'Theo, how marvellous to be back! Have you missed me?'
Theo, as ever, was right on cue. He gave her another triumphant hug, sensing immediately that the days she had spent alone with the señor had not dispersed the animosity she felt towards him, and boomed, 'I sure have missed you, poppet! And I don't mind telling you that if it hadn't been for the fact that no one knew where to look for the village we'd've been out there searching for you days ago!' He looked to Inez for confirmation. 'Ain't that so, señora?'
Her malevolent eyes rested for a moment upon Tina. 'It is,' she glowered, then she turned with a swift change of expression to rebuke the señor, 'And you will never know, Ramon, how worried and hurt I was when I was told you had gone without me. Of course, I've no doubt that that was Señorita Donnelly's idea. Only an Englishwoman could have such contempt for convention as to spend three days alone in the jungle with a man who is, after all, almost a stranger to herl'
Tina's temper ascended to boiling point, but the sharp retort she made to utter was forestalled by the señor's cold displeasure.
'That remark is untrue as well as being unjust, Inez. We went into the jungle to work, and I need hardly remind you that the dedication Señorita Donnelly's job calls for precludes any petty thoughts or unusual situations from interfering with it. Her main object was to discover an aid to mankind and she has succeeded. Convention has to be overlooked in such circumstances and therefore I suggest you desist from making any more such remarks on the subject. Do you understand?'
Inez flushed. It had not been her intention to anger him, and she did not like his swift championship of the girl she had begun, reluctantly, to view as a rival. With downswept lashes, she cloaked the bitter rancour she felt from him, but Tina was subjected to the full force of it when she apologized with tightly controlled fury, 'I beg your pardon, Señorita Donnelly, it seems my little joke was in poor taste.' Tina swallowed hard, then jerked her head in abrupt acceptance of the apology, but as they walked towards the camp fire where supper was being doled out and hundreds of questions were being lined up ready to be asked, she felt a chill shiver that had nothing to do with the drop in temperature. Because of the señor's surprising championship, Doña Inez, she sensed, was now her sworn enemy and although she scoffed herself inwardly for her diffidence, she could not shake off the feeling of danger the sight of her naked hate had aroused.
During supper they were assailed from all sides by a barrage of questions that had to be answered with strict attention being paid to even the most minute detail. The crew's reaction was one of respectful awe allied to insatiable curiosity and it was well past midnight when every aspect of the journey had been described to their satisfaction and they began reluctantly to disperse, still conversing amongst themselves about the venture. Tina felt utterly exhausted by the tune the last man had left the firelit circle, leaving her alone with Theo. Only seconds before, she had watched the señor attentively escort Inez in the direction of her hammock and it was then the tide of depression she was feeling had descended, making her aware of painfully aching muscles and heavy limbs. She longed for the comfort of sleep and turned lacklustre eyes upon Theo when he suggested, 'Let's take a stroll around before turning in, poppet, we have lots of ground to make up and I've things to tell you.'
She shook her head. 'I'm sorry, Theo, but they'll have to wait until morning, I'm tired.'
'Sure you are, sweetie,' he put a careless arm around her, 'but what I have to tell is important and it'll only take a minute,' he coaxed easily.
Even the effort to argue was too much. She knew Theo well enough by now to realize it would be quicker to do as he asked rather than oppose his tenacity, so she submitted wearily.
'Very well, but make it quick, please.' She could not see his face clearly in the dimness of the moonless night, but she felt satisfaction emanating from him as he led her towards the forest. She followed uncomplainingly, a small part of her thankful that he had not chosen the river bank with its painful associations as their rendezvous, but when he would have guided her past the first line of forest giants, as if prepared to venture farther into the interior, she resisted. 'This is far enough. Now tell me what it is you want me to know.' She looked up at him, trying to pierce the gloom that surrounded them, and felt a stir of trepidation when he did not answer. The silence was uncanny; a brooding, meaningful silence that awakened panic inside her. 'Theo!' her voice was sharp, 'why don't you answer?' When his great hands reached out and pulled her roughly into his arms, she condemned herself, too late, for her stupidity.
