John Pelham was due home the following day, and Lisa was not looking forward to meeting her father face to face in the present circumstances. He had telephoned once more since that first angry message, and been a little more understanding, but having to explain the whole situation to him in person was not something she looked forward to.
She was flicking through a magazine and not really seeing anything at all, when she received a telephone call from Yacub, and at the sound of his voice she felt a sudden surge of hope. He was as charming as ever and sounded so cheerful that she could not think otherwise than that he had some news for her.
There will be a dinner party at my father's house this evening, my dear Lisa/ Yacub informed her, his voice discreetly lowered. 'I hope that you will be here/
Lisa tried to think clearly, but found it impossible. How could he expect her to simply arrive at his father's house as a guest ? He surely must see that it wasn't possible. Tacub, I can't—I mean, I couldn't come to the house, not after last time. I doubt if I'd be admitted/
Tou were admitted once before/ Yacub reminded her, and laughed softly, so that there was no mistaking his meaning.
Tou mean I should come in by the Oh no, I
couldn't! Not again, I wouldn't dare!*
'Not even to see Yusuf again?' Yacub dangled the bait tantalisingly, knowing she would find it hard to resist, but Lisa took her time.
Her fingers curled tightly around the receiver, and her teeth gnawed anxiously at her lower lip while she considered the idea. It was a temptation, and she was ready to go, but it was surely taking an awful chance to give Yusuf the opportunity of once more forcibly removing her from his father's property.
'Lisa?' Yacub's voice recalled her and she blinked herself back to alertness.
'Are you sure, Yacub? I mean—the last time I came in through that way he threw me out into the street/
Yacub clucked his tongue in disgust at such folly, but he still sounded brightly optimistic when he spoke again. 'But that was before he had spent several days—and nights—on board the Djenoun with you, lovely Lisa, was it not?' He chuckled, as if the subterfuge amused him. 'You come to the small gate as you did before/ he told her, 'and I will make certain that it is open for you. Then you wait in the garden, just as before, eh? Yusuf will come to you, I promise!' He seemed to sense her
hesitation and clucked his tongue reprovingly. Trust me, eh?'
'Yes. Yes, of course/ Lisa said. There was nothing else she could do, she knew, for she could not resist such a chance; it might never occur again. Til be there/ she said. 'And—thank you, Yacub/
Madame Raymond looked pleased when Lisa came downstairs, obviously dressed for an evening out, although she was probably puzzled by the fact that Geoffrey was not there to collect her. Instead a taxi came for her and whisked her through the same route that she and Geoffrey had taken that evening that now seemed so long ago.
Some unconscious superstition had made her pass over a yellow dress in her wardrobe; she had worn a yellow dress the last time she went to Sheik Abahn's house, and it had scarcely proved a lucky choice. Instead she put on the red caftan that Yusuf had bought for her, and looking at her reflection, felt a curious fluttering sense of excitement when she recalled the last occasion on which she had worn it.
Not that she anticipated anything half so pleasant happening this evening, but there was something very special about the richness of the red brocade, and she knew that whatever happened, no other dress would ever mean quite so much to her. It represented a moment in her life when she had been quite idyllically happy for a short time.
The taxi turned into the same narrow and dimly lit street whose high walls reminded her of a prison, and she shivered again it the illusion, keeping a sharp lookout for one particular small gate set in the secretive blankness of the walls. The driver looked at her with undisguised curiosity when she asked to be set down about halfway along the street, and he seemed to be
questioning the wisdom of her decision, using both Arabic and French to tell her his opinion, neither of which she understood.
He was concerned, she supposed, at the idea of leaving her there alone in that dark, deserted street, but Lisa gave him a reassuring smile and waited until he had driven off once more, in the direction of the more brightly lit streets of the town, before she ventured to try the little gate in the wall. Just as she had on that first occasion, she took a moment to gather her courage, although this time she knew what to expect when she opened it, and prayed only that Yacub Boudri had made certain the gate was unlocked.
