THE CRUISER IN THE BAY

KATRINA BRITT

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This idea of Dru’s stepbrother Mart sounded rather fun-he had suggested that she join him on the beautiful Caribbean island where he lived and pretend to be his fiancé, to keep other husband-hunting females at bay. But that was before she met the enigmatic but irresistibly attractive Captain Keith Faulkner! From their very first precipitate meeting Dru had managed to give the worst possible impression of herself, so even after she had fallen headlong in love with him Keith continued to have the lowest opinion of her. And anyway, he believed she was engaged to another man...

CHAPTER ONE

THE scream of the jet engines died away. The plane door
opened and the warm air met Dru like the opening oí an
oyen door. Already, she was feeling overdressed in her
trim linen suit as she stepped from the plane into a drowsy
sunlit world to the quiet rustle oí palm trees murmuring
in the soft aftemoon breeze. Beyond the runway, densely
wooded hills were outlined darkly against the shimmer-
ing haze oí a tropical blue sky. Dru's breath of pure
pleasure was mingled wíth surprise and delight when her
eyes alighted uponthe red double-decker bus trundling
across the tarmac to pull up beside the plane. It was as
unmistakably British as the island, despite the gay can-
opied roof.

The driver caught her eye and grinned as she boarded
the bus. Men usually grinned at Dru Temple, a natural
blonde with dancing green eyes, a small piquant face and
a smile dazzling everyone who carne into contact with it.
She settled down in her seat confident that she was going
to enjoy her visit to the island oí St. Ovis. She had heard
so much about it from her stepbrother Mart, who was
registrar at the hospital. Dru had only to put her hand
inside her white shoulder bag to feel the crispness of his
letter.

'Be a sport, Dru,' he had written. 'Come and rescue me
from the husband-hungry females. There's a shortage of
males on the island and the pressure is terrífic. Have a
holiday at my expense posing as the fiancée 1 need for
protection, or your newly acquired brother will never be a

surgeon!' .

Mart's father, a distinguished consultant surgeon in
London, had met and marriedDru's mother within a few

months of their meeting. A widower sinee the death of his
first wife soon after Mart's birth, Steven Loghtan had
fallen headlong in love with Emma Temple, a pretty div-
oreee who ran a high-class boutique in the West End of
London. After the honeymoon he had whisked her off to
graee his eharming home on the Thames near Marlow.

Dru had met her new stepbrother Mart at the wedding,
a light-haíred, slightly built young man whose blue eyes
had roved over her with approval. Like his father, he was
clean-shaven and immaeulately dressed, and while Dru
found him likeable, she had decided that one member of
the medical profession was enough for any farnily. So she
had waved him baek to his island without a qualm.

Mart's letter had come at a time when Dru was feeling
the break with her mother profoundly. Not wishing to
carry on the business herself, she had prevailed upon her
mother to sell it. The new owner was a brash young
woman of twenty-five, four years older than Dru. She had
none of Emma Temple's exquisite taste or delieate ap-
proaeh, and Dru, who had stayed on to help her to learn
the business, was only too glad to get away in the end.

Now she was on the island of Sto Ovis posing as Mart's
fianeée to lend an image to the shadowy figure he had
eonjured up oí his intended. Mart had not enquired
whether she had beeome engaged herself, whieh was not
surprising since she had told him at the wedding that her
heart was staying under the eounter until the right cus-
tomer came along.

Dru never forgot that her mother had divorced her
father when she herself was little more than a baby and
she had vowed that the same thing would not happen to
her. She was determined to marry the right man or none
at all. She had steered clear from the more promiseuous
way of living, and while her boy-friends had been varied,
there had been no sleeping about with them. Sex before
marriage, in her opinion, did not solve a thing. Dru was

eonvinced that if one married a healthy normal person
everything worked out as beautifully as her mother's
marriage to Steven had done.

The bus had pulled up at the Customs sheds and Dru
stepped into line with the rest of the passengers. There
was a small crowd awaiting the plane's arrival, she no-
ticed, as she left the Customs to hoist her shoulder bag
into position and piek up her suitcase. Mart was among
them, srniling whitely against his tan in a suit oí white
drill. The next moment, mindful of her role as his fiancée,
Dru put down her case and ran towards him. The erowd
surged forward as she ran and she threaded her way
through to fling herself at the suit of white drill. Pulling
down his head, she kissed him soundly on his lips.

But the arms, instead of drawing her close, were put-
ting her from him. Dru had closed her eyes against the
glare ofthe tropical sun. N ow she was opening them ever
wider in sheer dismay to see a pair of strange grey ones
beneath a uniform hat. Her breath caught in her throat
and her green eyes did a double-take, summing up in
seconds the much wider shoulders. They were in white
drill all right, only these were adorned by navy and gold
braid to match the cuffs of the strong brown hands put-
ting her away from him.

He had an arresting faee, a slightly curved maseuline
nos e and a rather sensitive mouth redeemed by a firm
determined jaw. His mouth had curved upwards slightly
as though ehecking the urge to chuckle. His eyes, however,
were his best feature. They were slate grey and enigmatic.

'Wrong number,' he vouchsafed in the kind of deep
musical voice which Dru could imagine notched up more
than the usual number of dates.

Her cheeks could not have been more scarlet. 'Oh, my
goodness!' she cried, 'Do forgive me. I'm most awfully
sorry. 1 thought you were ... 1 was mistaken. You see, my
step...'

Dru checked the wild rush of words just in time. What
an idiot she was! Within minutes of arriving on the island
she had nearly given the game away by referring to her
supposed fiancé as her stepbrother. She could not make
up her mind if her giddy reaction was on account of the
kiss or the tropical heat. But she certainly felt odd, and it
really was her own heart thudding aloud like a cer-
emonial drum.

'Of course. Now, if you'll excuse me.'

" The heavenly voice passed on and Dru found herself
staring up into Mart's startled face.

'What was that in aid of?' he drawled. 'Seems 1 missed
out.'

'So did 1,' she commented weakly. "What happened?

First you were there, then it was someone else. Whatever
must the man think of me?' She put her hands to her
buming cheeks.

Mart shrugged. 'Probably put you down as just another
designing female after her man. The island's full of them.
Being handsome and viril doesn't help, as 1 well
know.'

Dru's withering look relegated his smugness to the
depths.

'Perhaps, my dear answer to a maiden's prayer, you'l1
step down from that pedestal of yours long enough to
explain a few things. Why did you hold back at a time
when you should have been rushing forward to demon-
strate to all and sundry that your fiancée had at last ar-
rived?'

He grinned. 'Because I'd spotted another arrival who
might have beaten you to it had I shown myself. 1'11

fetch your case.' .

As Mart strode away, she looked ahead of him to see
the man she had kissed greeting the star tum off the jet
plane, a beautiful sophisticate who had aroused her
interest during the joumey by her Ianguid poise.

"Is that the reason you backstepped?' she asked as Mart
joined her with the case.

He followed the direction of her eyes and nodded.
'Name, Liane Marshall. Sister at the hospital.'

'And the Adonis in naval uniform?' Dru fell into step
beside him,

"The captain of the cruiser in the bay. Half his ratings
are in the hospital with a mystery illness - picked up a
bug in Martinique.'

Dru could still"feel the imprint of strong fingers on her
arms when the man had put her away from him. His very
abruptness should have put her off. Instead it was having
the opposite effect, Ten minutes on the island and she was
bowled over by her first man!

She gurgled. 'Why are there so many more. women on
the island than men?' she asked curiously.

'There's no future here for the men apart from farm
work, They leave when they're old enough for work
abroad in the cities.'

'Then the birthrate can"t be very hígh,' she de-
ducted.

'Don't you believe it, They breed like rabbits,' he
grinned. 'There's none of mine yet.'

'1 should think not! What are you aiming to do? Court
all and marry none? Surely it would have been better for
you to engage a fiancée on the island instead of sending
for me?'

He said derisively, 'And find myself hooked for life by
the same obliging female? No, thanks. I'm safe with
you,'

Dru, however, was only half with him. The other half
was trying to figure out why every conceivable gift of
feminine beauty should club together and attach itself to
one person, namely Liane Marshall. She sensed an under-
current,

'Why try to evade this Liane Marshall, who's surely

every man's drearoboat?' she asked curiously.

"Let's say it's a case of embarras de choix, as the French
sayo Too many dishes to choose from. Besides,' he grinned
down at her, 'I've been dabbling in research since I came
to the island, tropical diseases and all that kind of
thing.'

Dru nodded. 'In other words, you prefer some loath-
some bug to the charms of the female form? I thought
you were a normal man.'

'If that's meant as a chaUenge to my manhood, I can
soon prove it, I'm no monk, but I won't become involved
too deeply. I make it a rule never to take the same girl out
twice.'

'Is that why you sent for me, because you ran out of
girls?'

'That, my pet, is the understatement of the year. Re-
member the rabbits? They were breeding long before I
arrived. A surfeit of girls. Hop into the car while I chuck
your case into the boot.'

Intrigued, Dru obeyed and Mart stowed her case away,
then slipped into the driving seat beside her. The wide
roadway leading from the .airport weaved through a resi-
dential area dazzling the eye with frangipani, bougain-
villea and hibiscus. Then the villas grew fewer until they
disappeared and plantations of breadfruit, coconuts,
bananas, yams and mangoes nestled in cool groves be-
tween irrigated ditches overlooking the blue water of the
bay. Presently Mart stopped the car on a rise.

"The hospital.' He gestured to long sprawling white
buildings to their left overlooking the village below. 'Built
two years ago.'

Dru was impressed by thé immaculate grounds and the
windbreak of pines.

'Very nice,' she murmured inadequately.

Mart was enthusiastic. 'It's fine to work in. We have a
special research block which deals in tropical deseases.' .

They drove down a slight incline to continue along the
coast road. The air was sweet and enervating and Dru sat
back allowing the strangeness to seep into her as she en-
joyed first impressions.

'What do you do, apart from taking out difIerent girls?'
she asked drowsily,

"Play golf, tennis, riding, sailing and water-skiing,
Sometimes I go skin-diving aroong the coral or físh for
tuna and marlin.'

He was slowing the car down to take several hairpin
bends when Dru sat up to stare at what looked to be a
fairy castle set on a shelf of rock against dark green,
densely-packed woods.

'Isn't that lovely?' she cried, leaning forward in her
seat. 'A fairy castle overlooking the sea, What more could
anyone aski"

'The governor's residence,' Mart commented laconi-
cally.

'Eligible or married?' Dru teased.

'Married with a daughter plump and playful as a
puppy.'

Dru chuckled.'Sounds delicious. Is she?'

The car bounced over several potholes in fue road and
Mart muttered something unprintable under his breath.
'About as menacing as these potholes, like the rest of the
island women.' The subject obviously bored him, for he
changed it abruptly. 'The hotel I'm taking you to is one
of the most popular on the island. It's just ahead, facing
the Caribbean. Further north is the Atlantic.'

He slowed down as he spoke to turn in between double
gates and along a driveway. The grounds were a riot of
tropical plants, flowers and palm trees.

'Here we are.' Mart puUed in at the car park. "The
Garland Hotel.'

Dru stepped from the car to gaze up at fue place that
was to be her home for the duration of her visit, The air

was warm and relaxíng, as her green eyes travelled over
the white facade of balconies encircling the four-storied
stone building.

'It's just perfect.' She shone up at him. 'Just thinking of
palm trees and gorgeous sandy beaches sends me in a tizzy
of delight. Oh, Mart, I don't know how you'll be able to
tear yourself away when the time comes.'

'I'm arnbitious, remember,' he reminded her, bringing
his eyes suddenly to meet hers. 'Y ou're right, though,
about leaving. The island kind of grows on one.'

He accompanied her to the reception desk where she
signed the register and was handed her keys. A porter
carne to take her case and Mart made arrangements to
call for her that evening.

A few hours later, Dru had washed and changed into a
white tailored evening dress and was ready when Mart
arrived.

He surveyed with approval the golden hair swathed
around her small head, leaving free tantalizing curly ten-
drils on her cheeks.

'Peaches and cream,' he murmured, his eyes coming to
rest on her clear skin and bright eyes. 'What a change
after olive skins!'

'Don't try to convince me that all the sultry beauties of
this island leave you cold, because I just won't believe
it.'

Dru smiled up at him as she settled beside him in his
car, noting how his white evening jacket became his
tanned face. As she did so the picture of a big dark man in
uniform shut him out. The way her whole body and lips

. had met his still conjured up a thrill of excitement hith-
erto unknown to her. Brief though it had been, it had
opened up an entirely new world, a disturbing, almost
frightening one. No man had ever had that effect on her
before.

She rea: lly ought to have taken care instead of making

blindly for a suit of white drill, yet she did not regret it
one bit. The thrill she had experienced was one she
wanted to repeat again and again. She must either be
mad or overtired ever to think of such a thing, of
course.

Mart was saying, 'We're going to the clubhouse, again
a popular place, where everybody meets including the
hospital staff. Introducing you there as my intended is as
good as announcing it in the press.'

'I've no ring, a little fact you seem to have overlooked,'
Dru said dryly ..

He grinned. 'You forget I'm only a poor registrar. Ad-
vertising that along with your presence should keep me
safe.'

She chuckled. 'What about hooking a rich wife?'

. He snorted. 'And dance to the fiddler playing the tune?
No, thanks. How do you like your hotel?'

Dru thought back to bright cheerful rooms leading out
on to a balcony and remembered her elation as she emp-
tied her case into spacious built-in cupboards. Her sigh
was ecstatic.

'Lovely. Someone put a vase of flowers on my dressing
table that I don't know the name of, apart from a few
li: lies among them. I feel as if I had a little serpent of
energy inside me ready to shoot forth at the drop oí a hat
and run riot around the island. I'm going to love it.'

Mart swung the cal' on to the shingle coast road going
further north. Five minutes later they were passing
through the village almost hugging the sea where small
jetties were lovingly lapped by the calm water. Yachts
and small craft swayed gently at their moorings and, as
they left the town behind, scents from the gardens of
villas greeted them.

Dru guessed that the clubhouse lay between the village
and Government House, which seemed much nearer
when Mart dipped the nose oí the cal' downwards to the

beach. The setting was hewn out of rock, an enclosed
semi-circle with a windbreak of palm trees fronted by the
clubhouse with its own private beach.

Tennis courts and bowling greens lay behind the main
building, sheltered and cool with a luxuriant growth of
cascading creepers lining the rocks of the cliffs behind,
Mart parked the car and led the way between gaily
striped loungers and tables to the clubhouse veranda
where he guided her along to the end table.

A smiling waiter brought them drinks and the other
tables filled. The husky dulcet tones fell pleasantly on
Dru's ears from behind where she sat with her back to
the other tables.

'Mart's done it again. Trust him to hook a new arrival!

Tourist, probably. He always plays safe.'

Mart grinned over Dru's shoulders, in no whit dis-
mayed by the mocking laugh.

'No tourist this time, Liane. May I introduce my in-
tended? Miss Dru Temple, Miss Liane Marshal1 and Mr,
Howell Seabright, our pedriatic surgeon.'

Dru tumed to see the woman she had admired at the
airport that aftemoon. She looked breathtaking in a
halter-necked dress of vivid pink imparting a deep rich
glow to her honey-coloured shoulders. Her raven hair,
which she wore loose about her neck, had the blue-black
sheen of a raven's wing. The carmined lips parted to pre-
sent a wary smile.

Her greeting was perceptively cool, but the warm
cordial one of her companion more than made up for it.
Beauty and the beast, Dru thought. A nice beast with a
pleasantly ugly face and bulky figure. His hand clasp was
furo and reassuring, his features clean-shaven and topped
by hair receding from a high intelligent forehead. The
frank and engaging twinkle in his eyes put her immedi-
ately at her ease and she could imagine his charm work-
ing wonders with his small patients.

'Delighted to meet you, Miss Temple. Have you been
in this part of the world before?'

'No.'

'Then I envy you first impressions. In my opinion
nothing is ever quite like them.'

He hitched up immaculate trousers to take one of the
chairs Mart had hastily drawn up at their table. Before
Mart could sit down again they were joined by a second
couple, a pleasant red-haired young man, obviously Am-
erican, and a pretty dark-haired girl with merry brown
eyes.

Mart said 'Pete Brady and Wisp Mallon, the ,

Govemor's daughter. My fiancée, Dru Temple.'

Dru thought Wisp looked a little taken aback, but the
next moment her face still reflected an inner sense of fun.
She had two delightful dimples when she smiled and they
peeped out at Dru.

'Y ou don't know what you're taking on, Dru - I may

call you Dru?'

'By all means.'

They all sat down and a waiter served drinks. Liane,
who sat next to Mart with Dru on his other side, said
lightly, '1 must say I'm rather surprised, Mart. After Miss
Temple's rapturous greeting at the airport, I'm rather
confused.' Her smile at Dru was meant to be disarming,
but Dru felt the sting. 'Is Keith an old friend of yours?'

Dru, aware that all eyes were upon her, blushed to the
roots of her hair. She was momentarily confused.
'Keith?' she echoed dumbly, a frown on her youthfully
smooth forehead. '1 don't know anyone named Keith.'
Liane's delicate eyebrows shot up and she laughed. 'Do
you usually go around kissing strange men?'

Dru cringed inwardly at the ensuing silence and caught
Mart's steady gaze in desperation. One thing she had to
leam fairly quickly was how to deal with any situation
which let Mart down in her role as his fiancée. He got the

message,

‘I’m afraid Dru was so eager for my loving arms that

she dashed forward to the wrong man.’ He grinned at her.

‘Never mind, darling, I’m sure Captain Keith Faulkner

Was in no whit put out. I have yet to meet a man more

Capable of taking everything in his stride.’

'Some people have all the luck,' Pete drawled in a pro-

nounced American accent.

"How delicious,' Wisp gurgled. rtwhat a lovely mis-

take! Keith is a terribly attractive and exciting man.' Her

dancing eyes strayed to Mart. 'But what a let-down to kíss

Mart after that!'

Mart growled ferociously, ‘Jealousy will get you no-

where,' and everyone laughed.

The first hurdle successfully cleared, Dru set out to

enjoy herself. Her face assumed its habitual expression of

sweet serenity and she sparkled as the meal progressed,

enjoying the perfectly cooked food and the young gay

companionship. Later, they danced to the music of a

small group of musicians with the thunder of the surf on

the shore providing a restful background. During the

evening, she was introduced to members of the club,

knowing that she would never remember half their

names. Several times she had looked thoughtfully at Mart

to see bis reaction to Wisp and Liane when he danced

with them.

Which one was he most afraid of? Wisp's impish charm

or Liane's sex appeal oozing out of every delicate pore of

her lovely olive skin? Pete Bradshaw, the American, paid

marked attention to Wisp and he had been very attentive

to herself. Dru had discovered that he was a member of

the American Forces on the entertainment side. Along

with a concert party be entertained Nato forces stationed

in isolated places and was on the island after a forced

landing because of engine trouble.

When Mart had to leave the club at ten to go on duty

Dru left with him. Mart had dropped her off at the Gar-

land Hotel and she stood on her balcony realizing that the

night was still young and much too lovely to leave. The

gold and orange sky reflected like molten metal on the

water in the bay in the rays of the dying sun. Dark silhou-

ettes of bathers enjoying the warm moist air increased her

restlessness and on the spur of the moment she decided

to join them,

The next half hour was one of sheer bliss as she waded

out .into deep water, swimming easily and tirelessly in the

salt buoyancy beneath the glassy surface. The moon had

risen to cast a silvery path across from the horizon to the

shore. The breathtaking beauty of the scene was dazzling

to Dru, filling the very air with enchantment. Refreshed

and not in the least sleepy, she made her way back to the

hotel. Overhead, the palms rustled gently as though dis-

turbed by the distant twang of a guitar and the hotel

loomed in a white blur caressed by enveloping blue

shadows.

Idly, she tweaked the branch of an oleander in passing

and was rewarded by a pouf of sweet fragrance. So far,

the other guests at the hotel were an unknown quantity

and she gazed up at the balconied facade wondering

what they were like. The balconyof the rooms below her

own on the second floor had the windows thrust wide

open, but there seemed to be no one about.

Back in her room after changing into her pyjamas, she

washed the salt from her swimsuit and decided to leave it

to dry on the balcony rail during the night. As she leaned

over her balcony to shake it out, the top sailed from her

fingers to land on the rail of the balcony below. Dru

gasped in dismay.

-, What to do now? The obvious thing to do was to ring

room service, but when they put her through to the rooms

below there was no answer. The occupants were either

out or asleep, Upon reflection, Dru concluded that they

would not be asleep because the balcony windows were
flung wide open, so they must be out.

Once again a peep over the balcony told her the swirn-
suit top still dangled tantalizingly on the rail below. If
only she could drop a line down and hook it up - better
still, why not lower herself down outside the rail of her
own balcony, swing inwards and drop down on to 'the
lower balcony floor. She could then retrieve her swimsuit
top, enter through the open French window, cross the
room and let herself out in the hotel eorridor. Her
pyjamas, a pretty shade of turquoise, would not look out
of place if anyone should see her on the way up to her
own rooms. In any case, a wrap would impede her pro-
gress down.

Climbing over her balcony rail, Dru lowered herself by
the ironwork, swung herself inwards and landed softly
on the balcony floor, right into the arms of a wide-shoul-
dered figure in a towelling robe.

'What the devil is going on?' a deep voice thundered as
Dru's heart dropped simultaneously with the bathrobe
draped on his shoulders. The next moment he was lower-
ing her to the ground as she blinked at bronze rippling
muscles and a hirsute chest in utter dismay. It was
difficult to say who was the most surprised, herself or the
big brown man standing looking at her with slate grey ice
chips of eyes. It was only too clear to her that he had
entered his rooms as she was climbing over her balcony,
having returned from his bathe. Of a11 the luck! Another
five minutes and she would have rnissed him.

The silence was shattering, herself bereft of speech and
noting much against her wi11 that he was as magnificent
without uniform as with it.

He drew in a rasping breath.'NQt you again! Don't te11
me you've rnistaken these rooros for those of your boy-
friend?'

Dru stiffened indignantly. 'If you want to know,' -she

said witheringly, '1 came down to pick up a part of my
sw.imsuit which had fallen on your balcony rail as I was
putting it out to dry.'

'1 don't suppose it oceurred to you to ring room ser-
vice,' he said curtly,

'1 did,' she snapped. 'You were out.'

There was an uneasy silence during which he took bis
time looking over her slim figure before shooting a glance
at the balcony rail.

His firm lips thinned. 'A likely story,' he said cool1y.
He's hateful, she thought, and said aloud, 'If you'll
allow me to collect my belongings 1'11 go.'

He strolled lazily to the open French window and
waved a brown hand towards the balcony. 'Go ahead.'

Something in his tone swung her round. The swimsuit
top was no longer on the rail. It had gone. The next
moment, Dru was bending over the rail looking down
below to the forecourt. There was no sign of her swimsuit.
It had disappeared completely.

She swung round again then to face him, her arros out-
stretched, her hands gripping each side of her on the raםl,
like an animal at bayo

"It isn't there,' she gasped. 'It's. - .. gone!'

'Exactly. Now suppose you te11 me the real reason why
you sneak 'down to my rooms clad only in your
pyjamas.'

His voice was chipped from the same ice as his eyes.

They pierced her until she felt as exposed and helpless as
a fish thrown suddenly on to dry land. A cold sweat broke
on her forehead. She had never known anything like it.
The hateful man was making her feellike some gangster's
moll!

'I've told you the reason. Good heavens, man, what

kind of person do you take me for?'

'Now that's a very interesting question, and one which
I could ask you.'

Her green eyes flashed sparks. '1'11 tell you what kind of
a person 1 think you are - an overbearing, cynical, arro-
gant brute who delights in thinking the worst about
anyone, especially women. I'd hate to be on your ship. 1
bet your crew haven't a leg to stand on when you're about,
No wonder half of them are in hospital l'

'Careful,' he warned. 'You're living dangerously.' He
had straightened from an indolent pose against the
window frame and the slate grey eyes glittered men-
acingly. 'Come now, you can think up a better excuse
than that. Even one of my unfortunate ratings, as you
term them, would hardly be so stupid as to come up with
a tale like the one you would have me believe.'

Dru lifted her chin, her voice trembling with indig-
nation.

'You can believe what you choose, you hateful
creaturel You wouldn't believe me no matter what 1
said,'

Again he looked her over, his eyes taking in her golden
hair tumbling about her shoulders with the ribbon hang-
ing down near to one ear, The colour flooded her clear skin
and one hand reached up for the ribbon to drag it down
and tie back her hair. She did it like a child looking very
young and defenceless.

'1 hope you realize that you've placed us both in a very
compromising situation,' he said at last. 'While you might
not care about your own reputation, 1 have a healthy
respect for mine.'

Too late now to regret leaving off her wrap. Dru had
never felt self-conscious before in her pyjama suit, but she
wanted that wrap badly now. Furthermore, she did not
care to-see that he was in a worse state of undress in his
swimming trunks.

'Don't worry,' she scoffed to cover her nervousness, 'No
woman in her right mind would want to seduce you. 1
wouldn't touch you with a bargepole!'

He smiled, oddly, in no way perturbed. 'Then you have
a strange way oí sbowing your revulsion oí me. I recall
tbat you kissed me soundly on our first meeting. That you
could bave made a honest mistake, I didn't doubt. How-
ever, you can hardly call sliding down a balcony to enter
a strange man's rooms late at night a mÍstake.'

'1 can see tbat it was now. I carne down hoping I could
return undetected to my rooms witb my own belong-
ings.'

"And you would have had to walk through my rooms in .
order to make your exit?' He scooped bis robe from tbe
floor to tbrow it on to a chair.

'Yes. Why not?'

'In which case you might easily have caught me minus
my batbing trunks. Had you paused to put on a wrap I
would probably been caught witb my ... er ... trunks
down. As it happened I strode forward on seeing tbe
strange spectacle oí two feet dangling above my balcony,
and caught you in tbe act of entering.'

Suddenly it was all too much for Dru. Laughter bub-
bled, her green eyes danced. The room had darkened, but
tbere was enough light to see tbe sharp angles of his face.
There was notbing in it to suggest kindness or that any
generosity was involved in what to him was the un-
forgivable intrusion of a stranger into his priva te domain.
Had she been on his ship she had the feeling that he
would almost certainly have put her in irons. Her sense oí
humour, never long repressed, struggled to the surface,
and she began to laugh.

'Glad you find it amusing,' he said with irony.
'!t's ...ó so funny!'

She wiped a tear oí mirtb from beneatb her eye with a
prettily manicured finger. The last chuckle was her final
undoing, for, witbout appearing to have moved, he seized
her arms and pinned tbem down to her sides.

Gradually her laughter died and all the anger he had

aroused earlier carne to the surface. She fought furiously

to free herseIf, demanded him to let her go, but his grip

remained to bite unmericfulIy into her soft flesh,

'How dare you! Let me gol' she cried, gasping with

pain. 'You're hurting my arms!'

'Stop struggling, then, and tell me what you're doing

here,' he commanded curtly.

"Go and bump your silIy head against a walI,' she cried,

furiously near to tears. '1'11 scream if you don't let me

gol'

'You're scared at last,' he jeered.'You're going to get

what you're asking for if you don't teH me.'

Her only answer was to struggle in another desperate

attempt to free herseIf - all to no avail. She was no match

for his brute strength,

'I'll scream if you don't let me go,' she threatened

again.

He gave the only answer possible to that one. Hauling

her into his arms, he bent his head and smothered the

scream with his mouth fastening firmIy on her own. The

kiss deepened brutally, a kiss meant to punish, to send her

down into the depths of degradation. It was impossible for

her to move an inch. She savoured the tang of sea water

from his lips and bare flesh with a feeling that she would

hate it for the rest of her life. Then she was swaying on

her feet as he released her.

'Now get out,' he commanded. 'And thank your lucky

stars you got off so lightly.'

For seconds, Dru could only stare at him in be-

wilderment, too shaken to speak, trembling too much to

face his angry eyes glinting in the gloom.

It was he who strode forward to open the door. And

Dru, whose only desire was to escape, went swiftly from

the room.

CHAPTER TWO

DRU surfaced dazedly as the shrill ring of the bedside

phone penetrated through the mists of sleep. Her watch

said four o'clock as she reached sleepily for the receiver.

Mart. She might have known.

'Mart,' she protested, 'did you have to ring me up at

this hour? What's wrong? Has one of the nurses assaulted

you?'

. He chuckIed. 'Sorry to waken you, but it may be my

only chance to talk to you. It's been one of those nights

with a steady flow of the rest of the crew from the cruiser,

including several officers. We don't know what it is yet.

Looks like food poisoning.'

Dru said hopefully, 'Is the captain among them?'

'Not him! Tough as old boots. He needs to be, poor

blighter, with man-eating nurses surrounding him on all

sides when he comes to the hospital to enquire about his

men.'

She could not resist saying, 'Some women will chase

anything.'

'He re, hold on!' Mart protested. 'They chase me

too.'

'That's what 1 mean.'

'Thanks,' he answered equably. '1 know you're feeling

narked because I've wakened you from your beauty sleep,

but 1 forgive you. Actually, 1 rang to say 1 shall be too

busy to see you untilthis evening. If I'm lucky, 1 might

get away to have dinner with you. Anyway, come to the

hospital this morning and the chief will show you round

his rabbit incubators. Catch the half past ten bus. It stops

outside your hotel.'

She caught the half past ten bus which put her down at

the hospital gates. Passing pretty nurses flitting across the
grounds, she came face to face with Liane coming off
duty. She looked tired, but she bore her weariness with an
air of sophistication. Wonderful to be disciplined in one's
actions, Dru thought, to be always calm and collected and
still look lovely and desirable at the same time.

Liane's greeting was brief as she walked gracefully
across the grounds in the direction of the nurses' quarters.
Several groups of pretty nurses followed in her wake and
Dru found herself smiling at the thought of the extra
patients from the cruiser. The hospital personnel would
find little difficulty in hooking a sailor for a husband.
They were such pretty girls. Dru had entered the hospital
to the familiar aroma of waxed corridors and clinical
scents when she heard light footsteps behind her.

'Miss Temple?'

She tumed to greet Howell Seabright, wondering why
it was that overweight people were usually so light on
their feet.

'Good moming,' she said. '1 hope I haven't arrived at
an inopportune momento I can go if you're busy.'

'On the contrary, I shall be delighted to show you
around, Miss Temple. Shall we go?'

He guided her past consulting rooms and side wards,
his hands thrust into his pockets, his shoulders slightly
hunched.

'The hospital is rather like a ship at the moment, with
officers and crew filling most of the wards. Mart obviously
had the same idea as myself in thinking your visit will
brighten up their day. Your glowing presence will cer-
tain1y send up their morale, not to mention their tem-
perature.'

Dru laughed. '1 think noto The island girls are realIy
beautiful.'

Howell said quietly, '1 have yet to see a greater beauty
than a fair English woman.'

'Is the epidemic serious?' she asked, surfacing from her
blushes.

'Food poisoning or tropical tummy. We're taking a
series of tests.'

Dru was like a rose when, after leaving the men's
wards, they entered a long sunny room filled with the
sweet sounds of contented infants. She gazed down with
delight at large liquid brown eyes, ivory skins and mops of
tight curls.

'Aren't they delicious?' she gurgled, bending over a
cute five-year-old who cuddled a teddy bear.

Howell smiled. 'We've begun at the wrang end. We
should have started with the new arrivals before coming
in here.'

Her laugh was low and sweet. -'A kind of before and
after.'

They moved on down a corridor to peep through a
glass wall at tiny babies. Dru thought of Mart's rabbits
and chuckled. 'They're beautiful.' She shone up at Howell
who had a twinkle in his eyes. 'Have you any?' His eye-
brows shot up and he looked startled. She chuckled. '1
don't mean here. 1 mean a family of your own?'

He began to walk down the corridor, giving Dru the

impression that he did not want her to see his face.
'No. It's the one thing I've always wanted.'
'May one ask if you're married?'

'I'm divorced,' he answered quietly. 'My wife refused
to share me with my patients. I was on my way up and
didn't realize how lonely she must have been. I know
different1y now.'

He was walking again with his hands stuffed into his
pockets, rus shoulders hunched, a portrait of an unhappy
mano

'Is it too late to do anything about it?' Dru asked sym-
pathetical1y.

'I'm afraid so.'

'But you could marry again?'

'We're going along now to have coffee with Matron,'
he said, and Dru accepted the closing of what must have
been, to him, a disturbing subject.

She was leaving the hospital after a pleasant hour in
Matron's room when she cannoned into someone taking
the hospital steps two at a time. She would have lost her
balance had not two arms shot out to grip her shoulders.

'1 beg your pardon. Have 1 hurt you?'

Dru wriggled free from Keith Faulkner's grip as he
gave her a look she was beginning to resent. Dislike spark-
led in her green eyes.

'I'm sure you'll be sorry to hear that I'm quite all
right,' she said caustically, and swept by with an air of
utter disdain.

The unexpectedness of her encounter with the hated
captain sent an annoying stiffness into her limbs. She
stalked down to the village, seeing again the long lithe
stride, the arrogant tilt of his head, and felt again the
imprint of strong fingers on her arms. The ruthless set of
his well cut mouth and fine.nostrils had shown more than
a hint of mastery, as if he would have taken a fiendish
delight in allowing those well-kept hands of his to crush
her arms. Instinctively, Dru felt his awareness of his own
attraction for the opposite sex and she. disliked him more
than ever.

The village main street meandered down steeply to the
shore. Beyond, the vast open sky began as a pale blue on
the horizon to deepen in colour as it soared into the
heavens. The sun was high, but the air was still cool
enough to enjoy a stroll around the shops. To Dru shop-
ping for presents was a thrilling appendage to any holiday
and the mysterious little shops seemed to abound with
treasures like a smugglers' cave.

She browsed around until lunch time when she went
into a small restaurant overlooking the bay. She was

studying the menu when someone stopped by her table.
'Mind if 1 join you?'

Pete Brady slid into the chair opposite to her at the
table, as pleased with her company as she was with his. As
they were both fond of seafood, the meal was soon
ordered and Pete smiled across the table as they waited
for it.

'Y ou're acquiring an enchanting honey tan,' he said,
'And your eyes are like clear rock pools. Has anyone told
you you have a most delightful femininity?'

Dru could feel the warm colour flooding her cheeks.
'Flatterer,' she scoffed to cover her embarrassmeot.
'Never mind me. Tell me about yourself. It isn't often 1
meet an American.'