'Stop it!' she beat against his barrel chest with her fists. 'Stop, or I'll scream and rouse the whole camp!' Her threat had no effect on his inflamed emotions. With a throaty laugh, he pulled her closer and fastened his thick lips upon her upturned mouth. She suffered torment while the kiss lasted; his mouth was cruel and his caresses so lacking in tenderness that she felt defiled when he finally raised his head. Through a haze of sick disgust she heard his hoarse whisper.
'You're in my blood, Tina honey. You gotta be nice to me, d'ya hear? I'm crazy for you!'
When his head lowered again, she saw the half, crazed glitter in his eyes and managed to force a choked scream before his seeking mouth silenced her. Once more, she entered the pit of degradation, and fear of fainting was the spur that helped her to fight back. Desperately she kicked and struggled, but her efforts only tantalized him further. She felt herself slipping into unconsciousness and made a last frantic effort to be free by kicking as hard as she could against his shin.
With a suddenness that sent her hurtling to the ground, she was released. She lay there, too exhausted to rise, and drew in great breaths of life-giving air through lips that were swollen and tender. As if from a distance, she heard much noisy activity, then something crashed headlong into the undergrowth beside her. She lifted her dazed eyes and for a moment her brain could not assimilate the scene taking place in front of her. Theo was stretched, prone and half unconscious, beside her, with Ramon Vegas standing towering over him waiting for him to rise. Even through the gloom, Tina was aware of the savage fury that seethed from the señor; it was evident in the poise of his arrogant head, in his tightly clenched fists, and in his threatening, almost eager stance as he waited for a movement from Theo. Her injuries were forgotten as she stared up at him, aghast at the ferment of destructive aggression he was making no effort to control. There was no doubt of his satisfaction as he silently menaced over the cowering Theo, willing him to retaliate, and quite obviously prepared to carry out in its entirety the most basic law of the jungle - attack without mercy! Gone was the imperturbable son of Spanish aristocracy and in his place was a man who had reverted with frightening swiftness to embrace the form of justice favoured by the prehistoric tribes he had pledged himself to free — the justice of immediate retaliation.
He plunged, and Tina's stricken eyes saw his hands clasp around Theo's neck with vicious intent. She strained to force a cry from her parched throat, but her indistinct croak was drowned by a shrill, high-pitched scream which, as it penetrated the overhanging branches, scared dozens of birds from their perches and sent them flying, with echoing screams, madly through the forest. Through the ensuing uproar, Inez's voice reached out to implore the enraged señor.
'Ramon! You mustn't! Madre de Dios! You'll kill him!' She rushed forward and beat her fists against his back, pleading with him all the while to release Theo, whose bulging eyes were ample evidence of his distress. Tina rose to her feet and staggered towards the señor.
'Please,' she gasped. 'Oh, please, don't...!'
Her knees buckled under her when he released Theo and swung round at the sound of her voice. Desperately, she sought for strength to withstand the surprised accusation in his eyes and was well content to suffer his condemnation rather than allow him to succumb to an emotion that could destroy him. His face was stark with amazement when he indicted,
'You would plead for him? After such an action, you still have feeling for him...?'
Not even to save Theo's life could she have admitted to this, but instinct told her that if she were to admit her hatred and fear of him the señor's actions might become uncontrollable. So she jerked out, 'There was a misunderstanding. Please let him go, I beg of you!'
His reckless fury faded, leaving him tense and white under his tan. She saw his lips compress as he battled for control and averted her head from the angry contempt dawning in his brilliant eyes. There was silence, broken only by heavy breathing, before he clicked his fingers and directed Theo contemptuously, 'Get up!' When Theo obeyed with alacrity, he charged him, 'You can thank Señorita Donnelly for saving you from the worst thrashing of your life. I will let you go, at her insistence, but I promise you I will see to it that you are never accepted on another trip as long as you live. Now,' he grated as if uncertain he could maintain his restraint, 'get out of my sight before I allow myself the pleasure of changing my mind!'
