'Pear Hélène? Serena was eyeing Kelly's plate with a shudder. 'Not for me, Nicholas darling. You know I put my figure before junk-food.' She put a hand on one of his. 'Tell me about George, darling.'
'There's not much to tell. They hope to operate tomorrow.'
'Well, I hope he gets over the op quickly. You can't run the farm and the plantation as well as Great Peaks Lodge.'
Kelly drew a swift breath of surprise at Serena's callousness. She wondered if Nicholas's reaction to the remark was similar to her own. When she glanced at him she saw his eyes were hooded and unreadable. Then her attention was jerked back to Serena as that girl said deliberately, 'In this case the inconvenience is so unnecessary. There was no reason for George to get hurt, was there?'
So they had discussed her together! Serena's implication could not have been clearer if she had put it into actual words. You, Kelly Stanwick, were the cause of George's accident. It did not matter that the implication was no more than the truth. In private Kelly still agonised over the part she had played in what had happened. She knew that her action was one she would not forget.
But now a new emotion stirred inside her. If she could not pretend that she was indifferent to Nicholas's contempt, she could nonetheless understand it, had resolved to endure it for as long as she had to. But the fact that he had criticised her to this beautiful girl with the cold eyes and the hostile voice was not to be borne.
Her instinct was to shove the plate away from her and leave the table. But that would give the other girl a satisfaction she did not deserve. Not for nothing had Kelly spent so much time at banquets and cocktail parties. As her father's emissary these were functions she had had to attend. She had rarely enjoyed them, but they had at least taught her how to present a surface veneer of politeness and composure.
Now she forced herself to smile at Serena, a dazzling smile of unconcern intended to show that the barb had not succeeded in meeting its mark. Ignoring the veiled accusation, Kelly said instead, 'The Pear Helene is superb. You don't know what you're missing.'
The pouted lips parted incredulously. Serena understood that she had been put in her place. But as Kelly forced herself to finish her dessert, she felt no satisfaction. Artifice was something she had resorted to so easily only because she had seen it so often. It was not a natural part of her personality. Even the momentary lift at the corners of Nicholas's lips did not raise her spirits. The exhilaration which had been with her when she had sat down to dinner had vanished. She felt sickened and a little drained.
She finished eating and waited for the waiter to take her plate, then she stood up. 'Will you excuse me?' she said politely. 'I too have a date.'
Andrew Lang was alone at a table on the verandah. He stood up smiling when he saw her approach. 'I was hoping you'd come,' he smiled.
He drew a chair for her, waited while she sat down, and then took the chair beside her. His natural good manners warmed her. Gary could be attentive and charming when he chose to be. Nicholas showed her only contempt. It seemed a long time since any man, especially one as pleasant as Andrew, had treated her like a woman.
A waiter took their orders: a sherry for Kelly, a gin and tonic for Andrew. It was refreshing on the verandah. During the day it had been hot, but now it was just cool enough to be pleasant.
Talk and laughter filled the air. Children played on the dark lawns, and on the verandah each table was occupied. Kelly saw that the engineers who had arrived earlier in the day were enjoying the holiday atmosphere which was a respite before the start of the convention.
'Your fiancé doesn't mind you being here alone?' Andrew asked.
Kelly looked down at her ring. Strangely the question was more difficult to answer than it should be. 'I don't suppose he likes it,' she said slowly. 'But he doesn't object?'
Kelly caught a note in Andrew's tone which indicated more than casual interest. She chose not to answer the question directly. 'Gary didn't have much choice really,' she said lightly. 'I'd decided to come back to the hotel, and that's all there was to it.'
'Strong-minded female!'
Andrew's smile was friendly, but it was evident that he would not press her. She could easily have left the matter at that. Yet, strangely, she was driven to defend her fiance. 'Gary couldn't have come with me. He had to be in Durban today.' She wondered if the excuse sounded as lame to Andrew as it did to her. She changed the subject. 'Tell me about yourself. About the convention.'
He was a civil engineer, he told her. He built roads and bridges. The convention at Great Peaks was one he had been looking forward to for some time, it would deal with innovations and improvements in his field. Almost in passing he mentioned that he had never married. Till now his career had taken him to the lonely places of the world, places where he had not felt it fair to take a wife. Now, however, he had a consulting position in Cape Town, and finally he felt the need to settle down.
He spoke casually, but his manner was clear. If Kelly was not engaged, or if she regarded the engagement as something which could be broken, he would be interested. She did not take him up on it, and knew that this did not offend him. He was nice, she thought, very nice. It was a long time since she had felt quite so relaxed with any man. With Gary there was always excitement, laughter and fun. With Nicholas there was tension. There was also the knowledge, much as she tried not to think of it, that his touch could provoke sensations that left her weak. With Andrew there was a feeling of peace and serenity.
She felt a small pang of envy for the girl whom Andrew would eventually marry; that girl would have a life of harmonious happiness, a husband who would love her and look after her.
