The Man From Coral Bay

by Jan Anderson

  From some distance away across the room he caught her eye and smiled. She smiled back and knew that if she married Barney she would indeed be a lucky girl.

  On the following afternoon Barney took a couple of hours off to take her and the children for a picnic up by the falls. Terry spent his time—with Crackers as usual—scrambling about the rocks and Sue played about on the grass. She was looking much more like herself today. Another two or three days of this climate, Rossi decided, and she would be really back to her old high spirits.

  It was that evening, just after John had followed the ritual of lighting the fire and serving the drinks that the telephone rang. Barney left to answer it and came back in a few moments looking rather put out, she thought.

  It's for you,' he said.

  She gazed at him, startled. But who is it?

  There's no one who would phone me here except for Tom. And it isn't Tom, is it?'

  He shook his head. No, it's not Tom,' he said curtly. It's his neighbour, Matthew Lincoln.'

  ' But . . . but what on earth could he want me

  for? Didn't he say?'

  No, he refused to give any message. He merely said he wanted to speak to you.'

  Mystified, and a little annoyed, Rossi picked up the phone. It was difficult to show her real feelings, she found, because the line was so bad. All she could gather at first that something had happened to Tom. He had had some kind of accident.

  But is he bad?' she found herself shouting.

  No, but he can't move much,' came the reply. Needless to say if he knew I was phoning you he'd have my head on a plate. Frankly, I think he needs someone to look after him for a couple of days, to see he doesn't try to do anything stupid. Can you get away?'

  Yes . . . yes, I suppose so. But there are the children, remember, and I don't think Sue is really well enough to go back to normal life.'

  Then I suggest you leave her up there with Nanny There'll be plenty of people around to help, and you come back with Terry. I'll come half way or so to pick you up in the morning. The rest house at Anuradhapura would be a reasonable place. I'll be there from ten o'clock.'

  ' But. . . .' she started to protest.

  The voice came back faint but still brusque. ' Goodbye, Rossi, I'll see you then.'

  She replaced the receiver and walked back to the sitting room saying, Well, talk about taking over!' What's happened, Rossi?'

  She told him what had been said, adding, But I have no idea what's wrong with Tom, whether he's badly hurt or not. I presume not or he would be in hospital. Matt Lincoln knows I have no nursing experience.'

  Barney snorted. ' Your Mr Lincoln certainly

  seems to think he knows everything. I presume you're going to ignore his orders.'

  I don't know,' she said uncertainly. ' I don't like to think of Tom on his own, especially in the state of mind he's in. I think it's right that I should go. Would you mind, Barney, very much?'

  Of course I mind,' he said crossly. Tom's a grown man. He shouldn't need his sister running about after him.'

  Rossi swallowed, knowing he was angry simply because he wanted her to stay.

  He doesn't even know Matt Lincoln has sent for me. Honestly, I think I must go, but how it's done is up to you. The children are the real problem—and getting down to this place he mentioned.'

  Barney was silent for a moment, tussling with himself. Finally he said, ' All right, I'll take you, it's hardly more than an hour's drive from here. I'll bring Sue and Nanny down at the weekend. Terry too, if you want.'

  No, I'll take Terry. He's no trouble on his own.' She dared not add that he would be even less trouble with his favourite Uncle Matt around. But I don't see why you should cope with Sue.'

  I won't be coping with her. Nanny will be, and John will keep an eye on things. He's had years of small children before I came on to the scene. She'll be quite safe.'

  Somehow the mood of that evening had changed, spoiling by Rossi worrying about Tom, thinking about fresh problems she had to face.

  In the morning she and Terry were ready at the truck just after half past eight. Then Barney called her back into the house.

  In the quiet of the sitting room he pulled her towards him, kissing her with a new urgency. When

  he released her, breathless, he said, ' I can't do that in front of either Terry or your friend Lincoln. I just want you to know once and for all, I'm going to marry you. There's no one else for me, Rossi, no one at all.'

