Roumelia Lane - The Scented Hills

by Roumelia Lane

  Neil nodded and went on, 'Time you started thinking about making some kind of a life for yourself.'

  'I like the life I've got,' Barry grinned, stretching his slight frame.

  'Then shall we say…' Neil paused before finishing crisply

  '… a living?'

  'Me? Make a living?' Barry looked round the room as though to share the joke and then smirked quizzically, 'The Charles Barrington Devereux?'

  Neil shrugged wide shoulders and relaxed his frame. One hand was thrust lazily into his trouser pocket, the other clipped the deep-drawn cigarette from between his lips as he drawled, 'Impressive title.'

  Barry looked slightly nonplussed at the idle gesture, then throwing his head back to laugh, he scoffed, 'Come off it, Neil! I've got a lot more than an impressive title.'

  'That's just it.' Neil looked at the tip of his cigarette before returning his gaze. 'You haven't.'

  Tessa couldn't make out if the twisted smile was for her or for Barry. She saw the younger boy's blue eyes open laughingly incredulous, and then he was shaking his head to state, 'I don't get it. What is all this talk anyway?'

  'No talk,' Neil clipped, 'just hard cold facts.' He looked at Barry piercingly and then Tessa was embraced in the green gaze as he drawled with that peculiar twisted smile of his, 'I guess you're man enough now to take the truth.'

  'The truth?' Barry swayed his amusement. 'What truth?'

  'Just that you don't have a cent to your name.'

  Tessa felt the colour drain from her face at the words. Barry rocked, but kept his smile. Elaine was the only one who looked no different, but then her lashes were lowered and she only spoke with her eyes.

  Over the chasm of silence Barry looked at his guardian, then hitching his slacks he grinned nervously, 'Okay, Neil, what's the joke? Whose leg are you trying to pull?'

  'This is no stunt, Barry,' Neil rapped. 'Your grandfather made a lot of wild business moves in his old age. Deals that almost ruined the firm he had built up. You had to know some day that I came in as a lot more than a partner. You had to know too that your grandfather's mistakes caught up with the fortune he left when he died, or the best part of it. I've been carrying things along for the past two years.'

  'You mean,' Elaine rose from the arm of her chair, 'the Devereux concern, this house and everything, is yours?'

  Neil looked at Barry sharply. 'Your grandmother doesn't have to know.'

  Barry was too stricken to reply, though he shook his head in trance-like agreement at the words. Tessa's heart went out to him. Poor Barry! What a blow I To tumble from millionaire to nothing in five minutes. She wanted to drop an arm around him sympathetically if only to shake some colour back into his cheeks, but she had a feeling it wouldn't do any good, so she stayed where she was with her gaze on the carpet. Neil, she knew, kept his eyes on her, but since he had done that for most of the time he had been talking, she was becoming accustomed to it.

  She listened to the silence, raised her head at last, and saw Neil stubbing out his cigarette at the table. 'That's it, Barry,' he said tightly. 'If you want to talk about it any time, you know where to find me. In the meantime it's getting late.'

  He turned for the first time to Elaine, dropping her a speculative glance. She stepped up to say with a warm smile, 'Barry had the delightful idea of inviting me to stay for a while, as company for Tessa.'

  Neil nodded, 'Sound notion.' He sent that taut smile across the room. 'She'll need it.'

  Tessa fought to keep back her colour. The remark may have passed over Elaine's head, but she knew quite well what he meant. Just as she knew now the reason for his pent- up anger all evening, and why he had acted as he had. It was because he thought, from the conversation he had overheard when he came into this room earlier, and the embrace he had found them in, that Barry was going to marry her, Tessa. And rather than that, he had chosen his moment to tell Barry that he was penniless—something she was convinced he would never have spoken of but for her.

  That was how much Neil wanted to be rid of her. Her cheeks did blaze in spite of herself, and try as she might, she couldn't hide the blur of tears at the thought.

  As no one else was making any move to leave, she led the way, hurrying out into the hall and making her way blindly upstairs to her room.

