Illyrian Summer (10 page)

CHAPTER
FOUR

Edmund was eager
for an early start.
“
We
’
ll do as much as we can before the noonday sun overpowers us,
”
he told Sarah.
“
I shall want you most of the time for notes and scripting.
”
He added with a malicious chuckle,
“
And now that you
’
re so expert in the native language, I may need your assistance as interpreter.
”

“
So sarcastic early in the morning,
”
answered Sarah.
“
You may be sorry if I interpret wrongly, and wish you
’
d asked me to keep silent.
”

All the members of the unit had to help carry the equipment down through the wrecked town and across the river into the older part of Krasnograd where Edmund had decided to work this morning.

Here the devastation was not quite so vast and extended; some of the narrow streets appeared to be almost intact, although empty of people.

“
These old buildings could probably collapse without warning,
”
Edmund muttered as he had the cameras set up.
“
The authorities are wise to clear out the people.
”

“
Supposing they collapse on us while we
’
re filming?
”
Sarah queried with a smile.

“
Then we shall be sacrificed in the cause of duty.
I
shan
’
t take risks, though.
”

“
I should hope not,
”
put in Daniel.
“
I don
’
t want Sarah knocked about.
”

“
If there
’
s an ominous crack, I
’
ll see that I have the cameras turning, Dan, so that you can rush in and do your rescue act,
”
Edmund promised.

“
Handsome of you!
”
muttered Daniel, and turned away. Sarah giggled as she caught Edmund
’
s eye.
“
That was
a mischievous remark, wasn
’
t it? Are you out to wound him whenever you can?
”

Edmund smiled but did not answer.

In the large cobbled square where normally at this time, in the morning people would have been crowding around market stalls, the space was occupied by trucks and vans. Deserted stalls had been commandeered and women were queuing for baby food and soap distributed by young men working for British voluntary organizations.

Edmund
’
s cameras moved from one point to another, capturing the scenes, the close-ups of anxious-faced men and women and laughing children who did not understand the present tragedy but were glad of breaks in their routine.

Sarah acted as clapper boy when the others were busy, and each time she appeared briefly before the cameras with her board chalked with the scene number, then withdrew, the watching children burst into delighted laughter. To please them Edmund allowed several of them to be photographed in turn with the board, which they apparently thought was some kind of prize.

“
You
’
ll have to sort out these scene numbers, Sarah,
”
Edmund warned her,
“
otherwise we shall be in a muddle.
”

Suddenly behind her she heard Adam
’
s voice, or was it only her imagination conjuring it from the air? She spun around quickly, and Adam was certainly there, talking to Edmund and Daniel. As she joined the group, Adam gave her a smiling greeting, but Edmund cut in quickly with,
“
Make a note of this particular spot, will you, Sarah? We may want to return to it later today, but now Adam is going to take us to the prefab place.
”

This was news to Sarah, and she wondered why Edmund had not told her of his intended schedule for the day, for he must have made a prior arrangement with Adam. There was no time to argue now, for the equipment was being collected and taken toward a
road that was in reasonable condition for traffic. Here two trucks were waiting to take the unit and its gear to the site now being prepared for prefabricated houses.

Adam apologized for the rough ride.
“
It would have been rougher still in my car, I think,
”
he said to Sarah.

“
We
’
ve forgotten what smooth rides are like,
”
she answered.

“
Many of the men come and go by boat, which is a good deal easier than stumbling over debris. As soon as we can repair the bridge we shall have a better link between the two sites.
”

Sarah could see that the sloping ground made it difficult for firm concrete foundations on which to erect the steel prefabs, but earth movers were hard at work leveling and shoring up. Concrete mixers churned sand and cement into a gray batter ready for pouring.

Edmund took a variety of shots, including some of Adam supervising gangs of men, conferring with his assistants or being interviewed in English on tape.

