by Hilary Wilde
"Yes, the voyage has done her good—" Again the little note. of formality had crept into Kit's voice, putting a great distance between them, even though she was in his arms, held close to his heart, his chin brushing her hair. "I want to thank you, Elinor . . ." he went on stiffly, "for being so good to her,
spending so much of your time talking to her. It is very good of you . . ."
Startled, she looked up at him, her pale face with its shining dark eyes and gentle mouth. "But I enjoy it, Kit," she said earnestly. "She's given me a wonderful impression of your home life and . . ."
"Bored you to tears with details of my past
. . . ?" he drawled, looking down at her with amused eyes.
"I wasn't in the least bored . . ." she began indignantly and then stopped, uncomfortably aware that her cheeks must be scarlet. Had she given herself away?
"That's kind of you, Lady Kia . . ." he said softly.
Her eyes sparkled. "Why must you call me that?" she said angrily.
"It's a compliment," he told her, laughing at her. "Suits you down to the ground."
"Who is this Lady Kia?" she asked.
"A lady I am extremely fond of . . . a lady who has won me fame . . . in a small way," Kit told her, his face even more amused. "One day I'll introduce you to her . . ." he promised. "My mother is very fond of you . . ." he went on, his voice changing again.
"I am very fond of her," Elinor told him. "Good . . . so it's mutual," he said and she saw that he was laughing at her.
Elinor had been in bed for nearly an hour before Valerie joined her in the cabin. "We lost you, Val . . ." Elinor said, putting down her book, for she
had been trying to read and not worry about Val's disappearance.
Valerie's face was desperate. "Oh, Elinor, I'm in trouble .. ." she said, going to sit on Elinor's bed, twisting her hankie between nervous fingers. "That man . . . the one I . . . I lost the money, too .. . he's . he's been pestering me to play again and..
"You haven't !" Elinor said in a horrified voice.
The ship was rolling a little and the air conditioning suddenly seemed very loud. It was as if they were boxed up together and fear filled the cabin. She couldn't ask Kit again . . . she wouldn't .. .
"Of course I haven't . . ." Valerie said crossly. "Do let me finish . . ."
Elinor felt the relief flooding her. She relaxed. "I'm sorry. Go on . . ."
"Well, he thinks it a sort of joke. He knows Hugh and . . . he says he'll tell him I was the one to lose the money and not you, and then . . ." Valerie's eyes were suddenly huge with misery, "Hugh will despise me. Not only for losing the money but for letting you do my dirty work. He's always saying people should shoulder their own responsibilities and stand on their own feet .. . and he says you spoil me shockingly and . . . I can't bear it if Tim . . ."
"Tim?" Eleanor said quietly. "Is that the man's name?"
Valerie nodded miserably. "Tim Harcourt .. . he's very handsome and smooth and I was flattered . . . he asked me to watch the sun rise with him and
it seemed quite an adventure somehow . . . he's the kind of man that makes you feel he thinks you are wonderful . . . but I hate him . . ." she ended fiercely.
Elinor was trying to think. "But how did he know I got the money?"
"I told him . . ." Valerie said unhappily. "At first I was quite desperate—I told him I couldn't possibly pay him . . . and he said that I could get the money from Kit but that maybe it wouldn't be a wise thing, for Kit might cut up rough—on account of my age and . . . and he said it might be unpleasant and I would look an awful fool and .. . and then I said I'd ask you to get it . . . and he . . . he said that was a good idea . . ."
"Having planted the idea in your mind," Elinor said.
Valerie stared at her. "Of course . . that's what he did . . ."
Elinor sighed. "Not a very nice type, obviously. So what is he trying to do, now ?"
Valerie shivered. "He thinks it's terribly funny . . . he says he'll tell Hugh that you got the money for me and then . . . Hugh will despise me and . . ." Her lower lip began to quiver.
Elinor put her hand on her sister's. "But ValHugh isn't like that. Hugh would understand. We all do silly things when we're young. Kit understood . . ."
"You don't know Hugh . ." Valerie said desperately. "He's got ideals and he's terribly conventional and . . . It won't be the losing the money
so much as my being a coward . . ." She covered her face with her hands and rocked herself. "I can't bear it . . . to have Hugh despise me . . ."
