Alex heard it too, and jack-knifing into a sitting position, reached swiftly for their scattered clothes.
‘Pirates?’ she asked fearfully, bending low to stay out of sight as she put on her skirt.
‘Not in this stretch of water. Either the coastguard changed their minds, or Fiona did it for them.’ Alex slipped into his trousers and shirt and then stood up, masking her with his body. ‘You should have a cheong-sam with a zip, not buttons!’ He grinned briefly to lighten the mood. ‘Bend double and go down below. I’ll play host up here!’
Heart racing like a piston, she did as ordered, still so emotionally aroused that she was unable to think straight.
When she emerged, a sleek white cutter had pulled up alongside them and two coastguards were trying to explain their arrival to Alex, while a third was examining the engine, which burst into life even as Marly came forward to act as interpreter.
As Alex had correctly assumed, Fiona was the main instigator behind their rescue, for when an official had telephoned the beach house to explain their absence and say they would be rescued in the morning she had contacted the British embassy.
‘The rest, as they say, is history,’ Marly concluded as she recounted the story to Alex when the coastguards had returned to their vessel and were standing by to escort them back to Phuket. ‘I don’t think your fiancée is going to give up on you as easily as you think.’
‘She is not my fiancée,’ he asserted. ‘This mania of hers is getting beyond a joke. If she carries on like this I’ll have no option but to be brutal.’
‘Not while she’s such a long way from home,’ Marly warned, cognisant of the girl’s earlier breakdown. ‘If our stay in Phuket doesn’t show her you don’t love her, it might be better if you flew back to England with her and then made her face the truth.’
Alex’s grunt could have meant anything and Marly let the matter drop. After all, once she herself was finished with him, how he ran his life was no concern of hers.
The thought should have made her jump for joy, yet all it did was make her want to burst into tears. Which went to show what a stupid fool she was for having given her heart to a man who didn’t have one of his own.
CHAPTER TWELVE
FIONA and Kevin were at the dockside waiting to welcome Alex and Marly when the boat slipped into its mooring place at two in the morning.
Fiona flung herself into Alex’s arms with the fervour of a bride on the return of her husband from the battlefront, and though the display irritated Marly, she could not help but be grateful that the girl’s determination to prevent him spending the night on the boat with another woman had prevented her from giving herself to Alex and making the biggest mistake of her life.
Pleading exhaustion, she went straight to her room, where she relived the last passionate moments she had spent with him. Even in retrospect they set her pulses racing, confirming her realisation that the sooner her charade was over, the better for her emotional safety.
As expected, her sleep was fitful, and seven o’clock found her wandering along the shore, musing on what might have happened had she and Alex spent the entire night on the Lovely Linda. So deep was she in thought, she didn’t see Kevin until his outstretched arms stopped her.
‘Hi, Marly, you don’t look your usual cheerful self.’
‘With good reason,’ she said wryly. ‘Our blonde bombshell put paid to the plot I’d set in motion.’ As she spoke she remembered she had not yet told him she had deliberately fixed the engine to give trouble, but before she could do so Kevin spoke.
‘Fiona was determined not to let you and Alex spend the night together, and when she wants something there’s no stopping her.’ His voice held reluctant admiration. ‘Between you and me, I think she suspected Alex of engineering the whole thing so the engine would give out and he’d have all night to seduce you!’
‘He’d have had to be pretty conversant with engines to do that,’ she smiled, recollecting his irritability when faced with a mass of plugs and wires.
‘He is conversant,’ Kevin said. ‘According to Fiona he races internationally.’
Marly almost danced with rage. The devious, lying swine! From the minute she had suggested taking out the boat he had planned to spend a night with her at sea. Finding the fused cable had been a bonus for him, saving him the trouble of manufacturing a fault. Like her, he had intended making their breakdown appear genuine when they were eventually rescued.