“
Lucky we brought spare batteries with us for the tape recorders,
”
Edmund remarked,
“
or we
’
d be sunk for sound.
”

At midday the men knocked off for a meal.

Edmund had seen to it that his unit had brought more than enough food for themselves, so there were ample tidbits of meat, cheese and fruit to distribute.

As soon as the men had eaten, some sat smoking and talking, but most of them flung themselves down on any handy heap of sand or pile of cement bags and went to sleep in the relaxed, abandoned attitudes of children.

“
They begin at first daylight,
”
Adam commented with a compassionate softness in his voice.
“
They deserve to snatch an hour off when the sun is too fierce for hard work.
”

Sarah was sitting with Adam and Daniel in the shade cast by one of the trucks.

“
How do your steelworks get on without you when you
’
re spending so much time here?
”
Daniel asked
Adam in that lazily provocative tone that Sarah knew he intended to be insulting.

Adam looked away into the far distance before replying.
“
A question of priority.
”

Daniel stretched out his hand and grasped Sarah
’
s wrist.
“
Hear that, Sarah? Consider yourself flattered at being top priority!
”

She intercepted Adam
’
s steely glance and could not control the flush that suddenly dyed her cheeks.
“
Don
’
t be silly, Daniel,
”
she muttered, pulling her wrist away from him.
“
Adam has more important matters to attend to than...
”
She broke off as a roaring cloud of dust approached along the road.

Adam rose quickly to his feet as the first truck appeared.
“
Russians, I think.
”
He ran toward the convoy and shouted queries to the drivers as they passed. After the final truck had gone, to envelop itself into a moving crocodile of dust, Adam explained to Edmund and the others that the Russian army had brought a load of prefab huts and medical supplies.

He went off to talk to some of his men who had roused themselves from sleep to watch the trucks and wave greetings and thanks.

A car, white with dust, stopped on the road and someone alighted.

Edmund took off his sunglasses and blinked.
“
Am I dreaming?
”

Daniel and Sarah went toward the car.

“
Oh, this awful dust!
”
Melanie exclaimed.

“
Of course!
”
Edmund agreed.
“
Sarah, bring a bottle of wine, will you?
”

When Sarah returned with the wine, Melanie was explaining their journey.

“
I was bored,
”
she told them.
“
Daniel had deserted us and there was no sense in trying to rehearse without him, so I suggested we might go off for a few days to Greece.
”

“
To Greece?
”
echoed Daniel.
“
This is a roundabout way to Greece, isn
’
t it?
”

“
Don
’
t interrupt!
”
Melanie commanded.
“
In Dubrovnik there were such a lot of rumors about the earthquake that I thought I
’
d like to see the ruins for myself. I found we had to fly to Belgrade, so I hired a car there.
”
Melanie shuddered.
“
A dreadful journey, and I hope we
’
ve done the worst part now.
”
Her face suddenly lighted with a ravishing smile.
“
Why, Adam! How splendid to see you! It
’
s really through you that we came this way. We were trying to find your steelworks
and they said
—
”
She linked her arm through Adam
’
s.

Sarah glared stonily at Melanie and wondered wh
a
t Adam thought of the film star
’
s idea of visiting the ruins on her way to Greece.

“
You won
’
t be able to take the car much farther,
”
Edmund pointed out.
“
The roads are gone.
”

Melanie laughed.
“
Gone! They couldn
’
t be rougher than the one I
’
ve traveled on these past few miles
.
”

“
No?
”
Edmund queried.
“
You have no idea! What about food? We have supplies of our own.
”

“
As a matter of fact, I had a sort of picnic lunch about an hour ago. Cold chicken and salad, that sort of thing. I take it we
’
ll be able to get dinner in some hotel here?
”

Sarah shot an oblique glance at Adam, but his face was impassive.