It all seemed very melodramatic but Elinor knew herself how easy it was for things to get out of their proper perspective when one loves someone. On an impulse, she said:
"Suppose I speak to Tim . . . ?"
Valerie lowered her hands and stared at her. "Elinor . . . would you?" she breathed. And then her face clouded again. "But what would you say?"
"I don't know . . ." Elinor confessed, suddenly regretting her impulsive words. "I'll think of something but . . . hut I still think it would be better to tell Hugh yourself, and then Tim can't hurt you."
"Oh, I couldn't . . ." Valerie said with a terrible earnestness. "You see, he's just beginning to see me, Elinor. I've been talking to him tonight—about Sydney and his life there and . . . and for once, he treated me like an adult and not a spoilt brat and . . . and if he finds out . . ." Her eyes filled with -tears.
"All right," Elinor said, stifling a sigh. "I'll speak to Tim tomorrow."
It was easier said than done. Although she kept an eye out for Mr. Harcourt the following day, it was not until the evening when they were all dancing that Elinor saw him. Still not sure what she was going to say to him, yet feeling she must seize her opportunity, Elinor managed to pass him by casually and pause and say, rather nervously: "You are Mr. Harcourt?"
The handsome, dark-haired man with the narrow shifty-looking eyes stared at her. "Yes, I am Tim Harcourt, Miss Johnson."
"I want to speak to you . . . alone," Elinor said and went scarlet as he looked at her with a smile and said significantly:
"That will be a pleasure."
"Shall we go to the drawing-room?" Elinor suggested. "At this time, it is usually empty."
"I am at your disposal . . ." he said with another unpleasant smile.
As he followed her to the drawing-room, a small but luxuriously-furnished room, with light beige wooden panelling and fawn carpet, Elinor racked her brains as to what to say to him. He spoke first.
"You want me to arrange a game for you?" he asked. His voice, to her, was very insolent.
She felt her cheeks grow hot. "I most certainly do not," she said indignantly, anger giving her the necessary courage. "I want you to stop persecuting my sister."
"Persecuting?" he said. "That's a strong word. She has no sense of humour."
"You have a strange one if you call it that . . ." Elinor said angrily. "First of all you rob her of all that money . . ."
"Please . . ." he said, his voice sharp, his hand on her arm. "That is a lie. There was no cheating. You should thank me for teaching your sister a lesson. She will never gamble again . . ." His smile was unkind.
"You . .. you knew we couldn't afford it .. ." Elinor said. "It was wrong of you to encourage her."
"My dear girl, she needed no encouragement . . ." Tim Harcourt said smoothly. "As for being able to afford it—I already knew about your wealthy aunt . .
It was a waste of time talking to him. She only felt grubby and humiliated as a result. "Please . . ." she said earnestly. "Please don't tell anyone that it was Valerie who lost that money . . ."
"Why not? I think it's a good joke. Of course if it was made worth my while to keep my mouth shut . . ." he said, still smiling. She was not sure if he was serious or teasing her.
"Is . . . is this blackmail?" she asked, her voice unsteady.
He put his arms round her suddenly, tilted back her chin with a rough hand. "Not in, money, my dear girl, but there are other ways .. "
he said, and kissed her.
The next moment he had been jerked away from her and thrown back on to a couch. Elinor stood there, shivering, staring at Kit . . . a Kit who was angrier than she had ever seen him.
"Go down to your cabin, Elinor . . ." he said curtly. "I'll deal with this."
Tim Harcourt was standing up—rubbing his shoulder gingerly, an ugly look on his face. Elinor was suddenly frightened.
"Please . . . please, Kit . . ." she said, clutching his arm, hanging on to it. "He didn't hurt me . . ."
She could feel him shivering as he tried to control his anger.'
"Haven't you caused trouble enough?" he asked Tim Harcourt. "Do you know that this girl is a minor? That she is only just twenty? I could make trouble for you if I liked to . . . already people are beginning to know about your methods . . ."
"Kit . . . it's all right, honestly, it is . . ." Elinor pleaded, still afraid as the two men stood, glaring at one another. Kit, legs apart, head lowered like a bull about to charge; Tim Harcourt, still rubbing his shoulder, his eyes suddenly wary.