The long dark passageway smelled dank and cold, "as it had before, and she shivered involuntarily as she drew her skirts close about her, listening to her own ghostly footsteps whispering over the hard ground. She was trembling violently and just before she reached the end of the passage, she paused to try and gain control of her emotions.
The scents of the garden, and particularly of the big magnolia that grew by the entrance of the passage, were sweet and heady as she stood drawing in deep uneven breaths, to try and steady her thudding heart. If it didn't work; if Yusuf still refused to let her explain, she vowed she would leave Casablanca and never come back. Her father would probably not understand her reasons, but Geoffrey would, she knew, and she spared a moment to wish things could have been different between her and Geoffrey. Yusuf ben Dacra was an impossible dream and she would have been much wiser to have settled for what Geoffrey had to offer.
She could hear voices from the house, and see lights beaming out on to the patio and the garden. Everything seemed so much the same as it had been on that first occasion that she could almost believe she had dreamed
everything in between. As she moved out of the shelter of the passage, the outer leaves of the magnolia brushed her cheek with their cool touch as she passed, and she stood for a moment looking across at the lighted room full of people.
The fountain playing into the big stone basin had a curiously soothing effect, she found, and she walked over to it without thinking, reaching down to dabble her fingertips in the cool water while she tried to bring order to her chaotic senses, afraid that Yusuf would not come, and almost as fearful of what might happen if he did.
Behind her the reflection of a huge jacaranda fluttered its fernlike leaves across the light of a dying moon in a deep purple sky, while her own reflection shimmered palely in front of it. Idyllic and peaceful, it seemed like a million miles from the violence and anger that had brought her back there, and inevitably her thoughts turned to Yusuf.
To the thrill of his nearness on a moonlit deck, and the caress of his strong fingers on her skin, his lips lightly pressed to her neck while he pleaded with her to take away the temptation of her closeness so that he would not break his word to her father. Her own happy laughter in the moment before Geoffrey appeared and put an end to her happiness.
She caught her breath sharply and spun round when another, taller and darker, reflection appeared behind her own, watching her with eyes as dark and gleaming as jet. A lean, tanned face that seemed to be carved from teak and looked just as hard and unyielding; duskily dark against a white shirt, and a cream suit that skimmed the panther-lean lines of his body.
Lisa's eyes were wary. Her hands gripped the edge of the stone basin and were taking so much that she felt sure he must notice. She shook her head slowly, bereft of speech, and able to do no more than murmur his
name with the soft uncertainty of an appeal Tusuf/
*I have been persuaded to see you against my better judgment.' The harshness of the words spoken in that deep and incredibly affecting voice brought a mixed reaction from her. She supposed it could be considered an encouraging sign that he had come out to see her, at least.
'It's—it's good of you to see me/ she whispered, and wondered what had happened to that defiant and liberated woman who had stormed the Djenoun in her determination to pass on the group's warning about Zobi.
He made a sound with his mouth that seemed to sugges
t he was as impatient with his own weakness as with her, and reached into a pocket for one of the long black K^birs he smoked. Lisa watched the lighter flame dance tiny shadows across the so familiar lines of his face and felt as if her legs had turned to water. How was it possible to love a man so much in so short a time, and when his interests seemed destined to clash with her own?
'Will you listen to me, Yusuf ?' she asked in a small soft voice.
He sat himself down on the edge of the stone basin with a sudden and unexpected movement that made her start visibly, and Yusuf eyed her for a second through the smoke from his cigarette. 'I have promised that I will listen to you,' he said. 'My brother seems to think I have ill-used you, and that I should—unbend a little. Those are his words, not mine,' he hastened to add, and Lisa thanked heaven for Yacub's determination.
