‘Power?’ she echoed.
‘To make or break my life.’
His very lack of emphasis lent poignancy to his words, and her doubts dissipated like water in sand. For the second time that day she was filled with joy, and this time it did not vanish. She would become Alex’s wife.
But first she had to tell him her identity. Even as she went to do so, the memory of Andrea intruded. How would the girl react at learning her friend was going to marry the man who had discarded her? Without question she would be hurt, but Marly, now that she had come to know Alex, was certain his proposal to Andrea had been a genuine one, and that not until they had started living together had he realised it had been a mistake. But Andrea was unlikely to see it that way, ego being what it was, and would doubtless be hurt at what she’d regard as Marly’s disloyalty.
However, she did owe Andrea an explanation, and until she had spoken to her it didn’t seem morally right to give Alex his answer.
‘I can’t consider your proposal while—er—while Fiona believes she’s going to be your wife,’ she said in her primmest voice. ‘It isn’t seemly.’
‘Your favourite expression!’ Humour creased his face, though it grew serious as he went on, ‘Then it looks as if I’ll have to return to England with Fiona and break the news when she’s in the bosom of the family.’
‘Will it be awkward for you?’
‘A damn sight less awkward than having to be her husband!’ He came a step closer. ‘Don’t play games with me, Marly.’
‘I’m not.’ Raising herself on tiptoe, she placed her lips upon his, then drew back and, putting her palms together, lowered her chin to her fingers in a most obeisant wai.
‘Please stop doing that to me,’ he protested.
Knowing she would, once she had managed to speak to Andrea, Marly lowered her chin further still, then with a light laugh ran fleetly across the sand to the house.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
NEXT day, their last one before returning to Bangkok, Marly still tried to avoid being alone with Alex. She was sorry they weren’t returning to Bangkok immediately, instead of tomorrow, for then she could have telephoned Andrea and abandoned her role-playing. What a relief that would be! She was fed up to the teeth with acting the gentle charmer and longed to revert to her normal, sparky self.
But how would Alex react to her real persona? Her docility might have occasionally irritated him, but he had undoubtedly enjoyed feeling he was the one in control. But then what man didn’t?
‘What are the plans for today?’ Kevin questioned as, breakfast over, he perched on the balustrade overlooking the turquoise sea.
‘I fancy going to the sports club and getting in some water-skiing,’ Alex said.
‘Good idea,’ the Australian enthused. ‘Going to join us, Fiona?’
‘No, thanks, I’m for a lazy morning.’
‘Still feeling off-colour?’
‘Not at all,’ she shrugged, and flipped through a pile of magazines on the small table beside her.
Brief shorts and bikini-top drew the eye to the lovely line of her body, and her skin had acquired a deeper tan that accentuated the corn-gold of her silky hair. Despite the violet smudges of tiredness beneath her eyes, she was a truly beautiful girl, and Marly, watching her, was astonished that Alex, with his appreciation of women, had not proved susceptible to her.
‘Will you join us, Marly?’ Alex quizzed.
‘Not even if you paid me! I tried it once and thought my arms would be pulled out of their sockets. I’ll stay and keep Fiona company.’
‘You didn’t need to stay behind,’ Fiona remarked as the two men drove off in the small runabout that belonged to their host. ‘I don’t mind my own company.’
‘I stayed because I wanted to. We’ve hardly had a chance to talk to each other.’
‘I don’t think we’ve much to say. Unless you want to talk about Alex?’
Marly’s heartbeat quickened, though her smile was easy. ‘It isn’t good policy to discuss the man one is working for.’
‘I shouldn’t think it good policy to fall in love with him either. Not that I blame you. Most women fall for him but luckily I’m the only one he cares about.’
Marly said nothing and Fiona sat up straighter and stared at her defiantly.
‘We are getting married, you know. That’s why I came out to see him—so we could decide on the date.’
‘You’ve already told me that.’
‘But you don’t believe me, do you?’
‘The question is whether you believe you!’
‘What’s that supposed to mean?’
