by Jane Corrie
Had Beth been in a happier situation, she would have acceded that they were quite the best-looking men in the vicinity, and this was borne out by the fact
that several girls, either crewing for other boats or sailing themselves, found various excuses to carry out their preparations in close proximity to the two men.
The first race was won by Gavin and Nicholas sailing past the finishing line a few yards in front of their nearest rival, and Beth dutifully waved in acknowledgement of this as Nicholas caught her eye as they swept past on their victory run.
There was one more race before lunch, and Beth wished she had the courage to take a stroll along the quay and on to the beach, but daren't. Things were apt to happen when she least expected it, and she could no longer trust to luck, not with Gavin Patterson in the vicinity!
It was as well Beth had stayed put, as the next race was on a shortened course, and the men returned shortly, well pleased with themselves. 'What about that, Beth?' exclaimed Nicholas. 'Patterson handled her beautifully.'
`You didn't do so bad yourself,' grinned Gavin, as they settled down beside her.
Soon they were immersed in a discussion on the style and performance of the various boats that had taken part in the race, and Beth felt she might not have been there for all the notice they took of her. Not that she could join in the conversation. You could put all that Beth knew about boats on a postcard, and still leave room for a message !
For her, it was back to old times with a vengeance, for Nicholas never expected her to take part in any conversation, although he would allow her to con-
-
firm a point here and there depending on the subject raised.
Assuming the silent Beth was on her own, a young yachtsman attempted to engage her in conversation by asking her why he hadn't seen her there before. Grateful for the opportunity to while the time away until Nicholas or Gavin deigned to notice her presence, Beth was about to reply when Nicholas cut in with, 'Darling, this must be an awful bore for you. I'm afraid we've got two more races this afternoon, I daresay I could bow out.' He looked at Gavin. 'You could replace me, no doubt?' he asked.
Fuming inwardly at the cold way he had handed out a snub to the young yachtsman, who had got the message and walked away, Beth found herself now faced with the prospect of spending the afternoon with him, let alone the evening. 'It's all right, Nicholas,' she said swiftly. 'You carry on, I'm perfectly happy,' answering before Gavin could reply.
`There's a fair wind blowing up,' observed Gavin. `Should make a good afternoon's sailing.'
If this remark was calculated to catch Nicholas's enthusiasm, it was perfectly timed, Beth thought, for there was no more talk of him pulling out, and they were soon discussing tactics for the next race.
A muted gong then sounded, and Gavin looked up. 'Lunch,' he commented brightly. 'Come on, we're in the first sitting.'
The small dining room was almost full when they walked in, but Gavin led them to a window seat set in an alcove, which Beth suspected was his personal table, for several people were looking for tables, and
they had arrived ahead of them, but they had bypassed this one.
When Gavin stood aside to allow Beth to take her seat, she almost did a double-take. It was the first time he had shown her any deference, and when he handed the menu to her with a 'Beth?' she was almost overcome with confusion. It had always been 'Miss Knight' or just plain 'You'.
Beth knew she had Nicholas to thank for her upgraded status, but nevertheless she felt extremely uncomfortable, and preferred things as they were. She was allowed no more than a perfunctory glance at the menu before Nicholas commanded it, as usual ordering for both of them.
`The steaks are good. I can recommend them,' suggested Gavin, who had observed Nicholas's action and looked vaguely amused.
Still studying the menu, Nicholas shook his head. `Er—no, I don't think so. Beth and I prefer a salad. I'm a vegetarian myself, and Beth's gradually coming round to my way of thinking, aren't you, darling?'
`Yes, Nicholas,' Beth replied, noticing the way Gavin's eyebrows rose at the docile reply.
The same thing happened when liquid refreshment was mentioned. 'We do not take wine with our meals, except occasionally at dinner, do we, darling?'
Beth spoke her party piece again with a, `No, Nicholas.'
For this she received a hard look from Gavin, obviously wondering if Beth was taking the rise out of the pair of them. But Beth had been well trained, and was keeping out of trouble. She knew how to handle Nicholas.
Gavin had been right about the wind. It was quite strong by the time the next race was due, and Nicholas fussed over her like an anxious mother. Was she quite comfortable? The wind was sharpish, hadn't he better leave his sweater with her?
Beth answered either yes or no, whichever was applicable, she did not feel it was cold enough for her to wear his sweater, but apparently he had decided it was, and handed it to her. Her firm, 'No, thank you, Nicholas,' was a mistake, for he just said : Put it on.'
She did not argue, but accepted it with a low, 'Very well,' and if she hadn't felt so miserable would have chuckled at the look on Gavin's face. He was obviously having trouble working out what had come over her.
By the time they had finished the afternoon's racing, Beth's thoughts turned to the cottage, and blessed peace. Janice would probably be there, and John too, for she would have brought him in for reinforcements should Nicholas take her home. The fact that he hadn't got his own transport would easily be overcome by his new ally, Gavin, who would probably offer him one of his own cars, just to help the course of true love to run smoothly !