Encouraged by her warm interest, Peter talked of his
life at home. He told her that his people were farmers in
the Middle West. He had always been theatrica1ly
minded and had regularly put up concerts in the vilIage
where he lived. It was after he had joined the American
forces that he had the idea of an entertainment group to
tour Nato. They had been grounded on the island because
of engine trouble and would be off any day now. He was
hoping they could stay another few days because they
had been invited to entertain at Wisp Mallon's twenty-
first birthday party at Government House.

'Wisp,' murmured Dru. 'What an extraordioary name,
1 wonder how she carne by it.'

'1 believe her father called her Will-o'-the-Wisp when
she was young 00 account of her always being missing
wheo she was wanted, and the name stuck. What do you
say calling at Governmeot House this afternooo? Wisp
wilI be delighted to see you.'

'I'd love to, if it's all right. 1 mean, I've had no in-
vítation.'

Pete waved a hand airily. "That's all right. Wisp won't
mind,'

Dru had the sensation oí being two people when Pete

drove her to Govemment House. The first was her real

self, a spontaneous fun-loving person who responded to

the fun in the Govemor's daughter. The second was a

new wary seIf questioning the wisdom of becoming too

involved. It meant being on the alert every moment in

sustaining her role as Mart's fiancée.

Leaving the village behind, Pete drove for some dis-

tance along the coast road passing delightful bays where

the surf thundered up the beach before receding in a

greenish-white foam, They they tumed inland up a

gradient threading through the grandeur of woodedhills.

Govemment House was a colonial-type residence with

added towers. The architect must have indulged in flights

of fancy, thus giving the fairy castle effect which had so

delighted Dru at her first glimpse of it from Mart's caro A

uniformed sentry at the gates saluted them through on

seeing Pete and they cruised along a winding drive to

draw up at the porticoed entrance.

The setting, a vast world of sea and sky, was a breath-

taking one presenting a glorious technicolor scene of trop-

ical flowers and plants offset by green lawns and massive

trees. A power mower could be heard but not seen as they

left the car to mount the steps to the main door. It was

open and Wisp was already there, having heard the caro

Her delight upon seeing them went without question.

'Pete!' she squealed, throwing her arms around his

neck. 'Am 1 glad to see you - you too, Dru.' Linking their

arms as she walked in between them, Wisp rattled on,

'I've been fearfully busy with the arrangements for my

birthday ball, and I'm simply dying for tea.'

She escorted them to a charming lounge and a footman

brought tea on a trolley. There was home-made plum

cake and minute salad sandwiches which Wisp passed

around while doing most of the talking.

'1 love birthday balls,' she said enthusiastically. 'lt's

always an excuse to buy a gorgeous dress.'

Dru listened, transported into a world where things

were still done on a grand scale. To Wisp, a ball meant

not only a new dress but the exciting company of young

men showering compliments and taking her for romantic

strolIs in the beautiful grounds accompanied by a back .•

ground of music from the ballroom. Every bedroom in

the great house would be opened with the perfume of

wood fires airing them and a regiment of uniformed ser-

vants would be flitting in and out among the dis-

tinguished guests.

Watching the animated little face of her hostess, Dru

wondered how much she, upon whom fortune had lav-

ished 50 many gifts, really cared for Mart, The way she

had taken the news of his engagement had alerted Dru to

some undercurrent between them. Certainly Mart was

not in a position to keep Wisp in the way to which she

was accustomed. When she left [ater, Dru learned she had

been invited to the ball along with Mart,

That evening Dru waited for Mart until after eight

o'clock and when it was obvious that he was not coming,

the pangs of hunger sent her down to the dining room. She

knew none of the guests and breathed a sigh of relief to

see that the odious captain was not present when the

hotel waiter led her to a table. Dinner lay ahead with the

prospect of dining alone and, feeling rather holIow inside,

she accepted a cocktail flavoured with fresh limes from a

smiling waiter.

The night was warm and she longed to be outside with

the meal over in the breathtaking beauty of a tropical

scene. Yet when she did eventually stroll along the white

beach in the sunset, the frothy rolIers breaking on the

verge echoed with loneliness. She would have liked to

have danced for the rest of the evening. In the dining

room her first thought was to get away. Now it seemed a

pity to be dressed for an evening out and curtail it just

because there was no one available.

The members of the Club would be dancing outdoors
and sipping iced cold drinks through straws in the scented
dusk. Dru sighed, wanting to make the most of every
moment of her holiday, then retraced her steps back to
the hotel feeling terribly guilty at the thought of Mart
sweating it out on duty at the hospital.

Mart phoned when she was in bed. He was all in. The
last two hours had been the heaviest of the day with him
being called out to a major accident on the coast road, He
thought he would be free the following moming. Would
she catch the ten-thirty bus to the hospital and bring her
swimsuit? He would see her in the canteen.

Dru replaced the receiver, wishing she knew what had
happened to the swimsuit top last seen dangling on Keith
Faulkner's balcony rail. She had made no enquiries about
it. Fortunately, it was one of three suits she had brought
with her. What a joy it would be to be able to prove to the
odious captain that she had been speaking the truth! But
for some mysterious reason the thing had disappeared
completely and it was not to be.

Her second swimsuit came out the following morning
when Dru decided upon waking at six to go for an early
moming bathe. With a pleasurable feeling of antici-
pation, she looked at the patch of blue sky framed by her
room window heralding another golden hot day.

Scooping up a towel, she went out briskly on rope-
soled, laced sandals past the wind break of palm trees and
on to the beach. Dru loved the beach, The taste of salt
upon the lips, the clean smell of the water and the warm
air felt surprisingly good. Ther were shells, beautifully
shaped stones and pieces of coral washed up by the tide
lying between half submerged pieces of white rocks and
she loitered enchanted.

She slipped off her sandals; it was fun to stand for
blissful moments to watch the rising sun spray coins of

silver across the water while the white frothy surf washed
caressingly about her feet. The previous evening, at
sunset, the sea and sky had merged together into colours of
flameand gold in thebreathless hush of approaching night.

This moming the sky held a quivering expectancy
offering a new world as newly minted as a coin. To swim
in tropical waters was to appreciate the wonderful gift of
life. Nowhere else could one ever feel so happy, carefree
and relaxed. So thought Dru as reluctantIy she left the
water.

She had slipped on her beach robe when she noticed
the solitary figure swimming towards the shore. With a
lurch of her heart, she recognized him as he carne striding
from the surf some distance away. The fine head set on
powerful shoulders was probably a personality on bis
ship, she mused, imagining bis crew jumping to attention
on bis first deep-voiced command.

It was the memory of bis strength and hateful kiss
which spurred her on to hurry and put space between
them. Unfortunately, in her haste she stumbled and, in
falling, struck her knee on a piece of rock half submerged
in the sand. The pain in her knee was excruciating and
she sat for several moments struggling against a feeling of
nausea. Gulping in deep breaths, she rose slowly to her
feet to discover that she was quite able to stand. Apart
from a painful tingling, her knee was none the worse.

1 t was the slow ominous trickle down her leg that did
it. Dru was no coward, but she had a thing about blood.
Thesight of it always made her keel overo She staggered
on to reach the haven of a friendly rock and leaned
against it. There was dew on her temples and she bit on
her lip in an effort to keep herself conscious.

'Had an accident?'

Keith Falkner loomed over her, wide beach-robed
figure shutting out the heaving sky. Dru made no answer,
nor did she look up. She could not look down either, since

another sight of the blood would be fatal. The next
moment he was down on his haunches taking her sha-
pely Ieg in a firm brown hand with a surprising gentleness.

'The skin is broken, but you'll survive,' he commented
in a tone which conveyed the impression that he did not
know why she should. 'Hurt yourself anywhere else?'

Dru shook her head.

He rose sIowly to his feet, then took in her pallor.
:'Sure?' he insisted.

She leaned back heavily against the rock, knowing that
if she moved it would be downwards to the ground. 'Go
away,' she muttered, and her lips felt as green as her face.
'I'm all right.'

He placed a finger beneath her chin and lifted her
ashen face, pushing back the hair from her forehead.
'You look like death,' he said.

Somehow Dru summoned the strength to push his
hand away feebly. 'Will you please go? 1 .. , 1 can't ...
stand the sight of blood, that's all.'

His answer was to scoop her up into his arms and stride
towards the hotel.

When Dru opened her eyes she was lying on her bed.

The windows were wide open and the salt air was refresh-
ing to her parched lips. Although her mind boggled she
took in an extraordinary number of details about Keith
Falkner, who sat sideways facing her on the bed, the
blue whites of his slate grey eyes, the black lashes, the
dark crispness of newly drying hair curling free without
the usual disciplined brushing.

'That was some faint,' he said. 'And now for operation
number two.'

He moved over to sit at the head of the bed and draw
her up on pillows. It was then that she saw she was lying
on the top of the bed. Her leg had been cleaned and her
knee bandaged neatly.

'Come on, drink this.'

He had reached out to the dressing table for a glass and
was holding it to her lips. The brandy spread through her
system, sloughing off the feeling of nausea. "
'Another drink,' he commanded, still holding her in the
crook of his armo

Dru obeyed, knowing that the sooner she recovered,
the sooner he would go. He put the half empty glass back
on the dressing table, his arm remained around her. She
made a small instinctive movement away from him, but
he did not seem to notice.

'How do you feel?' he said.

'Heaps better, thanks. The knee is very comfortable.

Thanks for what you've done.'

He gave her a faint1y whimsical look.'lt goes against
the grain, doesn't it, that it had to be me? May 1 say I'm
happy to have been of service?'

Dru was silent.

He went on, '1 would like to take this opportunity to
apologize for my behaviour last evening. It wasn't the

action of a gentleman. I'm sorry.' .

Dru struggled to speak indifferent1y, a herculean task
with his face so near and the warmth of his arm around
her.

'But then you hardly regarded me as a lady, did youi"
she said. '1 can't prove that 1 lost my bathing... top, but
1 do assure you that 1 had no idea who it was had the
rooms below me. The last person I ever expected to see
was yourself.' A wave of hot colour flamed over her pale
face. 'It's just occurred to me. You ... you don't think I
went bathing this morning because you were there?'

'The thought never occurred to me. I must be improv-

ing. Are we friends?' "

She raised her eyes and a curious thrill shot tbrough
her as she met his intent gaze. 'You've quite taken my
breath away.' She gave a smalllaugh. 'Yes, if you want
to.'

'It's good to hear you laugh. You're sure you haven't
hurt yourself anywhere else? I'd like to take you to the
hospital for a check-up. I'm going there after breakfast
and I can take you along with me.'

'Oh, I'm sure that isn't necessary. I always keel over at
the sight of blood no matter how I fight against it,' said
Dru.

'AlI the same, I should like to see you after breakfast to
see how you can use that knee.' He had stood up and
thrust his hands into the pockets of his bath robe. 'I've
ordered breakfast for you in here at nine o'dock. I take it
you did intend to go out afterwards?'

Dru leaned back on her pillows, feeling strangely cold
where his arm had been round her. 'I'm meeting Mart in
the canteen. He's hoping to get the rest of the day off.'
He nodded approval. 'Y ou'lI be in good hands. He'll
probably see that you rest. See you later.'

Her knee felt a little stiff when she stood up on ít after
breakfast. But she felt little the worse. The tap on her
door startled her more than a little, although she had
been prepared for it. He strode in on a wave of fresh air,
immaculate and glowing.

'Ready?' he asked, his keen eyes on her lightly made up
face. 'Y ou look a better colour. How do you feel?'

'Fine, thanks.'

'And the knee?' The grey eyes were speculative, though
he smiled charmingly.

'That's all right too.' She smiled brightly. 'In fact
there's no reason why you should take me to hospital. I've
taken up enough of your time.'

He digested this thoughtfully, then spoke with chal-
lenging forthrightness.

'Shall I carry you to the car, or can you make it?'

She looked perfectly capable of doing the latter, and not
wishing him to think she was being arch, she said quietly,
'I'm quite capable of walking.'

The car was parked near to the hotel entrance and she
slipped inside after he had taken her beach bag and tossed
it on to the back seat.

'Comfortable, Miss Temple?' he asked before starting
the car, and she wondered what else he had found out

about her. '

The silence which foIlowed was not an easy one. To
begin with, Dru was trying to dissect her feelings. Her
companion was disturbing enough as an enemy. As a
friend, he was too disturbing for words. A longing to be
with Mart where everything was straightIorward and un-
complicated swept over her. Mart was so easy to be with.
The man beside her, with his remote smile and magnetic
charm, was dangerous to her peace of mind. At the same
time she was deeply aware of a delicious fear and won-
dered with an apprehension new to her what lay ahead.

She gave him a swift sidelong glance without tuming
her head. The firm, brown profile and the strong hands
holding the wheellooked as unshakable as his cruiser; he
was the kind of man who would never flap in any emerg-
ency,

His dark hair was cut short and almost hidden by the
uniform hat which he wore correctly and not at a pro-
vocative angle. Dru was guessing his age to be around
thirty when he tumed his slate grey eyes upon her sud-
denly,

'How are you liking the island?' he asked.

'Very mucho I suppose it's only one of many suco
places you've visited in the course of your duty?'

'Yes. We get around,' laconically.

The silence was restrained. For a man whose keen
trained eyes missed nothing he was surprisingly reticent.
'Well?' he asked with a hint of amusement in his
voice,

Dru started, aware that she had been staring at him. "1
... I'm sorry, I didn't realize I was staring. I was wonder-

ing what kind of man you are.'

'Don't attempt to discover what makes me tick,' he

mocked. 'We men of the sea are no different from the

landlubbers. We happen to live by the rules and like it.'

'But surely you enjoy being ashore? Even a life you

enjoy can become tedious when you see the same faces

day after day?'

'Naturally, I'm enjoying the break. 1 would enjoy it

more if 1 was sure the men were going to be all right. Half

the crew are sick.'

'lt must have been very worrying for you.'

'The M.O. has had the brunt of it. He thought it wise

to bring the men ashore to the hospital in case of com-

pIications.'

The short ron to the hospital dispensed with further

conversation and after parking the car, Dru and he parted

company once inside the hospital.

'Good morning, darling.' Mart was there, grinning

down at her before she could make her way to the can-

teen. 'You couldn't have timed it better. I'm simply gasp-

ing for a coffee.'

He escorted her to white cane chairs and a small table

in a comer of the staff canteen and fetched the coffee.

'ls that heightened colour for me?' he wanted to know,

and grinned at her over his cupo

Dru raised a hand to her flushed cheek and feIt her

heart stilI beating heavily after her encounter with the

captain. Part angry with herseIf for being so foolish and

part angry with Mart for being so discerning, she said

rather indignantly, 'We're not exactly at the North Pole

and the sun is already hot - or hadn't you noticed?'

'1 might have done had 1 not been so busy Iooking at

you.' He Iooked appreciatively at her golden hair, her

golden tanned shoulders emerging tantalizingly from her

primrose beach suit and her embarrassed smile. 'The

golden girl from the west,' he murmured. 'What a setting

for you among the peonies! 1 bet the captain couldn't tear

himself away from those sparkling green eyes.'

'Don't miss a thing, do you?' Dru shook her head.

'Some girl is going to have to be on her toes when she

marries you. The captain gave me a lift here and I'm sure

he wouldn't have noticed the colour of my eyes. 1 can

imagine him looking a woman over to see if her slip was

showing or if she had a hair out of place, that's all.'

Mart laughed. 'You have a point there. The hospital

staff haven't half been sprucing themselves up since the

Navy arrived. Some of the nurses, 1 noticed, have been

sporting new hair-styles. A uniform can work wonders.

Anyway, the hunt is now focussed on Navy personnel. It

gives our chaps a breathing space.'

Dru smiled. 'Maybe it's as well I'm here. At least you

won't feel so deserted with a fiancée around.'

'1 don't know about that. Since word has gone around

about you 1 seem to be receiving more covetous looks

than before.'

Dru shrugged lightheartedly. 'Sheer wishful thinking.

You're probably handing out more hungry looks than you

did now that you've fenced yourself in with a fiancée. 1

wonder how long you'll stick it?'

She would have given anything in that moment for

Mart to tell her to drop the whole thing. But Mart simply

took down the rest of his coffee.

'It's still on, my pet,' he stated, firmly putting down his

empty cupo 'However, if anyone asks when the wedding is

to be, tell them I've yet to work my passage. 1 had hoped

to spend more time with you, but 1 have the rest of the

day off!' He glanced at his wrist watch. 'Shall we go?'

He was helping her into his car when he saw her ban-

daged knee, and he sat quietly and listened as she told

him of her accident. For some reason, Dru decided not to

tell him about the captain, and she watched him take off

the bandage.

'You've bandaged it very professionalIy. 1 couldn't
have done it better myself,' he said, examining the bruise.
'1 don't think 1 would do any bathing today. While the
sea water will do it good, it will also start it bleeding
again. Hard luck. You'll have to sit and watch me enjoy-
ing myself.'

The beach Mart drove to overlooked the blue Car-
ibbean. He parked the car on a rocky plateau and they
went down to the shore where a café nestled among palms
and gay canopied tables beckoned. Behind the café were
changing huts where they put on swimsuits and while
Mart bathed, Dru paddled in the surf.

Later, they sipped iced drinks in the cool shade of trees
and laughed a lot, at least Dru did, over Mart's funny
stories of life at the hospital.

That day was only one of many really happy days for
Dru. Mart had been saving his off duty time up until her
arrival and he was able to spend some of it with her. She
rode a surfboard through flying l'pray, dived for coral,
danced until the small hours to the music of an island
band and sipped iced drinks beneath banyan trees on
gold-flecked beaches,

It was a joyful vacuum from which all problems were
banished, leaving only a warm glow of contentment. Dru
revelled in lying· in the warm sun doing absolutely
nothing. The unpolluted air was heavy with the scent of
tropical flowers drifting into her room each night to send
her off into a dreamless sleep.

. One magical day there was a visit to a vol cano, a drive
in one which nestled unexpectedly between mountain
peaks. The sud den appearance of the volcano around
a bend in the road, belching out smoke from bubbling
lava, was quite an experience, especially as they were able
to drive on to the edge of the wide shallow crater. It was
fun to leave the car and step cautiously over hot stones,
then wash off the lava dust under a mountain stream.

CHAPTER THREE

SATURDAY was the evéning of Wisp Mallon's birthday
ball. Dru stepped out of a scented b'ath to put on her
nicest evening dress in delicate blue-green taffeta to
impart a rich glow to her lightly tanned skin and deepen
the green of her eyes. She looked cool, fresh and radiant
with the golden tendrils of hair caressing the lovely
planes of her face. The high-coiffured hair-style suited
her face, throwing into relief the widely spaced bright
eyes, the youthful contours of her cheeks and the little
firm chino She was ready when Mart called, looking very
distinguished in a white evening jacket over black
trousers.

He looked her over with approval from the mohair
stole around her slim shoulders to the twinkling feet in
silver sandals, as he helped her into his caro

'1 can see you being the belle of the ball tonight - only
don't forget you're supposed to be engaged to me,' he said
as he slid into his seat beside her.

An air of gaiety welcomed them as they drove along
the drive of Govemment House beneath trees festooned
with fairy lights. Mart parked the car and they were
greeted at the entrance by an elderly servant who smiled
and stood aside with a murmured greeting for them to
entero Dru was aware of the perfume from masses of
flowers decorating the hall and a radiant Wisp in white
organza with a flower in her dark hair waiting to greet
them.

Her parents stood a little behind her. Sir Athol Mallon
looked a kindly man, with white wings of hair at his
temples and horn-rimmed spectacles. Lady Mallon,
charmingly dressed in lavender blue, was an older edition

of her pretty daughter. Generously equipped by nature to

make a success as the wife of a govemor, Lady Mallon

had achieved a sophisticated poise and chic during her

term of office which she could not fail to pass on to her

daughter. Dru tried hard to imagine Wisp as a struggling

registrar's wife and failed.

Introductions were made politely and they moved on

to make way for further arrivals. Thé room they entered

was already half filled with a select gathéring evidently

already acquainted with each other. Uniformed footmen

moved silently around balancing filled trays over the

coiffured heads of beautifully dressed women and men

whose white evening jackets looked well against their

tan.

Mart pushed a drink into Dru's hand from a passing

tray and helped himself to one. Liane stood further along

the room beneath a crystal chandelier. Her scarlet gown

emphasized her curves deliciously and she looked like a

bright peony among the white jackets which surrounded

her.

Mart, tossing her a calculating look, said sourly, 'Liane

is in top form as usual!'

Dru chuckled. 'And why not? Good hunting!'

'You're as bad as the rest of 'em,' he growled. 'Hus-

band-crazy.'

Dru's chuckle became a low musicallaugh and several

heads tumed belonging to Liane's admiring circle.

'Y ou're not being very gallant, Mart,' she reprimanded.

''Y ou aren't jealous by any chance?'

'Good lord, that'll be the day,' he answered, tossing off

his drink.

Dru took down a little more of hers, enjoyed the cool

tang in her throat and tumed as a man approached.

Black eyes captured her own surprised green ones and

held them.

'Won't you introduce me, Mart?' the newcomer mur-

mured, looking Dru over with frank appraisal.

Mart did so politely but perfunctorily. 'Dru, meet one

of my colleagues, Francis Gurley. My fiancée, Dru

Temple.'

'De!ighted to meet you, Miss Temple. Perhaps we shall

meet again later as 1 see we're about to go into dinner.'

He had kissed her hand in a manner as Latin as his

appearance, complimenting her on her beauty and saying

how refreshing it was to find a golden flower among so

many darker blooms. His remark was exaggerated since

there were quite a few blonde Englishwomen among the

guests, but Dru could not help but feel flattered. He was

exceedingly good-lookíng in a dark, foreign kind of way,

and she murmured some reply as Mart led her away to

join the trickle into the dining room.

Walking to their allotted places some way down the

long glittering table, Dru was aware of several officers

entering the room. Keith Falkner's wide shoulders

seemed to dominate the small group as they parted to find

their places. More than one pair of feminine eyes were

drawn in his direction, including her own. She felt the

energy and power emanating from him, divided as they

were by a crowd of people.

With a charming smile he was seating Lady Mallon

and Wisp before taking his allotted place between them.

Dru, taking her seat beside Mart, viewed the ar-

rangement with satisfaction. The air of the room was nar-

cotic enough with the Captain keeping his distance. From

where she sat his dark face was still visible, heightened by

his white smile as he laughed at some remark of Wisp's.

To Dru, with Mart attentive and amusing on one side

and an elderly man attached to the staff of Government

House on the other, the time passed swiftly and

pleasantly.

Later, in the ballroom, Dru and Mart became lost in

the happy crowd. The large windows leading into the

grounds were thrown open and everyone seemed to en joy
the dancing. Pete Brady and bis party entertained during
an interval when refreshments were served.

Captain Keith Falkner had chatted to the Govemor
and bis wife for quite some time between dancing first
with bis hostess, then with several other women. And he
had kept bis distance - a fact which Dru appreciated
since the longer the space between them, the better she
could relax.

Muncbing refreshments with Mart, she sat back in her
chai-r near to the open window and gazed out over the
beautiful grounds. Blossoms drifted down like snow from
trained creepers partially obscuring the veranda roof and
she breathed in their fragrance blissfulIy.

'Doesn't the garden smell heavenly?' she said drows-
ily.

'An island paradise with dangerous undercurrents,'
said Mart, bis legs outstretched comfortably in front of
him.

'lt must be the air,' she said lightly.

'1 agree. lt certainly gives one an appetite. Mind if 1
join you?'

Pete Brady stood there grinning, armed with a plateful
of food and drink. Mart waved a lazy hand to a vacant
chair next to his own. 'Not at all. Take a seat.'

In between demolishing the food on his plate, Pete
talked of amusing incidents that had happened to the
company through the years, adding that their next desti-
nation was Germany. Near the end of the interval, Dru
went to the powder room to repair her make-up and
found herself sharing a mirror with Liane.

'Lovely party,' Liane said with a friendly smile.
Dru agreed.

Liane used lipstick and surveyed the result in the
mirror. 'Pity your enjoyment is somewhat restricted by
your engagement to Mart. AlI those gorgeous ship's

officers too.' Her dark eyes slid ineaningly to Dru's ring-
less left hand. 'Y ou're still not wearing a ring, which is
something when you're not with Mart. I'd have fun if 1
were you.'

Dru wondered if Liane's remarks were meant as lead-
ing questions, and answered them as such. '1 aro having
fun. Besides, other men don't count when you're more
or less engaged. At least, that's how I see it.'

'Must be a heavenly feeling.' Liane's tone was frankly
cynical.'I'll have to try it myself some time. Take my tip,
though, and never give too much of yourself to any man ..
It's always a mistake.'

Their eyes met in the mirror, Liane's hard and bright,
Dru's wide and wary. Then Liane had gone. The woman
had certainly planted her feet firmly on the ground, Dru
mused, taking a last look at her face in the mirror. Her
training as a nurse could have disciplined her emotions to
a certain extent. On the other hand, some women never
gave anything of themselves. They had simply nothing to
give.

On retuming to the place where she had left Mart, Dru
found him in conversation with Wisp and Keith. Pete had
gone. She had the feeling of walking into deep water
gradually rising to press against her chest and restrict her
breathing. This is ridiculous, she scolded herself. He's
only another man, after all.

Wisp was standing looking down at Mart in exasper-
ation. 'Oh, come on,' she demanded. 'Y ou're not tired at
all. You just want to be awkward. You haven't danced
with me all evening.'

"My dear girl, 1 could not have got near enough to ask
you if I had wanted to,' Mart drawled.

'Well, you can now.'

Dru was hardly aware of Mart rising to bis feet to drift
away with Wisp in bis arms. She was too conscious of
Keith, who was now looking down at her.

'May I?' he asked politely.

His deep voice, like his regard, was purely impersonal
and for a second or so she hesitated, about to refuse. It
was hardly complimen tary to know that he had been
foreed to request the dance out of politeness. Then, with a
tight little smile, she surrendered.

Neither spoke.· He danced easily and correctly as
though he had accepted the social graees as being as
much a part of his life as his duties on board ship. On her
part, Dru was airbome with the rhythm of his body at
one with her own. This was something she had never
experienced before, this wonderful feeling of unison. Puz-
zled, she was asking herself why the sudden exhilaration,
the craving to go on dancing in the arms of aman with
whom she had found it so difficult to relax. In some subtle
way he was drawing her on to aplane of deeper
emotional feeling and thinking like drifting into some
safe, cosy harbour. None of it was real. It could not be.
There was a dreamlike quality about it indueed by the
haunting music and the arrogant tilt of his well shaped
head outlined against the 'wall lights as they circ1ed the
room. Really, she was all kinds of a fool to dramatize a
perfectly ordinary situation which had arisen from a
challenge of different personalities.

'How is the knee?'

Dru started and missed a step, for she had completely
forgotten about her injured knee which had practically
healed.

'Oh ... er •.. better, thanks,' she stammered.

The firm mouth, on a level with her eyes, twitched,
'Dancing is as good a test as any.'

'1 always heal well.'

Dru hardly recognized her own voice. The stupid
breathless feeling was back again and she was hating her-
self for being so weak. They spoke no more and as the
dance number ended Wisp joined them. Mart had been

called away to the phone, she told Dru, who excused her-
self and went in search of him.

He was putting the phone down in the hall. 'Sorry,
Dru, 1 have to go to the hospital right away. One of my
special cases is causing concern.' He consulted his wrist
watch. 'As it's not yet eleven o'clock you must stay on.
The fun is only just beginning. 1'11 come back later if 1
can. If not Wisp will see that you're taken back to the
hotel,'

The next moment he had gone. Time passed swiftly
after that, for Dru was claimed for every dance. One of
her most persistent partners had been Francis Gurley, the
good-looking doctor whom Mart had introduced as a col.
league. He was an excellent danger, but he obviously fan-
cied himself as a ladies' man judging by the rather
intimate way in which he held her.

Dru heartily disliked men of this kind and she greeted
Wisp with a sense of relief when she approached at the
end of the dance number to draw her aside.

'Mart has rung up to say he won't be free to come back,
so Keith will take you to the hotel later.' Her face was
flushed with excitement.'Have fun - I must dash to see
about the firework display in the grounds.'

Wisp, living up to her name, was away with a swirl of
perfumed skirts, Ieaving Dru with her dislike of the idea
of Keith taking her to the hotel tuming into a kind of
panic. She would think something out during the next
hour or so, steal away and phone for a taxi. It was a
thought.

'Shall we go to see the firework display?'

Francis Gurley took her elbow and guided her from the
ballroom into the grounds. They were joined by other
guests making for the lake. He walked her to a secluded
comer a little away from the rest of the crowd who were
focussing the illuminated windmill at the far side with its
reflection mirrored in the water. It was there that the

fireworks were to be discharged.

It was a fascinating display as rainbow colours ex-
ploded in the sky to cascade down in fiery rain into the
water. Dru, engrossed in the performance, was almost
unaware of Francis taking her hand. As his hold tightened
however, she was dragged away from the last quivering
spectacle of a realistic waterfall to wriggle her hand free.

'Shall we go to the buffet?' she suggested hurriedly,
preferring anything sooner than linger in the grounds
with him when the other guests had strolled indoors, In
the buffet, they were caught up in the gay crowd and Dru
scarcely had time to finish her long drink before she was
whirled away by Pete for a dance.

By now the ball was becoming riotously gay with car-
nival streamers and balloons floating around. Dru man-
aged to evade Francis by the fact that she was in great
demand as a partner. She had seen Keith from time to
time dancing with Liane more than once, and she tried
not to be aware of him. She failed, of course, and was
annoyed to find it impossible to be as indifferent to him as
he appeared to be to her. His vibrant personality carne
across despite the crowd of people, and she noticed
against her will that he appeared to be a little aloof from
. the young noisy crowd surrounding him, Liane had
caught one of the flowers being pelted indiscriminately
across the room and, after putting it to her lips, placed it
in his buttonhole.

Then Dru saw no more,for Francis Gurley had cut in on
her and her partner to swing her away in the direction of
the garden. The warm scented air of the garden was all
around them as he danced her down a broad path to a
more secluded spot among the trees.

The moon had risen and with the muted sound of the
music floating on the still night air nothing could have
been more romantic, Yet to Dru the very air which she
breathed held a warning. Perhaps Francis could not be

blamed altogether for being rather free with her because
she had regarded him as taking Mart's place. But while
she was obliged to the man for paying her such marked
attention, any lovemaking in the grounds was definitely
out. He was not her kind of man and she had Mart to
consider.

An overhanging cluster of white blossom showered
upon them like confetti as Francis swung her round and
they both stopped and laughed.

'Don't they smell gorgeous?' she said, catching one as it
floated down and putting it to her nose.

''Y ou have them in your hair,' he murmured. lAllow
me.'

She stood quite still while he picked off petals from her
hair and shoulders, and the next moment he had grabbed
her into his arms.

Dru could not struggle, she could not move - his grip
saw to that. Her arms were pinned by her sides and her
face was being forced back as his lips rested suffocatingly
on hers.

'When you're ready, Miss Temple.'

She was released instantly as the last ofthe metallic
words hit the soft evening air. Shaken, she put a trem-
bling hand to her hair and endeavoured to fill her lungs
with much-needed air while controlling herself at the
same time. The unexpectedness of the clipped English
tones had shaken her as much as the brutal embrace. It
did not help to know that Keith would probably have
been guided to them by the sound of their laughter.

That being the case he would never believe she had
been kissed against her will.

Francis said, 'I'11 take Miss Temple home when she's
ready.'

'I' d say she was more ready now to be taken back to her
hotel, and you're not the one to take her,' The curt com-
ment brooked no interference.

Dru by now was growing calmer and she saw some-
thing more beside the broad outline of her rescuer's
shoulders and the dark head. He was holding her wrap,
which he now dropped on to her shoulders with a dis-
dainful flick of his hands.

She stumbled forward and the walk back to where his
car was parked seemed never-ending, The scene was a gay
one as the cars of guests drove away down the drive lit by
fairy lights in the trees to the babel of voices saying their
goodbyes. Inside Keith's car all was quieto Dru felt a little
sick and annoyed with herself for allowing Francis to go
so faro Yet, looking back, she did not see how she could
have avoided it. It had been the blossoms, of course,
laughing up at him and catching a blossom. Had it been a
provocative gesture? It had not been meant tobe, It was
too late now 10 do anything about it. Keith Falkner would
have to believe what he had seen and he could hardly
refute the evidence of his own eyes.

If his profile was anything to go by he was definitely
not in a convincing kind of mood. He kept his attention
on the road ahead and travelled at speed as if he could
not reach the hotel soon enough. However, she was grate-
fuI to him for having appeared when he did, for he had
rescued her from a very unpleasant situation.

Strain weakened her voice. '1 would like to thank you
for ... for giving me a lift back to the hotel.'

He lowered his headlights as a car appeared around a
bend in the road. When he had flicked them on again, he

said coldly, '1 would have given a yone else a lift back in
the circumstances. Mter all, we're both going the same
way.'

Something, a little core inside her insisting upon fair
play, forced her to continue. 'The scene you carne across
in the garden just now was ... was not what it seemed.'
'I'm not interested, Miss Temple.'

Dru bit on her lower lip, 'But 1 want to explain. I'm

very grateful for you turning up just when you did.'
'Let's forget it, shall we?' he said curtly. 'There's
nothing to be gained by continuing with this con-
versation.'

Suddenly Dru was angry, very angry. :'Why do you
insist upon thinking the worst of me?'

'On the contrary, 1 think you're a very clever young
woman.'

'Clever?' she echoed. 'In what way?'

'In the way you try to turn every indiscretion into
something that's not quite your fault, Give it up. You
have no substance to back any of your protestations of
innocence. '

She said quietly, 'You still think 1 made the story up
about the missing swimsuit top, don't you?'

'Like 1 said before - you can't produce it.'

Dru sat back in her seat, giving him a killing Iook from
her green eyes.

'Not being able to produce it doesn't mean that it was
never there. However, you were right - it's quite pointless
to continue with this conversation, You and 1 haven't a
thing in common.'

'You're probably right,' he replied, aggravatingly un-
moved. 'On the other hand, it's been extremely interest-
ing meeting you, especialIy our first meeting which
literally took my breath away.'

Dru felt the colour rush under her skin.Her face flamed.

He had wanted to embarrass her and he had succeeded.
But she would not give him the satisfaction of knowing it.
She rnade no answer, but kept her head turned away from
him to look through her window. Then on Iegs that
trembled she stumbled from the car almost before it had
pulled in at the Garland Hotel.

Stalking to the entrance, she collided with the uni-
formed figure of the night porter. Though winded by the
unexpected encounter, he was delighted to see her,

'Miss Temple,' he gasped onregained breath, 'I've
been wanting to see you. 1 think 1 have something of
yours. It fell on my head the other night as 1 was passing
beneath the balconies on my usual tour of inspection. I
rammed it in my pocket until I'd finished my rounds,
then promptly forgot all about it.' He fumbled in the
pocket of his jacket and drew forth the missing swimsuit
topo 'At least, I presume it's yours. It's a small size,
round about yours, I'd say.'

