Margaret Pargeter

by Sanja

  The mountains of the Middle Atlas are magnificent at any time, but by moonlight they reminded Ross of great pagan gods, stalking the bare, stony landscape, searching hungrily if still majestically for a greener land on which to set their jagged peaks.

  Armel had said little and Ross had been too dazed to say anything at all as he had literally taken her prisoner and, under his absolute control, brought her out here. The isolation was- so complete, their surroundings so stark, they might have been anywhere between heaven and earth, lost forever in measureless wastes of .space and—tranquillity. How deceptive appearances could be, Ross thought bleakly, as he parked the vehicle on the extreme crest of a rocky plateau with nothing, so far as she could see, below or beyond.

  'Monsieur,' her voice suddenly cracked as she stared around her nervously, 'are you sure this is safe?'

  'No.' He said nothing to reassure her as he turned slowly, reaching for her. 'But you might be safer out there, mademoiselle, than you could be in my arms 1'

  Ross's breath really did fail her now. What had she done, allowing herself to be dragged up here, by a man who must only regard her as an object of amusement? Where was her good sense, her pride? Did her heart have to throb so with his breath on her cheek, his arms closing tightly around her trembling body?

  'Armel!' She had to speak, but apparently he was of the opinion they had wasted too much time already. Taking no notice of her anguished plea, he thrust back her head, liis fingers determined under her chin.

  'You are going to tell me this instant what all these tears are about? This aura of unhappiness that is quite unmistakable !'

  For Ross the time for subterfuge had passed. There was nothing she could do but answer, not with his intent, merciless gaze fixed so unwaveringly on her. 'It was because of your visitor, the girl you love,' she whispered, through frozen lips.

  He had the ner.ve to smile 1 With abject despair she watched it spread with a trace of complacency across his face. 'It pleases you to laugh!' she cried, on the verge of anger.

  His mirth, if that was what it had been, faded. 'Oh, Rosalind,' he said sofdy as he lowered his head, 'the small rose with the thorns that I found in my desert!' His mouth found hers, as it had done so many times before, and we was gentle, yet he was not gentle at all. He carried her with him ruthlessly through dizzying heights of sensation, until she could only cling to him, unable to disguise any longer the desire which threatened to consume her. His arms were hard and she could feel the mounting strength of his passion until, at last, with a frustrated groan, he released her and she turned her burning lips against his throat.

  He said, his face pale, his voice curiously sober, 'Do you think I could kiss you like that if I loved another woman? Didn't you realise it was you I cared about? You whom I love?'

  Ross couldn't believe it, not to begin with. 'But this girl?' she raised her head and tried to search his dark face. 'The one you were engaged to.'

  'Dearest,' there was a slight smile again as he drew her back to him, 'I can see you won't rest until I explain about her. It was three years ago, we were both in our early thirties, and it was a sort of mutual agreement. She was looking for an ambitious, well-known husband—she didn't need wealth as she has more than enough of her own. Besides, I have a certain amount myself and I was also thinking of a wife. I imagined it might lend a certain dignity to my career, and as I had never been in love I was of the firm conviction, by this time, that it simply did not exist. I was still of this belief until I met you, cherieV

  'But why did you break your engagement?' Ross asked faindy.

  'I didn't,' he confessed briefly. 'It was she, and I must admit that for a long while it made me feel bitter. When my hand was damaged and it seemed I would never be able to operate again she found I was no longer attractive. She even said my injuries were repulsive, although I expect this was more of an excuse.'

  'Then why did she return today?'

  'I'm afraid my well-meaning aunt told her I was likely to resume my work in Paris, and Rona had found no one to take my place. This afternoon, my darling, it was my unfortunate task to persuade her that she really didn't want me at all, that she would be much wiser to concentrate on the obviously adoring admirer who brought her here in his plane.'

  Wide-eyed, Ross gazed at him tremulously. 'You didn't seem to so much as like me. You thought me too impulsive I'

  'Yes ...' He covered her face with soft kisses. 'But what else was I to think, you little wretch I You had followed your half-brother so blindly into an impossible situation, and did the most foolish things. But it was my own emotions I understood least, something I in no way appreciated 1 I felt I had to be harsh, otherwise I might easily become demented I I can't truthfully say I fell in love the first moment I saw you,' he teased wryly. 'It took me several hours to comprehend why a man of my wide experience should have been so shocked by that first moving little act of yours in the nomad's tent. Why I was so struck by a pair of dazzling blue eyes. For what you made me feel, I wanted to both love and punish you at the same time. When you ran off with Salem it was bad enough, but when Moulay turned up I think I went occasionally, quite mad with jealousy, mignonne. I vowed I'd carry you off and force you to marry me there and then, but of course I had to remember how young you were, that you probably didn't know your own mind. Then, when we returned here and I spoke with your relatives and realised how they thought of you, how they had treated you, I was even more convinced you must be given a chance to know something more of life. Why,' he tilted her chin to look closely at her again, 'I wasn't even sure that you loved me.'

  'But I did, all along!' Ross whispered fervently. 'At least,' she amended to his slightly raised eyebrows, 'I think I realised the first time you kissed me. I wanted to be near you always, yet I grew so frightened of my emotions I dared not stay. Like you, Armel, I had never been in love before. This was why I tried to escape with Salem. And I was jealous myself,' she admitted, shamefaced, 'even about the clothes you gave me to wear. I couldn't prevent myself wondering if they belonged to another woman.'

  His white teeth glinted with a teasing amusement. 'They did, my darling—my aunt. Each time I set out on my research she always presented me with huge bundles of clothing to distribute among the poorer people who perhaps never got near a town to buy such things.'

  'Oh, I see.' Ross felt her face flush with remorse at her former suspicions. 'I'm sorry, Armel . ..'

  'Forget it, ma chere,' he commanded. 'I want you to forget a lot of things for the time being, including your family. One day we will go together and visit them, but not yet. Next year, perhaps.'

  'I don't think they really mean to be unkind,' Ross excused them hastily. 'But,' her thoughts swung erratically, 'I haven't grown much older in the past few days?'

  'No,' his firm mouth quirked, 'but my patience has. In fact it has quite given out! I have allowed myself to be convinced that, more than any outside experience, you need me. Your tears, this evening, cherie, drove me almost to distraction, and if you love me at least half as much as I love you, it will suffice. So, Mademoiselle Lindsay, if you can forgive all the cruel things I said to you in the desert, we will be married just as soon as it can be arranged.'

  Bemused beyond words, Ross could only nod. 'I love you,' she managed at last, her eyes, very softly, seeking his. . She heard his breathing deepen, felt his mouth go tender with delight. 'Enough to perhaps live another year in the desert?' he asked.

  'I don't mind where we go, as long as I am with you,' she whispered.

  'Together,' he murmured thickly, finding her lips, and not seeming to care, this time, that she was left without breath to either speak or nod. Above them the moon, sailing arrogantly over the high slopes of the Middle Adas, slipped obligingly behind a cloud.

 

 

 
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