by Pamela Kent
Max Daintry took a protective interest in Jenny . . . young, ingenuous and visiting Morroco for the first time. But Jenny resented his attitude, and so, for different reasons, did the lovely Frenchwoman who employed her.
HARLEQUIN
Romance
PRINTED IN CANADA
of interest to the reader
Harlequin Books were first published in 1949. The original book was entitled "The Manatee" and was identified as Book No. 1 � since then over eighteen hundred titles have been published, each
numbered in sequence.
As readers are introduced to Harlequin Romances,
very often they wish So obtain older titles. In � the main, these books are sought by number, rather than
necessarily by title or author,
To supply this demand. Harlequin prints an assortment of "old" titles every year, and these are made
available to all bookselling stores via special Harlequin Jamboree displays.
As these books are exact reprints of the original Harlequin Romances, you may indeed find a few
typographical errors, etc., because we apparently
were not as careful in our younger days as we are now. None the less, we hope you enjoy this "old"
reprint, and we apologize for any errors you may find.
OTHER
Harlequin finances
by PAMELA KENT
791�CITY OF PALMS 804�BLADON'S ROCK
(Original Harlequin title: "Doctor Gaston") 829�SWEET BARBARY 909�DESERT DOORWAY 943�ENEMY LOVER 983�MOON OVER AFRICA
1005�GIDEON FABER'S CHANCE 1035�STAR CREEK 1061�MEET ME IN ISTANBUL 1091�CUCKOO IN THE NIGHT ] 134�THE MAN WHO CAME BACK
1234�DESERT GOLD 1274�MAN FROM THE SEA 13^4�BELOVED ENEMIES 1798�NILE DUSK
Many of these titles are available at your local bookseller, or through the Harlequin Reader Service.
For a free catalogue listing a!l available Harlequin Romances, send your name and address to:
HARLEQUIN READER SERVICE.
M.P.O. Box 707, Niagara Falls, N.Y. 14302 Canadian address: Stratford, Ontario, Canada. or use coupon at bock of book.
CHAPTER ONE
THE big car nosed its way through the narrow streets, and on the back seat Jenny Armitagelooked about her with widening eyes. After the glare of the open spaces, this network of narrow lanes into which they had plunged, with high walls shutting out the blinding light of the sun and the dazzle of white masonry, was an infinite relief. The only splashes of color were providedby low doorways, set at intervals in the thick walls, and occasional cascades of blossom which overhung the walls and tapped gently upon the roof of the car as it slid silently below them,
All at once the car stopped outside a brightly painted blue door set in an arched aperture. The chauffeur, who wore a pearl-grey livery to match
the vehicle he drove, descended and addressed someone through an ornamental grille, and following the noise of bolts and bars, and the screech of what was evidently a very large key turning in a lock the door swung inwards, and
the chauffeur held open the rear door of the car for Jenny to alight
She did so, feeling stiff and tired and most unsuitably clad in her tweed travelling suit, It was very lightweight tweed, and for an English April it had been exactly right; but as she had worn it for a good many hours now, and flown many hundreds of miles through changing temperatures while still wearing it, it had also acquired a few creases, the consciousness of whichin no way gave her the feeling of confidence she needed. In fact, as she followed the chauffeur who bore her very ordinary-looking suitcases under the arch, she looked a little scared and bewildered and apprehensive of what might lie ahead.
But almost immediately surprise banished agood deal of the apprehension, for who would have believed that on the far side of such a grimwall such a world of enchantment existed?
