The House of Seven Fountains (28 page)

Stacks of chicken baskets were propped precariously against the ornamental pillars that supported the roof, and the muffled clucking of the fowls mingled with the babble of half-a-dozen Asiatic tongues and the piping voices of the children, who ran about playing tag or poking the chickens through the holes in the wicker baskets.

At last a distant whistle heralded the arrival of the train and everyone began jostling and shoving for position. The soldiers shouldered their rifles and packs, their heavy boots clattering on the concrete. The train drew in slowly, amid cat-calls and derisive comments. Chen shepherded Vivien through the jostling crush to the air-conditioned first-class coach. When he had found her sleeping compartment and stacked her luggage, he turned to say goodbye. His sallow face was tight with distress.

“Take care of yourself, Chen. Thank you for looking after me so well. I’ll write you,” she said in a chocked voice.

“It is not good for the
mem
to go,” he said unhappily.

Then, just as she felt an ominous lump blocking her throat, there was a commotion in the corridor and the door of the compartment was wrenched open.

“So here you are!” Tom Stransom said roughly. “Out you come, my girl. The train leaves in three minutes and I fancy it will take you rather longer than that to explain what you’re up to this time. Bring the
mem’s
bags, Chen, and wait for us in the yard.”

“What’s happened? What’s the matter?” Vivien cried, struggling to break his grasp on her wrist.

“You tell me,” he retorted curtly, pushing her along the corridor to the end of the carriage where he thrust her aside, jumped out and half lifted her after him. Then, still gripping her wrist, he marched her into the stationmaster’s office, slammed the door, bolted it and turned to face her.

“And now,” he said freezingly, “now you’ll be good enough to tell me why you’re running out of town like a criminal.”

“How did you know I was leaving?” she asked, rubbing her bruised
w
rist.

“Anna telephoned me. Otherwise I’d have had the inconvenience of chasing you to Kuala Lumpur.”

“I hadn’t time to let you know. I asked her to give you a message. Now please let me out of here. You’ve no right to drag me off the train like that. If I miss it, I’ll
..
.”

“You’ll what?” he challenged.

Suddenly all the spirit went out of her.

“Oh, Tom, why did you have to come?” she whispered in an agonized voice.

In one stride he was beside her, his fingers like steel clamps on her
a
rms.

“Because Anna said you were evading saying goodbye to me. Because I found that I couldn’t let you go. Because you belong to me.”

She stared at him unbelievingly.

“Don’t you, Vivien? Don’t you?” he asked violently.

S
he bent her head. “I always have.”

Her words were scarcely audible, but he heard them and his hands clenched her arms so that she winced.

“Then in heaven’s name why did you have to hide it?” he demanded savagely.

She shook her head helplessly.

“You little fool! You crazy little
...
!” He jerked her against him, pressing her head into his shoulder with a sound that was half exasperation, half triumph.

Somebody knocked at the door, but neither of them moved. Then a protesting voice insisted on being let in.

Tom stirred. “We seem to be causing an obstruction,” he said softly, pushing her away and unfastening the bolt.

The Eurasian stationmaster was apologetic when he found who had locked him out. He swept off his gold-braided cap and bowed to Vivien, voluble with regret for his unfortunate mistake.

Tom cut short his apologies by explaining that the
mem
had been feeling ill but was now completely recovered. He thanked him for the use of his office and whisked Vivien away through the booking hall and out to the yard where Chen was waiting for them.

“Take the luggage to Mem Buxton’s house and tell her that Mem Connell will be spending the night with her. She isn’t going to Rangore after all,” Tom said.

“Yes,
tuan
.
Very good,
tuan
.”
Chen’s face was wreathed in smiles.

Tom’s car was parked nearby, and he put Vivien into it and drove through the town to the river road. At the first milestone, he pulled onto the grass verge and switched off the headlights and engine.

“Now, shall we try to sort out the muddle?” he said quietly.

In the darkness she could see only the outline of his head and shoulders and the luminous face on his wristwatch.

“I ... I can’t believe it,” she said indistinctly.

He reached out and took her face in his hands. Then, very gently, he kissed her.

“Now can you?” he murmured against her lips.

For a moment she remained still, holding her breath, half-afraid to trust the response that welled up inside her. Then, with a tremulous sigh, she slipped her arms around his neck and returned the kiss with all the pent-up feeling she had denied for so long.

Some time later, Tom switched on the interior light and looked down at her with laughter and tenderness in his eyes.

“You look a little disheveled, Miss Connell,” he said softly, surveying her ruffled hair and glowing cheeks.

“
So do you.” She traced
th
e line of his cheek with her
fingertips, feeling the strong muscle at his jaw and the cleanly defined bone structure beneath the tanned skin.

He turned his mouth into the hollow of her palm and kissed it. “The other time. Why did you resist me?” he asked.

“You were very brutal. I was afraid of you.”

He pulled her close, letting her feel his strength, his eyes narrowed.

“Are you afraid now?”

She laughed. “Only that someone will see us and report you for such highly unprofessional conduct.”

He switched off the light and kissed her until she gasped for breath. Then he pushed her gently away, and she heard the click of his cigarette case. The lighter flared, and he put a cigarette between her lips.

“I asked you once if you were a child or a woman. It’s a pity I didn’t put it to the test earlier,” he said, after a pause. “I still don’t understand why you didn’t know how I felt. Women are supposed to sense these things.”

“I’d never met a man like you before. You always seemed so ste
rn
and aloof,” she explained shyly.

“
Aloof!
”
He gave a short laugh.
“
My God, there were times when I wanted to throw you over my shoulder and carry you into the jungle. You may not know it, my darling, but you have an extraordinarily primitive effect on me. There were a number of occasions when I was tempted to murder Barclay because he had your confidence.”

She moved into the circle of his arm and felt his hand close over the smooth curve of her shoulder.

“Please say that again, Tom.”

“What? My darling?”

“I tried to imagine what it would sound like but I never could.”

“
Fifty years from now you’ll be sick of hearing it. How soon will you marry me?”

“As soon as you like.”

“We could go to Penang for our honeymoon if you like. A friend of mine has a summer villa on the north side of the island with a private beach. How does it appeal?”

“Heavenly. I’ve always wanted to bathe by moonlight,” she murmured dreamily.

“
And after we’ve bathed I’ll make love to you under the palm
trees, my romantic little love. Now how about breaking our good news to Anna, bless her.”

They straightened up, and Vivien smoothed her hair. “There’s just one thing,” Tom said. “You do realize what you’re in for, as a doctor’s wife, I mean? Can you be happy in Malaya for the rest of your life?”

She slipped her hand into his. “I love you and I love Malaya. But if you wanted to go to the North Pole I’d still be happy, my best and dearest of doctors,” she told him contentedly.