Edmund gave an exclamation of derision.
“
Dinner in hotels? If I were you I
’
d drive straight back to Belgrade and take the plane from there to Greece. There
’
s no electricity or gas or tap water—and not much food for the people who are still left here. What they eat has been brought in from other parts of Yugoslavia—and from other countries.
”

“
How awful!
”
sighed Melanie.
“
No water—and I was so hoping I could have a bath somewhere and freshen up after all that dust. I
’
ll want to take some color pictures for sure.
”
She turned toward Adam.
“
Adam, you must come, too. You know the place.
”

“
Yes, I knew it—once,
”
he answered quietly, but to Sarah
’
s astonishment he followed Melanie into the car, while Edmund sat in front.

“
Well, I
’
ll be damned!
”
muttered Daniel as he and Sarah watched the car move off slowly. Then he called out,
“
Here, wait a minute! Wait for us!
”

“
They won
’
t get far,
”
Sarah assured him.

“
True,
”
he agreed. Then he laughed.
“
Adam came over all meek and mild, didn
’
t he? After the way he pitched into us as a couple of trippers! And here is Melanie boasting she
’
s a sightseer—and wondering which hotel will give her the best dinner! Oh, I suppose he
’
s never forgotten that ancient crush he had on Melanie, so he
’
s always willing to dance to her tune.
”

Daniel and Sarah had followed the car at a discreet distance to avoid the dust it threw up, and when it stopped they soon caught up.

Sarah thought that Melanie would soon change her mind about sightseeing, but she was mistaken. The film star insisted on making a tour into the heart of the old town, then across the bridge and into what had been the new part.

Ricardo, the chief cameraman, sulky at first from being woken too soon from his accustomed siesta, was now very wide awake, posing Melanie ostensibly chatting to a small knot of homeless people, or delicately picking her way over debris.

Sarah noticed that Melanie had taken advantage of that short car ride to renew her usually faultless makeup and brush the dust from her clothes. In a pale apple-green dress and matching jacket she appeared exotic and conspicuous as a spray of orchids in a desert.

Tired young men, ashen with lack of sleep, waved and faintly cheered as she passed, and two young Englishmen recognized her and called out
“
Melanie Roche!
”
Soon Melanie was surrounded by an entourage of Krasnograd inhabitants and international contingents, glad of a welcome and unusual break in the hot afternoon
’
s routine.

Several press photographers and news film men joined the crowd, inspired Melanie to smile and kiss her hands and express her sympathy with appealing eyes and gestures, if not in the native tongue.

Edmund often directed operations and Adam interpreted to the bystanders.

Sarah, watching this pantomime, became furiously angry.
“
There
’
ll be nothing to stop a good soundtrack being dubbed in afterward,
”
she snapped in an angry undertone.
“
Nothing like an earthquake—and other people
’
s distress—to help sell the film.
”

“
Isn
’
t that all to the advantage of the film world?
”
Adam queried. She had not known that he was so close beside her.

“
Perhaps it is. But Edmund has done all the hard work of making the
’
documentary, and now Melanie Roche is cashing in with sheer publicity appearances and interviews.
”

“
You must try not to be so uncharitable about people who live in a different world from yours,
”
Adam
’
s glance was as hard as the tone of his voice.

Sarah, who had been satisfied to give vent to her feelings by a reasonably mild protest, was now stung to a fierce retort.
“
Uncharitable!
”
she exploded, unmindful of who might be listening.
“
I realize, of course, that Melanie lives in a different world and she must be allowed to come sight-seeing and make the most of it. You had plenty to say to Daniel and me before you even knew why we were here. And for all your taunts about Daniel
’
s being only a playboy and wanting publicity value, I
’
d like to tell you that he
’
s worked very hard, doing what he could to help people.
”

Adam smiled frostily, but his eyes were dark and unfathomable.
“
Naturally you would have more cause to defend Daniel, but then I didn
’
t really attack him, did I?
”

She swung around to see where Daniel and the others were at this moment. Fortunately the small crowd with Melanie at its center had moved on to the hospital.

