Wealth of the Islands (19 page)

She longed to be as enthusiastic as he was, but she couldn
’
t be. She had to remember Michael and what he had meant to her. She had to remember that he was the reason why she had come to the Melonga Islands and why she was diving at all.

“
Are you coming to Miss Corrigan
’
s party?
”
she asked him shyly, to change the subject.

“
I gather we
’
re to be invaded by Americans, so I think not,
”
he said dryly,
“
They
’
ll turn the whole thing into a fake Hawaiian Hollywood musical!
”

Helen giggled.
“
Peter calls them the
“
blue rinse tourists
’
,
”
she
told him.
“
I don
’
t think he
’
s expecting
anyone younger than retiring age! But I don
’
t see Miss Corrigan allowing anyone to ruin her party, do you
?”

He laughed.
“
No, I don
’
t,
”
he admitted.
“
What does Peter plan to do with all these people when they do come?
”

Helen stood up, stretching her stiff muscles.
“
He doesn
’
t know!
”
she chuckled.
“
He
’
s at his wits
’
end now. Goodness knows what it will be like when they actually arrive!
”

Gregory grunted.
“
At least I shan
’
t have to be around to see,
”
he said.
“
You can take me out on the
Sweet Promise
tomorrow. It will give me a chance to see how my leg
’
s behaving.
”
He gave her shoulder a mild pat.
“
Don
’
t look so horrified,
”
he added,
“
I
’
m not planning to dive, but I
’
ll go mad cooped up here much longer
!”

It gave her a nice warm feeling that at least they had that in common, but she wouldn
’
t let herself respond to his friendliness. More and more recently she had had to
cl
ing to the memory of Michael, and she felt she would be a traitor if she forgot him now. When they were out at sea, she promised hers
el
f, she would ask him about Michael and why he had died, and then she could bury his memory for ever. Perhaps, she thought, she would ask him tomorrow.

“
I
’
ll see you in the morning, at the jetty?
”
she said uncertainly.

“
Nothing will keep me away!
”
he said.

She smiled just as the door burst open and Anita came in, a disapproving look on her face.
“
You
’
ll have to leave, H
el
en,
”
she said in an important voice.
“
Can
’
t you see you
’
re tiring him
?
”

The world was still and strang
el
y silent when Helen stood on the jetty the next morning, waiting for Gregory. No bird sang. Even the sea had gathered itself into a brooding silence and the friendly sound of the light waves lapping against coral sand was noticeable by its
absence. The bamboo jetty creaked as Helen walked along it and she was peculiarly aware that it was only the surrounding silence that made her so aware of it. The
Sweet Promise
looked strange too and not quite real. She was badly in need of a coat of paint, Helen noticed, but bathed in early morning light, she looked romantic and lovely. Her furled sails were deep red, wet as they were from dew, and her white-painted sides looked pearly pink as they reflected the rising sun.

Gregory arrived on a pair of crutches that Na-Tinn had made for him. Anita had carefully cushioned the parts that fitted under his arms with foam rubber, and he was already pretty adept at using them.

“
I expected you to be on board,
”
he said to Helen.

She stood there, awkwardly, wondering how best to help him.
“
Can you manage?
”
she asked at last.

Gregory looked over his shoulder.
“
Anita is coming to help me,
”
he told her.
“
She wants to see what the
Sweet Promise
is like anyway. Hadn
’
t you better get on board and see that everything is shipshape?
”

Helen felt decidedly unwanted as she jumped on to the narrow deck that was still wet and slippery from the dew, and went forward to check that she had enough cylinders of compressed air and everything else that she would need. The number of cylinders was dangerously low, she thought, but the new supplies had not yet come. She would not be able to stay down for very long on what she had, but perhaps it was just as well, for she hated the thought of leaving Anita too long alone with Gregory. She told herself that her sister-in-law would soon be bored with nothing particular to do, but it wasn
’
t quite that that made her reluctant to be gone for long. She just didn
’
t like much the thought of the two of them being alone together.

When she came back to the cabin, both Gregory and Anita had come on board. She could hear their voices long before she went down the companionway, arguing as to whether it was too early for Anita to make them
all some tea. The stillness all about them was unnatural H and set Helen
’
s nerves on edge. It was as if the whole of nature was waiting, but waiting for what? She tried to dismiss the matter from her mind, but she still felt taut and uneasy as she hurried down the steps to see how Gregory had stood the business of getting on board.

“
I think tea would be a good idea,
”
she said when she saw him. He looked pale and in pain to her.

“
Then you can make it,
”
Anita said tartly.

Helen turned on the Calor gas and lit the burner from
the
box of matches
she
saw on the table.

“
Have you put in the order for more compressed air?
”
she asked Anita over her shoulder.
“
We
’
re getting low
.
We need some helium too. Did Peter tell you? If we do any deep diving we
’
ll need to mix helium in with the oxygen. I just wish we had a decompression chamber
that we could sling over the side for when we come up
.”

Anita refused to look at her.
“
I didn
’
t think there was any hurry,
”
she muttered.

