‘Good! Then if you’re really heart-free, you’d better get used to being kissed, hadn’t you?’
He experimented by planting a kiss on her cheek and she looked up at him, shaking her head and smiling. ‘Ned, you’re incorrigible!’ Apparently encouraged, he kissed her again, laughing as they made their way through the rain forest down towards the warmth and sunshine again, and Bryony mused on the fact that there was little time for him to pursue his promise, for tomorrow Dominic would be coming for her.
CHAPTER FIVE
Bryony had enjoyed herself on the whole, but she still felt a vague sense of dissatisfaction that she could not quite explain. The visit had seemed like an excellent opportunity to talk about old times; gossip about people they had both known, with Marion, but somehow most of the talk had concerned herself and Dominic, and it made her uneasy.
It hadn’t been as she envisaged it at all, and she mused on the fact while she sat with Marion and her family, drinking coffee and waiting for Dominic to come for her. Marion’s intention had been to drive her down to the dock, but remembering the confusion of her own arrival Bryony had preferred to wait, in case he too arrived early and missed them.
Edward being there had made quite a lot of difference, of course, and thwarted to some extent her anticipated talks about old times with Marion, but she had enjoyed his company for the most part and it was impossible to remain unmoved by his obvious admiration. He had taken her out last night, dining and dancing until very late, and then driven her back along the moonlit road, leaving his intentions in little doubt.
It was very late when they finally arrived back and Edward had gone to bed with a slightly sulky air, so that Bryony suspected he was not accustomed to being denied his own way. He had made it quite plain this morning, too, that he would prefer her to stay longer, convinced no doubt that he could bring her round to his way of thinking, given more time. He was undisguisedly irritated by his sister’s knowing smiles when Bryony shook her head, well aware of the reason for them.
Not that the idea had not occurred to Bryony herself, for she was flattered and pleased with Edward’s open admiration for her, even though she found it rather more than she could cope with at times. But as she pointed out to him when he suggested she stay on, she had a part to play, however small, in the running of the family business. The fact that her contribution was so insignificant that it could easily have been done by someone else was irrelevant, she felt.
‘You’re a working girl?’
Something about the way he said it made her instinctively lift her chin when she looked at him. ‘Why not?’ she asked. ‘I’m not exactly indispensable, but I do have my own little job, and if I’m not there to do it someone else has to.’
‘So you’re not a lady of leisure after all, eh?’ He was looking at her as if he saw her in a different light suddenly, and she could not decide whether or not he approved, so that she laughed as she sought the answer. ‘Do I go down in your estimation if I’m not, Ned?’
‘Not in the least!’
His brown eyes scanned her small face in a swift and curious survey that seemed to suggest he was considering the fact of whether or not she was a willing contributor, or if the task was one she was expected to do whether or not she liked it.
‘Are you a volunteer, Bryony, or a conscript?’
‘A volunteer, of course! I shouldn’t be doing it otherwise, Dom doesn’t expect it of me!’
His brown eyes glowed, as if she had risen in his estimation, not diminished. ‘So you’re bright as well as beautiful!’
‘I’m useful!’ She accepted the compliment with a slightly uncertain laugh. ‘I happen to be good at figures and Dom lets me make myself useful in various ways, though nothing very complicated. I quite like the idea I have to admit, because it makes me feel sort of—independent.’
‘And that’s important to you?’
She was not sure that she followed his meaning, so she simply nodded, turning when the others did, when she heard voices in the hall, and there was nothing she could do about the suddenly increased rate of her heartbeat when she recognised Dominic’s unmistakable voice, speaking to the Fullers’ maid.
In the same moment she sensed Marion’s eyes on her and shook her head almost instinctively at the gleam of meaning she saw there. No amount of denial was going to convince Marion that she had hold of the wrong end of the stick.
‘Your escort.’ Marion got up from her chair as the door opened and Bryony wondered rather vaguely at how easily she assumed the role of hostess in the place of her late mother. Smiling confidently, she met Dominic part way and extended a hand in welcome. ‘Bonjour, Monsieur Laminaire!’