Two minds with but a single thought, she stormed silently, except that he had planned to seduce her, while she had intended to stop on the brink! Which was very odd, for when it came to the crunch he had surprisingly given her an out, and she had surprisingly rejected it.
‘Why the war dance?’ Kevin enquired.
Taking a couple of deep breaths, she told him, and was entirely unprepared for his shout of laughter.
‘Talk about the biter being bit!’ he said when he could talk. ‘It wouldn’t surprise me if Alex knew you’d messed with the engine.’
‘He could never have guessed that. The fault I created might genuinely have happened, but given his knowledge, he could easily have fixed it.’ Humour got the better of her anger, and she smiled ruefully. ‘You’re right, Kevin. I was bit!’
‘Not to worry, your secret’s safe with me!’ Linking his arm companionably through hers, he led her in the direction of the beach house. ‘Fiona’s a strange girl, you know. Alone with me she’s intelligent, but the instant Alex hoves in sight she’s like a flighty teenager.’
‘But you’re still smitten?’
‘Unfortunately yes, so all I can do is be around to pick up the pieces.’
‘A bit tricky if the pieces fall when she’s in England and you’re here!’
‘I’ve been offered a job in London when I leave the professor, and I intend taking it.’
Marly hoped he was not storing up more hurt for himself, but long ago she had learned that when it came to love one could not influence another person. All one could do as a friend was to be there when needed, and either congratulate or commiserate.
* * *
Although Marly’s plan had failed, it was some consolation to know Alex had failed too. Yet he gave no sign of disappointment and continued dividing his attention equally between her and Fiona, making it clear when he was alone with Marly where his real interest lay.
She contrived as many ways as possible to keep him on the boil, while adroitly finding excuses not to go beyond kisses, and by the end of the third day after the boat trip frustration had taken its toll of him, for he appeared on the veranda for breakfast heavy-eyed and grumpy.
‘Insomnia,’ he said shortly, when she asked if he was unwell.
‘I have an excellent cure. When you go to bed, try to recall every single thing you did from the moment you woke up. I promise you’ll be out like a light before you reach lunch.’
‘I doubt it. Last night, it was thinking of after our lunch yesterday that made me sleepless!’
Hot colour washed Marly’s cheeks. Yesterday, while Kevin and Fiona had been snorkelling in the bay, Alex had led her to a secluded spot further down the beach and began making love to her. As usual she had responded to his urgency, but as he had edged down the zip of her swimsuit she had come to her senses and pushed him away.
‘Alex, don’t. This isn’t the way to start a relationship,’ she had protested.
‘Why not? What can be nicer than making love on soft white sand?’
‘A soft white bed,’ she whispered. ‘I want our first time to be perfect, and that means spending the night together and seeing your face on the pillow next to me in the morning.’
Alex had tried to look understanding, but thwarted passion had taxed his patience, and she had realised it was going to be difficult to keep him at arm’s length much longer. Because of this she had locked her door that night, worried in case he tried to put her excuse to the test.
‘You could at least be more sympathetic.’ Alex’s disgruntled v
oice brought her back to the present. ‘You’ve made me wait longer for you than I’ve waited for any woman.’
Marly’s blood boiled. How dared he compare her with his other women? Yet all she said was, ‘Expectancy will make it all the nicer.’
‘Don’t kid yourself. All it does is make it quicker!’
‘Don’t be cross with me,’ she pleaded. ‘I’ve already gone further with you than I should.’
‘I’m sorry, Marly. I’ve no right to take out my frustration on you.’
‘You wouldn’t need to be frustrated if you...’ Putting a slight catch in her voice, she played her ace. ‘I believe it’s important to keep myself pure for my husband, and though I almost gave in to you on the boat, I’ve come to my senses again. What I’m trying to say is that I won’t give myself to a man unless I’m married to him.’
Deliberately she met his eyes. If she had misjudged his feelings for her, or forced the issue too soon, her scheming would come to nothing and she’d have to settle for failure.
