Across the Lagoon (18 page)

She was still wearing the pale dress she had dined in. When Stephanie drifted out of her bedroom and moved carelessly towards the door, Carol simply picked up her handbag and followed her out.

People were still passing to and fro in the foyer below, some on their way to the nightclub at the rear of the building. Fortunately no one paid much attention to the two figures hurrying from the lift to the outside door. From the hotel the girls caught a taxi to the landing stage. The launch was filled with late-night revellers out to paint the town in Venice. Carol didn't like the atmosphere at all on the ride across. If it was like this on the boat, what was it going to be like in the crowded streets of the city?

Another thing that was causing her considerable concern was the fact that neither she nor Stephanie knew their way around Venice. Of course they had been once on a guided tour, but they certainly weren't sufficiently familiar with the city to go strolling willy-nilly.

Stephanie couldn't have been less worried. Once they left the launch, she walked up the Riva degli Schiavoni, past the Bridge of Sighs and out into St Mark's Square as casually as a Venetian.

It was just as Carol had expected it would be at this time of the night. The square was crowded with tourists and Italians of all types, some a little too pushing as they brushed against Stephanie or herself in passing.

She stuck close to the younger girl, holding on to her arm for good measure as they turned into a street off the square, which was lined with shops and restaurants. Judging by the fashionable throng this was probably the main hub of the town. Stephanie seemed to think so too, for as they walked her eyes searched eagerly amongst the crowds outside the brilliantly lit establishments.

Carol was secretly glad now that everywhere was so populated. They'd never find Gray amongst all these people, and conversely, even if he was here the chances of him spotting them were slim indeed.

She kept her satisfaction to herself and patiently walked with Stephanie along one street after another, taking careful note of their direction. Eventually they came out at the Grand Canal at a point just below the Rialto bridge.

Unlike the somewhat elite quarter they had just passed through, the little quay was lined with dubious places of entertainment. One in particular, a large open ballroom set in a ruinous-looking palace, blasted beat music through the dark streets around. Inside luminously white-suited American sailors could be seen cavorting around with dark Venetian girls.

The canal throbbed with night traffic, passengers being ferried from one spot to another along the glistening stretch, much the same as a bus would carry them in a less waterlogged town. As they passed by the gaudily-lit ballroom they stared in with the uninterested look of the traveller.

That was all Carol had a mind to do as she and Stephanie walked along the quay. They had been wandering the streets for over an hour now and, greatly relieved that nothing disastrous had happened, she was anxious to get back to the Lido. Her heart sank when Stephanie, lured towards the noisy scene inside the ballroom, said impulsively, 'Let's go in there.'Stiffening, Carol replied, 'I don't think we should. I think it would be far more sensible to go back to the hotel. We've been out long enough.'

'You go back if you want to,' Stephanie said with a carefree air. 'I'm going to have some fun.' Turning, she floated off towards the brightly lit interior. Carol had no choice but to follow her. She paid their admittance fee at a desk out in the night, then stood on the edge of the noise and clamour to wait.

Stephanie in her plastered make-up and her hair piled high on her head didn't have to take more than two steps into the ballroom before she was surrounded by a group of beefy American sailors and whisked laughingly on to the floor by one of them.

You couldn't call the wild gyrating dancing, and the cacophony of instruments could hardly be described as music, but everyone was happy enough and there was no shortage of partners for the girls. Stephanie, who had made a hit with the naval group, soon found herself in a whirl of constantly changing partners, one sailor bulldozing in a few minutes after the other.

Carol found herself a place beside a strip of grille- work adorned with cheap metal flowers, and eventually relaxed. At least they were safe here and the town would have quietened down considerably by the time they made their way back to the boat. She stood, content to gaze out into the night while she waited, listening to the laughter and chat inside the ballroom.

After a while Stephanie's sailor friends grew tired of throwing themselves about, and clustered around her near the opening for air. Tolerant of the younger girl's hunger for attention, Carol left her to enjoy her circle of admirers. As she watched the lights dancing over the canal she listened with half an ear to the laughing conversation.

