The Desert Castle (35 page)

‘
Well,
I’
d better be off,
’
Gaston said at last. He hugged Lucasta to him, planting a kiss on her ear and bidding her to behave herself as well as she was able. She snuggled her face against his neck and sighed in despair at the thought of spending a few days without him.

M
arion turned her eyes away, a little envious of their unselfconscious expression of their feelings. She tugged
at her hand and, winning it free from Gregory
’
s clasp, held it tightly with her other one against her breast. If she made her escape now, she thought, no
on
e would miss her they were all so intent on their own affairs. She tip-toed towards the door and almost had her hand on the door-handle when Gregory scooped her casually back to his side.

‘
I shouldn
’
t, if I were you,
’
he warned her.

‘
But I don
’
t want to see Denise again,
’
she whispered.
‘
I
’
ll come back as soon as
sh
e
’
s gone.
’

‘
Promise?
’

She nodded, crossing her fingers behind her back. Nothing would induce her to leave the sanctuary of her room once she had gained it!

She felt little better than a traitor when he opened the door for her and stood in the doorway watching her as she fled away from him as fast as her feet would take her. It was surely better this way, though, she comforted herself. He and Lucasta would surely find her
de trop
while they discussed plans for Lucasta
’
s wedding and decided how her parents should be told of her forthcoming marriage, they were family, and she—? She wasn
’
t anything in particular to either of them!

She stood in the centre of her bedroom and her eyes went straight to the little painted
houri
on the wall
. It
was her imagination, of course, but the
hour
i’
s
timidity seemed to hide a blaze of happiness that she had never noticed before. Nor was she looking at the approaching troops, not that she ever had, she was looking in the opposite direction, towards the door. How strange that Marion had never noticed that before either.

How long she stood there, rooted to the spot, she didn
’
t know, but she was
s
till there when a
slight
noise at the door made her turn her head and Gregory walked in.

‘
Did you knock?
’
she demanded.

‘
Did you expect me to?
’
He came and stood beside
her.
‘
I knew you both would be waiting for me,
’
he went on in a tone of voice she had never heard before.
‘
Is it my imagination, or is your image looking distinctly less timid?
’

‘
I thought so too,
’
she admitted. The funny thing was that she felt less shy herself, considerably so, she was even beginning to feel decidedly pleased with herself.
‘
I thought it was because I was beginning to get to know her better. I can see the whole fresco from my bed.
’

H
is mouth curved into a smile.
‘
I know. Before you came I used to sleep in here myself.
’

T
hat destroyed her new-found confidence at a blow.

‘
Did you? But you couldn
’
t see much of her before I cleaned her up.
’

‘
No?
’

S
he swallowed down the doubt that he was teasing her.
‘
Could you?
’

‘
I liked to know she was there. I talked to her quite a lot, at night just before I went to sleep, and in the morning.
’

M
arion attempted a small smile.
‘
Did she answer you back?
’

‘
I was never sure whether she would or not. I had to wait until I met the original girl to find out
.
’

‘
Me?
’

H
e nodded gravely.
‘
You, Miss Marion Shirley. I couldn
’
t believe my eyes when I saw you in that classroom—
’

‘
You shouldn
’
t have been there. You sat there, looking disapproving and making me nervous, and I didn
’
t like you at all!
’

‘
I didn
’
t
like
you either—
’

‘
I knew that
!
’
she declared, tossing her head.
‘
You weren
’
t at all friendly! As long as I cleaned your frescoes for you, you didn
’
t care at all about
me
!
But I have feelings too, you know! It hurt very much that you didn
’
t like me. People usually find me quite
tolerable—
I
don
’
t remember anyone disliking me before! And I tried hard to make you think I wasn
’
t as bad as you thought—
’

‘
I think you
’
re beautiful, darling,
’
he said,
‘
but I didn
’
t want you for a friend.
’
He put his arms round her and drew her close.
‘
Didn
’
t you ever guess, my little
houri,
that I am in love with you?
’

‘
There was Denise,
’
she pointed out.
‘
And Judith. And your sister was very firm about my not being good enough for you!
’

He looked amused.
‘
Did she tell you so? I
’
m surprised she dared! If she had seen you in action just now with Denise, sailing into action like a pocket battleship, she would have thought twice before she took you on!
’

It was very comfortable leaning against his chest and she put her hands over his, holding them closely against her in case he should step away from her.