She was fully aware that Dominic spoke English as well as she did herself, so Bryony assumed that she was simply bent on making an impression with her knowledge of French. She would assume that he remembered her, it would never occur to Marion to think otherwise, and her bright brown eyes were warm and friendly as she welcomed him.
‘Bonjour, Mademoiselle Fuller.’
He took Marion’s proffered hand and for a moment Bryony wondered if he would convey it to his lips. He could be very gallant when he had a mind to, and so very French. Her own responses to him startled her so much that she said nothing for the moment, leaving it to Marion to introduce her father and her brother.
He was not expecting to see Edward, that much was obvious, though he made an effort to conceal it, and Bryony considered the possibility of his thinking she had deliberately withheld the information from him. He looked incredibly tall, perhaps because he topped Edward by a couple of inches, and he looked very Gallic in contrast to Edward’s Englishness.
He was wearing a light fawn suit and a cream shirt that showed up the darkness of his tan, and there was a coolness, she thought, in his grey eyes. There was also a curious air of aloofness about him that she could not account for at the moment, but which made her uneasy. She had expected him to kiss her just the usual light caress on her cheek, but he didn’t, and that too puzzled her: instead he inclined his head almost formally when he turned to her at last, and whatever his eyes would have revealed was hidden by the thickness of dark lashes.
His coolness troubled her without her being quite sure why it should, for it could easily be accounted for by some matter of business that had not gone quite according to plan. Nevertheless she laughed a little unsteadily when he eventually gave her his attention.
‘You’ll have some coffee before you go, Monsieur Laminaire?’
It was so seldom that Mr. Fuller took the initiative that Bryony had almost forgotten he was there, but in this instance he had forestalled his daughter in the matter of hospitality, and Marion hastened to make amends.
‘Oh yes, please do have coffee with us, won’t you?’ She was smiling at him persuasively, but it was clear that Dominic was proof against her persuasion as he shook his head, a shadow of a smile on his mouth softening the refusal. ‘Thank you, but no, Miss Fuller, I really haven’t much time before we leave. If Bryony has said her goodbyes and she’s ready—’
‘Oh, I’ve been ready for ages, Dom!’
It was probably not very tactful to appear so eager, and she realised it when she saw the face that Edward pulled. ‘You can’t wait to leave us, can you, Bryony?’
‘Oh, I didn’t say that, Ned, I’ve enjoyed myself enormously!’
‘Yes, of course you have! Ned knows what you mean as well as we do,’ Marion interposed swiftly, her eyes on Dominic, and dark and shining with meaning, so that Bryony felt her face warm with colour. ‘Naturally you want to go home—who wouldn’t?’
Bryony did not see how Dominic could fail to follow so obvious a hint, though he gave no indication of having done so. Edward, on the other hand, had no doubt at all what his sister implied and he was watching Dominic with frankly speculative eyes, as if he was trying to see what it was about this tall, arrogant man that both Bryony and his sister found so attractive.
It was silly, perhaps even
conceited in the circumstances, to think that Edward was jealous, but it seemed to Bryony that he had made up his mind to dislike Dominic, and apart from the relationship that Marion suspected existed, there seemed to be no other reason for it.
He was watching Dominic while he spoke, and there was the same hint of challenge in his manner that she had noticed the day before when he mentioned their relationship. ‘I’ve tried to persuade Bryony to stay longer, Mr. Laminaire, but she tells me she has certain obligations.’
The grey eyes watched every flutter of expression that crossed her face, but he gave no indication of what he wanted her answer to be. ‘Were you going to stay longer, Bryony, if you hadn’t the books to do?’
With no idea what to say, Bryony hesitated for a second or two, trying to make up her mind. She wanted to see Tim to let him know about the letter Marion had delivered for her, but more than that she found herself wanting to be where Dominic was, and that was on Petitnue. Only something in his manner made her anxious without her knowing why.