  The last person she wanted to think of was Neil, but his mocking anger stayed with her to drag at her heart through a sleepless night, and rather than face him the next day, she pleaded a slight headache, and had lunch in her room. Not that that was going to help, she thought, pacing miserably afterwards and eventually searching out something to wear. She couldn't hide herself away in her room for ever.

  As she showered and changed, her mind swinging back and forth over the climatic happenings last night, she found herself wading through her hurt, to the time when it had all started. The meeting that afternoon in the salon at Devereux's; the elaborate scheme to bring her over here and use her as a cover, for another, forbidden affair. Poor Barry! He hadn't known it, but Neil had been in full control of the situation all along.

  She wondered what he would be feeling like now, knowing the truth. Knowing that instead of being the Devereux heir, the millionaire playboy, he was nothing more than the young ward of a rich guardian. Remembering his drained features, she hurried with the rest of her toilet and made her way quickly downstairs.

  As she walked along the hall past the drawing room, her mind throbbed with last night's events, but coming out on to the terrace, she found herself wondering, with a slightly stunned dream-like feeling, if she was the only one who had been rocked by Neil's bombshell.

  Life at the villa had never looked more normal. Barry was down on the lawn as dazzling as ever, and though there was a certain bruised look behind his gaze, his face was flushed with pleasure; his laughter rang out as he leapt for the beach ball. Elaine was radiant in soft blue nylon dress with a full swishing skirt. She tossed the ball daintily and laughed a lot too.

  Watching the scene, Tessa could only come to the rapid conclusion that, having slept on the news, Barry had settled for the fact that his guardian had been indulging him for the past two years, so why should he stop now? A reasonable enough assumption, she supposed.

  She had only just got across the terrace when Neil came striding out behind her. He followed her down to the lawn and poured himself a drink, while she pointedly dropped down in the farthest sun-chair away from him. She told herself she wouldn't look at him, no matter what, and in the next second found her lowered gaze trailing slowly across the distance between them and coming up to gleaming leather shoes, pale slacks and wide silk-shirted shoulders. She watched as tanned capable hands drew out the gold cigarette case and lighter and caught the malicious glint that came her way as he asked drily, 'No tearing off in the car today?' When there was no reply he tried again in that ironic drawl of his, 'Someone's appetite gone off living it up?'

  Tessa was no match for his mood, and she knew it. Shrugging, she said in flat tones, 'No one else seems to have a taste for it.'

  'Hey, what's that supposed to mean?' Barry, leaping nearby, shot her a grin. 'I'm game for the beach any time.'

  Elaine laughed as she held the ball. Feeling more and more on her own in a situation that shouldn't have affected her at all, Tessa floundered irritably, 'Well, who wants the beach all the time, for heaven's sake!'

  She caught Neil's look again and heard him say with that familiar twisted smile of his, 'There's always my scene—the thriving Stanton factories and flower fields.' She thought he put a particular emphasis on his own name before glintingly tossing back his drink, then finding her gaze he added, 'I'm just on my way down there now. I can take a passenger.'

  Tessa's heart leapt at the thought of skipping through the fields again, even though most of their loveliness was by. this time scattered over the factory floors. Some of the inner glow of remembered mornings must have shown in her eyes, but she quickly doused it for calm indifference. She would have to remember that Neil was fore
ver taunting. As she dragged her gaze away from his, Elaine rustled in to laugh throatily,

  'I'd love to go, Neil!'

  When Tessa looked again, she saw that white smile lowering towards the lovely features and then Neil was drawling, 'Be my guest!' He took Elaine forward within the circle of his arm and guided her towards his car.

  Tessa lay back staring up at the trees, but seeing only a flame-lit green gaze and a twisted smile. Barry went off to fit a new attachment to his car.

  Dinner that night for Tessa was an ordeal. Madame Devereux's presence was a calming influence, but much to her consternation, the older woman retired upstairs immediately after taking coffee in the drawing room.

  Watching her go, Tessa was desperately tempted to follow, but she had no excuse to offer, and there was something about the way everybody was standing around that made it impossible to just walk out. Neil was a lot nearer to her than she realised and while she was still deciding what to do, he suggested gratingly, 'How about a night out on the town, on me tonight? We can take a run up the coast and rub shoulders with the rich in Nice.'

