Caribbean Cocktail

by Jane Corrie

  He had already ruined her afternoon's sightseeing tour, she thought bitterly, so he might as well make a day of it by ruining her evening as well, she told herself in a vain attempt at jocularity to minimise her disappointment. The infuriating thing was that she had had no choice in the matter, since it was obvious that Greg Storn and Sylvia were acquainted with one another.

  From then on Cassy had no expectation of an enjoyable evening, although Sylvia had every expectation, for her escort, a tall blond, healthy-looking young American, was more than just interested in her, and was touchingly shy about it, making his interest a nice change from the usual brash approach adopted by so many males.

  The panoramic view from the outdoor dining patio of the hotel, that was situated opposite Paradise Island Bridge, would have been so much more appreciated by Cassy under any other circumstances, but as it was she gazed out at the palm-fringed bay lit by floodlighting, and beyond that to the star-filled sky, feeling cheated once again out of what might have been a wonderful experience.

  Considering her feelings, it was not surprising that she took little interest in the subject of food, and the menu handed to her by Justin received scant attention, and she handed it back to him saying in a voice devoid of emotion, 'I'll leave it to you.' Afterwards she wished that she had stipulated that she was not too keen on 'fried squid with garlic sauce', neither would she appreciate 'turtle steak' !

  As far as food was concerned it appeared her luck was in, for Justin ordered steaks, and something called

  `peas and rice', that sounded an unlikely combination, but was a Bahamian speciality.

  The peas were pigeon peas, and not the familiar type of garden peas used at home, and reminded Cassy of the sultana flavouring in curries made at home. She would have liked to have made a few enquiries as to where the name derived from, but was in no mood to make conversation, for the question would have to be asked of Justin, as Sylvia and Greg were indulging in a gay exchange of quips on golfing terms.

  The sweet was another Bahamian speciality and was called 'Bahamian Ambrosia', consisting of pineapple, mangoes, bananas and cherries, with shredded coconut mixed in ginger ale, and was highly palatable, even to Cassy's slightly depressed taste buds.

  In spite of Cassy's reluctance to indulge in conversation, the foursome was a gay one to all other intents and purposes, and Justin was soon assisting Greg in initiating Sylvia into the mysteries of golf, and seemed content to let Cassy play a minor role in the proceedings. It was only when Sylvia called her attention to a happening some time ago that involved her father that Cassy felt his interest stray from the subject of golf and concentrate on her, and by the way his eyes slightly narrowed as they rested on her, she could almost sense his thoughts, and longed for the end of the evening.

  When dinner was over Cassy found her ordeal was only just beginning, as the strains of dance music drifted towards them from the hotel, and Greg asked Sylvia if she would like to dance. To Cassy's consternation, she accepted with an eagerness that made Cassy wonder how she could have been so cruel as to leave her stranded with Justin.

  Justin asked her if she would like to dance, too, and the look he sent her when she gave a swift, 'no', made her hastily explain that she was not much good at it, and how she would hate to embarrass him.

  `There's not much chance of that,' he replied dryly. `All you have to do is follow my lead. Well?' he challenged her with a mocking look in his eyes.

  The next moment Cassy found herself being escorted to the dancing area, wondering just how he had managed to manipulate even this small victory, and that she had a lot to learn about this enigmatic man.

  `One quick step, and then two,' said Justin, when a few minutes later she found herself in his arms amidst a throng of dancers.

  Any hopes that she might have been secretly nursing that he might fall over her feet, that were bound to be in the wrong position at the right time, were soon diminished by his expert guidance, and her feet glided into the rhythm of the dance with surprising expertise.

  So much so that Justin was prompted to drawl, 'You learn fast,' and made her miss the next step as she searched for the underlying meaning in his words, and stared up at him with a wary look in her eyes.

  `I meant dancing,' he added, with a touch of irony in his voice, and drew her nearer as he corrected their steps.

