Only as his car drew to a stop outside her friend’s house did she wonder whether she had taken her act too far in refusing to spend the evening with him. Nan would have had no hesitation in asking her parents to excuse her from dinner. Except Marly knew that had she fallen in with his plans too easily he might have equated her with the other girls he knew—none of whom, she was sure, would have dreamed of refusing an invitation to go out with him.
Glancing at his beautifully etched profile, she noticed that his lids were lowered in a frown. Was it with disappointment or frustration? Perhaps if he became too frustrated by her behaviour he might decide to look elsewhere for his pleasure, which was not what she wanted. She took a deep breath and spoke.
‘Would you care to join us for dinner?’
Startled, he swung round in his seat to stare at her. ‘I don’t want to impose.’
‘You wouldn’t be. The professor keeps open house and you will be most welcome.’
‘Then I’d be delighted to accept.’
Though Marly was nervous of having Alex see her in Nan’s house for any length of time—afraid that one or other of the family might inadvertently give her away—any misgivings she had were instantly dispelled by Nan’s wink as she walked in with him.
Within a few moments Alex was sitting cross-legged next to the professor, on a woven cushion on the floor; whiskies in hand, they were deep in conversation, discussing the problems of the world. She stifled a giggle at the way Alex was trying to fold his long legs in front of him and tuck his feet out of sight—as everyone in the room was doing as a matter of course, for Thais considered it bad manners to point their feet towards you.
‘Mr Hamilton doesn’t seem able to get comfortable,’ commented Nan’s mother, going over to him. ‘Would you be happier sitting on a chair, Mr Hamilton?’
‘Thank you, but I’m fine as I am,’ he lied with a smile.
Khun Ladda was too diplomatic to persist further, and inclining her head, went back to her cushion.
‘I can see why Andrea fell for him,’ Nan whispered to Marly. ‘He’s so sexy I could go for him myself.’
‘In a little while he won’t find it so easy to be charming,’ Marly said, an imp of mischief sparkling her eyes. ‘I didn’t invite him to dinner because I wanted his company.’
‘What are you up to?’
‘Wait and see.’
Quietly she left the room and crossed the courtyard to the sturdily built hut that served as the kitchen, thus keeping the main house free from cooking smells. The only similarity to a Western-style kitchen was the refrigerator, for there was no oven, microwave, or any other labour-saving gadget. All fruit and vegetables were cut and chopped by hand-held knives, and all food cooked on the double gas hob that dominated one wall, or grilled on the charcoal brazier that dominated another. Yet the variety of recipes was so astonishing that the lack of roasts, or cakes and biscuits, was not missed.
Aroon, the family cook, who rose at dawn each day to go to market to buy all the fresh food, was busy stir-frying at the gas hob, and a delicious smell of garlic, ginger and lime filled the air.
‘What’s for dinner tonight, Aroon?’ she asked in Thai, peering into the three woks—high-rimmed, round-bottomed frying-pans that were the only cooking pots he used.
He rattled off the names of three dishes and she nodded appreciatively. Two of them—lemon shrimp soup and fish cakes—were her special favourites, the soup being flavoured with coconut milk and lime, the fish cakes with coriander leaves and spring onions. It was the third dish—red curry beef—that made her eye the cook warily, and he grinned back at her.
‘I know you don’t enjoy it too spicy,’ he said, ‘so I’ll take out a portion for you before I add the chillies. You want me to do the same for the guest?’
‘That won’t be necessary. He likes it very hot.’
‘As hot as the family do?’ Aroon asked in amazement.
‘Oh, yes. The hotter the better,’ Marly said with a mischievous smile, then, wiping it from her face, returned to the living-room.
‘Well?’ Nan whispered as Marly joined her. ‘Will you let me in on the secret now?’
‘I’ve been telling Aroon that Alex adores hot food, so he needn’t go easy on the chillies.’
‘Is that true?’
‘I shouldn’t think so for a minute. When I had dinner with him at the Shangri-la, he picked out every chilli he could see and put them on another plate!’
‘My God! Aroon’s curry will burn him to a frazzle!’
