over her hand.

  Perhaps she would let him know that she had spotted his deception about the caftan, or perhaps not—not yet. In the meantime she was well satisfied with looking more exotic than she had ever done in her life before, in the richness of red and silver brocade; and more excited too at the prospect of a moonlight dinner with the donor.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  Yusuf was standing by the rail when Lisa came on deck, and he turned at once when she appeared, almost as if he sensed her there, for he could surely not have heard the whispering softness of her sandalled feet on the deck. Seeing her, he flung the cigarette he was smoking over the side into the sea, and it struck her just how often she had seen him do that. It was a habit of his that she was getting used to, and it gave her a strange feeling of intimacy to realise it.

  It had not occurred to her until she saw him that he would inevitably dress for the occasion too, and she felt her heart respond wildly at the sight of him. Tall and lean and so unmistakably masculine, he was an impressive man in any circumstances, but particularly so in the present ones, Lisa felt.

  A white suit, possibly the same one she had seen him in the very first time their paths crossed, lent an added darkness to that stunningly sensual face, and a cream shirt and brown tie added a touch of formality. He appeared at ease, and yet somehow Lisa sensed a certain tension in him that could account for the slight upward angle of his chin as he regarded her steadily.

  He studied her in that bold and uninhibited way that made her conscious of every curve of her body beneath the soft lines of the caftan, and of every movement she made as she crossed the deck towards him. Her legs trembled and felt almost too weak to support her suddenly, but she managed to smile confidently enough, 'Isn't it lovely?' She stood beside him at the rail, looking out across the unending ocean and the shimmering

  yellow path on its surface that flowed outward from the moon.

  Yusuf said nothing in reply, but turned his head and smiled, showing gleaming white teeth in the dusky contours of his face, and a glowing blackness in his eyes. Distracted for a second by the appearance of AH, he offered her his hand, leading her to where a table had been set on the narrow deck. Looking out over the sea, so that they seemed to be isolated from the rest of the world.

  The food was in keeping with the idyllic setting, and although Lisa enjoyed it, she could not have described it in any detail, for her mind was in a kind of daze. Ali served them, quietly and discreetly as always, keeping their glasses filled with a light, sweet wine that seemed just right for an evening like this. But when he disappeared after serving them coffee, he left behind a curious sense of anticipation.

  Too restive to bear the silence for long, Lisa held her glass pressed to her lips without drinking from it, and just avoided looking directly into the dark eyes that watched her so steadily. 'I feel so different in this dress/ she ventured breathlessly. 'It's so—so exotic.'

  'It suits you perfectly.'

  Lisa glanced at him from the concealment of her lashes, her eyes bright with mischief, and she could not resist a hint. 'And it fits me too,' she said, then laughed softly before taking a sip from her glass.

  It would take more than that to put Yusuf at a disadvantage, she guessed, and he sat with his glass in one hand and the inevitable K6bir in the other; leaning back in his chair, confident and at ease. 'I like my women to look good,' he said, and the possessive note in his voice found a responsive chord in Lisa's heart, plucking it with skilful fingers.

  She did not answer. The situation was too provocative.

  and a shiver thrilled along her spine as she sipped more wine rather than look at him. Then some sound—some muffled, distant sound on shore reminded her that Zobi was just a few metres beyond where they were sitting in seeming isolation, and she remembered. Looking down at her hands, she clasped the wine glass in trembling fingers. It wasn't possible to forget Zobi completely, but she admitted to wishing she could, and that in itself was treachery enough.

  'I hope nothing happens over there/ she said huskily, knowing he must have caught the sound too and been reminded. She glanced over her shoulder, although it was impossible to see anything from where they sat.

  She half expected Yusuf to be angry about the reminder, but he merely looked thoughtful for a moment, then ground out the end of the K6br in the ashtray, and took a sip from his glass, as if to give himself time to think about what he had to say. 'You know nothing about Zobi, do you, Lisa?'

