Nile Dusk
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[possessed Ae statuette... . "I'd like to get away -from here," she said quietly, wondering wheAer he really had called her darling, or wheAer in her extremely disturbed state she had imagined it.
"Of course," he said. g He picked her up in his arms and prepared to carry her I across the plank bridge, which was once more in position, I but before he did so he bent his head and kissed her firmly ^ and passionately on Ae mouA. Then when she looked up
at. him wiA surprise and something else in her eyes he : kissed her again. "That's to make it all seem raAer more real," he said, and carried her across Ae bridge.
On Ae far side of it, in an entirely safe zone once more, he set her down, wiAout, however, releasing her altogeAer, and he looked her fully and squarely in the eyes. Returning rapidly to normality she could feel the reassuring strength of his hold, and for Ae first time a sensation like utter bliss descended on her. If being rescued by him also meant Aat he had acquired Ae right to hold her as he was holding her now Aen she almost thought it might be worth it to be marooned on Ae oAer side of the plank bridge for Ae second time in her life. But only if he, and he alone, was going to rescue her immediately!
Dim Aough it was in Ae tunnel Aey had yet to traverse
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he could see the sudden shine in her eyes, and the way her soft lips fell apart wiA utter wonder. He smiled at her gently and touched her cheek wiA his forefinger.
"You understood what I meant when I said it's all quite real?" he asked. Shyly she buried her face against him, and once more she dutched at him.
"Oh, Julius," she breaAed, "I can't quite take it in I"
"Why not?"
"Because just now I was utterly terrified, and now it's all so miraculous I wonder wheAer I'm actually awake and not dreaming. And I've never been quite certain about = how you felt about me S"
"I fell in love wiA you Ae moment I saw you in the moonlight standing talking to Ae Sphinx, and alAough Aere have been moments since Aen when I wanted to shake you, I would say Aat on Ae whole I have been so sorely tempted to cover you wiA kisses Aat I wonder my urgency didn't get out of hand sometimes," he told her. "Particularly," he added, "when you were being raAer more awkward Aan usual, and it occurred to me Aat I might have kissed some sense into you, and particularly when I saw you for Ae first time wiA Allerton and I knew you were boA making Ae trip up Ae Nile on Aat steamer. I was furious because he was going to have so many more opportunities Aan I looked like having to make love to you, and I knew immediately he was Ae wrong type for you altogeAer."
"Yet you invited him to stay at your house."
"Only because, as I once told you, I wanted to balance Ac party... and it did actually occur to me he might transfer his allegiance to Leah once he saw her at close quarters. A young man of his type is almost bound to be attracted by Leah."
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She shuddered.
"What-where is she?"
"The local police took her in hand, but I won't be bring" ing a charge against her. She'll probably disappear from our lives forAwiA, and I happen to know she was planning a trip to America where she proposed to sell Ae love god as soon as she managed, by hook or by crook, to get hold of it. You must understand Aat she's a wealAy woman, but she can never resist Ae opportunity to make more money. And Ae statuette should fetch a pretty penny once it's known Aat it's on Ae market."
Romilly shuddered again.
"Give it to her," she urged. "I don't want it. I never really wanted it, and it's caused a lot of trouble." He shook his head. "But it was also Ae excuse Aat brought us togeAer. s a
remember? You can sell it if you like, but I'd advise keeping it - as a memento. And I suppose you could say .it's not a love god for nothing! "
Romilly coloured delightfully in Ae dimness of the tunnel.
"That's true," she admitted. "I never Aought of Aat."
"Well, you can "start Ainking about it now," he said, stroking her cheek. "When we're married - and I hope I can take it Aat you're not against Ae idea of marrying me, despite Ae fact Aat you didn't seem to take to me Ae moment we met? - we'll give it an honoured niche eiAer in my house in Cairo or at Dar el Pace."
"I've never seen your house in Cairo," she murmured.
"No, but you will do so fairly soon, because I'm taking you Aere immediately, wiA Mrs. Forbes to keep an eye on you. Oh, and by the way, she very much approves of you! ... And she was simply full of approval when I told her I was going to marry you!"
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. "Oh! Did you really tell her Aat?" "I've been accustomed to telling her nothing but Ae truA ever since Ae days when she caught me stealing Ae jam, and I had to admit to the Aeft. She was a bit of a martinet in Aose days ... still is, as a matter of fact. But I'm very fond of her." "I like her, too." "Fondness and liking sound somewhat tepid to me," he commented, taking her wiA sudden fierceness into his arms and crushing her up against him. "I want to hear you say you love me! The other night, in Ae Arab village, I had an almost overpowering urge to hear you say it, but you were so cool and contained I didn't dare to press my luck. But now I know you're not really cool and contained.... say it! "he pleaded. She whispered Ae words against his open-necked shirt. "I love you! ... I really do love you so desperately, Julius, and I Aought you weren't even interested." "Which just shows how basically stupid you are..� Probably Ae reason why your aunt, who was utterly delightful, never married. She could never get around to saying'I love you!'to Ae right man." "Now Aat I'm absolutely certain you're Ae right man I'll say it as often as you please," she offered. For answer he practically took her breath away by kissing her once more hard on Ae mouA. And Aen he kissed her wiA tenderness, and wiA every evidence of having an incurable desire to go on kissing her. His chauffeur discreetly averted his eyes when Aey walked across the burning sands to his car. It was not yet noon, but Ae sun was high in Ae sky, and Ae uneven face of Ae desert was like a sea of gold. Romilly felt as if the whole world was made up of sunshine and brilliance, and
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the shadowy darkness from which she had escaped was just a moment of nightmare. And it was worth experiencing Ae nightmare when so much solid brilliance awaited her. Dear Great-Aunt Romilly, she Aought. What a pity she never married i