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As soon as they drove away from Red River homestead, he turned to her. 'What do you think you're playing at, coming out here like this?'

'You heard Persia. I wanted to talk to her about influencing Rick against the development.'

His lips tightened in condemnation. 'Against the development, or against Rick?'

She slumped, letting her seat-belt hold her upright. 'What does it matter? You'll believe what you want anyway. The fact that you came haring out here after me proves you still think you have to watch my every move.'

'Couldn't I be worried about you, for your own sake?'

The idea was so unlikely that she didn't even dignify it with an answer. Too vividly, she recalled his expression as he caught sight of the intimately placed birthmark which Rick already knew about. He would never believe she wasn't trying to win Rick back for herself.

The vehicle bumped and lurched over the rough road, making it a full-time job to remain upright. Still, Ben drove with an ease which Keri envied. He knew where he was going and could handle whatever terrain occurred along the way—in life, as well. Rough roads didn't bother him, nor rough passages in his life. He just drove roughshod over everything in his path. She sighed deeply. Right now, she was the obstacle getting in the way of his plans for his half-brother. What chance did she have of a fair hearing?

'It isn't working out the way you expected, is it?' Ben's husky voice broke into her thoughts.

She flicked her gaze sideways. 'What do you mean?'

'I spoke to Theo Strathopoulos today, about his plans for the area. I suppose you thought if you introduced Rick to Theo, he'd be so grateful that he'd fall all over you. Now it's backfired. You don't get Rick and the development goes ahead anyway.'

Her cry of protest was involuntary. 'No! It wasn't anything like that. I had no idea Theo was involved until he turned up at the crocodile farm. I wasn't hoping to buy Rick's favour, or anyone else's. Seeing this land developed is the last thing I want. I love it.'

He lifted his hands from the wheel long enough to applaud her silently. 'Convincingly put. But when I spoke to Theo this morning, he said you were the one who suggested he invest money in the Top End.'

'Yes, but in wildlife refuges and research, not casinos and resorts.'

'Maybe so, but he has his own ideas.'

'Theo always did,' she acknowledged. 'It's one of the reasons we couldn't be more than friends. He thinks men should make all the business decisions and we women should fall in with them.'

His knuckles whitened on the wheel. 'In that case, I'm sorry if I misjudged your role in this.'

'You did,' she confirmed quietly. 'I would never be a party to the destruction of the bush. I became a ranger to preserve the wilderness, not to destroy it.'

She shot him an urgent look of appeal. 'Isn't there something you can do to stop them?'

His gaze was fixed on the horizon, as he tried to pick a path for them through the choking clouds of bulldust filming the road. 'There's nothing, I'm afraid. The land belongs to Rick unless he calls off the wedding, which I don't think he's going to do. I'm sorry, Keri.'

'I know. I'm sorry for the way things have worked out,' he amended, surprising her. 'I should have let you go that first day we met up on Crocodile Creek, instead of dragging you into this mess. I guess I was hoping . . .'

Her breath tightened in her throat. 'Yes?'

'It isn't important now. Why don't you try and get some sleep? It's a long way back and you must be tired.'

She wasn't but she was defeated by his attitude. He persisted in thinking she had come back because of Rick. Granted, everything seemed to confirm this. Rick had made sure of it. But the truth was, she had come back because of Ben. Try as she might to tell herself she didn't want any repetition of the past where he was concerned, she couldn't keep away. He was in her blood, like a tropical fever, and there was no cure for his effect on her.

Dispiritedly, she took his advice and slid lower in the seat, letting the jolting movements lull her. There was no chance of drifting off to sleep as the vehicle bumped in. low gear one wheel at a time through the pandanus and into the six-foot spear grass. At times, the car disappeared and wallowed like a submarine in a sea of waving grass.

The shadows were lengthening by the time they crossed back on to Champion land, their passage watched by herds of steely-grey buffalo and the occasional pert-eared dingo which slunk off into the grass as soon as their engine approached. Once, Ben spotted some wild cattle sheltering under some low- slung bulwaddie, the spiky bush which they somehow knew put them out of reach of the stockmen. 'I'll have to send Nugget to round up that lot,' he told her when she sat up to see what was the matter.

