Caribbean Cocktail

by Jane Corrie

  Back in her room, Cassy changed into the swimming costume that Sylvia had left for her use, then slipping on a blouse and skirt, and collecting a towel and her sun lotion, she was ready for a morning on the beach with the comforting thought that from now on her time was fully booked, and she would not be available for any other plans Justin Pride might or might not have in mind.

  She was so pleased with herself that she hummed a little tune while she waited for the lift, and old Sam's eyebrows rose as he noted the sudden change of mood in his now happy passenger, and gave it entirely the wrong interpretation!

  After lunch, Cassy got ready for the first of the afternoon tours, and dressed in a light trouser suit of a deep tan colour, with a peach blouse that suited her chestnut colouring, she was ready to enjoy the tour and went down to the given assembly point.

  There had been three tours to choose from, and as Cassy had seen a little of the town she had chosen one of the island tours. When all the names had been ticked

  off on the list, the guide assigned to them for the afternoon, shepherded his flock into the waiting mini-buses, and as Cassy took her place in the bus, some of her earlier enthusiasm was dampened by a sharp feeling of loneliness as she listened to the other guests hailing one another as they spotted friends who had settled for the same tour, and wished that Sylvia had been with her.

  This depression, however, did not last for long, particularly when she reminded herself of the only other alternative; she could have gone along with Sylvia and Greg, but had chosen not to—or she could have sunbathed all day and waited for Justin to collect her for dinner, but she had chosen not to—so what was she complaining about? she upbraided herself sternly. She would enjoy herself ! and if things got really bad, she could always catch an earlier flight home.

  This thought reminded her that she really ought to write to her uncle and tell him that she had contacted Sylvia and that she hoped to be able to persuade her to come back with her. Her lovely eyes narrowed on this thought; it wasn't strictly the truth, but it would allay any further action on his part until she had had a chance to put him into the picture. She nodded her head. Yes, she would do that as soon as she got back to the hotel. She would also tell him that she had decided to stay for a fortnight, and make the most of her holiday. The extra week would give her time to size up the situation between Sylvia and Greg, and if it was really serious, it was up to Sylvia to put him into the picture.

  `On your left is the Governor's residence,' said the

  tour guide, bringing Cassy's musings to an abrupt end, and directing her attention to a large white imposing-looking building set on a terraced slope, and reached by a series of stone steps behind the high ornamental gates guarding the entrance.

  From then on Cassy concentrated on the tour. She saw a small Chinese village with small pagoda-style villas, and learnt that one could book a holiday there should the fancy take one. The pagodas set among the island's luxuriant foliage made it a pleasant prospect, for the village was set high on a hill and away from the noise and bustle of the town.

  As the bus passed along narrow roads, Cassy gazed with fascination at the thick vegetation on either side of her, and on one occasion found she need only put her hand out of the window and she could actually touch a clump of bananas growing in a nursery garden. The tropical fruit trees were pointed out to them as they passed them, and names were reeled off, names of numerous exotic fruit only hitherto found in frozen packets at the larger supermarkets at home.

  The various residences they passed were mainly bungalows, with plenty of ground attached that inevitably grew the island's flowering' trees, the most prominent being the double flowering poinsettia with its bright red blossoms. On passing one rather large residence, Cassy saw a notice on the gate that stated 'Bad dog', and smiled at the thought that it was obviously a warning to would-be burglars, and would be understood as such by the islanders.

  So the day wore on; it was interesting, yet in her heart Cassy knew she would have enjoyed it all so much more if a certain person had happened to be

  with her. Sylvia' s presence, she tried to convince herself, would have made all the difference, but it was not Sylvia she missed, but a tall, tanned, handsome man.

  The time of assembly for the night club visit that evening was given as eight o'clock, and Cassy, taking no chances of Justin tracking her down before the start of the tour, made an early start of getting ready, and as soon as she had changed into her one and only long skirt, and the same peasant blouse she had worn the previous evening, went down and settled in one of the hotel's numerous lounges until it was time to put in an appearance for the tour. She deliberately chose the most crowded lounge, and sitting in a very convenient chair directly behind a large sprawling flower arrangement, she defied anyone to spot her position, even the eagle-eyed Justin Pride !

  When the time had come for her to make her appearance, she went to join the small crowd now assembled outside the hotel, but her step slightly faltered as she noted with some consternation that the waiting tourists seemed to be already paired off, and only the thought of Justin kept her going forward.

  When they were all assembled Cassy found to her great relief that she was not the only unattached person in the group, since there were two other women; one an elderly spinster who looked slightly out of place against the rest of the party, and made Cassy wonder if she had somehow got booked on the wrong tour. The other was a girl of Cassy's age, a pretty, petite, blue-eyed blonde, who didn't really look as if she was enjoying herself. The reason for this was soon made clear to Cassy, as she heard the girl refer to the

  spinster as 'Aunt Mary', and there was no doubt that `Aunt Mary' was there purely to keep a strict eye on her niece, and that meant that the girl was probably younger than Cassy had at first thought her.