He held it up hopefully.

'Y es, it's mine.' Dru accepted it politely, aware of Keith
not far behind her. It was a chance too good to be missed.
'1 rather think the Captain might find it interesting.' The
next moment she had flung it in his face. 'Better measure
it for size. Thirty-four. Now perhaps you'll believe me!'

With that she stalked past the astounded night porter
into the hotel.

Dru slept fitfully that night and awoke on a note of
conflict to recall two things simultaneously, the ball at
Government House and meeting the night portero The
next moment she was laughing helplessly into her pillow
as she remembered his shocked expression. The poor man
would wonder what it was all about, and Keith would
hardly enlighten him. She knew she ought to be ashamed
of herself, yet she was not, although it worcied her a little:
to think of going again to Government House later in case
he was there.

Dru never remembered being so rude in the whole of
her life, but the superior Captain had certainly asked for
it. Fortunately for her peace of mind he was not one of
the party at Government House when Mart took her there
after lunch. As Wisp had said, they were mostly young
people who were unanimous in deciding to spend the
afternoon on the lake.

It was a welcome idea to Dru, who could not imagine a
more pleasant way of spending an afternoon than onthe

cool water in the heat of the day. Mart found a boat, gave
her a hand and rowed off into deeper water. They drifted
idly after a while and Dru gazed back at the house dream-
ing in the sun with the reflection of the grounds mirrored
in the water.

'Have you noticed that the owners of beautiful large
houses in spacious grounds hardly, if ever, have large
families to enjoythem?' she asked dreamily.

Trailing her hand luxuriously through the water, she
watched as Mart tossed a careless glance back at the
house. 'Children these days cost the earth, and the upkeep
of a Iarge house is virtually impossible unless one happens
to have plenty of money.'

Dru looked at him thoughtfully. 'You do want to
marry some day, though, don't you, Mart? 1 can't im-
agine you remaining dedicated to your work. lt isn't you
somehow.'

'1 have to be dedicated until I've made the grade.

Which reminds me - 1 have something to ask you.'

He had rowed away from the rest of the guests, al-
though they could still be seen and heard. Pulling in the
oars, he allowed the boat to drift and leaned forward.

'1 want you to act as the possessive type of fiancée. By
that 1 mean if the question of our breaking off the en-
gagement comes up in public, 1 want you to refuse to
release me.'

'Is that likely to happen?'

He shrugged. 'One never knows. 1 could go berserk and
forget my vow to persist in my studies to the bitter
end.'

Dru asked slowly, 'Have you anyone in mind?'
'No. But it's as well to be prepared.'

'Liane, for instance?'

He laughed a little self-consciously, erm afraid 1 took
Liane out more than the usual number of times. That was-
when 1 was a raw recruit. Fortunately, she isn't the type

to stick to one man. She likes a change. At the moment
it's the dashing Captain Falkner.'

'And Wisp Mallon?'

'Wisp is just a child out to enjoy herself, but there's a
risk that she could become emotional some time.'

Dru sat back in her seat wondering just what she had
let herself in foro She knew little or nothing about his
way of life on the island apart from the hospital. Posing as
his fiancée could still be fun if she did not become too
deeply involved. For one thing, she hated scenes of any
kind in public or otherwise and did not fancy being
caught up in one.

Dru steadied her thoughts and said quietly, 'Hadn't
you better put me in the picture?'

'There is no picture, my peto Sometimes circumstances
can be very misleading.'

Dru thought about her encounters with Keith and
'could see his point.

'1 agree. But aren't you forgetting 1 shall only be here
for a short time? What happens when I'm gone?'

'By then you'll have been here long enough for every-
one to meet you. You're such a sweet person that no one
will have the slightest desire to step into your shoes.
They'll regard me as your property when you've gone.'
He regarded her gravely, 'Will you do it?'

Dru hesitated, realizing that her life on the island had
already been cut to a pattern. Perhaps it was something in
the clear air, or the intoxication of the breathless, lovely
evenings, which gave her a feeling of wanting to be free
from any entanglements - free from belonging to anyone,
even to Mart. But she had already committed herself, and
to Dru, who was always loyal to any contract, that was
that. •

Dinner that evening at Government House was up-
roariously gayo The food was delicious, the wine perfect
and the service second to none. Sir Athol and Lady

Mallon had gone to the other side of the island to fulfil
several engagements and Wisp was letting her hair down.
She was the life and soul of the party.

Mart was not doing too badly either, Dru thought,
watching him sparkle in his usual witty and amusing
way. She could see his fascination for a girl like Wisp.
Their attitude to each other was crisp to the point of
rudeness, with Wisp advancing and Mart imperceptibly
retreating. Watching them baiting each other across the
table, Dru recalled her conversation with him earlier on
the lake.

Was he afraid of Wisp, Wisp who could marry any man
she set out to get with her looks, impish charm and
money? Maybe it was just as well that Mart had no il-
lusions about himself. He knew quite clearly what direc-
tion he was going. It was a road he wanted to take. His
father had set his feet upon it and he felt that with her
help he might finally reach his goal.

They had coffee on the veranda with a waiter serving
from a trolley. Cigarette and cigar smoke mingled with
nocturnal scents from the garden and, after a Ieisurely
interlude, the guests began to trickle towards the ball-
room where a radiogram played for dancing.

Wisp did her best to persuade Mart to join them.
'Come on, lazybones. Dancing,' she said.

But Mart refilled his coffee cup. 'Too lazy, Wisp. Go
and enjoy yourself. More coffee, Dru?'

Dru nodded, wanting to hang on to the sweet un-
trarnmelled moments of peace and tranquillity. However,
she saw Wisp's impatience, and she was their guest and a
very sweet one. It was wrong for Mart to annoy her delib-
erately. She was about to speak when she saw Wisp smil-
ing suddenly at someone who had entered the veranda
immediately behind them.

'Keith darling,' Wisp cooed. 'So you do come some-
times. Where have you been, you naughty boy?'

Dru's nerves tightened as the deep brown voice spoke

from somewhereabove her head. .

'1 don't happen to be. on holiday, my sweet,' Keith
drawled. '1 told you I couldn't make it today.'

'Never mind.' Wisp was shining up at him. 'Dancing' is
just beginning.'

'So I believe,' was the tolerant reply. 'When I looked
into the ballroom just now I was reminded of a college
ball on Boat Race Night with all the sweet young things
letting their hair down. Any coffee going?'

'Really, you men!'

Fuming with temper, Wisp flounced away, Ieaving
Keith to take off his uniform hat and lower himself into a
chair beside Mart. Dru kept her eyes lowered while Mart,
reaching for a clean cup and saucer from the trolley,
poured coffee and handed it to him.

'Thanks,' he said. '1 want a word with you. I won't
keep you long.'

'You're not keeping uso I'm expecting a call from the
hospital at any moment - I gather that's what you want
to talk to me about. Your unfortunate chief engineer?'
Mart smiled encouragingly.

Dru tensed, wondering if Keith was going to make
some caustic remark about seeing her in Francis Gurley's
arms the previous evening. Surely not? Not even he could
be that malicious. While it was not important if he did,
she shrank from being the centre of an unpleasant scene,
for Mart would almost certainly tackle Francis Gurley
about it.

Keith stretched out long legs and spoke on a grim note.
'Yes. A good man, my first engineer O'Brian. Poor devil.
Sheer bad luck that we had to pulI in to the island be-
cause of the outbreak of sickness among the crew. Had we
kept right on we should have been in home waters by now
for the ship to have the overhaul she so badly needs. How
bad is he?'

'We're hoping he'll pull through,' Mart answered opti-
mistically. 'Quite a memorable trip, skipper, what with
your crew dropping round you like ninepins from sus-
pected food poisoning and your chief engineer badly
scalded in the engine room. They say bad luck runs in
threes. I trust your third dose is of a lighter nature.'

'In a way it was, but just as shattering,' laconically.
Mart looked interested, but before he could say any-
thing more the phone rang shri11y from indoors.

'That will be for me,' he said, rising to his feet. 'Excuse
me. 1'11 be back, Dru.'

Keith had taken down his coffee, put down his cup and
produced cigarettes. When Dru refused one, he lighted
one for himself and smoked in silence.

Desperately, Dru wished Mart would hurry back to fill
the empty seat between them. Scarcely knowing what she
was doing, she filled her own coffee cup and in doing so
was compelled to refi11 Keith's. Was it only moments ago
that she had been so relaxed and happy? Now she was
anything but. The air fairly bristIed with angry words
and a swimsuit top sailing through the air because she
had passed the limit of her self-control. But then he had
been equally rude and very arrogant.

'Well, that was good news,' Mart said as he joined
them, hands thrust in his pockets as he looked down at
them. 'O'Brian is responding to treatment. We've tried a
new drug and it seems to be paying off.'

'You mean he's out of danger?' Keith queried.

Mart refused to comrnit himself. 'It's a little early yet
to say for sure. However, he's survived the initial shock
and everything is going accarding to plan. I take it you've
sent for his wife?'

'Ves, right away. I felt we owed him that.'

A whirlwind that was Wisp appeared at that moment to
grab Mart's armbefore he could sit down again.

'Come on. We're short of men partners. Dru can come

with Keith.'

She whisked him away and Keith watched them go
with raised brows. Then his attention carne back to Dru
and with it the whole force of his personality. Non-
chalantly, he flicked a glance at her ringless left hand.

'That hand of yours would have more power behind it
in holding on to your man if he had put a ring on it,' he
commented dryly, picking up his newly filled cup of coffee.

Dru lifted her chino 'I've a fairly good right hand,' she
answered stoically.

She was favoured with the kind of sardonic smile she
expected. '1 agree. You scored a bull's-eye with your
swimsuit.'

Her face was a pink rose. '1 suppose you expect an
apology. But you did ask for it.'

There was mockery in his gaze after he had taken some
of his coffee.

'As a matter of fact,' he informed her obligingly, 'I'm
keeping your suit in order to present it personally with
my sincere apologies fór misjudging you.' The twinkle
deepened. His eyes became darker in consequence. '1 shall
... er ... present it like a gentleman, of course.'

'Of course,' she echoed, making no attempt to restrain
the sarcasm in her voice.

Keith, however, seemed unperturbed by it. Re drained
his coffee, stubbed out his cigarette and rose lithely to his
feet. '1 must go,' he said. 'I'm sure you'll excuse me.
Thanks for the coffee.' Re picked up his uniform hat, put
it on his neatly trimmed hair and looked down on her
mockingly.

Dru did not attempt to hide her relief and her active
brain took in every detail of his appearance, the arrogant
keenness, the athletic perfectly built body enhanced by
the immaculate cream uniform with the gold braid on the
broad shoulders depicting his rank. Re was a splendid
symbol of success and achievement, everything that Mart

was still struggling foro

Re saluted derisively. 'Goodnight, Miss Temple. A
pleasant evening.'

She sat quivering when he had gone. The night scents,
warm and comforting, were aIl around her, but the con-
tentment was no more. There had been a cold malice in
his smile. Maybe he was mocking fate which, at the
moment, seemed to be dead against him. Re had been
bitter enough about the third misfortune to befall him.
She wondered what it was. Come to think of it, he looked
tired - a fact which set her wondering why she should feel
con cerned. Mart carne for her as she was finishing her
coffee and the rest of the evening was uneventful.

Mart appeared to be strangely preoccupied when he
was driving her back later to the hotel. Dru had to ask
him twice how long the Mallons had been on the island
before he answered.

'Ten years,' he volunteered. 'Wisp carne back twelve
months ago from a finishing school in Switzerland. We
happen to sit next to each other on the plane coming
overo She'd done some shopping in London before re-
turning home.'

'Then you're old friends?'

'You could say that.' Mart shrugged, leaving Dru won-

dering whether he was as indifferent as he professed to be.

'She's fond of you.' .

Again the careless shrug. 'Wisp is fond oí everyone.'
'Enough to drag aman away from his supposed fiancée

to dance?'

He laughed. 'Wisp is like that. She could have been
playing up to her cousin.'

Dru wrinkled a youthful brow. 'Her cousin?'

'Captain Falkner. His mother is Sir Athol's sister. They
both inherited a piJe of money from the family estates.'
'Interesting,' she murmured. "That explains why he re-
gardshimself asfairgamefor the husband-hunting females.'

They had reached the hotel and Mart switched off the
engine to face her companionably, his arm on the driving
wheel. 'He has reason to be. That's why he took room s at
this hotel, to escape the parties Wisp puts on at Govern-
ment House as much as possible. He's still on duty if his
crew is sick. 1 believe he can be quite a lad when he
chooses and he has something - you have only to watch
the women's reaction when he's around.'

'He's quite capable of handing out the frozen mitt,'
Dru commented dryly.

Mart tweaked a brow. 'You don't like the man?'

'1 have 110 reason to like him, have 1? He was con-
vinced from the moment 1 so idiotically kissed him on my
arrival that 1 was one of those designing females he's so
dead against.'

'1 like him. He's a good sort and is very con cerned
about his chief engineer and his crew. He's been to Mar-
tinique today concerning the bug his ratings seemed to
have picked up there. 1 wouldn't be surprised to know
that he hasn't only missed lunch but dinner this evening
as well. 1 noticed how thirstily he drank the coffee.'

Dru spoke impatiently because she felt so concerned.
'Surely he could have eaten here before he left in such a
hurry?'

'No time, probably. He's gone to .meet the O'Brian
family off the planeo He'd called here to see me first to
know what to tell them about O'Brian's chances. He
wanted to prepare them for what they had to face.'

'And you think O'Brian is going to recover?'

. 'Well, he's tough and we don't like to lose a case. He
has a good chance.'

Dru smiled. 'You're going to make a fine doctor, Mart.

Your father will be proud of you.'

She 'looked at him with more conccntration than her
usual quick perusal, aware that he was doing the same
with her and finding it interesting. Dru liked the amiable,

boyish lines of his face, his sensible outlook underneath
which lurked an inhibited warmth and a glimpse of ma-
turity in the making. His mouth had curved good-
humouredly, making the rather weak lines of his jaw,
which any woman in love with him would not notice,
seem less apparent. It roused all her protective instincts
and her smile became maternal. The next moment she
was regretting it, for he slid an arm around her to draw
her close.

'Now, now,' she admonished. 'Don't push your luck too
faro I'm not that kind of a girl. 1 know you're on the band
wagon where affairs are concerned, but don't expect me
to improvise.'

'Not even a kiss?'

'Not even a kiss, my boy.' Dru wriggled free and
opened the car door. 'And don't think for a moment I'm
leading you on. One member of the medical profession is
enough in any family! See you tomorrow.'

In her room, Dru stood at her window. The moon cast
a bright silvery beam across the water throwing into relief
the superstructure of the cruiser anchored out in the bay.
She sought the cabins with eyes trying to pinpoint which
could be the Captain's. Then, as though her thoughts had
summoned his memory into reality, his car suddenly slid
to a standstill on the forecourt beneath her window.

Seconds later he was helping two people out, a young
woman in her early twenties and a boy of about six years
oId. The forecourt was moonwashed as Iight as day and
the young woman looked feminine and very pretty as she
stood smiling up at Keith. From the way he was smiIing
down at her, he thought so too. She was not very tall,
reaching almost up to his uniformed shoulder as they
walked into the hotel.

O'Brian's wife and son, probably, Dru thought, and
said a prayer for his recovery.

CHAPTER FOUR

DRU had awakened during the night reeal!ing Mart's
thoughtful regard when he had brought her back to the
hotel. His subsequent embrace was something she could
not entirely banish from her mind. She turned restlessly
in her bed, disturbed by it. Was it possible for him to
become fond of her? He was certainly not the man she
wanted to marry, although he appealed enormously to
the protective instinct in her. Dru wanted something more
from marriage than mothering her partner. She was not
really sure what she did want, but there had to be a
tremendous need sweeping her from her moorings in a
great tidal wave towards the man of her heart.

When she awoke again at seven o'clock, she felt more
settIed, although beneath her tranquillity an inner
emotion seemed to hold her in a strong grip, an emotion
leaving her trembling with a strange anticipation. After a
swim, she was one of the first to go down to breakfast.
The waiter looked her over appraisingly when he carne
for her order. Her dress was simplicity in itself, a tur-
quoise pattern on a white background with a cool neck-
line. The youthful line of her throat was unbroken by
jewellery, apart from two turquoise studs in her ears.

There was no sign of Keith or the O'Brians in the
dining room and Dru ate alone. Dru did not mind being
alone. She needed intervals of solitude in which to con-
tain al! the strangeness of an entirely new environment.
Back in her room, she touched up her lipstick and was
checking the contents of her beach bag when she heard
Mart outside sounding the car hooter very softly in short
peeps.

Have fun, she told herself, and went down to meet him,

dismissing a sense of impermanence which hovered like a
cloud, Above them the sky was a shirnmering blue as
Mart took the coast road. The island was awakening to
the day's activities and presented a brisk busy air as they
drove past trucks of farmworkers, big sun-scorched men
and pretty women on their way to work in the fields.

They sailed past several beaches where teak-brown
children leapt in the surf like playful porpoises. Then the
coast grew rockier with the mountains jutting out over the
sea as they turned off the road on to a narrower track
leading down to the beach.

Below them lay a rocky cove with a small sheltered
beach made prívate by thickly growing trees and shrubs.
The surf washed noisily and with joyous abandon up the
beach and as swiftly returned to the green depths. They
left the ear to drop down on to golden sand already hot
from the sun. To their left, the voleanic rocks jutted out
of waters sheltering shelves of coral where a few skin-
divers frolicked.

1 t was an enchanted spot and they both struck out in
the water for a rejuvenating swim. Later, drenched by the
surf, they raced up the beach to throw themselves down
with glorious abandon beneath the shade of trees. The
hot sand stung their feet as they ran and Mart pulled Dru
down beside him. She knew an uneasy moment when she
suddenly felt his weight on top of her and violently
heaved herself free.

'You men are all alike,' she fumed. 'You have a one-
track mind. Did you say you had a picnic basket?'

Rather sulkily Mart fetched it from the car, she spread
out a cloth and they enjoyed the repast. They spent the
afternoon sailing round the coral reefs in a glass-bot-
tomed boat loaned to them by the skin-divers nearby and,
in the evening, they dined at the Garland Hotel. As Mart
had said it was a popu1ar dining and dancing place and
very much patronized by non-residents. A cosmopolitan

crowd, they spilled out from the dining rooms on to ver-

andas and lawns beneath gaily striped umbrelIas and

there was a general air of festivity about it,

When Mart had left Dru lingered in the scented dusk

watching the tail light of his car fade away. The wall

lights outside the hotel entrance shed a soft yellow glow

and the sense of tranquillity was pleasing and com-

plete.

Slowly, her eyes travelled from the warm circle of

light, reaching the festooned trees to the crimson glow of

the horizon at one with the molten sheet of calm sea in

the bayo It drew her forward with a pleasant and breath-

taking familiarity and the warm moist air caressed her as

she made her way down to the beach.

There were one or two late-night bathers having fu~ in

the surf and on reaching the beach, she moved away in

the opposite direction, kicking driftwood and seaweed ab-

sentIy with the toe of her slipper as she gazed downwards.

lt was quite some time before she looked up without real-

izing how far she had walked. Then, on the point of turn-

ing back, she saw it.

At first, she thought it was a small bundle of clothes

until, on closer inspection, she saw it was the figure of a

small boy. He lay with an arm above his head as if flung

there by the tide and she hurried forward to bend over

him anxiously. To her relief he was asleep ancI quite dry.

lt was the O'Brian boy she had seen arrive with his

mother the previous evening. A swíft glance around told

her that he was alone and that he had to be wakened if he

was not to be left there when the tide carne in.

GentIy, she pushed back the stray lock of yellow hair

from his forehead, taking in the delicate blue veined

'temples and his frailty.

'Wake up, sleepyhead,' she whispered softly in his ear,

not wishing to scare him.

He stirred and opened his eyes te .link up at her in the

bemused way of one corning out of a deep sleep. Then he

stared fixedly at her warm srnile in the gloom.

'Had a nice sleep?' she said.

He did not answer but regarded her unsmilingly with a

childlike solemnity.

'Shouldn't you be in bed, young man? It's very late and

I'm sure Mummy thinks you're fast asleep in your little

bed. What about going back with me? I'm going to bed

too.' She bent down to take his hands. 'Come on!'

He allowed her to take his hands and pull him to his

feet to walk beside her in silence,

'My name is Dru,' she told him brightly. 'What's

yours?' ,

'Bud,'he answered, trudging lethargically in the sand.

'Bud O'Brian.'

He spoke with a detached interest and her heart

warmed to him as it always did to children.

'Now that's an interesting name. Wha1's it short for? 1

mean, what's your real christian name or first name?'

'Just Bud. Mummy used to say 1 had a mouth like a

rosebud, so they called me Bud.'

'How long have you been on the beach?'

'Not long,' laconically.

'Long enough to miss supper?'

'Oh, that.' The thin shoulders shrugged supper off as

being of no consequence. 'I've had that, but 1 never eat

much anyway.'

'You don't? How's that?'

Again the shrug. 'Not hungry.'

'Have you been ill?'

'Yes. 1 take pills. 1 hate 'em.'

'What about having a glass of hot milk when you reach

the hotel to help you to sIeep?'

He gave a snort of .disgust. 'Milk? U gh! 1 hate it.'

Dru had to smile. 'Y ou could be aman and take it

because it will help you to grow big and strong. lt's only

weak people who are afraid of taking things that are good

for them.'

He looked at her then, wide-eyed and speculative, as

though that had never occurred to him. But he must have

thought it merited no answer, for they walked the rest oí

the way to the hotel in silence. To her surprise, he

stopped short at the door next to hers in the corridor.

'This is our door,' he vouchsafed.

'WilI Mummy be in?'

He shook his head. '1 don't think so.'

'Want me to come in with you?'

'If you like.'

He spoke grudgingly, but Dru felt a new warmth in his

manner towards her and folIowed him meekIy into the

room. Bud walked across the room to pause at a door and

turned to speak in childish dignity.

'You can come in when I've undressed and aro in bed,'

he said as though bestowing a favour. 'I'Il teIl you

when.'

Dru nodded and smiled comprehendingly and some-

thing tugged at her heart-strings as he entered the room

and closed the door behind him.

He looked poignantly lost in the big bed with the bed-

side lamp throwing his smaIl face into sharp angles.

Below the pyjama sleeves, his wrists w~re painfulIy thin

as his hands rested on the overturned cover of the bed.

'Sure you wouldn't like a warm drink?' Dru asked.

He shook his head and showed a certain amount of

interest.

'Are you in the next room?'

She smiled. 'Yes.'

He seemed pleased at this. ~Are yQU married?'

Dru was rather startled by this question. :'No. Why do

you ask?'

'AlI grown-ups are married. Dad's been married

twice.'

Isn't he your real daddy, then?'

'Oh yes. Mummy died when 1 was little and Daddy

married Sheila - she's my stepmother. She's alI right.'

He spoke with no deep emotion but rather like some-

one repeating a lesson. Dru wanted to gather hirn up in

her arrns and give him a warm hug. Instead, she sat down

on the bed and reached out to push the truant lock of hair

frorn his forehead. She said gent1y,

'I'm happy to know your steprnother is all right. Why

did you go to the beach when it was so late? You know 11

was wrong to leave your room after Mummy had put you

to bed?'

'1 couldn't sleep. 1 was hot.'

'But you will go to sleep now, won't you? Close your

eyes and I'Il stay with you until you do. Would you like

me to teIl you a story?'

He nodded and Dru brought her hand down gent1y

over his eyes and began.

It was not long before he was asleep and Dru sat for a

while listening to his regular breathing before leaving the

room. As she entered the main bedroorn someone entered

from the corridor. It was Mrs O'Brian, who turned on

entering as sorneone spoke behind her on the corridor.

'Your purse, Mrs. O'Brian. You left it in the car.'

Dru stiffened at the sound of the deep familiar tones

and moved back out of sight of the open door.

'Thanks, Captain Falkner. You've been very kind. I'rn

so happy to know that rny husband is going to be aIl right.

Thanks for all you've done. Goodnight.'

Dru waited while Mrs. O'Brian carne back into the

room and closed the door. 'I'm sorry,' she began, scarlet-

faced at the women's uplifted eyebrows. 'I've been telling

Bud a story. He was hot and couldn't go to sleep.'

'1 see.'

Mrs. O'Brian's brown eyes traveIled over Dru's pretty

evening dress and her slim youthful figure with an air of

dismissal. Dru took the hint and walked to the door.
'Have you far to go when you leave here, Miss ... ?'
'Dru ... Dru Temple. I happen to be staying in the
room next door.'

"Then I won't detain you, Miss Temple. Thanks for
keeping Bud company. Goodnight.'

Dru murmured a reply and left the room with a smile a
little off centre. She was not very impressed by Mrs.
O'Brian and had hoped for someone more spontaneous
and warrn.

She dosed the door behind her and her heart tumed.

Keith stood there eyeing her with a cool insolence.

'Still at it? AnyIuck this time?' Tongue in cheek, he
looked her up and down. '1 saw you through the open
door with the same scared look on your face that you had
in my rooms.'

Dru lifted her chin. 'You're imagining things as usual,
Captain. This one happened to be a little under age, but I
keep trying.'

He laughed, still barring the way to her door. His teeth
were a bar of whiteness in his tanned face and her heart
lurched strangely. Against the wall lights, his face had a
nice firm look which gave an impression of complete
confidence and inner strength. It occurred to her then
that, arrogant and exasperating though he was, he was
the kind oí man she would like around in an emerg-
ency.

He shoved his hands in his pockets. 'You really ought
to have a ring on that finger to give the poor blighters
more assurance when they find you in their rooms.'

'Very funny,' Dru retorted witheringly. 'On the other
hand, a few more encounters' with you might succeed in
putting me off entering strange bedrooms altogether.
Come to think of it, you're giving me a healthy dislike for
the whole of your sex.'

She spoke thoughts which on utterance had a ring of

truth but also made it imperative for her to escape to the
safety oí her own rooms.

'Goodnight,' she said, and fled.

When she went down to breakfast the followinsr morn-

. f O>

mg a ter an early bathe, Dru noticed Mrs. O'Brian and

Bud seated at a table nearby. Neither of them noticed her,
although the eyes oí more than one male were tumed her
way as she sat down graceful1y in a pretty sun dress which
showed to advantage the peach bloom of her slim shoul-
ders and long tanned legs.

Bud was scowling down at his breakfast and pushing it
away. Wondering about his lack of appetite, Dru wished
it could have been stimulated by a dip in the sea. Her own
appetite, keen after her moming swim, floundered as
Sheila leaned across the table to talk to him.

'Come on, Bud, eat your breakfast.'
'1 don't want it. I'm not hungry.'

'Well, drink your fruit juice. If you don't I shan't take
you to see Daddy.'

He perked up at this,' his thin figure straightening.

Eagerly, he said,

'Can I see him today?'

'If you eat your breakfast,' was the firm reply.

He reached for his fruit juice and Dru;s attention was
diverted by someone pausing at her table.

'Mind if I join you?' Pete Brady asked.

'By all means.' Dru smiled a we1come. 'Take a seat. Are
you staying at this hotel too?'

He nodded, slipping into the chair opposite to her at
the table and blocking her view of the O'Brians. The
waiter carne with a tray from which Pete helped himseIf
liberalIy to jam wafHes and fruit juice.

"True American, aren't you?' Dru teased, watching
him tucking into his favourite breakfast.

He agreed. 'Which doesn't blind me to the fact that
this island is the most delightful I've ever visited.'

'Exactly the way I feel about it, and the longer 1 stay

the more 1 like it.' Encouraged by his sincerity she con-

tinued, '1 love the evenings - they're so romantic.'

Pete eyed her appraisingly. 'While 1 like the scenery, 1

much prefer to concentrate upon the beauty of the female

form displayed here so attractively. Are you doing any-

thing today?'

'I'm going out with Mart.'

'Lucky Mart. lnfuriating how the ladies always make

for professional men and uniforms.'

'Oh, come now. There's a surfeit of women on the

island - or haven't you noticed?' Dru gave him a warm

smile.

'Noticed?' .he echoed quite indignantly. 'You're gazing

at aman with a one-track mind curving in that direction.

Unfortunately, the choicest fruits are only within reach

of the Navy and hospital personnel. Wisp Mallon is doing

voluntary work at the hospital to help with the rush of

casualties from the cruiser and the delicious Liane seems

hooked on the vibrant Captain Falkner.'

'Poor you! Surely there are other lovelies you could

have overlooked? The dusky-eyed island maidens are

really something.'

Pete's rather bold eyes travelled slowly over her golden

hair and dazzling smile. 'Maybe there ar~ others, but you

know what human nature is, always reaching for the un-

attainable.'

Dru looked him in the eye. 'How do you know any-

thing is unattainable unless you try for it? Isn't that

rather a defeatist attitude?'

His tone was derisive. 'You must be joking! All the

dollies today care about is money, which means higher

ranking officers in the forces. They hook a guy who has

no money and watch hirn kill himself working for a status

symbol.'

Dru said quietly, 'Now you're being cynical. Wealth

doesn't always bring happiness. Besides, it can be fun

working together for life's comforts. What happened?

Did someone turn you down?'

Pete shrugged and used his table napkin. 'Don't take

any notice of me this morning. 1 guess I'm suffering from

a dose of the blues.' His smile was a trifle crooked. "The

morning after the night before, to be exact. We were in-

vited to the cruiser in the bay last evening, the party of uso

The officers decided to give a party in their mess to repay

us for entertaining the crew while they're in hospital.

However, it was cut short.' He leaned back in his chair

and reached for cigarettes from his pocket. 'One moment

we were drinking Scotch in the officers' mess, the next we

were out.'

Dru's eyes flew wide open. 'What happened?'

'They'd taken it for granted that 1 was an officer -

instead I'm just an ordinary prívate doing my bit en ter-

taining Nato forces.' He grinned and lighted a cigarette

when she refused one.

'What has that to do with it?'

'Everything.' He blew a line of cigarette smoke ceiling-

wards and watched it disintegrate with a bitter pull to bis

mouth. 'lt was all done very diplomatically. We were out

before we realized what had happened. They thanked us

for coming and that was that.'

Dru stared aghast. 'Good heavens,' she exclaimed.

'What a thoroughly objectionable man Captain Falkner

must be!'

'It wasn't his fault. Officers never entertain the Iower

ranks in their own mess. 1 t just is not done.'

'1 see.'

Dru was hardly aware of the O'Brians Ieaving the

dining room until Bud planted himself in front oí her.

'You said you weren't married,' he said witheringly,

and marched off in high dudgeon.

'What was that in aid of?' Pete asked as the small figure

disappeared from the dining room.

Dru told him how she had found Bud on the beach.

'The kid looks sick,' was his only comment.

Dru moved uneasily. 'You think so? Yes, he does look

ill. 1 believe he's taking some kind oí treatment.'

'Poor kid,' Pete said laconically.

Dru, waiting for Mart later in her roorns, thought un-

easily of Pete's comment.

'Have you seen the O'Brian boy?' she asked when Mart

had picked her up at the hotel and they were on their way

to the Coconut Club.

'Yes,' Mart answered.

'Did you know he'd been ill and is still taking treat-

ment? He has no appetite.'

'1 know I've had all the inforrnation from Sheila

O'Brian concerning him.'

Dru looked at a profile which revealed nothing. 'Then

you know what's wrong with him?'

'1 do.'

Again the evasion, and it infuriated Dru. 'Well, for

goodness' sake! Is it a secret?'

'In a way. lt's important for the boy to remain in ignor-

ance oí the fact that he hasn't long to live.'

Dru gasped in horror and dismay. 'Y ou ... you mean

nothing can be done?'

'Exactly.'

'But why not, in this day and age of medical skill and

knowledge ?'

'Beca use the boy has sarcoma of the lungs.'

'Sarcoma? But isn't that a forrn oí cancer?'

'It is, and about the most deadly neoplasm to find in a

child.'

'Oh no!' Tears sprang to Dru's eyes. 'And there's abso-

lutely nothing to be done?'

'According to his doctor a shadow was discovered on

his lungs a month ago after an attack of pneumonia. It

had spread past operating. The tragic part about it is that

O'Brian doesn't know yet. He's being left behind when

the cruiser goes.'

Dru quelled a strange empty feeling in her stomach. '15

the ship sailing soon? What about the sick crew?'

'They're mostly on the mend, except a few. It was a

bug they picked up in Martinique from some food they'd

eaten while ashore. Captain Falkner has applied for

specialleave for O'Brian to recuperate. It will mean hirn

having time with his son.'

Dru said hollowly, '1 suppose there's no chance that the

doctor is wrong and that Bud can eventually recover.

Doesn't he stand a good chance here in the unpolluted air

and sunshine?'

Mart said carefully, 'Sometimes a malignant disease

clears up miraculously on its own simply because the

patient refuses to accept it and fights back. With Bud it's

difIerent. He's too young to understand and he's not adult

enough to fight it.'

The joy had gone out of Dru's day as Mart drove on in

silence. They carne upon the little blue car when Mart

rounded the next bend in the road. The young woman

bending over the open bonnet was slim, sultry and fam-

iliar. Mart pulled in behind it and was out of his seat in a

jifIy.

'What's the trouble?'

Liane drew out her head from under the bonnet and

managed to look beautiful and helpless. She was wearing

a sun dress in a vivid pink which imparted a rich glow to

her suntanned limbs. Her hair had the blue-black sheen

oí a raven's wings and she fluttered pink-tipped hands in

a íeminine gesture oí distress.

'Frankly, Mart, 1 haven't a clue,' she replied.

They were both bending over the bonnet when the

third car arrived to pull in at a small Iayby on the other

side oí the road. A dark head materialized and Keith said

with the familiar casual charm,

'Having trouble?'

'Keith!' Liane breathed the name rather than spoke it.

The sudden gleaming smile with which she greeted him

was far removed from the little helpless woman act with

which she had met Mart. 'Y es, I am. I never expected two

knight errants, though.'

Watching from her seat in Mart's car, Dru decided that

Liane was really enjoying herself. In a way she was rather

like Keith. Both of them could conduct themselves well in

an emergency, Liane especially when there were at-

tractive men around. Keith stayed in his car to survey the

couple who bent over the bonnet with an airy non-

chalance.

When, quite unexpectedly, he tossed a glance at her

from his cool slate, grey eyes, Dru acknowledged his nod

with the feeling of an ever-tightening band around her

heart. His sud den appearance had started off the breath-

less sensation now becoming all too familiar each time she

saw him. She seemed to feel that life was less painful if

she kept her eyes from his mocking, tanned face.