  I know, Barney. I'm just a bit confused, that's all. Perhaps we can talk again at the weekend. Perhaps things will have settled down again.' She squeezed his hand tightly.

  Then, together, they walked back to the truck that was to take her to the meeting with Matt Lincoln.

  CHAPTER IX

  Neither of them said very much on the journey. Barney was concentrating on the driving, but also probably fretting that half of his plans for her stay had fallen in ruins. Rossi felt guilty about this, but she still felt that Tom came first. After all, he and the children were the reasons why she had come to Ceylon in the first place. If Barney loved her he must understand that. The point was, did she love him enough to live up at High Rocks for the rest of her life? It was a question she could not answer honestly now.

  She was glad that Terry was there, with them, so that no awkward questions could be asked. Instead he talked brightly most of the way, pointing things out to Rossi, firing questions at Barney.

  Somehow time passed quickly enough, but she was still glad when they pulled into the outskirts of a town, then on to the courtyard of a now familiar kind of place, a long low building almost impossibly white in the bright sunshine. Though there were several cars there Rossi quickly noticed there was no sign

  of Matt's. And when one of the boys carried hers and Terry's suitcases into the lounge she soon saw he was not there.

  Barney glanced at his watch. Well, we're on time, I should have thought the least he could do was to be here.' He sounded cross. I'll wait with you, Rossi.'

  No, please, Barney, I'd rather you didn't, you've got so much work to do. Terry and I can go and look around outside, and then if he's not here soon, we'll have some coffee.'

  ' And what if he doesn't turn up?'

  Oh, he'll turn up all right.'

  You sound mighty confident.' Barney glanced down at her.

  Her colour rose. She had not meant to sound quite as definite as that. ' Oh,' she returned carelessly, ' he seems one of these efficient people who works to a schedule.'

  Oh, well, then . . . if you're quite sure, Rossi, then I think I'd better go back. I've still got these labour problems on my hands and. . .

  I know.' She touched his lips with a forefinger. You don't have to explain. Anyway, I'll see you at the weekend.'

  Barney looked at her with a wry smile. It seems an awfully long way away. Try to give me an answer then, won't you?' He kissed her swiftly on the cheek and was gone.

  She and Terry wandered out into the garden and beyond, where there was a huge tank stretching far into the distance. Not far along the shore a group of Ceylonese were bathing and washing their clothes. The whole scene was very quiet and restful.

  Did you know that this tank was built just about two thousand years ago?'

  Rossi swung round. Matt Lincoln was standing there looking cool and composed, wearing a crisp blue cotton shirt with darker blue trousers. I'm sorry I'm late,' he went on without waiting for an answer, I've had some trouble with the car. I've left it with the garage, but they've promised to have it ready in about an hour.'

  And Tom?' she said anxiously. Tell me what's happened. He's not hurt badly, is he?'

  No, I promise you he isn't. Come on back to the rest house. They told me you were out here and I've ordered some coffee.'

  While they sat in the long cool room with the fans whirring overhead, he told her that Tom had apparently thought he had heard a prowler during the night and had rushed out to the terrace, slipped and fallen. At first it was thought
he had broken his leg, but the latest theory of the doctor's was that he had merely cracked the bone—not serious, but enough to make him rest for about a week.

  Rossi waited until Terry wandered back towards the garden before she said quietly, And how do you fit into this? I hardly think that Tom called for your help, however bad he thought he was.'

  He shrugged. I'm afraid you're right there.

  No, it was the old bush telegraph. His boy told my boy and I phoned for the doctor and then I got the report back. I gather he's likely to do something very stupid like trying to walk on the leg, unless there's someone to keep an eye on him. I hoped you might have some influence.'

  I can only try,' she said helplessly, wondering if anything more could go wrong for her brother.

  But what about now? What's happening during this crucial period?'

  Don't worry, he's in good hands until around

  four this afternoon. He will be at the hospital for tests and they are arranging for him to be brought back by taxi. I would have offered, but I hardly think he would have accepted.'