Sarah drew in her breath sharply and was rewarded by a glance from Adam. So now Melanie was trying to add Florence Nightingale to her many roles!

“
Sarah, could you go and warn Melanie that she
’
ll have to return this way?
”
Adam suggested.

Sarah agreed, inwardly not unpleased that Melanie might be subjected to some discomfort, but at the bridge Melanie and her retinue were already approaching from the other end. The hospital visit had apparently been canceled, and no doubt Edmund had advised Melanie of the quickest way to return to the car.

Sarah spoke to Adam in a quiet, controlled voice.
“
You probably know that Edmund has offered to take as many people as he can out of the town. We have spare room in the truck and the minibus and we
’
re taking Radmilla
’
s family and some of their friends to Sarajevo or villages en route. Could we take anyone for you, Adam? What about Mirjana? Is she able to be moved?
”

“
When are you leaving?
”

“
Tomorrow as early as possible while the morning is cool.
”

His gaze was directed toward the distant line of pinkish gray hills.
“
Well, there
’
s no sense in taking her toward Sarajevo. Her mother is in Belgrade. Mirjana might as well stay here. I can probably get her transferred to somewhere near the steel plant. I could visit her more often then.
”

Sarah
’
s heart sank. She might have known that Adam would not want to be parted so uncertainly from Mirjana, but she quelled that rising stab of pain and said, with an attempt at lightheartedness,
“
All right, I understand. I
’
ll go to the hospital later today, see how she is and say goodbye. What
’
s her surname? I
’
ll have to know so that I can trace her.
”

Adam looked down at her, a half smile on his face.
“
It isn
’
t necessary to impress me in this way. You don
’
t have to build up an image by visiting the sick.
”

Sarah was rigid with anger. For a second or two she stared at him, unable to enunciate a single word out of the torrent of thoughts that jostled for utterance. She clenched her hands. Then she said in a low, fierce tone,
“
I suppose in your eyes we
’
re all tainted with publicity seeking just because we work in this profession. You
’
re so prejudiced that you can
’
t believe that any of us might want to do a single act of kindness for its own sake. We
’
re not all Melanies reveling in having our photographs taken for the glossy magazines. I
’
m surprised, Adam, that you allowed yourself to pose with Miss Roche
’
s party. I shall look forward to seeing the caption underneath—
‘
Mr. Adam Thorne, the well-known construction engineer,
et cetera, et cetera
.’
You were quite right. I do live in a different world from Melanie Roche
’
s—and yours—and I
’
m glad of it!
”

She did not wait to see the effect of this outburst on him, but walked away swiftly to the far side of a truck where she was hidden from him and could for a few brief moments let the angry tears overflow. Fortunately, in the diversion caused by Melanie
’
s arrival, Sarah was temporarily forgotten.

Why did this man possess such power to hurt her, she asked herself resentfully. If Edmund or Daniel or anyone else used the same words, the same tone, she would laugh, make a mild retort and think no more of it. But Adam
’
s words rankled because he so obviously resented her presence here in Krasnograd at all. Was it because of Mirjana? Was he anxious to keep that secret to himself? Yet he had taken Mi
r
jana to Dubrovnik to see
Hamlet
and openly displayed her whether Melanie approved or not.

Sarah watched the departure of Melanie, noting Adam
’
s smiling farewell to Melanie and some last
-
minute remark as he put his head into the car, the final hand waving.

On the way back to their
“
home
”
in the car park, Sarah stopped to see Radmilla and her family and make final arrangements for the next day
’
s traveling.

Radmilla
’
s face was alight with excitement.
“
Oh, it is so good of Edmund to take us all! Even my mother is resigned to leaving, although she is in despair when she thinks about our house and everything inside it.
”

“
Is there no hope at all of entering just once and collecting a few clothes?
”
asked Sarah.

Radmilla
’
s face sobered.
“
None at all. The soldiers will not allow it. They say that even one visit could bring the whole building tumbling down.
”