High Water (1959) (20 page)

‘Karen, Karen, my darling,’ his voice was taut with anxiety, ‘please try to hear me. Try to wake up again.’ He kept on talking but only once did she even move and then it was only a slight shudder which ran through her.

He stood up and pulled her up against him, her hair falling across his shirt and her bare feet dragging helplessly on the dirt. Together they stood, like two weary dancers on a forgotten dance-floor waiting for the music to begin.

He darted a frantic glance at the door, but as far as he could tell the others were busy preparing some sort of meal, and he could hear the occasional clink of crockery above the roar of the rain on the iron roof.

He buried his face in her hair and crushed her slim body against him, feeling a smarting in the back of his eyes.

‘My poor darling,’ he spoke aloud, ‘what have I done to bring this on you?’

He suddenly stiffened, aware that the weight of her body had lessened. Her feet were firmer on the ground and, even as he waited, hardly daring to breathe, her hands moved blindly, feeling at his waist, while her shoulders twisted slightly in his grasp, as if testing the strength of his hold. A long, drawn-out sigh escaped her lips and he felt another shudder run through her. He watched her cautiously as her drugged limbs seemed to come to life. When her eyes opened, their wide, almost fierce stare, all but threw him off his guard, for whereas the rest of her now seemed relaxed and calm, her eyes held, at once, the true imprint and message of the torment and agony within her. For what felt like an eternity, she stared up at him, her whole face so filled with an uncomprehending terror, entirely lacking in recognition, that his words of comfort died on his lips, he could only hold her and wait.

Slowly she opened her mouth to speak, her expression changing to one of disbelief. ‘Philip?’ She spoke his name as a question, as if unable to trust what she saw.

He did his best to give her a reassuring smile, and nodded dumbly.

‘I’ve been asleep,’ she faltered and swayed against his arm. ‘I remember now, they drugged me!’ Her eyes widened as her memory came flooding back, and her body began to tremble violently. ‘Philip! Tell me it’s not true about—about Nils?’

He tried to meet her penetrating gaze, but the desperate brightness of the blue eyes forced him to look away, his heart sick with fear for her, and disgust and hatred at the men who had told her.

She suddenly jerked away from his arms and seized the front of his shirt in her hands, forcing him to look at her. ‘Philip, please, I have to know!’

He could feel her nails biting into his skin.

‘Yes, it’s true.’ He tried to find the right words. ‘I found him when I was trying to get to you.’ He hurried on, wanting her to be rid of her fears: ‘It was very sudden, I believe. He—he felt no pain.’

Still she said nothing but stood straight and still, her eyes on his face, her arms down at her sides.

‘Why did it happen?’ Her voice, when it came, was thin and small. ‘Why did they do such a thing to him? Why?’

He took half a step towards her, but she shook her head quickly, the loose hair swinging across one shoulder.

‘Tell me, can you, Philip? How did all this happen to us?’ Her voice rose slightly, and it was obvious that she was only holding on to herself with a great effort. ‘They killed him. Those men killed him.’ It was as if she was trying to explain it to her inner self. ‘And they are going to kill us too!’

Her words, though spoken so quietly, and almost drowned by the hiss and roar of the rain, burned into his mind like hot irons. She didn’t seem aware of his presence, and when she spoke again her voice was almost puzzled, and only by watching her mouth could he be certain of the words.

‘And we were so,’ she faltered, ‘so very happy.’

It was then, as she looked up, that he saw the tears beginning to pour unrestrainedly and unchecked down her face. ‘They
are
going to kill us, aren’t they?’ He caught her
as
she fell, the pent-up misery and terror making her sobs shake and wrench her body, so that he had to hold on to her with a fierceness, which filled him with a rising and consuming determination, as well as new uncontrollable hatred for those who had brought this horror to the one person he had ever wanted to love and protect.

A sudden rumble of thunder directly overhead made fresh feeling of urgency flood through him. If only he knew what was happening and what Mason had said to Karen. He rested his cheek against her hair, trying to ease the pain of her grief.

‘Listen to me, Karen,’ he said softly, ‘and try to remember, no matter what happens, everything will be all right. And remember too that I love you very much.’ He stopped, and beneath his grasp he felt the sobs becoming quieter, and more subdued.

