by Margaret Way
Now she moved right up to his shoulder. His heart leapt. She might be pocket sized but she packed such a powerful sensual punch unless he was very strong she could defeat him easily. “Show me.” Daniel forced his breath to stay even. “Jade, aren’t they? Or nephrite.” He stared down at the small polished olive-green beads. “Maoris use it as a talisman of protection. The Chinese believe it blesses all who touch it.”
“I’m not trying to sell them to you, Daniel,” she said testily.
Such a tart tongued glowing creature! “Let’s take a look in your room then,” he suggested. “You might like to put something on.”
“Anyone would think you had to fight off my advances,” she started muttering as she stalked into her bedroom, making a beeline for her yellow Thai silk robe. “There, feel safer now?” she asked tartly, tying the sash with exaggerated movements.
“You aren’t the sweetest girl in the world, are you?” He looked around, frowning in concentration. “Where were the beads?”
“On the floor, just about here.” She moved to the spot rubbing the pile of the Perisan rug back and forth with her bare toes. “I woke with the panicky feeling someone was in the room or just leaving it. I thought I heard a rattling sound. I knew my door was locked. I must have been dreaming. It wasn’t until I decided to double-check the door when I saw them. They certainly weren’t there when I put out the light. Someone was in the room, Daniel.”
“You don’t think you could have missed them earlier? They blend in with the rug strangely enough.”
“Then how did I miss not walking over them?” she asked as if she’d produced the trump card. “One was actually near the door.”
“And it was locked?”
“Yes, Daniel.”
“The only people in the house are you, me, Elsa and Meg. I can’t think the house girls would meddle. You’ll have to leave me out of it.”
“Because of your vow?” She stared at him with huge challenging eyes. “What vow?”
“The one you made as soon as we met. Never lay a finger on her!”
“So you know about that, do you?” he asked dryly. “There’s no logic to it, Daniel.”
“Really? I consider to break it would be more like men acting badly. Now, shall we get back to the problem at hand? Your nocturnal visitor could only be Elsa or Meg or the resident ghost. I can’t see Meg or Elsa paying you a call unless one of them sleep walks. Come to think of it, it does happen.”
“Yes, like once in a blue moon,” Sandra scoffed. “I didn’t imagine any of this, Daniel.”
“Hang on.” He hesitated for a second looking down at her, then strode out onto the verandah.
She raced after him. “I found a scrap of material pinned to the lattice a few days ago,” she told him breathlessly. The door was unbolted. She watched him as he shot the bolt home.
“It could easily have come off Meg’s dress. Go back to bed, Sandra. I’ll leave my door open and a light in the hall. No one is going to bother you.”
“Well I am bothered,” she said huffily.
“We’ll leave it until morning to ask questions.” They were back in her room, staring at one another. “Meg would never do anything to cause you concern. Elsa genuinely cares for you. You’re sweet to her.”
“I feel sorry for her, that’s why. But she’s just the type to do spooky things,” Sandra felt a sudden chill. “No mouse could be quieter, though I can’t think she’d wish to harm me. Can I ask you a question?”
“Fire away.” He gave a single abrupt nod of his head.
“Do you wear jade beads?” He didn’t deign to answer.
“Just a thought. Would you like to stay with me, Daniel?” For some reason she had the wicked impulse to taunt him. “It’s an awfully big bed. Our bodies wouldn’t have to connect at all.”
“Impossible, Sandra.”
“I know, I’m ranting. I’m sorry.” She stripped off her silk robe and threw it around one of the bedposts.
“You’re not at all self-conscious of your body, are you?” he said, desire for her lashing at him like stockwhips.
“Well I’m not exactly a glamour model,” she answered tartly. “What’s to see?”
“Are you completely mad?” he rasped, astonished she could say such a thing.
Sandra spun around, furiously hurt. She rushed him very fast, hitting him in the chest. “How dare you say something like that to me, Daniel!”
To Daniel it was the straw that broke the camel’s back. “That does it!” he ground out. He got an arm around her lifting her half off the ground and pitching her onto the bed with such strength she bounced.
