Road to Paradise Island

by Victoria Holt

  "What an extraordinary coincidence."

  "When you consider all the facts it is not so very extraordinary. The family knew the story of Ann Alice and the island. The original Magnus came looking for the island, then settled in Australia and did some gold mining very successfully apparently. They then acquired this island. It was the nearest to that one for which they were looking. You see it is all quite logical when you look at it that way."

  "It is strange that you should have met him."

  "Yes, that was by chance, of course. But you can imagine how bewildered I was... and still am by all this."

  "And you have not seen him since?"

  "It is only really a short time ago. He said he would ask me to visit him or he would come here. I believe he will."

  "I see. Annalice, let us wait a day or so. Perhaps you will know how you feel by the time the next ship leaves."

  "A week?"

  "Perhaps I could wait another week. But that would be the limit, I think. I have some business to do in Sydney. That was supposed to be the purpose of my coming out."

  "Supposed to be?"

  "Well, naturally I wanted to see what was happening to you. When I had that letter I was deeply concerned about Felicity. I thought from the first that she was a little unsure about that marriage."

  "Yes. She rushed into it."

  "I can't understand what possessed her."

  I looked at him steadily. "She was really in love with someone else," I said.

  He frowned and did not answer. Could it be that he who was so understanding about the affairs of others could be so obtuse about his own?

  There was a silence of some duration. Then he said: "Well, all we can do is wait. In a few days ... perhaps ..."

  I said nothing to that, and then after a while: "What a noise those cicadas make!"

  Now I was wondering what he was feeling. Having basked in the torrid atmosphere of Milton's emotions 1 found Raymond cool and practical. His kiss had been gentle and swift. He knew Milton was in love with me and he would realize that Milton would not be the man to indulge in overmuch restraint. What did he see of my feelings for Milton? How obvious was that? And how much would it mean to

  him if I decided to marry Milton and stay in Cariba? His calm, his serenity, which I had found so comforting, might mean that his feelings did not go as deep as some people's—Milton's, for instance. I was not sure.

  How strange that, in my state of bewilderment, I was not even sure of Raymond.

  There were times when I began to wonder whether I had dreamed up that visit to Lion Island. I heard nothing more from Magnus Perrensen. I had thought he would come to Cariba. It was only a few days, I supposed, but it seemed longer.

  After John Everton had brought me back to Cariba I had not seen him. I wondered whether he had left. I thought that after our acquaintance he would surely have said goodbye.

  Then next morning I did see him. He was sitting on the terrace talking to Maria, the chambermaid. Maria talked to anyone when she had a chance. She was even more garrulous than the rest of the staff.

  So John Everton had not left.

  I considered the idea of asking him to row me over to Lion Island. But I could scarcely go without an invitation. It would come. I was impatient.

  Milton had not suggested coming to the hotel for dinner that evening; nor had he invited us to the plantation. I felt this was due to Raymond's presence.

  I missed him. I was restless. I should have to make a decision soon. I had been drifting along in a pleasant state of euphoria. I had refused to look at the facts. I had just wanted to go on enjoying my relationship with Milton and putting decisions aside.

  Now I had to make up my mind. Was I going to sail away with Raymond and Felicity, or was I going to stay with Milton?

  I knew what I wanted to do. My feelings for Raymond had changed and that was due to Felicity. If I had not come into their lives none of this would have happened. Perhaps if I were not there Raymond would marry Felicity and she would be happy. And him? I had convinced myself that his feelings did not go as deeply as some people's do; that was why he was able to face the world so serenely.

  Soon it would be sunset and that lurid red light would colour the scene. The sea would turn pale pink and the sky blood-red. I should never grow accustomed to the sunset and I always waited for the moment when that great red ball seemed to drop below the horizon. It was spectacular and never quite the same twice.

  I was restless and I decided to take a walk along the waterfront.

  As I walked down marvelling at the colourful sky and sea I saw smoke some way inland.

  I stopped to look at it and as I did so it spiralled upwards. I saw a great flame and then more smoke. Something was on fire. My heart began to beat uncertainly for the direction from which the smoke was coming was the plantation.

  The plantation was on fire!

  A terrible fear came over me. Milton was there. I could not think of anything but that I had to find him. I had to assure myself that he was safe.

  I went to the stables. I mounted my horse and in my flimsy dress rode bareback to the plantation.

  I was right. The place was on fire. I could hear men shouting. I had never seen such a sight. It was like an enormous tower of fire and the flames were racing through the canes. I saw men standing round the edges with buckets of water, rats and a mongoose scuttled out of the burning mass.

  I tried to make my way to the house.

  "Keep away," shouted one of the men.

  "Mr. Harrington," I cried. "Where is he? I have to find him. Where ... ?"

  Then I saw him. He was coming towards me. I ran to him and he caught me in his arms and held me fast.

  I cried out in relief: "You're safe. Thank God. I thought... I was terrified. I couldn't have borne it if... "

  "Does it matter so much?" he said.

  "You know."

  He held me tightly. "You're committed now, you know. You've betrayed yourself."

