The Island Bride

by Jane Corrie

  She wished it was as simple as that, but there was more to it. Deep in her heart she knew he was as attracted to her as she was to him; she had known it from the moment her eyes had smiled into his at the cocktail party, and she had fallen in love with him at that precise moment even though she had tried to ignore the fact.

  She angrily brushed away a tear that had escaped and spilled over. What a time to think such thoughts! She was not the only woman he had been attracted to, and she would not be the last; it was not her fault that he had had a sad childhood, yet in a subtle way he was exacting payment from those unfortunate enough to come within scope of his magnetic attraction.

  Poor Paula, she thought sadly, and she had thought her so lucky. Was she still at that impressive home of Pierre's? she wondered, hoping against hope that he would change his mind. At this point

  another thought entered her mind, and Pierre's call suddenly began to make sense. She was still there! She was sure of it; there had not been much time for her to arrange her departure—so that was it! She had tried to make a comeback and that call to Cara had been Pierre's answer !

  Cara took a deep breath. So it did make sense after all, and there was no call for panic stations or was there? Would he still come at six? She swallowed. If Paula was still at the villa, then he most certainly would come, but if she had departed ... She shook her head. He would come—there might be a lot of things she was not certain about, but not that!

  She jumped out of her chair and started mechanically straightening the cushions on the divan that were perfectly straight before she started, but she needed something to do, anything that would take her mind off one tall and very charming man who had blue eyes that looked right through your very being, and who had only to hold his arms out to her and she would fling herself into them. She wouldn't care about the future, not then; it was afterwards that she would have to face up to that.

  Feeling like a trapped animal, she stared around the room. She had to get out of this place, accepting the lease had been the start of everything, but where could she go? It was then that the hostel came to mind, and with it Maaua. Maaua would know how she could apply for residence.

  The next moment she was searching for the hostel's number in the telephone book, and finding it her trembling fingers dialled the number. Please let her be in,' she whispered as she listened to the

  rings the other end as the connection was made.

  When the call was answered she asked for Maaua and held her breath when the girl who had answered the phone said that she would see if she was there. A second later, Cara's pleas were answered and Maaua came on the line.

  'Cara here, Maaua,' she said breathlessly. 'How do I get a room in the hostel?'

  'You just apply,' answered Maaua, sounding a little puzzled. 'You work at the hospital, so you'll have no trouble. The room next to mine is empty at the moment. Do you want me to book it for you?' she volunteered helpfully.

  Cara gave a sigh of utter relief that was not lost on the kindly Maaua. 'Oh, yes, please,' she breathed thankfully.

  'Hold on, then,' Maaua said quickly, 'I'll just go to the office and see about it for you.'

  Gratefully Cara hung on, glad that she had one friend that she could rely on.

  'It's okay,' came Maaua's slightly out of breath reply, 'you can have the room. You just fill in a form when you arrive.'

  'Can I come right away?' demanded Cara hopefully.

  'Sure you can,' replied Maaua. 'I'll give you a hand with the luggage. Be right over.'

  Cara replaced the receiver; bless Maaua, she must have been curious, yet she had not asked one question. Her step was light as she ran up the stairs and commenced packing. Her clothes were pushed in willy-nilly with no thought for neatness, just as long as they went in the cases. She couldn't wait to get out of the villa and all it represented.

  True to her word, Maaua arrived just as Cara had finished packing,. and together the two girls made their way to the hostel. There were three cases in all, Cara carrying the heaviest one and Maaua the two lighter ones.

  Upon arrival at the hostel, Cara duly signed the register, and was taken up to her room by Maaua. It was large and very airy, and very impersonal, but that did not worry Cara. As far as she was concerned it was a palace, and she was sure she was going to be able to settle down there with no trouble at all and feel protected by the fact that she was one of many residents in the building, and would not be answering the telephone, particularly as she was on the first floor and the phone was in the hall on the ground floor.