She looked down at her ring and wondered how she would behave now if she were not already engaged. Would she meet Andrew half-way? Would she let him know that she was interested? She had always thought that romantic love was an essential part of marriage. Love was what bound her to Gary. Now, as she looked at the sensitive face of the engineer, she realised that with a man like Andrew a kind of love could grow on its own.
And then, quite unbidden, an image came into her mind, a lean mocking face with stern rugged features and dark intelligent eyes. For a moment it was that image which took precedence over the flesh-and-blood man sitting next to her. Dimly she was aware that Andrew was speaking, but she did not hear what he said. Only gradually did his features come into focus once more. She smiled at him, but inwardly she was shaking.
Not far away a laugh rang out, husky and amused, and Kelly froze. She recognised that voice—Serena de Jager.
They were sitting at a table for two not far away. Absorbed in her thoughts, Kelly had not seen them come on to the verandah. She wondered now how long they had been there. As before, Serena was sitting very close to Nicholas. She was talking, her features vivacious, her gestures animated. Nicholas was smiling as he listened. They were too far away for Kelly to hear what the other woman said, but it was evident that she was both amusing and witty. Once Nicholas laughed. They could have been quite alone on the verandah, so totally absorbed were they in each other. And for the third time that day Kelly felt the inexplicable twist of pain in her chest.
She had been enjoying sitting in the cool fragrant air with Andrew. Now, all at once, her body tautened and she was no longer relaxed. She wondered if Nicholas had seen her. She knew that even if he had, she had long since ceased to be a part of his conscious awareness. For him there was only Serena.
Determinedly Kelly turned her eyes back to Andrew. Their talk turned to other topics—books, music, painting. Kelly found that there was much they had in common. The conversation flowed easily, one observation giving rise, quite naturally, to the next. Normally she would have enjoyed herself. But the charm seemed to have gone from the evening, and try as she would she could not recapture it.
The verandah began to empty. If the mountain air was invigorating, it was also sleep-inducing. The guests began to go to their rooms. For some the next day would be spent walking. For others there wo
uld be the talk-filled hours of the convention. When Kelly said she was tired Andrew said he would turn in too. His rondavel was in the circle at the back of the building. Her cottage was at the other end of the garden. He offered to walk with her, but smilingly she declined the offer.
They walked together to the edge of the verandah. At the bottom of the stone steps they paused to say goodnight. Unexpectedly Andrew leaned towards her and kissed her lightly on the lips. 'Sleep well, Kelly,' he said.
CHAPTER FOUR
KELLY did not go directly to the cottage. Though she had not wanted to sit any longer on the verandah, she was not as tired as she had said.
Slowly she walked through the garden, and gradually she felt herself relax. For the past half hour she had been smiling, a smile that might have seemed natural to Andrew who hardly knew her, but which was beginning to strain the muscles of her cheeks. At last she could allow her face to rest.
The tension began to drain from her body. It was cooler in the garden than it had been on the verandah, but she did not feel cold. The air was fragrant with the mingled scents of the shrubs—the muskiness of the jasmine, the spiciness of the aloes, the sweetness of the lovely frangipani. The mountains were tall dark shapes against the star-studded sky, and the air rang with the song of a million crickets.
How different all this was from last night! Then the mountains had crowded in on both sides, and the sky had been no more than a thin sliver between them. Last night too there had been tension, but a tension of a different kind. For on the ledge far below the cliff path George had lain unconscious, and there had been the constant fear that he would wake and fall before the rescue party found them.
And then the rescue party had come. It was almost twenty-four hours since Kelly had begun the walk down the mountain with Gary and Alex and Sheila, following the stretcher back to the hotel. Twenty-four hours. It seemed so very .much longer. For so much had happened since them.
Beneath a tree was a bench, and Kelly sat down. During the day there would be a beautiful view from here, across the garden to the bubbling trout stream and the mountains beyond. Now she could see nothing of all this. But she had no desire to go to the cottage yet. In the bedroom which belonged to Mary and George she would feel an intruder, strange and alone. Here, in the cool fragrant air, with the sound of the stream and the crickets, she could relive all that had happened.
She thought of George, and of the accident. All her life her father's money had been a constant factor, something which Kelly had no need to think about often, but which was always there. It represented purchasing power. It was also a means of opening certain doors. Though she had never thought of it consciously until this moment, she realised now that money had been the Open Sesame to anything she had ever wanted—even people, for there had always been men who showered her with their attention, women who wanted her friendship for reasons of their own.
The accident had shocked her. For the first time Kelly understood that money, when it was used unwisely, could be dangerous. In offering George an amount far in excess of the usual guiding fees, she had lured him with a temptation which, in his desperate circumstances, he had not been able to resist. It did not matter that she had done it to help Gary. In a way that made it even worse. For she realised now that together they had risked a man's life merely because Gary wanted so badly to win a bet.
Though she might never come to Great Peaks again, Kelly knew that the days she had spent here would affect her for a long time to come. She had changed, for ever perhaps. Sadly she acknowledged to herself that her feelings for her fiancé—even while she still loved him—would never be the same again either. She would try not to speak of what had happened, for to do so would make him angry, but she realised now that coupled with all the qualities which made him lovable, Gary's nature contained elements that were less endearing. In the first flush of their romance she had been enchanted by his recklessness. For the first time she realised that it was also childish.
