Time of the Temptress

by Violet Winspear

  "That's more like it, girl. You keep on hating my guts and we'll get alone just fine." He gave her a slight push toward the hut, for the rain was whipping at them, plastering their hair into wet jags and running in drops down their faces.

  "Don't shove me!" Her eyes flamed into his. "Chauvinistic brute!"

  "Right, if you want to get wet, that's your lookout." He swung the kettle off the fire and went inside with it, leaving her to stand fuming in the rain hungry for her supper, but mortified by his assumption that she had scented herself like a tart in order to arouse his sensual feelings. Oh, damn and blast him, why hadn't she let him make room for her on the plane forcibly, so that she could have flown to Tanga with the nuns? Now she was benighted with him in the middle of a jungle, and she had to endure the rough edge of his tongue, and his insults.

  Eve blinked the rain off her lashes and felt her shirt clinging to her shoulders . . . letting herself get soaked like this was ridiculous, and she marched into the hut, where an aroma of strong tea mingled with the smell of the pork and ham, which she had sliced and laid on the plates.

  "We don't have to quarrel." He indicated that she sit down on the blanket. "Come on, where's your smile?"

  "Seems like I've lost it," she rejoined, and she sat down as far away as possible from his lounging figure.

  "I hope you haven't lost your appetite." Wade held out her plate and she accepted it with a mutter of thanks. They settled down to eat and drink, while [89-90] the rain hissed on the thatch roof above them, and the trees thrashed and whined in the rising wind outside in the wet night.

  "A bit of luck finding this rondavel," he drawled. "It wouldn't have been pleasant having to spend the night in the rain. I have a packet of fruit and nuts if you'd like some?"

  "No, thanks." She gazed across the hut away from him. "I've had all I want."

  "Sulky females are a pain in the neck." He lounged back on his elbow and picked biscuit crumbs off the blanket. "I can't make you out. Surely you're woman enough to know that this isn't exactly the place or the time to try a bit of teasing? I might be a lot older than you, but I'm still capable."

  "I'm sure you are," she said coldly. "But it never entered my head to tease you--I felt scruffy and sticky and scent's a good cover up. They used it enough in the old days, when bathing wasn't all that popular."

  Eve still wouldn't look at him, but she could feel his eyes upon her profile, intent and steely.

  "Is it possible you're so innocent?" he drawled.

  She scorned to answer him, tilting her nose and giving her attention to the persistent sound of the rain. Suddenly she shivered and without comment he arose and placed across the doorway the rather battered leaf-woven screen meant for that purpose. It was primitive but it served, shutting out most of the draught that had been blowing in. The hut had been stuffy at first, but now Eve was glad that the cold had been blocked out.

  "That better?" he asked, starting to roll himself a cigarette, the shadows made by the candle flickering [90-91] over his lean face and making his bones seem harshly defined. In order to save a match he bent to the candle flame and lit his cigarette, and Eve resented his air of being at no one's beck and call, least of all a woman's. But she had to accept his orders, and his sardonic reprimands . . . even those she hadn't earned.

  "The real trouble with you," he said, "is that you're tired and edgy and just a bit scared."

  "Not of you," she assured him, and watching his keen enjoyment of his after-supper smoke she wished she had accepted his offer of a few nuts and raisins. She curled down on the blanket with her head at rest on her plaid bundle, feeling herself go taut when Wade came and stood over her.

  "No, not of me, you've too much spirit for that." He gestured towards the doorway and ash fell from his cigarette. "It's all that jungle out there and how we're going to find our way out of it. Look, I'm going to make a suggestion that you may not care for, but I think it's a good one. I believe we're fairly close to a stream or even a river--now listen, every now and again you hear a tree crash in the rain, don't you?"

  She nodded and wondered why his suggestion, when it came, wasn't going to appeal to her . . . was it going to be so awful? Was he going to leave her here and go off on his own to look for a way out?

