In disbelieving wonder, she answered. 'I'm here, I'm here!'
'Keep calling!' the voice cried, and though it was faint, she recognised it to be Giles'.
In front of her a light flashed, then disappeared as the path curved. When she saw it again it was nearer and brighter. Obeying Giles' order, she called intermittently until all at once he was kneeling beside her and gripping her by the shoulders.
'What the hell happened to you?' There was no solicitude in his voice, only raw anger. 'Are you out of your mind, sitting here like this? You should at least have had the sense to keep moving in this cold temperature!'
'I can't move,' she croaked. 'I'm hurt.'
His grip became fiercer. 'How hurt?'
'N-not badly.' Reaction was beginning to affect her and she was hard put to it not to burst into tears. 'I—I twisted my ankle. I fell off a's-step and…'
Muttering an imprecation, Giles lifted her gently into his arms.
'It's a waste of time for me to look at it here. Put your arm round my neck and hold the torch with the other. That'll be the safest way of getting us both down to ground level without having another accident.'
She obeyed him, gritting her teeth as the motion sent sharp stabs of pain through her ankle. Feeling her tension, he did not speak, and it was only when they reached the end of the steps and he was walking on the relatively flat path that he did so.
'How come you got left behind?' he asked
'I sat down to have a rest. I only meant to close my eyes for a minute, but
'You bloody little fool!'
His attack was so unexpected that the self-pity which had been threatening to engulf her disappeared completely.
'How dare you say that! Do you think I wanted to be locked in? That I wanted to fall and put myself through this misery? You're a swine, Giles Farrow, a heartless, uncaring swine!'
'I care enough to have spent the last four hours traipsing the road from the hotel to back here. I thought someone might have given you a lift and you'd quarrelled with them.'
'Quarrelled?' she questioned, not sure what he meant
'That someone had made a pass at you and you'd run away from them.'
She tried to imagine herself escaping from a car with a lecherous, perspiring male racing after her, and the picture was so amusing that she began to laugh.
'What's so funny?' Giles growled.
She tried to answer him, but couldn't; her laughter was too intense, and quickly exploded into hysteria.
'Stop that!' Giles ordered, and shook her.
The movement sent a stab of pain through her foot and she gave a sharp cry. He gripped her more tightly against his chest and lowered his head until his cheek rested on her hair.
'Forgive me, Abby, I didn't mean to hurt you. But if you knew how worried we'd been… The way I kept imagining you lying hurt somewhere…'
She nestled closer to him and burrowed her face into the side of his neck. She was dimly aware of them reaching the bottom of the ravine and of being carefully placed in the back of a car and wrapped with blankets. Her shivering stopped and was replaced by the deep languor of exhaustion. She felt the car move beneath her but was too tired to open her eyes, and she only did so when she felt Giles' hands upon her shoulders again.
'We've arrived,' he said briefly and, not giving her a chance to move, lifted her bodily from the car.
As they went through the glass doors, she saw people milling around in the lobby and became aware of how dishevelled she must look, and how conspicuous being held in his arms.
'Please put me down,' she whispered. 'If I can hold on to you, I can manage to hobble.'
Ignoring her, he strode forward through the swing doors, and at once they were surrounded by curious faces and a babble of voices all asking questions. Giles pushed his way through the crowd towards the reception desk and asked for the key of her room.
'The doctor is already here, Mr Farrow,' the clerk said. 'Shall I send him up?'
'Yes.'
'How did you know I'd need a doctor?' Abby asked.
'I was afraid you might need an undertaker,' he replied, tight-lipped, and again she was aware of the anger in him. Still holding her, he turned from the desk and, as he did so, she saw Vicky Laughton and Miss Bateman coming towards them.
'My dear child!' Miss Bateman exclaimed in concern. 'Thank God you're alive! What happened to you?'
'I slipped and sprained my ankle. It was my own fault.'
'But why were you alone?'