  She shook her head, more reluctant than she would have believed to have the fate of Zobi intrude into this perfect evening. 'You've told me I don't/ she reminded him. 'I'm no longer very sure of anything, to be quite honest. I know what we were told—that the whole village was to be razed to the ground to make way for a luxury hotel. Are you saying it isn't true?'

  She found herself praying it wasn't true, even if it did make the whole protest pointless. But Yusuf was considering the question and taking his time about it. 'Basically it is true/ he allowed. 'Zobi is to be bulldozed to the ground and an hotel built on the spot/

  Raising her eyes, Lisa looked at him with mingled appeal and resignation. 'But?' she prompted.

  'But it is not as—barbaric as you make it sound/

  'Destroying homes to make way for an hotel?' She

  looked at him reproachfully. 'Oh, Yusuf, you don't really believe that, do you?'

  'Most certainly I do/ he argued equably. 'Because I know it is true.'

  As she watched him through her lashes, Lisa's emotions were oddly confused. She wanted to believe him, and yet if he was right the group, and herself, were horribly wrong; and she had the feeling that they were just that. 'Why don't you % tell me where I—we're wrong?' she suggested.

  He leaned his elbows on the table in front of him, which brought his face much closer, and made it much harder for Lisa to concentrate on what he had to say. The warmth of his nearness and that tantalising, familiar sensuousness teased her senses relentlessly, so that she trembled like a leaf while she sat with her eyes lowered, waiting for him to do as she suggested.

  'Your whole objection is based on the fact that a village is to be demolished so that I can build my hotel, yes?'

  Lisa nodded, but with a growing suspicion. Tou know what our objections are,' she told him, and he drew deeply on his cigarette before he went on.

  'Yes, you have been quite explicit in your anger.' The fact that he smiled ruefully when he said it did not make Lisa feel any more confident. 'From the beginning your objection puzzled me,' he confessed, 'until I began to realise that you knew nothing about the situation at Zobi at all. Did you know that the village has been dying for many years now ? The soil is arid, cropped until it is useless and unable to provide even a meagre living for its people.'

  Lisa was looking at him with wide, uneasy eyes, and her heart was beating so hard it made her breathless. 'But we didn't know that—how could we?'

  Just for a moment that hint of derisio
n curled his lip.

  and one black brow winged swiftly upward. 'It would have taken very little more effort to discover that than to discover my plans/ he told her.

  'But—the people?' There was still that point to be considered, and she would not allow herself to overlook it. 'No matter how poor the living was, Zobi was their home and they're now without even a poor living, and their homes destroyed, or about to be.'

  'You know that for certain?'

  Lisa knew she had yet again reached the wrong conclusion, and her feelings were so confused that she found it hard to think clearly. By taking her, and the group's, case apart piece by piece, he was condemning her along with her friends, and yet she could not help feeling a wonderful sense of relief that he was proving to be less of a monster than they had made him out. She shook her head without saying anything, and Yusuf went on to enlighten her further, although it was a chastening experience as well as a pleasing one.

  'My father has some land, quite close by Zobi, land that is richer and more fertile than Zobi has ever been, though further inland. The people lose their traditional home by the sea, but they gain a new village that is richer than anything they have ever known before. It is a fair exchange—we need the site on the ocean front, and the villagers need more fertile land to exist. Barter has long been our way of obtaining what we need, Lisa; the situation is not new to us.'

  Lisa coped as best she could with the truth, but it was much too hard to suddenly do a complete about-turn on something she had felt so strongly about, and she sat for several moments trying to bring order to her chaotic thoughts. 'So—so no one's being driven out of their homes to make way for your hotel?'

  Yusuf shook his head and took another cigarette. 'No/

  Watching the bright flame of the lighter make intrigu-

  ing shadowplay on his face, Lisa felt curiously humble suddenly and she folded her hands together on the table to keep them from trembling so much. He reached over and folded one of his own big hands over hers, but when she would have told him how sorry she was, the touch of him disturbed her so much that she found it hard to say anything.