‘That’s the intention,’ Marly said gleefully. ‘And you, dear Nan, have to distract Alex when the food arrives, so that he doesn’t notice that Aroon’s prepared a separate bowl for me. I want him to think I’m eating the same meal he is.’
Shortly afterwards, a maid wheeled in a trolley laden with fragrant dishes of food and set them out on the large, low table in the centre of the living-room.
‘I’m delighted you’ve given me the chance of dining in a private home,’ Alex murmured, coming to stand beside Marly as they all crowded round the table. ‘It looks so marvellous I don’t know where to begin.’
‘You can have lemon shrimp soup as a starter, or sip it during your meal, as we do,’ she said, sinking gracefully on to a cushion.
‘I may as well do it Thai style while I’m about it,’ he replied, lowering himself on to the floor beside her and folding his long legs in front of him, yoga fashion. ‘I suppose one does eventually get used to sitting like this?’ he enquired.
‘In a year or two!’
He laughed, then nodded towards the bowl of steaming beef in its red sauce. ‘That looks interesting. What is it?’
‘Red curry beef—a great favourite with all the family. You should eat it with rice.’
Nan, who had followed Marly’s instructions and was sitting on the other side of him, touched his forearm. ‘It’s an honour having you here with us, Mr Hamilton.’
‘The honour is mine. It’s extremely kind of your family to make me so welcome.’
As Nan played her part and kept his attention, Marly filled her own plate from the smaller bowl of red beef curry that Aroon had prepared for her, then signalled for a maid to take the bowl away.
‘Will you help me to this dish you recommend so highly?’ Alex said, turning back to Marly.
Gracefully she reached for a plate, heaped a mound of rice on it, and topped it with the steaming beef and a goodly portion of its dark red sauce. Smiling sweetly at him, she lifted a spoonful of her own portion to her mouth and ate it.
‘If it tastes as good as your expression,’ he commented, ‘I’ll be coming back for a second helping.’
Only when pigs can fly! she thought, and from beneath her lashes watched him put a forkful into his mouth and start chewing. Almost at once his tanned skin took on a deeper hue as a hot tide of colour swept into his face. Beads of perspiration erupted on his forehead and upper lip, and he frantically waved one hand in front of his gasping mouth and reached for his water glass with the other.
‘Did something go down the wrong way?’ she questioned innocently.
He tried to speak but couldn’t, and she hastily poured him another glass of water, which he downed at a gulp.
‘My God,’ he gasped finally, his normally deep voice thin and strangled. ‘That has to be the hottest curry in the world! I thought my mouth had caught fire!’
‘I’m terribly sorry, Alex. I should have warned you about the chillies.’
‘I’m surprised you didn’t,’ Nan’s mother interposed. ‘Mr Hamilton could have shared—’ She stopped as she read the warning expression in Marly’s eyes, and her own registered surprise that Marly could play such a cruel joke on him. Lifting another plate from the pile on the table, she handed it to him. ‘Try some sa-koo piak, Mr Hamilton.’
‘Not for the moment, thanks.’ Taking another sip of water, he mopped his brow with a crisp white handkerchief.
‘Do change your mind. It will relieve the bu
rning in your throat.’
‘It will?’
‘I promise you. It’s similar to an English sago pudding, though here we add mauve yam roots and shredded coconut.’
Putting a ladleful on his plate, he tentatively spooned some into his mouth. ‘Mmm, you’re right, it does ease the burning.’
Quickly he swallowed some more, and Marly, watching him, saw there was still a faint film of perspiration on his skin. He had really gone through fire tonight to be with her! Yet though she was ashamed of the trick she had played on him, she did not regret it. Why should she, when he had played a far worse trick on Andrea?
Yet later that evening, walking through the courtyard with him to his car, she again acted contrite. After all, it was the polite thing to do if you had nearly burned your guest to death!
‘I’m really sorry about the chillies, Alex,’ she apologised again. ‘I’m so used to them that I forgot how hot they can be to a Western palate.’