"I was only trying to kiss her . . ." Tim Harcourt said in a sulky voice.
"A likely story—" Kit drawled. He had stopped shivering and Elinor could see he had himself under control now. "Are you sure' you were not persuading her to play cards?"
"It wasn't . . ." Tim began and Elinor, seeing that he meant to tell Kit the truth, tugged at Kit's arm . . .
"Please . . . Kit . . . I don't feel too well . . ." she said, leaning against him, half-closing her eyes.
She felt him put his arm around her, help her out of the room and out on to the cool deck. The moonlit sea met the starlit sky and as she sat down, the horizon seemed to vanish and then appear again. The roar of wind down the ventilators filled the air—they could hear the distant strains of music . . .
"Are you all right now?" Kit asked sharply.
Elinor opened her eyes and stared at him.
"You're not a very good actress," he drawled. "What was that man about to tell me? Something I'm not to know?"
His hands were hard on her shoulders, gripping them, as he shook her none too gently. "I'm tired of your extraordinary behaviour, Elinor . . ." he told her as he released her. "I must say I am disappointed in you. I thought you were a nice girl—decent, honest. Instead you lie to me--you gamble money that isn't yours.—you break your word to a decent young man who loves you—and get involved with that kind of type I nearly thrashed."
He pulled her to her feet, gripping her arms, so that she was very close to him, very aware of his anger.
"Now . . ." he said, his mouth a thin line. "You're not leaving this deck until you tell me the truth."
CHAPTER ELEVEN
How LONG they stood there, glaring at one another, Elinor never knew, for at that moment, there came the click-clack of high heels along the deck and suddenly Valerie was there, holding Kit's arm, her pretty face flushed and apologetic. Hugh came along behind her, an inscrutable look on his handsome face.
"Kit . .. it wasn't Elinor," Valerie said.
Kit's hands fell away from Elinor's arms. He turned to look down at Valerie—Valerie, who, Elinor thought as she stared at her, looked prettier than ever with her flushed cheeks and shining eyes, and the corn-yellow frock that swirled as she walked.
"Kit . . ." Valerie said. "I was the one who gambled . . ."
There was a sudden silence. Elinor caught her breath and then Valerie turned to her. "It's all right, Elinor . . ." Valerie said. "When I saw your face when you spoke to . . . to Tim, and I knew you hated doing it then . .. then I grew up .. . When Kit followed you, I knew I had to tell the truth.
"She told me," Hugh said and his voice was indulgent. "The poor kid was scared to tell you, Kit."
Kit rubbed his hand over his face as if suddenly weary. "Afraid of me?" he said slowly. "I thought only Elinor saw me as an ogre. I wasn't cross, Val . . . I understood. We all do silly things when we are young—that's the way we learn."
"I know . . ." Val said eagerly. "That's what Elinor said. She said you were wonderfully understanding. But I was scared. You see . . . you see . . . Aunt Aggie asked you to look after us and I knew you'd be mad at me . . . and I am rather young in your eyes, and I was afraid . . . afraid you'd go all grown-up and stern and stop me from having fun . . ." Her voice died out unhappily.
It was all Elinor could do to hide a smile. What a little actress Val was—the plain truth being, of course, that she had not wanted Hugh to have a poor opinion of her.
"So Elinor took the blame . . ." Kit said slowly. He turned to look at the slight girl standing so quietly by his side, her face calm. "You certainly fooled me . . ." he said bitterly.
"Anyhow it's all over now . . ." Hugh said calmly, "so we can forget it. Valerie has owned up and been forgiven . . . let's go back and enjoy ourselves. Coming, Valerie . . . ?" he said, turning to the girl with a smile.
Valerie smiled back and Elinor wondered that Hugh was too blind to see the love in her eyes. At least, he did not seem to be angry or disillusioned. Indeed, his voice was warmer to Valerie than it had ever been before.
"We'll follow you . . ." Kit said curtly, his hand suddenly round Elinor's wrist. In silence, they watched Hugh and Valerie walk down the deck, going through the door into the verandah cafe. Then Kit turned to her, still holding her hand. "It seems I owe you an apology, Elinor . . ." he said gravely.
