Island for Dreams (24 page)

Juan proposed the toast to the happy couple and Jony in reply let it be known that the party was also a farewell to his housekeeper who was leaving him at the end of the month to go to reside with her sister on the mainland. He caught Nora
’
s eye as he said it and his smile was wholly for her.

On the way home in the car they were extremely polite to each other, Nora almost completely silent and speaking only when she had to. She had been too wretched to realise at the farm that it had once been Jed Kelly
’
s home and there had been so much she had wanted to see which would bring the personality of the man closer. Now she would never know, since she had no intention of ever coming to the island again. It would be too painful. She could rent the flat until she decided what to do with it.

Back in the flat she announced that she was going to bed, then paused, realising that it was probably the last time she would see Juan since she was going the next morning while he was out. Her plane did not leave until noon. But he did not look at her and she walked slowly to her room.

But going to bed was one thing, going to sleep was another. The lump in her chest might have been indigestion by the way it insisted on swelling—her own fault for forcing herself to eat food when she had nurtured no appetite for it.

In the end she decided to get up and make a warm drink. Her watch said three o
’
clock, so there was no likelihood of
J
uan being up.

Flitting noiselessly to the kitchen, Nora put some milk into a pan and stared at it unseeingly while she waited for it to heat up. She had to keep blinking away the tears that blurred her vision as events crowded in on her which somehow began to be unbearable. Unreasonably she found herself blaming Jed Kelly
’
s will for bringing her unhappiness. If it had not been for Jed she would not have met Juan, she would not be in the impossible position she was now in, and she certainly would not have been feeling unhappy.

The milk boiled over and she mopped it up before trailing back to her room with what was left of the milk. But by the time she had reached her room she felt the lump in her throat too constricting for her to attempt to swallow the drink. Putting it down on the table, she crumpled on her bed and wept.

Her pent-up emotions came out in a flood of tears. With her face buried in her pillow she gave way to her utter misery. So upset was she that it was some moments before she heard the peremptory tap on the door.

‘
Are you all right, Nora?
’
Juan called.
‘
There
’
s a smell of burning. What
’
s going on?
’

Nora tried to stop a dry sob being audible.
‘
Go away! I was heating some milk and it boiled over,
’
she cried.

‘
Are you ill?
’
The next moment he was in the room, taking in her recumbent form and the cup of milk on the bedside table.
‘
My poor sweet!
’
he said, sitting down on the bed and touching her shoulder.

Nora
’
s reaction was to burrow her face deeper into her pillow.

‘
Go away,
’
she repeated.

‘
I know how you
’
re feeling,
’
he said, turning her over gently on her back.
‘
I had a touch of indigestion myself earlier on.
’
He smiled.
‘
I didn
’
t feel like eating much myself at Jony
’
s this evening.
’

Nora forgot that her face was blotched and shiny with weeping. If it did not hurt so much it would really be funny. She wanted to tell him so much of her love for him and he was putting her distress down to indigestion
!
Despairingly she laid an arm across her eyes.

‘
Go away
!
’
she wailed.
‘
Please go away.
’

Juan pushed the bright hair damp with sweat from her hot forehead gently.

‘
My poor sweet
!
I can
’
t call Cissy for help this time,
’
he said in gentle tones.
‘
But...
’

Suddenly it was all too much for poor Nora. With a violent movement she swept his hand away.

‘
Damn Cissy, damn you, damn everybody!
’
she cried furiously.
‘
Get out and leave me alone
!’

For one terrifying breathless moment she saw his face harden, the dark eyes probe her distorted face. Then his mouth lifted at the
corner
s as he bent his head to claim her mouth. His arms went around her and as the magic got through to her Nora gave herself up to the ecstasy of being kissed hungrily and passionately by Juan. When at last he could tear himself away from her lips he moved his mouth to the side of her neck and groaned.

‘
My poor sweet! I
’
m just begi
n
ning to realise the kind of thing you
’
ve been going through, something that can
’
t be cured by bicarb. I
’
ve been in a little private hell myself these last few days wondering what on earth had happened to me. While I
’
ve been on the island I
’
ve been trying to clinch a deal with a millionaire who
’
s interested in our products.
’

He raised eyes dark with need and smiled down at her sadly.

‘
The way I went about it scared me. I
’
m sure the man looked at me as some kind of nut who
’
d got where I am in the business world through sheer luck. I kept calling him Nora—which goes to show how far gone I am about you.
’

He was kissing her neck, his lips moving down urgently into softer flesh. Nora lay perfectly still as his words got through to her. She was dreaming, of course. It was not true. But the weight of his hard body was true enough, so were his lips. And her heart was beating loud enough to wake her from the deepest sleep.

He went on,
‘
What I
’
m trying to say, my sweet, is that I love you to distraction.
’
He lifted his head again to gaze down tenderly into her bewildered face.
‘
Not putting this very well, am I? I can do it much better this way.
’

And indeed he did. Nora simply had to return his kisses in a delirium of happiness. It was a long time before he gave way to the pressure of her hands on his chest.

‘
You
’
ve guessed that ... I love you, haven
’
t you?
’
she gasped on breath regained.

‘
Now I have. Why didn
’
t you let me know before?
’
he demanded.
‘
The state I
’
ve been in since we returned from Jony
’
s place
!
I undressed and lay on the top of the bed, restraining myself from coming in to you. One move from you and I was sunk. I thought I heard you go to the kitchen, then I smelled the overspill of milk on the cooker and thought you were ill.
’

Nora said unsteadily,
‘
You aren
’
t feeling sorry for me, are you, because you know how I feel about you?
’

‘
Hell, no! I
’
ve been feeling too sorry for myself. I love you so much that I
’
ve had nightmares about losing you. I forced you to go to Jony
’
s party with the idea that some of their happiness would soften you towards me. Now tell me why you were crying.
’

She touched his face tenderly, lovingly.
‘
I was crying because I love you and you couldn
’
t seem to care less. All that stuff about not wanting to see the same face at breakfast each morning. And you were
so sure you were happy as you were?
’

‘
I am happy—very happy—as your husband.
’

Nora had to lower her eyes from the look in his.
‘
But you always treated me like
Aimée
,
’
she whispered.
‘
I suppose it will take some time for us to
... adjust ourselves to
... marriage?
’

He grinned at her heightened colour, and kissed her nose.

‘
A terrible long time. As long as it takes me to carry you to your own room—our room.
’

He was suddenly teasing and vital. All the old arrogance was back as he scooped her bodily into his arms and bore her away.

It was a long time later when Nora reluctantly stirred herself in the curve of his arm as he lay beside her.

‘
I hope you don
’
t really believe I gave you this room with the ulterior motive of sharing it with you?
’
she said.

Juan chuckled.
‘
Talking about ulterior motives! I deliberately got you drunk the other evening on champagne to get you into bed with me. But I told myself that I didn
’
t want you that way. You had to love me as much as I love you.
’

He pulled her into his arms.
‘
I
’
ve another confession to make—I cancelled your flight back home. The airport rang up on the day you
’
d gone there. It was just before you returned to the flat in the evening. There was a cancellation for the next day.
’

‘
You double-crosser!
’
she cried.
‘
Whatever shall I do with you?
’

‘
I
’
ll show you,
’
he murmured, stifling her soft laugh with the passionate pressure of his lips. He did in the nicest possible way and her arms slid around his neck in complete capitulation.