by Janet Dailey
‘I did no such thing!’
‘Let me rephrase it,’ he said patiently. ‘It was after meeting you and having her curiosity aroused that she invited us to her party.’
‘She never gave us a chance to say whether we could come or not. We could have made other plans for all she knows,’ Sabrina argued.
‘But we don’t have other plans, do we? There isn’t any reason why we can’t go to her party for a short while.’
‘I don’t want to go. That’s a good enough reason for me.’ Her chin jutted out defiantly.
‘No, it isn’t,’ Bay replied in a voice that said he would not be swayed by any more arguments.
‘You’re a bully, Bay Cameron!’ Sabrina accused lowly, slumping in her seat.
‘A gentle one, I hope,’ he chuckled softly.
‘A bully,’ she repeated with no qualifying adjectives.
Bridling at the way Bay had maneuvered her again into a situation not of her choosing, Sabrina couldn’t concentrate on the direction they were taking. She lost track of the turns and eventually stopped guessing what streets they were on. The absence of any heavy traffic indicated a residential area, but she had no idea what section of the city they were in.
The car slowed down and turned into the curb. ‘Here we are,’ Bay announced, switching off the motor and opening the door.
Sabrina said nothing, sitting in mutinous silence as the door opened and closed on his side. In her mind, she watched him walk around the car to her door, judging almost to the second when he opened her door. Stubbornly she didn’t move.
‘Are you coming in with me or are you going to sit in the car and sulk like a little child?’ Bay mocked softly.
‘If I have a choice, I’ll stay in the car,’ she declared coldly.
‘Sabrina.’ His sighing voice held indulgent patience in its gentle tone. ‘Are you really going to let some strangers intimidate you into staying in the car?’
‘They don’t intimidate me.’
‘You’re afraid to go in. What other word fits?’
‘I’m not afraid,’ Sabrina asserted forcefully.
‘Of course not,’ Bay agreed in a deliberately disbelieving voice.
‘I’m not!’ she repeated angrily.
‘Whatever you say,’ he agreed again with the same inflection. ‘If you’re going to stay in the car, I suggest you lock all the doors. I’ll be gone about an hour.’
‘You’re not really leaving me here?’ Sabrina frowned, tipping her head back, not certain any more if he was teasing or serious.
‘You said you’d rather stay in the car,’ Bay reminded her complacently. ‘I’ll put in my appearance and explain why you couldn’t come.’
‘You wouldn’t dare tell Mrs. Thyssen that I’m sitting out here in the car?’ she breathed. But her question was only met with silence, a silence that held an affirmative answer. ‘You’re completely without scruples,’ she grumbled, turning to slide her feet out of the car, his hand reaching out for her arm to guide her safely to the sidewalk.
A maid admitted them into the house. The sound of warm, friendly voices filled the foyer entrance. It seemed to come from several directions, indicating that the party was larger than the small gathering that had been Sabrina’s impression.
With her evening jacket in the maid’s possession, Bay took her arm and led her in the direction where the majority of voices seemed to be coming from. Her mouth tightened in a grim line.
‘Smile.’ Bay’s order was whispered near her ear.
‘No.’ But the severe displeasure of her expression lessened.
Sabrina was unaware of the faintly regal tilt of her head, accenting the swanlike column of her neck as they entered the room. Her queenly posture and the softly molding flame-colored gown drew as much attention to her as was given to Bay. Since he was acquainted with most of the people there, the expressions of greeting were offered to him.
Stubbornly Sabrina didn’t acknowledge any of them. Only the white knuckles of the hand clutching the ivory cane revealed the inner tremblings she felt at being in a roomful of strangers.
From their right, the instantly recognizable voice of Mrs. Pamela Thyssen called out to them. ‘Bay — Sabrina! I’m so glad you could come.’
Sabrina’s greeting when the woman was beside them consisted of only a polite ‘hello.’ She did not intend to lie by saying that she was glad to be there.
Bracelets jangled from the older woman’s wrist. The hand that grasped Sabrina’s free hand was heavy with rings, small and large. Her perfume was a comfortable, old-fashioned scent of violets.
