Stars Over Sarawak (16 page)

 'I can't go on the beach today,' she was saying the following morning. 'Let's go somewhere else.'

 'Of course, dear.'

 She felt unhappy because Andrew was so obliging and she knew she was selfish in keeping him from the beach. But the sight of the snake was so revolting that the very mention of the beach was enough to make her shudder. However, on the Thursday she did decide that she must study Andrew more, so they took a packed lunch with the intention of remaining by the sea for the whole of the day. To Roanna's surprise she managed to keep Carl out of her mind and in consequence she was able to enjoy the sun and sea and the quiet talks she had with Andrew. But she was still puzzled by his manner, for he still became preoccupied now and then, as if he was a long way from her.

 'Come on in again,' he invited, springing to his feet after half an hour or so of lying in the sun trying to acquire a tan. 'I'll race you to the water!'

 He waited for her to get to her feet, but her gaze was suddenly fixed on the two men who had just come on to the shore. Carl and Malcolm ... They saw her and waved; she responded, and then she was running alongside Andrew and they entered the water together.

 'It's wonderful and warm!' Andrew was thoroughly enjoying himself, calling to her to join him in the deeper water. But she preferred to remain close to the shore and eventually he began swimming strongly towards her.

 And then it happened. Every pore in her skin seemed to contract, drawing it tight as, glancing down to see what it was that had wrapped itself round her leg, Roanna saw the sea-snake. Her scream rang out and, seeing what had caused it, Andrew increased his speed. At the same time Carl raced along the shore with the speed of a professional runner, Malcolm following not too far behind. Andrew reached her first and bravely made to take hold of the snake's head, his intention being to drag the creature away, but even as he touched the head Carl with an almost savage blow knocked his hand away and, taking hold of the snake at the end of its body, he pulled it off and flung it into the sea.

 Apart from that occasion when she had been hit on the head by a branch of the falling tree, Roanna had never fainted in her life, but now everything before her began to spin. Carl's grim face began to contort; she was conscious of his arms being flung out as she swayed on her feet, then blackness swept in like a sea of ink and she remembered no more until she opened her eyes and found herself lying on her bed in the hotel, a cover over her. Carl was there, with Andrew and Malcolm. Another man smiled at her, a Chinese with a bag in his hand. He spoke to her in perfect English.

 'You are well. It was nothing, as it happens.' He put a hand to her head and nodded, satisfied. 'I was just going, anyway, so I will say good-bye.'

 'Good-bye — you're a doctor?' It was all coming back, so very clearly now. 'The snake didn't bite me, then?'

 The man threw out a hand in Carl's direction.

 'You are lucky to have escaped. Had anyone got hold of the snake's head, and squeezed it as one's instinct tells one to do, so as to get a grip in order to remove the offending object, then you would have been injected with sufficient poison to kill ten strong men. Nothing could have saved you.'

 The man said good-bye again and left. Malcolm closed the door behind him. Moving over to it, Carl opened it again.

 'I thought you were just going down for a drink,' he said, in a casual enough voice, but for the first time Roanna was hearing him give an order to one of his staff. 'You look as if a stiff whisky wouldn't come amiss,' he added with a hint of amusement, and Malcolm laughed, and departed, Carl remained with the door in his hand, his eyes travelling to Andrew. 'Perhaps you'd like to join my colleague in the lounge?'

 Andrew was embarrassed; Roanna saw this and felt she must say something to ease the situation. In any case, it was Carl who should be leaving. However, she could not bring forth the right words and she heard herself saying,

 'Thank you, Carl. Once again you've saved my life.'

 'Yes, dear,' was his surprising response, 'and I must admit that I'm becoming a little tired of saving you for someone else. There used to be an old saying by one of the tribes here that if a person saved another's life three times, then he could claim that person as his own property—' His glance sought out Andrew again. 'You've had a shock, Mr. Hulse; I'm sure that you also would benefit from a double whisky,' and Carl did no more than sweep an arrogant hand towards the door which he still held open.

 Andrew went slowly towards the bed.

 'Roanna,' he said quietly and gravely, 'do you love this man?'

 Her lip began to tremble and she wanted to cry.

 'I'm so sorry, Andrew. How did you know? Did I say something when I was unconscious?'

 He shook his head. And he breathed deeply, expanding his chest visibly.

 'No, and I didn't even guess till now, when I saw the look you gave him—'

 'The look? No, I didn't—'

 'Andrew says you did,' broke in Carl smoothly. 'And I know he's right, for I saw it myself. That's why I'm telling him to go.'

 'The look,' began Andrew again. 'It wasn't just a thank you for saving your life, Roanna; it was the sort of look you have never given to me.'

 She bit her lip till it hurt.

 'I'm so sorry—'

 'There's no need to be,' he cut in swiftly. 'You see, Roanna, I discovered, when you'd gone, that I was managing so well without you that I couldn't possibly be in love with you.'

 She stared at him.

 'Then why did you come here?'

 'Honour. I thought that you cared for me and I couldn't let you down. I'd have married you, dear, because I couldn't have hurt you by throwing you over.' He paused, but of course there was nothing for her to say. 'You have no idea what a relief it was just now—' He broke off and breathed deeply again. 'I—'

 'Malcolm will be waiting,' intervened Carl in a very soft tone. 'Roanna and I will join you both later.' He glanced at his watch. 'At five o'clock,' he added. 'We'll all have tea together.'

 'Five o'clock?' repeated Andrew, making for the door. 'But it's not yet three.'

 'We've a lot to do,' rejoined Carl cryptically, and closed the door behind him. 'Well, that's that,' he said with satisfaction as, turning, he stood for a moment with his back to the door, staring at Roanna across the room. 'Have you anything to say?'

 'Andrew ... I'm so glad he's not hurt.'

