The Man at Mulera (34 page)

Another silence. Lou uncurled her fingers from the wheel and looked at the palm of her hand. It was
as
wet as
she felt under the raincoat. In fact, her whole body throbbed with damp heat, but her spirits had lifted a little.
“
I
’
m glad Paula won
’
t
have
Keith,
”
she said.

“
It
’
s nice that you
’
re glad,
”
was his cynical reply. And then, with a thread of iron in his tones,
“
What
’
s on with you and Greg again? I cleared
him
out.
”

“
We met by accident yesterday. He
thinks
I can help him make a decision.
”

“
Oh, sure. Anyone else can make their own decisions, but not Greg. He
’
s found someone who
’
s all sympathy for the weak, and he
’
s not going to let go till she refuses to be hoodwinked.
”
His tone changed.
“
You
’
re not to see Greg again—do you hear? Let him go back to forestry—if they
’
ll have
him.
”

“
You
’
re awfully hard, Ross. Greg could do a good job if he were helped. In time, he would have managed Mulera even to your satisfaction; you didn
’
t give him a chance.
”

“
I couldn
’
t keep him at Mulera. He made it impossible when he asked you to marry
him!
”

She half-turned to him.
“
I don
’
t see why
...
”
she began, and tailed off in fright at the darkness and fury of his expression.

“
Jab the knife right home and twist it,
”
he said tightly.
“
I still can
’
t decide whether you
’
re completely innocent of your own powers or using them for all you
’
re worth! You
’
ve resented every damn thing I
’
ve tried to do for you, given affection and sympathy to a man you couldn
’
t possibly love enough to marry. I can take just so much!
”

She lifted a nervous finger and wiped sweat from the side of her nose. Even in his anger Ross must have noticed the gesture. He pushed back the hood of her coat, told her to undo the buttons, and lifted the coat from her shoulders and laid it over the back of the seat. Then he wound up the window for several inches.
T
he turquoise frock left Lou
’
s shoulders bare except for the narrow straps. They were slim shoulders, and he seemed conscious of the heaviness of his own hand over the fine skin. His hand dropped, he studied her profile.
“
Haven
’
t you been sleeping?
”
he asked.

“
Oh, yes.
”

“
You haven
’
t much color.
”

She tried to smile, without looking at him.
“
What with the rain and the heat, I
’
ve lost my make-up.
”

Somehow, sarcasm got back into his voice.
“
Haven
’
t been pining for me, by any chance, have you?
”

Her mouth trembled, treacherously.
“
Are we going on to Vima?
”

“
Presently. There
’
s something I want to understand before we get moving. You
’
re different, Louise.
”

“
Am I?
”

He waited a minute before saying,
“
I
’
ll tell you why I didn
’
t send a wire to announce my departure from England. It occurred to me that Elinor might have taken over Keith—she
’
s been very keen to have him—and that the moment you knew I was on my way home you
’
d get yourself lost till the time came to take Keith back into the fold. Was I right?
”

Her silence answered him. He drew a breath, said with leashed violence,
“
It
’
s amazing what I know about you, isn
’
t it? Amazing that one person can learn so much about another without getting the same response! But we can
’
t go on for ever like this.
”

Roughly, he took her shoulders and turned her towards him. Then he saw the red swelling up near her hair line and grey eyes that were near to tears. His violence fell away, suddenly and almost completely. He drew her close, pressed his cheek to her temple and slipped fingers under her hair, to keep her there.

“
Tell me about it,
”
he said thickly.

She managed it, haltingly and in muffled tones, and ended,
“
I passed out, but not for long. But I daren
’
t go on driving till I was sure of myself, so I just sat there till I felt capable again. It doesn
’
t hurt much.
”
She gave a shaky laugh.
“
It was better than bumping the cow.
”

“
It was probably a buck. Even out here we shut up cows in bad weather. I keep a first-aid kit in the wagon. I
’
ll back up level so that you only have to step from this door into the seat
.
”

“
But we can
’
t abandon the coup
e
.
”

“
It
’
ll be all right
.
We
’
ll get it shipshape for Mrs. Bain tomorrow.
”

He managed the transfer swiftly, and with a gentleness that Lou tried to ignore. With her coat about her she slid
from the coup
e
into the estate car, and was relieved to find the air cool, the spacious interior empty. While he found an iodized dressing and fastened it over the graze, she watched his lean face with a wondrous dawning hope. He was so very gentle, actually winced himself as if the hurt were his.

He was closing the box and pushing it back into its compartment when he said offhandedly,
“
You
’
re beginning to realize that I
’
m in love with you, arent
’
you?
”

She was, yet the spoken words were a delicious shock.
“
Ross, I can
’
t believe it
.
We ... we
’
ve never got really close. It ... it seems
...
”

“
Yes, I know.
”
He sounded a little grim.
“
Every blamed thing was against us. But it
’
s true. It
’
s time we did get a little close—time you stopped using the rapier. I know I
’
ve been a brute occasionally, but somehow it wasn
’
t to be avoided. There were people all round us—troubles galore, and most of them didn
’
t concern us, though we had to be dragged into them. Even this afternoon you were on your way to Greg—risking your life for him. How could you, Lou
!
”

“
It wasn
’
t as bad as that
.
I really can
’
t help feeling sorry for him.
”
She stared at him, her cheeks hot
.
“
You ... you did say you love me, just now?
”

“
Yes, I said it!
”

“
You called me Lou, for the first time.
”

“
Did
I?
Have you any notion at all why
I’
ve
always called you Louise?
”

“
I thought it was to be different.
”

“
You were absolutely right
.
It made our relationship just slightly different from any other.
”
A pause.
“
It doesn
’
t make much impression, does it to know that I love you?
”

S
he quivered.
“
It goes so deep into me that
...
that I can
’
t speak about it
.
And it seems so utterly improbable. You
’
ve been so angry lately
...”