“Daniel!” She sat up in astonishment and gulped.
“You have to stop playing games with me.” He was breathing hard through flared nostrils, his powerful body tense, a vertical frown between his black brows, luminous eyes stormy.
“I will. I will,” she promised. Fear didn’t come into it. She wanted to calm him. “I’m sorry, Daniel. I wasn’t trying to turn you on. Not then anyway.” She couldn’t lie to him.
“Well you did!” He knew it was wrong, but he was too tanked up with desire to be able to turn off the engine.
“Come here!” He swooped on her, dragging her up against him feeling her fingers sink into the mat of hair on his bare chest.
“Daniel!” She made a soft yielding sound, pressing herself against him.
For an instant he was worried his beard might rasp her lovely skin. “Little witch!” he said hotly. “You should be using those little fists on me not urging me on.” He clamped her small slender body still closer against him, revelling in her female softness and the alluring scents of her hair and skin. He wanted to know the whole of her … so badly … so badly. With a shudder he speared his fingers into those buttery curls pulling back her head so he could take her mouth. It seemed like an eternity since he had last kissed her. He had never stopped thinking about it, how beautiful it was. He had her now!
His mouth covered hers, not hard but voluptuously. He found the touch and the taste exquisite, to be savoured. A primitive adrenaline was pumping through his blood, assisting his sense of mastery. His hands had a life of their own. They strayed over her throat and delicate shoulders, moving towards those small tantalizing breasts. The V neckline of her nightgown had fallen low; low enough for him to fondle her naked flesh. Her nipples came erect under his urgent fingers while a little moan came from the back of her throat. She arched her back making it easier for him to take first one then the other into his mouth. He lifted his head. Watched her face. Her eyes were closed but the lids were flickering with sensation.
He pulled her in tight, wanting her wild and wilful on the bed. She had a little wildness in her. He knew it. He wanted to strip that lighter than air nightdress from her. He wanted her to feel his hands all over her, exploring that sweet tender body that gave off a million sparks when touched.
She was making sounds, little kittenish mews he found incredibly erotic. There was a heat inside him he had never experienced before. Did she know those little mews were pushing him further along the hot narrow path of temptation? By now his need for her was so fierce he couldn’t be pushed one inch further. Every nerve in his body was electric for her. There was nothing he didn’t want to do to her. All was permissible between lovers.
Wasn’t that what he wanted to be, her lover? Her only lover. “Daniel!” Bright little explosions like stars were going off in her head. She was literally swooning in his arms.
Daniel misread her ecstasy. To him it sounded like the fevered gasp of the tortured.
He recoiled sharply. What the hell was he doing? Ravishing a virgin? Ravishing this slip of a girl he had sworn to protect? That jolted his heart.
He released her so abruptly, she pitched forward, her head whirling while she tumbled to the floor. “Sandra!” He was stunned; sick with shame. He picked her up bodily, embracing her, before he laid her on the bed. “I hate myself if that’s any comfort to you.”
/> “It isn’t!” Her voice was shaken, the sound vibrating inside her head. “You’re a caveman.”
“I don’t doubt it. But you’ve made me. You’re an enchantress.”
“Daniel, do you mean that?” Suddenly she was full of hope. If she could enchant him she was really on to something.
“Listen, I’m going.” Daniel read the swift speculation in her huge blue eyes. “I wanted to ravish you. I stopped just in time. Don’t you realise that?”
How to convince him she was ready? “Wherever you want to take me, Daniel, I’m prepared to go,” she said, mind and body flooded with love for him. “I never thought I was going to fall in love. I didn’t even think I would want a man too near me. I thought the way my creep of a stepfather behaved towards me I was somehow damaged. I hated being the object of lust.”
“Did you now!” Daniel was breathing fast, thinking if he stayed any longer he would really unravel. Her loveliness, her desirability was overwhelming. How was he supposed to combat all that? “I have to tell you, Sandra,” he gritted, “I lust after you, too. There’s a warning in there somewhere but you don’t want to hear it.”
“Then get out of my room if that’s how it is!” She felt bitterly rejected.