‘
You looked so tired,
’
she murmured.
‘
When we stopped for lunch, I thought I had never seen anyone look so tired.
’

‘
My trip to Petra hadn
’
t been quite as rewarding as I had hoped,
’
he said gently.
‘
You were worried about Lucasta and you weren
’
t thinking of me at all.
’

‘
Did you really come all that way to be with me?
’
Marion stirred, burying her face in his shoulder.
‘
I wouldn
’
t let myself believe it in case—in case you had had another reason for coming. You should have told me! All you ever said was that you wouldn
’
t be my friend, and you wouldn
’
t take me to Petra yourself, and I was afraid to let myself hope it might be anything more, that you might have wanted to be with me too.
’

‘
My dear girl, the thought of your face lighting up when you saw me kept me going through every natural disaster that could befall me on that journey. I hadn
’
t anticipated that you would draw the curtains and shut me out in the dark!
’

‘
I
’
ve never been more glad to see anyone!
’
she
blurted out.
‘
I thought you knew and that you were trying to let me down gently. It was a terribly lonely feeling.
’

‘
But now you know better? That you have me at your feet and I love only you? Marion, my darling, how could you think that once I had found my own
houri
to keep me happy throughout eternity, I should want any other?
’

‘
You mean, you didn
’
t know?
’
She raised her face to his, her eyes wide with wonder.
‘
Lucasta knew.
Everyone
knew!
’

He kissed her very gently on the lips.
‘
Knew what?
’
He kissed her again.

‘
That I love you. I love you very much. I think I always have, only when I saw you that day in London, I didn
’
t know it was you. I got all your books out of the library and it grew inside me as though the seed had always been there, but it was only now growing to its full potential. It
’
s part of me, like the colour of my hair and—
’

‘
Your regrettable lack of inches?
’
he suggested.

She looked up at him through her eyelashes.
‘
It has certain advantages,
’
she said. He raised his eyebrows in mute enquiry, his grey eyes gleaming with laughter.
‘
I like it when you hold me tight and I can
’
t get free. I liked it very much in Petra.
’

‘You
didn
’
t look as though you did. You looked scared to death.
’

She chuckled.
‘
I daresay you
’
re right and I need practice,
’
she said, smilingly abandoning herself to the pressure of his hands.
‘
I
’
m a very slow learner,
’
she added, blushing a little at the way he was looking at her. Was she taking too much for granted?
‘I
wouldn
’
t be scared now,
’
she added.

‘
Are you sure?
’

She veiled her eyes with her lashes, peeping up at him through them.
‘
I
’
m almost sure,
’
she amended.

If his first kiss was experimental, as though he were
testing the ground, the second one was much less inhibited. Her mouth parted beneath his and she clutched at the collar of his shirt for support as he
s
wept her almost off her feet.

‘
Marry me, sweetheart?
’
he murmured against her
li
ps.
‘
Marry me very soon and we
’
ll share this room and talk to my little
houri
together. Will you be my delightful reward for the rest of our lives? I
think
you must, because I don
’
t know how I should live without you.
’

She pulled back out of his arms, her face flushed with happiness.
‘
I
’
d stay anyway, if you wanted me to,
’
she confessed
,
‘
but if you don
’
t mind very much I
’
d rather marry you. I
’
d like the whole world to know I belong to you—
’

He smiled and she thought she had never seen
him
look better or more handsome than he did at that moment
.

‘
Your fate was sealed when I first saw you. There you were, my little
houri
come to life and so much more of everything than the picture I knew so well on the wall. I determined then and there that you were going to be mine, no matter what I had to do to persuade you. We will get married with as much pomp and ceremony as I can contrive, because nothing less will do for me either
!
’