With a swiftness oddly at variance with his great bulk, Theo melted like a shadow into the darkness.
The relief from strain was so enormous the strength drained from Tina's limbs and she would have collapsed if the señor had not reached out quickly to grab her. She heard his soft, savage curse as she was caught up against him, then, close to her ear, he whispered an urgent demand.
'Tell me I am mistaken about your feelings for him, querida, so that I can avenge myself for what he has done to you!'
'No, you mustn't!' The horrified cry was torn from her as a rejection of the return of the barbaric anger he had betrayed earlier. The demon contained within him was straining at the leash, thirsting for revenge, she must not be the one to release it. For his own sake, more than for Theo's, his anger had to be frustrated.
She felt him stiffen. His blue eyes bored down into her wan face as if seeking confirmation of words he could not bring himself to believe. As she braved his look, a cry of pained endurance almost escaped her, but she bit her lip hard to forcibly retain the expressionless mask that hid her true feelings from his silent inquisition and after a long, pulsating second his hands dropped to his sides and he stepped away, his tense outline fading into the blinding mist of her tears. As she fought to prevent them from falling, her whole body throbbed with unrelieved heartache, so that when Inez's voice cut between them with strident force she welcomed it as a form of deliverance.
'Ramon!' Sharp anger was evident in her tone as she demanded his attention. When he turned cold, disinterested eyes towards her, she was incensed into betraying the jealous hatred she had managed for so long to keep hidden from him. Darting a quick, venomous look towards Tina, she challenged him,
'You have been made to look a fool, Ramon, do you know that?' A sudden awareness of danger brought Tina to stiff attention.
'Indeed?' he jerked his head as if forcing himself to assimilate her words. 'In what way, and by whom...?'
Inez sensed his lack of interest and her dark eyes flashed with fury.
'It has come to my knowledge recently,' she paused and sent Tina a look of spiteful triumph, 'that Señorita Donnelly has been deceiving you. She is not, as you think, Christina Donnelly, the explorer, but is in fact that lady's niece masquerading under her aunt's name. I don't profess to know for what reason, but I've no doubt that you, Ramon, will be anxious to find out!'
Theo! Tina's heart turned over. Only Theo could have betrayed her. What a fool she had been to trust him! She stood transfixed, her eyes turned away to avoid the sight of the señor's inevitable anger, and waited for the blistering reaction which was bound to follow. Regret stirred, regret that she had not confided in him when she had the chance, regret that circumstances had forced her into deceiving him at all and, most of all, regret that Inez should have been the one to acquaint him with the facts. She felt sick and shaken by the hatred and spite Inez emanated as she waited gloatingly for a satisfactory climax.
But the señor remained immobile, his face inscrutable. Why didn't he speak? His silence was nerve-racking.
Inez became impatient. 'Well, Ramon, did you hear what I said?' She emphasized her pleasure by repeating, 'She is not Christina Donnelly, and she has probably never been in a jungle before in her life. To put it plainly, she is a liar and an impostor!'
Tina was glad the surrounding gloom hid the mortified blush that scorched her cheeks. She had no defence - at least, none that she would offer in front of Inez - so she had to remain silent while her enemy gloated. Now that the moment of truth was upon her, she felt a calm acceptance, a fatalistic acknowledgment that what had to be would be. All she wanted now was for her trial to begin so that she might be condemned and sentenced and then left in peace.
'Might I ask where you obtained your information, Inez?' The señor sounded unexpectedly smooth.
'Does it matter?' Inez asked defensively.
'Yes, I think it does,' he insisted hardly, then in ominous silence, he waited.