But first there was tea to get through, and seated back at the same table, Beth found she was quite hungry. The tiny sandwiches were appetisingly laid out, and there were several plates of delicious-looking pastries, some with cream oozing out, and others covered with jam. Beth had never seen anything like them before, and wondered if they were a speciality of the island, and commented on them before she realised her mistake.
`Too rich, darling, try one of those almond-looking cakes,' ordered Nicholas, then seeing someone he knew across the room, he exclaimed : 'Why, there's. Jimmy Darwell ! He came over with me and promised to let me have an address—we're both in the same line. Will you excuse me, darling? Patterson?'
Beth could feel Gavin's eyes on her as she watched Nicholas go over to his friend's table, and when she turned back to him, she saw that he had picked up a plate of pastries and was holding it towards her. With a wicked twinkle in his eye, he said, 'I dare you!'
Beth looked back at him coolly; he was enjoying himself immensly. 'No, thank you,' she replied adding for good measure, 'Nicholas doesn't think they're good for me.'
Seeing the glint in his eye this answer produced, she knew they were back on the old footing,. and he was about to make a reply when Nicholas returned, so he turned his attention on him. 'I presume you'll stay on for the prizegiving tonight? We've several cups to collect,' he reminded him before he had a chance to refuse.
`Well—er—yes, thank you. What do we do about dress, though?'
`It's informal,' replied Gavin. 'It has to be—there's no time for anyone to take off and come back again. We just see it through.'
See it through was right, thought a miserable Beth. There was no chance now of an evening at the cottage. At least she wouldn't be spending the whole evening with Nicholas, and she had to be grateful for that.
The dining room was cleared after tea, and one table was left in the centre of the room to accommodate the gleaming cups. Speeches were then made, and the proud winners stepped forward to collect their cups. Gavin and Nicholas took the lion's share, and judging by the ovation received on each occasion, they were popular wins, but Beth couldn't share the enthusiasm shown for either man!
To her dismay, the presenting of the cups was not the finale of the evening, for as soon as the presentations were over, a band appeared from a side door and settled down to enterta
in the members with some dance music.
Making certain no one else got a look in, Nicholas claimed the first three dances and would have taken the fourth, had not the young man who had approached Beth earlier that day made a valiant effort, and withstanding a caustic look from Nicholas swept her off for a foxtrot.
It was the only dance that Beth really enjoyed, for there were no clinging holds of the type that Nicholas was subjecting her to, and she had time to gaze around as she danced. She saw Gavin standing talking to Nicholas, and realised with a start that he had not taken the floor all evening, in spite of the hopeful glances several women were sending his way.
When Gavin asked her for the next dance, Beth could only assume he was being awkward. He must have thought she was enjoying herself and decided to put a spoke in the wheel !
The dance was a waltz, and suited her, for she knew she would not be able to concentrate on any
tricky steps—not with Gavin Patterson! A feeling of embarrassment made things worse for her, and she was stiff when he took her in his arms. He held her correctly and seemed a little stiff himself, not due to embarrassment, Beth thought, but distaste for having to make a duty dance.
`How long have you known Harbin?' Gavin asked her suddenly, taking Beth by surprise.
`Two years,' she replied, having a shrewd idea of what was coming.
`Two years!' he exclaimed. 'And acting like that all the time ! Has he got a surprise coming '
She couldn't pretend she did not know what he meant. She stared up at him. 'You wouldn't understand,' she said coldly.
`Well, for once you're right,' Gavin remarked dryly, adding conversationally, 'He looks sane, doesn't he?'
Beth gasped; if he was trying to rile her, he had succeeded! She judged it beautifully and her heel came down on his foot with as much force as she could produce in the given time. She was rewarded by his quick gasp and a missed step. 'Sorry,' she said, giving him a sweet smile.
`I think it's about time the scores were evened, don't you?' he drawled, as he jerked her close to him to prevent the likelihood of another retaliation. 'It's also time someone took you in hand, and I'm not sure Harbin's the man to do it.'
If Beth was uncomfortable before, she was doubly so now. His nearness was beginning to affect her in an odd way, for her knees felt like rubber, and her
pulse rate soared. It wasn't embarrassment and it wasn't fear, and she was completely bewildered by her feelings.
The rest of the evening passed reasonably well. Gavin did not ask for a second dance—his foot was probably sore, Beth hoped. However, there was a certain look in his eye whenever he looked her way, that gave her a few qualms. To all outward appearances he behaved as normal, but Beth had a nasty feeling that this time she had pushed him too far.
When it was time to leave the club she felt as if she were between the devil and the deep blue sea. On the one hand she did not fancy finding herself alone with Gavin—not in that mood ! —and on the other, Nicholas's possessive arm round her waist gave her a foretaste of what was coming later, once they were alone. It was either clinches or a shaking, and she couldn't make up her mind which she preferred !
She soon found she had no choice in the matter, as Gavin dropped Nicholas off at his hotel, giving him no chance of a quiet session with Beth, and this did not please Nicholas at all, which was a pity, for when Gavin offered to take him on a tour of the island the next day, he was barely civil when he replied, `Thank you, but I've arranged to take Beth on a tour of the islands.'