There was a brief passage which they traversedwith echoing steps, and then they came out intoa formal garden with marble columns and mosaic paths, hemmed in by a sea of white lillies and flaming hibiscus. There was the golden gleam of oranges, like balls of fire in the sunshine thatfell brazenly from a cobalt-blue heaven, and afountain shot diamond-spray high in the air and made a musical plashing noise as the falling water was caught again in a marble basin. It was
a garden straight out of the Arabian Nights,
and Jenny would have loved � in fact, she felt
almost compelled�to pause for a few moments
to admire it; but she was given no opportunity
to do so, for an elderly, grave Berber servant
emerged from an enclosed courtyard facing her,
her luggage was handed over, and within a matter
of seconds after that she was ushered into a
marble-floored entrance hall, and from thence
into a deliciously cool room furnished in European style as a library or study. There were some beautiful leather chairs of deep chrome yellow, and the rugs on the polishedfloor had a jewel-like brilliance. Sandalwood tables were loaded with silver cigarette-boxes and bowls of scarlet flowers, there was a huge desk in one corner, and the' walls were lined with books.
On the desk a photograph stood in a very prominent position a photograph in a kind of beaten gilver frame of a woman with the flawless type of beauty possessed by Helen of Troy. The Berber servant spoke beautiful, precise
English, and he informed Jenny that Madame la Comtesse was out, but added that he had. been
instructed to ask her to rest, and to say that refreshments would be brought to her. The refreshments took the form of mint tea and some very rich pastries coated thickly with almonds and chocolate; but although she found the mint tea refreshing, Jennie had no appetite
at all for the pastries, and all she really longed to do once she was left alone was to sink gratefully into one of the deep leather chairs and feelthe peace of the room flow round her. It was such a beautifully cool room that, once she had removed her jacket and the little hat which hadbeen pressing on the red-gold waves of her hair like a constricting bandage for what seemed half a lifetime, she let out a sigh of pure relief, and felt much more like the Jenny Armitage whohad left England, full of high hopes and excitement, less than twelve hours before.
And it was almost impossible now to believe that only a few days ago she had had no knowledge of what awaited her�no knowledge that life was suddenly about to open up before her likethe petals of an exotic flower!
Not until the woman in the London agency had gent for her and said that she thought she wouldbe exactly right for the post which had to be filled with as little delay as possible.
The requirements were uncomplicated. Someone who got on easily with young children, andcould teach them English as well as a few other simple subjects, and maintain a certain amountof discipline as well. A well-brought-up woman belonging to a middle-class family, speaking good French, and preferably young, would be ideal. Jenny was nearly twenty-four, but because her eyes were the exact, deep shade of a periwinkle, and their expression was extraordinarily guileless, her small heart-shaped face looked usually rather eager, and she was slim and slightly built into thebargain, most people believed her to be much younger.
And, fortunately, she was quite free to go anywhere at almost a moment's notice�even to Morocco. Although when she heard that the services of an English governess were requiredby a French family in such a far away sounding place as Marrakesh, she was not at all certainthat she had heard aright�not until she received
confirmation that there was nothing wrong with her hearing powers. And then for the first time since the death of her adored father six months before she was able to feel glad that her acceptance of this unlooked-for job would
cast no faintest shadow on anyone she might leave behind� for there was no one near and dear to her to be left behind! She was alone, quite alone in the world, and although for a young woman that might not be an entirely enviable position to be
in, just now when the prospect of something newand untried was opening out before her the knowledge that she was without ties had its advantages.
At any rate, because of the ease with which she could cut adrift from all old landmarks, she was to be provided with a salary higher than anything she had ever earned before, and the expenses of her journey to Morocco had all been borne by her employer, ..whom she had yet to meet. And she had yet to meet her two pupils, also.
But although at the end of her journey, largely as the result of travel-weariness, she was not quite so confident about meeting them, after she had sat for a while in an atmosphere so soothing to jaded nerves most of her fears became lulled, and the whole thing once more appeared to her rather like an exciting adventure, whatever way it might turn out. It was quite possible she might not suit�she might even be too young for the post, or the children might be difficult, or they might not take to her, or she to them! This house was very luxurious, but it remained to be seenwhat tasks she would have to perform in it, and they might not be the kind of task she would have chosen for herself. But she was prepared to believe that she could perform them. On the wall directly facing her there hung an exquisitely delicate landscape painted in watercolors� a tiny bit of southern France, with some terraced vineyards and a glimpse of a house with
pepper-box towers. Behind her trench windows stood open to a kind of enclosed patio, where another fountain played, and the sound of continuously falling water wag so soothing that, after listening to it consciously for several minutes, she began to feel slightly drowsy, and actually closed her eyes for about half a minute.
