Stormy Haven (28 page)

The
Meridian
,
when they got back to it, was surrounded by boats overloaded with junk. Each of the small crafts was placarded with an unlikely name, such as
Smith, Macintosh
or
Churchill,
and the clamor was tremendous.

That evening, as the ship plowed on its way under an indigo sky mazed with stars, Miss Hogg drew Melanie to the rail to watch the receding lights of Port Said.

“
The East is behind us now,
”
said Melanie.
“
We
’
re in the Mediterranean.
”

“
This isn
’
t what we know as the Mediterranean. Over there are the mouths of the Nile and tomorrow we
’
ll be in Alexandria.
”

Melanie
’
s folded arms rested heavily on the rail, supporting her suddenly limp shoulders. The diminishing lights swung into
a
single, blinding globe and splintered.

“
We
...
don
’
t touch Alexandria,
”
she said.

“
We do. It
’
s marked on the map outside the lounge with one of those little red pins as our next stop. I saw it as we came up from dinner. To me, Alexandria will be more interesting than Port Said. The city is more cosmopolitan than Egyptian, you know, and exceptionally prosperous, with the
Nile delta on its back doorstep. Nearly all the cotton and rice produced in Egypt is handled there. The guidebook doesn
’
t mention many sights, but we
’
ll take a look at the pharos and Pompey
’
s pillar. There
’
s a Muslim cemetery near the pillar, but I don
’
t know if one
’
s allowed to view the tombs.
”

Melanie looked down into the dark, speeding waters and said through cold lips,
“
I
won
’
t go ashore with you this time. Aden and Port Said were enough.
”

“
But Alexandria is better than either. You
’
ll see Jews and Berbers, Greeks, Levantines and quite a number of English. In summer the Egyptian government moves from Cairo to Alexandria because the climate is pleasanter.
”

“
I
’
m getting tired of these places.
”

“
And you only nineteen!
”
exclaimed Miss Hogg sternly.
“
Young people are so lazy these days. I had to retire before I could get around. At your age I
’
d have given my ears for a quarter of your good luck. Will you be coming this way again?
”

“
I don
’
t suppose so—ever.
”

“
Then you mustn
’
t miss Alexandria or you
’
ll always be sorry.
”

In a flat, low tone Melanie said,
“
You
’
ll have to go without me, Miss Hogg. I
’
m not going ashore.
”

She felt bruised and let down. Both at Mindoa and Bombay she had been assured that it was unlikely the ship would touch Alexandria. The
Tjisande
had picked up passengers and freight there on the outward journey, but Melanie had spent the time below, with Elfrida. She remembered a quayside and vociferous hawkers, but little more. She wanted never to see Alexandria, never to hear of it again.

She had imagined the ship passing the port well out at sea, there being a moment when she could safely assure herself,
it
’
s all past, part of the hot seas east of Suez, part of Mindoa, but no longer part of me
.

Thinking about it, though, Melanie realized that nothing ever had been made easy for her. She had been left without parents at a time when a girl most needs them, had been forced to knock music into heads that apparently had no inlet for the arts. For months she had struggled to please Elfrida, and others. Depressingly, it came to her that perhaps her life was patterned that way, an obstacle ahead all along the route,
and her degree of happiness a pale sunbeam in the far distance.

In the cabin Miss Hogg called for her usual glass of warm milk. Into it she dropped two cubes of chocolate, and as she stirred her gaze was thoughtful upon Melanie.

“
You look as if you could do with this more than I. Got a headache?
”

“
No. I
’
m only sleepy.
”

“
You act as if you
’
re fairly strong, but you don
’
t
look
particularly robust. Maybe it would be best, after all, if you rested on deck the whole of tomorrow. No sense in overdoing it.
”

That concluded all argument. They climbed into their beds, snapped off their lights and said good-night.

The Meridian
edged into the western harbor of Alexandria at nine-thirty next morning. Intending shore-goers were asked by loudspeaker to be back before lunch, as departure was scheduled for two o
’
clock. Many more braved Alexandria than had ventured into Port Said, and by shortly after ten Melanie seemed to have the whole liner to herself.

Restless, and rather sick through having tasted nothing but coffee for breakfast, she went to the library; but the bookcases were locked and the chief deck steward, who kept the keys, was nowhere around. She remembered her promise to write to Henry and Lucille at every port of call, but the fact that she had mailed a letter to them yesterday made it pointless to send another today.

The lounge was deserted, with all doors wide open to the decks. She went to the piano, was vexed and almost hurt to find that that, too, had been locked against her. No doubt the regulation for sealing everything while in port was necessary, but it made her feel unwanted, locked out.

She stood in one of the wide doorways, looking beyond the glaring white deck at the widespread city of Alexandria, was aware of two white-clad men wearing sunglasses approaching along the deck, one of them, taller and broader than the other. Her heart contracted and her face went white; if she could, she would have backed into the lounge, and into the recesses of the ship.

Now the men were in front of her, raising their hats. Afterward Melanie knew that it was the second, unknown man who had held her there, compelled her to behave like any young woman who is visited by a friend in a foreign port. If Stephen had been alone...

“
Why, Melanie,
”
he said coolly, pleasantly, holding out his hand.
“
How nice to see you.
”

In a voice that to herself sounded harsh and unnatural, she said,
“
Hello, Stephen,
”
and straightway looked at his companion.

“
This is Bill Melford,
”
said Stephen.
“
He
’
s our company doctor
... M
iss Paget.
”

B
ill Melford was slightly older than Stephen and unremarkable to the eye. Behind the dark glasses his glance was keen, but Melanie was not to know that; nor would she have bothered just then if she had. She said,
“
How do you do,
”
and took a long uneven breath to revive her depleted lungs.

