Windward Crest

by Anne Hampson

  ‘There’s to be a fashion show.’ Jake spoke into Dominie’s ear. ‘They have men’s fashions as well as women’s. You should enjoy it.’

  After the show came the limbo dancing, then the band continued to play for the guests to dance again. All took place out in the open air, amidst a setting of fairy-tale colour provided by the tropical trees and shrubs, by the table lights—candles burning in coloured jars—and by the costumes of the steel band players. The air was filled with heady, exotic smells; the gentle cooling trade-winds blew in from the northeast, swaying the coconut palms and the lovely flamboyant trees.

  At last the party broke up and Dominie found herself beside Jake in the car. They crossed the island to the Atlantic side, skirting St. Peter Mountain and coming into sight of the beautiful Magens Bay, far down below.

  ‘I must congratulate you on capturing the attention of Rohan,’ Jake said with a laugh as he brought the car to a halt outside the house. ‘The pretty Sylvia appeared to be more than a little troubled by his very marked interest in you.’

  Dominie was getting out of the car; she was glad of the dimness, for a flush had risen swiftly on the utterance of her companion’s words.

  ‘It was only the dress,’ she murmured in response as Jake came round from his side and joined her. ‘He didn’t even notice me the other evening.’

  ‘You look lovely, apart from the dress,’ he said, and stood staring down at her. ‘Yes, very lovely indeed.’

  His words remained with her for a long while and she could not sleep. It had been an exciting experience, being there among that wealthy throng. It was another world from that to which she was used, a totally unreal world for all except those who lived permanently in it.

  But the most exciting experience of all for Dominie was in fact capturing the attention of the most attractive and distinguished man present...

  CHAPTER FOUR

  Lifting a hand in response as the children waved to her, Dominie watched them race across the lawn and disappear into the palm-shaded avenue at the other end of which was the pool where Jake was taking his customary afternoon swim.

  Reluctantly she allowed her eyes to wander to the nearby small rise, clothed with tamarind trees and scarlet oleanders. The rise was really part of Rohan’s land, although not in his gardens proper. Beyond the rise stood his house, hidden from Dominie’s pensive gaze but clearly outlined in her mind. Windward Crest ... The most tastefully-designed house she had ever seen; the decor too was breathtakingly beautiful, yet simple, somehow, revealing its owner’s abhorrence of ostentation and unnecessary show. The grounds had, in Jake’s words, ‘cost the earth’ to landscape, yet they also possessed a simplicity that revealed good taste rather than grandeur. There were the usual kaleidoscopes of exotic trees and shrubs, the entrancing tropical flowers cascading over trellises and walls, their fragrance pervading the air to tantalize the senses and to bring to mind such lovely-sounding words as hibiscus and poinsettia, allamanda and bougainvillaea. But although Rohan’s gardens boasted every tree, and most of the flowers, which grew and flourished in the Caribbean, the whole was so arranged that one had to roam about in order to discover much of the beauty. With other gardens Dominie had seen the whole colourscape was revealed at a glance, dazzling and a trifle overpowering.

  Dominie, standing on the terrace, stiffened suddenly and withdrew her gaze. Rohan had appeared and was standing at the foot of the rise, staring down to the azure lagoon far below.

  Colour flooded her face and once again she wondered how she had come to accept Jake’s offer of the post of nanny to his children. His offer had come on the day of her departure; he had asked her to return and care for Susie and Geoffrey. His offer was tempting in itself, but Dominie had at once admitted that it was Rohan’s face, rising up before her, that had been the deciding factor when her decision was made. Many women must have fallen victim to his charms, she had told herself. Better escape now, for the man was far, far too attractive.

  She was not quite sure when the impact of him first hit her; what she did know was that after that evening spent at his home, with his charm being in evidence the whole time, and his smile so often directed at her, she found herself in a sort of daze where nothing and no one seemed tangible except the man himself. Sylvia had been furious at his giving Dominie his attention, and so had her mother, but both appeared to have hidden it from him, for he never seemed to notice any sort of ‘atmosphere’—or if he did, thought Dominie afterwards, he managed to keep his observations to himself.

