Stormy Haven (29 page)

She nodded.
“
With my cabin mate. She
’
s unmarried but a solid matron for all that. She has all the guidebooks off by heart.
”

“
If you had to investigate why the hell didn
’
t you get a man to go with you? I never knew a girl so careless of her life and virtue!
”

His sudden anger set up a pulsing in her temples, accelerated her heartbeats. She exchanged a brief, alarmed glance with the doctor, imagined that he reassured her.

“
It was unwise,
”
he said,
“
but she got through. There are two of us to form a bastion today.
”

“
Thank you
,
but
...
”
Melanie shook her head. She was also shaking inside. She leaned back and looked at Stephen, saw him grind out his cigarette on the deck, his lean brown hands on the wooden arms of the chair as he stood up. He was careless and immaculate again.

“
We
’
ll go now, Bill. Glad to have seen you, Melanie. I expect we
’
ll meet in London.
”

This last, she thought hazily, was for Bill
’
s benefit. Even if he had her address he would never seek her out. Bill smiled, took her hand, then followed Stephen.

And that, it would appear, was really the end.

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

It was only e
leven o
’
clock. Melanie got up, supported herself along the deck and down to her cabin. She stood in the center of the green patterned carpet with pain and grief surging around her heart and a weight in her head. If only she had gone with Miss Hogg! If only Henry had not misguidedly sent his cable! It was unfair, horribly unfair, that she should be made to endure more, and still more.

She craved to hear the chugging of the engines, to feel the swaying of the cabin, to hear the wash of the sea outside the porthole. Emptiness and despair ached in her throat, and she threw herself upon the bed and dug her face into the damask cover. Yet tears were a long way off. For months she had been unable to cry out the pain that was Stephen.

She lay there a while, her mind void with the renewed impact of loss, but at last her natural courage made her wash her face and change her crumpled dress. She shook a couple of aspirins from a bottle, poured a glass of water.

A knock at the door stunned her for a second. Then she thought it must be the steward.

“
Come in,
”
sh
e
said, and stared stupidly when Dr. Bill Melford obeyed her summons.

He was slightly breathless and slightly embarrassed. He closed the door and stood regarding her both anxiously and apologetically. The tablets that still lay in her palm seemed to prod at the clinical half of his mind, for he said,
“
What are they
...
aspirin? I shouldn
’
t take those if you haven
’
t eaten lately. Did you have any breakfast?
”

She dropped the tablets into the wash-basin, put both hands to her head and at once let them fall.

“
Why are you here, Dr. Melford?
”

“
It
’
s a long story, but I
’
m really here because I must do all I can for Steve.
”

“
I
’
m afraid I
...
can
’
t be of any assistance.
”

“
I wonder?
”
He came closer and looked down at her kindly. Without the sunglasses his face had a rugged homespun charm.
“
During those few minutes I was with you and Steve on deck I had a hunch, a strong one. So I got him to drop me at the post office and
I
returned to the quay by taxi. Miss Paget, I
’
m going to ask you a personal question that
I
beg you to answer truthfully. Are you in love with Stephen Brent?
”
When she did not reply he added,
“
You can trust me,
”

It didn
’
t seem to matter whether she could or not.
“
Yes,
”
she said.
“
I love him.
”

His eyes brightened.
“
That
’
s great. So you
’
re the girl he was engaged to!
”

“
He told you about that?
”

“
If you
’
ll make yourself comfortable I
’
ll give you the details. Been sleeping badly as well as cheating your body of vitamins, haven
’
t you?
”
He waited till she had sunk into a cushioned chair before pacing to the porthole and turning to watch her small pale face.
“
Maybe I
’
d better begin with Steve
’
s return from Mindoa. He lived at my house for a couple of days before moving south, and naturally we talked of where he
’
d been and what he
’
d done. I chaffed him about the women he
’
d probably met and he said,
‘
As a matter of fact I did a damfool thing—got myself engaged.
’
He was grinning, so I asked if it was serious and he replied,
‘
I don
’
t know, she
’
s such a kid.
’
After that he told me to shut up.
”

“
It wasn
’
t a real engagement,
”
she said with an effort.
“
He saved me from someone else.
”

He weighed this.
“
If it hadn
’
t had some significance for Steve he wouldn
’
t have mentioned it to me. I
’
ve known him a long time and I
’
m certain he hasn
’
t been close friends with a woman before. He
’
s been acquainted with plenty—I
’
m not giving him a halo. I suppose he never did say that he
...
well, cared for you?
”