  'What a lovely idea!' Elaine rustled up.

  'Great!' Barry flushed happily, brushing close to Elaine. 'What'll we do?'

  'Take your choice. No expense spared.' Tessa had the feel ing that Neil's grinding humour was meant for her alone. 'You can have the opera, the casinos, the racecourse—floodlit racing, naturally!'

  'I'm game for anything,' Barry grinned.

  'And Tessa?'

  'Anything,' Tessa said faintly, trapped under the harassing green gaze.

  'Let's go!' Barry laughed, leading the way out on to the terrace. As he made his way towards his car, Neil called casually beside his own, 'Over here, Barry! No sense in us both driving.' He opened the door and assisted Elaine into the seat beside him, then strode round to his side and draped in to flick the engine into life. Tessa took her seat in the back. Beside her, Barry's attitude seemed to be that Elaine would be his in a few days' time, so he could afford to be magnanimous where Neil was concerned.

  Once the car started, Tessa sat apprehensively in her seat, behind the wide shoulders, wishing now that she had taken her courage in both hands and gone upstairs after Madame Devereux. She paid no attention to the view, and Nice to her could have been just another Cannes for all the notice she took of it. But there was no ignoring the dazzle of its night life. Not with Neil in command. He led the way round the most exclusive night spots, non-stop.

  Tessa blinked in the brilliance of chandeliered casinos and gaming rooms, swallowed at the dark-toned opulence of the city's night clubs and bars; and with the big shape looming, found it the longest night of her life.

  When, in the early hours, it seemed that Neil had run out of ideas, she sat back thankfully, but the amber car, still in the bright lights, turned in at one of the big luxury palace hotels, where a floodlit pool fronted a spacious ballroom. Here, the night was just coming into its own. Glasses clinked at the surrounding tables, and couples were moving to the strains of a dark-suited orchestra.

  The Stanton party were given a table near the open french windows and drinks were served. Barry danced with Tessa, but his gaze kept shooting off to where Elaine moved with

  Neil. After a while he grew bored with Tessa's mechanical movements and edged her to the side where he waited eagerly for his chance to claim Elaine; then perhaps because he had lost sight of them, he turned a grin to Tessa and shrugged cheerily, 'I think I'll take a look around.'

  Tessa watched him go, dull-eyed. It seemed that she was the only one who was finding the night hard going. He had only got a few feet away when a steely voice on the other side of her drawled, 'Having fun?'

  She swung her gaze up to see Neil watching Barry's retreating figure with the quizzical lift of an eyebrow and a curling smile. Even without the sneer in his voice, she knew he was referring to her lack of sparkle in Barry's company. Too despondent to care, she set her mouth at his question and replied pointedly, 'I was.'

  Neil slackened his frame beside her to glint with cynical humour, 'You could have fooled me.'

  'I wouldn't dream of trying to fool you,' she retorted sweetly.

  'Wouldn't you?' He pulled her against him with a drawn smile, the green gaze searching hers, 'I'm not so sure.' As he moved out on to the floor Tessa held herself rigid in his arms. After his mood last night on the terrace, the last thing she wanted to do was dance with him again. Fighting to overcome her tremulousness at his nearness, she said in cool tones, 'If you don't mind I think I'll sit this one out.'

  'I mind,' he said flatly, guiding her out forcefully between the couples. His steps were as faultless as ever, but Tessa's were clumsy and awkward because she had no intention of letting herself be drawn into the dance. But Neil was all- powerful. The more she drew away from him, the more his arms tightened about her. He turned her roughly in the cramped space and asked with a smile of contempt, 'Well, what happened to the old bubbling enthusiasm? This is what it's all about, isn't it? What you want?' He swung his gaze over the rich interior and wealthy patrons and then back to her. 'Lush living, the money that goes with it, and someone to see that it never runs out?'

  His arms almost snapped the breath from her at these last words, and strained against him Tessa found herself struggling to read something in his twisted smile.

  What was he trying to do? Get her to bend to him because it had turned out that he was the millionaire?