She was so actutely conscious of him as a man that it was hard to think of anything but the excitement of being close to him again, and of the gentleness she knew those big hands were capable of. Her legs trembled alarmingly, and she knew he had noticed the red caftan the moment he saw her. He probably suspected her
motive for wearing it, but to Lisa it was a kind of talisman, and she placed her hands flat against her thighs as she faced him, smoothing the rich soft brocade with her palms.
There was no other way of getting to see you/ she told him huskily. 'I hope you won't blame Yacub for helping me/
Tor letting you in through the rear entrance; the way you came in the last time/ he remembered, and she watched him anxiously.
'Not quite like last time/ Lisa denied. Tacub had nothing to do with last time/
Yusuf looked at her steadily. He appeared to be relaxed, sitting on the edge of the fountain with one leg swinging carelessly, but there were taut little lines at the corners of his mouth that showed just how tense he was in reality. Tell me,' he said quietly. Tell me what it is 1 came here to listen to/
He sounded so much as if he had already made up his mind, as if he was so sure she could not prove herself innocent of what had happened at Zobi, that her eyes filled with tears suddenly. 'Oh, Yusuf, don't judge me so harshly!' She made the plea in a voice that was no more than a whisper, and looked at him appealingly. 'I didn't know what was going to happen, don't you realise that I couldn't have? Do you think I could have lied to you so —so boldly?'
He looked no less forbidding, but as so often happened, it was his voice that told her he was weakening slightly. 'I would hope not,' he said, and Lisa took hope from it, watching him anxiously.
'I couldn't,' she insisted. 'Whatever you think of me, Yusuf, I've never lied to you. 1 didn't know that the rest of them were there, not until Geoffrey told me. and then I wanted to come and tell you, to warn you. I wanted Geoffrey to stop them. I tried to make him understand,
but there was such a—a confliction of purposes, I was confused. Geoffrey was only interested in getting me away from the Djenoun, whether I wanted to go or not.'
'And you went with him.'
'I had no choice/ Lisa insisted despairingly. 'I was upset because I'd lost my bracelet overboard and I blamed Geoffrey; then he told me about the group and I wanted to come and tell you. He pulled one way and I tried to pull away from him, it was all so—so quick. Then that blessed bell—I caught it with my arm when I was trying to keep out of Geoffrey's reach. It frightened me half to death when it made that din, and before I realised what was happening, I was being hauled down the gangway and pushed into his car. He was so—angry I couldn't reason with him.' •
Yu^uf looked at the tip of his cigarette and his eyes were hidden by the thick blackness of his lashes. 'He was jealous, of course,' he said without troubling to make it a question, and Lisa was in no mind to deny it.
'Yes, he was.'
'He is in love with you ?'
He still did not look at her, and once again Lisa answered him without prevarication. 'He says he is.'
Then of course he was jealous.'
He looked at her for a moment in a way that made her remember her laughter, only seconds before Geoffrey came on the scene, and the reason for her glowing happiness. When he stood up he threw the end of the K6bir into the fountain and to Lisa the gesture was achingly familiar as she watched the tiny red spark die in the tinkling water. He looked down at her, tall and disturbingly close, so that she could almost touch the lean body and feel the warmth of him on her own soft skin.
'Had he reason to be, Lisa?' he asked softly, and she did not answer quite so readily this time.
She was shaking like a leaf, and her hands trembled
even when she held them close together in front of her. 'I wish I knew/ she whispered
*Why did you come. Lisa V
She gathered her thoughts hastily into some kind of order, and remembered at last that she was there also to plead for her father and for Geoffrey and the rest. It had been so easy to forget them in the past few minutes, i wanted to ask you—I had to plead with you not to—to take revenge on the others.' Her voice wavered and almost broke, but he offered no support, no help. *My father will suffer if you take legal action/ she went on, softly, breathlessly, her voice as unsteady as the legs that barely supported her* 'I don't like to think— I hate to think of you being vengeful when it can hurt so many people. Not just the ones who've been thoughtless and —and silly, but my father too, and other families.*
'And you came to plead with me for them V
Lisa made no bones about it. She lifted her eyes and looked at him. 'Yes/ she said.
