The Desert Castle (29 page)

‘
Thank you,
’
s
he said.

His eyebrows shot up.
‘
For sparing your blushes? I find you beautiful whatever you have on, as you very well know.
’
He ducked his head and kissed her cheek.
‘
One day—
’

‘
Mr
.
Gregory! Mr
.
Gregory! The water, it is going down!
’

Ma
rion thought he looked far from pleased at the interruption, but it must have been her
imagination,
for he greeted Fawzi with a genial smile and, putting an arm round his shoulders, drew
him
out of the door and out of sight of Marion herself.

‘
How long before we can get out?
’
he asked.

‘
Very soon now,
’
Fawzi
’
s voice replied.
‘
It is better to go now before you have your food because the rain will start again in an hour or so. The horses are ready to go quickly.
’

Grego
r
y glanced down at his watch.
‘
We
’
ll be ready in ten minutes.
’

‘
I shall be ready too!
’
Fawzi assured him.
‘
The lady is all right?
’

‘
She
’
ll do,
’
Gregory said drily. He turned his head and laughed directly at Marion.
‘
Pluck to the backbone!
’
He stood in the doorway until Fawzi had gone and then came back to her.
‘
Can you brave that horse again, or shall I take you up with me?
’

She was shocked by the very idea.
‘
I
’
ll ride my own horse!
’

He came nearer still.
‘
I
’
d share more than a horse with you, if you
’
d let me, Marion Shirley. More even than my frescoes and castle. Will you ever want to share anything with me?
’

She hid her face from him, shaking her head.
‘
I
’
d want to have exclusive rights,
’
she said thickly.
‘
Zein
—’
She shrugged her shoulders helplessly.
‘
I wouldn
’
t be happy like that!
’

‘
Are you telling me you
’
re
jealous
?’

She was completely shattered that he should have drawn such a conclusion. And it was the truth. She was to
rn
apart with jealousy, and that seemed less than admirable and she didn
’
t want
him
to know about it.

‘
Why should I be jealous?
’
sh
e countered.

‘
My sweet Marion, I should ask yourself that question. Oh, damnation, why couldn
’
t it have gone on raining for a little longer?
’

‘
Gregory—
’

‘
You
’
d better get dressed,
’
he said in quite different tones.
‘
I told Fawzi we
’
d be ready to go in ten minutes.
’

T
he
moment to approach
him
had gone, Marion realised, and it might never come again. Once they were back at the Rest House, Lucasta and Gaston would be there, and she saw so little of him at the castle and then there was always someone else there. And at week-ends there was Denise!

I
t had indeed stopped
raining
when
s
he went back to the tent where she had left her clothes. There was even the faint glint of gold in the sky as the sun tried to penetrate the heavy curtain of black cloud that hung over the hidden valley. The sooner they were gone the better.

H
er clothes were still damp and steaming from the heater. They seemed to have shrunk, they were so difficult to get into and, once she was dressed, they clung to her like a cold compress and were rather more revealing than her blanket had been.

S
he blushed at the appreciative gleam in Gregory
’
s eyes.
‘
The worst of it is that I haven
’
t even got a change of clothing at the Rest House. These are definitely tight after the soaking they
’
ve received.
’

‘
Mmm,
’
he agreed,
‘
they show your figure off to perfection. Very nice too!
’

M
arion looked down at herself, pulling a face.

‘
There isn
’
t much to show.
’

‘
That
’
s what you think! It
’
s all in the eye of the beholder
!
’

W
as it possible that he thought her beautiful? Oh, she knew she wasn
’
t bad-looking, but compared to someone like Denise she thought she was easily overshadowed.
‘
I wish I were taller,
’
she sighed.

H
e looked amused.
‘
Do you? I find you enough of a handful as you are!
’
He lifted her and put her on her horse with an ease that left her breathless.
‘
It isn
’
t too late to change your
min
d—if you
’
d rather come with me?
’

S
he found it
s
afer to ignore any such suggestion. What would the Bedouin drivers think if one of their horses had to bear a double burden? Nor could she trust herself with Gregory
’
s arms about her not to want more than he would be prepared to give. Before they had gone a hundred yards she would want his kisses too!

T
he hooves of the horses clattered over the loose stones, sending the water flying in all directions. Gregory, in better control of his mount, led the way at a brisk trot, turning round every now and again to make sure that Marion was following as closely as possible. There was no hope of her keeping up with him, however. Her driver pulled on the bridle and uttered fierce imprecations, but the horse had his own ideas and chief amongst these was his
dislike
of
getting
his feet wet.