'Why are all Americans called Hank?' Stephanie's voice floated over.

'My real name's Arthur,' came a slurred whimsical reply. 'But Hank's shorter.'

'My pal here's called Bonny,' another voice broke in, and on a shout of laughter from everyone, 'You'd die if you noo what his real name was!'

And so it went on. After a while Carol altered her position. She was getting tired of standing and the breeze wafting over the water was becoming cool. As always on these capricious whims of Stephanie's she had had no time to think about herself. If there had been a little less rush she might have been able to go to her own room to collect a small evening jacket of some kind.

Her mind toying with these thoughts, she heard the sound of a water-bus, and watched it chug into view without actually seeing it. Several had passed while she had been standing here so that she had long since ceased to notice them. Because her thoughts were miles away she stared at the crowd on the open deck, only vaguely aware that they stared back.

Then all at once her mind catapulted her into the present, reacting joltingly to the sight of a familiar figure on board. Her heart leapt into her throat. That was Gray! On the deck immediately opposite! He was standing with a group of men of a similar type to himself, probably having finished some sort of business together.

As the ferry slid by she stood transfixed. Had he seen her? He had been looking this way and standing here amidst the blaze of lights and blaring music, she didn't see how he could have missed her.

When she could get her legs to move she jerked into action. The first thing to do was to collect Stephanie, then make a bolt for it back to the Lido. After that she would deny everything; say that it must have been someone else he had seen outside the gaudy ballroom. Anything to get out of the scrape she now found herself in.

Just inside the ballroom she found Stephanie still chattering to her sailor friends. Bottling up her agitation, Carol butted in and said, taking the younger girl by the arm firmly, 'Come along now, it's time we were on our way.'

If Stephanie looked displeased, the American naval men were even more grieved, and they didn't bother to hide their annoyance. One in particular with a heavy brooding gaze swayed over Stephanie and smiled unpleasantly, 'What's with you and this dish? Are you her keeper or somethin'?'

'Sort of,' Carol said coldly.

'Well, lay off for once, will ya,' the broody one dropped an arm round Stephanie.

'I'm afraid I can't do that,' Carol said, tugging Stephanie's other arm.

This brought a bleary outburst from one of the others. 'Hey, kid! Don't let her shove you around like that. If she was my big sis I'd ...'

'Yeah.' In full agreement a tall boy with a pleasant twinkle turned his arms round Carol's waist. 'Anyway,' he drawled, 'I like grown-up sisters.' And dropping a dry grin her way, 'How's about you and me taking a little stroll by the river, huh?'

Carol had no time to be polite. 'Let
go
of me!' She shook frantically to try and free herself from the beefy embrace.

This only amused her good-humoured captor. 'Aw, c'mon now,' he gave her an injured look, 'I ain't gonna bite cha.'

In the skirmish near the outdoors neither saw the big figure approaching. But the steely voice rasping on the night was not one to be ignored. 'I think you'd better find someone else to practise your horseplay on.'

The tall boy dropped his arms, full of innocence, and drawled, with a bland smile at Carol, 'Now why didn't you say you'd brought your old man along?'

In Spite of her bruised shoulders Carol found the big sailor really rather funny. She couldn't understand why Gray's face should be so white and angry-looking as he eyed her tormentor. The sailor too seemed to sense the blazing antagonism and moving to where Stephanie was still enmeshed against the broody one, he said with a strained grin, 'My buddy here's a bit tight, but we'll look after him okay. Goodnight, sir,' he gave a smart salute and ushered his pals out into the night.

Carol daren't look Gray's way. She had an idea that his jaw was flexing furiously. Stephanie too, for once, had no blithe greeting to offer. She had watched Gray's entrance and seen him blazingly demolish the sailor holding Carol. Now she couldn't take her gaze off either of them.

All this time the awful beat music had been blaring out. Above it Gray's voice stormed out at last as he turned to his niece, 'I suppose you're responsible for this?'