He stood for several minutes, saying nothing, with his black brows just slightly drawn, his eyes hidden by those thick lashes again. 'Just this once/ he said after what seemed like an eternity, and Lisa let out her breath in a long shivering sigh. This once only/
Reaching up she put her hands either side of his head, then tiptoed to kiss his cheek. Thank you/ she whispered huskily. Thank you, Yusuf!'
The touch of those strong brown fingers on her bare arms evoked sensations she could do nothing to control, and she was drawn against the warm vigour of his body with a slowness that was somehow breathtakingly sensuous. 'Was that the only reason you came?* He asked the question softly as his arms tightened about her, and Lisa shook her head.
*No/ she whispered. His lips brushed her cheek lightly, coaxingly, and her heart expanded like a flower in the
warm sun, beating so hard that it throbbed in her brain like a drum. 'I—I wanted to see you again; I wanted to— be near you, to
She caught her breath; so sure of her own feelings, but not yet sure enough of his to go on. Without a word he brought his dark, shadowed face down to hers and sought her mouth with soft, gentle kisses that promised so much more. Then the gentleness was gone suddenly and she was swept against him with a fierce fury of passion that snatched the breath from her body, and kissed as she had never been kissed before.
The hardness of his mouth buried itself in hers, seeking, demanding, clamouring for a response until she no longer felt herself a separate body, but one with the searing masculine force that threatened to drown her in its fierceness. It was seconds before she realised he had freed her mouth, and she looked up to see him gazing down in to her face with glowing dark eyes.
i believed you had made a fool of me/ he murmured while his arms held her tightly against him. 'But I was wrong!' Her mouth was possessed once more with the fury of desire, and he breathed the words close to her lips, i wanted to be wrong, I have never wanted anything more in my ,life! That is why I came out here to see you, not because Yacub asked me to, but to hear you tell me you did not deceive me!'
Tou were wrong/ Lisa assured him huskily. 'If I could have come and told you what was happening 1 would have, Yusuf; I wanted to/
She lowered her eyes and looked at the strong brown throat instead of meeting his eyes, but all aspects of him were equally disturbing in the present situation and she felt a shiver slip along her spine as she slid her arms up around his neck, much more certain of herself now that she was m
ore certain of him.
'And I want to believe you, chSrie.' He brushed the
sun-blonded hair from her brow with his lips and spoke softly. 'I want to be so sure of you that I shall always know what you feel, and never again be in doubt. Is that possible?'
Lifting her face to him, Lisa smiled with a new confidence, her arms around his neck, her hands stroking the black hair at the back of his head. 'It's possible/ she whispered.
'I love you! I love you so much, these past days have tortured me!'
She gazed up at him for a long moment with bright shining eyes, then buried her head against the broadness of his chest. 'Oh, Yusuf, my love!'
He bent his head once more to seek her lips, parting them gently with his before he took her mouth fiercely and hungrily, like a man in desperate need. Her yielding softness moulded to his lean strength, Lisa clung to him, feeling the same desperate hunger in her own body, discovering needs she had not even dreamed of until this moment. Her fingers curled tightly in his thick black hair while her mouth responded willingly to his with an ecstasy she would not have believed herself capable of.
•Will you marry me?' His voice was deep and husky, close to her ear, and Lisa pressed her face to his dark head. 'If your father gives his approval.'
Lifting her head, Lisa looked up at him with glistening blue eyes, a faint teasing smile on her mouth, i don't need Daddy's permission to marry you,' she reminded him. 'I love you, and I'm a liberated woman, remember, my darling.'
Yusuf gathered her to him and held her fast, his mouth just above her eager one, warming her lips with his words. 'Not any longer, my love,' he said, and kissed her in such a way that Lisa was of no mind to argue with him.
And there's still more love in
rlequin resents...
Close to the Heart Page 17