For what seemed an age but was probably a few seconds, he was silent, and noting his veiled expression, she thought she had overplayed her hand and lost him. But when he finally spoke, he sounded amused.
‘I wasn’t aware this was February the twenty-ninth!’
‘I beg your pardon?’ She pretended ignorance.
‘In our society women only propose to men when it’s a leap year.’
‘You’re making a joke of something very serious, Alex. It took courage for me to speak to you so frankly, and just to set the record straight, in our culture too it’s usual to wait for the man to do the asking.’
‘In that case, when in Rome—or should I say Karon Beach?—I will do the asking.’ His voice lost its jocular tone and became so deep it was barely audible. ‘Will you marry me, Marly?’
Stunned, she gazed at him. Her plan had worked! Yet strangely she felt no sense of triumph. On the contrary, all she felt was depression. Was it because she knew how empty her life was going to be when she finally disclosed her identity and walked out on him?
Yet why assume he had proposed merely to get her into bed, as he had done with Andrea? What if he genuinely wished her to be his wife? The notion was so wonderful that she savoured it.
‘I’m waiting for your reply,’ Alex said. ‘Given that you were the one to propose first, you can’t be suffering from shock!’
‘I am. I can’t believe you mean it.’
‘You’ve left me no option. Marriage was the last thing I had in mind, but I can’t see any other way of having you.’
Marly came down to earth with a bump. How cruelly he had knocked off her rose-coloured glasses, showing her how foolish she was to imagine he was anything other than an expedient man out to get what he wanted. As for his proposal, it was obviously as meaningful as the one he had made to Andrea!
But now wasn’t the time to laugh in his face. Before she did that she would hoist him higher with his own petard, and thus ensure his fall was a very painful one.
She was saved from having to give him his answer by the appearance of Fiona and Kevin, back sooner than she had expected from a game of tennis at the local club.
‘Fiona was off-colour,’ Kevin explained as he poured himself a glass of fresh papaya juice and took his place at the table.
‘I’ve probably been over-eating,’ the girl added, sitting herself beside Alex and resting her hand possessively on his arm. ‘Sumalee’s such a great cook I can’t resist her food.’
For the remainder of the day she stuck to Alex like a leech, which gave Marly the breathing space she needed, and at dinner, which was a barbecue on the beach, she did the same.
As usual Alex held centre stage, proving how knowledgeable he was on a variety of subjects. Like all good talkers he enjoyed debate, and occasionally provoked it simply to cause an argument.
‘Take the Amazon rainforests for example,’ he said, leaning back against a palm tree and sipping his coffee. ‘If the world doesn’t stop their wholesale decimation they’ll turn into deserts.’
‘They’re so vast it will take hundreds of years,’ Kevin argued.
‘We can’t just consider ourselves,’ Alex replied. ‘We have to think of future generations.’
‘I agree,’ Marly said.
‘You agree with everything Alex says,’ Fiona complained. ‘You’re far too docile, Marly.’
Marly was not sure how to reply, and Alex came to her defence.
‘Marly is only docile when it suits her,’ he commented drily. ‘She can be extremely obstinate when the mood takes her.’
Knowing to what he was referring, Marly stared fully into his eyes. ‘You make me sound very calculating.’
‘Clever,’ he corrected. ‘You know how to flatter a man and make him feel he’s the boss, even if he isn’t!’
‘Don’t most women do the same?’
‘Occasionally they try, but I’ve never encountered anyone as good at it as you!’
‘What about me?’ Fiona burst out.
‘You try,’ Alex said, ‘but compared with Marly you’re an amateur.’
‘Thanks!’ Fiona exclaimed angrily, and jumping to her feet, stalked off the beach.
‘I think she’s still off-colour,’ Kevin murmured by way of explanation.
‘I’ll go and see if she’s all right,’ Marly said, and gratefully seizing the excuse to end the evening, hurriedly followed the younger girl back to the house.
The light was on in Fiona’s bedroom, but when Marly tapped on the door, the light went out and a sleepy voice asked who it was.