At least, she would have been prepared to swear that it was only for half a minute, for when she opened her eyes again as if something had jerked them open by means of unseen wires shek new exactly where she was, and she knew also why she waa there and whom she was waiting to see.
But someone had startled her from behind,, and a careless masculine voice was the cause of her awakening. The voice was deep and pleasant and provocative, and it was also faintly caressing. A man's shadow was bending over her, and she felt a quick kiss on her bright hair. She knew it was a kiss, although it was light as a feather, because of the warm breath that so unexpectedly fanned her cheek, and she caught the faint, masculine aroma of shaving-cream and cigarettesmoke before the provocative voice exclaimed: ' "So I'm fortunate for once and find you alone! Wake up, Celestine, my sweet! The time for siesta is over��!"
, And then a horrified exclamation followed: "Good heavens! Who�who are you?" he demanded bluntly. "And why have you got red hair?"
CHAPTER TWO
THERE had been occasions in Jenny's life when the fact that there wag a tinge of red in her hair had annoyed her, especially during her school-days, when those who were not her bosom friends had been known to refer to her as "Carrots." But never until now had anyone actually demanded,
and on a note of unmistakable resentment, why
she had red hair. She was so angry�and so indignant' because someone had attempted to kiss her while she slept (or appeared to sleep!)�that she sprang up with one swift movement like a young and very startled mountain goat.
"I beg your pardon Sir!" she exclaimed.
Although she was prepared to deny that she had indulged in anything more than the briefest of naps, she felt a sensation of confusion and uncertainty, which threatened to overwhelm her as she stared at the man confronting her. He wasso tall that she felt herself dwarfed by him, and rather elegantly spare. He wore a suit of fine white drill, and his hair was almost startlingly black by contrast, and in the dimness of the roomhis eyes appeared black also. Although he had a slightly swarthy skin which made him lookdistinctly foreign, his accent was unmistakably
English, and the arrogant line of his mouth and the square lift to his jaw also proclaimed a certain insularity which belongs, by universal consent, to dwellers in the British Isles.
"Granted" he replied swiftly, the surprise vanishing from his eyes, and a lazy look of amusement taking its place, while a slow smile parted His lips over very white teeth. "But do sit down again," he begged. "It isn't good to jump up like that when you've been wrapped in the arms of Morpheus. And as for begging my pardon�why, surely, the boot's on the other foot?"
"It�it certainly ought to be!" Jenny assured, with a quiver in her voice. "And what has the color of my hair got to do with you? And, in any case, it isn't red!"
"Isn't it?" His eyes dwelt on it�those dark, cynically amused eyes which she was later to discover were a very curious and intense grey, rather like the cool pebbles on a remote northern shore �and a gleam of appreciation lit them. "Well, perhaps you're right. It could be a kind of burnished gold, or some people might describe it as chestnut. I've seen ripe, glossy chestnuts that had much in common with. the tint of your hair. On the other hand, the painter Titian might have been interested in it��"
"Does it matter?" she demanded swiftly, a frown creasing her forehead because she was so much affronted by his cool impertinence, and so unprepared to deal with it. "Just now you�you
"Saluted you in a manner hardly in keeping with so brief an acquaintance?" "You obviously made a mistake," she said coldly, "but, even so, an apology would hardly be out of place,"
"I couldn't agree more," he assured her calmly, and produced a thin gold cigarette-case from his pocket and offered it to her with a ceremoniousbow as she sank back unwillingly into her chair. She shook her head in an aloof manner. "No? Then I hope you won't object if I do, because you took me so much by surprise just now that Ihavent' quite got over it. I was certain you were Celestine
"Celestine?"