But Marly felt she had said enough—too much if truth be told—and nervously waited for Fiona to press for an answer. To her relief the girl didn’t, and Marly found this psychologically telling, for it showed that she didn’t honestly believe in the engagement she was continually parading. Then why did she do it? Was it because she hoped to bludgeon Alex into submission?
‘I love Alex,’ Fiona said into the silence, her eyes shimmering with tears. ‘He means everything to me. No matter how busy he was he always had time for me, even when I was a child. His kindness and silly teasing helped me face the unbearable.’
‘I know,’ Marly sympathised, and looking into the flushed face appreciated why he had found it difficult to end her dream. But it was a nettle he had to grasp, and the sooner the better. Pushing back her chair, she rose. ‘I’m for a swim. It’s the only way to cool off.’
Not waiting to see if Fiona would join her, she padded down to the water’s edge and walked along the shoreline for several hundred yards before plunging in. What an ideal spot this was for a honeymoon, she thought as she floated on the buoyant waves, and envisaged herself and Alex alone here.
What would he be like as a lover? Passionate, certainly, but it would be tempered with gentleness if his kisses were anything to go by. Still, the pundits said you never knew what a person was like as a lover until you were their lover. Of course she could always ask Andrea. The shock of the thought—it had come unbidden into her consciousness—caused her to sink beneath the water, and, spluttering and gasping for breath, she surfaced and made for the beach.
But the thought could not be left behind, and an image of Andrea and Alex lying next to one another, naked and in abandonment, filled her mind’s eye, engulfing her in pain. Grow up, she chided herself, sinking on to the sand. You didn’t expect him to be a virgin, did you? He must have made love to innumerable women so why get uptight about one in particular? It isn’t logical.
Yet logic had little to do with emotion, and the pain remained with her. If only it hadn’t been Andrea. Any of her other friends wouldn’t have mattered so much, but Andrea was close to her, second only to Nan, and it was agonising to think the same hands that would be caressing her breasts had caressed Andrea’s, that the sensual mouth which had plundered hers had driven deep into the mouth of a girl with whom she had shared all her hopes and dreams. With a moan she buried her head in her hands, willing herself to be adult, to see that the past was past, and that only the present and the future counted.
After several moments of soul-searching, Marly raised her head and breathed deep of the sea-breeze air. Jealousy had been overcome if not obliterated, and she was confident that given time this too would happen. But she did not see Andrea ever being part of her life again. Nor would her friend want it. It was a sad thought and it lay heavy on her heart as she rose and returned to Fiona, who was still lying on a sunbed on the veranda.
A plate of mangoes and papayas, peeled and cut into the shape of flowers, which was something the Thais excelled at, had been set on the table, and Marly helped herself to a fruit.
‘Care for one?’ she asked.
‘No, thanks. I felt ill again in the night so I’m giving my tummy a rest.’
‘Why not let Kevin take a look at you?’
‘It isn’t necessary. I just ate too much. In fact I think I’ll tell Sumalee to count me out for
lunch.’
‘I’ll do it. I want to go in and shower anyway.’
Marly gave the housekeeper the message, then went to her room. She had a shower and was drying herself when she heard Alex talking on the telephone in the living-room. He was checking something with his secretary, and at the sound of his crisp voice she experienced such an urge to see him that she almost tiptoed out to beckon him into her room. No need to wonder what would happen if she did! Suffice it to say Fiona would have hysterics. Smiling at the thought, she dropped the towel and slipped into shorts and top.
Kevin and Fiona were in the living-room with Alex when Marly joined them.
‘We’re going out in the boat,’ Kevin informed her. ‘I haven’t been on it yet and Alex is taking us round some of the islands.’
‘I hope we won’t have any more engine trouble,’ she answered with a straight face, and swung round to the tall, tawny-haired man who had come to stand beside her. ‘You should have some lessons in boat maintenance, Alex.’
‘You have to be kidding!’ Fiona giggled before he could reply. ‘There’s nothing he doesn’t know about boats.’