  Dominie felt awkward and shy, and even guilty. Never did she feel exultant because of his interest; she was far too puzzled by it. The following day Jake made another reference to it and smilingly added,

  ‘You should be congratulating yourself, Dominie. With single women Rohan is notoriously polite but distant.’

  ‘What about Sylvia?’ she had instantly countered, more in order to conceal her own feelings than anything else. ‘He isn’t distant with her.’

  ‘True, and it would seem that he’s interested in her. But never before has Rohan been known to give his interest to two women at once. In fact, during the five years since the break with Nina he’s had the odd affair—matter of convenience,’ Jake added with a grin, ‘and that’s about all.’

  Allowing her eyes to stray to the rise again, Dominie found that Rohan had gone. She swallowed hard, releasing the hurtful pressure in her throat. What a fool she had been to accept Jake’s offer ... simply because she could not bear the thought of never setting eyes on Rohan again. He liked her, she concluded, and although she retained no conscious thoughts of competing with the beautiful Sylvia, there most certainly was in her innermost mind the merest germ of hope. He liked her, she had told herself again, for otherwise why should he give her his attention?

  It was only after she had returned to Sunset Lodge and settled in that Dominie discovered that Rohan had been using her to make Sylvia jealous.

  The information had come from Mrs. Fortescue who, with her husband and Sylvia, were making another visit to the island, having gone home about the same time as Dominie had left for England. This visit was a flying one and, somehow, Dominie gained the impression that Mrs. Fortescue had engineered it for the specific purpose of talking to Dominie. She knew of her return and the post she had taken with Jake, for Rohan had been over to New York and stayed with the Fortescues just a week after Dominie had returned to the island, having rented the whole house to Mavis and James until the time when they should find a place to buy, which was their intention.

  Mrs. Fortescue had come over on her own to Sunset Lodge, and she was fortunate enough to catch Dominie alone, the children being at school and Jake’s having gone into Charlotte Amalie to do some shopping. Dominie was in the garden, cutting flowers for the house, and she glanced up in surprise as Mrs. Fortescue came towards her.

  ‘Ah, Miss Worthing,’ she began effusively, ‘I’m glad I’ve found an opportunity of seeing you alone.’ She stopped then, appearing to have difficulty in framing her words. A slight shrug portrayed the fact of her having decided there was no delicate way in which the matter could be broached and she said, ‘It’s about Rohan, and the attention he gave you on one or two occasions. He’s desperately in love with my daughter, as everyone knows, and she’s in love with him. But Rohan doesn’t know this, as she’s playing around—you know what young girls are these days?’ She paused for some comment, but Dominie was speechless with surprise, and in addition she knew a rising indignation at the woman’s implication that she herself was not of Sylvia’s generation. ‘The consequence is that Rohan’s been using you to make my daughter jealous, and now that you’ve returned it’s conceivable that he’ll continue to do so. I felt it incumbent on me to warn you, dear, for the man is so inordinately attractive and I don’t want you to be hurt. So many women have fallen in love with him, and he has no real interest in them; Jake will tell you the same if you ask him.’

  Crimson with anger, Dominie put down the basket of f
lowers and faced the woman.

  ‘Mrs. Fortescue,’ she said icily, ‘I would inform you that I have no designs whatsoever on the man your daughter hopes to marry—’

  ‘Hopes? She can marry him just whenever she chooses!’ The woman dropped her affectation of friendliness and charm, replacing it with a manner of arrogance and superiority. ‘What I said to you was merely in the nature of a friendly warning. If you disregard it you’ll be sorry!’ The woman stood there, waiting for some response, but Dominie strode away and left her standing there, dark fury in her eyes as they followed the slender figure until it disappeared round the corner of the house.