Mart lifted his head to address Liane in no uncertain

terms. 'What an idiot you are, Liane, to even venture out

in this contraption. How long is it since you had the thing

serviced?' He lifted a hand. 'No, don't tell me. Just leave

it here for a garage to tow it in.'

Keith backed him up after leaving his seat to take a

brief look inside the bonnet.

'Mart's right, Liane. I'll give you a lift to wherever you

are going. I'm on my way to Govemment House. You're

welcome to come alorrg with me if you wish.'

Liane needed no second invitation. She slid inside

Keith's car and with a brief salute at Mart and Dru, he

drove away.

Mart watched them go with lifted brows, gave a re-

signed shrug and took his place beside Dru in the driving

seat.

'That was neatly done. He dríves up and takes the

woman away without a by your leave,' he muttered in

disgusto

'We are supposed to be a practically engaged couple,'

Dru commented dryly. 'The man evidently thinks he's

doing us a good tum in taking away a third person.'

'Nothing personal,' Mart said abruptly, rather too ab-

ruptly. '1 wanted a word with Liane about one oí my

patients. I understood she was on duty today.'

'Is she that good?'

'Not only good, when you've worked with the same

people for ayear you sort of come up with the same de-

ductions. Yes, Liane is extremely efficient at her job.'

"Then couldn't that be one of the reasons Captaín Falk-

ner whisked her away? He might have wanted to ask her

about O'Brian or members of his crew, How are they

doing, by the way?'

'They're all doing well now that we've established the

cause oí the mystery epidemic.' After a brief silence, he

added, 'Why the sudden defence oí the Captain? I

thought you didn't care for him?'

Dru was a little taken aback at this since me had been

surprised at her own defence of the mano She chuckled,

'Do you know, I haven't a clue except that I like to be

fair and try to see things in their true perspective,' she

said rather weakIy.

Mart made no answer but drove on in silence. If he was

unusually preoccupied for the rest of the journey, so was

Dru. Bud's illness and the encounter with Liane and

Keith had blunted the sharp happiness of her day. She

kept seeing Liane and Keith together at Govemment

House, spending the day there and leaving early to dance

at some night spot to music backed by the rumble oí the

surf. Later, in the flame-colour gloaming, they would sip

cool drinks from long glasses beneath the banyan trees

and look meaningly into each other's eyes. .

It was after breakfast the following morning that Mart

phoned to say he would not be free all day. He suggested

that she should go to the Coconut Club where there were

all kinds of activities to fill her day with people she had

already met.

Dru welcomed the break. Relations between them were

becoming a little strained and she was beginning to view

Mart's possessiveness with more than a little apprehen-

sion. It would be a good idea to get away from it all and

explore the island. Neither Mrs. O'Brian nor Bud had

been at breakfast, but earlier, wherr she had gone down

for her bathe, Keith, virile and glowing in a bathing robe,

had been making his way back to the hotel. Perversely,

Dru had looked the other way and had taken a path

which forked off away from him. It had taken a little

longer to reach the beach, but rather that than having to

pass him. Her heart, however, had still been beatínz

heavily from the chance encounter when she slipped off

her robe and entered the water.

Her relief at not seeing him at breakfast was overlaid

by a sneaky sense of disappointment. Accepting a holiday

at Mart's expense and posing as his fiancée had not been a

good idea. Her commitments had secured her with a ball

and chain to Mart, making her feel reaIly bound to him

when actually she was as free as air.

Dru knew she was not the same person who had come

to the island so lightheartedly with the idea of helping

Mart and having a good time. Since her arrival the lone-

liness brought on by her mother's recent marriage had

dissolved into a new sensation, something both breath-

taking and deliciously frightening. Since it was not Mart

who invoked the new emotion it must be the island with

the cruiser in the bay filling her foolish mind with roman-

tic notions.

It had nothing to do with the Captain. How could it?

Dru felt her dislike of him welling up into her throat as

she repaired her make-up after breakfast before going

out. Her mind bauIked at the thought of hirn. She had

timed the bus neatly, for it drew up at the hotel as she

emerged neat and trim in a cool sun-suit showing long

tanned legs.

. There. was only a sprinkling of passengers, a few house-

wrves gomg to market and a few brown-skinned children

eyeing her solernnly with big black eyes beneath caps oí

tight black curIs.

The road leading to the village encircled tbe island

meandering at times past sea-grape and casuarinas as it

dipped close to the sea. The village lay huddled against a

background of rock as though for protection against the

gales which swept mercilessly across tbe island. Heavy

shutters gave. the ~ittle ~hops an air of mystery and tbey

were not unlike dimly 11t caves displaying tbeir treasures

to Dru, who was drawn to the líttle tightly packed stalls

in the market place.

She wandered past stalls displaying herbs in pots, tom-

atoes and strange-Iooking small eggs, mangoes, red

peppers and sweet bananas to gift displays.

'Lucky shell necklace, lady. Very pretty. Bring good

luck. Come from sea to protect you from harm, Very

cheap.'

White teeth gIeamed in tbe dark face of the vendor

who held up a pretty sheIl necklace. His dark eyes rested

hopefuIly on her face, Dru's pink-tipped fingers reached

for the fastener oí her shoulder-bag as a voice whispered

in her ear.

'Why not? Take it with you on your tour oí strange

men's bedrooms. At least it will protect you from some

man's irate wife when she finds you in tbeir room.'

Dru swiveIled ro~nd to Iook up into the mocking slate

grey eyes oí Captain Falkner. Refusing to be moved in

any way by tbe man, she smiled sweetly.

'Captain Falkner, how sweet of you to remind me. The

small matter of self-preservation never entered my

head. I can see now why I must buy one. I might come up

against someone like you who really enjoys thinking the

worst of poor little me.'

Her piece delivered in crushing style, Dru turned, ad-

justed her sunglasses and presented a slim back as she

bent over the stall to choose a necklace.

She chose a very pretty one of perfectly matched pink

and white shells and put it in her shoulder bag as the

vendor fished for change in a small tin on the stall.

'Capitan! Capitan!'

Moving away from the stall, Dru heard the cries of

children as they milled around Keith. In the white uni-

form with the gold braid, he was a picturesque figure at

any time with his flashing smile and powerful physique.

Island people had gathered round to greet him, the men

jocular, the women admiringly, swaying their beautiful

bodies. They were meltingly alluring with their dark eyes

luminous as lamps.

Dru's progress between the tightly packed stalls was

slow, but she managed eventually to put space between

herself and the admiring crowd around the Captain.

Consequently, her feet in the rope sandals felt lighter as

she left air fraught with the electricity of his presence for

a more normal, natural atmosphere. -

The sun was already high in the sky which verged from

a horizon of palest blue to a vast cloudless ceiling of a

deeper hue. The sea, a blue and shimmering silver mirror

edged by frothy white foam, beckoned her from the

crowded market to breathe in deeply of the clear invigor-

ating air.

The smart cabin cruiser, newly painted blue and white,

was anchored not far out on the placid water. It Iooked

bright and perky, as cool and fresh as a newly plucked

lettuce to Dru, who puUed back slim shoulders to loosen

the beach suit from her hot skin. Longingly, she looked at

it, imagining the cool sea spray on her face from its deck

as it roared through the water.

A dark-skinned man wearing a uniform hat and with a

brown torso above blue trousers was approaching it in a

dinghy and she watched him pull up alongside to carry

fishing tackle and provisions aboard. Then he was back in

the dinghy again, making for the shore where someone

was striding across the sand to meet him. It was Captain

Falkner. He saw her and their eyes met simultaneously.

'Care to join me?' he called. 'I'm going fishing.'

Dru shook her head. 'No, thanks.'

'Poor sailor?' he queried mockingly.

Dru did not answer.

'It doesn't need as much spunk as entering strange

men's rooms,' he baited.

'Perhaps not. But at least the company is varied,' she

shot at him across the narrowing distance as he strode

towards her.

'The day is going to be really hot. It will be much

cooler on board.' He had stopped to tower above her.

Beneath the beck of his uniform hat, the slate grey eyes

narrowed speculatively. 'What are you afraid of, the sea

or me?'

'You flatter yourself!'

He smiled at her swift rejoinder, an odd sort of smile,

tongue in cheek.

'Not afraid of anything?' he suggested. 'That doesn't

tie up with your refusal to accompany me.'

'It might when you pause to consider your lack of hos-

pitality in the past.'

Unconsciously, Dru lifted a hand to a slow trickle of

moisture down one side of her nose. He watched her

remove it with a nervous finger and she wished desper-

ate1y that he would go. When he made no attempt to do

so, she decided to leave him flippantly.

'Enjoy your fishing,' she said airily, and turning away,

could not resist a parting shot. 'Don't lean too far over

the side, though. Fish are usualIy very partial to a

worm.'

What happened next was so sudden that she was

speechless. He scooped her up into his arms and strode

with her as easily as he would a child to the dinghy. Dru,

temporarily immobilized by the swiftness of his action,

carne to shakily when he put her into the dinghy. The

bare-torsoed man, obviously the owner of the cabin-

cruiser, pushed the dinghy out of shalIow water, lifted his

hat to the back of his head and stood, hands on hips,

watching them go.

Dru watched him growing smaller and smaller as the

line of frothy white foam between them lengthened. Her

kidnapper made short work of landing on the cabin

cruiser. She was lifted on to the step up the side and

seated on one of the built-in seats of the covered deck.

The island was now some distance away and she found

herself seeking familiar landmarks, Government House in

its nest of greenery in the hilIs, the white buildings of the

hospital and a tantalizing glimpse of striped awnings on

the forecourt of the GarIand Hotel.

A freshening breeze from the windward side freed

curIy tendrils of hair to fall across her green eyes. She

pushed them away, loving the cool, exhilarating breeze so

welcome after the enervating heat on shore. Keith had

started up the engine and they roared through the water

for quite some time until he final1y decided to drop

anchor. He then busied himself with a fishing rod, throw-

ing the line over the side of the boat expertly with a

powerful arm slotting the rod firmly into the fixture on

the built-in seat.

'How come you're on your own today?' he asked,

lowering his long length down beside her.

Dru's eyes wandered over the c1ear blue of the water

-----

wondering what his idea was oí bringing her along with

him. Did he mean to teach her a lesson for insulting him?

Or was he intending to use a more refined kind of torture,

that of keeping her guessing? Glancing at his lean profile,

she knew it was his presence and not the unaccustomed

movement of the boat which was causing her senses to

soar and dive so giddily.

'Mart is on duty,' she admitted at last. '1 was Iooking

forward to spending the day on my own exploring the

island.'

He narrowed a keen gaze at her averted head. 'You

mean you find it a relief to be away from your in tended

once in a while?' he asked politely.

'1 didn't say that,' she protested.

'Do you enjoy being engaged to a poor registrar?'

Dru looked at him then with a mixture of anger and

exasperation.

'Naturally. Are you insinuating that I don't?'

He stretched out his legs indolently to a more comfort-

able position.

'Why so quick on the defensive? Is it only anger that

makes you sparkle, or do you only come to life when

you're with Mart?' he favoured her with another sidelong

glance. :'Y ou certainly don't strike me as being ecstaticalIy

in love!'

'It's really none of your business, is it?' Dru retorted. '1

love being with Mart. He's ... he's so thoughtful and

kind.'

'A doctor usually is to his patients. A wife is another

matter. You don't know him very we1l, do you?'

He captured her gaze and Dru feIt like a c1ockwork toy

with the mainspring suddenly going haywire inside

her.

'What exactly do you mean by that?' she demanded.

'What I sayo You don't strikeme as being the kind of

person to be satisfied with so little if you did.'

Dru's green eyes sparkled with anger. 'You haven't the

least idea what you're talking about! You accuse me of

not knowing Mart and criticize aman you know nothing

about.'

'True. On the other hand, it's quite well known on the

island that your Mart changes his girIs as often as he

changes his shirts. That's some record in a warm cli-

mate.'

'1 know. He told me,' she said coolly.

He gave the fishing rod a cursory glance when it moved

slightly, then lifted a sardonic brow in her direction.

'You mean to say you have no objection to him carry-

ing on in that way? Is that why you've taken to wander-

ing around in strange men's rooms as a kind of letting off

stearn?'

'1 don't wander into strange men's rooms, and well you

know it. In any case, what I do is my own business. Why

don't you leave me alone?'

She felt his eyes upon her. "That's a strange request

from someone who's sought me out on two different oc-

casions. You can't go around kissing strange men and not

expect them to be interested.'

He shot up then to seize the twitching rod and landed a

decent sized fish without any trouble. The rod was cast

for a second time and it was not long before he was haul-

ing in his second catch. By lunch time the box at his feet

was well filled with a golden horde of fish. I

'Not abad morning,' he commented, washing his hands

in a pail of water before calling it a day. 'Hungry?'

Dru was surprised to find that she was, ravenously. He

had evidently come prepared to eat well, for the smaIl

table he set up on the deck was a tempting sight, with

fresh salad, sIices of chicken breast, cheeses and tropical

fruits to foIlow.

He was an entertaining host, filling in the gaps in the

conversation equably when they happened, which was

often, He made good coffee and the meal was ambrosia to

Dru, who was slowly becoming hypnotized by his charro-

ing deep voice. After lunch, he piloted the cabin cruiser

around the coast and stopped the engine for her to gaze

enchantedly at a shoal of ftying fish leaping like streaks of

lightning from the water and disappearing again into the

depths.

Keith had tossed his hat aside and his jacket and was

looking swarthy and sun-tanned as he revelIed in the

wind-blown activity at the wheel, turning the boat in the

direction of the open sea. By this time Dru had decided

th.at his reason for taking her on board was a friendly one.

She gazed up at him in the bright light with the sun

turning her hair into a dazzling gold. Her forehead was

puckered thoughtfully.

'Aren't you tired of the sea?' she asked curiously. '1 -

surely this is a busman's holiday?'

'1 carne out today with a purpose - to visit a small

island I carne to as a boy with my two brothers. It was

inhabited then by people who made a living out of diving

for sponges. Do you like fish?'

Dru nodded. 'All kinds,' she confessed.

He grinned. 'So do l. Ever tasted fish cooked fresh from

the sea?'

She shook lier head.

'Then I'Il cook you some and you can tell me what you

think about it. When we reach the island.'

During that journey to unexplored territory it seemed

to Dru that everything life had to offer was hers for the

taking. Everything around her was outlined with dazzling

clearness, the shining deck, the disturbing man at the

wheel and the fast approaching greenery of the island

they were making foro The sun was shining with a serene

brilliance when they neared the shore. Keith anchored the

cabin cruiser and put Dru with provisions, including one

of the freshIy caught fish, into the dinghy.

Drawing nearer to the shore, he concentrated on keep-

ing the dinghy free from shelves of overhanging coral reef

just beneath the surface of the water. The sea did the rest,

sweeping them on shore where Keith hauled the dinghy

above the tideline.

Dru stood with her back to the surf looking at thick

tropical growth reaching well into the hills, There was no

habitation to be seen.

Her initial nervousness, a mixture of apprehension and

anticipation, swelIed in her throat. He was looking at her

with that impersonal interest which both intrigued and

irritated her. The glow in her cheeks was not entirely

owing to the sea breeze - she knew by the heavy thudding

of her heart threatening to knock a hole into her ribs.

'How can you be sure this is the island?' she asked.

'You forget I'm a sailor,' he reminded her.

'Are we the on1y two people on the island, do you

think?'

As she asked the question a sense of shock ran through

her. She was so entirely at his merey.

'Scared?' he scoffed. 'Come on. First a stick to help us

break through!'

Dru watched him stride forward to some strong

bamboo shoots growing in a clump above the tideline.

Taking a pen-knife from his pocket, he chose an extra

stout one and proceeded to clear it of shoots.

"There are a few derelict sheds and the remains of the

village to be seen,' he said. 'Everything is now covered with

jungle growth.'

'What happened?'

'Hurricanes,' laconicalIy.

Dru moistened a dry throat. 'Hurricanes. When do

they happen?'

'Don't worry about that. This island just happens to be

right in their path. The inhabitants didn't give up with-

out a struggle. Eventually they moved out, after finding it

too costly to keep rebuilding after the damage.'

He bent the bamboo stick for strength and watched it

spring back withsatísfaction. Then he led the way, beat-

ing aside the undergrowth to reveal a path. They carne

after a surprisingly short time to a stone hut cuddled by a

semi-circle of rock forming the hilIside behind a wind

break of trees. Sturdy and defiant, it had weathered the

hurricanes as though blessed with immunity.

Keith grinned down at her. ~'Amazing, isn't it? The

story goes that a certain bishop of an English church was

marooned here for months, the sole survivor of a ship-

wreck. When he was picked up by a passing ship, he

blessed the place for giving him shelter.'

He beat a twisted mass of grey rnangoes choking the

entrance over which a crude wooden sign had been fixed

and rnade a way through.

'Bishop's Rest.' Dru read the name on the sign aloud.

'Sounds like the name of a pub,' she said.

'With all mod cons,' he suggested, leading the way

inside. When Dru's eyes became accustomed to the

dimness, she saw a bench-like bed against one waIl, a

rough-hewn table and chair and shelves on one wall con-

taining pots and pans. Two windows shed light into the

room showing up the dust on a small corner cupboard.

She sobered as she looked around. 'No fresh water?

How did the bishop survive?'

"There's a mountain stream in a glen. It runs frorn the

hills and forms a pool where one can bathe. Care to take a

dip?'

Dru coloured. 'I've DO swimsuit with me.'

An instant picture of a swimsuit top deepened the

blush.

He laughed. "Don't look so embarrassed. Ever bathed

in the nude?'

Dru shook her head.

"Then it's time you did. I'm going to wash the fish in

the pool and while I'm cooking it you can have your

swim. No one will disturb you.'

He unhooked an old hatchet from a hook on the wall

near the door and Dru followed him to where they had

left the dinghy. Tossing her a bath towel from one of the

boxes, he took a kitchen knife from the picnic hamper

and carrying one of the fish he picked up the hatchet and

bade her follow him. ,

He seemed to know the way, for he hacked away at the

dense undergrowth with an unerring precision, going off

to the right of the hut into the interior. Dru heard the

refreshing rush of water before they reached the glen. It

was a green grotto with fingers of sunlight stiffiy spread

through the foliage of immensely tall trees overhead giving

it a kind of stage setting, Water cascaded down over rocks

to flow into a pool.

Keith cleaned the fish along with two large cabbagelike

leaves and wrapping them round it gave Dru a mocking

salute. 'So long,' he said. 'Enjoy your swim.'

Minutes after his footsteps had crushed away to silence

in the undergrowth, Dru was in' the water. It was

heavenly to swim free of any clothing. She floated on her

back in sheer enjoyment. Above her a ceiling of trees

ranging from yellow-gold to blue-green towered to fan-

tastic height to pierce the vast bowl of sky. The scene

mirrored in the water dazzled with a breathtaking beauty

and Dru would have stayed longer had not the fact that

shewas minusa covering alerted her to the dangerof Keith

coming to see what was keeping her. She towelled her

hair, decided to leave it loose and lightly made up her

face. Keith had cut more from the path on his way back

to the shore making it easier for her to retrace her steps,

and Dru went forward on winged feet to meet an appetis-

ing aroma of fresh fish cooking.

He was on his haunches re-stoking the fire he had built

among stones and looked up at her arrival. With one lithe

movement he was on his feet. His smile flashed,

'Enjoy it?' he queried.

She nodded, tossing back her golden hair, almost dry

now in the heat of the sun. 'It was super!'

He reached out for her towel, slung it over one broad

shoulder and saluted lazily. 'So long. Keep an eye on the

fire until I get back.'

Dru nodded again and sank down on the sand, feeling

decidedly odd. She lay back and closed her eyes. Her ac-

quaintance with Keith was far too short for deep

emotions. Yet seconds ago, exposed to his scrutiny, her

strength had melted away. Whatever was the matter with

her? She hardly recognized herself as the girl who had

come away so lightheartedly a few days ago. Life on the

island was a thing apart from any previous existence. It

was Keith who made it seem complicated.

She looked after the fire, dozing a little until she fell

asleep. She awoke to the pop of a cork. Keith was pouring

out two glasses of wine. The fish, done. to a turn, was

ready to be served.

'Your fish, madame,' he said, passing her portion on a

papier-maché plate.

It was surprisingly delicious.

'The fish wouldn't have been the same without the

wine,' Keith commented, refilling her glass.

Dru agreed, glancing down at him as he lay beside her

supported by an elbow, glass in hand. His hair was drying

crisply from his recent bathe in the pool, bis eyes, half

closed, drew attention to the dark eyelashes and at-

tractive masculine nose. The fingers curled around his

glass were strong and flexible, blunt at the tips ..

'It was a delicious meal and I've enjoyed it very mucho

Where did you leam to cook?' she asked him curiously.

'1 was a boy scout,' he scoffed.

'Were you actually a small boy with a scrubbed look

and a tooth missing in front? I can't imagine it.'

He Iaughed, showing an even set of white teeth. The

grey eyes were smilingly apen. 'Do 1 Iook so ancient? I'm

not much older than your Mart. How oId is he? Twenty-

four or so?' -

'Twenty-five. Now 1 can imagine him as a boy. He's

still boyish. You talk and act much more maturely.'

-'As I'm five years oIder than Mart there's still hope for

him. Should 1 take that as a compliment?'

'If you want to. Lots of women prefer men who are

mature and arrogant.'

He Iooked startled. 'Am 1 arrogant? All right,' he said

equably. :'How do you Iike your men, mature and arro-

gant or boyish and immature?'

'Since Mart is my intended, you have your answer.'

He took down part of his drink, then said slowly, ‘You

are sure he's the right man for you? You'll be happy with

him?'

'1 suppose so,' Dru replied quickly, aware of a strange

tension in the air. 'One can never predict future hap-

piness. One can only work towards that end.'

'True. But there's Iess chance of success when one oí

the partners has les s to put in the kitty - and 1 don't mean

money.' He finished his drink, rose to rus feet and reached

for her glass. 'Would you still want to marry him if you

discovered that he was deceiving you over his affairs with

other women?'

'No ... 1 mean... Yes, I would,' she stammered in

confusion, tom between speaking the truth and keeping

her promise to hang on to Mart at all costs. Her face was

scarlet. She could not Iook up at him to save her Iife to see

the utter surprise and probably contempt in the keen grey

eyes.

In the silence that followed, she knew he was Iooking at

her with a new puzzled keenness. Her hands dug into the

warm sand. The happiness flooding her heart a few

moments ago was trickling out as quickly as the sand

through her fingers. She had the sensation of walking on a

tightrope where there was no retracing of her steps.

Either she must go on or rernain balanced precarious1y

and unsure. The aching need which was somehow part of

this new unhappiness was on1y bearab1e if she kept sto-

ically on. There was no tuming back without betraying

Mart.

CHAPTER FIVE

DRU had dined alone that evening and had gone up to her

room expecting Mart to phone. Accord.ing to the rece?-

tionist there had been no phone call during the day while

she had been out. There had been snatches of talk she had

picked up in the dining room about a truckload of f~rm

workers overtuming on a bend not far from the hospital,

which meant that Mart could be dealing with the cas-

ualties.

Several times Dru had picked up the phone by her bed

to ring him, only to put it down again in case he was too

busy to bother with her. In the end, she decided to settle

down on her balcony with a book.

It was eight-thirty when the knock came on her door

and she opened it eagerly.

'Hello ' said Bud. He was clad in his pyjamas and was

carrying a small cardboard box under one armo :'Are you

alone?'

He fixed her with a wide innocent stare and Dru could

have hugged him.

She chucked. 'If you mean is my husband here, no. And

I'm not married. The young man you saw dining with me

is a friend.'

He beamed. 'I've come to show you my new game.

Captain Falkner bought it for ~e.'.. . .

He walked into the room, his fair hair tousled, his little

face oddly delicate beneath the new thin coating of tan

Dru closed the door and watched him empty the contents

of the box on to a low coffee table.

'Shouldn't you be in bed? Surely Mummy hasn't left

you alone?' .

She strolled up to him as she spoke to see him deeply

immersed in the task of making two neat piles of coloured

cut-outs on either si de oí the table.

'It's all right,' he said without looking up. 'Marie keeps

an eye on me. She's one oí the maids. She comes to see if

I'm asleep, then she goes.'

'But won't she come back and find you missing?'

He shook his head. '1 pretend to be fast asleep, so she

won't come again. She goes out to meet aman if she

thinks 1 won't wake up. I've seen her from iny window.

Marie always does that.'

'Does your mummy know?'

Again he shook his head. The cardboard cut-outs were

now in two even piles on the table and with deep con-

centration, Bud placed a dice in a red plastic cup and

shock it.

'Number four,' he cried as the dice rolled to a halt. He

fished among the cut-outs and produced a clown's head

with the number on it and placed it away from the littIe

pile on the table. 'Your'tum.' He held up the dice in the

cup.

Dru sank into a low chair by the table and said dazedly,

'What do 1 do?'

'Shake it, silly.'

Dru shook the dice and threw number one. It was the

clown's torso which Bud took from her littIe pile of cut-

outs to place in front of her. His second throwalso pro-

duced the number one and he fixed a torso to the head oí

his clown.

'Oh, 1 see,' exclaimed Dru, shaking the dice and en ter-

ing into the spirit oí the game. 'It's a kind oí jigsaw which

fits together with numbers.'

'Not a jigsaw,' he said in disgust. 'Clowns. We have

three each and the first one to complete them wins the

game.'

He was taking the game quite seriously. His small faee

grew more determined as Dru went on to complete her

second clown while he was still trying to get a much

needed number five to complete his first. At last he threw

the number he wanted and went on to win the first

game.

They went on to play a second game, munching nut

chocolate - Dru had remembered a slab in her handbag.

At half past nine, she rang room service for two hot

drinks and biscuits and they went on to play their final

game. It was ten o'clock when Bud went sleepily to bed

with his game tucked under his armo

'See you tomorrow night,' he said after she had tucked

him into bed.

Dru bit her lip, hating to disappoint him. '1 might be

out.'

'With a man?' he snorted in disgusto

She smiled. 'Possibly. You'll be aman yourself some

day. When you are you'll be taking girls out and loving

it.'

He shook his head. '1 shan't get married. I'm going to

have a ship like Captain Falkner's. Then 1 can give

Daddy lots of leave to come home.'

There was a prickle of tears behind her eyes which she

blinked on determinedly. 'That will be wonderful. You'll

make a very handsome captain.'

He considered this gravely. 'A-s big and handsome as

Captain Falkner?'

'Of course.'

It only occurred to Dru when she was back in her room

that Bud had done something he had refused to do before,

drink a glass of miIk. Maybe he had been too engrossed in

his game to care what he was drinking, 'but Dru preferred

to think that he had drunk it because she had shared a

glass with him. It was good to feel she had influenced him

to take something to do him good. Would to heaven she

could do more and commute his death sentence to one of

long life.

---

She was in bed when Mart rang to ask how she had

spent her day. Dru 'told him she had been shopping in the

village and fishing in that order, deliberately omitting the.

fact that she had been with Keith. For some reason she

was reluctant to mention him.

Mart said he had been busy all day and would be busy

the following day too. He was, however, hoping to call for

her the next evening to take her to a party. Dru fel! asleep

wondering where it might be.

Awakening on the island after a restful night was to be

instantly and gloriously alive. Dru had never experienced

anything like the exhilaration she felt on leaving her bed.

The lethargic, empty feeling familiar since her mother's

marriage had gone. The beauty of the morning dazzled

her as she made her way down to the beach for her early

morning bathe.

The swimming, the air and the walk back to the hotel

provided an incentive for her to explore the island after

breakfast. It was something to know that the day was

going to be sunny and hot. The blood sang in her veins at

the thought of a day spent in the greenery and sunshine

among the flowers and she set forth feeling gay and ad-

venturous. As the day had started so it would go on.

Dru had left the beaten track to take a path behind the

hotel where, for a while, she would be sheltered by trees.

N ow and then there were clearings between the jungle

scrub where thatched houses nestled in between patches

of sweet potato and banana groves. In one garden trailing

thunbergia cast a mauve shawl up the side oí the

house.

The sun moved higher in the blue sky and although

Dru had clirnbed well above sea level, the negligible

breeze coming from the sea did not entirely offset the

overpowering heat. She began to feel hot and thirsty.

Then she saw it, . a dear little villa set at the end of a

clearing. One carne upon it quite unexpectedIy and unless

one knew the path or carne upon it accideotally like Dru

had, one would not find it. It was built rather high above

the ground with a screen of trees guarding it like sen-

tinels.

A sense of adventure lightened her footsteps, She forgot

the heat. One peep, she told herself, staring wide-eyed at

candy pink walls and white shutters in a garden filled

with tropical flowers. Behind the house casuarinas made a

drama tic blue-green background. Dru was enchanted

until a movement in the garden told her she was not

alone.

A large shady straw hat lifted above a patch of crimson

bougainvillea to reveal a pair of sunglasses framing a

familiar face. It was Liane, glamorous and sultry in a

black halter-necked top, bare midriff and scarlet shorts,

She carried a long flower basket in which laya few choice

blooms.

'Hello there,' she called. "})on't stand looking. Come

right in.'

She waved a gloved hand in the direction of the garden

gate. Dru obeyed and said apologetically, '1 didn't mean

to intrude. As a matter of fact you're the last person I

expected to see.'

Liane had stripped off her gardening gloves. 'Come sit

on the patio,' she said, 'while I take the flowers away and

get you a cool drink. Have you walked here?'

'Yeso 1 shall be glad oí a rest, though.'

Dru sat down on a lounger and felt a sudden upsurge of

heat as she lay back with relief.

'Slip out oí your shoes.' Liane was there with two tall

glasses oí fresh lime with ice tinkling against the glass. '1

always think it cools you to feel your feet free. It's the first

thing 1 do when 1 come off duty.'

'Thanks.' Dru slipped off her sandals and accepted the

drink gratefully.

Liane draped herself gracefully opposite to Dru, who

was conscious of silky black hair, dark lustrous eyes and

long slender legs. For no reason at all Mart carne into the

picture. Had he been in love with Liane? Anyone might

fall in love with Mart working with him as intimately as

Liane did, she thought loyally. If they had been lovers,

Liane was certainly not the kind to fret over it. For all her

femininity, she had a sense of balance. The affair had

probably been a short-lived passionate one with a sense of

unreality about it ..

Dru wanted to ask Liane about Mart. After all, she liad

the right to know if there was anything between them.

When it carne to realities, it was herself who had to

strengthen Mart's side in his tug-of-war against the island

lovelies, and Liane was certainIy one of the, dangerous

ones. An inadequate feeling washed over her as though

Liane was a challenge to Mart and herself. On the other

hand any inquiry about Mart could be an act of disloyalty

towards him,

'That was deliciously cool and refreshing,' she said as

the cool drink moistened her dry throat. 'You'll be as

surprised to see me as 1 am to see you. 1 wasn't aware that

you had a place of your own.'

Liane raised a delicate brow. -'1 tliought you'd come to

look me up before coming to the housewarming party

tonight with Mart. Surely he told you?'

'I'm afraid noto All he said was that we were going to a

party this evening. 1 had no idea where.'

Liane shrugged. '1 bought this place twelve months ago

from an old friendo It was in abad state of repair and it's

taken all this time to put it right. There are still things to

be done, but at least it's habitable.'

Dru had taken another drink from her glass. '1 think

it's enchanting. And what a view over the sea! Is it a

retreat, or are you considering matrimony?'

'Now that's a good question.' Liane carefully un-

wrapped a packet oí cigarettes from the table between

them and proffered it. When Dru refused, she lighted one

for herselívNo, I'm not a prospective bride. I wouldn't

mind being one, I'm twenty-five.' She studied Dru's fair

hair, green eyes and golden skin dispassionately. "You're

much younger.'

'Twenty-one. Twenty-five isn't old. It's an ideal age to

marry.'

'Only by English standards. I'm half Polynesian. My

father was American, my mother Polynesian. To be re-

garded as a perfect beauty a Polynesian must be short-

necked with practically no waist. Fortunately, my skin is

not as dark as a full-blooded Polynesian - they tend to

run to fat as they grow older.'

"But you have a perfect figure. You've probably in-

herited it from your father's side.'

Liane did not contradict this. 'You mean 1 won't grow

fat and age early. I'd like to think so. But we foreign

women don't wear as well as you English.' She tapped ash

from her cigarette on to an ash tray. 'What do you do job-

wise?'

Dru told her briefly about her mother's shop and sub-

sequent rnarriage.

'It was fortunate then for you that you met Mart?'

Liane said,

Dru had not disclosed the fact of Mart being her step-

brother, so she had to tread warily. 'Ves, wasn't it?'

'Was it love at first sight?'

Dru smiIed. 'One can't help loving Mart!'

'Mart is a remarkable man.' Liane tumed her gaze to

the garden. 'He's been spoiled from the moment he drew

breath, first by an induIgent father and by the staff of the

hospital here. His fondness for all kinds of sport has kept

him fit and given him an appetite for women.'

Slowly, she tumed a curious glance on Dru. ~Are you

annoyed at my analysis of a nian I know better than

most?'

'No. Do go on.' Dru took another sip of her drink. "This

is interesting.' '

'His easy-going charm attracts women too easily there-

fore he shows a certain amount of contempt in his atti-

tude towards them. Mart is also nobody's fool and he's

always been too clever to become involved with any

woman - until he met you. I suppose he has told you that

he has no money and that he doesn't plan to marry until

he's able to support a wife? He's always managed to take

what he wants from women without marriage. He'd no

doubt try it on you too.'

Dru smiled, refusing to be drawn. 'Men are men, after

aIl,' she said.

Liane crushed out the butt of her cigarette and finished

her drink.

'Would you like to see over the house?' She stood up,

waited for Dru to finish her drink, then led the way

indoors. 'Mart has helped me enormously. It was he who

suggested replacing doors by open archways to make for

coolness. He's al so put shelves up in the kitchen.'

Each room they went in Mart had contributed to in

ideas or actuallabour.

'1 could go on and on about what Mart has done,'

Liane laughed self-consciously. '1 don't mean anything by

it. I'm only giving credit where it's due, you under-

stand?'

Dru wished she did.. Líane seemed honest enough,

indeed, much she had said about.Mart was true. He had

been spoiled. Even so, there was much that she did not

know about him. Nor did she care to. Mart's life was his

own. It was disturbing to her to find her life tied up with

his, but she could not discuss it with Liane.

If the outside of the house had enchanted her, so had

the interior. She said so. '1 like the white walls and the

splashes of colour in the furnishings, You have a flair for

it."

Liane looked pleased. 'Do you think so? You don't find

the white walls too clinical?'