  He was laughing with triumph.

  I looked at him in amazement. "Your plantation is on fire ... and you stand here..."

  He said: "This is the happiest moment of my life. Look at you. Distraught. Tearful. In a state of panic ... and all because you feared you had lost me. Let this be a lesson to you."

  "How can you ... now ... at such a time ..."

  "It is really very amusing. This is a great joke. It is the best joke I ever heard."

  "You are mad."

  "With joy. My love loves me. Look. She deserts all even the saint himself ... to ride to me ... because she thinks I am in danger. Come into the house. I want to tell you something."

  "Your plantation is burning down "

  "I want to tell you how much I love you."

  "I don't understand you. Don't you care. You are losing everything."

  "What would that matter if I gained my love... which I have. You can't go back on this. You stand betrayed. You have revealed yourself. Admit it."

  "Milton ..."

  "Well, let me tell you. The plantation is not burning down. Tomorrow all the canes will be cut the easier for the fire. This is what we call a field burning."

  "You mean you deliberately set the place on fire?"

  He nodded. "It's a periodic exercise. When the time is ripe we put a torch to the green sugar. It burns the cane to clear it so that it will be easier to cut in the morning."

  "So it was all planned."

  "It needs very careful planning. Waiting for the wind to be in the right direction... watching all the time... cutting firebreaks round the fields. We have to be on the watch all the time. If it got out of hand it could be disastrous. It could even destroy the whole of the island."

  I was so relieved I could only laugh.

  "And you rode out to save me ... just like that. Oh Annalice, my darling Annalice, this is surely the happiest moment of my life."

  "You said that before."

  "Well, it is worth repeating. I shall always remember
it. The day she came to me ... If you could have seen the fear on your face... and all for me."

  I could only cling to him laughing, I think, rather hysterically.

  "I was so frightened," I said.

  He kissed me. "And now you have no doubts."

  I shook my head.

  "You are going to stay with me. You let him know."

  "I think he knows already."

  "I am going to give you a drink and take you back to the hotel."

  "They will be wondering what has become of me. I'll go back alone. You have to be here to make sure the fire is kept under control."

  "There are men here to do that. They know what has to be done." He looked out. "It's almost over now. The blackened stalks will cut well tomorrow. The operation was a success ... the greatest success I have ever known. Come along. I'm going to take you back in the carriage. I'll send your horse back tomorrow. You can't ride as you are. No saddle. How very indecorous. And all for me. I am so happy tonight. Tell me how very scared you were."

  "You know."

  "I saw it in your face. There was that other time. Do you remember when I went pearl diving?"

  "I remember it well."

  "You did not like my going down to the sea bed, did you?"

  "I thought of sharks."

  "I promise I won't dive for pearls when we are married."

  I touched his face lightly. "You are a very forceful man," I said.

  "Well, you are no meek Griselda yourself. After all it's you I have fallen in love with and you with me. Just as we are ... warts and all, as they say. I wouldn't have one little bit of you changed and that's the truth."

  "Nor I," I said.

  "Come, take this. It will do you good. You were very shaken, you know."

  "Yes, 1 do know that."

  "Riding through the night ..."

  I sipped the drink and he sat beside me and put his arm about me. I felt suddenly happy. It was as though this evening everything had been resolved.

  He drove me back in the carriage.

  They had been wondering what had happened to me.

  I explained and Milton went into some detail about the way in which they burned the canes every now and then when it was necessary to make cutting easier.

  "Annalice was so worried on my account. She thought I was in my burning plantation and dashed over ... just as she was ... on horseback. I think she was going to plunge in and haul me back to safety."

  "I don't know what I was going to do," I said. "I thought the whole place was on fire."

  "Won't you stay and dine with us?" asked Raymond.

  "Thanks, no. I must get back to make sure everything is all right. It's under control but one never knows. It's a tricky business."

  "I can understand that."

  "I should retire early if I were you," said Milton to me. "Take a little coconut milk before you go to sleep. It's very soothing. I'll tell Maria to take it up to your room."

  He was already assuming a proprietorial air. I wondered if the others noticed it. I did not care if they did. I was experiencing a kind of exultation. Tomorrow I must speak to Raymond. I would explain and I was sure he would understand.

  Milton left. "I'll see you tomorrow evening. I'll give you the day to set everything in order," were his parting words.

  He meant of course my speaking to Raymond.

  I wanted to talk to him. I even thought of doing so that evening. But I could hardly do so with Felicity there; and now that he had arrived she did not go to her room early as she had done before. She wanted to be where he was all the time.

  I was glad. I felt everything could work out neatly after all. Raymond would go home and take Felicity with him. And in time... perhaps before very long... they would marry. I saw how suited they were to each other. Raymond needed someone to lean on him, that he might take care of her; and Felicity needed Raymond because he was the only one in the world who could wipe out memories of her terrible experiences.

  I was happier than I had ever been, I think, on that night.

  I was absent-minded during dinner and I retired early. The first thing I saw when I opened the door was the glass of milk on my table.