  "I--I know I hold you up in these sandals," Eve was up on her knees and her eyes were pleading with him, "but don't leave me here, please! I'd be terrified--"

  "What are you talking about?" He leant down and took her by the chin, his eyes searching her scared face. "Leave you here--no, you've got it all wrong, lady. Those trees you hear falling are coming loose from the [91-92] soil, their roots being the sort that travel along the ground instead of under it and some of those trees are all but hollow. If we're near a river than I'm suggesting that I build us a boat and we continue our journey by water. We're bound to land up--"

  "A boat?"

  "A canoe." He knelt down facing her and his eyes were eager. "I have the panga and the blade is a good sharp one, so I should have no problem shaping out a canoe and making a paddle. It will be better on the water than slogging through the jungle, and there's always a food supply on hand in the shape of fish. The only problem is that it would probably take me about a week to tackle the job, and we'd have to stay here in the rondavel--take a chance on it."

  Eve stared at him and could feel her heart pounding. "You're serious, aren't you?" she said.

  He nodded. "To be quite frank with you, lady, I don't think you'd last out very much longer in the jungle. When your repellent runs out, you'll be bitten unmercifully, and in those sandals you're feet will soon be wrecked. If I take the time to make us a canoe, you can ride on the water, you can eat fish and keep up your mineral strength--fish is a marvelous food, probably the best, even catfish, who look as ugly as sin but make darn good cod-like steaks, baked over a fire. Well, what do you say? Are you with me?"

  "Have I a choice?"

  He smiled at the edge of his mouth and had a look of cool-eyed recklessness. "Not really, Eve. For your own sake, you've got to fall in with my idea."

  "Even though it will be risky to stay on here?" she asked.

  [92-93] "Even so."

  Eve let her gaze rest on his hard, determined jaw. She felt his vigorous strength of will . . . his ability to survive against alarming odds. He was right about her, a few more days like today in the jungle and she'd keel over, a bundle of helpless misery he might just manage to carry on his back for a while.

  "All this depends on whether we're near a river," she said. "What if we aren't?"

  "Then we have no choice but to trek on."

  "Then let's keep our fingers crossed, Major."

  He nodded and for a moment his teeth were bared in a half-savage smile. "If they taught you prayer at that mission, then say a prayer tonight, before you drop off to sleep. Say a couple, one for each of us."

  "Don't you ever pray?" she asked.

  "Me?" He ground the stub of his cigarette into one of the empty plates. "The angels don't listen to wicked men like me, lady." And it was as he spoke that a resounding clap of thunder shook the hut, and shook loose something from the overhead lathes. It fell near Eve and ran across her legs, trailing a long thin tail. She shrieked and cowered away, while Wade leapt in pursuit of the rodent, swinging aside the woven screen so the palm rat was able to streak out into the pelting rain, lit by vivid flashes of lightning that illuminated the tall shapes of the trees.

  "Oh God!" Eve flung her hands over her face, not so much from fear of the rat but from her own terrified reaction. She had never been one of those females who swooned at the sight of rats, bats or mice, for she had been brought up in the country, and the stables and attics of her guardian's house were harbours for all sorts [93-94] of things that crept and crawled and went bump in the night--Lake House was even supposed to have its own ghost--but just now she had felt her nerves give way and it had frightened her.

  She couldn't stop shaking, and abruptly Wade pulled her against him and p
ressed her head to his shoulder. "I know, kid," he murmured, "you're having a rough time for the first time in your life, but you're doing fine, believe me. Rats aren't pretty, but they're less dangerous than the two-legged variety of bête noire."

  "I--I'm not usually so jumpy, a--and I've seen rats before," she said raggedly. "You must think me an awful baby."

  "I think you what you are [sic], a young girl caught up in a tricky situation you've never had to face before." He held her and rocked her a little, and right through her shirt Eve could feel the hard warmth of his hand.

  "I think I'd go crazy if you weren't here with me," she said, then she jumped again as there came another loud peal of thunder followed by the nerve-wrenching crash as a large tree suddenly lost its grip in the mud and keeled over . . . like a felled giant.

  "Want to try a jigger of whisky?" he asked. "I've a small flask of it and I've been saving it for an emergency."

  "But this isn't an emergency, Major. I'm just being--childish."

