Stormy Haven (6 page)

“
Stay where you are,
”
he bade Melanie.
“
I won
’
t be more than five minutes.
”

There was plenty to see. A sloping headland with tall, skinny palms at its foot where children played. The brown bodies of the fishermen who mended nets with raw ju
t
e, or lazily sharpened their spears. The Indian Ocean creaming over the sand, and a little way out a couple of bouncing flatboats with grass sails. Stephen came back too soon.

As he slipped into his seat, Melanie leaned forward eagerly.
“
Stephen, where
’
s the coral reef
?
”

“
It practically surrounds the island. It
’
s been cleared here, for shipping. I daresay you can see it from the headland.
”

“
May we go there now?
”

The glance he turned upon her was sardonic.
“
Agog for experience, aren
’
t you? If I were you I
’
d curb that impatience and take a rest between each lesson.
”

“
Not if you were me,
”
she said.

“
Probably not. But if you aren
’
t careful that zest for discovery will land you in trouble.
”

“
What sort of trouble?
”

His eyes narrowed, critically examined her smiling face.
“
You
’
re only eighteen, Melanie—a woman in some things but a child in others. Go slowly, little one. If you don
’
t get too heated up over your first affair the bump when it
’
s finished won
’
t hurt much.
”

She laughed.
“
You
’
re being nasty about Ramon.
I
think he
’
s charming, such a change from cold-blooded Englishmen. And I
’
m not in the least danger. Elfrida told you that I
’
m not geared for high-powered romance.
”

“
I never have believed that any one woman knows the more vital details about another. To Elfrida you
’
re the young and docile companion. To Ramon, on the other hand, your
fair skin and all-too-apparent innocence present a challenge.
”

“
But that is wonderful,
”
she exclaimed, and added mischievously,
“
What am I to you, Stephen?
”

“
A nuisance,
”
he said laconically,
“
like a recurring toothache. And don
’
t ask me why, because I
’
m not too certain myself. I only know that since the day I saw you surrounded by the mob in Aden you
’
ve irritated me.
”

“
That
’
s rather a pity,
”
she said, a little dashed.
“
Would you like me to keep out of the way when you
’
re with Elfrida?
”

He looked at her with exasperation, and turned on the ignition.
“
Let
’
s find the coral reef,
”
he said.

They slid around to the end of the drive, and he parked under a casuarina. He dropped down to the beach and reached up to lend her a hand. She landed beside him, bent and scooped up a handful of sand.

“
What queer stuff. Is it powdered coral?
”

“
Coral and shells. You get some of the same sand on the eastern coast of Madagascar. In the hurricane season the houses are full of it, in spite of the shutters.
”

“
When is the hurricane season?
”

“
December to April. The cyclones don
’
t occur more than once or twice a year, and there may not be any at all. I shall have left Mindoa before Christmas, and I daresay you will, too.
”

She trod cave
rn
ously on the yielding beach, mounted with him to the grass from which the palms leaned. December was four months away. She didn
’
t want to think about it.

They climbed a short incline and found opening before them a new and beautiful stretch of coastline. Tiny inlets and soft green promontories, a hushed blue sea upon which lay a curved chain of rose pink and pure white.

“
Coral islands,
”
she breathed.
“
All misty and shining. They
’
re enchanting.
”

“
And like most enchanting things they
’
re dangerous,
”
he said.

“
You
’
re such a mocking person, Stephen!
”
She twisted to look up at him.
“
Even when you
’
re a sport you have to be overbearing and sarcastic about it. Anyone would take you to be forty and entirely warped.
”
She stopped, then inquired interestedly,
“
Why have you never married?
”

“
Because I
’
ve never wanted to.
”

“
You mean you
’
ve never been in love?
”

“
No,
”
he said with tantalizing calm.
“
I mean I
’
ve never
w
anted to get married.
”

“
Aren
’
t you ever going to?
”

“
I couldn
’
t say, my child. Maybe one day I
’
ll relinquish my freedom, but at the moment it
’
s as inviolate as it ever was.
”
Fleetingly Melanie thought of Elfrida; but it occurred to her that if Stephen was weakening toward her cousin he would be the last man to reveal it before he was ready. What a strange experience to be in love with Stephen Brent, to be loved by him! Hastily, before she could mention anything to make him angry, she said,
“
What are you going to do on the island—what sort of work?
”