'You'll have plenty of time to talk to Abby tomorrow,' said Giles. 'Right now she needs her ankle attended to, and a sedative.'
'Don't fuss so, Giles!'
Vicky's voice was as clear as a bell, but with a discordant tone to it that made Giles look at her keenly.
'All she did was to get lost,' Vicky continued. 'She wasn't in real danger.'
'Except from exposure,' he said evenly. 'And she could quite conceivably have fallen over the wall and killed herself.'
'But she didn't, so why make such a fuss?' Vicky's expression was spiteful as her eyes met Abby's. 'You'll be a seven days' wonder when you get back to Bombay. "Girl tourist lost among the shrines." If you can say you saw a couple of Buddhist ghosts roaming round them, you might even get yourself into the newspapers.'
Abby was so astonished at the attack that she did not know what to say. She had just decided that silence was probably the best defence, when Giles spoke. His voice was quiet, but because he was still holding her she felt the tension within him, and knew what an effort he was making not to let anyone see it.
'If Abby wanted to create interest in herself,' he said, 'all she needed to do was to stop keeping our engagement a secret.'
'Your what?' Vicky exclaimed.
'Our engagement. That would make her more than a seven days' wonder, don't you think?' He half lowered his head to Abby, a smile tilting his mouth. 'I've been telling you for days that it was silly for us to go on pretending, but you're such a shy little thing.'
'I knew it!' Miss Bateman interposed, beaming widely. 'I knew that the two of you were made for each other.'
'You should start writing romances instead of thrillers,' Vicky said scornfully, then swung back to Giles. 'I don't believe you. You're making it up.'
'Why should I?'
'Because you never said a word to me about it.'
'You'd be the last person I'd tell.' He shifted Abby's weight in his arms. 'Now, if you'll excuse me, I'd like to take Abby to her room.'
It was only when they were alone together in the lift that Abby found her tongue.
'I know you were angry with Mrs Laughton for what she said to me, but it was ridiculous of you to answer her the way you did. All you've done is to make me look a bigger fool.'
'We'll talk about it later.'
'We'll talk about it now,' she said crossly. 'Why did you have to pretend we're engaged?'
'I didn't like her attack on you,' he said, 'and I wanted to hurt her.'
'By using me—or doesn't it matter to you if you hurt me instead?'
'It wasn't my intention to hurt you,' he said swiftly, and before she could reply, the lift doors opened and she saw the doctor standing outside her room.
Abby had no further chance to talk alone with Giles, which was a good thing, she decided as she lay on the bed and allowed her ankle to be examined. In her present mood she might say things she would regret when she was more in control of herself.
'I'll leave you to get settled,' Giles said. 'I'll be downstairs if the doctor wants me—or if you do.' 'You're the last person I want,' she said bluntly. 'Please go away.'
The door closed behind her and the doctor gave her a surprised look.
'You are in pain,' he said, as if seeking a reason for what he considered such strange behaviour.
'Not my foot,' she replied, and wondered what he would say if she asked him if he had a medicament for a broken heart.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
The sedative which the doctor gave Abby
prevented her from any further thought for the rest of what was left of the night, and when she awoke in the morning, her ankle strapped but the pain bearable, she was in a far more cohesive state of mind to try to work out the real reason why Giles had pretended they were engaged.
What seemed obvious to her was his fear of being trapped again by Vicky. He was afraid that if he were still seen to be free, he would be far more vulnerable. Well, she had wanted him to put up a fight against his ex-fiancée, but had never foreseen that he would use herself as the weapon.
There was a tap at the door, and thinking it was room service, she bade them enter. But it was Giles who came in, face still pale, but his usual impeccable self.
'You look better,' he said, and came to stand at the foot of the bed, one hand in the pocket of his white linen jacket. 'As soon as you've had breakfast I'm taking you to the hospital to have your ankle X-rayed.'
'There are no bones broken,' she replied. 'Please don't fuss.'
'You might have a slight fracture, and it's better to be safe than sorry.'