“
I was just a nice child, and a big nuisance.
”

He smiled a little.
“
That
’
s Steve. You are young, but it
’
s what he needs, particularly now.
”

“
Now? It seems to me that he has pretty nearly everything.
”
Her head lowered.
“
You heard how he spoke to me, the way he said goodbye
...
as though he had completed with relief some boring duty. While he has Stephen Brent he doesn
’
t need anyone else.
”

“
I shouldn
’
t be surprised if he
’
s having just a little too much of Stephen Brent. Miss Paget, did he write to you from the camp?
”

“
Yes, once.
I
got the letter about three weeks after he left.
”

“
But nothing more?
”

She hesitated; there appeared to be no point in prevaricating. So she told him about the letter to Colin. He nodded, sympathetically but also with satisfaction.

“
It fits together.
”
He put his hands into his pockets and rested his back against the cabin wall.
“
When Steve went south the camp there was beginning to close down. It
’
s no longer a secret that they were searching for uranium, but they hadn
’
t isolated anything worth mentioning. Steve hadn
’
t been in charge long before cheerful reports came in. He had the laboratory assistants working night and day and, needless to say, he was on the spot with them. One Sunday night, when the research hut should have been empty, he saw a tiny light through the window. He went over and found one of his juniors trying out some scheme of his own. The chap may have thought himself on the brink of some world-shaking discovery. Steve
’
s sudden arrival at his elbow scared him; he blundered and there was an explosion.
”
Swiftly, avoiding her dilated eyes, he went on,
“
Steve reported it in a few words. The other fellow had burned his hand and arm, and was being sent here for my attention.
”

“
And Stephen?
”
she whispered.

“
I
’
m coming to that, but I think to some extent you
’
ve guessed it. We didn
’
t learn the truth of it till many weeks later, when his part of the work was finished. He came back wearing sunglasses, said the glare down there had been terrific.
”

“
His
...
eyes,
”
she breathed.
“
And I took it that the dark glasses were just another barrier he was putting up. Is his sight impaired?
”

“
No, it
’
s perfect.
”
He came forward, sat on the end of a bed and bent toward her.
“
You won
’
t know the construction of the eye, so it
’
s difficult to explain just what happened. The explosion itself wasn
’
t much, but the light from it must have been intense and concentrated. You probably learned at school that the pupil is a sort of shutter that controls the amount of light entering the eye. The hut was only dimly lighted and Steve had come in from pitch darkness, so the pupil would naturally be at its widest. The flash caused a violent and terrible strain. The keenness of a geologist
’
s sight is his most precious equipment, and the fact that Steve went on analyzing and reporting shows that his was not lessened in any way. But his eyes had given him considerable pain
—
he admitted that.
”

If Bill Melford had noticed that the color had deserted even her lips and a faint dew had appeared across her brow, he gave no sign. Possibly he was aware that they were only physical symptoms, that mentally this girl had as much stamina as the best.

“
Is he still in pain?
”
she said.

“
Without glasses, yes. Those he was wearing look-like the ordinary sun-resistant type, but they have special lenses that correct the trouble.
”

“
Will he always have to wear them? He
’
d hate that
...
and what about his work?
I
...
I
can
’
t imagine Stephen without his job, however rich this uranium find has made him.
”
She jumped up.
“
Why should this happen to him! Some other fool
’
s carelessness! And what does his omnipotent Development Corporation care, so long as they can make money...
”

“
He
’
s a director of the corporation,
”
he pointed out quietly,
“
has been for a long time.
”

“
What
’
s the good of that? What
’
s the good of anything that costs so much! You
’
re a doctor
—
you get someone to provide him with glasses that stop the pain and smugly decide there
’
s nothing more to be done. But you
’
re also a man. Can
’
t you realize how he feels? Hasn
’
t this almighty corporation got an eye specialist?
”
She stopped precipitately, pushed nervously at her hair and turned away.
“
I expect it was the shock that made me carry on like that. I
’
m sorry.
”

“
Don
’
t be.
”
A smile softened his voice.
“
That
’
s the mood
I
want from you. There
is
an eye specialist in Alexandria, an Englishman named Blackmore who is retained by a wealthy panel of doctors. He
’
s one of the best in his line. Steve
’
s seen him and been told that an operation is not only possible but likely to be completely successful. Blackmore is a pompous, sententious devil, and he put over his usual formula;
‘
Every eye operation is tricky. If this o
n
e were a success your eyes would be normal again, but there
’
s always a risk. Think it over.
’
Steve decided against it.
”

“
Oh, but why?
”
she demanded in anguish.