  Standing on the back patio now, Dominie dwelt on what the woman had said. And she knew for sure that Mrs. Fortescue was right in her deductions: Rohan had used her, Dominie, in order to make Sylvia jealous. And he would continue to use her—if she allowed him to do so, which she definitely would not. There was to be a moonlight bathing party this evening over at his place and she was invited, but already she had decided not to put in an appearance. Jake would of course expect her to go with him, but loath as she was to disappoint him she would not place herself at the convenience of the despicable Rohan de Arden.

  Her eyes narrowed suddenly as the man himself appeared, and she felt her body stiffen; she would have liked to escape, but it was too late, and she gestured with her hand, indicating a chair, which he accepted.

  ‘Is Jake about?’ he wanted to know, glancing sideways at the open window of Jake’s study. ‘Would you tell him I want to speak to him?’

  ‘Of course. He’s in the pool—or was, a few minutes ago.’ She spoke with deliberate coldness, as she always had since the discovery of his using her for his own ends.

  Rohan looked at her in a puzzled manner and said suddenly,

  ‘Is something wrong, Miss Worthing? I can’t help having the impression that I’ve done something to upset you.’

  Under his keen regard Dominie sensed his wish to read her thoughts.

  ‘I don’t know how you can have gained an impression like that, Mr. de Arden,’ she returned with the same cold inflection to her voice. ‘We scarcely know each other. How could you do something to upset me?’

  Impatiently he sighed, and his mouth tightened a little. His amber eyes still searched and Dominie lowered hers. Rohan remained silent for a while, appearing to be interested in a hummingbird pivoting about among the flowers in the border close by.

  ‘If Jake’s in the pool then I had better go over to him,’ he said at last, rising.

  ‘Mr. de Arden,’ she said impulsively as he was about to move away, ‘I won’t be coming to the party tonight. I’m—er—tired these days, so I shall be going to bed early.’

  Rohan, about to step off the patio on to the steps, turned and looked down into her flushed face. Already she wished she had held her tongue, had left her excuse to be conveyed by Jake, later, when he went to the party.

  ‘You’re—er—tired these days?’ he echoed, distinct mockery in his tone. ‘What sort of an excuse is that, might I ask?’

  She stared, taken by surprise that he should be interested enough to go into the matter.

  ‘The children...’ she murmured, avoiding his gaze. His attractiveness was devastating; she was intensely affected by it, and depression swept through her. If only she had refused Jake’s offer she would have forgotten the man by now. Instead, every meeting with him intensified his attraction for her.

  ‘The children? You mean that you’re overworked with them?’ Scepticism edged his voice and was reflected in his eyes as they examined her face as if to find some signs of this tiredness she mentioned. ‘Where are the children now?’

  Her flush deepened as she told him they were in the pool with Jake.

  ‘It’s just that I don’t feel like going tonight,’ she added, speaking her thoughts aloud.

  ‘So it isn’t tiredness brought on by overwork?’ His tones became curt and faintly accusing. ‘Perhaps you’ll give me the real reason for your last-minute change of mind about the party?’

  ‘Does it matter?’

  Rohan sent her a frowning glance.

  ‘One usually has a reasonable excuse for turning down an invitation, especially one that has, in the first instance, been accepted. Dominie,’ he added with abrupt deliberation, and bending his head slightly so that his face came closer to hers, ‘I demand to know the reason for this change of mind.’

  Dominie ... The name had rolled almost excitingly off his tongue, enriched by the hint of an American accent and the merest touch of a French one. This latter he had inherited from his father, Jake had said. Dominie suspected that those sensuous lips had also been a legacy from his father.

  ‘I said I was tired,’ she replied defensively, then took a backward step as she saw by the sudden flash of his eyes that his temper had risen.

  ‘If I knew you better,’ he snapped, ‘I’d shake you, good and hard!’

  Amazed, she just gaped at him. The aloof and superior Rohan de Arden speaking like this!

  ‘I’m afraid, Mr. de Arden, that I don’t understand you.’

  The amber eyes glinted, but Rohan made no answer or comment, and his customary cool composure was instantly resumed.