 'Can he be hurt?' with that sardonic intonation in his voice. 'He appears totally insensible to me.'

 A pained expression crossed her face.

 'Why be so unkind?'

 'I'm not; he can't hear me.' A pause and then, 'It took him long enough to discover that he didn't love you. I knew it right away.'

 'How could you?'

 'My dear girl,' he returned with some asperity, 'what man allows the girl he loves to go off all on her own to a place at the other side of the world?'

 'He's different from you—'

 'I'm different from him, you mean. Yes, by God I. am! I'd like to see you try to go off on your own again !'

 Roanna's head came up from the pillow for a second.

 'Aren't you taking rather a lot for granted? I haven't said I'll marry you !'

 'I haven't asked you to marry me,' he couldn't help retorting, and was gratified to see the colour rush to her face.

 'Well,' she managed after a while, 'even if you did I

 — I ...'

 'Yes?' with a sudden glint in his eye. 'Yes, Roanna? Do continue; I'm exceedingly interested.'

 'I think you know what I was about to say.' Carl murmured in a very soft tone,

 'Do you remember once having received a good hiding from me, Roanna?'

 Her colour deepened. She said after a while,

 'I expect I deserved it, but—'

 'And you'll deserve another if you so much as dare to compare me with that scoundrel Rolfe Barrett! You'll not only deserve another but you'll get one.' She said nothing and he added, 'Give me one reason for classing me with him — just one!'

 'You don't understand, Carl,' she faltered, looking pleadingly at him. 'I'm so afraid. You see, you're strong and big and — and you wouldn't be — be — gentle with me?'

 A silence fell on the room, and lasted for several long and pregnant moments.

 'Get off that bed,' he ordered at last. 'There isn't anything wrong with you.' But he was there for all that, ready to support her should she still be feeling giddy. And had she been she knew instinctively that he would have put her back at once. But her legs were steady beneath her and she was already on them when she realized that she wore only her bikini.

 'Oh!' She would have got back beneath the cover, but she was not allowed to do so. 'My dressing gown,' she pleaded, and after a moment's hesitation he glanced around. 'It's in the wardrobe,' she told him, and a few seconds later he was helping her into it.

 'And now,' he said taking her unresistingly into his arms, 'we'll see whether or not I can be gentle.'

 It was a long while later that, holding her away from him, he said the one short word,

 'Well?' and Roanna gave a shaky little laugh.

 'You see,' she tried to explain, 'that night—'

 'The one when you almost lost your honour?' he cut in teasingly.

 Roanna naturally allowed this to pass without comment.

 'That night,' she began again, 'your kisses weren't like these—'

 'These?'

 'Those— Oh, Carl,' she protested as he started to laugh, 'I'm trying to explain!'

 'Sorry, darling. I'm listening.' But he did not seem to be, because his lips were exploring her throat and her shoulder and then they actually found the tip of her nose.

 'Your kisses that night were so rough—'

 'Not rough,' he hotly denied, 'merely ardent.'

 'Yes, ardent, then—'

 'They'll be ardent again, thousands of times.'

 'But you hurt me — gripping me hard.'

 To her astonishment Carl laughed again.

 'What are you trying to do, my love? Convince me that marriage between us is impossible? If so, then please don't waste my time. I have a much more pleasant way of spending it.'

 'You're incorrigible!'

 'And you're adorable!' And now she was swung almost off her feet and neither his kiss nor his embrace was any longer gentle. As on that night in the jungle she was carried along on the tide of his passion, but this time there was no fear to put into her the strength to resist. Willingly she gave him her lips, and after a longtime he uttered a great sigh and said, 'Perhaps we'd better make it four o'clock, after all. For I'm having the greatest difficulty in resisting you, my love.'

 Alarmed, she drew away, then saw that curve of amusement touch the side of his mouth.

 'You're teasing me,' she accused, but relief edged her voice.

 'When will you marry me?' he asked after he had kissed her again. Something wonderful welled up inside her, preventing speech. Misunderstanding her silence, Carl said, his voice and manner grave now, in the more familiar way to which she was used,

 'Darling, this fear must be overcome. Did your husband love you?'

 You know he didn't; I told you the reason for my marriage.'

 'I do love you, and that's the thing you've to remember.' Deeply and tenderly he looked into her eyes, eyes no longer covered by that smoky veil, nor would they ever be again. 'Do you think I could hurt the one I love above anyone in the world?' He shook his head and, without giving her the opportunity of answering him he went on, 'It would be impossible for me to do so.' He spoke then of the incident when he had inflicted pain on her. 'It was the result of fear, my love, fear that the snake would strike and you'd die. You see, I'd already learned to love you, and as I stood there I could for one terribly agonizing moment see you dead, killed by the snake. When eventually the danger was past my reaction was a fury against you for giving me such a fright. I'm sorry, my dearest,' he whispered, his lips caressing hers. 'I swear to you I'll never again hurt you like that.'

 She buried her face in his shoulder and repeated that she had deserved it.

 'But at the time I didn't know it was love,' she added. 'And so the fact that you'd hit me only strengthened my conviction that you'd be cruel, like—'

 'We'll not mention him again, Roanna,' he cut in, and now his voice was stern-edged, quite sufficiently so to bring a quiver to her lips. Noting it, Carl softened instantly and drew her close into his arms. 'Dearest,' he said tenderly, 'tell me — promise me — that you'll never be afraid.'

 'I promise, Carl. I know you'll never hurt me.'

 'And you'll marry me soon — very soon?'

 'Just whenever you like,' was her eager rejoinder.

 'Within the week, then.'

 'Oh — I forgot I Andrew—'

 'I sincerely hope you've forgotten Andrew—'

 'He's still here.'

 'Downstairs, drinking whisky with Malcolm. What of it?'