‘I wish you’d stop regarding me as a Westerner,’ he muttered, placing his hands round her waist, ‘and simply see me as a man. A man who can’t think of anything else except you, who wants you to feel the same way towards him.’
If only that were feasible, Marly thought on a sigh, knowing that Alex would always be equated in her mind with Andrea.
‘Do you believe that’s possible?’ he went on, drawing her so close that the beat of his heart came through the soft cambric of his shirt and the silk of her bodice.
Taking a shaky breath, she wondered how long she could maintain indifference to the strength of the long, lean body pressed so close to hers. Thank heaven she had not agreed to have dinner alone with him! This way there was no chance of his giving her more than a goodnight kiss. Had they been alone, she might have been in danger of falling victim to his potent sexuality.
Wrenching free of him, she stepped back into the compound and closed the gate. ‘Sweet dreams, Alex,’ she said, glad she was acting Thai and could lower her eyes and avoid his smouldering ones. ‘I’ll see you in the office tomorrow.’
‘You haven’t answered my question.’
‘I know.’
‘I won’t always be satisfied with silence.’
‘I know that too.’
Before he could reply, she glided into the dark shadow of a jacaranda tree, remaining motionless so that he could no longer see her.
‘You’re a tantalising witch, my beautiful Marly,’ he whispered through the gate. ‘And you’re weaving a potent spell around me. But I’m a pretty good weaver myself, so watch out!’
It was a warning Marly had every intention of taking to heart.
CHAPTER SEVEN
MARLY had a restless night, her sleep disturbed by vivid dreams of Alex making love to her and, what was even more disturbing, of her wild response to him!
As dawn turned the sky from midnight-blue to pink to gold, heralding yet another perfect day, she plumped up her pillows and let her thoughts wander at will. Naturally they turned to her dreams, and with the honesty that was a part of her character—at least until she had embarked on this masquerade—she admitted she was half in love with him. Indeed from the moment she had seen him he had struck a chord in her that should have served as a warning. Trouble was, she had been so set on avenging Andrea she had given no thought to the emotional pit opening up in front of herself. And now she had fallen into it!
She sighed heavily. No longer could she feign indifference to the way Alex looked at her, spoke to her, touched her. Damn it, he seemed so sincere and caring, it was difficult to believe he had asked Andrea to be his wife simply to get her into his bed. In fact it didn’t make sense. With his sexual magnetism he probably had more trouble keeping women out of his bed!
When Andrea had told her the whole unhappy saga, she had accepted it at face value, but since coming to know Alex she found it difficult to envisage him as the unscrupulous swine she had first thought him to be. What if he had genuinely believed he loved Andrea and then discovered—once they were living together—that they were not as compatible as he had thought?
Andrea was a delightful person, but even her best friends, indeed especially her best friends, had to admit she could be maddeningly scatter-brained when the mood took her; and Alex—whom Marly had found to be a logical and methodical man—might well have been driven to distraction by it. Therefore, if it had caused him to have second thoughts about marriage, wasn’t it better to have said so before the ceremony rather than after it?
‘Ten bahts for your thoughts,’ someone offered, and with a start Marly saw Nan at the foot of her bed.
‘They aren’t worth it,’ she shrugged.
‘From the look on your face I’d say they were worth more. What’s bothering you?’ Nan perched on the side of her bed. ‘Or should I say who?’
‘Draw in your line,’ Marly replied, stifling a yawn.
‘Come again?’
‘Stop fishing.’
‘I think you’re in love with Alex,’ Nan stated, never one to beat about the bush.
‘Don’t be ridiculous. If he were the last man on earth—’
‘I’d fight you for him!’
‘It wouldn’t be necessary; I’d give him to you. He’s not my type. He’s too smooth, too sure of himself, too—’
‘“The lady doth protest too much, methinks”!’ Nan quoted deadpan.
‘And me thinks you’re way off-beam!’
‘No, I’m not. I’ve known you a long time, remember, and the vibes you give off when Alex is with you...’
‘OK, so I fancy him,’ Marly capitulated. ‘But it’s no more than that.’
‘I hope not. A man who does the dirty on one woman can do it on another.’