  ‘Never mind,’ he said curtly. ‘If you’ll excuse me I’ll go and find Jake.’

  Confused by his manner towards her, Dominie watched him as he strode towards the avenue of Royal Palms through which the children had recently vanished. What a striking figure he made, and what assurance! There was poise in every step he took, in the way he covered the distance with such grace and ease, in the manner in which his head was held, so proudly on those broad and arrogant shoulders. Why had he spoken to her like that? And for him to become angry ... it was baffling in the extreme, for she felt it could not have anything to do with his using her to make Sylvia jealous. In any case, the girl would not be present this evening, as she and her parents were not on the island.

  Dominie swallowed hard. She wanted to go to the party, no doubt of that. She wanted to have a little of Rohan’s attention, when Sylvia was not present... But in all probability she would not have received any, since for Rohan there would be no profit in it, not with Sylvia being absent.

  Would Sylvia marry him in the end? Dominie reflected on her own previous conclusions that both were playing a game with one another; she was still of the opinion that Rohan had seduction in mind rather than marriage, but on the other hand, Sylvia was clever. Also, Rohan must be greatly attracted to her, for otherwise he would not have gone to the lengths of using another girl in order to create jealousy. Perhaps, mused Dominie with a deep dejected sigh, Sylvia would win after all.

  Jake was troubled on learning from Rohan that Dominie was not intending to go to the party; he spoke of it immediately he and Rohan appeared. He had a beach coat draped on his shoulders and a towel in his hand. The children were hanging on to Rohan’s hands, and chattering to him, and he was smiling down at them in turn. When his eyes met those of Dominie, however, the smile faded as his mouth tightened.

  ‘Rohan tells me you’re not coming to the party tonight. He says you’re tired. Is this true? Are the children too much for you?’

  Dominie went red, noting the satisfaction appearing in Rohan’s eyes as she did so.

  ‘Of course they’re not,’ she replied, sending Rohan a speaking glance. What must Jake be thinking? The children were at school all day, and at the week-ends Jake was invariably there to help entertain them. When there was shopping to do the four of them went together in the car; similarly when they went off to the beach they were all together. Dominie really had very little to do, and she had twice remarked on this to her employer, who passed it off, saying she was doing all that he expected of her. And now it must seem that she had been complaining, that she had given Rohan the impression that she was overworked. ‘It’s just that I don’t want to go to the party.’

  Rohan shrugged and spoke before Jake had time to do so.

  ‘It�
�s a woman’s prerogative to change her mind,’ he said casually. ‘Don’t let us press her, Jake.’

  ‘But...’ Jake tailed off, cut short by something in Dominie’s expression. When Rohan had gone she confided in him, as she could find no other way of explaining her attitude.

  ‘Mrs.. Fortescue said that?’ he exclaimed when she had finished speaking. ‘What an appalling lack of delicacy and tact! How dared she?’

  ‘She’s anxious for her daughter to marry Rohan, that’s obvious.’

  ‘But to talk like that to you! Rohan would be furious if he knew,’ Jake paused, frowning in thought. ‘It isn’t at all like Rohan to stoop to that sort of thing,’ he mused at length. ‘I’m not at all convinced that the wretched woman has her facts right.’

  ‘She has, Jake. Why else should a man like Rohan pay me any attention? He did—you remarked on it, if you remember?’

  ‘I’m not denying be gave you his attention. I felt, somehow, that he—well—liked you, rather.’

  Dominie’s lip trembled slightly.

  ‘I thought the same,’ she murmured, wondering what Jake would think were she to inform him that the attention Rohan had given her had in effect been responsible for her decision to accept the post Jake had offered to her.

  Jake glanced swiftly at her.

  ‘You thought he liked you?’ An awkward pause and then, ‘In what way. Dominie?’

  ‘Oh, just in a—a sort of—of impersonal way,’ she replied airily, hoping to deflect his thoughts from the course they were quite plainly taking. ‘I rather hoped we’d be—friends, or perhaps I should say, friendly acquaintances.’