Marly raised wide-apart brown eyes in his direction. ‘Really? Then how is it we were marooned the other night?’
‘One of those freak happenings,’ he replied, meeting her gaze without so much as a blink. ‘Even an expert can be flummoxed.’ He moved to the door. ‘I suggest we get moving. Sumalee’s prepared us a picnic and we can have lunch on board.’
They set off in high spirits, as befitted the cloudless blue sky, golden sunshine, and azure sea glinting pure and clear as crystal. If there was pollution in their waters there were no visible signs of it.
Within half an hour Phuket was a smudge on the horizon, and they lolled on deck eating stuffed chicken wings, spicy tiger prawns—large and pink—and tiny ears of corn, marble-size aubergines, and bowls of cardamon-scented rice.
Fiona merely picked at her food, and later was content to lounge on deck while everyone else went swimming, giving the excuse that the Bucks Fizz Alex had served at lunch had made her sleepy. But Marly suspected she was feeling far from well and was putting on a brave face so as not to spoil their day.
It was dusk when they finally returned to the house, and Alex announced that he didn’t know about anyone else but he intended having a couple of hours’ sleep.
‘Me too.’ Fiona leaned tiredly against his side. ‘Will we be dining in or out?’
‘I’ve booked a table at the yacht club. As it’s our last night I thought you two girls would welcome a chance to dress up.’
‘What a super idea. I bought a black dress in Paris that will knock you out!’
‘You’d be a knock-out in a sack,’ Kevin said.
‘Which doesn’t say much for your fashion sense!’
‘Maybe not. But it says a helluva lot for your figure!’
Fiona had to laugh, though the look she cast Alex was faintly aggrieved. ‘Why don’t you ever compliment me? You’re always so serious.’
‘It’s my age,’ he retorted. ‘I’m what’s known as the older generation.’
‘Don’t be silly. You’re in the prime of life.’
‘I’m years older than you, my dear. It may not be apparent now, but you’d notice the gap ten years from now. You’ll still want to go out dancing while I’ll be happy to sit and read by the fire.’
‘Rubbish.’ Fiona punched him playfully on the arm. ‘You’re the most active, energetic man I’ve met, and you’ll be the same when you’re sixty—just like your father.’
Marly heard Alex’s faint sigh and knew exactly how he felt. He could go on talking in this vein till the cows came home and it still wouldn’t persuade Fiona they were wrong for one another. Only the brutal truth would do that. Echoing his sigh, she quickened her pace, unwilling to listen to any more of the conversation.
Later that evening, bathed and dressed, she surveyed herself in the mirror and wished she was wearing one of her own dresses instead of Nan’s. Not that the pink silk cheong-sam wasn’t beautiful; it was, but it was at variance with her own style, which her friends called high fashion, and her mother referred to as gimmicky!
Still, if she managed to contact Andrea tomorrow she could confront Alex in the evening as herself—providing they managed to sneak time together without Fiona finding out. Marly frowned, wondering when the girl was returning to England and whether he’d be flying back with her.
Picking up her hairbrush, she brushed her glossy black hair. It fell like a velvet cloud to her shoulders, enhancing her air of fragility, but again it was a false picture of her, for she was a strong girl with a forceful personality. Again she wondered if Alex would be dismayed by this, and could not quell a frisson of anxiety.
As she came on to the terrace, she saw him standing by the wooden railing, staring out at the moonlit ocean. At her step he turned and came towards her, impeccably dressed in white trousers and black crocodile Gucci belt, with a thin, black cotton open-necked sports shirt, the sleeves rolled up to reveal bronzed, muscular arms.
‘Do you know this is the first time we’ve been alone today?’ he said deeply.
Before she could answer, Kevin appeared in the doorway. ‘I think we should get Fiona to a hospital.’
‘Why? What’s wrong?’ Alex demanded.
‘She has violent stomach pains and I think it’s appendicitis.’
Alex strode swiftly into Fiona’s room, where she was lying on the bed, her face pale and glistening with sweat.