  From what had been a reasonable distance between them, he was now a little too close for comfort for Cassy, and she felt a wave of weakness wash over her as his clasp tightened on hers, and made her concentrate on her steps with almost fanatic fervour in the

  hope that if she got it right again he would lengthen the distance between them.

  'Why don't you just relax?' he said softly, as she made yet another error. 'You're trying too hard.'

  This at least was certainly true, and Cassy knew it but could do little about it. 'Perhaps if you gave me a little more room to manoeuvre,' she said breathlessly.

  I was managing all right before, wasn't I?' she added complainingly.

  'So you were,' he said with a hint of amusement in his voice, and with a deep sigh released her to her former position. 'Pity, I was enjoying myself,' he teased her with a mocking light in his eyes.

  It was too late now to regret her earlier words. She might just as well have said, 'Your nearness is disturbing me,' and be done with it. It was the truth after all, and the worst part about it was that he was well aware of it and found it amusing. In spite of her twenty-two years, she was made to feel very young and very inexperienced, and she didn't think she had disliked anyone as much as she disliked this suave tanned specimen, not even her Uncle George, who in comparison to this man was now appearing in quite a kindly light !

  The next dance was a waltz, and Cassy, thinking she had had enough tuition for one night, started to walk towards the perimeter of the dance floor before Justin could claim the dance. She could always say she was tired, couldn't she? she told herself stoutly as she reached the edge of the dance floor, but Justin had other ideas, and she found her hand caught just as she was about to join the watching crowd standing around the floor.

  'You'll find this much easier than the quickstep,' he

  said breezily, and whirled her into the dance, giving her no chance of refusal.

  He's enjoying making me feel uncomfortable, she thought with a sense of disbelief, and wondered if he had become so fond of Sylvia that he was out to punish her for causing Sylvia so much sorrow. It had to be that, there could be no other explanation for his extraordinary behaviour, since she had not missed the fact that each time they swirled round to the beat of the music, he held her closer than was strictly necessary in spite of her earlier request that they should keep their distance.

  It looked as if he had meant what he had said about her getting to know him before she left the island, and if this was a taste of what was coming, Cassy wondered if there was a chance of getting an earlier flight back to the U.K. ! As much as she had wanted to see the rest of the island, it looked as if it would be far safer if she finished her tour in an armchair by the fireside, reading a travel book from the library!

  By the end of the evening, Cassy had learnt how to dance. She had also learnt something else, and that was that she was afraid of Justin Pride. Out of her resentment of his high-handed manner came a fear she had never experienced before, and inexperience was the cause of it. She had tried to act offhand with him, tried to show him in little ways that whatever his opinion was of her, it did not matter one whit to her, but she had failed miserably on all counts, and had to admit defeat.

  It wouldn't have mattered quite so much if she had not felt so strongly attracted to him, and hated herself for her weakness, and even if she had had the experi-

  ence she knew she lacked in such circumstances, she had to honestly admit to herself there would be few women who could have handled the situation, or even have wanted to.

  A few words from Sylvia was all that was needed, she told herself bitterly, as she took
her place beside Justin in the car at the end of the evening, and felt a surge of resentment at Sylvia's happy chuckle at something Greg had said. The quietness that prevailed afterwards told its own story, and Greg appeared to have lost a little of his shyness in the dark confines of the back seat.

  When they arrived at Cassy's hotel, she knew a sense of thankfulness and did not linger on her farewells. 'See you tomorrow,' called Sylvia, and Cassy muttered, Not if I can help it,' in a low voice, but found to her utter frustration that Justin intended to see her into the hotel.

  `Please don't bother,' she said swiftly, feeling panic rise in her at the thought of him seeing her to her room and maybe wanting a 'thank you' kiss for his trouble.

  As it turned out, he saw her to the lift, then giving her a wicked grin, said, 'See you,' as the lift doors closed between them leaving Cassy, weak with relief, on her own.

  The next morning she slept late, and did not wake until nine. This was most unusual for her as she was normally an early riser, and she could only put her late awakening down to the time change.