  With Maaua sitting on the bed gravely watching her as she unpacked, Cara knew the time had come to do some explaining. 'It seems,' she began lightly, 'that you were not the only one who remembered a certain happening on the day I left Totorua, and whoever else remembered it, passed the news on. I don't suppose they did it deliberately—not to make trouble, that is, but unfortunately a few people have made two and two add up to five.' She shrugged casually. 'I thought it might be better if I left the villa, less embarrassing, if you see what I mean.'

  Maaua nodded, 'Could have been anyone,' she said musingly. 'There's several people from the village working at the hospital.' Her large brown eyes met Cara's. 'Sister Dufour's very good at ferreting out information,' she said slowly. 'I didn't say anything, Cara.'

  Cara smiled at her, 'I know you didn't, Maaua,' she said gently. 'But I think I can see how the news got around now. In a way it was my own fault; I told her that I used to live on the island.' She sighed. 'Well, the damage is done now, and there's mischief making about, and I'm not going to encourage that.'

  'What does Monsieur Morelon say? Does he know you've left the villa?' Maaua asked.

  Cara replied to the second half of the question, not wanting to discuss the first. `No, he doesn't know as yet,' she replied tersely. 'It was my decision, but I'm sure he'll agree,' she added firmly. 'What are the mealtimes here, Maaua ?' she asked quickly, wanting to change the subject.

  Maaua told her, but was not so easily put off. 'I think you ought to have talked it over with him,' she said, reverting back to the earlier subject. 'He doesn't seem to be the kind of man who would take any notice of that sort of gossip,' she mused thoughtfully.

  That, thought Cara wryly, was exactly what she had thought, but had since been proved wrong. There were, she had to admit to herself, a few more side issues to the whole business that could have been straightened out if she had only the sense to speak up at their first meeting. It was much too intricate to go into with Maaua, and the least said the soonest mended. Suffice to say that she had decided to leave the villa and leave it at that. 'Perhaps,' she said answering Maaua's observations, 'but I prefer things this way.'

  To Cara's relief, Maaua had a date after lunch and would not be back until later that evening, and

  as fond as she was of Maaua, not to mention grateful, Cara was afraid that should they spend the rest of the day together, she would soon find herself telling her about Pierre's visit, and worse still, the ensuing events.

  A short while after Maaua had left, Cara put a call through to her uncle, and when the club's receptionist could not locate him for her, she left her new telephone number for him to ring her later.

  She spent the rest of the afternoon finding her way about the hostel, that although consisting of only two storeys, an island building regulation, still covered a wide area, and she was pleasantly surprised with the facilities provided. Everything had been catered for, from a laundry room to a room for study, the latter being very necessary as some of the girls were sharing accommodation and would invariably have to sit for exams at one time or another.

  When it was six o'clock, Cara debated whether to stay in the hostel for her evening meal or go out to one of the roadside cafés, then she remembered that her uncle might ring her and that she ought to be there when he did. There was also the overriding thought that Pierre would be calling at the villa, and in all probability would go out looking for her when he found that she was not
at home, and recalling his autocratic concession of not minding if she wished to spend a few hours on the beach, she thought he would probably head for the beach.

  She swallowed. Yes, she was much safer where she was; he would not be in too good a mood when he realised that she was not going to play any more

  charades with him, and that he would have to find another leading lady.

  Ten minutes after six there was a knock on her door and a cheery girl told her that she had a telephone call. 'A man,' volunteered the girl. 'Asked for Miss Vernon. I said we hadn't anybody of that name here, but he said you were a new arrival— so I asked in the office. My name's Kate, by the way, my room's just off the hall so I usually get to answer the phone,' she explained with a smile.

  Cara smiled back at her. 'I'm Cara,' she said as she followed the girl down the corridor. 'You won't get many calls for me, but I did ask my uncle to ring me.'