  There was also one unattached male in the group who immediately attached himself to the luckless Cassy—luckless, because he belonged to that irritating, if slightly pathetic, type of male who was of the bigoted opinion that they were irresistible to the opposite sex, and would have been horrified to learn that in actual fact they were crashing bores to be avoided at all costs !

  That the austere Aunt Mary had got him weighed up was proved by his sudden switch to Cassy after the party boarded the fleet of taxis waiting to convey them to the chosen club for the evening.

  It was bad enough for Cassy to find herself landed with this type of escort, but worse was to come, since the chosen club turned out to be the very same club that Justin had taken her to the previous evening. What with avoiding the very obvious passes being handed out by her self-appointed partner for the evening, and desperately trying not to think of the way she had felt when Justin had sat next to her, Cassy had no chance whatsoever of enjoying the evening; culminating, she thought sourly, with a free-for-all in the taxi on the way back to the hotel at the close of the evening !

  She was at least saved this further indignity by the simple fact that there was a shortage of taxis, and each vehicle took on six passengers. Her next worry was how to get rid of this persistent man once they had reached the hotel, and she consoled herself with the fact that although he was staying in the same hotel, he

  was not in possession of her room number, and Cassy meant things to stay that way.

  From now on, she told herself grimly, evening tours were out—the loquacious Reginald Germaine having told her that he had booked all the night club tours, in a manner that suggested that she was very fortunate indeed to find herself such an eligible partner.

  When they arrived at the hotel, it was much as Cassy had feared, for her determined admirer, placing one proprietorial arm round her slim waist that she no less determinedly removed, followed her to the lift fully intending, she was sure, to collect what he would consider his due for his constant attention to her welfare that evening. On this thought she swallowed a lump that had suddenly arisen in her throat; she had once mentally accused Justin of trying the very same tactics, but how wrong she h
ad been.

  As the lift attendant now knew her, there was no need for her to give her floor number and for this she was thankful, and when her floor was reached she stepped smartly out of the lift, and waving a casual goodnight to the caught-off-balance Reginald, she all but ran to her room, and once inside, locked the door with fingers that trembled slightly, thanking providence for her escape from what might have been a highly embarrassing interlude.

  The following morning Cassy ventured down to the desk to find out if Justin had left any message for her the previous evening, and was slightly piqued to find that no message had been left He had probably taken her earlier advice and found another partner for the evening, and she found the thought hurtful—but that was stupid, she told herself scathingly; she couldn't have it both ways. She had wanted him to leave her

  alone, hadn't she? The fact that that was precisely what he had done had given her an unpleasant jolt, she had somehow thought ... Her eyes misted over; she was being stupid again. The best thing she could do was to apply her mind to other matters, such as the letter she ought to write to her uncle. Well, she would do that straight away, there was no time like the present.

  `Ah, there you are ! ' came a familiar yet most unwelcome voice at her elbow, and Cassy found the obnoxious Reginald standing beside her. waited for you to put in an appearance at breakfast, but I guess you slept late,' he said in a light, slightly complaining voice, as he gave her what was supposed to be a roguish look, but appeared as a leer to the annoyed Cassy.

  I had breakfast in my room,' she said coldly, in a manner that would have given a more sensitive man a hint of her feelings, but had no impression whatsoever on the man beside her.

  I could do with another cup of coffee,' went on the annoying man, oblivious to all else but his own requirements. `How about joining me? We could maybe team up for the day; I'm at a bit of a loose end, friends I was expecting to join me haven't put in an appearance yet, but I guess some of the shots they took of the last scene have had to be scrapped and they've had to shoot it again. It's not all plain sailing in the movie world, you know,' he assured her with a toothy grin.

  Cassy's sardonic eyes surveyed him coolly; if he was trying to impress her, he'd failed miserably. As her eyes surveyed his well-cut blazer and open-necked blue shirt, with a navy striped cravat at his throat, the thought occurred to her that he was very probably an actor himself—but one that had passed the zenith of

  his youth, as she saw now that he was quite a bit older than he had seemed last night. The bit about his `friends' in the movies might have been true or might not, but it did give Cassy an idea of how she might shrug off this persistent man. 'As a matter of fact, I have friends staying on the island.' It was not a lie, only perhaps she should have said 'friend', the others were only acquaintances, but it served her purpose. 'So I'm afraid my time's booked up,' she went on steadily without a trace of conscience, and gave him what she hoped was a consoling smile. 'I do hope your friends turn up soon,' and turning away from him, she collided with a man standing just behind her.

  Justin caught her elbow as she staggered back slightly from the collision, but he was not looking at her, he was looking at the man she had been conversing with.

  For a second the two men sized each other up, Reginald with a positive gleam of envy in his eyes as he took in Justin's six-foot measurements as against his five feet ten, and the fact that even though dressed in casual clothes he somehow managed to dominate the situation, and made him feel inferior. It was this feeling of inferiority that made him drawl to Cassy, 'Well, thanks anyway for a wonderful evening. You know where to come if you're ever at a loose end again,' and made his departure, leaving Cassy staring after him in silent outrage. The words had been innocent enough, but it was the underlying meaning that could be so easily misinterpreted—as he had meant them to be, she thought furiously.