  Even so, it was a most annoying state of affairs, as she had promised herself a day on her own, and had planned to ring Sylvia' s hotel early the next morning

  and leave a message for her to that effect—early enough for her to be well away on whatever tour she had chosen by the time Sylvia was given the message.

  One thing was certain now, and that was that with Greg Storn on the scene Sylvia would not lack company, and the fact that Sylvia was not averse to his attentions gave Cassy no conscience qualms on this score.

  She gave an impatient sigh as she emerged from the shower. All she could hope now was that Sylvia had overslept too, and knowing her, Cassy knew this was highly probable; she had never been an early riser in the past.

  The phone rang as she was in the middle of dressing, and she gave an exasperated sigh as she picked up the receiver expecting to hear the smooth tones of Justin Pride outlining the treats in store for her that day.

  `I'll be over in ten minutes,' said a happy-sounding Sylvia. 'If you haven't had breakfast yet, we'll have it together. I've just waved Greg off, he's playing a match this morning, and Justin's got some business to attend to, so we'll have to amuse ourselves. Anyway, I rather fancy a lazy day, how about you?' she queried.

  `That's fine by me,' answered Cassy. Anything was fine by her as long as she could avoid Justin Pride's company.

  By the time she was ready to go down to breakfast, Sylvia had arrived, and the two girls took breakfast on the sunlit patio of the hotel.

  At the end of the leisurely meal, Sylvia sat back and raised her face to the warm rays of the sun, then looked at the hotel beach in the distance where gay parasols

  were dotted here and there, and the residents were reclining in loungers and lapping up the tropical sunlight.

  Cassy followed her look. I think that's a very good idea, don't you?' she suggested with a twinkle in her eye. 'Might as well see if we can get a tan, too.'

  I was hoping you'd say that,' enthused Sylvia. 'There's plenty of time for us to see the rest of the island, and I do feel lazy,' she gave Cassy a grin. I brought swimsuits for us. I was sure you wouldn't have brought that tatty old blue one of yours, and I don't suppose you bothered to buy another one, did you?'

  Cassy's eyebrows raised at this. 'Well, I wasn't given much time to think about such mundane items,' she said dryly as the girls made their way back into the hotel to change into their swimsuits.

  A short while later they were stretched out on the white sands and letting the heat of the sun seep into their torpid limbs. A large parasol above them protected them from the intensity of the rays as the morning wore on, but the warmth was enough to make them lethargic.

  'Poor Cassy,' murmured Sylvia a little drowsily. 'Did Dad give you a bad time?'

  Cassy blinked a little, and brought her mind back to the subject Sylvia had raised, although she would much rather have continued watching the small white breakers rolling up to the beach. 'Well, he didn't have it all his own way,' she answered, thinking about the stipulation she had made about the kennels, and realised with a spurt of wonder that she hadn't given

  the kennels much thought since she had set foot on the island.

  'In fact,' she mused, 'I ought to be grateful to you. I would have had a much harder time persuading him to let me have the kennels. As it was, I used this trip as a lever, and it worked.'

  Sylvia raised herself on one elbow and looked at Cassy. 'I thought it was all cut and dried,' she said. 'I couldn't see Mrs Peel selling out to anyone else.'

  `She might have had to,' replied Cassy musingly. `There was a time factor involved, you see. She'd found this cottage and was terrified someone else would beat her to it, so she had to have a quick sale, and that meant that I had to approach your father to sell some of my shares in the firm. Not that that worried him, he would buy them up himself, of course, but it did mean I would be moving out and not always available to arrange those dinners he's so fond of giving,' she paused, and gave Sylvia a smile. 'So I'm ashamed to say I used a little blackmail on him. Said I'd come out here and talk to you if he arranged for me to buy the kennels.'

  `It wasn't blackmail, Cassy, it was standing up to him,' ,said Sylvia solemnly. 'It's the only way to make him understand that you mean what you say. That's why I'm sticking it out here, and I can't think of a nicer place to make a stand, can you?' she asked with a hint of humour in her voice.