“Don’t worry, I’m going.” He speared his fingers through his thick pelt of hair, dragging it back from his tense face. “It’s damn near daybreak anyway. I’ll leave my door open. I won’t leave the homestead in the morning either until we find out exactly what went on here. Okay?”
“Morning can’t come soon enough,” she cried and punched the pillow.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
SANDRA slept so heavily she might have been drugged. In the morning Meg had to wake her to say they couldn’t find Elsa. She wasn’t in the house, nor anywhere in the home compound. Daniel had already sent out a search party to scour her usual haunts.
“She’s getting on you know.” Meg pleated and repleated the edge of her white apron in her agitation. “Never sees a doctor and she should. She’s often short of breath. Occasionally she wanders in her mind. You must have noticed that.”
“Of course I have, Meg.” Sandra was out of bed, fishing out clothes to put on. “She likes to visit the family cemetery. I hope Daniel will try there.”
“I don’t know about likes.” Meg looked dubious. “More like she’s driven. She does go there a lot. I’ll let you get dressed, love. I’ve got a bad feeling about this.”
It was when Sandra was halfway out the door she spotted out of the corner of her eye, a dark grey envelope that lay on top of the highboy.
“Wait a minute,” she said aloud, though no one was listening. She retraced her steps reaching for the envelope. It was addressed to her.
“Oh, God!” Sandra knew at once it was from Elsa though she wasn’t familiar with Elsa’s handwriting. A sudden wave of nausea rolled through her, which was odd. She took up a position on the nearest chair opening the envelope and withdrawing its contents; two handwritten sheets of a lighter grey paper embossed with Elsa’s initials EGK. Sandra found herself slumping back against the chair overtaken by a peculiar feeling of weakness and fatigue. She knew now from the bitter taste in her mouth and the unfamiliar sluggish feeling Elsa had given her not painkillers but some kind of sedative, maybe sleeping pills. It had been Elsa in her room, Elsa’s broken beads. Elsa gliding around the house like a ghost.
What she read in stunned horror and disbelief was Elsa’s confession. Her last words to anybody.
Alexandra, my dear, I find I can no longer continue. I know you will hate me now you learn the truth. I deserve your hatred. It was I who was responsible for your father’s death no matter Trevor was the last person in the world I intended to harm. Trevor was always kind to me as you are. It was your grandfather, my husband, I wanted to see punished for the uncaring way he treated me. I wanted love. I got rejection. The pain and the humiliation became too much. He never loved me. I wasn’t his beloved Catherine. I wasn’t what he wanted at all. My first husband had all but destroyed me; your grandfather did the rest. It was Rigby who was to visit the outstation that day. Rigby sent Trevor at the very last minute. I had known what to do to the Cessna to cause it to crash. I did it without a qualm. Not much of a motive I know, but I was different then. Afterwards I was changed forever. The guilt stripped me of my sanity. I’ve suffered terribly for my crime, Alexandra. But there must be an end. Scatter my ashes far away from Moondai. Far away from your grandfather. I never belonged here. The sea might be the place. I never meant your father harm. I’ve visited his grave countless times begging his forgiveness. But my crime is unforgivable. I’ll be made to suffer for it in the next life I’m sure. There’s no escape. Elsa.
Lloyd and Trevor returned to Moondai the very next day, the family closing ranks on the sudden death of a senior member. The cause of death was given as myocardial infarction or more commonly heart attack. It was noted, had Mrs. Kingston received emergency medical assistance or been close to a hospital she might have survived but she had chosen to take a long walk that day without telling anyone where she was heading. That alone had greatly lessened her chances of survival. It seemed Elsa had ignored many of the symptoms of heart disease for some considerable time without seeking help.
Whether Elsa had helped her death along, given her stated intention, Sandra would never know, but she couldn’t withhold Elsa’s secret from the family. They had a right to know.
“Poor Elsa,” Lloyd said afterwards, without any sympathy at all. “She started going to pieces from that day on. As well she should. Her problems were all of her own making.” He looked in a kindly fashion on his distressed niece. “My father did his best but pandering to a neurotic woman wasn’t in his nature. It was the first husband leaving her that really destroyed Elsa. At least I’m in the clear,” he added ironically.