He shrugged, and leaned back against the rubbed gray trunk of a palm with his hands in his pockets.
“
For me the next three or four months are in the nature of a vacation—a busman
’
s holiday. The Development Corporation—I
’
m their technical adviser—owns lands and plantations throughout Africa and the East. We have a tract on Mindoa that has never been assayed, so I
’
m here to take deflections and made a report.
”

“
Deflections? Does that mean you bore and extract samples?
”

“
Quite right. What else do you know about geology?
”

“
Very little. Is the public allowed to watch you on the job?
”

“
An occasional member of the public—if she
’
s well behaved and not too facetious.
”

“
Thank you, Stephen,
”
she said demurely.
“
When do you start digging?
”

“
In a week or two, but there
’
ll be nothing of interest for a long time.
”
He shot back his cuff, gave her a swift, hard smile.
“
It
’
s nearly one o
’
clock and you
’
ve learned plenty for one morning. Let
’
s get moving.
”

CHAPTER FIVE

At
the Miramar
one dined in the open air, at a table on the terrace. A band played European music with an Eastern rhythm, fireflies flittered about the vine-clad pillars and bright green parrots winged from branch to branch in the brightly illumined garden. Food and wines were French; the waiters, in soft slippers and wearing puttees over their white trousers, were a blend of several races; and the guests were the most exciting mixture Melanie had ever seen. There were women in Paris gowns and others in floor-length pastel silks and saris; men in white dinner jackets, in khaki drill, in wide-sleeved Chinese coats. Jewels flashed, laughter tinkled and came in masculine gusts.

Melanie wore pink and white striped silk and a chunky white necklace at her slim throat. She was considerably fortunate to be here at all, for Elfrida had not taken kindly to Ramon
’
s invitation. He had charmed Mrs. Paget as he charmed every woman, had brought her a magnificent bouquet for her room and used much subtle flattery. But there was no varnishing the fact that Melanie was to dine out while Elfrida spent her evening alone at the hotel, which was a condition of things that the older woman could not be expected to tolerate with equanimity. Melanie knew that tomorrow Elfrida would have a bad head and a fiendish temper, but just now it hardly mattered. The night and the music was exotic, and right across the table sat the most handsome and attentive of cavaliers.

He set aside his fruit plate and leaned forward,
“
You are happy, Melanita?
”

“
Ecstatically. This is a marvelous place.
”

“
It pleases me very much that I make you happy.
”
Melanie had not quite meant that. She would have been happy here with anyone. But as it was Ramon who had brought her she smiled at him and sipped her wine. After
all, half the women here envied her escort; all knew him for the fastidious and rich son of the aristocratic
senor.
Melanie was unaware that her own pale sweetness, the green eyes and silky brown lashes, her slightly reddened lips, were attracting as much comment as the familiar figure of Ramon. He put it into words.

“
How lovely you are, Melanita. I have never known anyone so flowerlike.
”

“
Flowers don
’
t eat roast chicken and iced walnuts.
”

“
Please.
I
am serious.
I
know that it is shyness that makes you joke—but, please, not with me.
”
His dark face bent nearer, his white teeth shone.
“
I want us to talk, to learn each other. Tell me about your life in England.
”
That was safely prosaic ground, at any rate, and Melanie didn
’
t mind talking about those dull days because they were over, and her life could never slide back into the rut where adventure was unknown. She was positive of that. It was the school that was unreal now, and the inky-fingered juniors banging out scales.

“
So you play the piano!
”
he exclaimed delightedly.
“
But what a pity that ours has spoiled with dampness. In our house at Cadiz we have a fine piano that my sister played before she was married. You would like Cadiz—it is a city that sparkles. How I wish it were near, so that I could take you there to meet my mother.
”

Ramon had the faculty of steering the drabbest subject into perilous seas. It was really safer to say little and smile a lot. Melanie leaned back, drummed her fingers in time with the music.

“
Will you dance?
”
he said.

“
I
’
m longing to.
”

They entered the ballroom, which was too large ever to be crowded, and moved away to a waltz. Ramon danced with resilient grace, and Melanie followed him as if she, too, were a born dancer. They danced together again and again, till others begged Melanie to favor them and Ramon was seized by older acquaintances. He made many introductions, and between times gaily wrested her from her partners.