'Not at all. 1 adore your garden,'

They had returned to the patio and Liane gestured to a

spot in the garden screened by brilliant bougainvillea.

'Mart put up the barbecue in the far comer. You'll see it

this evening at the barbecue supper.' She gave a light

laugh, "There I go again, ranting on about Mart! Do for-

give me.'

A rather brittle silence followed with neitlier having

anything to say to each other. Dru had not been invited

to sit down again and she waited for her companion to

make the first move. Liane did so, looking at her watch.

'1 have to go down to the village to pick up a few things

for the party this evening. Can I give you a lift?'

Dru shook her head. It occurred to her that it would

have been nice to have had lunch with Liane in one of the

small restaurants in the village. Mart had said they put on

a first-class menu in air-conditioned rooms and were very

popular with the residents, But there was something

about Liane which prevented her from suggesting it, a

kind of inner reserve raising a barrier to any suggestion of

friendship. Maybe she preferred men friends. Some

women did and were only at their best when with the

opposite sexo

Dru shook her head. e'No, thanks. I'm enjoying me-

andering around out-of-the-way places. 1'11 be off, unless

you'd like me to come a little early this evening to lend a

hand?'

'1 have plenty of staff coming.'

Dru accepted her refusal with a sense of relief and took

her leave, resolving to forget all about Liane's dark

beauty and disturbing personality, It was relaxing to

come down to earth once more with a natural feeling of

normality, to feel suddenly detached and free. Keeping to

the narrow winding paths near the coast, she became

steeped in a deep quietness undisturbed by the soft lap-

ping of the sea, the swish of the grass beneath her feet and

the murmur of the foliage in the trees. At last she paused

and stood isolated upon a hill to look down on the village

blow. It was a hive of activity right down to the shore

where men sorted out fish into baskets for the market. A

glimpse of gay canopied tables outside a restauran: re-

minded Dru that she was feeling peckish and she decided

to take her time on her way down to lunch.

Later she would explore the shops, then go back to the

hotel t; prepare for her evening out with Mart. Tbat

evening held all the magic of an indian summer. The

trees in Liane's garden were festooned with fairy lights 10

readiness for the barbecue and there were tables and

cbairs placed upon the lawns for guests to sit outside if

they wished. The few guests already assembled ,;hen Dru

and Mart arrived were tanned and athletic-lookíng.

Tonight Liane was softIy alluring, sec.ure in her tri-

umph. She wore a white dress from which her honey-

coloured shoulders rose tantalizingly. Her dark eyes took

in every detail of Dru's black chiffon dress emphasising

her slenderness. Diamenté-embroidered, it billowed out

from her small waist over a stiffened underskirt. Her

golden hair was piled high on the top of her small head

leaving curly tendrils against her cheeks.

'1 haven't seen you for a few days, Miss Temple. I hope

you've been enjoying yourself. We've let Mart off the

hook as much as we could.'

Howell Seabright was behind them and Dru turned to

meet his admiring regard.

'1 appreciate that,' Dru smiled up at him. I’m enjoymg

myself tremendously.'

'Good. I hope you have an appetite. I m to preside

over the barbecue la ter and I expect you to do justice to

my cooking.'

His keen penetrating gaze rested a mement on her

glowing face before he obeyed a signal from Liane to join

her. Over a drink with Mart, Dru told him how she had

visited the house earlier that day.

'A charming place.' Dru's eyes tea sed over the rim of

her glass. 'Liane told me you'd done quite a bit to it.'

Mart's face went a dull red. 'AIl done in mad moments.

They're over now.' And as if to show that they were

indeed over, he changed the subject abruptIy. 'You're

looking very enchanting tonight. Black shows up your

clear skin marvellously. You look youthful and soph-

isticated, and very lovely.'

Dru's lips curved sweetIy. 'Thank you. You don't have

to flatter me. But it's nice against so much competition to

be told I'm holding my own.'

She looked round at pretty women and smart men in

evening dress. Mart greeted old friends. Dru heard him

say something conventional to a tall soldierly-looking

mano Tlien Wisp was there in a flame-coloured dress with

several young men in tow. The evening had begun on a

lighthearted note, much to Dru's relief. A few couples

began to dance in the lounge to a record player and it was

the cue for everyone to join them.

Mart and Dru danced together, then parted and cir-

culated. More guests arrived later, including officers from

the cruiser in the bayo Dru was taking a breather from

dancing with them when a deep voice startIed her.

"May 1 have the pleasure, Miss Temple?'

Half tuming, Dru felt her waist encircled and her

heartbeats quicken. It was useless to rebel against the

emotion he roused in her. Held close against him she was

conscious only of his neamess and the strength of his body

moving effortIessly across the floor. She drifted from ordi-

nary surroundings to a new, exciting world of precious

ecstatic moments stolen from time never to be replaced.

Then, with the sudden chill of an east wind, she saw the

position she had saddled herself with. As Mart's fiancée

she was not free to enjoy the companionship of another

man She was honour bound by her word to stand by him.

Her face paled as she realized she had to batten clown

her own feelings regarding any other mano She was trem-

bling a littIe when Keith released her through an excess

of emotion and somehow she drew herself away from

him. She heard him say swiftIy, 'Are you all right, Miss

Temple? You're very pale.'

'PerfectIy, thanks.' The quiet reply did come from her

own lips, which surprised her, for she feIt beyond speech.

'1 t's probably the heat.'

'Then let's go into the grounds. But first a wrap in case

you hook a chill.' He looked around and picked up a

mohair stole flung on the back of a chair near the open

french window. 'We can borrow this.'

He dropped the stole around her shoulders and taking

her e1bow in a firm grip, led her outside into the fragrant

garden. Someone had lighted the barbecue fire and he

steered her in the opposite direction to avoid the smoke.

The air was filled with the pungent smell of buming

wood which reminded Dru of autumn fires back home as

they strolled past a small arbour of white blossoms to a

seat in a small clearing where they sat down.

The newly risen moon sprayed silver coins across the

water, while Dru's cornmon sense mocked, Now get your-

self out of this one!

'Beautifully peaceful,' she commented, when she felt

anything but herself. 'Y ou must see similar views like this

over the water many times when you're at sea.'

'Yes, 1 do. But then this is only one of many. The sea is

very much like a woman, she can present countless

moods, each one different within a space of a few hours.

She can be as now, scintillating and mysterious in evening

dress, or be as green and fresh as youth itself. She can be a

vicious murderess or a dangerous siren, yet be as sedate

and dignified as a queen in a mande of blue edged by,

ermine-white foam.' He tossed a glance at her averted

profile. 'The sea can also, like a woman, make aman very

aware of his own masculinity.' Her sudden blush amused

him. 'How are you feeling? Better?'

Dru wanted to say, Happier than I've ever been in my

life. Instead she said, 'Much better, thanks. You must

lead a very satisfying life.'

'Satisfying?' He savoured the word. 'In a way.' He sat

motionless for a few seconds as though debating the point

with himself. After a considerable pause, he said, '1 never

intended to make the sea my career when young.

Strangely enough my brothers did, yet both of them

landed up as landlubbers. I was the one who eventually

chose the sea.'

'Are they married now, your brothers?'

'Yes. I'm noto Are you fond of the sea?'

"Very.'

"Do you live by the sea ?'

'No.' Dru found herself telling him about the boutique.

"I'm thinking of going after something new in the way of

jobs,' she ended.

'Your father? Did he die?'

There was a pause with Dru hating to be reminded of a

father who had treated them so shabbily. 'Mother div-

orced him. He went abroad with the other woman when I

was two.'

'1 see. Do you keep in touch?'

'No. Mother is very happy in her second marriage. I

miss her companionship.'

Dru wondered why she was telling him all this. After

all, it was not as if they were friends,

'But it won't be long before you marry.'

Dru gave a start. She "had forgotten all about Mart.

Really, it was absurd the power this man had to make.her

forget everything and everyone else when she was with

him. His personality was such that neither time nor place

had any meaning when he was near.

She said shakily with a nervousness she was sure did

not escape his keen eyes, 'Mart has a further year to go at

the hospital here before he can marry. We ... we haven't

been engaged long.' She looked away from his probing

look. '1 feel quite all right now. Shall we go back?'

She moved swiftly in the wrong direction. Instead of

retracing her steps the way they had come, she continued

along the path which brought her into a secluded arbour

of fiowers. The couple she disturbed were as startled as

she was. One moment they were standing locked in each

other's arms, the next, they had sprung aparto Mart and

Wisp!

Dru halted in her tracks. Her brain hastened to action

stations and she sought Mart's eyes for a clue on how to

acto Did he want her to play the role of the indignant

fiancée resolved to hang on to her man at all costs, or did

he want her to accept the situation as it stood? He gave

her no help, and a furious resentment burned inside her

against him. How dared he put her in such an ernbar-

rassing position?

It was Wisp who spoke, lifting her chin defiant1y.

'Well, I'm not sorry - you had to know some time.'

The girl's militant attitude put Dru on her mettle.

'Know what?' she asked.

Wisp was indignant. 'That I love Mart.'

Dru summoned a smile. 'Don't we all? Y ou've been

carried away by the moonlight, Wisp. We mayas well

understand each other here and now. Mart is going to

marry me, and I don't intend to release him from his

promise unless he asks me to.'

'Mart belonged to me first and still does. Tell her,

Mart, that you want to marry me.' Wisp had pushed a

possessive arrn through his and looked up at him ap-

pealingly.

But Mart had heard the voices of the guests coming

into the grounds for the barbecue supper and he spoke

urgently to Wisp. 'Keep your voice down. We'd better

go inside and talk it over.'

But Dru had had enough. There were limits to what

she was prepared to do for Mart, and haggling over him

was not one of them.

'There's nothing more to be said. I intend keeping

Mart to his promise.'

Having said her piece, Dru turned, to find Keith had

gone. Miserably, she wondered how much he had heard.

He would despise her for hanging on to aman who could

not play straight before he was married. She had not gone

more than a few yards when she was caught up with the

guests making for the barbecue. The next thing she knew

someone had thrust a plate ino her hand and she was in

the queue for her supper.

Howell Seabright in a white overall and a chef's hat

was slapping barbecued pieces of chicken on to plates.

Dru received hers and was passing on when a voice whis-

pered in her ear.

'I'm sorry, Dru. Thanks for rescuing me.'

It was Mart, following her with his portion of chicken

on a plate. She felt like throwing her plate at him,

chicken and all.

'Forget it,' she whispered tensely, and paused while

someone plonked sausages on her plate along with a

chunk of bread. '1 refuse to discuss it,' she continued with-

out lifting her eyes. 'Where's Wisp?'

Mart cleverly caught two bottles of beer with his free

hand and tucked them under the arm holding his plate of

food. Then he collected cutlery which Dru had passed by

in her anger.

'1 don't know where Wisp is, neither do I care,' he

muttered, following her across the garden. '1 don't know

what got into her. I've kissed her dozens of times. Tonight

was no different from any other.'

Dru made for the patio looming as a refuge from a

disturbing evening.

'Y ou can't make love to a girl and then look like a prize

idiot when she takes you seriously. Even you can't be that

juvenile,' she said, sitting down at a table in a comer of

the patio.

Mart put down the cutlery and bottles and set bis plate

beside hers on the table. Then he slid into a chair. 'Wisp is

always flirting with some chap. I'm only one of many. No

one takes her seriously.'

'No, but she's taking you seriously.'

More guests joining them at the table made further

talk between them impossible. Mart opened the bottles

and filled their glasses and a buzz of conversation began.

Keith was not arnong any of the guests who spilled

out on the lawns enjoying their supper. Liane was not

there either, but she carne out from the house as Mart

mopped up his plate to bend over him.

'You're wanted on the phone. It's the hospital.'

Mart was on his feet in an instant and as Liane foI-

lowed him indoors, Dru heard her say, 'What happened

to Wisp? She's gone home with Keith.'

A yearning to go back to her hotel room weIled up

inside Dru. It was too late to dweIl upon the agony of

regret over her arrangement with Mart. He was weak

where women were con cerned and she had to be strang

enough for both of them. Had Keith not been there her

task of carrying the whole thing off lightheartedly would

have been easy. In the permissive society of the present

day people went far beyond kissing for kicks. Mart had

asked her to the island to act as his guardian angel in

scenes which were bound to arise similar to the one she

had just taken part in. She had to abide by her decision to

help him, chance what it might cost her personalIy.

When Mart returned, he looked grim. '1 have to leave

immediately for the hospital,' he told her. 'Mrs. O'Brian

has be en taken to emergency with a suspected appendix.'

'1'Il leave with you. You can drop me off at the Gar-

land Hotel. 1 must see what arrangements have been .

made to take care of Bud.'

Dru walked with him to his car after taking her leave

of Liane and thanking her for an enjoyable evening. The

moonlight filtered through the trees lining the road as

Mart put on speed, and Dru lay back in her seat feeling

mentaIly and physicaIly exhausted. The catacIysmic

finish to a day spent wearing herself out exploring the

island had in some inexplicable fashion outraged an inner

sensitiveness of spiri t.

She felt near to tears. Mart appeared disincIined to

talk, but she felt impeIled to do so if only to put her own

problems behind her.

'Poor Mrs. O'Brian,' she murmured with cIosed eyes.

Mart kept his attention on the road ahead. '1 only hope

it isn't a burst appendix, that's all. 1 shaIl drop you off at

the hotel and scarper. There isn't a moment to be lost.'

'She was probably in pain the other evening when ·1

thought she was so unfriendly.' Dru's conscience gave a

twinge. .

Mart gave a snort of disgusto 'That's the trouble with

you women. You enjoy playing at being a martyr. Men

are more realistic. When they have a pain, they say so and

save time and trouble.'

Dru smiled. 'That's a nice way of covering up the aver-

age man's inability to suffer pain in silence. A common

cold is enough to convince them that it's their last day on

earth.'

Mart grinned. 'So what? 1've no time to argue, be-

cause 1 want to thank you again for standing up to Wisp

like you did. 1'Il make 1t up to you.' .

'Don't bother,' she said dryly. '1 can understand you

wanting a little relaxation from a very exacting job - only

pick someone next time without marriage in mind.'

Mart snorted,'Those kind don't exist.'

Dru took this attack on her own sex calmly. Liane was

right - Mart's easy conquests with women had given him

a contemptuous opinion of them. What a babe he was,

she thought irritably and a little illogically. Yet she felt

compelled to help him. She fell to wondering as they sped

through the night how fortunate it was that she had not

become involved emotionally with him. Any involvement

with aman would on her part, have to be total. This was

the quality she looked for in aman. Would she find it in

the permissive society of today?

She felt suddenly lonely and unsure, an irrational feel-

ing emphasizing a new frustration which had been

with her often since she carne to the island. There had

been little traffie on the roads and when Mart dropped her

off at the Garland Hotel, Dru welcomed the air of tran-

quillity. A light bumed in the trees, giving a golden glow

to the entrance and lighting up the windbreak of trees.

Bud, dad in pyjamas, was sitting on the floor outside

his door looking anxiously in her direction as she ap-

proached. His blue eyes were luminous and near to tears

as he leapt to his feet and ran forward to hug her. .

:'Where've you been?' His voice was muffled against

her. :'I've been waiting ages for you. Sheila's had to go to

hospital. Can 1 stay with you, Dru?'

He was clasping her tightly with trembling arrns and

looking up at her appealingly. She smiled down at him

tenderly, pushed the truant lock of golden hair from his

forehead and kissed the top of his head.

"Why, of eourse you can, poppet. 1 shall have to see

what arrangements have been made for you first, though.

Come on, 1'11 put you to bed - and don't look so unhappy.

I'm sure everything is going to be all right.'

He walked with her docilely to his bedroom cIutching

her hand as if he was afraid she might leave him. Poor

scrap! A lump constricted her breathing and brought a

prickle of tears behind her eyes. He had lost his own

mother, his father had left him to go to sea and now his

stepmother had gone. His short life had been littered with

good-byes. No wonder he was so scared of being left

alone. '

'Sheila has stomach ache,' he said, watching her tuck

him into bed. 'WilI they get her better?'

'Oh yes. They're making Daddy better, aren't they?'

Dru smiled brightly down at him, smoothing the worried

frown from his forehead with a gentIe hand. 'Now don't

think about it any more. Just go to sleep and think of alI

the good times you and I will have together while they're

making Sheila and Daddy better.'

She stayed for a long time after Bud had gone to

sleep. He had a smile on his face, put there by the littIe

story she had told him. Fate at the moment was dead

against the O'Brians, yet surely it could not be so cruel as

to take his stepmother away just when Bud needed her

most? His father, according to Mart, was on the way to

recovery, Poor man, he had two shocks in store, his wife's

ilIness and his son' s incurable one.

Dru lay awake for a long time waiting to hear from

Mart before drifting off to sleep. The phone beside her

bed awakened her at four. It was Mart. He had removed

Mrs. O'Brian's appendix, which fortunately had not

burst. The operation had been a perfectly straight-

forward one and she was going to be aIl right. He under-

stood that Bud had been left in the care of a

chambermaid at the hotel, but Mrs. O'Brian would feel

better if Dru would keep an eye on him and give him his

pilIs which he had to take each day. Bud was very fond of

her and Mrs O'Brian hoped she would not mind. As for

himself, Mart said he would ring her when he would be

free.

After breakfast the foIlowing moming, Dru set off to

spend the day with Bud. Taking him out was the diver-

sion she needed after the events of the previous evening.

Her inside chumed each time it carne back in her mind,

picturing Keith's slate grey eyes full of contempt at her

cool acceptance of Mart's unfaithfulness. He probably

thought she must love the man very much to refuse to

take the evidence of her own eyes of bis unworthiness.

A ragged emotion of anti-climax urged her to treat the

whole affair as though it had never happened. It was

something to know that the day ahead would be uncom-

plicated, tangible and carefree. Answering Bud's ques-

tions as they waited for the bus outside the hotel, Dru felt

almost happy. At least she would be able to give Bud a

good time. He had so little time left. Pity they hadn't a

cal'. Bud was perfectly happy on the bus, though.

'Look, Dru, there's Daddy's ship!' he cried when the

bus topped a rise in fuIl view of the village below and the

cruiser anchored in the bay. '1 wish I could go on it.' The

wide blue eyes he tumed on her were wistful. "Do you

think Daddy will take me when he's better?'

:'1 don't see why noto Daddy is going to stay with you

for a long time when he leaves the hospital.'

Bud frowned. "Does that mean the ship wilI go and

leave Daddy here?'

Dru nodded. :'Yes, but the ship won't be going yet.'

The bus deposited ihem in the high street with the sun

a!ready high over their heads breathing down heat. It was

cool enough yet to enjoy browsing around the shops, Dru

decided, thinking that the nicest parts of the day were the

early momings and evenings. It was fun gazing into shop

windows at a jumble of wares spelling magic to Bud, who

was delighted with a small cruiser Dru bought for him.

The post office was the last building as the high street

meandered down to the sea. On the way, Dru bought Bud

a slice of melon from a fruit shop decorated with greenery

and long stalks of sweet bananas. She left him sitting on

the sea wall eating bis melon while she went into the post

office for stamps.

As she emerged again into the strong sunlight, her

heart missed a beat to see Bud taIking to a familiar figure

in uniformo Keith was holding the toy cruiser in fum

brown fingers and Bud was saying, "Dru bought it for me.

1 shaIl have a real one like yours when 1 grow up. You

won't take yours away before Daddy can take me on it,

will you, Captain Falkner?'

The compassion in Keith's eyes as he gazed down on

Bud betrayed the fact to Dru that he knew of rus illness. A

stab of jealousy pierced her heart at the thought of Sheila

O'Brian confiding in him.

As he saw Dru, the quality of his smile changed. "Good

morning, Miss Temple,' he said smoothly. 'Bud is anxious

to see over the ship. There's no time like the present,

unless,' he paused to give her the direct look she found so

disconcerting and went on, :'you have other plans in

mind?"

He handed the toy cruiser back to Bud, who was

speechless at his words,

['CouId we, Dru?' he gasped with something like awe.

She dragged her gaze from the grey one beneath the

peaked hat and, against her wiIl, grudgingly admitted

how very attractive his tan was against the white driIl

uniformo lnwardIy, she was saying a reluctant good-bye

to the carefree day with Bud that she had so looked for-

ward to. There was nothing to do but to accept on Bud's

behalf,

As she Iooked down at him tenderly, her red lips were

already cwving into a smile of acceptance. ~Certainly,'

she said, r'providing Oaptain Falkner can spare the

time:

:'1 t will be a pleasure. As a matter of fact, one of our

boats is tied up at the jetty. Shall we go?'

They aIl three stroIled down to the small jetty built

among the recks where a boat was waiting, Keith gave

them a hand into it and took the controIs. The sea was

green this morning and as smooth as silk as they made a

beeIine for the ship.

'Your eyes are ever so green, Dru,' Bud commented

enviously. '1 wish mine were green.'

Dru smiled down at the wide eyes and kissed his

temple. :'Do you? But yours are a beautifuI blue.'

He wrinkled his small nose, unimpressed. 'Sheila has

brown eyes and Daddy has blue,' he vouchsafed. 'Daddy

had a beard and Sheila made him shave it off. She said it

tickled.' He chuckled and turned to see the ship looking

ahead.'Wow!' he cried. ·'lsn't she a whopper?'

A naval rating was there at the rail to give them a hand

as they went up the steps at the side of the ship. Keith

íollowed, giving an order for coffee and refreshments in

his cabin in a quarter of an hour.

Bud gaped at the sailor's 'Aye, aye, sir,' and watched

himgo.

'1 shall give orders when 1 have my ship,' he said

stoutly.

Dru's eyes filled with tears and she hastily blinked them

away at Keith's uplifted brows. It was about the only

reaction he made to her presence during their tour of the

ship. He was especially Dice to Bud, answering all his

questions in a tolerant, lazy way which drew the boy out

more than anything else COuId have done. He simply rev-

elled in everything he saw.

Not so Dru. She was experiencing an acute feeling of

disappointment. Strangely enough she knew there was no

real reason for it. Keith had been an excellent guide,

explaining to Bud the work his father did in the.engine

room in the simplest terms for the boy to assimilate.

Contrary to her expectations, there had been nothing

stimuIating about bis company. He had remained cool,

polite and utterly impersonal during the tour of his ship.

She had been prepared since the incident of the previous

evening for him to keep his distance, but she resented him

treating her as a casual acquaintance. A dull throbbing at

her temples had brought extra colour to her cheeks when

they entered his cabin for refreshment. She sat down

carefully away from his chair by the desk while Bud stood

beside her and the aetion of drinking her eoffee and nib-

bling a biscuit helped her to feel more normal. For-

tunately, Bud did most of the talking, filled as he was with

the wonder of what he had seen.

They were strolling back along the deck when Keith

said, "Do you have sole charge of the boy, Miss

Temple?'

Bud had gone on ahead to examine a lifebelt fastened

to the ship's rail and was out of earshot.

:'1 share the responsibility with a chambermaid at the

hotel,' she said. :'No doubt you've heard about Mrs.

O'Brian being rushed to hospitaIlast evening?'

·'Yes. Your registrar rang me up to tell me about it,

Seems he operated just in time. Poor Mrs. O'Brian. Hard

luck about the boy too. O'Brian doesn't know yet, which

makes it all the more tragic.'

As the end of the visit was near, Dru felt surprisingly

calmo His conversation awoke no answering chord in her.

An hour ago she might have been relieved to talk to him

about Bud, who worried her more than a little. Now, she

could not wait for them to get off the ship. She had

nothing to say to him.

At last Keith was giving them a hand out of the boat

and something seemed to unwind inside her. Perhaps the

hurt Iook in her green eyes, which unknown to her were

brilliantly eloquent, caused his eyes to linger on the red

lips slightly parted and the silky tendrils of hair blowing

against her flushed cheeks. For a moment the ironie twist

oí his mouth softened, and he appeared about to speak

again after taking his leave. Then he drew back and left

with a brief salute to his uniform hat,

Dru stood there watching the wide shoulders weaving

through the crowd of morning shoppers. Her hand tight-

ened around Bud's fingers as he examined his toy cruiser,

comparing it with the real thing he had just left, He

looked up in surprise at her sud den grip and she smiled

down at him, fighting off the nagging inexpressible

longings underlain by something frightening and dis-

turbing.

They had lunch in the village at a small but select

restaurant run by a Frenchman. The food was good and

the prices reasonable. Most oí the professional people in

the area, clerks and lawyers, used it daily. Bud did not eat

much of the main meal, preíerring the strawberries and

ice cream which followed. He seemed to be exhausted

with the tour oí the ship that morning, so after lunch Dru

took him on the beach to sleep it off.

Sitting watching the shallowness of his breathing and

the delicate blue-veined temples, she moved uneasily.

Surely there was something somebody could do? That

evening she put him to bed early, knowing that he would

sleep through the night and rang up Mart. Ves, he said,

he had been talking to Mrs. O'Brian and she had agreed

before she had been taken ill to allow the boy in the hos-

pital for tests. Now was as good a time as ever, for they

could tell him he was going in to be with his parents.

CHAPTER SIX

With Bud in hospital for tests and Mart keeping his nose

to the grmdstone, the days were exclusively Dru's to do

with as she wished. The first moming she wrote a letter

home, taking care what she put in it about Mart, in case

her mother read it out to his father. Neither of them were

aware of the reason why she had gone to the island for a

holiday. They simply took it for granted that Mart had

asked her to go with a view to giving her a good time

while getting to know her better.

She told her mother how well Mart was doing at the

hospital and described the beauty of the island. She made

n~ mention of Keith nor the cruiser in the bay, but she

did tell her about the O'Brian family and the tragedy

happening in their midst.

Dru went to the hospital that aftemoon to see Mrs.

O'Brian. Armed with gifts of fruit, flowers and candies,

she popped into a bright sunny children's ward to see Bud

engrossed in a jigsaw puzzle before continuing to the

other wards. Sheila O'Brian was sitting propped up with

pillows and she looked remarkably well, less harassed.

Thanking Dru for the gifts, she asked her to take the seat

at the side of her bed.

"It's awfully good of you to look after Bud,'. she said.

'Actually, my operation has been a blessing in disguise.

Since my marriage it's bothered me, not producing any

children. 1 knew it wasn't my husband's fault since he has

produced Bud. Yet somehow 1 never liked the thouzht

of going to be examined myself, Then 1 carne here for the

emergency operation and who should come to see how 1

was after it? None other than the paediatric surgeon, Mr.

Howell Seabright. Now he's going to perform a slight

operation which he thinks will do the trick.'

'That's wonderful,' exclaimed Dru. 'Now all we want is

a miracle to save Bud.'

Sheila shook her head. '1 don't hold out much hope,

not when the cleverest surgeons in London had given him

tests and all come up with the same answer. The shadow

has partially covered both lungs.'

'Mart said it was serious, but 1 suppose he wants to

make doubly sure that there's no hope. It must be a ter-

rible thing for you to bear alone. 1 don't suppose your

husband will be strong enough yet to be told.'

'No, he isn't, but he is improving. 1 shall be able to see

him when 1 get up.'

Dru told her about Keith taking Bud and herself

around his ship.

Sheila laughed. 'Keith's a marvellous man, isn't he?

The ideal answer to a maiden's prayer, cultured voice and

so virile and exciting. He isn't married, you know.'

Dru made no comment, but changed the subject,

asking if there was anything Mrs. Brian might require

while she was in hospital. She mentioned a few toilet re-

quisites which Dru promised to bring on her next visito

She stayed for about an hour and left feeling inexplieably

depressed. Since Mart had taken Bud into the hospital for

tests, she had begun to feel optimistie about her results.

Now it seemed unlikely that Mart would find any im-

provement in Bud's condition.

She passed from the clinical odours and starched

efficiency of the hospital with no sign of Mart and viewed

the welllaid out grounds. The sun shone bright and hard

on a profusion of dark green foliage, and exotie blooms

casting long shadows from the fringe of palm trees scar-

cely moving in the heat. It seemed incomprehensible that

tragedy could lurk in such lovely surroundings. She tried

not to think about it, to wipe out for a few hours the

anxiety she felt over Bud even while telling herself that

Mart had still to give the results of his tests. It was just

possible that ...

'Good afternoon, Miss Temple. Can 1 offer you a

lift?'

Dru started, her thoughts rudely shattered by the

smooth tones of Francis Gurley, the last person she

wanted to meet. To see him again was to recall his hateful

embrace on the evening of the Government Ball when

Keith had come upon them in the garden. Her cheeks

fíamed at the thought. She could not remember actively

disliking anyone so mucho His manner of acting as if

nothing had happened between them was galling, to say

the least, and added anger to her dislike of him.

'No, thanks,' she replied coldly, admitting despite her

anger that the man had reason for his male ego in think-

ing he was irresistible to women.

The sun shone on his black sleek head and the full-

lidded dark eyes which he knew how to use to their best

advantage. They told her that he understood the reason

for her anger and he was looking suitably repentant. He

had poked his head out of the cream roadster, but his

hand had hesitated on the handle of the door.

'1 wanted to apologize for my behaviour the other

evening at Government House. It was unpardonable of

me. 1 can only put it down to the amount of champagne 1

consumed.' -

His unexpected apology surprised Dru as he had ex-

pected it would and he pressed on his advantage. 'Do

show me that you forgive me by accepting my offer of a

!ift.'

She hesitated on a fiush of embarrassment as Keith

sailed by in his caro He did not glance in their way, but she

knew he had seen them. To force her attention to come

back to her companion was quite an effort, for the image

of Keith refused to be dismissed from her mind. Strange

how he always managed to upset her - a catch of the

breath, an instant communication of a strong emotion alI

the more heartbreaking beca use it was all on her side.

Dru was hardly aware of slipping in the seat beside

Francis as he opened the car door. His offer oI a lift had

been unpremeditated, so where was the harm? It was idi-

otic of her to feel somewhat lonely and rejected as she

settled in the seat beside him. Once again she was re-

gretting the impulse that had brought her to the island as

Mart's fiancée.

As the car moved forward Dru felt the exhaustion of

anti-climax.

'1 should like to go back to the Garland Hotel, please,'

she said.

He looked her way briefiy. 'Sure you won't come out

for a spot of tea with me? 1 didn't have much lunch and

it's a long way to dinner this evening. 1 don't suppose

you'Il come out with me for dinner?'

Dru shook her head. 'I'm sorry.'

'1 didn't think you would. You haven't quite forgiven

me, have you?'

'It isn't that,' she protested. You forget I'm engaged to

Mart.'

"But Mart isn't always available, is he? At least have

tea with me at the cIubhouse or 1 shall feel 1 haven't been

forgiven.' His grin was almost artless. 'Please!'

Perhaps it was because Dru had never felt less like her

own company that she accepted. There were only a few

people at the cIubhouse sunbathing on loungers and sip-

ping iced drinks when they arrived. Francis parked the

car and guided her to a smaIl table in a corner of the

covered veranda.

It was pleasant and cool sipping a drink of fresh cool

limes and watching the surf roll lazily up the beach with a

teasing roar. Dru looked up when a jet engine shook the

air and saw the sun catch the fuselage as it shot away into

the blue.

'Did you know that Wisp Mallon had left the island?

Parents whisked her away to some relative in London.

Seems there was a scene with some man at a party.'

Francis spoke casually, betraying the fact that he had

heard about the little scene at Liane's party when Dru

had found Wisp in Mart's arms. It had simply not oc-

curred to her that the incident could have circulated all

over the ,island.

'Really?' she answered, then she was staring wide-eyed

over Francis's shoulder at a couple approaching the club-

house. With a swift intake of breath, she watched Liane

swinging a tennis racket with superb self-assurance. In

her white, full-skirted, very brief tennis dress, her dark

hair caught back in a ponytail, Liane was a partner any

young man would be pleased to take on.

Keith stroIled by her side and they made an arresting

couple, he taIl, dark and very masculine, she slender and

very lovely. Dru's heart gave a painful twinge. Keith was

smiling down at Liane, completely engrossed in what she

was saying, looking up at him provocatively. His deep

chuckle sent Dru's fingers curling hard around her drink

as she remembered his punishing kiss in his rooms on the

night she had gone down in search of her swimsuit topo

They were bypassing the clubhouse entrance and Dru

was hoping they would not be noticed in their comer of

the veranda. But the next momentLiane's clear voice hit

the air.

'Hello, Dru, Francis,' she called, holding up her rac-

ket. 'Care to make it doubles?'

Francis turned. 'No, thanks,' he answered. '1 prefer to

take the weight off my feet.'

Dru lowered her eyes as Keith nodded coolly to her, his

eyes a hard slate grey. His express ion had changed as he

saw her with Francis. He looked insolently cynical, in

cream flannels, the opening in his cream silk shirt re-

vealing the strong, smooth brown throat. Dru relaxed

when they continued on their way to the comparative

cool of the tennis courts behind the clubhouse.

'Didn't want to go with them, did you?' Francis

proffered cigarettes as he spoke. 'Y ou can always borrow

a racket.'

Dru shook her head, refusing a cigarette.'No,

thanks.'

Francis lighted his cigarette, blew out a line of smoke

and leaned back in his chair to study her with an impass-

ive thoroughness.

'Our gallant Captain circulates rather freely, don't you

think? 1 suppose you're pretty pally with him since your

first amorous meeting?'

His eyes narrowed as he looked at her swift bIush. It was

not a friendly look and the very nature of it put Dru on

her dignity.

'So ,you've heard about that too? Tne island grapevine

must be working overtime! 1 mistook Captain FaIkner for

Mart since they were both wearing white drill, a fact

which the grapevine couId have omitted when it cir-

cuIated the news. To answer your question, the Captain

and 1 don't hit it off too well for some reason or other.'

'No?'

"No,' she echoed, hating his smile. For the first time

since coming to the isIand, she was beginning to see what

Mart was up against. It would onIy be too easy for some

wiIy femaIe to hook him once he was caught in the tender

trapo The grapevine wouId do the resto What a fooI he

was to risk his reputation! There was the news of Wisp

leaving the isIand too. Dru hoped she was not taking her

supposed engagement to Mart too much to heart. She

liked the girl.

-'Ah well,' Francis drawIed. -'1 can see the subject is di s-

tasteful to you. 1 wouIdn't have minded being in the Cap-

tain's shoes, though. It was some greeting, by all

accounts.' His smiIe was meant to be disarming, aIthough

he continued with the subject.' I find it hard to believe he

didn't follow up the encounter by making at least one

pass at you.'

Dru said dryly, :'He's not the marrying kind. He's ab-

sorbed in his career.'

'A typical sailor, eh? With a wife in every port? The

strong silent type, though, wouldn't you say, whom

every woman goes for?'