‘Right now I have to think of a way to get us out of here, so that we can get help. If it doesn’t hurt you too much, could you tell me what you’ve heard? There may not be much time,’ he ended gently.

She slowly lifted her head and he was shocked by the look of despair on her tear-stained face.

‘It’s no use, Philip, it’s no use,’ she repeated. ‘That dreadful man,’ she faltered, ‘Cooper, told me it was all arranged. That we were going to be taken care of.’ Her lip trembled. ‘They are going to make it look as if you killed Nils. He was horrible, Philip, he kept boasting, but all the time I hoped, I prayed, that he was not telling the truth.’

The swine, he thought, the dirty, rotten, little swine.

‘He’s full of bluff,’ he answered. ‘We’ll fix him, if only we can get away from here!’

If only Lang hadn’t been shaken off the trail. Vivian wondered what Lang was doing now. Probably going back
to
the boat to wait, and hope for the best. But how long would he wait before he called in the police? And suppose—he shook his head angrily. This wouldn’t do.’

‘Look, Karen, we must get ready. The chance may come, it
has
to come, and then you and I will get out of this together. Do you believe that?’

She studied him carefully. ‘I believe in you, Philip. I will try not to let you down when the time comes.’

She said it so simply, so trustingly, that he wanted to crush her in his arms, but he forced a grin.

‘Come on then, my girl, get some clothes on, while I watch the door.’

He picked up her clothes from the floor, brushing the dust from them with his hand which, he noticed, was trembling.

She turned her back to him. ‘The swim-suit, Philip. Will you unzip the back for me?’

As he felt for the fastener he moved some of her hair to one side so as not to catch it in the costume, then he stopped, his eyes fixed to a livid, red bruise on her right shoulder.

‘How did you get this?’ His voice was strangely flat.

‘That man Cooper,’ she trembled, ‘he tried to kiss me, but when I would not let him touch me he bit my shoulder!’

He squeezed her arm, not daring to speak at that moment, and not wanting her to see his expression. Instead, he unclipped the costume and stepped away.

‘All right, Karen, you get changed. We’ll talk later. But not about all this.’ He turned his eyes to the door. In the half light they looked like two slivers of steel.

A quick rustling of clothing behind him jolted him away from his murderous thoughts, and from the corner of his vision he saw her body pale against the black walls, and he
knew
that what he had to do had to be done carefully and with a cool head. There could be no second chance of escape.

As another peal of thunder rolled and echoed around the clouds Vivian paused in his second examination of the walls. The thick, decaying atmosphere of the room and the moist, stifling heat made him breathe heavily and he paused, with one arm resting on the rough, wooden planking, while he plucked his shirt free from his damp skin.

Behind him he heard Karen move slightly and the frown of concentration on his face deepened. Without turning, he knew that she was still sitting listlessly on the edge of the bed, as she had been for the last half an hour, while he had paced watchfully around the room and beat his brain for some fresh solution, or method of escape.

‘Philip?’

The suddenness of her voice made him jump. He swung round, forcing his face to soften slightly.

‘It’s all right, Karen. I’m just having another prowl, to see what I can find.’

‘What is the time, Philip?’ Her eyes still looked frightened.

‘Er, about midday.’ Then as the thought struck him, ‘Are you hungry?’

‘I have not eaten since last night. But I am not hungry.’

He stared down at her helplessly. ‘I’ll tell them to get us something,’ he paused uncertainly. ‘You’ve had a bad-enough time as it is, without making yourself ill.’

She shrugged her shoulders, biting her lower lip. ‘It really doesn’t matter.’ Her voice sounded tired, beaten.

He reached over to her and gently lifted her chin with his hand, and when she raised her gaze to his he again marvelled at the strength she seemed to give him.

‘Look here,’ he began quietly, ‘you’ve been through hell.
It’s
my fault and I realize now that I’ve been a complete fool!’

She tried to shake her head, but he held her face firmly in his hand.

