The Primrose Bride (7 page)

She heard the faint chime of the living-room clock. It was lunch-time, and the weakness was back in her knees. High-flown resolutions were no use at all. Nothing in her experience had prepared her to meet the situation. She was trapped. There was just one thing she must do. Somehow, very carefully and with more cleverness than she could muster at the moment, she must discover exactly how Andrew felt about her; it would be difficult to get inside that armor of propriet
o
riness and chivalry, but before long she would have to do it. Then she would know how to act.

The living-room, when she entered it, was dim and cool. With businesslike movements, Andrew seated her and took his place. He helped her to galantine and placed the salad bowl where she needed it. As he cut meat for himself he asked whether the old islander had got off all right in the
station wagon
.

“
Yes, they came promptly and went off at once,
”
she replied.
“
I sent Mrs. Mears the message.
”

“
Good. You
’
ll find these little things crop up from time to time. I
’
ve just had an hour with the man who was my stand-in here, and he said he was relieved to see me back. He prefers a quiet existence in Hong Kong. There they have departments to handle every kind of emergency, but here we find ourselves dealing with flood, fire, accident, and so on, without any special set-up to put things right. We improvise, and generally get by. That boy should be in the hospital by about three this afternoon.
”

His manner steadied her.
“
What is fish-bite?
”
she asked.

“
It was probably a poisonous fish—there are a few on that coast. They don
’
t kill, but they do cause a nasty fever and if the victim doesn
’
t happen to be in good condition he can become very ill. That
’
s one of the reasons I don
’
t want you to go bathing alone. It
’
s a long time since we found a fish of that kind in the lagoon, but there
’
s just a faint chance of meeting one. An injection straight after the bite clears the thing up in a couple of hours.
”

“
The old man repeated his thanks. He was most grateful.
”

“
The islanders are a sound lot and very teachable. Some time you must look over the hospital and the couple of schools.
”
He smiled, as if they were the best of friends.
“
Good thing I taught you to drive; you can have a car and take Molly Mears along.
”

“
Is a companion necessary?
”

“
Only till you know your way about. By then you
’
ll be so well kn
o
wn that every islander will be your friend and willing to help or run a message if you get stuck anywhere.
”
With a direct but enigmatic glance he added,
“
The Mearses have been promoting your interest this morning. I had a spate of congratulations. Perhaps I ought
prepare
you for this evening—some of them will bring
gifts.”

“
I ... I hoped they wouldn
’
t.
”

“
They
’
ll naturally want to wish you a successful marriage.
”
He didn
’
t wait for this to sink in before calling the servant.
“
Anai, bring some fruit and the coffee. I
’
m in a hurry.
”

Successful, he
’
d said; not happy. Play it cool, she told herself.
“
I saw Tony Horwell
’
s gift this morning. He must have taken lots of trouble to get all that beautiful matching china.
”

“
We
’
ll do as much for Tony one day. I did thank him
for it.
”

“
It would have looked better if I
’
d thanked
him,
too.
”

“
I didn
’
t have a chance to tell you about it—only saw it myself at breakfast this morning.
”
His glance again collided deliberately with hers and would have held it if she hadn
’
t looked away. He added casually,
“
Tony
’
s not so chipper as he was when I left Nemaka a few months ago, and as a matter of fact I had quite a job to get him here this morning. As soon as I have time I
’
ll get him alone, for a talk.
”

“
Why are you in a hurry now? You once told me the offices are closed from one till three.
”

“
They are, but the Executive Council is meeting today, and I decided to have it early; otherwise if the business isn
’
t through they
’
ll call it off at five and resume tomorrow, and that wastes time.
”

“
But if you had it at three you could manage an hour with Tony first.
”

He let a few seconds elapse before answering,
“
I
’
ll handle Tony in my own way, later on. Will you pour the coffee?
”

After that all he said was,
“
Get a good rest this afternoon; things may become a bit hectic tonight and I want you to be fresh for it
.
”
Then, in a lower voice,
“
And do something for me, will you, Karen? While we have guests, try to remember that I
’
m still the chap you said you loved, back in England.
”

He was gone.

Karen lay down on her bed for a while, got up to drink the tea which Anai brought, and tried to read. The printed words swam together and it was a relief when it became dark in the bedroom and she had to think about taking a bath and dressing for the evening. One of her new evening dresses, she supposed. The blue, which made her eyes look green. It was a discreet cut and showed off her neck and shoulders. Was her pearl necklace rather too modest for
Andrew
’
s wife? Feeling horribly depressed, she decided it was
b
etter to leave her neck bare.

