Island in the Dawn (16 page)

“Yes I do,” she answered, recalling that they were amongst almost the first words he ever uttered to her.

“Well, after leaving Nina’s flat
—
I left them together
—
I drove my car so recklessly that I inevitably crashed, and you
kn
ow the result. Nina was not killed in the crash with me
—
she was killed chasing after me. It was a horrible affair, and I’ve always known that if I accused her unfairly I also caused her death. But Tina has freed me of that burden
...
She
knew
that Nina was behaving as you, my darling
—
or any woman in love with the man she had promised to marry
—
could never have behaved, and she told me the whole story quite brutally. She didn’t spare Nina
...”
He looked away.
“Or me
!
”

Felicity’s arms stole round his neck.
“Then why couldn’t you tell me you loved me?”

“Because I had to be absolutely certain—” looking deep into her eyes
—
“that there was no slightest shadow of Nina standing between us.”

“And she never will be a shadow between us?”

“Never, my darling!”

Felicity sighed, a little sigh of pure happiness.

“And wh
a
t did you want to find out in Rome?”

“I’ve told you
—
whether I could bear to take up
the
threads again. I wanted to see people
—
all sorts of people I knew well in the past, and who are keen for me to return to the world of music. But, somehow, I don’t know
...
I even found a flat for us if you want me to go back! It rests with you, Felicity. What you want me to do I will do. I know it isn’t fair to condemn you to this island life, and in any case I’m going to take you away for a while
...
We’re going to have that honeymoon, my sweetest and dearest, and I’m going to make up to you for the farce of a marriage I put you through! We
mig
ht even find a church to be married in
—
as I know you would have liked to be married
...”
But she shook her head.

“I think we might find a priest to bless us, but we’ll leave it at that! Our marriage wasn’t a farce
—
it was the most wonderful day of my life.”

“Oh, darling!” he said. “The night of our marriage was the most
ag
onizing
I’ve ever lived through—except, perhaps, last night. No man ever wanted his wife as I wanted you, but I was consumed with jealousy of Manners, and in any case I thought you didn’t want me near you.”

“Oh!” she said. Suddenly her face was flooded
with
color, and she hid it against him.

There was an interval during which he kissed her as he had never kissed her before, and she gave him back kiss for kiss. Then, his conscience smiting him because she had had such a dreadful night, and whatever she said it was high time she was in bed, he drew her to her feet

“I’m going to take you back now, darling—I’m going to take you home! Whatever we plan to do with our lives, it will be our home always!
...
Somewhere to bring you back to!”

She leaned against him in the brilliant sunlight
that
was all about them, and looked up at
him
searchingly.

“Tell me, Paul
—
tell me truthfully!
—
what do yo
u
wish to do?”

“What do you wish to do?”

“No!” She touched his lips, because they were keeping the truth back from her. “I must know what you want to do above everything else?”

“Have children, and a wife who will never love them quite as much as she loves me, and sail a boat, and start an air-field here
...
Perhaps induce other people to build here, so that we can become a little colony. A reasonably civilized colony! With a doctor to keep an eye on my wife’s health
—
particularly when she presenting me with my children!
—
and a church where people can be married when they want to. And years and years of producing bigger and better grape-fruit!”

“Oh, Paul!” Her eyes were shining like lamps. “That’s what I want, too
...
Oh, that’s what I want more than anything else.”

THE
END