‘What if he genuinely loved Andrea and suddenly found he had changed his mind?’
Nan considered this for a moment, then shook her head. ‘Alex Hamilton is the sort of man who reasons things out before making any decision. He isn’t the sort to think something one day and change his mind the next.’
‘It wasn’t the next day, Nan. He lived with Andrea for six weeks; long enough to realise he’d made a mistake. I mean, why should we assume the worst of him? Why not give him the benefit of the doubt?’
‘Because Andrea is a friend of ours, that’s why!’
‘Perhaps we’ve been prejudiced in her favour because of it,’ Marly replied. ‘I love her dearly but she isn’t without faults. None of us is.’
‘True,’ Nan agreed. ‘I guess you have a point. So what will you do? Tell Alex who you really are?’
‘Yes. I won’t say why I embarked on the act, though. I’ll let him think it was because he originally mistook me for Thai, and I carried on the game for a joke.’
‘Will you tell him you’re a friend of Andrea’s?’
‘Yes. That will give him a chance to tell me his side of the story.’ Marly nibbled at her lip. ‘I wonder if he’ll fancy me when he learns I’m not Miss Docile but a liberated lady who believes in equality?’
‘I don’t see why he shouldn’t,’ Nan placated. ‘Meet me for lunch and tell me how things went.’
‘I won’t do it during office hours. I’ll wait till he takes me out and is nice and relaxed.’
Glad that her charade would soon be at an end, Marly dressed to go to work. Although it was Saturday, both she and Alex were due at the office to finish off some work from yesterday. She would have liked to wear her hair centre-parted and straight to her shoulders, but she knew that twisting it into a chignon in the style worn by Queen Sikrit gave her an air of calm and maturity, and she required both these attributes until she had come clean with Alex.
No sooner had she entered her office than he strode in, and the way her heart leapt in her throat told her how foolish she was to have thought she hadn’t yet fallen for him too hard. If she fell any harder, she’d make a hole in the floor! In a beige linen suit he resembled the proverbial golden Apollo, from his tawny mane of hair brushed back from his forehead to the glow of his
skin. Only his eyes weren’t golden. But then they weren’t grey either this morning, but held a dark flame whose heat made her painfully aware of her susceptibility to him.
The urge to confess the truth was so strong that she knew she had to tell him now. Only then could she admit she was a friend of Andrea’s, and ask to hear his version of why he had changed his mind about marrying her.
‘Alex, I—’
‘I’m leaving for Hong Kong in an hour,’ he spoke at the same time, then stopped and smiled. ‘Sorry, I seem to have cut across you. You were saying?’
No way could she make her confession now. ‘It can wait till you return,’ she parried. ‘How long will you be gone?’
‘I’m not sure. A few days at least.’
‘Business or pleasure?’ she asked composedly.
‘Pleasure—if you come with me.’
Her hands fluttered in mock horror. ‘Oh, no, I couldn’t do that.’
‘I promise to behave honourably.’
‘The answer is still no.’
‘Pity.’ His level regard held wry humour. ‘It would have been enjoyable—and could have been memorable.’ Reaching out, he placed his hands on her shoulders and drew her close. The dark flame in the grey eyes ranged over her, and his lower lip moved sensuously, as if it were already tasting her. ‘May I?’ he asked, his face coming inexorably closer.
Not waiting for an answer, he brought his mouth down on hers. Expecting passion and demand, she was surprised by gentleness and restraint, and was debating whether to part her lips to him when he lifted his head from hers and stepped back.
‘I don’t think there’s any need for me to say be good,’ he murmured, ‘so I’ll just say think of me.’
With a lift of a long-fingered, tanned hand, he was gone, and Marly sank on to her chair, wondering why he had so easily accepted her refusal to go with him to Hong Kong. Had he really desired her company, or had the invitation merely been a reflex action; one he automatically meted out to any attractive girl he met? It was not a pleasant thought but it could not be discounted.
The telephone rang and she hurriedly lifted it.
‘I tried you at home,’ Kevin said. ‘How come you’re working on a Saturday?’
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