'That doesn't just apply to my ankle.'
He gave a long-drawn-out sigh. 'I suppose you're referring to what I said to Vicky.'
'Did you expect me not to refer to it?'
She sat further up in bed, then became aware of her flimsy nightdress, and pulled the sheet hastily up around her breasts.
'We can't go on with this engagement, Giles. If you won't tell Mrs Laughton it was a joke, then I will.'
'What makes you think it was a joke?'
'You could tell her the truth, if you prefer,' Abby replied, ignoring his question. 'And say that the only way you can stand up to her is to hide behind another woman's skirts! And don't bother denying it,' she said, as he made to speak, 'because I saw you both yesterday in one of the caves—and you were damned lucky her husband didn't see you, too.'
'So it was you,' Giles said quietly. 'Is that why you're so angry with me?'
'Even if I hadn't seen you kissing her, I would have been angry over this engagement. Do you think I don't know you want to use me as a cover?'
Her voice shook, but she managed to control it. Giles had gone to stand by the window and all she could see of him was his beautifully etched profile. She noticed the springiness of his hair and the nervous movement with which he ran his hand across the top of it, showing her that for all his calm manner he was as perturbed as she was. The knowledge softened her mood towards him, helping her to see how difficult it must be for a man of his temperament to know he could not stop wanting another man's wife. But why had he used her as an escape?
'Have I hurt you so deeply?' he asked into the silence. 'Do you find it so repugnant to be engaged to me?'
'I find it repugnant to be used!'
'But not to be engaged to me,' he said swiftly. 'You don't mind that?'
Afraid of giving herself away, she said evenly, 'Of course I mind the pretence. But I—but I can see that most girls would be flattered by it.'
He was back by the foot of her bed, his hands folded across his chest. 'But not you, I take it?'
'No, not me. I'm glad you're trying to fight your feelings for Mrs Laughton, but I—but I don't want to be the weapon you use.'
'So you'll break the engagement and send me to the wolves—or should I say vixen?'
She didn't smile. 'I'm sure you're clever enough to take care of yourself.'
'Not as clever as you imagine. In fact, when I think of it, exceptionally stupid.'
He moved to the side of the bed and she was conscious of how dishevelled she must look. Clutching the sheet with one hand, she smoothed her hair with the other.
'I do wish you'd go and leave me alone,' she said petulantly.
'You've no need to be embarrassed. If all women looked as lovely as you do when they first woke up, the beauty companies would be out of business.'
'Thanks,' she said, too irritable to be complimented. 'But you needn't think that flattery will get me to do as you want.'
'Nothing was further from my mind.'
She gave him a sharp look, but his expression was serious. With all her heart she wished their engagement was a real one, and that Giles might one day come to love her. But such thoughts were foolish. He was a man of the world and probably considered her naive in the extreme.
'I suppose I seem very young to you,' she said jerkily. 'That's why you think you can use me when it suits you.'
'I wouldn't put it quite that way.'
His gaze moved from her face to the curve of her shoulders, and hurriedly she pulled the sheet higher.
'You know what I mean,' she protested. 'Don't deliberately misunderstand me.'
'But you don't know what I mean,' he replied. 'Why do you always denigrate yourself, Abby? You're young and innocent, I agree, but you have a quiet beauty that becomes considerably stronger the moment one starts to notice it'
This time she could not control her temper. 'If you don't stop playing with me, Giles, I'll go down this minute and tell your lady friend you were lying to her last night!'
'You mean you weren't going to do that anyway?' he asked, in pretended surprise. Then seeing she was still struggling with her temper, he leaned forward and, wrapping the sheet more carefully about her, pulled her against him and gave her a brief hug.
'I knew I could rely on you,' he said huskily. 'Just carry on with the act for a little while. It means everything to me.'
Glad that he did not know it meant everything to her—though in a different way—Abby's sigh gave him the promise he needed, and reminding her that he would be back to carry her down to the car within the hour, he left her to wait for her breakfast.