  Cassy lay back and stretched out her legs in an utterly relaxed action before she, answered a little plaintively, 'No, I'm in perfect accord with you there. My only complaint is the way you selected me for the villainous role in your highly imaginative farce.'

  Sylvia let out a low chuckle. 'I thought it was quite good myself,' she said, without a trace of apology. 'It didn't put Justin off, though, did it? I noticed you were getting quite chummy during the dancing.'

  Cassy sat bolt upright at this and stared at Sylvia. `Correction,' she snapped, 'he was trying to get chummy with me. There is a difference, you know. And while we're about it, don't include me in any further tours with him. I can't stand the man!' she added crossly.

  `Me thinks the lady cloth protest too much,' misquoted Sylvia with a wide mischievous grin, and gave a moue of mock sorrow. 'Poor Justin! I had a feeling he was quite interested in you.'

  `Of course he is!' Cassy retorted smartly, 'only because he's sorry for you. He has a dig at me every chance he gets—and it's not as if it's any of his business—and I told him so!' she added heatedly. `So if you really want me to enjoy what's left of my holiday, count me out of any further plans he might come up with.'

  `Oh, dear,' said Sylvia softly, 'he did get your goat, didn't he?' She gave a loud sigh. 'Perhaps it wasn't such a good idea after all, and I was sure everything was going to be all right,' she added wistfully, then shot Cassy a look from under her long blonde lashes. `I don't know what excuse I'm going to make for you,' she said worriedly. 'It's not going to be easy fooling him.'

  Cassy's lips folded obstinately at this. 'You surprise me,' she answered curtly, 'I thought it was incredibly easy to fool him. Tell him we've had another row; tell him I'm absolutely determined to continue my pur-

  suit of the golden goal—tell him anything—I just don't want another day in his company !'

  Sylvia's eyes widened as she stared back at the vehement Cassy, then she looked swiftly away again and swallowed. 'I'll tell him the truth,' she said quietly. `I ought to have owned up when you arrived.'

  For a second Cassy was tempted to accept Sylvia's belated attempt to put things right, but at a vision of the furious Justin reading the riot act to Sylvia, and r offering his apologies to herself, she almost shuddered. Sylvia did not know that it was really fear of the man that had made Cassy react in this totally unnatural manner. Had it been anyone else but Justin Pride, she t would have shrugged the whole episode off, and perhaps even seen the funny side of it, but her sense of humour did not stretch that far
, particularly when the man concerned had such a spellbinding effect on her.

  `Oh no, you don't!' Cassy got out breathlessly. 'Don't you dare own up now. It's much too late, don't you see that?' She caught Sylvia's hand. 'Look, dear, I'm not really blaming you for what happened,' she sighed. 'In a way I blame myself for not realising just how unhappy you were. If I hadn't been so caught up with my own affairs this wouldn't have happened.' She squeezed her hand. 'I'm as much to blame as you are. It's just that that man gets me on the- raw. I can't explain it; he's too smooth, and too ...' she searched for the right word.

  `Too kind?' finished Sylvia with one eyebrow raised and a certain knowing look in her eyes.

  `That wasn't the word I was looking for,' replied Cassy ironically. "Sophisticated" is more apt, don't you think? Anyway,' she went on quickly, 'I'm deter-

  mined to keep out of his way from now on, and I'm relying on you to help me to do this.'

  `But that means that I won't see much of you while you're here,' complained Sylvia mutinously.

  Cassy shrugged lightly. 'Well, you can't have it both ways, and I want your promise that you'll leave things as they are, and not complicate the issue by making any more confessions, true or untrue. Agreed?' she asked the crestfallen Sylvia, who gave a miserable nod of agreement. 'Good ! ' went on Cassy feeling as if a load had been taken off her. 'And cheer up! There's bound to be days when our mutual friend is otherwise occupied, like this morning, and we can always get together again—just give me a ring so that I can keep the morning or the afternoon free. Not,' she added meaningly, 'that I imagine that you'll have that much free time, going by the way a certain young man was looking at you last night!'