Inez shrugged. 'Theo told me, of course. As he is the only one in Señorita Donnelly's confidence I'm surprised you need to ask.'
'Am I to infer from that,' he asked silkily, 'that you and he have become good friends while we have been away?"
Inez preened visibly. 'Just a little, perhaps,' she told him with a glint of mischief. 'But not enough to cause you jealousy, querida. We were naturally both feeling lonely and deserted, so it is hardly surprising that we should be drawn together.'
Tina jumped when his voice snaked out to flick Inez. 'Then perhaps you will be good enough to tell your friend,' he stressed, 'that I am already aware of the facts you have been at such pains to acquaint me with. Contrary to popular belief,' his blue eyes momentarily iced over Tina, 'I am neither a simpleton nor am I a fool! And if Branston is curious about my source of information you can tell him that I was told the details by Señorita Donnelly herself!'
10
THE hovercraft was again on the move, this time homeward bound. As it lifted from the shore on what was to be the final lap of their journey. Tina felt a little of the strain she had endured for the past week receding as she relaxed against her seat, comforted by the awareness that the gruelling war of nerves would soon be over. During the days that had followed the señor's startling announcement of his knowledge of her true identity, Tina had tried many times to attempt an explanation, but he seemed deliberately to have avoided being alone with her and each time she had begun, hesitantly, to try to clarify her actions he had claimed with detached politeness that he had some important matter which needed his attention and had swiftly moved away. Gradually it had dawned upon her that he had no intention of listening to anything she had to say in her own defence, which knowledge aroused her pride to such an extent that she eventually found it hard to address even a wooden 'good morning' to him at the start of each day.
Many times she wondered why he had taken her side that evening, but the burning curiosity to know why he had told Inez a deliberate lie would probably never be satisfied. To say that Inez had been amazed would have been an understatement; her face had mirrored many emotions, not the least of them suspicion. But whatever she had had to say must have been said solely to the señor, because Tina had exchanged no further words with her.
If it had not been for the Breckling boys who, at Theo's absence from her immediate vicinity, had moved in to claim her attention, she would have felt miserably deserted. As it was, their inability to converse fluently was a blessing; her spirits were too depressed to make her an entertaining companion for anyone other than the Brecklings, who were content with an occasional nod or smile and who were not conversant enough with the situation to realize that her prolonged silences were caused through heartache and not through any limitations caused by the language barrier. The other men sensed that something had gone terribly wrong; strained relationships were impossible to hide in such a tightly knit community, but they did their best to ignore the troubled undercurrents by concentrating on their work and by pretending to be unaware when they spoke to her that her sad mouth and shadowed ey
es betrayed deep unhappiness.
Her own work no longer interested her. Incredibly, for the first time in her life she found herself apathetically surveying exotic new plants with less curiosity than might a layman, and no amount of inward scolding could re-awaken her urge to investigate. Superimposed upon every plant and thicket she saw the señor's dark face portraying the incredulous anger that had resulted from her fears for Theo's safety. Even when she turned away to seek respite from his tormenting image, the sound of his voice or a fleeting sight of him would send her sensitive emotions into a hopeful spiral of delight But each time the descent became more painful, and the knowledge of his disinterest harder to bear, so she forced herself to accompany the two boys on their quest for new and unusual subjects for their cameras, posing for them now and again, and displaying as she did so an interest she hoped would hide the almost hysterical desire to return home that was growing within her.
But now she could relax; only a few hours' travelling time separated her from Manaus - and freedom. The murmurings inside the craft grew quieter and less frequent as they journeyed on. Everyone was now conscious of a sense of anti-climax. The dangers had been faced, the hazards overcome, and each one was feeling a great deal of personal satisfaction with the progress he had made and with the success of the expedition as a whole. Inevitably, thoughts of home and of the families they were soon to see again filled their minds to the exclusion of superficial talk, and soon the only voice to be heard was that of Joseph Rogers directing his crew as he guided the great craft on its way along the last stretch of river.
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