'Yes.' Stephanie perked up a little under his withering gaze. 'It was all my idea to come to Venice and I thought I might…'

Carol, afraid that Stephanie didn't realise the extent of her uncle's wrath, butted in to stammer, 'I ... did try to tell her that....'

'Your control of any situation is pathetic!' Gray swung on her, his eyes still blazing. 'The mauling you put up with before I arrived just now leaves me in no doubt of that.' For a second he let his furious brown gaze linger on her terrified blue one. Momentarily something else flickered there, then he was taking her arm and moving off to rasp bitingly, 'With a disobedient niece and a useless chaperone, it's a wonder I get any work done at all!'

With Stephanie at the other side of him, they were taken along the streets and eventually back to the canal for the water-bus, to continue the route Gray had been on when he had spotted Carol.

Down towards the city centre they left the ferry andwere led through silent streets until they came to a corner building, tall and stately, overlooking the bend , of a canal.

There was no name outside, but Carol knew at once that this was Gray's hotel. With its brass lamplighting reflected on the water, its mellow-lit interior and top- hatted porter standing at the door, it was just the kind of dignified establishment that Gray would choose.

They crossed the small bridge and went inside, and she and Stephanie stood aside in disgrace, while Gray talked at the desk. A few minutes later a porter in a velvet-collared long coat bowed them smilingly forward.
'Avanti.
This way, please.'

It was long past one o'clock and Gray obviously had no intention of wasting any more time on them tonight. He scowled down on them as they scuttled past him, behind the porter. Carol thought he was about to give her the benefit of his tongue again as his flinty brown gaze fastened on her. Instead he slackened his frame and said on a weary breath, 'See if you can keep out of trouble until morning.'

She had a blurred impression of lots of velvet hangings and brassware and thick sound-muffling carpets, as they went along a corridor and up a flight of stairs. The room the porter showed them into had two white- draped beds and the usual essentials of furniture. He whispered
'Buona notte'
to them and closed the door on them softly.

As they had no night attire, it was a simple matter to prepare for bed. Stephanie had nothing to say. She went along to the bathroom to wash, and came back to undress, flouncing around as she did so.

Carol was too shattered to fathom her coolness. After living with the younger girl for most of the summer she was familiar by now with her changes of temperament.

This was a line of thought which caused her considerable worry once they were both in bed and the lights were out. She had an awful feeling that Stephanie had gone too far this time. And what made it worse, they were now into the month of September. Some of the boarding schools opened in September, if not to start work, to accept early boarders from abroad. It was possible after tonight that Gray, having had as much as he could stand of his niece's tantrums, would pack her off back to school. And if he did, he would have no use for Carol either.

The thought made her heart beat in a peculiarly hollow way. She couldn't face the idea of returning to England just yet. No friendly Italian atmosphere, no more thrilling excursions, but bleakest of all, no Gray....

B
UT
Gray didn't send his niece back to school. The following morning after breakfast he packed his bags and escorting the girls back to the Lido, he took up residence at the Albany along with them.

Carol gathered that, like most top men in business, he had discovered that the work carried on just as well without him. And as Venice was only a few minutes' ride away there was nothing to stop him travelling to the city from the Albany when it suited him.

As it happened he spent most of his time around the hotel. For Carol they were idyllic days. The stultifying heat of the summer had gone, but the September sun shone warmly and there was fun to be had around the hotel and down at the beach.

Gray soon got back into practice on the tennis courts and kept the girls at it lobbing the ball back to him. They usually took a dip in the pool afterwards to cool off. Carol was no good on the diving boards, but following the others she would occasionally hazard a jump. Gray would usually be below somewhere to swing her up as she shook the water laughingly from her face.

At the beach they lounged on the sun beds, or sat with tall drinks at the seaside restaurant, watching the dwindling holiday life along the stretch of coast.

Stephanie seemed to enjoy all the fun well enough, which had been suddenly laid on for her, though she kept shooting odd looks at Carol beside Gray, and her eyes had a peculiar brilliance about them these days.