  I smiled. He had spoken to Maria then. I did not want the milk, but it was his wish that I should take it and just because of that I would, I supposed.

  I looked at myself in the mirror. I saw there was a smudge on the bodice of my dress. No one had mentioned it. My hair was a little loose too. My eyes were bright though. I looked slightly dishevelled but very happy.

  I undressed, thinking of the next day. I must speak to Raymond as soon as I was alone with him. I would make him see that what had happened was inevitable. He would understand; and there would be Felicity waiting to comfort him. I think he loved Felicity more deeply than he realized. He had been so concerned for her, so eager to look after her.

  Yes, it was all working out very satisfactorily indeed.

  I undressed and brushed my hair.

  I saw the milk by the side of my bed and remembered Milton's face, the brightness of his eyes which shone so blue in his sunburned face, his triumphant pleasure because I had betrayed my true feelings.

  I picked up the glass and took a sip.

  There was something rather sickly about coconut milk at times. I set it down again. I had no inclination to drink it.

  I sat up in bed for a while thinking of the fire and that moment when I had seen him coming towards me.

  I took more of the milk. I thought it tasted a little strange. I put it

  down and in doing so spilt some on the table. I got out of bed to find a cloth and when I came back to the table I saw that there was some sediment in the milk on the table.

  I had never noticed that before.

  I wiped the table. I was beginning to feel amazingly sleepy. I got into bed. The room was slipping away from me. I lay down and must almost immediately have fallen into a deep sleep.

  THE DISCOVERY

  Usually I awoke early, but the next morning it was the sound of Maria in my room which brought me out of a heavy sleep. I felt a twinge of alarm. Something had happened to me. My limbs felt leaden and I found I could arouse myself only with the utmost effort.

  Maria was standing by my bed. She was looking at me in some consternation.

  "Are you all right?" she asked.

  "Yes, I think so. I slept very heavily."

  I sat up in bed and put a hand to my head. Memories of yesterday came back to me. The fire... Milton ... my arriving back at the hotel.

  "I feel strange," I said.

  I remembered Milton's saying that he would tell Maria to take up some milk for me. I turned my head. There was nothing on the table, and it looked as though the wood had been freshly polished.

  "You did not drink your milk," said Maria.

  "I drank some of it."

  "You spilt some. I cleaned up."

  "Thank you."

  "Would you like hot water now?"

  "Yes, please."

  When she had gone I got out of bed. I felt vaguely light-headed. Something had happened to me last night. I had been emotionally shaken. I shall never forget that moment when I had seen the fire and how I had ridden through that acrid atmosphere and heard the crackling of the flames. I could still see the terrified rats scuttling frantically away from the burning canes.

  It had upset me more than I had realized at the time. Mostly it was the horror of thinking something terrible had happened to Milton... and the joyous discovery that it was nothing at all.

  Then the milk.

  Oh yes, the milk. What an extraordinary thing to happen! Of course Maria would take it away and wash the glass. It was her job to keep the room in order.

  I sat on the bed thinking... and I was still thinking when she came back with the hot water.

  I washed and dressed.

  There was a knock on my door.

  It was Felicity. She looked at me in some surprise.

  "Oh ... you're just up.
"

  "I overslept."

  "That is unlike you. I have had breakfast downstairs with Raymond on the terrace. I want to show him the island. Will you come with us?"

  "Not this morning. I have a slight headache. You two go on your own."

  She could not hide her pleasure at the prospect.

  "It must have been all the excitement of last night. That fire and everything... and you riding off like that."

  "Yes," I said. "I expect so."

  She went out.

  How different she was! She had changed completely. If ever anyone was in love that was Felicity. Raymond must see it. It was so obvious. And he cared for her... deeply.

  I sat down trying to cast off this feeling of vagueness. What was the matter with me? I had never felt like this before.

  I must have been in a very drowsy state because I did not think immediately of the milk and it was only after I had been downstairs and had a late breakfast on the terrace that I remembered it.

  The milk! I had taken only a little... and there had been a sediment.

  I could not remain on the terrace and went back to my room.

  I kept thinking: The milk. The sediment. Could it really be that someone had put something in the milk?

  Why? To send me into a deep sleep? For what purpose? But I had only taken very little of the milk. If such a small amount could have such an effect on me, what would have happened if I had drunk the entire glassful?

  I used to dissolve Felicity's pills in milk. That was the best way to take them, the doctor had said.

  An alarming thought came to me. I went to the drawer. The bottle was there. With trembling fingers I unscrewed the top. There were only six pills in the bottle.

  But only a few days ago I had looked at them and there had been ten!

  I felt dizzy. Where were those four pills? I asked myself. I saw my reflection in the mirror. Pale face, eyes wide with speculation... alarming, horrible.

  Someone had put those pills in my milk. Had I drunk all the milk where should I be now? Someone had tried to kill me.

  I was remembering what the doctor said. One had been enough to give Felicity a good night's sleep. Never more than one a day, he had said. Two might not be exactly dangerous but it was not advisable to take them. More than that would be fatal.