  No. . . .' She looked up at him. I suppose I should thank you for getting in touch with me, after all that's happened between you and Tom.'

  I've told you before, you and I can be neighbours and perhaps Tom will one day realise I'm not his enemy.'

  ' But you would still like to buy his land, wouldn't you?' she challenged.

  ' Oh, yes, I don't deny that, but that doesn't turn me into a villain, does it?'

  There are unpleasant ways of getting people to move, you know.'

  Like trying to steal another man's labour force —that's what you're still thinking, isn't it?'

  She said nothing, but her colour was high.

  I can't do anything but tell you that I had no influence in the matter. And while you may think I'd stoop to anything, fortunately I know I won't. Now, shall we forget about the problems back at the bay for the next hour? There's nothing that can be done here, except to cause you and me a great deal of distress—not to mention young Terry. I'm sorry about the car, but it can't be helped. At least your brother is in good hands.'

  All right,' she agreed with a half smile. The funny thing was that each time she ran up against this man she found herself eager for an excuse not to quarrel, not to find fault.

  Terry had wandered back into the room as Matt was paying for the coffee. ' What are we going to do while the car is being mended?' he asked. There's a man out there who says there are hun-

  dreds of monkeys in the two trees further along the edge of the tank. I suppose we couldn't go and see them?' he added wistfully.

  Matt ruffled his hair. Now it just so happens that I thought you might want to go there, also that your Aunt Rossi might like a whirlwind tour of the ruined city, so I've got a taxi and a guide waiting outside to take us wherever we want.'

  ' Oh, but. . . .' Rossi started to protest.

  Do you mean,' he said sternly, that you can ignore the fact that you want to bypass Anuradhapura which was the capital city of this island for a thousand years starting four hundred years B.C. Where's your sense of history, woman?'

  So they drove around the narrow empty roads stopping to look at the ruined temples, lost ' for so many hundreds of years, guarded by the carved moonstones, at the incredible dagobas, huge brick edifices with shining domed roofs, in which were supposed to be housed relics of Buddha. The one they stopped and walked around was higher even than St Paul's Cathedral.

  Rossi found herself lost in the past, wandering through grassy areas realising that the stone drinking pools, the great temple with its army of sixteen hundred stone pillars, the crumbling flights of steps, the carved lions, all were part of the splendours of an age when beauty and artistic talent created something for another world to look at in awe.

  Finally Matt took her to the Bo-tree, the most sacred place in Ceylon. The tree, he explained, was about two thousand five hundred years old, a magnificent, huge gnarled relic of nature, standing behind gilded railings. It was supposed to be endowed with miraculous powers, and pilgrims came from all over the East to gaze at it and worship there.

  All about them was the fragrant scent of lotus blossom, the flower that seemed to stand for Ceylon and all its history. Petals lay beneath the tree, carefully placed there by the pilgrims. And there were more blossoms at the feet of the enormous statue of Buddha only a few yards away from the tree.

  ' I feel here,' Matt said, as they walked away, that I have come to the very heart of Ceylon.'

  And I,' Rossi said truthfully, ' would not have missed this visit for anything. I had no idea that a ruined city could have such a marvellous feeling of history. You have a way of making everything come alive.'

  Only because I have come to love the country I've adopted. Now,' he added brusquely, as if regretting his moment of weakness, back to the garage, I should think my car will be ready by now.'

  They were back at the coast in little over an hour, but Matt insisted on giving them both lunch before driving them back home. It was the sailing club, he explained, as they were served a simple but delicious meal of mixed fish. I don't get enough chance to use it these days, the land is too demanding.'

  Do you remember,' Terry said suddenly, when you took me and Mummy out in a sailing boat? That was super fun. And we very nearly caught a marlin, didn't we?'

  Very nearly,' Matt agreed. ' Would you like to do it again?'

  Oh, please . . . could we really?'