Francis kept his full-lidded eyes lowered and tapped

ash carefully from his cigarette into a beautiful pink shell

ashtray. Dru's blush matched it as she parried the ques-

tion adroitIy.

:'As you say, a wife in every port.'

She picked up her taIl glass and swirled the ice cubes

around the remainder of her drink before taking it down.

Looking at his veiled eyes, she felt her dislike of him

mounting. What an objectionable type of man he was, the

omniscient male so full of his own ego that he could

become a bore. And a malicious one at that. Their parting

when he drove her back to her hotellifted a vague weight

from her mind.

The reception clerk handed her a note with her keys. It

was from Pete.

'We've had our marching orders, Off early tomorrow.

Am giving a fareweIl party at the clubhouse. Will send a

car for you. Pete,' he had scrawled hastily,

For the party, Dru put on her favourite dress, a de-

licate white chiffon which set off her golden tan perfectIy.

The bodice moulded, the slender curves of her figure, bil-

lowing out from her smaIl waist into a fuIl swirling skirt

delicate as a cloud. The emerald green necklace of per-

fectIy matched stones brought out the clear green of her

eyes. It had been a wedding present from her stepfather

and quite the nicest gift Dru had ever received. At least,

she thought as she clasped it around her slender throat, he

would .appreciate what she was doing for his son if he

knew. But it was smaIl consolation when she went down-

stairs at the hoot of a car after waiting vainly for Mart to

put in an appearance.

Her conveyance was a mini-bus already half filled with

guests. As they greeted her cordially, Dru recognized sev-

eral members oí the club.

Pete's warm greeting when she arrived lifted her heart,

"Enter a lovely lady without an escort. How 1 wish 1 was

staying longerl

Drinks and savouries were circulating with everyone in

party mood, including Pete. Lifting bis drink aloft to in-

elude everyone, he cried, "If any oí you happen to visit

the Middle West 1 invite you tocall on my people, who

will only be too delighted to meet you. Some of my

friends are not able to be with us this evening at such

short notice, so 1 suggest we drink to them.'

Dru raised her glass with Wisp in mind. Had she been

the instigator of his toast? She was the one who would

mean anything to him, although Mart, Liane and Howell

Seabright were also absent. Francis Gurley had strode in

when she had been talking to Pete and the sight of him

had fiIled her with a chill of apprehension. Far from de-

siring his company, Dru avoided him as much as possible,

Several times during the evening she had intercepted a

veiled Iook in her direction which she had interpreted as

being distinctly amorous and a warning to watch her step

with him.

Although she ignored his presence, Dru could not relax

and enter into the party spirit. At eight-thirty Keith

had arrived bringing with him a disturbing current of air

charged with electricity. Catching her breath, Dru

wished he had stayed on his ship and not come ashore so

often. Without his uniform hat, his dark crisphair and

teak-tanned features had a chiseIled look. He looked

glowing, vital and arresting. She was not the only one to

notice him, for he was soon surrounded by a bevy of

pretty girls. She watched them, her heart beating in thick

strokes, and her whole being aching with a yearning

which was becoming all too familiar at the sight of

hirn,

She had been moving away from a group to whom she

had been chatting and with shaking fingers, she put down

her glass on a passing waiter's tray. A sudden need to go

outdoors urged her forward to slip through the French

windows and out into the night. The air, drenched with

the scent of flowers, became impregnated with the tang of

the sea when she made her way down to the shore. The

laughter and music drifting from the clubhouse was

muted and the soft swish of the surf near her feet grad-

uaIly soothed the wild beating of her heart, bringing back

a sense of reality. AlI that had gone before carne into her

mind, all that Keith had done to her, what he believed

her to be. What had happened to her in the last few

moments did not make sense. She had been madly jealous

of the girls surrounding him, aman there was no reason

at all even to like.

If only Mart were here, she thought hopelessly, and

turned in nervous haste as someone came up swiftly

behind her. Swiftly, silently, she was hauled close to a

hard body and her Iíps were imprisoned in a suffocating

kiss, _

Anger swept through her like a devouring flame and

wrenching herself free, she slapped his face hard.

"How dare you ' ..• ' you worm!' she cried, trembling

with fury. ['1 never thought you'd be despicable enough to

make the same mistake twice. 1 shall teIl Mart about

you!'

Francis Gurley touched his smarting cheek, his look an

open insulto '

"Mart! That's rich. Anyone who's been with Mart is

reckoned as fair game - or didn't you know that?'

['1 don't believe you. Mart is a gentleman. He doesn't go

around forcing his attentions upon defenceless girls,"

'No? 1 wonder how well you know him.'

'That's none of your business.' Dru spoke with dignity

covering a sense of humiliation. He could be right about

Mart. Liane had hinted that day at her villa. She gazed

up uncertainly at the heavy-lidded eyes not far above her

own. He was neither taIl nor broad, but he seemed to

tower above her menacingly.

'Why did you come out here if it wasn't with the inten-

tion of inviting someone to join you? You can't blame a

fellow for accepting the invitation.' He had regained his

poise and smiled ruefully as he continued to stroke his

cheek. 'Besides, this is a party.'

'But not a free-Ior-all,' Dru said coldly. "1 happen to be

engaged to Mart - or have you forgotten?'

He laughed. 'Mart and 1 are friendly rivals. We've been

with much the same girls.'

Dru stiffened. 'Well, this one doesn't happen to be

available. Now, will you please go?'

"Come now •. you and 1 could have fun. Why don't you

relax and enjoy yourself? Mart would have no qualms at

enjoying himself if he were here.' He reached out to

touch her and she recoiled in revulsion. ~ Ah, I'm be-

ginning to understand. You're waiting for someone else.

It can't be Mart, because he's on dutyat the hospital.' He

stroked his jaw thoughtfully. 'Could it be Captain Falk-

ner?'

Dru's hand itched to strike the leer from his face and

she controlled herself with an effort. 'There you go again

with your horrible insinuations! What a despicable cad

you are!' she flared. 'l'm waiting for no one and if 1 was it

has nothing at all to do with you. Now will you please go

and take your attentions where they're more welcome!'

He shrugged, in no way perturbed by her outburst. 'AlI

right. We must have a little get-together some time. I'm

not bad when you get to know me. Anyway, what I really

carne out to teIl you was that Pete is putting on a show, a

kind of fareweIl performance starting about now.'

They returned in silence to find Pete and his conc:rt

party on a raised dais at the far end of the room. Chairs

had been placed in rows facing them, but Dru chose a

solitary one near the French window, determined not to

give Francis the chance to sit beside her. It was inevitable

that her eyes should be drawn across the room to meet

Keith's speculative regard. _ He flicked a glance at her

companion, a glance which became insolently mocking

when Francis stood behind her chair, Dru's face gre~ hot.

How dared Francis hang on to her after what bad hap-

pened! As for Keith's mocking glance, no need to say that

he thought her fair game too. Yet, arrogant creature

though he was, his reassuring presence mitigated the

menace of the man standing behind her. Strange that sbe

was not afraid of him as she was of Francis.

As usual, Pete put on a good show which Dru. could

have enjoyed more in happier circumstances. Despite the

excellent fare and equally excellent entertainment, the

cvening had already been spoiled for Dru. TQ begin with, .

she hated saying good-bye to a friend, and she did regard

Petc as one. Parting with Pete would only be the fore-

runner of more partings, Mart, the O'Brians and ...

Keith. _

The thought of never seeing Keith again set her trem-

bling anew. What was the matter with her? She did not

love him and was not even sure if she liked him. He was

an overbcaring creature whom she hardly knew and be

obviously distrusted her. Why then the sudden tem-

pestuous longing, a longing she had never felt for Mart or

any other man? In that moment Dru bated him for his

domination of her life, his deep voice twanging echoing

chords inside her and the challenging glances drawing

her like a magneto

The show bad ended on a gay note, and amidst the

tremendous applause, a waiter approached Dru to say she

was wanted on the phone.

It was Mart. 'Hello, Dru. Sorry I couldn't make it for

Pete's party. Look, can you come over to the hospital?'

'What, now?'

:'Yes. Right away.'

Dru's heart lurched. "Is anything the matter?'

'No. It isn't anything I care to talk about over the

phone. Just come. Is Francis Gurley still there?'

'1 think so.'

Mart grunted. -'He shouldn't be. He's due here in less

than a quarter of an hour. He's supposed to relieve me.

Ask him to give you a lift here. And watch him, he's a

slimy individual ... Are you still there?'

Dru found her voice. 'Of course I am.' It was on the tip

of her tongue to tell him his warning was a bit late.

:'Won't it wait until the morning?'

"No, 1 shall be on duty most of the day. Step on it and

go in search of Gurley in case he's left. See you soon.'

For a few moments she stood staring stupidly at the

receiver in her hand after he had rung off. Then she re-

placed it and went for her wrap. She caught Francis on

his way out to bis car and asked him to give her a lift to

the hospital. If he was surprised, he did not show it but

opened the car door for her to slide inside. He spoke with

his thumb on the starter.

:'Y ou're not by any chance aiming to tell Mart about

me, are you?' he asked quietly, menacingly.

Dru quelled an inward shudder, then chided herself for

being afraid. Since he had little time before reporting for

duty at the hospital, he could hardly play apy tricks.

'Of course noto I'm going to see Mart. He'll be off

duty when you relieve him. In any case, you're not tbat

important.'

'Lucky Mart,' he answered, and set the car off at speed.

The road was deserted apart from an occasional car pass-

ing with dipped headlights, and he made it in good time.

Mart was at the hospital en trance. His cigarette made an

are of light as he flung it on the gravel drive when the car

drew up in front of him.

'Cutting it fine, aren't you, Gurley?' he growled, help-

ing Dru from the car and arming her inside.

He walked with her down a long corridor to a room at

the far end which he used as an office. Inside, he seated

her and switched off the light. Dru's nerves tensed as she

found herself gazing at an X-ray photograph of a pair oí

lungs. Mart perched on a comer of his desk near to where

she sat facing him and reached out an arm sideways to

tap the base oí the X-rayo

'There, you see.' He indicated the shadow shown

c1early on the lower part of each lung. 'I'm afraid there's

nothing we can do for Bud.'

Dru's eyes filled with tears. The X-ray danced in blur-

red fashion and she blinked furiously. 'Oh, Mart! Are

you sure?' she asked shakenly. .

He nodded grimly. 'That's why 1 wanted you to see for

yourself.'

'Poor Bud. Have you told Mrs. O'Brian?'

'1 have.' He switched off the X-ray photograph and

flicked on the light.

'How is she taking it?'

:'VeÍy well. She knew there was nothing to be done.

Bud has been to so many specialists. She doesn't want her

husband to know yet, and we agree with her. He's im-

proving.'

'Was he very badly injured?'

'He'll need skin grafts Iater. Otherwise he'll be fine -

unless,' he paused significantly, 'something happens to

Bud in the meantime.'

Dru deliberately held her emotions in check. "How long

has Bud before ... ?'

She faltered and Mart said crisply, "Twelve months, at

a pinch. Now tell me what you've been doing while I've

been slogging away here.' His eyes slid over her apprais-

ingly, taking in the delicately lovely dress, the golden rad-

iance of her hair, her green eyes bright with tears and the

soft tremulous mouth. Dru looked down at her hands

linked loosely in her lap and chose her words. .

'Nothing 1 can say will make sense after what you've

just told me. 1 wish 1 could take it philosophically like

you, but 1 can't.'

'So what?' Mart asked roughly. "Letting it get you

down isn't the way to go about it. It solves nothing. Come

on, 1 promised Pete to call in to say good-bye, With luck

we should be able to have a little fun before the party's

over.'

Dru had never felt less like fun, but she went with him.

Mart had shed his white coat to reveal a neat dark lounge

suit. Sitting beside her with the shadows darkening his

fair hair, he looked subtly different, more mature. It was

the aura of glamour his profession spread around him. He

was no different. Ves, that was what it was. It spoke well

for him that he had not enjoyed seeing her upset and had

been uncomfortable about it. Dru, glancing at his ab-

sorbed profile, wondered at the intangible thing that

made one man fill a woman with passionate longing and

another so negligible. She would always like Mart despite

his failings; love him, never.

When they reached the clubhouse the party was still in

full swing. Quite a number of the guests were dancing in

the room where Pete had entertained with his concert

party. Others sat around at tables on the veranda enjoy-

ing sandwiches and drinks with the moon making every-

thing as light as day. Pete was the centre of the gathering.

Had it not been his party he would still have been the

focal point. He had the American congenital gift of warm

hospitality. It flowed from him naturalIy and, allied to his

particular gift of showmanship, set the hallmark on a

very enjoyable party. While they talked to Pete, Dru no-

ticed with relief that Keith had left. Mortified colour

crept into her cheeks as she realized a feeling of disap-

pointment. lt remained with her despite her wish to

forget the mano Mart enjoyed himself, demolishing a pile

of sandwiches before whirling Dru on to the dance

fioor,

And so the evening wore on, with Dru discovering that

there were some things she could not do even for Mart.

One of them was to endure his amorous advances.

'Y ou're looking lovely tonight, darling,' he murmured,

his lips against her ear.

'Thanks.' Nerves ragged, she contrived a light re-

joinder. '1 hope you're noticing how late it is - or should 1

say early in the moming? You did say you had to be on

duty part of the day.'

Then Pete was there. :'Who's for coffee to end the

party? We have an early plane to catch.'

Dru went eagerly with Mart to join other guests sitting

down to take coffee from circulating waiters. The small

dance band wearily put their instruments away and fol-

lowed suit ..

'lt's been a marvellous party,' someone said, and every-

one agreed. In the general conversation which folIowed,

Dru sipped her coffee, feeling a reluctance to go back to

the hotel with Mart. She had had more than enough

amorous attentions from the opposite sex for one night.

Francis Gurley's hateful kiss had filIed her with disgust

and Mart's, should he be that way incIined, would be

equally distasteíul. Fortunately, Pete asked him to give

two of the guests a lift since they lived near to the hospital

and Dru cIinched the idea by suggesting that she should

go with Pete back to the hotel. Pete made short work oí

retuming to the hotel since he had ónly an hour to collect

his cases and catch the plane.

He helped Dru from the car, saying he had to dash, but

not before Dru reached up to kiss him good-bye. He

kissed her in retum in fulI measure, bemoaning the fact

that he had to leave the island at aIl. Then he had dashed

into the hotel. Dru stood in the slow golden glow

suffusing the sky. Her first tropical dawn. She looked past

the windbreak of trees to the sea where an are oí fue

merged into the sky from the horizon sending up splinters

of gold into the heavens. They splayed across the water,

creeping inIand to chase away purple shadows from

building and trees. lt struck her in that moment that

while the scene enchanted it was also hauntingly sad. Un-

aware of having moved, she found herself walking down

to the shore.

The air was cool and fresh with the great glow of light

lifting up from the horizon with an ever-increasing inten-

sity the darker shades of night. Dru walked without

thought or will, part of the scene and yet apart from it,

overawed by the unseen power behind it. lt was light

enough now to see colours, the seaweed, the shells and the

black-veined white rocks jutting out from the sand. Not

far away to her left was the cIump of rocks where she had

thought to find refuge from Keith on the day she had

fallen and struck her knee. For some unknown reason she

felt bound to walk up to them before retracing her steps

back to the hotel.

The rocks formed a sheltered niche and Dru did not

notice the legs and feet protruding from it until it was too

late. Keith sat on a flat rack jutting out shelf-wise forming

a seat. He sat there indolentIy smoking.

Dru's heart took a plunge. 'Oh dear!' she cried. 'How

you startIed me. 1 never expected to see anyone here.'

He stubbed out his cigarette and took his time, looking

her over thoughtfully. In the golden light his dark satur-

nine face looked carved in bronze and there was nothing

in the least friendly in his regard.

"Indeed? You startle me more each time 1 see you, Miss

Temple. Your antics are truly amazing. You deliberately

follow me out here, then put on an act of surprise worthy

of a first-class actress. However do you do it and still

manage to look so beautifulIy naíve and trusting?'

Dru, shaken to the depths by the emotions this sar-

donic, irritating man invariably aroused in her, stared at

him bleakly.

'Y ou're joking, of course. 1 haven't seen you since leav-

ing Pete's party earlier in the evening,' she assured him

bleakly.

'Ah, yes.' Keith folded his arms. "Not bad going - two

men in one evening, or is it three? We mustn't forget your

fiancé. 1 presume you've seen him too?'

Dru lifted her chin angrily. '1 don't think it's any of

your business, is it?'

'It certainly is when you're after making me your

fourth. TelI me, strictly for the record, whose kisses did

you find the most scintillating?' He waved a brown hand

lazily as she was about to speak. 'Don't telI me, let me

guess. Francis Gurley's, since you left the party early in

his company. I've never seen anyone looked as kissed as

you did when you returned with him from a strolI in the

grounds of the clubhouse.'

Dru faltered. The knowledge that she was not the kind

of girl he took her to be only made lrer feel at a greater

disadvantage against his cynical sophistication. His

mockery hurt her in a new inexplicable way. Afterwards

she thought that she could have easily walked away in-

stead of standing there staring blindly up at him.

Her own voice was strange to her ears as she clenched

trembling hands.

'You haven't the least idea what you're talking about.

You're only judging by what you saw. And if we're di s-

cussing kisses let me tell you this - I'd go for Francis

Gurley's kisses any time before yours and, believe me,

that's saying a lot, since I heartily detest the man.'

'You have a curious way of showing your dislike of

him, 1 must sayo If that's how you behave when you dis-

like aman how would you behave when you loved

him?'

'That's something you'lI never find out for yourself, for

you've never loved anyone in your life.'

He lifted a brow tantalizingly. "No?' He rearranged his

long legs into a more comfortable position. 'You amaze

me, or have I underestimated you? It never occurred to

me that you gave any thought to love at all.' His voice

roughened. 'Y ou're as convinced of me being incapable of

loving as 1 am of you. At least we have something in

common. Why on earth don't you wait until the real thing

comes along instead of behaving like a little tart?'

A sudden shaft lit the sky, showing them plainly to

each other. Dru had gone scarlet, then very pale. Her

anger was such that she wanted to hurt him as he had

hurt her.

Her voice trembled. 'You say we're two of a kind. It

takes one bad person to recognize another. Why don't you

mind your own business and please don't speak to me

again even in company. As for following you...' she

laughed derisively, 'I'd have to be hard up for a man if I

ever did that!'

She swung round to go and the next moment his fingers

had closed over her slim wrist. The grip of his hand sent

tremors through her whole body which she despised her-

self for and, trying to wrench herself free, her hatred for

him sparkled in her green eyes ..

His look was openly insulting. "Surely you aren't going

yet? What a disappointing antí-climax to your evening of

fun,' he jeered.

Dru's only answer was to try to fling her arm clear of his

grip. She was entirely unsuccessful. He laughed. She saw

the flash of white teeth and a gleam in his eyes which

made her tremble, The next moment he had hauled her

into his arms. She tried to struggle as every bit of resist-

ance she was capable of rose up against him. But she was

trapped against a hard body and lips that fastened on her

own. GradualIy, her anger dissolved into a giddy feeling

of blissful rapture. It was as if bones and sinews meIted

leaving no support for a body too weak to offer any resist-

ance. She closed her eyes and clung.

The soft wash of the surf on the shore mingled with the

wild beating of her heart lifted her above earthly things

into a heaven she never knew existed until now. A raging

passion swept through her, leaving no thought for ~yone

but the man holding her in his arms and transportmg her

to unknown realms of delight. LulIed by such heavenly

bliss it was easy to cease to resist.

When he lifted his head, his eyes were filled with scorn.

'So you didn't want me to kiss you? A likely story, since

you offered no resistance. Why did your lips respond so

willingly if what you say is true?'

His alIDS had not slackened and Dru, bemused and

breathless attempted to replenish her lungs.

'How dare you, you beast! Let me gol' she gasped,

finding it impossible to move against his brute str~ngth.

"Why should I? Why should you have everything your

own way? Why should I not have fun too in punishing

you?' his lips moved down into her neck. 'Rather unique,

isn't it, kissing in the rosy glow of the dawn mstead of

beneath a moon. It's something new for you to put mto

your scrapbook of conquests.' .. .

He spoke against her throat, his lips m~vmg ~nce ;nl?re

towards her mouth. And like a shaft of hghtnmg hitting

the sky the truth made itself known. She could no longer

ignore it or deny it any more than she could save Bud

from his fate. She loved him, aman who had only con-

tempt for her. As his lips again fastened on her ?wn it

seemed that everything she had ever wanted from life was

being given, was there for the taking.

But before she could take it the cup of happiness was

rudely dashed from her lips by the contemptuous way in

which he suddenly lifted his head and released her,

'There, you've had your thrill and I don't suppose it's

any use saying let it be a lesson to you. I don't know why I

bothered.'

His grey chips of eyes flicked her like a lash. Flung

from the emotional heights of bliss, she made an effort to

grope her way back to reality - a task which, even if she

had been more experienced, was for the moment beyond

her. In blindly obeying the dictates of her own heart, she

had heaped humiliation upon herself and her pride was

gone. Her only instinct was to escape from eyes that bared

her soul. Stumbling away with the tears blinding her eyes,

Dru made for the hotel and the sanctuary of her room.

CHAPTER SEVEN

To awake was to recall immediately the disturbing events

of the previous night. Dru sat up in bed pushing the

heavy waves of hair from an aching brow and prepared to

face a new day. The night had been oppressively hot and

the patch of sky visible through her window glowed om-

inously like molten metal. Her rage against Keith had

gone, leaving only the sharne of responding to his kisses.

If she had been mad there was a conviction deep down in

her heart that the sarne madness would return again in

bis arms, What would have eventually happened was

anybody's guess and bis passion matched her own,

flarning as it had like dry twigs tossed on to an open

fire.

After a shower and a great deal of thought, Dru finally

convinced herself that there was enough distraction on

the island to fill in her time and heart and leaving no

room for loneliness. Bud, for instance.

Sheila O'Brian would be in hospital for a while and

when Mart was on duty she would do her best to keep Bud

happy. Breakfasting in her room in order to keep away

from any possible contact with Keith, she set off for the

village intending to make a few purchases for Mrs,

O'Brian as promised and have lunch there before going to

the hospital in the afternoon.

The air was still humid, the sky metallic when the bus

droned along past hedges trailing mauve thunbergia and

graceful casuarinas. A draught of cool air came in through

the open window of the bus when they swung around

corners and a sense of tranquillity settled on her which

had nothing to do with the tangled emotions within

her,

The village was astir with stallholders in the market

place and shopkeepers busily displaying their wares. Dru

enjoyed popping in and out of the shops on the shady side

of the street making purchases for Mrs. Q'Brian from the

pharrnacy and later at the fruit and flower stal!s in the

market. At the little restaurant where she stopped for

lunch, a waiter looking darker-skinned than ever in bis

crisp white suit showed her to a table in an air-con-

ditioned room overlooking the market square and she

lingered over an excellent lunch.

Mart was the first person she met at the hospital. He

carne along the corridor, bis white coat flying open and

his stethoscope flopping from his pocket. He was scowl-

ing.

Dru beamed. "Good afternoon, Mart,' she said.

'Good afternoon, darling. You look happy.'

She could have told him she was feeling anytbing but

happy. However, his tone told her he was not feeling par-

ticularly happy hirnself and she wondered fleetingly

about it.

'Aren't you?' she queried.

He shrugged. In that moment he looked rather young

for a responsible job. Perhaps his slight build and light

curly hair combined with his well-scrubbed boyish fea-

tures were apt to emphasize bis immaturity. He was like

bis father, yet unlike. Mart wore his badge of office, the

white coat, carelessly like a painter, whereas his father

wore the much longer one, as befitting bis status, with

gracious forrnality and charrn.

Mart would learn, Dru thought, eyeing his jaded look.

'You look tired, Mart. I should have a lie-in at the first

opportunity,' she suggested.

'I'm al! right. It happens to be one of those days.' His

eyes narrowed down at the picture she made, taking a

brief inspection of her bright hair, the colourful bouquet

in one slim suntanned arm, the long slender legs and all

her slender freshness. ''Y ou're too bright a vision for tired

eyes, my peto 1 hate to think of you wand,ering around

without me.'

Dru chuckled in sympathetic amusement. "So what? I

shall soon have an escort - Bud.'

"Budi" Mart echoed, dragging back his thoughts from

where they had flown.'Bud isn't here.'

'Not here?' Dru's heart jolted. 'Why not? Where is he?'

'Out with Marie, the chambermaid from your hotel.

She called to see how he was as it's her day off duty and

he wanted to go out with her. He'll be back at the hotel

tonight. By the way, should you take him out, take care

not to overtire him. He's apt to get breathless at the least

exertion.' He smiled down at her, a smile filled with

boyish charm. 'He can't wait to get back to the hotel, and

I think you're the reason. He's very attached to you.'

He had taken her arm and was walking with her along

the corridor towards Mrs. O'Brian's ward. Suddenly the

door of one of the small private wards they were passing

opened and Liane stepped into the corridor carrying a

chart, She looked crisp, vital and glowing, as beautiful in

her uniform as she was out of it. She greeted them

both briefly and continued down the corridor with her

lovely graceful walk showing an enchanting back view

of her legs. -

Mart's eyes were glued on her, but they revealed

nothing. Liane had revealed a little more. Dru had seen

the look she had given Mart, brief though it had been.

She herself had never looked at Mart in that way, for a

very good reason. She was not in love with him. Liane

was.

'Lovely girl, Liane,' she remarked as Liane's skirts

swung around a comer out of sight.

'Hmm. What did you say?'

Mart looked round at her almost startled. She

laughed.

'Nothing,' she replied. "How is Mrs. O'Brian?'

'Much better. I presume those flowers are for her?'

Mart had paused with one hand on the door handle of

Mrs. O'Brian's ward.

'Yes. Is it all right if I see her?'

Mart's glance was lingering on the curly tendrils of

golden hair by each small ear. 'Go right ahead. 1 wish I

could supply all my patients with such an enchanting visi-

tor.' He bent to kiss the softly rounded cheek nearest to

him. 'Have a nice day. 1'11 give you 'a ring when I'm

free.'

Sheila O'Brian was sitting up in bed in a bower of

flowers. She looked very young in her pretty mauve

nightdress and matching bedjacket, although the sun

picked out an occasional grey hair in the brown.

'Come in,' she said, 'if you can find a way through the

flowers.'

Dru stared, then chuckled at the array of blooms spill-

ing around the room, on the bedside locker, on a table

near the door, along the window sill and in two floor vases

placed in corners.

'Y ou look like a prima donna on her first night,' she

said, laying down her flowers by the vase on the small

table by the door.

'Aren't they lovely? Captain Falkner brought these

beautiful blooms on my locker. The rest are from my

husband's shipmates and officers.' Do come and sit

down.'

Dru obeyed, taking the chair by the bed after laying

her purchases on the bed. '1 hope 1 remembered every-

thing you asked me to bring.'

'I'm sure you have. 1 must pay you.'

Dru protested as Sheila leaned sideways to reach for

her purse from her locker.

'Oh no, please don't. They didn't cost the earth. How

are you?' She stood up before Sheila could lie back again.

;'Let me shake your pillows. There, isn't that better?'

'Lovely, thanks.' Sheila lay back against the soft

mound and smiled palely. 'Everyone is so kind.'

-'Y ou could do with a bit of kindness. Y ou haven't

exactly had a very kind time.' Dru's eyes lingered on the

wedding ring below the diamond solitaire on the small

white hand as it rested on the counterpane, and paused

before adding, "I'm very sorry about Bud.'

Sheila blinked rapídly and hung on to her composure.

;'1 expected it. 1 suppose 1 ought to be thankful that my

husband has been spared, but 1 want them both so much.'

Her voice wavered. '1 haven't told my husband yet about

Bud. 1 want him to be happy for as long as possible. I'm

not going to tell him. Do you think I'm wrong not to?'

Dru met her look squarely. "No, 1 don't. No one can do

anything about it and there's nothing to be gained in

making your husband prematurely unhappy. Besides,' her

smile flashed, -'1 simply don't believe that fate has any

more blows in store for you. You've had your share. Just

keep hoping.'

"You really think so?' Sheila's expression was one of

doubt.

'1 do. After all, things are beginning to look brighter

already. This slight adjustment you're to have in order to

have children of your own and the faet that your husband

is going to recover are two wonderful breaks in the dark

clouds. Who knows? There might be a third. These cycles

of fate are said to come in threes. 1 shall keep hoping for

Bud.'

Sheila's lips were tremulous, her eyes overbright. ~I

pray for Bud's recovery every night. It never ought to

have happened really. You see, when Bud's mother died,

his father left him in the care -of his sister, a divorcee.

Unfortunately he didn't know she was an alcoholic. 1 had

the flat next door and Bud was always around my place in

the evenings and at week-ends. When Bud's father, Bill,

carne home on leave, he took me out for looking after

Bud.' She gave a tremulous smile. 'Baby-sitting, his sister

called it. Then 1 had to go away for six months. 1 de-

signed fabrics for a textile firm and they opened a branch

abroad. 1 returned to my flat on the day Bud's aunt was

rushed to hospital in a coma from an overdose of drugs.

She never recovered. Bill carne home on compassionate

leave during which time we discovered our love for each

other. We were married.

'Bud had been terribly neglected, poor darling, and it

took some time to nurse him back to health. Bill bought a

house with a garden and went back to his ship. About six

months ago there was an epidemic of 'flu at Bud's school.

He caught it and didn't seem to recover wholly from it.

W orried about his lack of energy, 1 took him to the hos-

pital for a check-up.'

Sheila swallowed painfully, cleared her voice and con-

tinued. 'The result was given to me on the day 1 received

the news of Bill's accident. It .. , it was like receiving a

death sentence on them both, for 1 knew Bill's injuries

must have been causing concern or they wouldn't have

sent for me.'

Dru squeezed her hand. "But it wasn't, was it? Not on

Bill. He's going to be all right. And he's going to be so

thrilled when he hears that it's going to be possible for

you to have children. After your slight operation, of

course.'

Sheila nodded and managed a pale smile. Her fingers

closed warmly round Dru's.

"I'll never forget the joumey here with Bud prattling

on about seeing his daddy and wondering if he would

have any daddy when we arrived. 1 could have kissed

Captain Falkner when he met us at the airport to say that

Bill would be all right.'

'Oh dear, what a good thing you didn't!' Dru cried,

and went on to relate her own arrival when she had flung

herself in Keith's arms.

Sheila laughed and looked much brighter. -'1 bet he

enjoyed it, though,' she commented, surreptitiously

wiping the tears frorn her eyes.

'Not a bit.' Dru was annoyed at her blush at painful

memories. "He and 1 don't seem to hit it off!'

'No? 1 think you're mistaken. Captain Falkner isn't the

kind to take umbrage at a genuine mistake. 1 wouldn't say

he was averse to the ladies. No sailor is. 1 bet he's been

quite a lad - still is. The women will make sure of that.

He's so devastatingly attractive, for one thing, and is

definitely a virile maleo 1 confess 1 can't take rny eyes off

fue man when he's around, what with bis deep brown

voice and bis charm.'

'Which definitely is not for me,' Dru replied decisively,

and changed a subject which was proving too painful for

words. She talked in a lighter vein and by the time a nurse

wheeled in the teatime trolley, she was happy to see

Sheila looking much better ..

Later, she was leaving her on a lÍappy note when a tap

carne on the door and Francis Gurley put bis head in.

After a glance which summed up in seconds the occu-

pants of the room, he said, "Sorry, 1 was told Mr. Sea-

bright was making for this way.' He lifted a questioning

brow. "Haven't seen him, by any chance, have you,

ladies?'

When both women shook their heads he withdrew and

held open the door for Dru, who walked with him along

the corridor on her wayout.

'You're looking as sweet and fresh as a daffodil,' he

remarked, eyeing her with approval. 'After a hectic night

too.' .

His tone rnade Dru look at him sharply. -'A hectic

night?'

'Mart came in this rnorning for breakfast around

nine.'

''You're stretching the time a bit, aren't you? 1 happen

to know that Mart left Pete's party hours before that.'

Dru was irnmediately wary of where bis probing was

leading her and waited for bis next rnove.

'Er ... weren't you with him?' He cushioned the ques-

tion with bis disarming srnile, but she was not deceived.

She parried bis words adroitIy.

'Mart very kindly offered to take several of the guests

horne on bis way back to the hospital. If he didn't return

until nine o'cIock then he must have had a breakdown.'

'A very convenient one, wouldn't you say?'

She bristIed. 'If you mean he stayed the night with me

you're wrong. What a filthy mind you must have!'

'Beca use 1 know how rnany beans rnake five? Liane

arrived after spending the night at her villa just five

minutes before Mart. Rather intriguing, don't you think?

Especially as they used to put on the same performance

before you carne.'

:'1 don't believe you.'

They had almost reached the reception desk and Dru

looked up at him with a hatred she could barely conceal.

He, however, seemed sure of bis facts.

"You will eventually. You're an intelligent girl as well

as a very pretty one. Y ou and 1 must become better ac-

quainted. I'm sure you'd find ,it interesting.' He looked up

suddenly, then over her head when the flying white coat

of Howell Seabright caught his eye as the surgeon left a

side ward along the corridor. 'Excuse me, there's my

man.'

Dru watched him stride along the corridor with no

doubt in her rnind as to the rnan's intentions to ingratiate

himself with her. He was probably in love with Liane and

was madly jealous of Mart. But was Mart in love with

Liane? She wished she knew the answer to that one. Cer-

tainly he had admitted to taking her out more than the

others. It was no surprise to hear that he had spent the

night with her. He was aman who believed in satisfying

his sexual appetite to the full. She made her way back to

her hotel with the feeling that her enthusiasm whipped

up in a desire to help him by. posing as his fiancée was

already on the wane. .

Dru was about to change for dinner that evening when

Bud knocked on her door.

'Dru!' he cried delightedly. 'Look what 1've brought

you. Bend down.' He hooped a garland of flowers around

her neck and hugged her.

She stooped down to kiss and hug him in return before

gazing up over his fair head into the dark eyes of a slim

girl around her own age.

'You must be Marie,' she said.

'Marie Denva, and you are Miss Temple.' The dark

eyes danced.

'Dru to my friends.'

"Bud has been talking about you all the time and 1

know he would rather you put him to bed. Do you mind

... Dru?'

Marie's dark eyes looked pleading. Dru smiled, sur-

veying the girl's sIeeveless cotton frock and beautifuIly

tanned limbs with a warm glow of friendship.

'Not at a1l. I'd love to put Bud to bed,' she answered

with her usual spontaneous warmth.,

'Thank you.' Marie showed a perfect set of smaIl

pearly teeth in her delight.'It's my day off duty and 1

wanted to go dancing this evening with my boy-friend.'