She stretched, feeling her muscles protest at the cramped conditions. 'Have we far to go yet?'

'Another hour. We're almost at Crocodile Creek. Would you like to stop and stretch your legs?'

'Please,' she nodded eagerly. Her spine felt bruised from the continuous jolting movement.

At the creek she recognised her old campsite and bent down to brush away the ashes of her fire. It seemed an age since Ben had surprised her here and she had agreed to pretend to be engaged to him. 'I'll have to get back to work soon,' she said half to herself. 'My leave is almost up.'

'I suppose you'll be glad to get back.'

She turned as he came up behind her, watching the river over her shoulder. His nearness set her nerve-ends vibrating in sympathy and it was an effort not to lean backwards, into the shelter of his arms. 'I enjoy my work.'

'That wasn't what I asked.'

A barramundi broke the surface of the dark, mangrove-clad river below them and she watched the circles eddy out to the river's edge. Would she be glad to leave? She should be, since Ben obviously cared nothing for her. Still, she knew it would be a wrench to go, knowing that part of her would remain here with him. Like Persia, she couldn't stop loving just because the beloved was beyond reach. She could only carry on somehow, as Persia had made up her mind to do.

'You haven't answered my question.'

'I don't know the answer,' she said, her voice breaking a little. 'There's nothing to keep me here now, is there?'

His hand had been on her arm and he dropped it abruptly, turning back towards the car. 'I suppose not.'

Too late, she realised that he thought she meant Rick again. Once he was married, Ben assumed, she wouldn't want to be here.

Watching him stride back through the grass towards the car, she felt an overwhelming need to feel his arms around her once more, before she had to leave. 'Ben, wait,' she called as she hurried up the bank after him.

By the time she reached the car, he was no longer alone. With him was Nugget Malone. He had evidently ridden out from the homestead at speed because his horse's flanks were pumping and white- flecked. 'What's the matter?' she asked, forgetting her own worries as anxiety overtook her. Something bad must have happened at home to bring Nugget out here in such a hurry.

Nugget twisted his bush hat between long, bony fingers. 'It's Robyn. This afternoon she started having some trouble breathing. We managed to get the doctor on the radio and he told us what to do. She's all right now, really,' he assured a white-faced Keri.

'But the doctor's on his way?' Ben asked.

'Yes, Ben. His plane landed an hour ago. I made sure he had everything he needed before I set off to find you. I knew you'd want to get back as quick as you could.'

'You did the right thing,' Ben assured him. 'You go ahead. We'll follow as fast as we can.'

'I was afraid that Theo's offer would be too much for her,' she said as they started off again. This time, Ben drove as fast as the terrain allowed, with little heed for the effect on the occupants. Keri knew she would have bruises all over her body by the time they got back. It didn't matter now. What mattered was that Robyn should be all right.

'What offer?' Ben asked over the clattering of the car's gears.

She explained about Theo wanting to buy the entire Escarpment series of paintings. 'He didn't know she couldn't have any excitement,' she explained.

'I wasn't blaming him,' Ben said, his eyes fixed on the road. 'If anyone's to blame, it's me for leaving her alone when I knew how touchy things were.'

If she hadn't gone off to see Persia, Ben wouldn't have left the homestead either, Keri thought. Now Ben had yet another grievance against her to add to his list.

Gripping the sides of the bucking vehicle with grim determination, she knew they couldn't go on like this. The sooner she left Kinga Downs, the better for all of them.

AS soon as she saw Doctor Syrae's grave expression on their return to Kinga Downs, Keri knew she wouldn't be leaving for some time yet. The doctor looked grey-faced and tired, a far cry from the jovial medico Keri remembered meeting at Robyn's party.

'Is she all right?' Ben asked for both of them.

'She's holding her own,' he said grimly. 'It's a good thing you people keep oxygen equipment here or I would have had to risk flying her out to a hospital.'

'Oh, no,' Keri gasped. 'What's the matter with her?'