“
Hell! How much of it do you suppose I can stand? I
’
ve been badgered from all sides, and you yourself were battering at me almost up to the last minute before I left
.
”
He faced her, looking lean and dark-eyed.
“
I went away feeling as if I
’
d left my life behind—it was shatter
in
g.
”

She said breathlessly,
“
You look vital enough now. Oh, Ross
...”

He took her into his arms then, to demonstrate just how vital he could be. He was kissing her hard and hungrily, and each kiss sent wild tremors along her nerves.

At last she drew her head back, and looked at him with the rapt expression of one who knows she is in heaven and yet can
’
t entirely believe it. And Ross looked back at her with mounting passion in his eyes, the
i
ncredible, exultant passion of a lover.

“
I didn
’
t think you
’
d ever fall in love,
”
she whispered,
“
and never with me.
”

He laughed suddenly.
“
It
’
s certainly more tormenting than I expected, but I
’
m
th
ankful
to the roots that I
’
ve found you.
”

“
I
’
ve always thought of the antagonism between us as being fundamental. It was so real.
”

He let her relax a little in his arms.
“
It was Keith—didn
’
t you realize that? He brought us together, but you don
’
t marry because you
’
ve been made co-guardians of a child. And ever since you made your first impression on Martin Craddock I
’
ve had the horrible suspicion that you
’
d marry just to give Keith the right
kind
of a home.
”

“
It isn
’
t true. When Greg offered it
...”

‘
Tell me something,
”
he said a little tensely,
“
and be quite honest. Would you be prepared to let Elinor and George have Keith for good?
”

She looked straight at him.
“
It wouldn
’
t be right, would it?
”

“
If I demanded it, would you be prepared?
”
he repeated stiffly.

“
Yes ... yes, I would.
”

His laugh was a trifle unsteady.
“
All right, I
’
m not going to demand it. All I stipulate is that we get in a honeymoon while they
’
re in charge of
him.”

She did something she had never, even in dreams, conceived of as possible to Lou Prentice; she held his face in her hands.
“
I love you,
”
she said,
“
and I
’
ll always love Keith because he
’
s the reason I
’
m here. But the way I love you is impossible to explain. I
’
ve been so mixed up
...
and disgustingly jealous, I
’
m afraid.
”

He kissed her quickly.
“
I wanted you to be jealous—it got our feelings right away from Keith. Besides, I had my share—I even hated your stuffy Arnold Whatshisname in England.
”

“
Poor Arnold. He
’
ll marry someone obedient and never know what he
’
s missed in life. You know,
”
mischievously,
“
you and I don
’
t really agree on the upbringing of children.
”

“
We
’
ll get along, and besides, we shan
’
t start off on the job as we did with Keith—as strangers!
”
Her high color amused him, and he hugged her.
“
We
’
ll have wonderful times. I
’
ll take you up to the Mediterranean for a honeymoon, and when I
’
ve got a chap to run Mulera we
’
ll go over to England and see how Maudie
’
s going on. You have a brother I ought to meet, too.
”
He stopped, and his tone went casual.
“
By the way,
”
he said into her hair,
“
I told my aunt that I
’
m going to marry you.
”

“
You did?
”
She was very still, listening.

“
She was overjoyed.
”

“
That sounds a little tall. Your aunt was terribly keen for you to marry Paula Craddock.
”

“
She
’
s keen for me to marry, full stop. Paula was the only unattached woman who ever came to these parts, and over t
h
e years we drifted together. I
’
m not going to say I never thought of marrying her, I thought of it several times, because Martin kept hinting, as well as Maudie. I
’
d have liked to please both of them, but I just wasn
’
t in love with Paula.
”

“
Yet at Elinor
’
s wedding, Paula was so sure that she said she
’
d marry in October.
”

“
Look here, honey,
”
he said,
“
do you really want to hear the distasteful details? I
’
m willing to forget them.
”

“
If I know them, I can forget too. Please, Ross.
”

He shrugged, and put her back against the upholstery. His hand gestured.
“
Paula
’
s one of your
modern
types. When she
’
s made a decision and she needs co-operation she asks for it. After my aunt was fixed up in London, I kept a promise to Paula and went down to her country place. For about three hours, Paula, her manager and I were shut up in the house—it was raining almost as hard as this. Paula played us two men against each other—to me it was blatant, and I rather pitied Jim Mordaunt; he
’
s got a bad case for his employer, and I believe he
’
d already told her he wanted to marry her or get out
.
I decided to put
him
out of his misery.
”

“
How could you do that?
”

“
By mentioning, rather casually, that when I got back here I
’
d ask you to marry me.
”

Lou went pale.
“
Oh, good heavens. What did Paula do?
”

He grinned.
“
What do you suppose? She gave a delighted laugh that didn
’
t ring false at all, and said how peculiar, because she and Jim were getting married soon—in fact they
’
d chosen October. I knew it was a surprise to Jim, and suggested dr
inks
so that he shouldn
’
t appear too staggered. And that
’
s how we parted.
”