She paused. 'Sure you don't mind?'

'Go along and have a good time. 1'11 look after Bud.

He'll have such a lot to tell me.' Dru straightened and,

looking down at Bud, ruffied his hair. 'Won't you, Bud?'

she added, laughing.

But Bud was too tired to say mucho He was asleep

within a few minutes of his head touching the pillow. Dru

sat for a long time by his bed looking tenderly on his face,

---

which seemed 10 have gone thinner since their last meet-

mg, Back in her room she slipped the garland of flowers

from her neck, breathing in a fragrance strangely like

tears.

She went down early to dinner in order to get it overo

With Pete gone and Mrs. O'Brian absent too, the dining-

room, full as it was, had an air of loneliness. Keith was not

there either and she fell to wondering what he had done

with the top half oí her swimsuit which he had not re-

turned,

Later, after looking in on the sleeping Bud, Dru went

to her room and stood on her balcony and, breathing in

deeply, looked down past the wind break of trees to the

calm iridescent water in the bay. So far the sun had

reigned supreme each day since her arrival with the sky

practically free of cloud, Tonight, the clouds were there,

a menacing pinky opal pressing down until they seemed

near enough to touch. The air was breathlessly still, and

too emotionally restless to stay indoors, she hurriedly

changed into slacks and light sweater to take a short

walk.

Avoiding the beach, she struck off inland to take a

mountain path. The light was not yet on the wane and

she was rewarded with breathtaking views from every

rise. How brilliantly beautiful the island was, she

thought, admiring a particularly lovely view across the

bay. Ideal for a honeymoon. It was the cruiser out there

silhouetted against the sky which was responsible for the

romantic trend of her thoughts, oí course, not the cap-

tain.

But Dru, continuing on her way, knew that it was

Keith who had made her emotionally restIess, Keith who

had filled her with a passionate longing and filIed her with

the pain of love unrequited. Her love for him was like

some powerful drug for which she craved. Love for the

one man who would mean everything in her life had until

now been an unknown quantity. She had never imagined

the real thing to fill her with such aching need. It was

absolutely ludicrous that one could hate aman one

moment and the next know that life without him did not

bear thinking about. Yet she had to think about it because

one day he would sail away out of her life.

Suddenly she was staring across the water froma gap

between a banana plantation and a villa. Something

seemed to grip her by the throat. The cruiser was no

longer there. It had gone. Keith had gone as dramatic-

ally out of her life as he had entered it. Dru could not

believe it.

Dru lost count of the time she stood there just staring

across the bay. She was alerted at last by a low rumble in

the heavens. The sky had darkened and the first heavy

drops of rain began to fallo Lights popped up like fireflies

in isolated villas on the slopes and with great relief Dru

looked round to see she was not far from Liane's place.

She hurried along the path towards it and saw Liane out-

side on the patio and heard her laugh. There was aman

there too, a slightly built man who drew her into his arms

and bent his fair head. Mart.

Dru gazed down at them stupidly, knowing it was the

last place where she could seek shelter. It would be much

too embarrassing. For one thing, she would not have the

least idea how to act in her supposed role as his fiancée.

Numbly, she stood watching them, oblivious of the rain

which was now a torrential downpour. Then she tumed

to re trace her steps back to the hotel. Soon she was stum-

bling, appalled at the sheet of relentless rain slashing at

her face, drenching her hair and slacks and making every

step she took leaden. To add to her di stress, she had wan-

dered from the main road, blinded as she was by the water

streaming down her face, and she had no idea in which

direction it lay.

Finding a tree immediately in her path, Dru leaned

against it, taking in great gulps of air while the swish of

the rain sounded deafening to her ears. The handkerehief

she used to wipe her face was saturated and she tried to

cheer herself up by thinking how lucky she was that it

was not one of the dreaded hurricanes. It was not dark yet

either, another thing in her favour, but she had to move

on if she was to reach the hotel before it grew dark.

With her morale decidedly on the up-and-up, she

boldly took a path praying that it would lead to the main

road. It ~id. But by now the road was a quagmire of mud

as the rain flowed down like a small river. She seemed to

have been going for hours, making little headway with the

sensation of moving along the bed of the ocean. Each step

was bordering on exhaustion.

'Miss Temple! Can you hear me?'

The deep voice travelling on the thick wet air was eerie

and strangely familiar. Her immediate reaetion was to

wonder if she was suffering from some delusion that it

was all part of a nightmare she was going through and

that soon she would wake up warm and snug in her bed at

the hotel.

'Miss Temple! Are you there?'

His second call left her in no doubt as to his identity

and sounded much nearer. But by now exhaustion held

he~ by the throat and the joy mingling with the sudden

relief upon hearing his voiee rendered her speechless. At

last she managed to callo

'Y es. I'm here on the main road.'

He must have been around the next bend, for he sud-

denly loomed above her dad in a streaming sou'wester

with matchmg coat and leg coverings. His face was seto

'My heaven, you're soaked!' he said harshly. Already

he was whipping a waterproof coat from beneath his arm

and, wrapping it around her, gathered her to him.

His voice sounded thick to Dru, who in one fell swoop

had been transported from the depths into the dizzy

heights of happiness. AlI her discomfort was forgotten as

she stared up at him wide-eyed with wonder and trying to

believe that he really was here and not on the high seas.

'Did you ... have you come in search of me?' she asked,

not believing it yet wanting to so mucho

'Of course 1 have, you little idiot. What do you mean

by venturing out on such a night when it's simply been

asking for rain all day? When 1 saw you making off up

this way 1 could hardly believe it. Unfortunately, 1

haven't found you until you're already soaked. Good

thing 1 carne prepared.'

He tilted his head sideways sharply in order for the

water cascading from the brim of his sou'wester should

not fall on her upturned face.

The thoughtful gesture along with the knowledge that

he had probably been searchingfor her on side paths now

made treacherous by the torrential rain filled her with

remorse and pain. All the embarrassment she had un-

wittingly caused him hitherto had been nothing to this.

With a low moan, she clutched at him, trembling and

beaten. Her voice was muffled against his broad chest.

'What must you think of me?' she said.

Bending his head sideways, he spoke firmly but gently

in her ear.

'1'11 te11 you about that later.' His Iaugh was one of

relief. 'If we stand here much longer we sha11 be as

bogged down as the caro I'm going to carry you to it. It'l1

be quicker.'

Dru's head shot up then, her eyes a green flame hiding

her dismay. The last thing she wanted was for him to

hold her close and hear the wild thumping of her heart

which sounded to her like a drum.

'No, please. I'd rather walk.lshe protested.

He looked down at her sharply, some inexplicable

emotion flitting across his dark face. He hesitated as one

in doubt, then bending swept her up easily into his arms.

Striding through the deluge, he carried her as easily as he

would a child. The strength oí his arms had crushed the

wet clothing against her skin like a clammy poultice, yet

Dru was on fire inside. The lean strength oí him seeped

through and fired her with new energy. She wanted to

draw his dark face down to her own, to feel his hard lean

cheek against her soft one. And because the feeling was so

strong she found it impossible to think clearly or even to

speak. Upon reaching the car, Keith put her gently on

her feet, wrenched open the door of the back seat and

helped her inside.

'Hurry out of those wet things. You'll find a shirt and

shorts of mine to change into. Fortunately, !Í.t isn't cold,

but we can't risk you catching a chill.' He smiled down at

her look of consternation. "It's all right, I'm off to find

something to drive the car 00 to out of the rut. No one

will see you.'

He slammed her in and with her heart beating as

loudly as the rain on the roof of the car, Dru peeled off

her wet clothes, and using the towel he had provided,

slipped into his shirt and shorts. They fitted where they

touched, but she pulled in the belt of the shorts and pro-

ceeded todry her hair. After what seemed an age, he

opened the car door to slip into the driving seat, bringing

with him a shower of water, and pressed the starter. For a

while nothing happened, then the car leapt into life and

slid forward with a jerk on to firmer ground. After driv-

ing for a little way, he stopped. He then sloughed off his

waterproof and wiped his streaming face. The dark dis-

turbing look was there when he turned all vital and glow-

ing in his seat to ask her how she was feeling.

Dru pushed back hair she had rubbed into a golden

gleam feeling decidedly odd as she assured him she was

much more comfortable. His dark grey eyes seemed to be

entangled in the halo of bright hair cascading down on

her slim shoulders as she added, :I really am sorry to have

caused you all this trouble.'

"Forget it. We must hurry back to the hotel for you to

have a warm drink. Can't risk you catching a chill.'

He made no move, however, with the width of his

shoulders practically filling the two front seats. He was a

strong vitally healthy man who had shrugged off the

recent struggle against the weather as being of no conse-

quence. It had been child's play to him after facing such

tremendous odds at sea. She watched him push back a

truant lock of hair from his forehead and said, '1 missed

your ship from the bay. I thought you'd gone.'

She hoped her voice did not sound as shaky to him as it

did to her. Beneath his steady regard, her heart was stall-

ing and her eyes lowered to the lean brown hand and

arm very near to her on the baek of his seat.

"Not yet. We've moved further north into the Atlantic

and out of the path of the hurricanes.'

She felt his eyes willing her to look up and when she

did not he turned in his seat and started the caro On

reaching the hotel, he pulled up close to the entrance and

whisked her away into the dry interior.

;'All right?' he asked.

Dru gazed up at his expressionless face. ~Fine, and

thanks for all you've done.'

'Don't mention it. I'm only sorry I had no time to take

a drink with me to warm you up inside. Will you come

down to my room and have one with me when you've

ehanged? It isn't very late and it might be my last night

on the island.'

Her heart jolted and she felt strangely sick inside. So he

was going! She found her voice.

'Yes ... yes, of course I will, Give me ten minutes.' Dru

managed a smile and flitted away to her room.

Quickly she shed the shirt and shorts and ehanged into

a simple eotton knit, combed her hair and applied lipstick

with shaking fingers. When she was ready she picked up

Keith's clothes and folded them almost reverently, putting

her hot ch~ek against the silkiness of the shirt and loving

the masculine fragranee adhering to it after he had un-

packed it.

Would there be time for her to have them laundered.

She hesitated and deeided to take them with her to his

ro?m. But first a peep in to see if Bud was still sleeping.

HlS door had been left slightly ajar and switching on the

light in the main bedroom, Dru moved across it silently to

peep IÍn. The light from the room behind her illuminated

his bed and she stood absolutely still and unbelievinz.

This can't be happening! she thought. Emotion had h;r

by the throat and a sense of shock rippled through her like

the chill of an east wind. The bed was empty.

. "Bud!' she called softly, croakily, on a low note, think-

mg he was playing a triek on her. "Budl' she called again

on a louder note •. but only silence answered her. He eould

not be on his balcony, for the window was shut tight and

the rain was running down it in sheets. Feverishly, she

searched every room for any small aperture into which

he could squeeze his slight frame. She looked in eup-

boards, wardrobes, even drawers without result with a

terrible feelmg of apprehension mounting insíde her.

There was no doubt about it, Bud was not in his room.

Not giving herself time to think further, Dru shot off for

Keith's room and all but eollided with the waiter who

was coming out. In a saner moment, she would have

asked him ~f he had seen Bud, but she was much too

distraught even to notice his look of surprise when she

streaked past him before he could close the door behind

him.

Keith had ehanged into a white shirt, neat tie and

dark slacks. He was handling bottles and glasses pre-

paring drinks. At her sudden entrance he looked up,

raised a brow at her obvious dístress and strode towards

her,

Gripping her trembling shoulders, he said quietly,

:'What happened? Was there someone in your room?

You're shaking all overo You need a drink.'

Dru shook her head and he led her to a chair, per-

emptorily pushing her down into it.

"It's Bud,' she gasped, "He isn't in his room and I ... I

left him in bed when I went out.'

'Say nothing else until you've had a drink. Then you

can tell me everything.'

Keith made short work of bringing her a drink which

he held to her ashen lips. Her teeth chattered against the

glass and he cupped her shaking hands with his own and

made her take part of the contents. The liquid ran

through her body like fue, melting away the numbness.

Then he drew up a chair facing her and taking away her

glass took both her hands in his.

Dru wondered however she could have thought him

hard and cynical.

'Now take your time and tell me why Bud not being in

his room has upset you like this?'

Dru told him how she had found Bud on the shore one

night and her fears that he could have awakened before

the storm began, gone out to look for her and was even

now lying somewhere, perhaps ... perhaps ... She could

not go on, for tears were rolling down her face.

"Steady now.' -

Keith released her hands and she wiped her eyes as

he strode to the telephone.

"What are you going to do?' she asked.

'Ring up reception to ask if he's anywhere in the hotel.

Haven't I seen him in the company of one of the

chambermaids ?'

He turned to look at her, phone in hand, and she

nodded miserably.

"Marie. I know he isn't with her because she's gone out

dancing with her boy-friend.'

He nodded, got through to reception and after speak ..•

ing a few words put down the phone.

'They're going to search the hotel.' He paused to look

at her significantly. "You don't suppose he's been taken

back to the hospital? Your fiancé, for instance? Is it pos-

sible that he could have calIed while you were out, saw

the boy and took him back with him?'

Dru shook her head. :'1 saw Mart earlier on. He

happens to be out ... I ... I'm sure he won't call.'

Keith thrust his hands into his pockets, taking in her

sudden blush.

"Then he isn't on duty?'

Again she shook her head. 'No. He .•. he had to go out

somewhere.' Suddenly she was on her feet, finding his

look unbearable. "Look, I must go to see if 1 can find Bud,

Even now it may be too late.'

Immediately, he was in front of her barring her way,

'Calm yourself, there's a good girl. There's no need to

panic. It won't help yourself or Bud. Haven't you had

enough for one day?'

Dru put a restraining hand on his armo ['You don't

understand my position.' There was a break in her voice

which she could not help as a great longing swept

.through her to lay her head on his breast and burst into

tears. "It's .' •. all my fault for leaving Bud, as it wilI be my

fault if anything has happened to him. I " •. I just have to

find him. 1 ... 1 can't add to the trouble the O'Brians are

already facing.'

Keith stood very stilI, his face enigmatic. Then he said

quietly,

'1 understand perfectIy what you mean, but I'm doing

this my way. He doesn't appear to be anywhere in the

hotel. They would have found him by now. As you say,

he's probably somewhere on the beach.' He gazed down

at her small hand resting on his arm, smiled faintly and

patted her cheek.

"Don't look so 'tragic. AlI isn't lost.' His tone changed

sardonically. :'When you found Bud that first evening

asIeep on the beach was it anywhere near the rocks you

and 1 seem to be particuIarly fond of?'

The coIour flamed in her face as she recalled the scene

by the rocks on the day she stumbIed and hurt her knee

and the other occasion when he had sprawled there him-

self, accusing her of having followed him.

'Yes,' she answered, barely meeting his eyes.

Keith straightened. ''You'd better go for your water-

proof,' he said gentIy. .

Dru needed no second bidding. She was off Iike a shot,

leaving the door of her room ajar whiIe she hurriedIy

donned the waterproof and sou'wester hato She was ready

when a quiet movement at the door aIerted her. She

swung round to see it quietIy closing to. A decisive click

followed as someone turned the key on the other side of

the door.

Someone had locked her in. It couId only be Keith.

How da red he? The telephone beside her bed was

reached without hesitation and picking up the receiver

in shaking fingers, she asked for room service. .

"I'm awfully sorry for troubIing you,' she told the mas-

culine voíce answering her call, "but someone has pIayed a

practical joke on me and locked me in lPY room. Will you

send someone up to unlock it? The key might be on the

outside, but in case iÍt isn't, will you bring along a spare

one?'

There was a pause at the other end of the phone. Then

a voice sounding considerabIy con cerned answered.

'1 hope that Madame is not going out in the storm.'

Dru controlled her impatience with an effort. 'Whether

1 do or not is irreIevant. 1 want my door unIocked at once

and 1 want the key. Will you please see to it?'

The answer carne promptIy this time. 'CertainIy,

madame. 1 will be there immediate1y 1 have the keys. The

clerk is with the rest of the hotel staff Iooking for the

O'Brian boy.'

At the mention of Bud's name, her fingers tightened

around the receiver.

'PIease hurry,' she pIeaded.

She waIked to and fro across her room for what seemed

like hours and was steaming beneath her waterproof with

moisture when the key finally turned in the lock and the

waiter whom she had seen earlier leaving Keith's room

stood hesitatingly in the doorway.

''Y our key was in the lock, madame,' he informed her

graveIy. "Sorry to be so long. 1 happened to be passing the

reception desk when you rango As 1 expIained earlier, the

clerk was engaged eIsewhere.'

Dru,poised for flight,paused. "Thank you. They haven't

found the boy, 1 suppose?'

Her green eyes were hopefuI and he gazed into them

appraisingly,

i'No, madame.'

1'1 didn't think they would. Well,' she smiled sadly,

"thank you again. Y ou've been very kind.'

The rain was still coming down in sheets when she

passed the windbreak of trees on her way down to the

beach. lt was quite dark now and she walked along the

shore with the visibility down to a few steps ahead. For-

tunately, the clump of rocks she was making for would

show up whitely in the gloom.

Every step was a prayer for Bud and she was half-way

there when the light appeared just ahead. The rain ap-

peared to be easing off and she stopped, waiting for it to

come nearer. It carne swiftly and Dru thought only Keith

would move like that. With her hands clenched at her

sides, her whole body tensed, she faced him as he loomed

out of the gloom. The ·torch illuminated her face before

he lowered it. It was then she saw the bundle in his arms.

Swathed in a blanket, it looked ominousIy still. Dru

moistened dry lips as a snake of fear rippled up her

spine.

'Y ou ... you've found him?' she stammered.

'Yes/ he answered. A breath rasped in his throat. 'Why

didn't you stay indoors?' .

But she was staring at the motionless bundle. 'He ... he

isn't ... ?' she gasped, unabIe to go on. .

'No. He's unconscious. My guess is he was runmng out

of the deluge back to the hotel when he collided head-on

with the rocks and knocked himself out.'

In the light of the torch he looked down at her in a way

she did not understand, and she wondered afterwards

what he had been thinking.

'Will he be a11 right?' Her eyes, wide and piteous, were

suddenly lifted to his. .

Keith continued on his way and she kept level with

him waiting for his answer. ....

'1 hope so. We must lose no 'time ID gettmg him to the

hospital. 1'11 put him in the car and ask Qne of the hotel

staff to alert the hospital that we're on the way.'

The short journey to the hospital was a nightmare for

Dru as Keith drove at a terrific speed, silent and grim.

She knew she had not helped matters by disobeying him,

but she couId not have stood the suspense of not knowing

what had happened to Bud when it was a11 her fauIt.

Whatever her parents would think when they heard was

something that did not bear thinking about. .

Howell Seabright was waiting when they arnved and

he followed Keith who carried Bud to a side ward on his

instructions.

Bud had not recovered consciousness when he was

taken to the children's ward and put to bed with hot

water bottles. Dru wanted to stay and wait, but both

Howell Seabright and Keith were against this. The sur-

geon strolled with them to the door. His round face looked

as sad as it was withdrawn.

He said,'The boy is in a state of shock from the blow

on the head and the exposure. But don't distress yourself.'

His expression softened at the marble rigidity of Dru's

smaIl face. ·'We shaIl do everything possible for Bud. By

the way, 1 thought Mart was with you. He's off duty.'

Her face flamed beneath his curious regard . 'He's gone

to see an oId friend,' she volunteered.

At least that was true, she thought bitterly, angry with

Mart anew for exposing her to embarrassing moments.

He nodded kindly. "Registrars are always grossly over-

worked and under-paid. The further they're away from

work in their off duty hours, the better the break.'

Dru nodded miserably, wondering if he knew the truth

and the identity of Mart's old friendo She took her leave

hurriedly before pity replaced the kindness in his eyes.

Then Mart was forgotten when she was once more in

Keith's caro They were weIl on their way when he

spoke,

'You weren't planning on hanging around until that

fiancé of yours decides to turn up, were you?' he asked

sharply. "1 don't know why yóu bother with him.'

Dru was beginning to think the same. Strain wobbled

her voice,

"You know, I'd forgotten Mart until HoweIl Seabright

mentioned him. I'm much too upset about Bud.' Her lips

trembled and she controlled her tears with an effort. "1

did a dreadful thing in leaving him alone. But for me we

wouldn't be here now and Bud wouldn't be hovering be-

tween life and death.'

He said impatiently, "Boys are tougher than you think.

If they weren't half of them wouId never grow to man-

hood.'

He turned his head and met eyes wide with weariness.

"But Bud isn't going to live that long, is he? If he dies

now~ 1 shall have killed him. Don't you see?'

He gave his attention to his driving. 'I can see you

tossing and turning all night while you crucify yourself.

Snap out of it. What's done oís done. We know the boy

isn't strong. On the other hand, he has no idea that any-

thing is wrong with him. 1 have a feeling that he'll pull

through tonight's ordeal and be none the worse for IÍt.' .

Hope dawned in her green eyes. A small hand reached

out tentatively and touched his sleeve.

'Y ou really think so?'

Coolly he replied without turning his head, -'1 wouldn't

say so if 1 didn't.' He put on speed. :'Close your eyes and

empty your mind of all worry. If yo~ can fall asleep all

the better. 1 can carry you to bed and you won't remem-

ber a tbing.'

But although she closed her eyes, Dru was wide awake

when they reached the hotel.

'Y ou're going to my room first for a nightcap,' he told

her as he gave her a hand from the caro .

Despite her pro tests that she did not need one, he P1-

loted her through the doorway, taking off her waterproof

and divesting himself of bis own. Then while he busied

himself with bottles and glasses Dru sank down rather

hysterically into a chair. It was not so long ago that he

had thrust her from this same room. Now he had forced

her there and was mixing some deadly potion to put her

out for the night.

"There you are. Drink every drop.'

He stood over her pushing the glass into her hand and

she stared at it stupidly.

'AlI of it?' she gasped.

He nodded grimly. ''Navy punch,' he said laconically.

Dru, knowing that if she refused, he woul~ not be

within pouring it down her throat, drank part of it.

,'Phew!' she exclaimed as the heat rose IÍn her face.

Keith lounged on the arm of a chair facing her, his arm

along the back, and gave her a look of satisfaction. 'Go

on, don't be afraid of it. You're certainly a better colour,

You're not the same bubbling creature who flung herself

at me on arrival. You're engaged to the wrong man.'

His slate grey eyes had the texture of steel and bis

mouth had thinned.

Dru quivered. 'Mart and 1 have an agreement which

you wouldn't understand."

,:'You're right,' grimly, '1 don't understand a set-up

where the woman clings to a fellow she knows is doing the

rounds with other women.'

Dru lowered her eyes with the stunned certainty that

he knew where Mart was spending the night, and guessed

that she knew too. Too shaken to answer, she swallowed

the rest of her drink. She simply had to get away.

"Take your time about standing up,' Keith warned.

The next moment she was swaying on her feet. Gently

he took the glass from her and put it down. Then he

paused, looking down at her with both hands closing on

her shoulders. When he swung her up effortlessly in his

arms she closed her eyes and he bore her swiftly to her

room.

:'Can you manage?' he asked, putting her into a chair

and taking off her wet shoes.

She nodded, wondering if her giddy reaction carne

from the rum punch or with being in bis arms.

"Go to bed. Sweet dreams,' he said, and was gone.

CHAPTER EIGHT

FOR the next few days Bud hovered between life and

death .. Sheila was with him most of the time and Dru,

after going to see her to explain, went away feeIing

wretchedly unhappy. Mart was philosophical about it,

He was far too busy with his usual routine cases to treat it

as emotionalIy as she did. When she saw him again at the

hospital his night out with Liane had not been men .•

tioned. In her opinion1 Mart was only being Mart; Dru

realized that now, as she also realized how little she had

known him until she had come to the island.

With so little knowledge of a person one liad little

chance of reacting in the right way to their ways. It was

doubtful whether his affair with Liane would end with

marriage, To him the woman was satisfying a need and

was part of his growing up. And her own role as his

supposed fiancée was to help him towards that end,

As for Keith, apart from one ortwo bríef encounters,

he seemed to have gone out oí her life, Bis manner at

such times had been politeIy cool and impersonal. Most of

his crew had now recovered from their indisposition and

were to be seen brightening the village with their cheery

uniforms as they helped to fasten sturdy shutters to shops

and houses in preparation for the hurricanes,

According to Mart, Bill O'Brian was much better and

was taking nourishment. Dru had not the heart to inquire

whether he had been told of his small son's dllness. For-

tunately, Liane was in charge of Bud and telephoned her

each morning about his condition. Dru was very grateful

for her kindness, for it meant that, after the daily bulletin

on Bud, she was free to go out and let the beauty of the

island act as a balm to her troubled mind,

She now spent her days at the clubhouse in a whirl of

activities which gave her no time to think. The members

had accepted her wholeheartedly into their midst and she

found a measure of comfort and relaxation in their

company. Often when her mind was not on Bud, her

thoughts strayed to Keith, The embarrassment of their

first meeting was fading, but the memory of his lips and

arms was acute. Whenever her eyes alighted upon a naval

officer's uniform her heart bounded. Their wide-shoul-

dered athletic figures presented a back view which could

only be his.

It never was, of course. Tnen came an evening when

she met him face to face. Mart had taken her to a dinner

party given by one of the hospital governors - a weaIthy

patron, his villa, with dts wide terraces presenting pan-

oramic views of the sea, rivaIled that of Government

House. Dru had seen him immediately on entering the

room and his brief pause on reaching for a drink offered

him by a waiter was long enough to indicate he had seen

her too. He had looked at her again and, painfully aware

of his cold informal acknowledgement, Dru could not

resist claiming acquaintance.

Mart had gone to fetch drinks. Her smile was brittIe.

"Thanks for what you did the other evening.'

A dark eyebrow rose infuriatingly. The dark saturnine

face was deliberately blank. "Ah, the night of the storm. 1

trust you slept welI?'

Dru longed to strike the sardonic expression from bis

face. She felt foolish and naive. ['Yes, thanks. If you'

remember, you left before 1 could thank you.' Her voice

wavered, but he did not appear to notice it. "I'm sorry for

all the inconvenience 1 seemed to have caused you.'

There was a short silence with the conversation of sur-

rounding guests filling the gap. Then matter-of-factIy

Keith said, 'Not at all. These things happen.'

How right he was, Dru thought bitterly, as she

made plans for the afternoon. He withdrew satisfied when

she told him that her fiancé was waiting for her. Liane

telephoned as Dru was retouching her make-up to say

that Bud had shown a definite improvement during the

night and they were moving him in the basement along

with the other patients, The news cheered Dru, who was

stubbornly refusing to be nervous. But she grew tense as

lunch time approached without Mart putting in an ap-

pearance. At twelve o'cIock she went downstairs to see if

he was coming. The place seemed to be deserted and on

opening the front door she was blinded by a cIoud of

sand. Some of the staff could still be heard as she made

her way back upstairs hammering up shutters outside.

At last his knock on her door made her feel like a con-

demned person receiving a reprieve.

'Hello,' said Keith. "May 1 come in?'

Her ordeal of the past few days had put shadows into

the deep wells of her eyes and the deIicate bone structure

of her face was as pale as alabaster. Her mind had been

concentrated on Bud and she had not been thinking of

Keith, neither had she expected to see him. She stared up

at him, at the wide shoulders filling the doorway, and aIl

the poignant longing for the arrogant reassurance of his

strength, his intent grey eyes and heart-wrenching smile

brought her near to tears.

She stepped aside for him to enter, bringing with him a

sense of utter tranquillity far removed from the racket

going on outside.

He said in his usual cool fashion, ''What are you plan-

ning to do this afternoon?'

Dru fought down a spasm of hysterical laughter. He

might have come to ask her out on a picnic, he was so

composed.

Soberly she answered, "I'rn waiting for Mart to pick me

up.'

He glanced at his wrist watch. 'Y ou're coming with

me,' he told her forcefully. 'Where's your overnight bag?

Find it and shove in a nightdress. And put on a coat.'

Dru sprang to do his bidding. The day, instead of being

frightening, was now filled with adventure, vital and ex-

citing. He took the bag as she closed it and helped her

into her coat. They had reached the door when the phone

rango With a couple of strides he was across the room to

Iift up the receiver. His voice sounded clipped, almost

curto

'Y es, she's here ... A bit late, aren't you? ... I'm taking

her with me. She can call you later.'

'1 suppose you guessed that was your fiancé,' he said as

they went down to his caro 'Someone is already on the

way to pick you up.'

The force of the gale had increased when they stepped

outside the hotel and Keith half carried her to his car:

Dru settled down in her seat, blissfully aware of being the

only person on the island to feel so happy m the ap-

proaching hurricane. Keith was beside her, virile and

alert to any danger, and she would have faced a thousand

hurricanes in his company.

The Garland Hotel was shuttered and silent as he

swung the car round and shot forward at speed. The sky

was darkening and everywhere was taking on a queer

pinkish-grey light. A young tree snapped off by the gale

carne careering towards them along the road, leaping and

diving like a live thing.

Dru quivered. 'Poor tree, and poor birds. They won't

have a chance, will they?' She blinked away a prickle oí

tears behind her eyes. '1 t really is good oí you to think

about me.'

'Common sense to get you away in good time. In a

matter of hours now all hell wiIl be let loose. That young

man of yours cut it too fine. He was busy, but that was

no excuse for not sending for you sooner.'

He said no more. They were passing through the shut .•

tered deserted village and the car rocked and lurched

over mounds of sand filling the main street. Several times

she was thrown against him and almost landed on his

knee when a furious blast almost blew the car over as he

swung it inland to the hilIs.

He laughed as she apologized. ·'Hurricanes have no re-

spect for persons nor human life. Better to lean this way

towards me than towards the door which could burst

open and throw you out.'

The windows of the car were now covered in sand and

debris and only Keith's strong dark profile

was clear cut in a hazy untidy world. Dru was glad she

could ~ot see the fields of citrus fruits and greens, the

plantations of tomatoes and sugar cane taking a beating

until they were eventually destroyed. Once he stopped

the car and got out to wipe the windscreen. He had

stopped between the shelter of woods on either side of the

road. Even so he had to use great strength to open the car

door and returned to fall into his seat breathing

heavily.

He had left his hat in the car and his dark hair had

fallen forward on to his forehead in chunky tendrils. His

gr~n was that of aman who thrived on dangerous situ-

ations, It was easy to see why he had chosen a career in

the Navy. Dru could imagine him tanned as an African in

his youth, messing about with boats, his dark hair tousled

by the wind and sea-spray - sleeping outdoors beneath

the stars - a slim boy who lived for adventure. Girls

would not have played a great part in his life, but there

could be one whom he had never forgotten and with

whom he kept in touch.

Dru shied away from disturbing thought to see that

they were turning along the road leading to Government

House. The drive was strewn with leaves and branches as

he drew up to what appeared to be a deserted place. The

front was all shuttered and Keith, unperturbed, rang the

bell at the side of the great door. They were evidently

expected, for the manservant who admitted them ac-

cepted Dru's overnight bag from Keith and greeted them

cordially.

'As His Excellency is away 1 have arranged for lunch to

be served in the morning-room. It is small and more

comfortable than the large diníng-hall, 1 trust that will be

to your liking, sir, madam?'

Keith nodded. 'Thanks, Miles. That will do nicely.'

The deeply carved character lines on the manservant's

face were more pronounced as he gave a small smile of

satisfaction. 'Perhaps Madam would like to go to see her

room before lunch is served?'

Dru looked at Keith, wondering if they were to be

the only guests.

His smile was reassuring. -'I'm sorry 1 can't join you for

lunch. 1 have to go out again. Meanwhile the staff will

look after you.'

Then he was gone. Dru felt strangely alone as she fol-

lowed the silent Miles across the great hall lit with can-

delabra. Shuttered and silent and minus electricity, there

was a grim yet safe air about [t. Weapons glowed mel-

lowly on the panelled staircase and the wide corridor up-

stairs was lighted by oil lamps placed in alcoves. The

room Miles showed her into was quite spacious with the

rich drapes at the window drawn and muted in the glow

of the oillamp on her beside table.

Putting down her overnight bag, Miles told her that

the morning-room was the second door to the left of the

staircase in the hall and that lunch would be ready in

fifteen minutes. Should she require anything she had only

to ringthe bell on her dressing-table.

When he had gone Dru went to the phone and rang up

Mart, It was a few minutes before he was found.

'Hello, Dru,' he said breezily. 'Sorry 1 was late in send-

ing for you. Actually 1 expected you long ago. 1 wasn't

able to coIlect you myseIf and was going to ask one of

the staff to use my car. However, I saw Liane leaving

around ten on her way to take a last check at her villa.

She agreed to pick you up on her way back to the hospital.

You haven't seen her, by any chance?'

'No, I haven't.' Dru went on to telI him that she was at

Government House. 'Y ou don't think anything could

have happened to Liane?' she said apprehensively.

There was a brief pause from Mart. '1 doubt it. Liane

has been in hurricanes before and knows her way about.

There's been a steady stream of casualties coming in and

I dread to think of what faces us at the end. By the way,

your friend Bud is improving. We're quite pleased with

him. I believe Liane has been keeping you infonned?'

'Yes. It was very kind of her. It's wonderful to hear

that he's improving. Do you ... think he'Il ... recover?

Oh, Mart, do make him betterl' Dru's voice faItered, near

to tears.

'Howell Seabright says he's going to be all right, and

that's good enough for me.'

Dru gave a shaky laugh. 'It's good enough for me too.

You don't know the relief I feel. I suppose his parents are

aIl right?'

'Of course. 1'11 have you know we very rarely lose a

patient.' He paused significantIy. 'I'm wondering why the

gallant Captain Falkner dragged you off to Government

House. I know he's picking up strays, but I wouldn't have

placed you in that category. He was quite sharp with me.

He hasn't designs on you, by any chance?'

Dru laughed at the absurdity of it. 'You've been work-

ing too hard! Captain Falkner is the kind of man who

sweeps the board clean in any job he undertakes. He isn't

here. He's gone out again - don't ask me where.'

·'Probably helping some other lame dog. Anyway, we

need all the assistance we can get at these times. It's

good to know you're in one of the safest places on the

isIand. As you said, the Captain knows his job. See you

later. Take care.' .

Dru put down the phone, wondering about those Iast

two words spoken in a rather sardonic key. Surely he

wasn't showing jealousy of Keith? Shrugging off the idea

as being too absurd, she prepared to go down to lunch.

She had eaten lunch and had spent the afternoon

Iistening to records. The music muted the racket going on

outside as the winds increased in fury. After a maid had

brought her tea at four, she fell asIeep and was awakened

by the presence of someone in the room. Dru ~pened h:r

eyes and saw Keith sprawIed out eIegantly ID a chair

not far away from her own. Instantly aware of her sur-

roundings, she repressed a tremor at being taken un-

awares.