‘I—don’t you need me?’ she laughed, a huskily unsteady sound that reproached him. ‘Or am I so easily replaceable that I haven’t even been missed?’
She knew what she wanted him to say, just as she knew, even before he spoke that he wasn’t going to give her the answer she wanted. The grey eyes gleamed like steel between thick dark lashes and he seemed curiously detached from any sense of her need, so that she waited breathlessly.
‘Of course you’ve been missed, Bryony, Jenny finds it very quiet without you.’
She thought Marion caught her breath and her own feeling was one of sudden resentment as well as hurt. She had angled for an admission that he had missed her too, and been firmly put in her place, and she felt the undeniable need to hit back.
‘Then you’ll be glad to have me back even if it’s only to comfort Jenny, won’t you?’
‘We’ll see you again, won’t we, Bryony?’
From her expression it was evident that Marion had put her own interpretation on that obvious snub and she saw it in a different light to Bryony, for that discomfitingly knowing look was in her eyes once more.
‘I shall try,’ she promised. ‘I really have enjoyed myself, Marion.’
‘Then come again!’ Edward came closer, taking her hand and bringing his voice down an octave so that it was low and suggestive of intimacy. ‘I couldn’t face not seeing you again, Bryony.’
She was so often impulsive, Dominic had told her so, and she did not even look at him as she followed her own instincts yet again. ‘Why don’t you both come over to Petitnue for my birthday in a few weeks’ time?’ Dominic had never encouraged visitors to the island, though he had never given a reason for it, and she was in no mood to care for his conventions at the moment. He could hardly refuse to let her invite friends for her birthday, but for all that she held her breath, wondering if he would put his foot down.
Marion was obviously in two minds about accepting without the specific encouragement of the man who had the final word, but not so Edward. He was smiling in a way that almost suggested he would relish Dominic’s dislike.
‘Marvellous!’ He took her hand and held it tightly in his. ‘I’d love to come, Bryony.’ He lifted her hand to his lips and kissed her fingers lightly, his brown eyes dark and glowing. ‘I can’t imagine anything more romantic than a lovely girl on a small Caribbean island—mmm!’
Marion, she noticed, was watching Dominic, waiting for him to confirm the invitation, and for a moment she resented the gesture, no matter if it was prompted by no more than good manners. ‘You don’t mind if Marion and Ned come over for my birthday, do you, Dom?’ She put her friend’s question into words, and Dominic shook his head.
‘Of course not.’ The grey eyes turned on her once more, and the look in them made her hastily lower her own. ‘Why should you expect me to mind?’ He gave her little time to answer, but glanced at his wristwatch. ‘It’s time we were going; I promised Louis we’d be there in plenty of time and we’re cutting it a bit fine.’
‘Yes; yes, of course.’
‘We’ll be over for your birthday!’ Marion hugged her affectionately. ‘It’ll be so exciting, Bry, I’ve always wondered about your beautiful island.’
Casting a swift sideways glance at Dominic, Bryony smiled a little ruefully. ‘Dominic’s beautiful island,’ she corrected her, and Marion shook her head at her.
‘Bryony!’
Whether it was done with the intention of giving Edward a few seconds in which to say goodbye, Bryony wasn’t sure, but she somehow found herself left for a moment in the room with him while the others walked on out into the hall, and as soon as backs were turned he took her in his arms and kissed her.
It was unexpected, although it should not have been, she realised, and she was not aware that anyone had seen it happen until she stepped back, slightly breathless, and saw Dominic watching from the hall. There was barely time to register a fierce glittering look of anger before he turned quickly with a murmured word to Marion and her father, and went striding off out of the house, leaving her to follow alone.
Stunned for a moment at the naked fury she had seen in his eyes, Bryony stared after him, then hurried out into the hall, pulling her hands from Edward’s with a gesture of impatience, and as she passed Marion in the hall her friend touched her arm and smiled encouragingly.
‘Don’t worry,’ she whispered, and Bryony wished it was as easy to do as it sounded.