‘Bay, be a dear,’ Pamela Thyssen commanded. ‘Go and fetch Sabrina and me a drink. I’ll take my usual and bring Sabrina the same.’
’really, Mrs. Thyssen,’ Sabrina started her protest, but Bay had already moved away from her side, ‘I don’t care for anything to drink.’
‘Neither do I. My usual happens to be iced tea,’ the woman murmured in a confidential aside. ‘That’s a little secret between you and me. A hostess is expected to drink at her own parties or the guests don’t feel free to imbibe. Iced tea looks sufficiently like drink to make the others feel at ease. So relax, my dear, I shan’t attempt to free your tongue with intoxicating beverages.’
‘I doubt if you could,’ Sabrina answered almost beneath her breath.
‘You have spirit. I like that,’ Pamela pronounced. ‘I’m Bay’s godmother. Did he tell you?’
‘No.’ Was that the reason for the woman’s apparent curiosity about her, Sabrina wondered to herself.
‘His parents are in Europe on a second honeymoon. Louise, that’s Bay’s mother, and I grew up together. We’ve always been very close friends.’
‘He mentioned they were in Europe,’ she confirmed, since there seemed little other comment she could offer.
‘I’ve been admiring your cane. It is ivory, isn’t it?’ There was no pause for a reply. ‘It’s a beautiful piece of workmanship, and so elegant as well. Where did you ever find it?’
‘It was a gift — from a friend,’ Sabrina added after a second’s hesitation. Bay could tell the woman himself if he wanted her to know it was from him.
‘A special friend?’ the woman queried in a prompting way.
‘A friend,’ was the only explanation Sabrina offered.
‘How long have you been blind, Sabrina?’
‘Almost a year.’ Her chin lifted fractionally as if to say she did not want any probing questions into her past.
‘And how long have you known Bay?’
‘About two months. Mrs. Thyssen — ’ Sabrina began, taking a deep breath in the hopes of switching the conversation to some other topic less personal, hopefully without offending the other woman.
‘Speak of the devil,’ Pamela Thyssen murmured, cutting her off in midsentence. ‘That didn’t take you very long, Bay. Thank you.’
The clink of rings against a glass accompanied the words. In the next instant, Bay’s voice said, ‘Here you are, Sabrina,’ and a cold glass was placed in her outstretched hand. ‘How have you two been getting along while I’ve been gone? I see by the queenly tilt of Sabrina’s nose that you must have been prying already, Pamela.’
‘Not prying, Bay,’ Pamela corrected with a laugh. ‘I was merely trying to find out more about her.’ In absent musing, she added, ‘She does have a queenly air about her, doesn’t she?’
‘Please, I — ’ Sabrina started another protest, but it wasn’t allowed to be completed either.
‘ — don’t like to be talked about as if you weren’t here,’ Pamela Thyssen finished the sentence. ‘I know very well what you mean and despise it myself. But it was meant as a compliment. Sabrina and I don’t need a referee, Bay. Why don’t you go and circulate or something? Let me have her for an hour. I’ll take care of her.’
Sabrina turned in Bay’s direction, her lips parting in a silent plea for him not to desert her. For a fleeting second she thought he was going to debate the other woman’s req
uest.
‘You’re in good hands, Sabrina,’ he said quietly. ‘Pamela won’t let you fall. I’ll see you later on.’
The line of her mouth thinned angrily as he moved away. First he maneuvered her into coming to this party attended by strangers, then he deserted her! Irritation seethed beneath the surface at her inability to escape from the situation on her own. Independence could only be attained to a certain point, after that she was at the mercy of those around her.
‘Come, my dear,’ Pamela Thyssen hooked her arm in Sabrina’s, ‘I want to introduce you around. I try to choose my friends carefully, so with luck we’ll avoid meeting any snobs.’
Gritting her teeth silently, Sabrina was practically forced to accompany her hostess. The following flurry of introductions and new voices were difficult to assimilate and put the correct name to the appropriate voice.
There was not one condescending remark or patronizing comment regarding her blindness. The main topic of conversation was the performance that evening. Several of the people she met had seen her at the theater and inquired about her opinion. Everyone’s interest in her seemed to be friendly without pitying overtones. Gradually Sabrina’s defensive attitude relaxed.