‘Marly. I wondered if I can get you anything?’
‘I’m fine, thanks; just tired. I’ll see you in the morning.’
As Marly turned to go into her bedroom she stopped in her tracks, startled to see Alex at the end of the short corridor, mouthing her to come towards him and casting a jaundiced eye in the direction of Fiona’s door.
Realising he wished to talk to her without the other girl knowing, she had no option but to obey him, and as soon as she was within touching distance his hand came out to clasp hers and draw her outside.
Not pausing on the veranda, he led her down the steps and on to the beach, guiding her across the sand until they were well out of earshot of anyone in the house. Only then did he stop and swing her round to face him. There was a full moon, and in its light she saw the hard set of his mouth and the jut of his jaw, both of which signified tension held in check.
‘What’s wrong, Marly?’ he bit out. ‘You’ve avoided being alone with me since I proposed to you, and I want to know why. If you’re going to turn me down I’d like to know why, and if it’s yes, then why the hell don’t you put me out of my misery?’
The pain in his voice unnerved her, for she had not expected it. Anger yes, even hurt pride because she had not immediately jumped at his offer of marriage, but pain, definitely not.
Could she have misjudged him? Was his offer a genuine one and not the ploy it had been with Andrea? Filled with doubt, she opted for partial truth.
‘I had the feeling you proposed to me because I’d pushed you into it.’
‘Pushed me?’
‘You said marriage was the last thing you’d had in mind, but that you couldn’t see how else to have me.’
Alex’s body went slack with surprise, and Marly took the opportunity of pulling free of his hold and moving away from him.
‘It wasn’t the most romantic of proposals, Alex. Rawly sexual, yes, but in my view that’s no recipe for a lasting relationship.’
‘For God’s sake, I—’
‘No, please let me finish. I know you’ve avoided marriage, and you’ve also made it plain you—’ She hesitated, trying to use words a well brought-up Thai girl might utilise. ‘What I mean is that I know you lust after me, and it’s become such a fire inside you that you can’t think of anything else except appeasing it. But once you have, you’ll tire of me.’
‘You think so?’ Alex’s tone
was dry. ‘You’re wrong, I’m afraid. My fault, of course. I’ve been a bloody fool and I deserve your censure.’
Marly remained silent, uncertain what was to come yet knowing—given her knowledge of this man—that it would be clever and subtle.
‘I have avoided marriage until now. No matter how beautiful, charming or intelligent my girlfriends were, I saw no reason to tie myself to one when there was always another who was ready, willing, and able. I’m not saying my behaviour was laudable. I’m merely stating how it was for me. And incidentally, how it is for many men these days. Why have one flower in a vase when an entire bouquet is there for the picking?’
Why indeed? Marly agreed cynically, and thought that women had embraced liberation without weighing up all the pros and cons.
‘Then I met you,’ Alex continued, raking back his hair with his hand, ‘and suddenly one flower was all I desired.’
‘Only because it wasn’t ripe for the picking.’
‘That’s what I thought at first, but the longer I knew you, the more I understood my feelings for you. What began as lust turned into love, and I knew my freedom of choice, which had always been so important to me, was over, because I’d subconsciously made my choice the moment I saw you acting in that silly skit at Christmas. Except that I soon realised you hadn’t been acting, for you were as sweet and gentle as the girl you’d been portraying.’
Marly writhed with shame. Innocent she still was, in the biblical sense, but sweet and gentle she wasn’t; not with strong-minded older brothers who’d have teased her unmercifully if she hadn’t stood up to them. But now was not confession time; there were too many unresolved issues.
‘After what you’ve just told me,’ she said carefully, ‘I can’t fathom why you said what you did when you asked me to marry you.’
‘Neither can I!’ he said with raw honesty. ‘Looking back on it, I suppose I was afraid to let you know how deep my feelings are. I figured that if you assumed it was sexual attraction you would realise the power you have over me.’
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