The doctor patted her hand reassuringly. 'Don't look so stricken, the worst is over now, thank goodness. Being so run down, she picked up a lung infection and it affected her breathing. After a few hours on oxygen, she should be all right. I've given her something to treat the infection.'

'Then she won't have to be taken to hospital?'

'Not unless she takes a turn for the worse. I'm going to stick around overnight if you folks don't mind.'

'I've already made up a guest suite,' Jessie supplied even as Ben opened his mouth. He nodded.

'Stay as long as you need to, Doctor. I'm sure Rob will be happier under her own roof.'

'Precisely why I intend to keep her here if I can,' the doctor agreed. 'Her morale is as vital to her recovery as antibiotics.' Excusing himself, the doctor went back to his patient with Jessie following him, clucking like a mother hen.

When they had gone, Keri collapsed into a chair. 'I guess I shouldn't think of leaving yet.'

Ben gave her a sharp look. 'You heard what Doctor Syme said about Robyn's morale. It would drop like a stone if we told her the truth about our engagement now.'

She couldn't keep the bitterness out of her voice. 'Do you think I don't know that? I would have called a halt to this charade long ago if it hadn't been for Robyn.'

'I see,' he said quietly.

She doubted it, however. He couldn't see how it tore at her to have to pretend to be in love with him and have him think it was all an act.

The dust had collected in the crevices of his face so that he looked like a granite carving, given life. He massaged his eyes with one dust-streaked hand. 'I may have to ask more of you yet.'

What new torment could he devise for her now? 'Yes?' she asked uncuriously.

'I want to tell Robyn we've set the wedding date, maybe even let her start planning the whole affair.'

Her eyes widened in shock. 'You can't be serious? It will only make matters worse when she has to learn the truth.'

'Perhaps. But in the meantime it would give her an incentive to get well. If she suspects that something's wrong, she may lose hope altogether.'

'I've told you I'm willing to go on with our act.'

'But it may not be enough. She'll think it strange if we don't start making plans. She may even work it out for herself. You wouldn't want that, would you?'

'I suppose not,' she conceded with a heavy heart. What kind of a monster would she be if she refused? 'All right, you can tell her what you like and I won't contradict you.'

'Not good enough,' he said shortly. 'You have to show some enthusiasm for the whole idea.'

'Do you know what you're asking of me?' She was sure he had no idea.

'I know. I'm asking you to pretend to love someone you can't stand, after I came between you and Rick. But I promise you it won't be for much longer, just until Robyn is well.'

Just until Robyn is well. How often was she given cause to regret those words in the days which followed? In front of Robyn, she was forced to act the part of the blushing bride, while her friend keyed into her computer lists of flowers, food and ceremonies which Keri knew would never be needed.

Ben had been right, though. The plan did have a positive effect on his sister. Two days after her collapse, the doctor had discontinued the oxygen treatment, and now Robyn was able to sit up in bed and eat a little solid good.

She tired quickly, but defied the doctor's orders to rest, preferring to throw what little energy she had into plans for the wedding.

'I'm worried about her doing so much,' Keri confided to Doctor Syme after one such planning session.

'Don't worry, this is the best therapy she could have,' the doctor assured her. His eyes twinkled. 'Just don't call the whole thing off and give her a relapse, will you?'

His comment, so unknowingly near to the truth, sent a shaft of pain darting through Keri. Ben thought she was being heroic, going through all this for Robyn's sake. He couldn't know the agony it cost her to plan a wedding to the man she loved, knowing it would never take place.

Ben played his part to the hilt, acting the loving fiancée in front of Robyn as if he really meant it. If she hadn't known better, Keri would have sworn his kisses were genuine, as his lips sought hers with insistent warmth until she felt dizzy with the need to feel his arms around her for real.

When she thought she could stand it no longer, Doctor Symes announced that Robyn had made sufficient progress for him to visit weekly instead of daily. 'Don't forget, I want an invitation to the wedding,' he reminded her as he left.

Keri crushed the list she had been holding between her fists. If only there were a wedding to invite him to, and she could look forward to living happily ever after as Ben's wife. But they both knew it was a charade and would soon be over. If only it didn't hurt so much to think about it.