‘Tommy, why don’t you let Sabrina sit in that love-seat with Mrs. Phillips?’ Pamela Thyssen suggested in the firmly ordering tone. ‘The armrest is just to your left, dear.’
The glass of tea, empty now, was taken from her hand as the searching tip of her cane found the front edge of the small sofa. Willingly Sabrina sat down. The obstacle course of strange names and voices was beginning to tire her and she guessed that the astute Pamela Thyssen had sensed it. She conceded, but only to herself, that Bay had been right when he said he was leaving her in good hands.
‘That’s an absolutely stunning dress you’re wearing, Miss Lane,’ the woman at her side stated, obviously the Mrs. Phillips that Pamela had mentioned. ‘I noticed it in the theater.’
The compliment was followed by the woman’s lengthy dissertation on the difficulty she had finding clothes to fit her properly and how uncomplimentary the present styles were to her figure. Sabrina listened, inserting a monosyllabic answer when she thought one was required but letting the other woman carry the conversation.
The sensitive area on the back of her neck began to tingle. Sabrina instantly guessed the cause. Bay Cameron had to be somewhere near. Her radar was seldom wrong where he was concerned. Pretending a concentration on the woman speaking to her, she strained her hearing to catch any sound that might pinpoint his location.
Then came the husky caressing sound of a feminine voice, vaguely familiar although Sabrina couldn’t place it. ‘Bay darling, I didn’t expect to see you here.’
‘It’s a surprise running into you, too,’ she heard Bay answer calmly. ‘I thought you didn’t care for Pamela’s parties. I thought they were much too tame for you.’
‘A girl can change her mind, can’t she, darling?’ the voice purred.
‘And a man can always wonder why?’ Bay countered.
‘Actually a little bird saw you at the theater tonight and passed the word on to me. I took a guess that you might bring your little sparrow to Pamela’s party.’
’did you?’ was his noncommittal reply.
‘I don’t think I’ll ever understand that streak of charity you possess, Bay,’ the silky feminine voice said. ‘I mean, why do you have to take such a personal interest in the poor girl? Why can’t you simply give her a bunch of money and be done with her? You certainly can afford it.’
Sabrina stiffened. She couldn’t help it. The only saving grace in the whole situation was that she doubted anyone possessed the acute hearing that blindness had given her and Bay’s conversation with the woman wasn’t being overheard by anyone but herself.
‘Would that be your solution, Roni?’ he murmured in a low voice. ‘Sometimes I think when they were handing out compassion, you went back to the line marked “passion.” ’
Roni. That was the name of the girl who had been with him that one day at the Yacht Harbor. Sabrina also remembered that Bay had said they were going to take in an ocean sunset, a romantic offer if she had ever heard one.
‘Is it so bad,’ the woman named Roni was speaking again, ‘to be passionate, Bay?’ Her voice was a caressing whisper that Sabrina could barely understand.
‘Not in certain situations.’ He sounded amused, as if he was remembering times when he had not felt the need to criticize Roni’s passion. Sabrina’s blood started to boil, temper bubbling hotly to her nerve ends.
‘Tell me, darling,’ Sabrina had the impression that the girl moved closer to Bay in an intimately confiding manner, ‘you aren’t trying to use that blind girl to make me jealous. Isn’t that just a little ridiculous?’
‘Why? She’s a very attractive girl,’ Bay stated, without denying the charge.
‘But she’s blind,’ Roni reminded him. ‘I know you must feel sorry for her. We all feel pity for those less fortunate than ourselves, but how cruel it must be for the girl when she eventually discovers that all the attention you’ve been giving her is because of pity. I don’t think she’ll thank you.’
‘Knowing Sabrina, she would probably slap my face if — ’ Bay drawled.
But Sabrina didn’t listen to the rest of his statement. She had heard enough. Her stomach was twisted into knots of tortuous pain. A black nausea attacked her head, swirling in sickening circles as she rose to her feet, unmindful of Mrs. Phillips’ continuing voice.