Was it irony that this day had provided her with some measure of a yardstick? She thought of Andrew Lang, mature and pleasant and sensible, not as handsome as Gary, and certainly not as much fun, but very attractive all the same, and with an air of dependability which would be a source of great comfort to the woman who would one day be his wife. It was a long time since Kelly had met a man to whom she felt quite so drawn as she did to Andrew.
And then there was Nicholas. Much as she tried, it was almost impossible to exclude him from her mind. His image had the most irritating way of in-trading where it was not wanted ... Nicholas was all the things she most detested—arrogant, conceited, domineering. She guessed that he was self- sufficient and ruthless. But he was not childish. She smiled a little wryly as she wondered, if Nicholas Van Mijden had ever been childish. Reckless and daring? Yes. There was a look in the grey eyes that suggested he could be daring indeed, that he was a man who would enjoy a risk and take it with flair. But the risk would be his own. It would be undertaken only when all the consequences had been weighed very thoroughly. And it would never be at another person's expense.
How she could know so much about the man she hated was something she did not understand, but know it she did, and the knowledge gave her a strange sense of elation. Just as the fact that she was making comparisons, in which Gary could only be shown to disadvantage, filled her with shame.
It grew chillier. It was also getting late. Reluctantly Kelly got to her feet. It was restful on the bench beneath the stars, but if she was going to put in a long day's work tomorrow it was time she went to bed. The stars shed just enough light for her to make out the path, but the bushes and trees were no more than dark silhouettes, mysterious and a little-eerie.
Something touched her foot. It was soft and slippery. She let out an involuntary scream as a tiny creature ran further, rustling the grass.
'A frog.' The voice was low and amused.
Kelly spun round. Her heart was racing. She clapped a hand to her mouth to stifle another scream. 'How do you know?' she gasped, when she could speak, and wondered if he guessed that her shakiness was only partly due to the frog.
'I'm a farmer.'
She did not need to see his eyes to know that they would be alight with mockery. It was too dark even to make out the expression on his face, but strangely no light was necessary. She had known him only two days, and yet every rugged feature of the starkly handsome face was etched upon her mind. It came to her quite involuntarily that the face of her fiance had never assumed such clarity.
She took a step away from him. To break the silence she asked, 'Where's Miss de Jager?'
'She went home.'
'She lives near here?'
'On a farm next to my own.'
Neighbours! Serena de Jager would be a frequent visitor at Nicholas's farm. From the degree of familiarity she had displayed in the dining-room, it would seem that they saw each other often. Kelly wondered why the thought should disturb her so intensely.
'She said you had a date...'
'A movie in the village.' His voice was lazy. Kelly knew it was absurd even to imagine that Nicholas could guess at the effort it took to keep her voice level. Yet oddly, she had the idea that he did know. It was not the first time she had endowed him with a perception he could not possibly possess.
'You didn't go because it was late. She ... she seemed upset about that.' Kelly wondered what drove her to pursue the conversation. She wouldnever see Serena de Jager again. After tomorrow she would not see Nicholas either. His social life did not concern her in the least.
'Serena upset? Not once she understood. It wasn't our first date.' Nicholas spoke easily. 'It won't be the last.'
Kelly winced at the words. The pain that she had felt once before came again, and it baffled her. There was no reason for it, none at all. She had not changed the opinion she had formed of Nicholas the first time she had seen him. His undisguised contempt had made her think him arrogant and unpleasant. Nothing he had said or done since then ha
d altered her views. Besides, she was engaged to be married. It could only be the unusual day she had spent which gave rise to a pain she could not remember having experienced before. Nothing else would make any sense.
His voice came to her through the darkness. 'How did your date go?'
'Date?' For a moment Kelly was puzzled. 'Oh, you mean my drink with Andrew Lang? Good heavens, that wasn't a date 1'
'No?' he drawled. 'Seems to me you'd arranged to meet after dinner. And since the man had made no effort to join his colleagues he was obviously waiting for you.'
'Why should it matter to you?' she threw at him.
'It doesn't,' came the crisp rejoinder. 'But I wonder what your fiance would make of it?'
'Gary trusts me,' Kelly said icily. 'I told you that before.'
'So you did.' There was no missing the derision.
She bit her lip. 'Why do you hate us so much?'
'Hate?' He shrugged. 'I don't hate you, Kelly. I don't hate Gary either.'
'But you despise us.'
There was no softening in his tone as he made no effort to deny it. 'Let's just say that I have no time for a bunch of parasites.'
'That's how you see us?' she asked, when she had caught her breath.
'What would you think of a man who allows his rich fiancde to use her money to get him whatever he wants? Who thinks it a good idea that she spend some more to appease her conscience and his?' He paused. 'Or were you only trying to appease your own conscience?' His voice changed as she stiffened. 'Your silence speaks for itself.'
'I won't even try to defend Gary to you,' Kelly said bitterly. And then, became she could not seem to help herself, 'You really consider me a parasite?'
Kelly's Man Page 5