‘
You
’
d better go ahead,
’
Gregory said as they were about to enter the Syq. He uttered a sharp command to the driver, who began to run again, tightening his hold on the leading rein. The water gushed through the narrow channel, not now very deep, but fast enough to worry the already agitated animal who clung to the edges, beneath the ove
r
hanging sides, bumping Marion badly as he went.

‘
Ou
’
a
!’
Gregory shouted at the driver.
‘
Shway, shway
!’

‘
What did you say?
’
Marion called back to him.

‘
I said take care and go a bit slower. He
’
ll have you off if you
’
re not careful!
’

But the warning came too late. Now badly frightened, the horse tossed his head, dragging the leading rein from the driver
’
s hand, and made a rush forward, seeking shelter at all costs. Marion could see the bulging rock ahead of her, but there was nothing she could do to avoid it. It hit her on the shoulder, knocking her clean out of the saddle and into the path of Gregory
’
s oncoming mount. She thought that there was no way in which he could avoid her as she staggered to her feet, but even as she was expecting to be ridden down, his hands reached out for her and lifted her clear, holding her tightly in front of him.

It was a long, breathless canter through the pass. Water cascaded down the purple sides, joining the
s
tream that flooded the rough floor. Now and again, the horse beneath them missed his footing, caught himself up with a deep, snorting breath, his nostrils flaring with hatred for this incomprehensible phenomenon, which he had never experienced before and never wished to again.

‘I
got my way in the end,
’
Gregory said, laughing.
‘
Let that be a lesson to you, Marion Shirley. It will do you no good to hold out against me
!
’

She tried to ease the burden of her weight from the arm that held her, but he refused to give way, tightening his grip so that she could hardly breathe. She was wet and uncomfortable, but it was also a heaven of sorts to be held so closely against him that she could feel the hardness of his body, the ripple of each muscle as he moved in time to the horse
’
s gallop, and the quickening beat of his heart that was only exceeded by the high rate of her own.

When they gained the dam, he slowed his horse
’
s
pace to a trot and then t
o
a walk, allowing her to sit up a little straighter.

‘
Confess it, Marion, you
’
re not quite as indifferent as you pretend, are you?
’

‘
I don
’
t know what you mean,
’
she answered. Indifferent! No, she would never be indifferent again, but how could she be sure that he would ever feel the same way?

He gave her a warning tap.
‘
One of these days I
’
ll
s
hake the truth out of you! Shy you may be, but you
’
ll have to get it together sooner or later, and I mean to be there when you do!
’

He swung her down on to her own feet and jumped down beside her, turning his horse over to the waiting Bedouin owner, searching in his pocket for a few coins to pay for his ride.

Marion blinked as the rain began to come down again. Her knees trembled as she tried to walk up the slope towards the Rest House, rushing away from Gregory
’
s potent presence as fast as she could go.

‘
Marion, where have you
been
?’
Lucasta
’
s voice accosted her from the entrance to the reception rooms.
‘
Whatever made you go anywhere in this rain?
’

‘
I was looking for you,
’
Marion remembered. It seemed a long time since her panic over the younger girl
’
s disappearance.

‘
With Gregory?
’
Lucasta
’
s eyes danced with curiosity.
‘
Does he fancy you, do you think?
’

Marion sniffed, holding her hands tightly together.

‘
Why do you ask?
’
she enquired. She stood absolutely still as she did in class when she was afraid that it was getting away from her.
‘
Does it look like it?
’

‘
Well, no,
’
Lucasta admitted, disappointed.
‘
But I was hoping that Denise might have reason to think so. She wants Gregory to get in touch with her
at once
!
I don
’
t think she appreciated his walking out on her, and she
’
s waiting for him at the castle. Stand by to watch the fur fly when we get there! Gaston says
she
’
s got a very nasty temper, and if he were Gregory, he wouldn
’
t go home at all! She shrugged her shoulders, half in awe and half in admiration for her uncle.
‘
But it takes an awful lot to face Gregory. If anyone can cope with her, he will
!
’
She put a friendly hand on Marion
’
s arm, gasping as she felt that her sweater was wringing wet.
‘
Wouldn
’
t it be great if he sent Denise packing once and for all?
’