  If only he knew how easy it would be. To love Neil I To be able to let it show! The mere thought made her almost melt against him. She found herself spinning round and down in the dark intensity of his gaze. But she caught herself in time. Oh yes, it would be easy, so easy. But never, never would she fall into the trap of admitting her love for him now. Not when he was just waiting to twist it into a declaration of love for his money. He had steered her off Barry, so he thought. Now all he had to do was to bring her designs out in the open to prove that he had been right about her.

  Well! She trembled at his strength, but held her chin aloof. He would wait for ever if he was waiting to catch her out that way.

  His eyes never left her face, but after a while his arms slackened and then fell away altogether as he grated sourly, 'Maybe you had better sit this one out.'

  His arms suddenly gone from her, Tessa felt lifeless and empty. She derived a speck of comfort from feeling him close behind her as he guided her around the bumping couples and off the floor, and then he was gone. A few minutes later Barry came to tell her that they were getting ready to leave.

  It was turned three when they arrived back at the villa, but no one seemed in a hurry to go to bed. Barry hung around Elaine, who was thumbing through records in the drawing room, and Neil poured drinks. Tessa was all for crawling away to her room, but Neil pushed a glass into her hand with a malicious glint and commented drily to the room, 'Since our night out on the town turned out to be such a raving success, I reckon we ought to make a week of it. A kind of pre-birthday celebration before the really big night out here at the villa on Friday.'

  'A party here?' Elaine floated to his side and clapped her hands prettily. 'How lovely! Will it be very gay?'

  'Just about the best,' Neil drawled. 'With Barry coming up to eighteen and a new perfume to be launched, we've got something to celebrate. In the meantime,' he swayed, 'to put us all in the mood I think we should hit the high spots along the coast.'

  'Why not?' Barry was becoming enthusiastic. 'We could go to the Linbula Club over at Antibes. They say there's a fantastic jazz combo there. Packs the house every night.'

  Neil tossed his drink back and tightened his smile on it. 'Sounds okay, Barry,' he said in those carefully veiled ironic tones, 'but I don't think it's quite up to Tessa's tastes. Let's keep her happy, shall we? You know what they say, the Riviera is the millionaire's playground, so why don't we let her play a little?'

  His twisted sense of humour again, Tessa told herself, calmly meeting his gaze. She placed her glass down
on the table and turning towards the door said lightly, 'Well, if we're all going to burn up the week, we're going to need some sleep.'

  As she found out, Neil didn't intend doing things by halves. There wasn't a night when he wasn't swinging the amber car off with the four of them inside to some glittering place of entertainment along the coast. Tessa drifted through each one, swallowing her awe at the glamour around her, and trying to look as though she was quite unmoved by the surfeit of luxury and wealth. It was difficult with Neil in the background. He would wait for her to precede him into the palace he had chosen for the evening, those green eyes glinting down at her, the look in them somehow matching the twist of his smile. Alongside Barry, Tessa would tilt her chin at him and carry on. She knew what his tactics were, so let him get on with it. She could take it, she told herself, as long as he wanted to serve it out.

  But could she? As the week progressed she began to feel the weight of her misery too much to bear. It wasn't just her private fight with Neil. She might have been able to battle through that. What was making her world the darkest she had ever known it was the sight of Elaine and Neil constantly together. And Elaine had never been more radiant than she was now. Set in these rich surroundings she seemed to sparkle like a jewel under lights, her hair pale and smooth and caught up in its cascading curls, small teeth milk white when she laughed. Beside her Neil was big and dark and craggily attractive. As he guided her round, close against him, on some polished dance floor, or smiled that white smile of his down at her, beside a glittering bar, Tessa watched big-eyed and desolate.

  She knew they looked perfect together. And wasn't there something else she knew? Something she had felt all along but didn't want to believe. Her spirits spun to their lowest ebb at her thoughts.

  Looking back to that night when Neil had told Barry his true financial position, one fact stood out to torment her now. Instead of making a quick flight from the villa on hearing the news that her prospective husband was penniless, Elaine had stayed on. Yet she had managed to carefully segregate herself from Barry's attentions but not—Tessa's heart dipped—Neil's. And wasn't he the man with the money now?