‘Sorry to be such a nuisance.’ She smiled wanly. ‘I’m sure Kevin’s fussing over nothing.’
‘I’m sure he isn’t,’ Alex replied bluntly, leaning forward to clasp her hand. ‘He’s a doctor, sweetie, and they don’t make a fuss without reason.’
‘I still think I can hang on until we get back to Bangkok.’
Alex glanced at Kevin. ‘What do you think?’
‘She should be in hospital now.’
‘In that case there’s nothing further to discuss.’
A call to the yacht club ascertained that there was an excellent hospital a few miles away, and within the hour Fiona was installed there and had been seen by a surgeon, who confirmed Kevin’s diagnosis and said she should be operated on immediately.
‘Can’t I fly back to Bangkok and have the operation there?’ a tearful Fiona pleaded, holding tightly to Alex’s hand. ‘You’re all going back tomorrow and I’ll be left here alone.’
‘No, you won’t,’ he soothed. ‘I’ll stay with you.’
‘You can’t. You said you had some architects flying in from Hong Kong and—’
‘They’ll wait for me. I’m the client, my dear, and too valuable a one for them to make a fuss. Now stop worrying.’
Tears rolled down her cheeks. ‘You’re so good to me, Alex. I’m being a dreadful nuisance, and—’
‘You aren’t. You’ll ill and I want to be with you. It’s what brothers are for.’
‘You aren’t my brother.’
‘I feel as if I am,’ he said softly, stroking her hair. ‘Relax and stop worrying.’
Fiona went to reply but the injection the doctor had given her was already taking effect, and her eyelids drooped shut over eyes already becoming unfocused.
‘There’s no reason for you to stay with Fiona,’ Kevin said to Alex as she was wheeled away and they all retired to the waiting-room. ‘I’ve a few days left of my vacation and I’m more than willing to remain here.’
Marly found her heart beating faster as she waited for Alex to reply. She knew he didn’t love the girl, yet he had been so tender with her that jealousy had reared its head again.
‘Thanks for the offer, Kevin, but I think it’s my duty to stay. Fiona’s very dependent on me, and—’
‘She’ll go on being dependent unless you do something drastic.’
‘I intend to. But when she’s recovering from an operation is hardly the time.’
‘It’s the best time,’ Kevin argued.
‘I know it’s none of my business but I think Fiona’s problem is she’s scared of being left alone—the way she was when her parents died. She became fixated on you, and she can’t let go. But if she were forced to transfer her dependency to someone else—which she’d have to do if she were left here with only me to turn to—it might make her realise you aren’t the only man she can rely on.’
‘I doubt if it will be that simple,’ Alex muttered.
‘It’s worth giving it a try.’
‘If it works, I hope you know what you’re letting yourself in for?’
‘I do.’
The two men looked at each other and came to an unspoken agreement, and Marly, watching them, couldn’t help thinking how differently two women would have handled such a situation. Certainly not as quickly, nor with such a lack of Angst.
It was well after midnight when they returned to the house, having stopped off for a meal in the coffee-shop of one of the main hotels. Marly was very tired and went straight to bed, but once there found she could not sleep, beset by a nameless anxiety that finally coalesced into the fear that when she told Alex she loved him and disclosed her identity, he would be so furious, he would walk away from her.
After all, he was a proud man, and to discover she had thought so badly of him that she had wanted to pay him back for his behaviour might raise a host of questions in his mind; the most important one being why, once she had got to know him and fallen in love with him, she had not come right out and asked to hear his side of the story.
There was no answer to this, of course. Well, there was an answer, but giving it would be like waving a red rag at a bull. How did you tell a man you instinctively sided with a woman when a male-female relationship didn’t work out?
* * *
‘It’s been a marvellous few days, Marly,’ Alex said gruffly over coffee in the departure lounge, where they sat waiting to fly back to Bangkok. ‘But it would have been even better if we’d been on our own.’
‘It wouldn’t have been possible,’ she chastised in her sweetest tone.
‘I realise you could never have gone away with me unchaperoned,’ he said huskily.
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