The medical centre in Aurangabad was an imposing concrete structure, far more lavish in design than was required in such a small place. But then this was something Abby had noticed in many of the small towns she passed through during her trip.
'You're letting your prejudice show,' said Giles.
'How did you know what I was thinking?'
'You have an expressive face.'
'Then perhaps you'd care to comment on my thoughts?'
In the act of carrying her up the steps, Giles paused to look into her face.
'You find the Indian love of education somewhat exaggerated, and wish they would concentrate on quality rather than quantity.'
'Something like that,' she said cautiously. 'Though I can see that in a country of this size, quantity may be more necessary.'
'They have quality too; and in the field of astronomy and science they're excellent.'
'You like the Indians, don't you?'
'I like people,' he replied. 'I don't understand how man can think in terms of conquering space when he hasn't yet learned how to stop dividing earth up into segments.'
Abby agreed wholeheartedly with what Giles had said, and found it incredible that a man of his intelligence could be in love with someone as shallow as Vicky Laughton. Of course it was easy to understand why Vicky wanted him. The reason brought a blush to Abby's cheeks, and Giles noticed it.
'You look very pretty when you blush,' he said. 'Though you look equally pretty when you don't.'
'Still acting, Giles? There's no one here to see you.'
'Does a man have to be acting to pay you a compliment?'
'You would have to.'
'Why me?'
'Because I'm not your type.'
He looked rueful. 'You sound glad that you're not.'
'I am,' she said sharply. 'We've been brought together by circumstances, but in the ordinary course of events we would never have met.'
'But now we have, don't you think we should make the best of it? Or do I have to keep reminding you that we're supposed to be friends—as well as being temporarily engaged?'
'We can never be friends, and our engagement won't fool anyone who knows you. A man who loved Mrs Laughton couldn't fancy someone like me. Now stop standing here holding me,' she said irritably, 'and take me inside.'
Silently he o
beyed her, and she was glad when a nurse met them at the door and they were no longer alone.
The X-ray showed there were no broken bones in Abby's ankle, though she was advised to rest it for at least a week, and Giles decided that since she was immobile, they might as well return to Bombay.
By dint of pulling some strings, he was able to obtain seats for them on the afternoon plane, and it was only when she hobbled down to the lobby, with the assistance of a maid, having flatly refused to call Giles for help, that she had her first encounter of the day with Vicky Laughton.
'What a surprise your engagement was,' said Vicky. 'I never knew you and Giles were such wonderful actors.'
'We wanted to keep it a secret,' Abby explained.
'How odd. Most engaged couples like to show each other off; and all the girls I know would give their eye- teeth if they could announce that they were going to marry Giles.'
'I'm not most girls, Mrs Laughton. Perhaps that's why Giles loves me.'
The colour that stained the hollows beneath Vicky's cheekbones told Abby that her reply had hit home.
'I don't believe he loves you,' said Vicky. 'Giles feels guilty because he thinks he's breaking up my marriage. But as soon as he realises I'm going to leave Anthony anyway, he'll stop trying to fight me. We love each other and we have a right to our happiness.'
'What happened to your love when he asked you to marry him before?'
Vicky's blue eyes clouded with remorse. 'I couldn't face the prospect of travelling from one Indian village to another. I behaved like an idiot and I hurt both of us needlessly. I knew almost as soon as I'd married Anthony that I'd made a terrible mistake.'
'I'm not interested in your mistakes.' Abby longed to hit the coolly smiling face in front of her, but managed to control herself. 'The only person who could possibly care is Giles, and since he now loves me
'If you believe that, you're a fool. The moment I'm free, Giles will come to me—even if you've succeeded in marrying him. Think of that when he's holding you in his arms and making love to you!'
Vicky spun round on her heels and walked quickly away, but Giles, stepping into the lobby, caught a glimpse of her.
'What was Vicky talking to you about?' he asked, coming over.
Rachel Lindsay - Man of Ice Page 14