  `So that's why I got no reply when I rang you last night,' said Justin, watching the man's departure

  through narrowed eyes. His voice was casual, but Cassy sensed an underlying censure in his manner and resented it.

  `You know, I wouldn't have thought ...' he began mildly, and as far as Cassy was concerned he had no need to finish the sentence, she was perfectly aware of the trend of his thoughts. 'Did he offer you a screen test?' he asked in that same mild voice.

  Cassy's surprise showed in her eyes. 'You know him, then?' she said curiously.

  Justin made a grimace. 'Our Reggie has been living on past glories for quite some time. Er—I shouldn't put too much faith in his promises. He was too fond of the good life to make any lasting impression in the movie world. He just hangs around the big names now, usually with some well-endowed widow who's hoping for an introduotion to one of the latest heartthrobs.'

  Cassy considered this news silently; it was more or less what she had thought, yet she felt a spurt of pity for the man Justin had so accurately summed up. Not only accurately, but pitilessly, and by all accounts Justin had little cause to condemn such behaviour. 'He didn't seem to know you,' she said with a touch of irony in her voice.

  Justin's expressive eyebrows shot up at this, and he gave her a quick speculating look before answering laconically, 'Well, that doesn't surprise me. No doubt he'd prefer to forget our last encounter. He had the misfortune to latch himself on to a friend of mine's daughter.'

  Seeing his grim expression, Cassy drew her own conclusion about the outcome. The girl was probably

  one of those star-struck youngsters easily manipulated by the wiles of 'our Reggie' as Justin had named him. Her father would be extremely wealthy, of course, and Justin had probably picked up quite a large remuneration for his intervention. The thought hurt Cassy, even though she knew it was none of her business how Justin made his living, and the plain simple fact that she had fallen in love with him was her bad luck.

  The only answer was to steer clear of him, she thought, as she gave him a quick surreptitious look from under the fringe of her dark eyelashes and received a slight shock to find that he was subjecting her to the same scrutiny, but openly so. 'Well?' he said softly. `Are we going to stand here all day looking at each other? I could suggest a much less populated place for such interesting observances. Collect your hat and your bag, and we'll go in search of it.'

  Cassy's cheeks turned a bright red, for there was a certain look in his eye that made her want to head for the hills—alone, that was ! Her knees felt decidedly weak as she acknowledged the awesome fact that if she wasn't very careful she would find herself meekly following him out of the hotel to some unknown destination. As Reggie had the power to manipulate a star-struck being, so Justin had the power to manipulate her, and although her heart pleaded with her to accept this one and only chance of pure magic, her head told her she would be a fool to let him know how much he attracted her. Look at her now; her knees were weak and she felt as if she hadn't a bone in her whole body. With just one look Justin Pride could do that to her— and that was in the middle of a busy hotel lobby !

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  CASSY'S flushed cheeks and over-bright eyes gave their own answer to the waiting observant Justin, and his eyes narrowed as she forced a smile and said calmly, 'It sounds wonderful, but I'm afraid I've already planned my day.' She gave a vague shrug. 'There's a letter I must write,' she went on, hastily avoiding Justin's eyes, 'and to be honest, I do feel lazy. I was looking forward to a few hours on my own.' She gave another expressive shrug. 'Just doing nothing,' she added rather lamely now as she noted the derisive look in his eyes.

  'Scared?' he said softly, making the red in Cassy's cheeks turn a deeper hue, and making her want to hit out at him for his astuteness.

  'Of course not !' she answered smartly, too smartly, as Justin's slow smile silently acknowledged.

  I'll wait, then,' he said calmly, adding on seeing Cassy's puzzled glance at him, `till you finish your letter. I feel lazy too.'

  So saying he turned her round gently towards the lift, and slipping his hand into the
crook of her arm guided her across the lobby. 'Bring plenty of sun lotion,' he advised her conversationally, and it wasn't until the lift appeared and Cassy stepped in that she noted with a pang of panic that Justin was still beside her.

  He was taking no chances on her slipping out of the

  hotel at the first available opportunity, she thought bitterly—and she had thought the abominable Reginald pushing! There was another thought hovering around at the back of her mind, and one that caused her further palpitations. There was some indefinable tension between her and the silent man by her side that had not been there before, and she sensed a showdown of some kind; perhaps another lecture on her calculating method of ingratiating herself into a moneyed family. If it was just that, Cassy felt she could cope; if it wasn't ...

  By the time they reached her room, the tension she felt made her fumble clumsily for the key in the pocket of her jeans, well aware that Justin could not have missed her agitation, and wondering bitterly if he was enjoying putting her on the rack.

  Once inside, and with a nonchalance she was far from feeling, Cassy said airily, 'Well, make yourself at home. I don't know how long I shall be, but as you insisted on accompanying me, be it on your own head. And don't ask me to hurry,' she added with a touch of asperity in her voice.

  Totally ignoring this last direction, Justin walked over to the window seat and made himself comfortable, but did not look out of the window at the fine view in front of him, but back at the now infuriated Cassy. `Who's the letter to?' he queried with the confident air of someone entitled to receive an answer, adding to Cassy's fury.