“
No hurry!
”
Helen repeated.
“
Of course there
’
s a hurry! If that frigate rocks about much more on that shelf, it
’
ll fall off and then we
’
ll never get the gold up. It will be lost for ever!
”

Anita
s
hrugged.
“
Gregory won
’
t be diving for a while yet,
”
she said smugly.
“
Will you?
”
she said to him, seeking his confirmation.
“
Helen can
’
t do anything alone, can she?
”

“
Does that mean that the order hasn
’
t been put in?
”
he asked, civilly enough.

“
Well, Peter did say he didn
’
t think there was any hurry,
”
Anita defended herself sulkily.
“
You always pick on me!
”
she added sourly.

Helen gasped, exasperated beyond measure.
“
I haven
’
t said anything yet,
”
she warned her.
“
If I were you, I
’
d wait until I really get started on you!
”

Gregory struggled painfully to his feet.
“
Leave her alone, Helen,
”
he said.
“
You could have put in the order yourself if you
’
re really worried!
”

“
But that
’
s what you
pay
her for!
”
Helen insisted.

“
Then you can leave it to me to see that I get my money
’
s worth,
”
he retorted.
“
For heaven
’
s sake, stop bickering, and get on with making the tea!
”

Helen did so in a stony silence. She had been going to mention the peculiar stillness of the world up on deck, but now she thought better of it. She wouldn
’
t talk to either of them if
s
he didn
’
t have to! She drank her tea in great gulps, the scalding liquid settling in a great hot ball on her stomach. She haughtily refused to sit down when Gregory invited her to do so, reminding him that
someone
had to go up on deck and take the
Sweet Promise
out of the harbour.

“
Are you sure you can manage?
”
he asked her dryly, so that she couldn
’
t be sure if he was joking or not.

“
I
’
ve been managing all week!
”
she reminded him swiftly.

He smiled faintly, wincing at the pain in his leg.
“
Well, I hope you manage it today,
”
he said.
“
I want to be back for Miss Corrigan
’
s party tonight, even if you don
’
t!
”

Helen forbore to reply. It was a long time since she had felt so angry, or indeed so
humiliated
when she had done nothing to deserve it, or nothing that she could see. She was glad to get back up on deck, even though there was not a breath of wind anywhere to fill the sails. They would have to use the engine all the way, she thought, and Gregory would probably find fault with that as well. It would all be
her
fault, of course! She could see it now even before it happened!

Taine-Mal grinned at her cheerfully.
“
Ready to go?
”
he asked her.
“
It
’
s good to have the Boss back on board!
”

“
Yes, we
’
re ready to go,
”
Helen agreed grumpily.

The Polynesian looked at her with laughing eyes.
“
I
can see that the typhoon has already arrived in your heart!
”
he told her.

Helen grunted.
“
Meaning what?
”
she asked him.

He pointed out to the sea.
“
You see how calm and still it is,
”
he said.
“
A
nd
on the Islands too, there is no wind today. And it is quiet. Too quiet to be ordinary. Did you not notice?
”

Helen was immediately concerned.
“
Yes, I noticed,
”
she said.
“
But I hadn
’
t realised that it meant anything. Does it really mean a typhoon?
”

Taine-Mal shrugged.
“
Too early to tell,
”
he admitted.

“
Perhaps we
sh
ouldn
’
t go out today?
”
Helen suggested uncomfortably.

“
Okay to go out now,
”
he answered her.
“
Today, nothing; tomorrow, maybe nothing; next day, probably something
!”

Helen tugged nervously at her fingers.
“
Then we ought to get the gold up before then,
”
she
said.
“
That ship will never stay on the ledge through a storm, let alone a typhoon
!”

Taine-Mal
’
s eyes grew dark and round.
“
You will tell the Boss,
”
he said flatly.

But Helen shook her head.
“
Not just now,
”
she
said firmly. She managed to refrain from adding that nothing would have induced her to say anything to Gregory just then. Taine-Mal wouldn
’
t understand that anyone might have reservations about passing on information to Gregory at any time, let alone when he had just come back from the jaws of death to go out with them.

“
Everyone will know at the party tonight,
”
the Polynesian said nonchalantly.
“
He
’
ll know!
”

“
If he comes up on deck, he
’
ll
be able to see for himself!
”
Helen added with a confidence she was far from feeling.

“
He
’
ll come,
”
he said.
“
He
’
ll come when he
’
s ready.
”

Helen started up the engines and watched for her moment to
s
lip the engine into gear as Na-Tinn cast off the ropes fore and aft. They slipped out of the harbour as easily as if Gregory himself had been at the controls. Helen grinned to herself, wishing that he could have been up on deck to see for himself. She had learned quite a lot about the
Sweet Promise
while he had been incapacitated. And she would learn more! She wanted to be a part of the ship as he was, to feel the water beneath her feet and the wind in her hair, to hear the slapping of the sails in the wind and to smell the salty tar smell of the ropes. Only in this weather they wouldn
’
t be able to haul up the sails at all. There wasn
’
t a breath of air to carry them.

Helen didn
’
t hear Gregory come up on deck. She was lost in a world of her own, full of dreams that she couldn
’
t for the life of her have described to anyone. So the shock of his sudden presence was all the greater, making the backs of her hands tingle and doing funny things to her breathing.