Anai knocked at the door and came in.
“
Please, mem, Min Gan wish you to look at the food.
”

The array which met her glance when she entered the kitchen was colorful and attractive. Min Gan seemed a little da
z
zled by her dress and looked away from her politely, but when she complimented him he smiled and bowed.

“
It is for the mem. The tuan has told me that tonight is a kind of marriage feast, and I have tried to show my happiness in the things I have prepared. Some of them are made from things we use at Chinese and Malay feasts, and the dish in the center is known in Nemaka as the marriage lotus. You will see it is pastry in the shape of many lotus flowers which are filled with a mixture of chopped fruits and nuts—as many different kinds as one can find. There is always only one flower for each guest, and it is eaten at a signal from the new husband
...
”

Quickly, before he had finished, she turned to a dish of savories.
“
These look very appetizing; in fact, everything does. You
’
ve made a wonderful show, Min Gan. Thank you for all the trouble you
’
ve taken.
”

She got out of the kitchen with her head held high and walked straight through to the living room. As well as the couple of electric table lamps, four paraffin lamps had been lit and placed in a row on the window ledge. Presumably she was expected to know where they should stand; or perhaps she was meant to make the decision and tell Anai where to put them. The dining table had been covered with a snowy damask cloth and loaded with glasses, plates, cutlery and napkins. The only flowers in the room were half a dozen lotus blossoms in a crystal vase. Karen hadn
’
t seen the lotus before, but she didn
’
t examine the pale, unearthly flowers; they sickened her a little.

In the veranda, she noticed, more rattan chairs had appeared. Rattan everywhere, even in this room. Well, it was light and no doubt easy to wash, and to replace when worn. And with the light bright colors of the rugs it did give an atmosphere of comfortable living in the tropics.
There was only that brown divan to upset the balance, and she found she didn
’
t care, now, whether it remained a blot on the room or was turned into a gay focal point with a new cover and cushions.

For something to do, she placed one of the paraffin lamps on the end of the bookshelf, in a corner. A second she set in another
corner
on a small table. One could be left where it stood on the ledge, but the fourth
...
it might go up there on the bracket which now held an oriental jar. She brought a chair to the wall, kicked off her shoes and stood on the seat, and reached down the jar.

“
Taken a dislike to it?
”
asked Andrew
’
s voice just behind her.

She started violently and would have dropped the thing if he hadn
’
t grabbed it.
“
I didn
’
t hear you come in.
”

“Too
intent on what you were doing. Have you got designs on the jar?
”

“
I was going to put one of the lamps up there, out of the way.
”

“
All right, if that
’
s where you want it. I
’
ll bring it.
”

She remained there, a little taut, took the lamp from him and placed it on the bracket. As she turned, he put his hands on her waist and lifted her down. Deliberately, she felt, he took his time about releasing her. She sat, quickly, and trod into her shoes.

“
Is the lamp on the window ledge quite safe
’
?
”
she asked hurriedly.

“
Yes, we shan
’
t draw the curtains.
”
He sounded a little strange.
“
You look very lovely, Karen. Blue is definitely one of your colors. Did you sleep this afternoon?
”

“
No, but I rested. How soon will people arrive?
”

“
Any time now. But before they do
...”
He took a small case from his pocket, snapped it open.
“
I meant to give you these yesterday, but one way and another,
”
with a pointed smile,
“
I didn
’
t get round to it. I bought them in London, but somehow they didn
’
t suit Cornwall, so I saved them.
”

A pair of earrings scintillated from a bed of black velvet.
Each w
as a platinum lover
’
s knot set with blue-white diamonds and drooping a single, pure pearl. Karen
’
s
mouth went dry, her eyes felt hot and achey. But she gave him a bright, brittle smile.

“
Thank you,
”
she said.
“
They
’
re beautiful.
”

“
Wear them now. Would you rather fasten them yourself?
”

She nodded, and with unsteady fingers took the earrings, one at a time, and fixed them in position. She lifted her face so that he could see the result, but kept her glance lowered.

“
I knew they
’
d suit you,
”
he said.
“
Come and look at yourself.
”

She willed herself to cross the room and gaze into the bamboo-framed mirror. She saw wide, tension-dark eyes, soft hair, a faint flush across her cheeks but a queer pallor about her mouth, the sparkling earrings
...
and the straight line of Andrew
’
s left shoulder in the white dinner jacket.

“
They make you look a bit older, but that
’
s no fault,
”
he said.
“
You really like them?
”

“
Very much.
”

“
A wedding gift,
”
he said quietly, laying his hands on her shoulders.