"Goodness, have 1 been asleep?' she exclaimed, striving

to speak lightly with a feeling of embarrassment.

The ensuing siIence was filIed by a furious gust of wind

striking the house and she knew the violence outside

would have disturbed her far more had it not been for

Keith's presence. lt occurred to her then how complet~ly

they were cut off from the outside world. Was Keith

thinking the same? He was a long time in answering. His

tanned face had a ruthless expression of distinctness and

his grey eyes had captured her own, sending flags of colour

to her cheeks. •

'You have. In half an hour, at eight, we shall have

dinner.'

His words were accompanied by a white smile which

churned her heart. She wanted to clasp her arms around

his neck, to feel his kisses on her lips and caressing her

flushed cheeks. She wanted to tell him how happy she was

that he had returned safeIy and most of all she wanted to

tell him how very much she loved him. Another violent

zust of wind tore at the house and her eyes grew wide

with apprehension.

:'Don't look so scared,' he said. :'You're quite safe

here.'

:'Will it grow worse than this?' she asked.

·'Yes. Probably blow itself out by the morning.'

Dru shuddered. :'How terrible! 1 hope no one is caught

in it. Mart told me when 1 telephoned him this afternoon

that he'd asked Liane to piek me up on her way back from

her villa this morning. Do you think she was caught in

it?'

Keith did not answer right away, but sat rigid look-

ing at her. An icy feeling ran through her body, her hands

clenched clarnmily.

'Has something happened? You look so strange. Is it

Liane?'

Her voice was barely above a whisper. The next volley

of wind outside would have drowned it. She shuddered

again as it camne clawing at the very foundations of the

house ..

"Liane has missed the worst of it,' he admitted at

length, and gazed at his watch. :'I'm sure you'll want to

freshen up before dinner. We can talk later.'

Neither of them did justice to the excelIent dinner,

although Dru knew that Keith had missed lunch and

afternoon tea. Like herself he had no appetite. Later they

returned to the chairs they had previously occupied for

coffee. For the next hour or so he taIked about the havoc

of previous hurrieanes and reIated severaI hair-raísing

stories of the ones his ship had been caught in at sea.

Fortunately it now lay anchored saíely in a bay miles up

the coast right out oí the hurricane's path.

'Do you think the Bishop's Rest is still there?' she

asked ..

'Of course.' He chuckled. ~I promised myself years ago

that when 1 married 1 would take my wife there.' He

paused while bis eyes twinkled devilishly on some secret

,thought, 'To spend the first night of our honeymoon,'

'Oh!'

Dru said the word weakly and inadequately. So he was

thinking of marrying, had probably already chosen his

bride. Her lashes veiled her eyes. It would never do to let

him see how absolutely shattered she was at the thought.

Trembling, she changed the subject and asked about

something which had been bothering her all the even-

ing.

''Y ou said earlier that Liane had missed the worst of the

hurricane. Have you seen her?'

His smile had gone. He regarded her with asombre

gaze.

''Yes,' he said very quietly, "I've seen her. As I said, she

missed the worst oí the hurricane.'

Her eyes pierced his like a sword, dilated with dread.

'Y ou mean ..•. she's dead, don't you?'

He nodded soberIy .. r'A tree fell on her caro She never

knew what hit her.'

Dru recoiled as from a mortal blow. She stared at him

in horror.

"Was .' .. was she on her way ... to pick me up?'

He made a gesture oí irritation with a lean brown

hand. :'You want me to say yes, don't you? Then you can

blame yourself for her death. Aren't you flaying yourself

enough over Bud?'

"But then it wouId be my fault, Don't you see?' Her cry

was wild and piteous. "She wouId be taking the road lead-

ing to the Garland Hotel instead oí making straight for

the hospital.'

"And if she wasn't? Liane was killed by the elements

and not by anyone else,' he said grimly.

Dru leaned her head back in her chair. The tears

streamed down her face. She thought oí Liane, her lovely

limbs crushed beneath fue weight oí the tree, and quiv-

ered with a passionate pity for a lovely woman who had

been cut off from life so soon. And what about Mart?

How wouId her death affect him? He had been expeeting

a number oí casualties from the hurricane, but he had not

expeeted one of them to be Liane.

Following her train oí thought, Dru asked tonelessly,

Have there been other casualties?'

'Not serious ones. Liane was your rival. Have you

thought oí that? Wisp went, now Liane. It seems you

have a clear field.'

He spoke roughly and she stared at him fue tears

sparkling in her eyes. Had he Ioved Liane? He had been

off his food at dinner. Apparently he had been shocked by

her death. Yet he had joked of taking his bride to spend

the night at Bishop's Rest. Come to think oí it, his smile

and chuckle had sounded ironic,

''You don't understand.' Her lips trembled in spite of

her. :'1 liked Liane. She's been giving me a daily bulletin

on Bud. Why did she have to go?'

'That’s something we can't answer. We have to accept

these thmgs. Every precaution is taken to ensure that as

few people as possible are involved when the elements go

haywire. I‘m as shocked as you are at Liane's death but

there's nothing we can do about it.' '

.Dru blew her nose and wiped her eyes. Huskily, she

said, I think 1'11 go to bed to be up early in the morníng,

I can help somewhere, if it's only giving out food to the

homeless.'

She was on her feet and he rose too.

'I shall be !eaving early myself, so I can give you a lift.',

He was Iooking down at .her with perfeet steady eyes. "1

want your promise first that you won't put yourself on the

rack about Liane's death. You had nothing to do with it,

You understand?'

He laid a hand on her shoulder to stop her quivering.

Dru stood motionless, her eyes avoiding his. Then she

nodded. His grip relaxed and she felt his arm warm

around her shoulders.

"Do you?' he insisted.

Dru looked up at him against her will. "Yes,' she whis-

pered.

Her hand clenched on the handkerchief wet from her

tears. The temptation to lean upon his strong encircling

arm was unbearable. She wondered afterwards where she

had the strength from to resist the impulse.

His deep tones pierced her agony of mind, ~od girl,'

he said.

His arm drew her close before he released her. He was

smiling when he held open the door for her to go. In her

room, before going to bed, Dru tried to telephone Mart,

only to find that the lines must have been down. The line

was dead .

CHAPTER NINE

By the following moming the hurricane had blown itself

out. Dru was up and dressed when the maid carne with

early morning tea. The heavy window drapes were drawn

aside and the shutters unbolted. In her neat tailored

blouse and slacks, Dru went on to her balcony to breathe

in the fresh warm moming air. The damage was appalling,

utter devastation as if vandalism had been rife.

The once irnmaculate grounds were a shambles. Apart

from the more hardy trees few were left standing. Others,

tom up by the roots, were strewn about among heaps of

greenery and tangled vines, She clutched the balcony rail,

breathing inthe odour of crushed leaves, broken flowers

and mangled earth. It smelt strongly like tears. Debris

fIoated on the sea and she blinked back the tears thinking

of all the birds blown out there who had died. Like Liane,

they had gone for ever,

The grounds, the plantations and fields of grain could

be sown anew. Growth was luxuriant and swift on the

island. The native population would have taken the cata-

strophe in their stride and would even now be building up

again. Disconsolately, Dru made her way downstairs.

The morning-room presented a far different picture

from that of the previous day. The windows were flung

open to sunshine and fresh morning air. Keith, freshly

shaved and vital, greeted her with his charming smile,

"Good morning, Miss Temple. Sleep well?'

"Yes, thanks. A well built house makes all the difIerence

to the clamour outside. Thanks for bringing me,'

''Y ou can show your appreciation by eating a good

breakfast,' he said smoothly, seating her at the table laid

for two, 'No breakfast, No work.'

He sat down in the chair opposite to her across the

table and his eyes scanned her pale face ruthlessly, so Dru

thought. It was evident that he meant to have his way.

He went on.

'No one can work and give of their best on an empty

stomach. Not that there's any need for you to plunge in

with the resto You look tired. Sure you wouldn't prefer to

stay here for the day, read a book Qr listen to records?'

A little colour crept up to her temples and her

eyes flashed. Useless to wish she had Liane's skill at her

fingertips so that she could make this arrogant creature

eat his words as he watched her doing a worthwhile

job.

Her soft lips set thinly. "What kind of person do you take

me for? 1'11 eat my breakfast, Captain Falkner, and 1'11 do

a job as efficiently as the rest.'

His mouth quirked. 'I'm sure you will,' he murmured.

"As for my opinion of you, 1 find you very sweet although

a little misguided. 1 only insist upon you eating enough to

sustain you throughout the day. And you're not to do too

mucho Understand?'

Her eyes widened at something odd in his tone. She

said firmIy, .

'1 wasn't aware that it was any concern of-yours what 1

do.'

'You're right. It wouldn't be had your fiancé the time

to look after you.' His tone had a faint touch of irony.

'Which,' emphatícally, 'is the reason I took it upon myself

to bring you here.'

Dru lowered her lashes. The heavy beating of her heart

threatened to choke her. His meaning was clear enough.

He had no other interest in her save that of a fellow

countryman whom he felt it his duty to protect. Mart had

told her the man was picking up strays and the arrogant

creature regarded her as one.

Dru was too choked to eat, but she did so after repeated

effort. The weather had resumed its usual serene bril-

liance beneath an eye-watering blue sky when they left

Government House. As she sat beside Keith in the roorny

car, Dru's spirits were as flat as the devastation sur-

rounding them. She felt as lonely and deserted as the

villas they passed, many of which were stripped of their

balconies and half buried in debris. Her own future

stretched before her as flat and desolate as the land-

scape.

Already islanders were clearing the roads and loading

debris on to lorries. The ratings of Keith's ship were out

in force doing their share and they saluted smartly as he

drove by. The main street of the village had been cleared

and a marquee set up in the market square. It was here

that Keith deposited Dru. Inside was a beehive of activity

as willing hands made sandwiches and drinks at top

speed.

Dru lent a hand to practically everything, starting by

filling flasks and sandwich boxes for workers at out-

lying districts who had been working since early morning.

She worked non-stop until her clothes were plastered

against the heat of her body and her head throbbed. The

marquee became an oyen in the oppressive heat of the day

and she felt all in when Keith arrived at four o'clock. Her

lunch, sandwiches and tea, was still there untouched as

she attended to the demands of workers arriving in

Iorries,

She was filling the last of the flasks when it was taken

from her hot hands by a fino brown hand. It was passed

along with the rest to a waiting lorry driver. Then a hand

was placed firmly on her arm-and she was marched out to

Keith's waiting caro

:'Just what 1 expected,' he said roughly, leaning an arm

on the wheel of the car as she almost collapsed in the seat

beside him. 'You would have gone on until you dropped if

I hadn't come along.'

Dru smiled, not troubling to hide her weariness. "1 loved

it,' she said, and meant it.

W orking Il;0n-stop had cleared the fog of unhappiness

from her bramo lt had been numb. Now 1t was clear and

ale~t again. Even though she knew she meant nothing to

Keith the fact that he was there looking after her was

sufficient. Her joy knew no bounds.

Nervouslya slim hand touched the smoothness of her

bright hair.

'1 suppose 1 look awful,' she said, knowing that her

make-up had been absorbed hours ago in the heat.

His eyes lingered on the curly tendrils of hair <in each

side of her flushed face. Then they moved slowly over her

small ears and up to the golden swathed hair on her head

poised so gracefully on her slender neck.

'Y ou always look bandbox fresh to me even after a day

slaving in a marquee,' he muttered forcefully.'l bet you

feellike hell.'

She shone up at him, loving his concem. "You sound as

though you want me to feel that way. 1 wasn't trying to

prove anything, if that's what you're thinking.'

He started the ear, drove through the village and made

for the coast road without speaking. Dru welcomed his

silence. She was too busy coming to terms with the kind

of person she had become since meeting Keith to want to

talk at the momento Her love for him was stronger than

herself. His presence beside her left her feeling as giddy as

a schoolgirl on her first date. Yet he was further away

from her than he had ever been.

He might have been on the bridge oí his ship for all the

notice he was taking of her. The bright sunlight played

on the bronze of his profile .showing with clarity the tired

lines around his eyes, and her heart ached at the thought

oí him being exhausted too. They were high above the

village now with a faint breeze coming pleasantly

through the open ear window.

SuddenIy Dru was sitting up taking notice. They liad

reached a green grassy plateau commanding a wonderful

view oí the sea and he stopped the ear.

"We're having a picnic,' he said, reaching on to the

back seat for a rug and picnic basket.

'Are we?' she replied weakly as he leaned over to re-

lease the stubbom eatch on her door.

She followed him to the spot he chose and looked at the

view as he spread the rug. Then she saw it, like a small

jewel in the sea.

"There it is!' she exclaimed. ''Your island. 1 hope the

Bishop's Rest is still there. Have you your binoculars with

you?'

He drew them from his pocket and gave them to her

without a word.

Eagerly, Dru adjusted them, 'lt's still there. lt hasn't

blown away. Do look,' she exclaimed excitedly.

Smiling up at him, she thrust the binoculars into his

hand. He took them, but his look wascursory before slip-

ping them back into his pocket.

'So it is,' was his only comment.

Dru sat down on the rug feeling snubbed. She felt

worse when he lowered himself away from the ample

room left on the rug to settle on the grass. Rather be-

wildered, she wondered why he had brought her on a

picnic in the first place. He told her as he poured the

coffee.

'This ought to be champagne,' he said evenly, 1since

this is a rather special oceasion.'

He looked into her eyes as he passed her cup and she

lowered her lashes, perturbed by the steady look.

'ls it?' she answered, trying hard to keep on a light

note.

'My last meal on the island. 1 leave immediately 1 get

back to the hotel.'

She drew in an audible breath as the hot coffee spilt on

to her hand.

'It's all right,' she protested when he put down his cup

and mopped her hand with his handkerchief. Foolishly,

she added, '1 still have a handkerchief of yours.'

"Forget it,' he said rather thickly. 'Does it hurt?'

'No, it doesn't. Did you ' ... you did say that this was

your last meal on the island ?'

'1 did. 1 bet you can't wait to be rid of me.'

He was holding her hand and frowning down at the red

mark made by the hot coffee. The next moment he had

bent his dark head and kissed the place.

Dru had assumed a deadly calm, She felt like an on-

looker gazing at a scene she would remember all her life

- the sun glinting on his dark head, the sparkling sea

beyond soon to take him away from her forever. Words

were beyond her as she drew her hand away, wanting to

kiss the place where his lips had rested.

'Sandwich?' she said, offering him a sandwich box

minus the lid.

He took one and she munched away at hers feeling that

she would choke on every mouthful. After they had

eaten, Keith lighted a cigarette, leaned back on his

elbow and stared out to sea.

"WelI, what did you think of your first hurricane?' he

said at last. 'Did it shock you?'

She wanted to say that it was nothing to the shock of

hearing that he was leaving the island. lnstead, she swal-

lowed painfully. .

'1 don't realIy know. 1 got off lightIy, thanks to you,

which is more than poor Liane did. She was so beauti-

fuI.'

The break in her voice on the last word was not en-

tirely for Liane, but she hoped he would think it was.

'Yes, she was very beautiful. lt was rotten luck.'

He stubbed out his cigarette then as if he had lost the

taste for it and began to pack the picnic basket with what

was left. They drove back to the Garland Hotel and

neither spoke - Dru because me had nothing to sayo It

was like dying a littIe.

Keith was staring ahead and it did not help to know

that he was probably thinking about Liane. Had she been

the bride he had hoped to take to Bishop's Rest on rus

island? He had reacted very strangely when she had men-

tioned Liane's name. She had only to recaIl the grim way

he put the things back ID the picnic basket to see that.

The deadly silence they had shared during the run to

the hotel was broken by a spate of activity when they

arrived. The staff were straightening up the grounds and

men were on the roof doing repairs after the hurrieane.

The hotel entrance was stacked with garden furniture

which was being retumed outside as they left the ear and

they stood to one side while it was moved.

They were standing very close. Keith's expression as he

looked down at her was steady and intento

Dru looked up at him mouth parted, cheeks flushed. -'1

suppose xhis is good-bye,' she said galIantIy. "Thanks

again for what you've done for me. 1 ... 1 wish our ac-

quaintance had been happier.'

There was a short awkward silence during which he

dug his hands into his pockets.

'I'm sorry too,' he replied, the faint lines of tiredness

around his eyes more pronounced by their cIoseness.

'How long wilI you be staying?'

The question took her unawares. "1... 1 don't know.

There's no hurry for me to go back and 1 would like to

wait to see how Bud gets on, his parents too.'

'And your fiancé? Doesn't he come into it?'

She had forgotten Mart and she aImost admitted it, but

stopped herself in time. She bit her lip and lowered her

eyes against his keen perceptive regard.

;'Mart wilI be busy some of the time. He always is.'

Her eyes were stilllowered and he placed a firm finger

beneath her chin. 'You're still content to take a place in

the queue for aman who's so promiscuous?'

Something in his voice swept away the last vestige of

her self-control. She had to tell him the truth about her-

self and Mart. The chance wouId never come again. The

tears were bright in her eyes, but before she couId saya

word one of the staff was there speaking to them.

'The hotel entrance is quite clear now, sir, madam.

Sorry to have kept you waiting.' ,

Keith started and looked at his watch.'I've been cut-

ting it fine,' he said. 'Shall we go in?'

They received their keys at the reception desk and the

clerk addressed Keith with a smiIe, offering him a buff

coIoured enveIope.

'A cabIegram for you, sir.'

As Keith took it Dru sIipped away up to her room. In

her corridor she met Marie.

'Miss Temple,' her smiIe flashed, '1 have a present here

for Bud - a ship in a bottle which my boy-friend has done

for him. I shan't be able to take it to him for quite a

while. There's so much work to be done here to clean up

the mess that I can't be spared. I wondered if you wouId

take it. Bud also needs a clean pair of pyjamas. Will you

come in while I find them?'

, She opened the door to the O'Brians; rooms while she

was taIking and Dru followed her in. Marie chatted away

brightly. She was as pleased as Dru at the news of Bud's

improvement. It was some time later when Dru returned

to her own room s with the two parcels. As she closed the

door her eyes were drawn to her window at a sound

belew. Running to her balcony, she was just in time to see

Keith's car on a curve in the drive. The next moment he

had gone.

CHAPTER TEN

FOR the next few days Dru went around in a dream,

numbed by a grief she had never before experienced. She

was unhappiest in her room where the cream phone at

her bedside became the most important thing in her life.

Why she should expect him to ring, she did not know. But

hope dies hard and even if he had not bothered to come

to her room to say good-bye, the final good-bye had yet to

be spoken,

Mart had been making his rounds of the wards on the

day she went to the hospital to see Bud. He Iooked

strained and grim.

Leaving the accompanying Sister to waIk on, he said,

~So you survived the hurricane, 1 hope you didn't find it

too alarming?'

He was teasing her, but Dru saw die smile did not reach

his eyes. She wondered how much Liane's death meant

to him and just how much bis strained look was due to

overwork. It wouId have to be mentioned, though. He

would think it strange if she did not remark upon it.

She said gently,'1 wish Liane couId have been as Iucky.

I'm terribIy sorry. !t's such a waste of life.'

Dru scanned bis face, but apart from a thinning of his

mouth, he gave nothing away.

"It's been a terrible shock to us all here at the hospital.

She had almost reached her villa when it happened.

The end wouId come very quickly.' He drew a hand

across his forehead on remembered agony. "What a

relief it was to know that she wasn't taking the road

back to your hotel. 1 would have blamed myself for

her death because I'd asked her to return that way

to pick you up.'

Dru nodded. '1 would have blarned myself too. Were

you in love with her, Mart?'

The blood crept up beneath bis tan. 'Y ou know, don't

you, about our last night together?'

'Yes.'

She told him about it as they walked down the corridor

to his next ward. They stopped simultaneously a few feet

from the door.

'1 didn't love her,' he admitted frankly. '1 liked and

admired her greatly, that was a11.' He smiled sheepishly.

'1'11 see you in about an hour in the canteen. All right?'

She nodded.

Bud continued to improve and after Sheila had recov-

ered from the slight operation performed by Howe11 Sea-

bright, she left the hospital and rented a fumished ~illa

not far from the hospital. Dru spent most of her tune

there at Sheila's invitation. Bud was delighted with the

house and a garden to play in. Since he had left the hos-

pital, he even put on a little weight.

He met Dru and Mart at the gate one aftemoon. It was

Mart's first visit to the villa and they had been invited to

tea.

Bud flung himself at them in delight, running from the

villa with a speed that made Dru blink.

'Daddy's gone in aplane to have a new skin!' he cried,

flinging bis arms around her.

'Phew!' she excIaimed, hugging him to her. 'That

was a one-minute mile and you're not even winded. You

are better, aren't you?'

'I'm fine,' he cried. 'Come on, we're having tea in the

garden!'

He took their hánds to walk in between them and Dru

hardly recognized him as the same aloof little boy who

had always been so frail and exhausted at the slightest

exertion. Her eyes met those of Mart over the boy's head

and she was to think of the expression in them again later.

He rang her up one evening after she had gone to

bed.

"1've news for you, my peto Bud's lungs are cIear. I've

taken another X-ray and the shadow has completely

disappeared. That slight touch of pneumonia he had after

being picked up on the beach has cIeared it. These things

do happen from time to time.'

For several moments Dru was beyond speecli. ~Oh,

Mart, how wonderful!' Her voice quivered with emotion.

;'lt's like a miracle. No wonder he's so full of beans.l'm so

happy. Have you told Sheila?'

"No, 1 haven't.'

:'But, Mart, you must tell her right away.' She sighed.

"l'd just love to seeherface!'

;'So you shall.'

~What do you mean? Surely you're going to ring her

now right away?"

"No. You're the one to tell her, since you're the one who

worked the mirac1e.'

"But 1 don't understand.'

Dru was sitting up now wide awake, hanging on to

every word that carne through firm and clear.

"Had Bud not gone on to the beach that night while

you were out he wouldn't have had the illness which

eventually cleared his lungs. Furthermore, it was your

remark about the one-minute mile when he carne to greet

us the other day that decided me to give him another X-

rayo So you see, you're responsible for Bud's retum to

health.'

There was a long silence from Dru's end oí the phone,

broken by an audible sniff.

"Are you still there?' Mart wanted to know.

She mopped her tears. 'Yes. 1 can't believe that 1

played so big a part in his recovery. What about you and

the staff of the hospital? Liane nursed him devotedly

too,'

"1 know.' There was a pause. Then he went on, ~Some-

how 1 think she knew he was going to recover com-

pletely.'

In the end they both went to tell Sheila the good news

the fo11owing morning. Dru thought it would be better

for Mart to te11 her personalIy in order that she could

rea11y believe it. After a11, the findings before had been

fairly conclusive. Besides, roe was sure to be overcome by

the news and if Bud was with her he would not under-

stand her emotion.

They found her in the kitchen of the villa trying to

finish a birthday cake for Bud and failing miserably to

blink the tears from her eyes at the thought that it might

be his last one. Bud was out with Marie and her boy-

friend in his boato

''Do come in: she said, trying to hide her misery. 'I've

been trying to ice Bud's birthday cake, but I'm afraid 1

shall have to leave it until tomorrow.'

There were more tears when Mart told her the good

news, but they were tears of joyo In the end it was Dru

who iced the cake and made the coffee while Mart and

Sheila talked.

"Thank you, Mart.' Sheila kissed his cheek as they were

leaving. Then she hugged and kissed Dru. "And you, Dru,

1 simply can't put into words the way 1 feel, Some day

Bud is going to know what you and Mart have done for

him. God bless you both.' She smiled through her tears,

"I'd like to donate a bed for the hospital. Any sugges-

tions?'

1<Ves: said Dru, f<Donate it in Liane's name with a

plaque to remember her by.'

"That was sweet of you,' Mart commented when they

were driving away. :'1t was the kind of thing we a11 had in

mind at the hospital. We've discussed a brass plaque to

be put up in the hall with a vase beneath it for flowers.'

Dru was a11 for it, She had watched Mart closely since

Liane's death to see if it had rea11y affected him more

than he admitted. It had not, for he still had that un-

quenched twinkle in his eye - the keen appraisal of a

pretty face. She noticed it when he picked her up that

evening at the hotel and later when he picked Sheila up

to take them both out to a celebration dinner, which

Sheila had already booked for them at the clubhouse. It

was a relief to see hirn mourning her as he would a very

close friendo Dru would have hated to see him broken-

hearted. As it was, he had made Liane's last days happy

ones.

Sheila had planned two parties at her villa on Bud's

birthday. One was in the afternoon for Bud and his small

friends, including those he had made since starting

school. The other was in the evening, mainly for the staff

of the hospital. Sheila had wanted to thank them for their

care of Bud. Since the good news of his complete recov-

ery, however, it was more like a celebration.

Dru helped to prepare for it with Mart dashing up

from the hospital to fix fairy lights in the garden and

arrange for extra chairs and tables.

Bud's party in the afternoon had been joyously gay,

with Sheila and Dru joining in a11 the fun, and he had

gone to bed a happy little boy. She had tucked him into

bed while Sheila had gone to dress in order to be ready to

meet her guests. Then she had gone to wash and

change.

The party was a huge success with Sheila a very pretty

and happy hostess. Her husband had gone away for skin

grafts, he would come back to a very long convalescence

with her and Bud, and the stars in her eyes could be

twinkling for those babies she was aiming on adding to

the O'Brian family.

Dru felt her happiness as deeply as she would her own.

She had been too busy to dwe11 upon her own un-

happiness and the bleak future facing her without Keith.

That would come later.

The two late arrivals entered the lounge with a cata-

clysmic suddenness that took her breath away. Her green

eyes dilated at a radiant Wisp displaying a huge diamond

on her engagement finger as she greeted her hostess on

Keith's armo As in a dream, she saw Sheila moving for-

ward to welcome them and congratulate Wisp on her en ..•

gagement. That was enough for Dru, who turned blindIy

frorn Mart, who was standing by her side and made for

the open French windows into the garden.

Mart's startIed look as she pushed past him counted for

nothing. AlI Dru could see was Keith, immaculate in

evening dress and as dear as ever. The sound of footsteps

behind her meant that Mart had followed her. But she

was past hiding her grief. With a moan, she tumed

blindly and crumpled against his chest.

'Oh, Mart,' she sobbed, "I'm sorry I couldn't stay and

congratulate Wisp and Keith. Y ou see, I love him too -

have done since that first day I threw myself into his

arms.' She felt his arms creep around her in sympathy

and went on, :'1 wanted to tell him about our bogus en-

gagement, that we were only playing a part, that it wasn't

genuine. But I thought it wouldn't have been fair to you.'

She gulped on a sobo ·'1 was on the point of telling him

when he Ieft the island. It makes me shudder now to think

how embarrassed he would have been. Oh, Mart, I'm so

unhappy!' .

'Wrong: number.' Keith's deep voice struck her heart

through his chest as he he1d her tightly against him. -o- is

it the right one this time?'

, His arms slackened enough for her to lift her head and

she stared up at him incredulously, her face scarlet.

'Keith,' Dru whispered in horror. "Oh dear! PIease

forget about what I've just said. I wish you every hap-

piness, always.'

"Do you, my sweet?' He was laughing down at her,

'Then you'd better get cracking and show that you mean

it. For instance.'

He bent his head and took her Iips, drawing her closer

against him until Dru felt part of him. Wisp was for-

gotten. If this was a farewell kiss then she was sure Wisp

wouId not grudge her that. But Keith went right on kiss-

ing her as she had ached and dreamed that he would do -

on her flushed cheeks, the curly tendriIs of hair against

her ears, her neck and then back again on her lips.

There was complete surrender to a sweet space of time

which would never be hers again. The perfume of the

garden enfolded them and the sound of the surf way

down below thudded in rhythm with her heart. Too late,

Dru realized that she had, to her own bitter humiliation,

blindly followed the demands of her heart. Her passion

had matched his. Reality struck her like a blow between

the eyes. Wisp must not find them like this.

'Please,' she gasped when he freed her lips. '1 know you

mean to be kind.'

'Kind?' he echoed disgustedIy.

"Yes. You're engaged to Wisp, you know.'

'Nonsense. Wisp is engaged to some man she met on

the plane after she left the island.'

'But she was arm in arm with you.'

'Why not? We're related. I flew here in the same plane

and when I told her I was coming to the party she asked

to come too. Her parents came with her. Her fiancé is to

follow Iater.'

'B,ut I don't understand. You've aIways been so beastly

to me. And ... and the last night at the hotel ... you went

away without a last word. We ... never actually said

good-bye.'

He had drawn her from the garden path on to a seat

screened by casuarinas. They were sitting very close with

his arm around her.

'1 know, my darling.' His deep voice held a note she

had never heard before. "1 didn't have to say good-bye

because 1 was coming back. 1 did foIlow you up to your

room, though. Why didn't you answer my knock?'

;'1 was in Bud's room. That's why 1 missed you.'

He shook his head teasingly. ;'I've never known a girl so

fond of other chap's bedrooms! Thank goodness 1 shall

soon have you locked in mine.'

Dru felt his kiss on her hair as his words sank in her

bemused mind.

'Y ou mean you carne back to the island because of me?'

She lifted wide unbelieving green eyes to sean his face.

-'1 carne back to the island for you,' he said seriously.

;'We're going to be married.' He smiled and drew her only

half resisting closer to him. -'1 met some very interesting

people on the plane coming overo Want to hear about

them?'

Dru struggled to be logical, knowing that the warm

circ1e of his arms was the last place in which she could be

so. There was certainly no logic in the wildthrill coursing

through her veins, but she made an effort.

'1 still don't understand how you knew about the party

here and why you should come back for me knowing 1

was engaged to Mart.'

'I've kept dn touch with Sheila. 1 had a feeling that

things weren't right between you and Mart. You aren't

very good at hiding your true feelings, my sweet. Besides,

1 knew 1 could go on no longer without -you.' His hold

became suffocatingly close, his voice thickened.'Y ou're in

my blood, right under my skin. You're part of me. It must

have happened to me the moment you flung yourself into

my arms at our first meeting. Y ou are so warm, so loving.

But 1 was too taken aback to know it - to know the kind

of girl you really were. So 1 fought against my love. 1 told

myself that 1 should get over it and forget you like all the

others, but it didn't work out that way.' He gave a short

mirthless laugh. '1 saw all my plans of staying in the Navy

for at least another five years go suddenly haywire and 1

didn't careo 1 had to have you.'

Dru trembled at the sudden passion in his voice. She

held him back, looking unhappily up at him.

'Why did you behave so oddly over Liane's death? You

hardly ate a thing, and when we mentioned her at the

picnic you looked so unhappy and grim.'

'1 was shattered by her death. Of course 1 was. Why?

Because 1 was counting on her affair with your fiancé to

come between you. Don't you remernber? 1 said that with

Wisp and Liane out of the way you had a clear run with

him? 1 never loved Liane. 1 can't tell you how 1 feIt,

dreading your sentimental tender heart turning to him, to

comfort him.'

Slackening his hold, he took her by the chin, turning

her faceup and looking deep into her eyes. She looked at

him steadily, afraid to believe all he had told her. A

moment ago the gates of paradise had slowly swung open

to admit her. Now that logic she clung to so desperately

was closing them again.

She said sadly, '1 can't come between you and your love

of the sea. I've seen you fighting the elements and loving

it. You might want me now, but there'll come a time

when you'll hate me for changing the course of your life.'

There was a sharp edge of pain in her voice. "1 can't

marry you, much as 1 love you, if it only brings you un-

happiness in the end.'

'Say that again - that you love me,' he demanded.

'1 love you more than life itself. 1 always will.'

'What else matters?' he said roughly. 'Apart from the

fact that 1 love you to distraction. Leaving the Navy a

few years earlier than 1 intended isn't ímportant. We've

found something that most people spend their lives

searching for and never find. You and 1 are kindred

spirits, born to love each other for all eternity.'

Dru lost all count of time as she drowned in the bliss of

being kissed passionately and possessively by Keith. At

last, lying palpitating against his chest, she heard him

give a chuckle of pure happiness.

:'As I was saying about the interesting people on the

plane,' he murmured in her hair. ;'One was a bishop who

has agreed to marry uso The odd thing about it is he

claims to be a descendant of the bishop who stayed at

Bishop's Rest on my island. He's come over to see it.'

Dru trembled with remembered pain. '1 thought you

had Liane in mind when you said you were hoping to take

your bride there.'

'Did you now? It was you, my little doubting Thomas,

and you have only three days in which to prepare for our

night beneath the stars.'

Dru trembled still more. :'Y ou mean ... ?'

"Yes. I have the ring and the Iicence.' There was a

pause. Then he said, :'1 have something else too.' Grin-

ning, he moved an arm from around her and fished the

top of her bathing suit from his pocket. Suddenly he was

frowning down at her in mock sternness. :'1 was going to

return this to you as a way of approach when I arrived.

Thank heaven you lived up to form and ftung yourself

into my arms. I shaIl expect you to do it often when we're

married.' He hugged her until she was breathless. "It's

going to be heaven and earth, I have six months' Ieave

while the cruiser is in Martinique for repairs, plenty of

time for us to make plans for our future, rny darling.'

They were married with Bud acting as page. He was a

little disgusted that Dru had married Iike the rest of the

grown-ups, but he forgave her because she had chosen his

idol, Keith.

Mart too was not as shattéred as she had expected him

to be.

'1 had an idea you were hooked at your first meeting

with him,' he told her. 'Thanks for everything. I shaIl

make it, thanks to you. Keith is a very lucky man.'

Their honeymoon night on the island extended a week.

They fished, swam, walked hand in hand around the

island, danced to a record player brought over with many

more things necessary for their enjoyment and made love

beneath the sun and under the moon. Keith was a won-

derful lover and Dru had never known such happiness.

And she owed it all to Mart.

She told Keith this on their last night on the island of

Bishop's Rest. They had made love and gone to sleep, and

Dru awakened at dawn with the thought of Mart upper-

most in her thoughts. Keith stirred in her arms, mur-

mured 'Darling' and, snuggling up to her, opened bis

eyes.

"Happy, my sweet?' he whispered.

She nodded. Gently, lovingly, she touched his face. 'Do

you realize that we owe our happiness to Mart? Had he

not sent for us we might never have met.'

"We were fated to meet, you and 1,' he growled. 'You

still don't know the real reason why he sent for you, do

you?'

'Of course Ido.' She thrust her fingers through his

crisp dark hair.

'Oh no, you don't. He sent for you because he wanted

you himself. He was in love with you, my sweet, and I

can't blame him. You're mine now, though. What I have

I hold. And don't you ever forget it.'

And Dru was only too happy to remember as he pulled

her against him.