“Tell me you forgive me,” Sandra begged.
“Nothing to forgive.” He patted her shoulder. “You were a child. You believed what you were told. Forgiving your mother is another matter. Are you going to tell her?”
Sandra shook her head. “I can’t see any point in making this public, either. Elsa had her secret. I think as a family we have to keep it, otherwise we start up another pointless scandal. Elsa is dead. It’s all over. Shall we take a vote on it?”
“Does Daniel know?” Berne asked. “We’ve nothing to fear from Daniel,” Sandra said. “All the same …”
“Leave Daniel to me, Berne,” Sandra said. “Well that’s it, I guess,” Lloyd Kingston said. “To the world we’ve lost a dear family member. We’re all sad which of course I’m not.”
“So much of life is sad,” Sandra said, thinking she would never get over the shock of it. “Elsa wanted her ashes to be scattered at sea.”
“I’ll take care of that,” Lloyd offered. “She was my stepmother though she never took the time to be one. In many ways she was quite simply, mad. I’m going back to Perth as soon as I can. Berne can come with me. The trip will do him good. I understand he wants to be an airline pilot.” “Sure do.” Berne smiled across at Sandra. “Then good luck, my boy. You’d better get on with it. You’ll have a lot to learn.”
“No problem!” Berne appeared entirely comfortable with the idea.
There was a memorial service for the late Mrs. Elsa Kingston in Darwin. Dying so soon after her husband, people acquainted with the family shook their heads in sympathy prepared in death to overlook the fact the marriage had been a disaster.
Outside the church people pushed forward to introduce themselves, or reintroduce themselves, offering a word of condolence or respect. From time to time Daniel touched Sandra’s elbow, dipping his dark head to murmur the names of people she didn’t know. The healing process with her own family had started, but Daniel was the one person Sandra wanted beside her.
“It’s Joel Moreland coming this way,” Daniel alerted her, easily spotting Moreland’s distinguished silver head among the crowd. “He has a lady with him. Seventies, beautifully dre
ssed. The sister-in-law I’d say.”
They approached, a handsome couple. Moreland looked even more impressive in his dark clothes. He certainly was a splendid looking man Sandra thought as introductions were made and respects paid. The lady was Moreland’s sister-in-law, Helen, widow of a younger brother who had never enjoyed good health and died prematurely at fifty-six.
Helen Moreland tried, but couldn’t conceal her shock at meeting Daniel, indeed her expression crumpled into tears.
“Now, Helen,” Moreland took her hand in a comforting grasp. “It’s all right, my dear.”
“I just can’t believe it that’s all,” Helen Moreland said, staring into Daniel’s eyes. “He looks exactly like you at that age, Joel.”
“I’m not sure I want to speak about this, Mrs. Moreland,” Daniel said, very quietly.
She put her hand on his arm. “But you must, my dear. Not here, I know. But you must hear what I have to tell you.”
“Perhaps you could join us at home,” Moreland suggested. He looked from Daniel to Sandra, his eyes resting on her as though she were a powerful ally.
“I’m sorry, sir,” Daniel said, courteous but firm.
Sandra turned to him immediately. “Perhaps you should, Daniel,” she urged. Secrets turned into terrible burdens. The best thing Daniel could do was let Mrs. Moreland tell him what she knew.
“Please, Daniel.” Helen Moreland lifted her gentle eyes that nevertheless missed nothing to his face. “Did you know Joel was christened Daniel Joel Moreland? His father was Daniel too so somewhere along the way to avoid confusion Daniel got to be Joel. Jared was christened Jared Joel Moreland.”
“Where is this leading, Mrs. Moreland?” Daniel asked, intensity in his voice.
“Why don’t we follow a bit later on?” Sandra smoothly intervened. “Any taxi driver will know where you live.”
“If that’s your wish.” Joel Moreland inclined his silver head. “Or I could send my man back for you.”
“I don’t seem to have much choice, do I?” Daniel turned away from an intense scrutiny of Sandra to ask in an ironic voice.