Whether he had actually done this or not, Beth couldn't be sure. It seemed quick work for someone who had barely arrived, but she could hardly say so. If he had accepted Gavin's offer she would have had a free day, knowing she wouldn't be expected to trail around after them, having seen most of the island.
The rest of the journey passed in an oppressive silence. Beth's thoughts were on the proposed trip with Nicholas, and that meant the whole day in his presence. Knowing him, she knew he would not be likely to forgive Gavin for the way he had dismissed him that evening, and would be all the more determined to remove her from the island. From now on, he would look upon Gavin as a rival, for he was intensely jealous. She sighed. At least it had quashed any alliance that they might have made; then she glanced surreptitiously at the grim-faced man beside her and swallowed. It didn't make any difference to her, she still had two opponents, even if they were on opposite sides of the fence !
When they had reached the grounds of Chartways, Beth wondered if he would drop her off at the house, and after delivering a lecture—at least she hoped that was the form the punishment would take—leave her to walk through to the cottage.
She ought to have known better. The car swept past the entrance to the house and continued towards the cottage. By this time Beth's imagination had passed the lecture stage, and she told herself stoutly that she wouldn't mind a shaking, but there was every possibility of being put over his knee and receiving the walloping he had threatened her with on other occasions. She gulped. She wasn't going to allow him to do that, no matter what!
In the end she decided discretion was better than valour, and the minute the car drew up in front of the cottage she had the car door open and sprinted for dear life towards the cottage.
If Beth hoped her earlier affront on Gavin's foot had impaired his speed, she was in for a disappointment, for he had covered the distance with an agility she wouldn't have believed possible for a man of his size, and now stood towering between her and the haven the cottage offered.
`Coward ! ' he said silkily.
Beth found herself marvelling over the fact that he wasn't even out of breath. She didn't know why she should think of such an irrelevant fact at that particular time—perhaps to take her mind off other pressing matters? She stared up at him, and knew she was beaten. 'All right,' she said wearily, 'you win. Do I bend over, or take it standing up?'
With a soft chuckle he propelled her forward, and Beth prepared herself for the worst. The speed she was pulled into his arms knocked the breath out of her, and she was never to know what had been his original intention, for as soon as she came into contact against his hard body, his arms folded around her, practically squeezing the life out of her.
`You're hurting me!' she managed to get out, staring up at him in some amazement. The next moment he was kissing her with a ferocity that frightened her. Beth had experienced hard kisses before, but nothing like this. Her soft lips were pounded under his ruthless ones. Vaguely she felt he was working something out of his system, but she wished he had chosen another way to do it.
Suddenly he released her, and she was forced to take a step back in order to regain her balance. She was too stunned to be indignant, but just stood there
trying to get her breath back, absolutely lost for words.
Gavin was breathing rather hard himself, as he stood taking in her reaction. 'So that's what it takes to make you behave, does it? I rather suspected as much.'
Beth had no idea what he meant, she only knew that her lips hurt and her body felt as if it had been held in a vice. 'You needn't have been so brutal,' she said bitterly.
His voice was harsh when he answered, 'You asked for it. If you did but know it, you've been asking for precisely that from the day we met.'
Beth's surprised gasp and her indignant expression were duly noted by him and appeared to be expected, because he nodded. 'As I said once before, you've not grown up yet. Little girls play those sort of games on boys they've a hankering for. I guess you missed out on that phase—too busy getting into scrapes. But you're a big girl now, and it can get you into a lot of trouble.' He gave another nod at Beth's wide open eyes, as if unable to believe her ears. 'Think about it,' he advised her grimly. 'Someone had to tell you. It ought to be Harbin, but he prefers the answering machine he's made you into. I suppose you found that little act impressed him, so you carried on with it. Why don't you give him a break and show him what he's getting into?'
Her stunned
brain had no answer to this taunt; she could only stand there blinking as the shock waves passed over her. As she did not answer, he gave a sigh and turned back to his car. As he got in and
started up, he had one last stab at her, 'As I said, think about it.' The next minute the car swept past her.
For a long while Beth stood where she was, then as she felt the tears welling up in her eyes, she turned towards the door. Janice must not see her crying—she would put it all down to Nicholas, and for once it had nothing to do with Nicholas. It was only when the door refused to budge that she realised it was locked, and that meant Janice was still out. In her confusion Beth had failed to note that there was no light on inside the cottage, as the porch light was always left on, and it enabled Beth to find her key in her bag, although her vision was hampered by the blur of tears.
She had expected to find Janice anxiously awaiting the outcome of her day out with Nicholas, but she was grateful she had decided not to wait in. John, no doubt, had taken her out somewhere, and it did occur to Beth that maybe Gavin Patterson had had a quiet word with him on that score. It wouldn't surprise her—in fact after tonight nothing would surprise her again.
By the time Janice returned Beth had been through several stages of thought and now, in bed, was slightly calmer, and able to answer Janice's questions about how things had gone, with some equanimity. As Janice was still labouring under the impression that with Gavin in attendance Beth was safe, it was not hard to convince her that all was well. When she told her about Nicholas's plans for the next day, Janice gave an exasperated snort.