"Madame la Comtesse de St. Alais." His smile baffled her, not only because it was slightly onesided, but because there was a kind of satirical
enjoyment in it. "You and she both run to the same controversial shade of hair��"
"Oh," she exclaimed, as if enlightened, "then you must be�you must, be the Comte de St, Alais?"
"3'm afraid that by no means automatically follows," he told her, seating himself on the arm of a chair and regarding her with such a mocking curve to his lips, and such a cool look of mockery in his eyes that she felt her face suddenly start to flame. "However, Celestine and I are quite good friends, and we occasionally greet one another in a fashion frequently reserved forgood friends, and that I happened to drop a kiss on the top of your head was merely, if you'll take the broad view, a little unfortunate. And, in any case, I do apologize, and if there is anything I can ,do apart from that to convince you, that it is quite unlikely ever to happen again��?"
She felt that he was laughing at her in a most annoying fashion, and her color spread wildly. "Have you any idea when the Comtesse is likely to return?" she asked, through stiff and disapproving lips.
"I'm afraid I haven't. I had no idea she was out, or I wouldn't have wended my way here this afternoon. However, I shouldn't think she'd be long." And then all at once enlightenment seemed to descend upon him "I know!" he exclaimed,
"You must be the new governess?'" "I am," she admitted. "Straight out from England?" "Yes."
He placed his cigarette between his lips and drew thoughtfully upon it for several seconds while he studied her quite openly with something
distinctly interested in his eyes. "First trip abroad?" he asked. "Yes," she admitted again, and slipped hastily
into the jacket of her suit before he could offer any assistance, and fastened it primly, while she kept her eyes deliberately lowered in order to avoid meeting his gaze.
I'm not a seer' he told her, "and neither have I any unusual powers, but I'd place your background as that of a country vicarage, and further hazard the guess that you haven't been away from it for very long? You've been
accustomed to helping your father with his sermons�typing them with two fingers on an antiquated typewriter!� and helping your mother with the flowers and the Overseas Missions? You were very much liked by the people in the village, and you're frightfully good at organizing Jumble Sales, and the main prop of the Amateur Dramatic Society. You're not too bad, either, at getting up concerts' when it's necessary ,to raise the wind for a new church organ!"
Her long eyelashes, which were very dark gave where they appeared to be dusted with golddust at the tips, flew up, and she stared at him with eyes that were so deeply blue they were almost violet.
"H-how did you know?" she demanded. He laughed at her openly. "I didn't know�but just by looking at you I
felt certain I couldn't be making a mistake!" And then, even more mockingly: "Tell me, did you suddenly feel the urge to escape from it all ?�to stretch your wings? Is that what you're doing now?"
"My father died," she said, and for a moment her fingers shook as she clasped them together tightly in her lap, and to her own extreme annoyance her voice was not altogether steady, either. "And my mother died about eighteen months ago."
"I�see," he said, and then he stood up abruptly and wandered over to the open window for a few moments and stood looking out at the spraying fountain. When he returned to her his voice had lost the mocking note. "Did you fly out?"
"Yes." "Feeling tired?'8
^not partticully." But she suddenly knew that She was tired--tired and a little deflated. And she longed for someone to show her to a room where she could get out of her hot tweet suit and into something cool, and perhaps have a bath, and bathe her eyes with a cooling lotion because they were still suffering from the assault made upon them by staring white buildings and brazen blue skies after the half-tones and the cool grey skies ef England. Also, she wanted to be left alone again�completely alone until she felt more like
^My name's Max Daintry" the man told her,
in an ordinary conversational tone, and you will probably see quite a lot of me if you stay out here I've formed a kind of habit of haunting this house." He paused. "If you'd like me to ring for the servant and tell him to show you to your room?