"I wonder in how many other ways I have misjudged you."
She was trembling suddenly—breathless because he was so near to her, because of the feel of his hand on hers, because it seemed to her that never had they been so close.
"It's all right, Kit . . ." she said, unaware that her voice was listless and unhappy. "It wasn't your fault."
He let go her wrist and they walked silently back to the dancing. Valerie and Hugh were dancing and laughing . . . and Elinor was conscious that Kit was staring down at her worriedly. She suddenly wanted to laugh hysterically—to tell him the truth. He always believed the worst of her. That was what he thought of her—that she was capable of anything. Did he think now that she was jealous of her own sister—simply because Hugh was dancing with Val?
She was sound asleep that night when Valerie crept into the cabin, but Elinor awoke and asked sleepily how she was.
"Oh, fine . . . just fine .. ." Valerie's voice lilted happily. "I'm making progress, Elinor darling. Hugh's been absolutely sweet to me tonight. Maybe confessing my foolishness made him respect me and see that I am really grown-up . . ."
In the darkness, Elinor smiled. Would Valerie ever really grow up?
The days were slipping by so fast. Very soon they would reach Perth and the end of the voyage as far as Kit was concerned, for he and his mother were
landing there, together with Alison, and would fly home. Once again it was as if the great ship had shaken herself and reshuffled the small groups of people. Now Valerie and Hugh were together all the time—Elinor found herself dancing mostly with the Third Officer, and somehow Kit and Alison seemed drawn together.
There was nothing definite about it—the group still was a group, but it seemed to Elinor as if she was rarely alone with Kit these days, and whenever she saw him he was usually with Alison. And one afternoon, when she was sitting alone on the boat-deck, it was a shock when Alison came along. pulling a chair and sitting down by her side with a smile.
"Everyone seems to have vanished," Alison said in a friendly voice. She looked very beautiful—her gleaming golden hair immaculate under an invisible net—her skin glowing with health, her eyes bright as she smiled at Elinor. "I expect most people are starting to pack. Luckily my aunt's nurse kindly offered to pack for me so I'm let off that horrible job . . ."
There was a long silence. The roar of the ventilators filled the air. A few seagulls came swooping
down out of the blue sky. The sea was rough—
flecked with white waves, and the ship rolled slightly.
Alison stretched her
arms above her head and
then folded them behind it, her golden hair lovely on
the green sleeves of her loose jersey. She wore a
beautifully pleated white skirt that even Elinor
recognised as being very expensive. "I see you spoke
to your sister about' Kit . . ." Alison went on,
tilting her head as if to watch the white seagul’s overhead. "For she has transferred her affections to Hugh . . ." Elinor stiffened. but Alison went on, her voice indulgent. "What a child she is—pretty but oh, so vulnerable. I hope Hugh won't hurt her. If ever there was a confirmed bachelor, Hugh is one," she said slowly.
"I can imagine it . . ." Elinor said guardedly.
"Rather," Alison went on cheerfully. "He has a wonderful penthouse in Sydney, scores of beautiful girl friends, and a good time. He spends quite a lot of time with us—on the station. He handles all Kit's book work. You might not think it to look at Hugh, but he is a very clever accountant. He works—when he feels like it . . ." she said with a smile, "for a big firm of stockbrokers in Sydney. Actually he is a partner so he is more or less his own master. He has a very good life—why get married?" she asked lightly.
"I suppose . . ." Elinor said very slowly, "if he fell in love . . ."
"My dear . . ." Alison said, "he does that with monotonous regularity, but he's never serious. Now he is so very different from Kit . . ." her voice changed, taking on a proud, almost possessive note. "Kit will marry when the right time comes. I've always known that and have been prepared to wait for him." She moved, sitting upright, turning to stare at Elinor, her hands clasped in her lap. "You know, Elinor, we've loved one another for years but the right time has only just come. I'm restless and Kit is devoted to his work, but somehow things have dovetailed now and it's the right moment. Isn't
'
it wonderful she said, her voice serene. "I was wondering if you and Valerie would like to be my bridesmaids?"