“
We had some difficulty in getting aboard,
”
Stephen was saying in the familiar suave tones,
“
but the company
’
s name invariably gets results. Bill kept saying you
’
d probably gone ashore. I had an idea, though, that Alexandria wouldn
’
t appeal to you.
”

Was that satire or convention? Melanie was in no condition to analyze it.
“
How did you know I was on the
Meridian
?”

“
Henry cabled me the date you were leaving Bombay.
”

“
Oh.
”
Henry
...
trying to be a fairy godmother. The mistaken kindness that she might have expected of him had she not been convinced that he had come to detest Stephen.
“
Well, won
’
t you sit down? I
’
m afraid I can
’
t offer you a drink. There isn
’
t anyone on duty.
”

Bill Melford said,
“
I
’
d like a word with the ship
’
s doctor. Will you excuse me?
”

He walked away. Stephen placed a deck chair for Melanie, brought another into position beside it with his foot. He offered cigarettes from the thin gold case, flicked his lighter. She blew smoke, kept a tight hold on her nerves.

“
Henry shouldn
’
t have cabled you, or you should have ignored it,
”
she said.

“
I nearly did ignore it. The
Meridian
wasn
’
t supposed to dock at Alexandria, but we have some vitally important stuff
for England, so the ship was cabled in the canal to collect it.
”

“
If we
’
d passed Alexandria I
’
d never have seen you again. You
’
re still unflattering, Stephen.
”

“
I have to be. How have you been getting on?
”

“
Very well. I finished off the manuscripts.
”
She paused.
“
I saw the letter you sent to Colin.
”

Very slightly he compressed his mouth.
“
He showed it to you? That was in rather bad taste.
”

“
Not really. We were good friends. Besides, I was curious about it.
”

She saw the old, sardonic twist at his lips.
“
Didn
’
t he ask you to marry him?
”

“
Not outright. He was at the other extreme from Ramon. I shall have to find someone in between.
”
Still on a light note, she said,
“
Did the hush-hush mission turn out a winner?
”
His reply was so long in coming that she darted him a swift, sidelong glance. His dark face was set and he was staring out across the harbor.

“
It was a winner, all right,
”
he said.
“
I
’
m now comparatively wealthy and am acclaimed one of the world
’
s most thorough and successful geologists.
”

“
You don
’
t seem too pleased about it, but then it takes an awful lot to please you, doesn
’
t it? Are you living in Alexandria?
”

“
Temporarily—with Bill Melford. If there
’
d been time we
’
d have taken you there to lunch.
”

“
But you
’
re not sorry there isn
’
t time,
”
she suggested with an edge of bitterness.
“
I wish you
’
d stayed away from me altogether, Stephen.
”

He shrugged.
“
It would have looked bad, because Bill saw the cable. In fact it was he who put me up to coming this morning. That
’
s the sort he is. If his most ferocious great-aunt were passing through town he
’
d act the dutiful and affectionate nephew. That
’
s what comes of being a doctor of men—the women have his sympathy, always.
”

His manner was deliberately aloof, calculated neither to please nor annoy. He was enjoying this interview no more than she, but once started he would see it through. The sunglasses, obscuring those perceptive gray eyes, closed away his expression, no doubt that was why he kept them on. She hardened to combat him.

“
Why,
”
she asked,
“
did you wait so long before writing to Colin?
”

“
For two months I was some way to the south, in sticky country. I didn
’
t get down to it till I was back here.
”

“
But need you have written at all?
”

“
Apparently not, if you won
’
t marry him. I
’
d told him to see that you came to no harm. Turning it over in my mind, it occurred to me that he might consider you still tied to me in some way. If he
’
d had the sense to tell Lucille and Henry
...
and you, that I
’
d fallen for some other woman, he might ultimately have gained by it.
”

In flinty little words she said,
“
Why should he tell me that? I didn
’
t need to be reminded that no bond existed between you and me. And it would have taken more than a few lines from you to make me marry Colin Jameson.
”

“
I see that now,
”
he answered smoothly.
“
You
’
re growing up, Melanie, learning to discriminate and to know what you want. Are you going to train for a career in England?
”

“
What do you care?
”

“
Enough to want to help you.
”

She bent away from him to flick her cigarette into a glass ashtray on a deck table.
“
Thanks, but I
’
ll manage.
”

She had no sooner straightened than Stephen remarked casually,
“
Here
’
s Bill. He
’
s a decent man—puts up with no end from me.
”

Bill wasn
’
t the only one, she thought hollowly.

The doctor came up, pulled a chair around to face them and dropped into it.
“
I tried to get drinks, but there was nothing doing. The doc wasn
’
t there, either.
”

“
Where have you been, then,
”
inquired Stephen sarcastically.
“
Diplomatically hiding?
”

Bill
’
s smile was disarming.
“
If I had a pretty girl on deck I wouldn
’
t want you around. Ever been to Alex before, Miss Paget?
”

“
Once—but never again,
”
she responded.
“
I haven
’
t seen the town, but I
’
m not anxious to. One can have an overdose of the East.
”

“
But you ought to have a peep around.
”
He pushed his cuff back from his watch.
“
There
’
s still time to go for a drive. How about it, Steve?
”

“
No,
”
she said quickly.
“
I
had a long day in Port Said yesterday.
”

“
Port Said!
”
curtly from Stephen.
“
Did you walk around the place?
”