  ' If we can take your Aunt Rossi along, and we can persuade your father that you'll come to no harm.' He looked directly at her. You'll have to do that, won't you, Rossi? It shouldn't be too impossible.'

  By the time they reached the bungalow Rossi was a mass of confused feelings. She could even believe that she might force Tom to believe that Matt had some good points after all. It was only as they parted, after Terry had gone rushing off, that he shattered her once more.

  Don't forget what I said about Tom,' he said, ' and you might use your influence to persuade him that he's in the wrong business. He can't win here, you know; if he goes on struggling much longer, he'll lose every penny, then no one will want to buy his land.'

  ' Why, you . . . you . . . I can't think of a word to describe you! All today you've been buttering me up, trying to make me influence my brother, just so you can buy his land and kick him out. Well, it won't work, I promise you that. I shall see personally that it doesn't! '

  Before she could turn away she found her arm held in a grip of steel.

  No, you can't run away from the truth, Rossi. I think you're a stronger person than that. You're only allowing yourself to see what you want to see. Don't you understand that we all—with the possible exception of your friend Barney—want to help Tom, but he's heading for disaster. Someone has to make him see it before it's too late.'

  Rossi tried to pull away, but found she could not. ' And I suppose,' she said in a low, savage voice,

  you're hoping I'll do your dirty work for you. Well, let me just tell you that nothing, and I mean nothing, will shake my faith in my brother. Since I was small he's been both father and brother to me, and he's always been right in the end. Oh, I grant you he's probably made some mistakes here, but not enough to warrant his getting out just because

  you raise your finger and demand it. I just wish I could tell you how two-faced I think you are! '

  All right, if that's the way you want to believe it, don't say I didn't warn you. But before I go, let me show you my third face, the one you don't know yet.' And before she could move, his mouth was on hers with a kiss that seemed to knock all the breath from her body. For a few seconds she seemed to have no will power to resist, then she was struggling until he finally let her go.

  Remember me, Rossi,' he called as he got into the car. ' I don't give up very easily.'

  She turned away and for some reason found that there were tears stinging her eyes. Oh, how unfair the world was sometimes! How much easier it would have been to stay up i
n the hills with Barney, yet she had chosen to be here, and look what had happened. What she would not admit to herself was the flame that had torn through her body when he had touched her. She only knew she was left shaken and unhappy.

  She felt a small hand creep into hers. Are you all right, Rossi? You're not really crying, are you, because I'm sure Dad's going to be all right. Uncle Matt did say it wasn't really a bad fall.'

  She returned the pressure on her hand. I know, Terry, I know. I expect I'm just a bit tired, that's all. Let's go inside, shall we, and start to get things looking a bit more shipshape for when he comes back. There might even be time for a quick swim.'

  In the end there wasn't, because just as Rossi had seen that the house looked reasonable and there was something for a meal that evening she heard the taxi draw up. Tom shouted for Ponniah and she went out to see him and the taxi driver half helping, half carrying Tom to the long basket chair she had set

  out on the terrace.

  ' Bring some tea,' she ordered Ponniah as soon as Tom was settled, as quickly as you can.'

  Tom was looking drawn and tired. He looked from her to Terry, in extreme surprise. ' What the hell are you doing here?'

  ' You didn't think I'd leave you to the tender mercies of Ponniah, did you?'

  Terry was hopping anxiously from one foot to the other. ' Is your leg really broken, Dad? Will you have to go to hospital like I did when I broke my arm?'

  ' No, it isn't,' he answered crossly. I've merely cracked the bone and it's damned painful, but if the doctor thinks I'm going to lie around here like an invalid he's got another think coming. Anyway,' he glared at Rossi suddenly, how did you know what had happened?'

  Bush telegraph,' she said succinctly, before Terry could open his mouth.

  ' Oh. I know what that means.' And his eyes darkened with anger.

  It means,' she said quickly, exactly what I said. Bush telegraph. Nothing more, nothing less. So don't start reading trouble where there is none.'