Bryony leaned back against the rail, glad of the dark glasses she wore to hide the troubled look in her eyes. Dominic had said very little to her since they came aboard, and he stood now, talking with one of the hands, for’ard, while she watched from the stern, her restless gaze flitting between Dominic and Louis’s broad, unresponsive back where he stood at the wheel.
The wind stirred her hair, blowing it about her face, warm and soft for all its briskness, and the Bonne Chance skimmed through the wine-dark water easily, dipping and turning, her sails taut and casting shadows that constantly changed. Ahead Bryony could see the white beaches of Petitnue with their fringes of green palms, becoming clearer every minute, while behind them the hazy sweep of Guadeloupe slowly merged into the skyline, but Bryony had never before faced a homecoming with such a disturbing sense of unease as she did now.
They skirted the shallows off the beach where she had sat with Tim, and the colour and peace of the gardens looked incredibly close, the roof and the upper windows of the house just visible above the tops of the trees. Around the tip of the island and along the north-west side of the quay; a familiar route that somehow lacked some of its usual sense of peace, and the fact made her respond only vaguely to Louis’s hasty glance as he brought the schooner up to her mooring.
It wasn’t until he was helping her ashore, a service usually performed by Dominic, that she had the first inkling of what was in store. Louis’s strong hands squeezed hers for a second and he looked down at her earnestly after glancing over his shoulder to see where Dominic was.
‘He knows, maitresse!’ Seeing her look vaguely uncomprehending, he added another swift whisper before he released her hands. ‘He knows ’bout that letter for Tim’s woman!’
‘Oh no!’
Bryony stared after him as he leapt nimbly back on board, and noticed that Dominic was coming ashore—a tall, dark and somehow menacing figure, though it was hard to imagine why she saw him in that light suddenly. The jeep stood near the sheds at the other end of the quay and for a second or two she even toyed with the idea of walking back through the groves to the house instead of driving with him in his present discouraging mood.
It was easier, however, to simply take her place beside him in the jeep, though the seat struck uncomfortably hot through the thin dress she wore and she caught her breath, leaning away from the seat-back. Tim would enlighten her soon enough when she got back to the house, but she wished Dominic would tell her how he felt—it would be a relief.
They were driving along the road
between the groves and the sea when she half-turned in her seat suddenly, finding the urge to question him too strong to resist ‘Dom.’ She fixed her eyes on the dark implacable face with an anxiety she was barely aware of. ‘What’s wrong?’
For a few moments she thought he wasn’t going to answer her, but then he spoke in a flat, matter-of-fact voice that was little more encouragement than his silence had been. ‘You’re the matter, Bryony—I don’t feel I know you any longer!’
‘Oh Dom, no!’ He said nothing more and she pleated the hem of her dress in nervous fingers for a while trying to find the right things to say. ‘I suppose you think badly of me for taking that letter to Sarah Bryant.’
‘It would have been more flattering if you’d confided in me, instead of using a visit to your friend as a cover for acting as Tim’s go-between! Or should I say friends?’
‘Did Tim tell you about it?’
It was possible, she knew, for Tim had never been very good at hiding anything and basically he had disliked deceiving Dom as much as she did herself. But he was shaking his head to deny it and she scarcely believed it could have been Louis.
Briefly a tight, twisted smile touched his mouth, as if he could follow her train of thought. ‘And you know better than to suspect Louis!’
‘Then—’
‘Would it surprise you to know that Miss Bryant herself told me?’
Too stunned to say anything for a moment, Bryony clung tightly to the side of the jeep while he swung it round another corner, blinking in bewilderment when he pulled over to the side of the road and braked to a halt, stopping so suddenly that she was thrown forward in her seat, then pressed back against it by a strong arm that prevented her from hitting her head on the windscreen.
Behind him the huge fronds of the bananas rustled in the wind, ragged fans of glossy green against the blue sky, casting shadows across his face that gave it a rugged darkness that was almost primitive. Bryony sat curiously expectant as she sat half-facing him, and her heart was thudding hard, catching at her breath so that she could not keep her voice steady.
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