  When she reached the hall where the telephone was located, she searched about in her mind for a plausible story to tell her uncle as to why she had left the villa, and by the time she picked up the receiver an excuse had come to mind. She would say that she was lonely and had decided to move in with the other girls from the hospital. He would understand that, for he had said at one time that she might find it a bit lonely on her own. 'Hello, Cara here,' she said quickly.

  'I hope you haven't unpacked,' came Pierre's smooth voice on the other end of the line, 'because you'd better start packing again. I'll be over to pick you up in fifteen minutes' time. I need an occupant for that villa,' he added harshly.

  Cara gasped at his audacity. 'I'm sure you'll have no trouble in finding a new tenant,' she answered curtly. 'I'm staying here.'

  'You'll damn well do what you're told,' he replied furiously. 'Fifteen minutes, I said. If you're

  not ready then, I'll help you with the packing, understand?' The receiver was slammed down his end, leaving Cara staring at her silent one.

  He couldn't—he wouldn't She swallowed.

  Oh, but he would—of this Cara was in no doubt! He had evidently decided he would rather deal with her than with Julia. If the villa was empty, Julia would make another bid for the lease and this time he would be hard put to it to refuse. For one mad moment Cara considered ringing her at the hospital, and if she wasn't there, finding out where she could be located and putting her into the picture. She could rely on Julia to do the rest, something on the lines of, I've moved into the hostel, if you're still interested in the villa, you should apply for the lease.'

  She glanced at her watch. Five minutes of that fifteen minute deadline had passed and still she stood in an agony of indecision. Finally she made a dash back to her room and started packing. It wasn't that she was a coward so much as she had a good imagination and could see what would happen if she attempted to stand her ground.

  Pierre was so well known that his visit to the hostel was bound to cause a few speculative remarks, and if he dragged her out as he had threatened to do, then the place would be agog with the news. At least, she told herself firmly, she would go of her own free will, for the moment anyway, but would not cancel her room. She might not get another one and the chances were that she would need a bolthole in the very near future!

  As she carried her suitcases down to the entrance of the hostel, Cara found herself fervently hoping

  that her departure was not observed, and as it was a holiday her hopes were fulfilled, for there was not one onlooker to her furtive departure proceedings, and wishing to keep this state of affairs she moved her cases out of the hostel and a little way away from the entrance.

  The crunch of wheels on the gravel drive of the hostel told her that Pierre had arrived, and she barely glanced at him as he relieved her of her luggage and put it in the Mercedes. She did not acknowledge his brief, 'Well done!' either, but silently followed him back to the car and got in the front passenger seat as indicated by him.

  As they travelled the short distance back to the villa Cara kept her eyes straight ahead, well aware that her companion gave her several speculative side looks from time to time. He was extremely pleased with himself, that much she knew, and she wished she could flatten his ultra-ego. His attitude gave her food for thought, too, almost as if he had not expected her to toe the line, yet she was practically certain that the fact that she might not agree to return to the villa had not even been entertained by him. He was too used to getting his own way, so it had to be something else.

  When they arrived at the villa, Pierre opened the door with a key he selected from his key ring, and the action gave the now wary Cara a tiny shock, for she still had her key in her pocket, and the action gave her a sense of outrage, even though he had told her that he had a key to the villa.

  After placing her cases beside the stairs, Pierre gave an abrupt nod towards the sitting-room and Cara had no choice but to go ahead of him, but the

  storm signals were gathering in her eyes as she took the lone chair by the window, indicating her annoyance with his high-handed action. 'I'm not staying,' she said, as firmly as she was able, 'and apart from locking me in, there's nothing you can do about it!' she added challengingly.

  'And I,' he said meeting her eyes warningly, 'do not intend to let my fiancée take up residence in a hostel—any hostel, we'll have that understood for a start. I want you where I can reach you at any time, and I certainly do not intend to have my telephone calls relayed by half a dozen young ladies, or messages passed on.'

  Cara blinked at him, 'Not half a dozen,' she murmured bemusedly, 'only Kate,' then caught herself up. She must be as crazy as he was! 'We're not engaged,' she said swiftly. 'I have only been introduced as your fiancée to get you out of a mess.'