  "Well, I fancy a snort, and I insist you join me." He let her go, giving her shoulder a reassuring pat . . . being fatherly, she told herself, even though she felt reactions to his touch that were not those of a daughter.

  "I never realised that the jungle could be so--so fearful." She crouched there with her arms about herself, [94-95] while incessant peals of thunder rumbled around the hut, and a cataract of rain drummed down on the roof. Lightning ripped like claws at their doorway and through the chinks she saw a reddish flare as a tree or a bush was struck, breaking into flame that was just as quickly smothered by the downpour.

  "The jungle's very much alive, Eve." He unscrewed the flask and measured the spirit into the tea mug. "Anything alive can cause fear, anguish and alarm--here, drink this and let it settle your nerves."

  She accepted the mug and took a tentative sip at the whisky. It was strong and she had never cared for the taste, but she knew it would help her get rid of the shakes. He nodded and gave her an intent look when she handed him the empty mug. "It's smoothing out the creases already, eh?"

  Eve nodded and watched him toss back his own measure of whisky. His black hair looked as if it hadn't seen a comb for days, and his unshaven jaw gave him the look of a convict on the run. Eve suddenly laughed and couldn't stop herself.

  "That's better," he drawled. "I can deal with the giggles, but a woman's tears are someting else."

  "You wouldn't be so amused if you knew what I was thinking," she said.

  "You're dying to tell me, so why not indulge yourself?"

  "You look a fearful roughneck, Major O'Mara. I'm wondering what you look like when you've had a shave."

  "I may give you that pleasure in the morning, young Eve." He replaced his flask in the knapsack and began to brush out the blanket so they could settle down for the night. "Tomorrow, all being well, we'll take a look [95-96] around our zona inexplorada and see what it has to offer."

  He gnawed a moment on his lip with his firm teeth. "Let's hope I'm right about that river--I've got a feeling I am, for it isn't unusual to find a native settlement within reach of one. Offer up a small prayer to Ngai, just to be on the safe side."

  He rolled the mosquito netting around her, for suddenly she had grown very sleepy and was drowsily aware of him leaning over her for a moment. "Sleep deep and forget everything," he advised. "Make pretend you're in your flounced fourposter at the family mansion."

  "I'd really need a vivid imagination for that." She smiled, the lids of her eyes weighted with exhaustion. "I never even shared my fourposter with a replica of Humphrey Bogart, though I thought about it after seeing Casablanca."

  The white teeth glimmered above her in the dark face, and already half-asleep, she wasn't certain if he brushed at the tumbled hair on her temples.

  CHAPTER SIX

  When Eve crawled out of her warm nest of plaid robe and netting, she saw that the hut was empty and was about to panic when she breathed a drift of woodsmoke and realised that Wade was just outside, probably getting breakfast. Yawning and stretching, she wandered out into the hazy morning sunlight, to find the kettle on the fire, and Wade busily lathering his chin. He had attached his shaving-mirror to a branch and was stripped of his shirt, his trousers belted against his firm brown body.

  Eve caught the scrape of the blade through the strong growth of beard and she had a feeling he was watching her through the mirror.

  "You had a good night," he said. "Slept sound as an infant in its cot, even though the thunder kept on for quite a while."

  "I do feel rested," she said, and glanced about the compound, where moisture was still dripping from the surrounding trees. Over everything there hung the scent of wet foliage, and there was a busy chattering and whistling in the bush. "What are we having for breakfast?"

  "How about smoky bacon, with eggs and toast?" he drawled.

  "Don't torture me," she groaned. "It looks as if we'll have to make do with smoky beans straight from the can.

  [97-98] "Eve," he turned to face her with half his face shaven clean, "aren't you curious that we have water in the kettle? Last night the water-bottle was empty, this morning it's full."

  "You mean--?"

  He nodded, the sun on the warm coppery gleam of his skin. Eve felt a sudden tumult of her pulses, an awareness of her own scarecrow appearance.

  "A river," she breathed. "That means we can bathe and catch fish and be a little civilised!"