‘Excuse me,’ she interrupted sharply. ‘Mrs. Thyssen?’ Her questing voice searched for the location of her hostess somewhere nearby.
‘Yes, Sabrina.’ Pamela Thyssen was instantly at her side, a curious note in the voice that answered her summons.
Sabrina swallowed, trying to calm her screeching nerves and make her voice sound as natural as possible.
‘Would you please direct me to your powder room?’
‘Of course. It’s this way. Come with me.’ A ringed hand guided her from the small group. ‘Are you all right, Sabrina?’ Pamela Thyssen asked in a concerned tone. ‘You look pale. Are you quite sure you’re feeling all right?’ her hostess repeated.
‘Quite sure,’ Sabrina forced a smile of assurance.
Free of much of the party, they turned into what Sabrina guessed was a hallway. Her nerves were raw. The voices in the other room seemed to take on a higher pitch. Although she tried desperately, she couldn’t block her hearing.
‘Here we are,’ Pamela stated. ‘The door is directly to your left.’
Sabrina stopped, letting her cane determine the distance to the door before she turned to her hostess. ‘Thank you, Mrs. Thyssen.’
‘Would you like me to go in with you?’ the woman offered hesitantly.
‘No, that’s not necessary.’ Sabrina wanted solitude and quiet to get her chaotic senses back in order.
‘I’ll wait out here for you then.’
‘No,’ Sabrina refused swiftly, then drew a breath and made her voice sound calm. ‘I can make it back on my own. I can’t keep you from your guests. Just give me an idea of where I am and I’ll find my way back. I’m really quite good at following directions.’
The older woman hesitated, then gave Sabrina a simple set of directions to follow back to the main party area. After thanking her, and assuring her again that she was all right, Sabrina walked unerringly to the door, aware that her hostess watched. Fortunately no one else was in the room and Sabrina had it to herself. The closed door reduced the voices to a low hum.
The exploring tip of her cane touched a chair leg. Sighing heavily, Sabrina sank on to the velvet cushion. A vanity table was in front of her and she rested her arms on its smooth top. But the silence didn’t stop the racing of her mind.
She had always wondered — she had always questioned Bay’s motive for seeing her. Secretly she had stopped believing it was because of pity. Bay had used the word compassion, but not even that less offensive word eased the stabbing
hurt of the conversation she had overheard. And he was letting pity for her serve a twofold purpose. While he was charitably spending a night or two a week with Sabrina, he was trying to make this Roni jealous.
Her fingers balled into tight fists. Damn this acute hearing! She moaned silently. No, another voice inside remonstrated her, she should be glad she had discovered his real motive. She was lucky she had regarded him as nothing more than a friend and had found out the truth before she had begun to misinterpret his attention. How awful it would have been if she had started to care for him as a man!
The problem was — what was the next step? Should she confront him with what she had learned? That was what she wanted to do. She wanted to throw his charitable, pitying words in his face. But what good would that do? He would simply deny it as he had all the other times.
Bay Cameron was smooth and cannily intelligent — that was something Sabrina mustn’t overlook. Look at the way he had maneuvered her first into accepting the ivory cane she used, then going out to dinner at a public restaurant and finally coming here tonight to this party of strangers. Well, the last had backfired. Now Sabrina knew his true colors.
The door opened and a woman walked in. Her voice as she greeted Sabrina was familiar, but she couldn’t recall the woman’s name. Self-consciously Sabrina smoothed the back of her hair, pretending that she was in front of the vanity table checking her appearance. With fingers crossed, she hoped the woman wouldn’t tarry long. Unfortunately she did, and each passing second ticked loudly in Sabrina’s head.
At last Sabrina knew she couldn’t stay any longer without arousing suspicion. She had already been in the room a considerable time. She didn’t want Mrs. Thyssen sending a search party for her. If only she could slip away from the house, she wished, as she rose to her feet. She didn’t want to go back to the party. It was taking on the overtones of a nightmare.
But where would she go, she asked herself, pushing open the door to the hall. Even if she could sneak away unseen, there was little likelihood there would be a taxi cab cruising in this residential neighborhood. She doubted very much if she could hold her tongue during the long ride home with Bay.