  'In front of a dozen press men,' he reminded her cruelly, yet he was smiling.

  'Then we'll give another press conference,' she retorted smartly, stung by his obvious amusement at the situation. 'This time we'll revoke it. We can have a public row if you like,' she offered sarcastically.

  'We'll have a thundering row long before that if you don't stop baiting me,' he growled ominously. 'You should have spoken up then, it's too late now. If you've any second thoughts you can forget them.'

  Cara stared at him dumbfounded, `S-se-cond thoughts!' she spluttered. 'I didn't have a chance, and you know it!'

  He gave a complacent nod at this. 'What else did you expect? I wasn't going to risk actually asking

  you, not after you'd given your views on the matter earlier, so you can take it as read. I thought perhaps the seventh of next month,' he went on casually. 'That will give you time to work a month's notice. You won't want to leave them in the lurch, will you?'

  Cara continued to stare at him, wanting to shake her head to clear the fog that had descended on her senses, then a wave of fury washed over her. Who was doing the baiting now? 'Not the seventh,' she ground out, 'not of next month or next year, or ...' she stopped in mid-sentence as she watched Pierre take a purposeful step towards her.

  'I warned you once,' he said with a glint in his eye that frightened her.

  She got up from her chair and took a step back, then found her retreat cut off by the window with Pierre still advancing. 'Don't you dare touch me, Pierre Moreton!' she cried, now really frightened. 'Can't we talk this over sensibly?' she pleaded.

  Pierre took one last step towards her and pulled her into his arms, then looked down into her wide eyes and then at her soft full lips. With a gentleness she did not think him capable of, he kissed her lightly, his lips only touching hers for a brief second, and moving on to caress her closed eyelids. 'Give up, Cherie,' he said softly. 'I knew from the moment you walked into my office that I was going to see a lot more of you. Call it fate, or what you will—we belong.'

  His lips descended on hers again, but no longer gently; it was as if he had to prove to her that she was his and he would brook no denial. Whatever Cara had thought his kiss would be like, it sur-

  passed her wildest dreams, and she was lost to all else b
ut the fact that she loved him desperately.

  When he did give her respite, lie looked down at her flushed countenance and over-bright eyes from out of which shone the love that he had evoked, and with a groan he pulled her hard against his body, so close that she could feel his beating heart. 'A month's too long, cherie,' he said in a voice that told her how much he wanted her. 'Perhaps you ought to go back to that castle after all.'

  'And have our messages relayed?' she teased him lightly.

  He gave a grin and kissed her swiftly. 'Be it on your own head, then. I think perhaps I'd better throw a few more parties!' He looked down at her hand now resting on his arm and studied her slim fingers. 'What kind of ring would you like?' he asked.

  Cara's eyes filled with tears of happiness as she whispered, 'An island ring of coral.'

  His answer was to crush her to him once more. 'Whatever my lady desires,' he said huskily.

  A short while later, she stirred in his arms and looked up into his strong face. 'Are you hungry?' she asked, thinking that he had probably missed his evening meal.

  Pierre's eyes twinkled back at her. 'Very,' he said solemnly.

  Cara blushed rosily. 'I didn't mean that,' she said primly, correctly interpreting his meaning. 'You know what I meant.'

  He put his dark head against her cheek. 'Are you?' he countermanded, putting the ball into her

  COWL

  Cara sighed. 'Not really, but I do think we ought to move. I don't really want to go back to the castle, as you put it.'

  With a gentle push Pierre tipped her off his knees and out of the chair they were sharing. 'We'll have dinner out, then,' he said grandly, adding a warning of, 'If you're not ready in ten minutes flat—we. stay.'

  Cara needed no second warning and picking up the two lighter cases raced up the stairs to get changed, hoping she had at least one presentable dress in one of the two cases, as she could hardly put in an appearance at the sort of restaurant Pierre would take her to in the casual slacks and tank top blouse that she wore.