  "Later on," he agreed. "But right after breakfast I want to explore the village for any useful implements, and I want to take a look at the trees around here. There's also the chance that when the villagers ran off they left behind them a few vegetables in their patches of cultivated ground. Can you see to the tea while I finish off my face?"

  "Yes, bwana." Eve was suddenly optimistic, and she liked the feel of the sunlight on her face as she set about making breakfast for them. Wade was tough and tantalising, and he could be diamond-hard when he chose, but given half a chance he'd make that boat and they'd get away on the water without having to take their chance in the jungle. She felt like singing, and compromised by whistling to herself as she opened the beans, replaced the lift halfway and set the can carefully on the fire stones.

  This wasn't such a bad place to camp in for a while, not if she kept her mind firmly closed to images of wild-eyed rebels through the bush, coming so suddenly that Wade didn't have time to reach for his Breda. She shot him a look and saw that he was wiping the soap from his face; the shotgun was close at hand, leaning against [98-99] the tree on which his mirror was suspended.

  She felt reassured, and then he turned to look at her and as their eyes met across the clearing Eve felt a sudden weakness in her limbs. It was the first time she had seen him clean-shaven and for a moment he was a stranger, the roughneck replaced by a man of lean distinction, who in full officer's uniform would look . . . dashingly attractive.

  Suddenly she felt rather shy of him and could feel an irregularity in her breathing as he swung his Breda on to his bare coppery shoulder and began to stroll across to her. Clad only in his khaki trousers there was a supple rippling of hard muscle under the sun-darkened skin, and Eve felt a stab of physical reaction that made her clench her teeth. She hadn't known that awareness of a man could be so potent, like a heady gulp of wine followed by an alarming mixture of weakness and elation; added to which was the scared feeling that he was going to guess how she felt.

  With an effort of will she managed to sound insouciant. "Tea's up, and the beans are smoking, and do take a look at those little gold-breasted birds flying about. Are they canaries?"

  "Probably a wild species." He rested the shotgun and gazed down at her, his lip quirking. "Well, do you think I look a trifle more civilised now my bristles are gone?"

  "Don't tantalise me with your manly beauty," she said demurely. "This isn't the garden of Eden we're lost in."

  "Touché." There was a grating amusement in his drawl. "Glad to see you're back on form and aren't letting this situati
on get you down."

  "Sunshine and bird-calls, and hot sweet tea, can do [99-100] wonders for the morale, Major. I'm making believe I'm on a camping trip with a local scoutmaster."

  He caught her gaze and made an intent search of her eyes, then he added approvingly, "I wouldn't have taken much of a bet on a high-society gal making much of a companion in adversity, but you're proving me wrong, aren't you?"

  "So far," she said, handing him his share of the tea. "Last night I lost a good mark, but the rat took me by surprise. Normally I don't squeal like that, and I've seen plenty of rats and bats at Lake House."

  "The guardian's country seat, I take it?"

  "Yes, in Essex. I've boated on the lake, so I should be able to do my share of the paddling when you get the canoe ready for launching."

  On the smooth waters, perhaps." He leaned down to slide the can of beans off the fire. "But some of these rivers run into rapids--we'll wait and see how things go. Take care with this sauce, it's hot."

  They tucked into their beans and only had a couple of biscuits each, for they were fast running out of them and they had to substitute for a longed-for slice of bread.

  He had brought back enough water for Eve to be able to wash her face and hands, after which she applied the hateful repellent. Wade washed his shirt in the one-legged iron pot and hung it on a bush to dry in the sun. "Let's hope a monkey doesn't run off with it," he said, and they stood a moment watching the agile chimps flinging themselves about in the high trees, chattering and showing their teeth to the pair of human beings. Suddenly something bounced down hard near Wade's feet, and he bent to pick up the object. It was a large coconut!

  [100-101] "Manna from the monkeys," Wade said delightedly. He shook the nut and the liquid inside swished about. "Well, if we can find a few more of these, we'll have coconut meat and milk to supplement our diet. Fancy a piece right now?"

  "No, I'll have some later on, but you go ahead."