“
He saw it as a clear-cut choice between risking his sight and keeping it.
”

“
Is there a great risk?
”

“
There
’
s a small one, but Blackmore
’
s never slipped up yet. Miss Paget—
”
he paused, smiling seriously
“
—if Steve cares for you, you can influence him. Injustice to himself he should have the operation. It
’
s not a major affair.
”

She was at the porthole, gazing desperately at a large iron ring sunk into the stone of the harbor.
“
I couldn
’
t change his mind. You see..
.”

“
I saw him flaming because you strolled around Port Said.
”

“
He was always like that. It means nothing. He hasn
’
t again referred to being engaged, has he?
”

“
I put an offhand inquiry about a month ago and he said it was over. But I can
’
t help feeling that you
’
re important to him in some way. The cable from Henry Jameson telling him of your sailing date happened to be delivered while we were at lunch and I opened it in error. When he
’
d read it he tore it up. He was dead against bringing the
Meridian
to Alexandria, and it was through me that he came here this morning. Almost his last words before we came aboard were a threat to break my neck if I didn
’
t mind my own business.
”

Her mouth trembled into a smile.
“
He
’
d be capable of it. What can we do?
”

“
I haven
’
t yet caught up with that problem. As I rushed back here I did get the harebrained notion that you could go ashore and accidentally miss the board, but he
’
d hardly be taken in by such a ruse. You do agree to leave the ship?
”

“
If it will do any good. I dread facing him, though.
”

“
We
’
ll go it together. He has a conference this afternoon. By the time he arrives home the next boat will have sailed and you
’
ll definitely be here till the next one. We have an excellent housekeeper, an Anglo-Egyptian.
”

Melanie was appalled.
“
You surely don
’
t expect me to live in the same house. He
’
ll guess right away. He
’
s impossible to deceive.
”

“
Let him guess,
”
said Dr. Melford soothingly.
“
We
’
ll cross no bridges till we get to them.
”

“
He
’
ll be furious. As likely as not he
’
ll go to a hotel.
”

“
Admit you matter so much? Not he.
”
Dr. Melford rubbed his hands together almost joyfully. But he was grave as he told her,
“
It
’
s going to be hard for you. He may be cruel, you may even harden the resolve he
’
s already made. Don
’
t, for the love of heaven, build on too bright an ending.
”

The green eyes glanced into his and her fine-boned face was somber as she answered,
“
I
expect nothing.
I
can
’
t help but stay and try because I
’
d bear anything for Stephen, but
I
can
’
t imagine him doing for me what he won
’
t do for himself. I can
’
t pose with him.
”

“
Why should you? All
I
ask is that you be yourself, and that if he hurts you, you resist the temptation to hurt back.
”

For several minutes the only sound inside the cabin was the gentle revolving of the air conditioner. Seabirds were dipping along the harbor and the-medley of hawkers
’
cries, creaking chains and traffic
n
oises was muted into a punctuated humming. The doctor seemed to be poised halfway to the door, and waiting. Melanie moved back from the porthole, unwittingly showing him a pure profile that had something of desolation in the downcast eyes and in the droop of her mouth. He felt compelled to cross the space that divided them and place a firm hand on her shoulder.

“
Start packing. I
’
ll send you some sandwiches and black coffee. It will be necessary for me to have your passport and get it visaed for Egypt, and I
’
d better have a word with the purser or there
’
ll be a hue and cry for a young woman missing from her cabin! It
’
s half-past twelve. I
’
ll be back in half an hour. Keep busy, and don
’
t think too much.
”

He had been gone some time before the entire enormity of what lay before her dawned on Melanie. Even if Stephen determined to tolerate her presence under the roof he shared with Bill Melford, he must suspect her motive. The instant he saw her he would know she loved him as certainly as if she had openly declared it. Simply by doing what the doctor required of her she was baring herself to the icy blast of
Stephen
’
s contempt, and closing the door on the slenderest chance of real happiness.