‘Oh yes, I have. Let’s not argue about that. I’d like myself to believe that I’m a blind, trusting type of chap who’s been taken in by a bunch of crooks. But I knew what I was doing and I knew it was wrong. I just didn’t know that I wasn’t big or clever enough to pull away from their filth when I realized just how rotten they were. There’s only one thing I don’t regret.’ He swallowed hard. ‘That was getting enough mixed up with Mason and Co. to meet you.’ She dropped her eyes and he hurried on, as if to purge his very soul: ‘I love you, Karen—you know that already. But I swear that somehow I’ll get you out of this, so that you’ll be able to live your life again, free from all this misery. I’ll see that Nils is avenged too.’

She took one of his hands in hers and pulled it against her cheek. ‘You
are
a fool, Philip, but not in the way you mean. You are trying to tell me that if we can escape, and right now I do not see how we can, you will help me to get settled again, and then you will go away, so that I can never see you, never feel your arms about me, and all because you think that
you
have been the cause of all this!’

He flushed and started to protest, but she would not listen.

‘No, Philip, it is not true. Do not deceive yourself any more. I came to you in France because I knew that I loved you then. I think I knew it when you came to the house at Hampton Court. I saw that you were different, and well’—she shrugged—‘here we are.’

As he struggled for an answer, she gripped his hand with a sudden fierceness.

‘I am all right now, Philip. When the time comes I will not let you down. This is not the first time I have been afraid, you know. When I was a little girl I remember the shooting, and the fear of others.’ She stared up at him, her eyes bright and almost defiant. ‘But, believe me, if I am to die here and now, I shall still be thankful for those few hours of happiness we had together before things started to go wrong.’

She reached down and picked up the beach sandals he had bought her in Ramsgate, and a brief picture flitted across his aching mind. He saw the laughing girl at his side, with her hair gleaming in the sun. Somehow he could still feel the smooth pressure of her body, as they had bathed in the warmth and happiness of their own making.

‘You see?’ She held them up for his inspection. ‘I still have them. It
was
wonderful, wasn’t it?’

He nodded, his eyes tingling.

In one lithe movement she was in his arms, pressing her full length against him.

‘Now, Philip!’ Her voice was a gasp. ‘Kiss me hard. Just in case we do not get any more time.’

For an instant he saw the blue flame bright again in her eyes and then they were together, her mouth eagerly and desperately seeking his. He felt himself plunging into a deep, breathless wave of desire, his heart pounded wildly, and the hard pressure of her body against him seemed to sweep away the nagging feeling of despair, and he was filled with a rising flame of want which held them together, each one knowing the need of the other.

How long they clung together Vivian didn’t know, but as she pulled her face breathlessly from his, a small reserve of caution sent a sharp warning to his reeling brain, and he held her gently at arm’s length.

‘All right, darling,’ his voice was hoarse, ‘I think I understand now. But do have faith because we are going to get away, and we are going to be happy, always.’

She nodded, her lips slightly parted. At her throat he could see the skin moving to the quickening of her breath, and he knew that he would never live without her.

There was a rasping click as a key grated in the door, and for a brief instant he saw her eyes widen with terror, then, as he tightened his grip on her hand, she suddenly calmed, and her whole expression became one of passive watchfulness.

The door swung open, and to his surprise he saw Mason standing casually by the entrance, his eyes widening with mock astonishment.

‘Oh, so you’re both up and about again, eh?’ A small smile played about his thin mouth.

Vivian watched him through narrowed eyes, noting that behind the front of forced indifference, Mason somehow generated a new air of tense expectancy, or was it anxiety? As if he was eager to conclude the next part of the proceedings. This, then, was to be the show-down. He saw, too, that Mason’s right hand was firmly planted in his jacket pocket. A significant gesture.

‘Sorry to have kept you both waiting so long, but I’ve had a few more details to take care of.’ He paused, darting a quick glance at Karen, who was standing quietly behind Vivian. ‘Too bad about all this, but your uncle should have been a little more understanding and co-operative.’

Vivian felt her hand tremble in his, but her voice was firm and cold. ‘I think he understood you too well.’

‘Well, it’s all over now, I’m afraid, but there’s too much at stake to be spoilt by your interference.’

‘I suppose this is your idea of a bargain?’ Vivian spoke slowly, and with difficulty, his muscles tensing beneath his
belt.
‘You’re even a bigger swine than you were in Germany apparently.’