by Anne Hampson
Determined not to appear as a ‘little mouse’ next time, Dominie asked Jake to drive her into Charlotte Amalie, as she wished to buy an evening gown.
‘Let me pay for it?’ he begged as he parked the car at the back of Veterans Drive. ‘It would make me happy to do so.’
But Dominie shook her head.
‘I’ve left most of my money at the Purser’s Office on the ship,’ she said, ‘but I have enough to buy a dress.’
‘You’re a most independent girl,’ he sighed, but took her arm and led her across the car park and along the road to where a shady little alleyway, with seats set out under the palms, led to the shopping centre.
‘Does this alley have a name?’ asked Dominie, enchanted with it.
‘Yes, it’s called Hibiscus Alley—No, it isn’t; that’s the next one. This is Jasmine Lane.’
‘It’s fascinating! Are there any more?’
‘Orchid Row. They’re really part of the shopping area, as you can see—’ Jake gestured towards the brightly-lit shops lining the alley. ‘The whole is called Beretta Centre, and it’s said to be the most attractive shopping area in the whole of the Caribbean. You can buy anything from expensive jewellery and perfume to glass and china and leatherwork—everything you can possibly think of. If you want a reasonably-priced dress I’ll show you where to go; if you want a high fashion creation from Contessa Bemardini then you must go to The Spanish Main.’
‘The Spanish Main? Is that a place to buy clothes?’
Jake merely nodded in answer to her question and some strange tingling of anxiety possessed her even before he said, a few moments later,
‘Let me buy you a dress, Dominie—a really beautiful one.’
She shook her head swiftly.
‘It’s kind of you, Jake, but I must buy my own.’
‘Very well,’ resignedly but with a small sigh which plainly told her that to buy her a dress would afford him exceeding pleasure.
They entered several shops, but Dominie saw nothing she liked and she could not help thinking of the pretty clothes she had left on the ship. Suddenly they were looking in a window where no fewer than three lovely evening gowns caught her eye.
‘These are what I was telling you about. You’ll find them very expensive.’ Jake was ready to walk on, surmising that she would not be interested. In the ordinary way she would have looked, admired, and gone off to find something more suited to her pocket. But stabbing at her consciousness were Rohan de Arden’s words, ‘Who would look at a little mouse like Miss Worthing?’ and also Sylvia’s amused giggle and her response, ‘She is funny, isn’t she? Fancy coming to the party in a dress like that. I just gasped at the little dowd...’
Dominie had never before been called a dowd. She was pretty, to say the least; this she knew without being immodest. True, she could not compete with the exotic beauty of Sylvia who in any case was six years younger than she, and who, never having known poverty or sorrow, looked even younger than her years. But although she could not compete in looks with the girl she could at least be as beautifully gowned.
‘We’ll go in,’ she decided, and, concealing his surprise, Jake followed her into the shop. She had forty pounds in her purse; the dress was one hundred and fifty dollars. Ridiculous even to think of it, she chided herself, and turned to Jake before she had time to allow her common sense to override her desire. ‘Would you lend me the rest? I’ll send it on to you immediately I get home.’
‘I’ll give it to you—Please, my dear. You look so ravishing in it. Let me pay the difference.’
‘I’ll just borrow it, Jake,’ she returned gently, and once again he gave a little sigh. ‘And now for my hair,’ she was saying presently. ‘Can you tell me the best place?—and—er—lend me a little more money?’ What had come over her? She was being utterly shameless, asking for these loans from a man she had known less than a fortnight. But she was determined to show those two arrogant creatures! They would eat their words when she appeared at the dinner-party in her expensive gown, with her hair done by Charlotte Amalie’s most exclusive hairdresser. ‘Do you think I’ll be able to make an appointment—or will they be booked up?’
‘We can but try, my dear.’ Jake smiled affectionately at her. ‘You’re going to stun them all!’
That, she told herself, was her intention! Those two particularly, though. She would be proud, too, and even haughty with Rohan, should he deign to speak to her, as surely he must, seeing that she was his guest.
The dinner was at the Virgin Isle Hilton, where one corner of the Frangi-Pani dining-room was reserved for Rohan and his guests. These included the Osbornes, a young couple who owned a chain of boutiques in the Virgin Islands, the Meads, an elderly couple who were retired and lived about a mile from Rohan and, of course, the Fortescues.
Dominie arrived with Jake, who an hour before had just stood and stared at her, almost speechless with admiration. She would be the most beautiful and elegant lady there, he had at last declared, when he had managed to find his tongue.
A waiter appeared and conducted them to the Foolish Virgin Bar where all but the Meads were already gathered for drinks. Rohan was the first to see them; he smiled at Jake before his eyes moved to Dominie ... and then he seemed to catch his breath, and the smile faded for one amazed second before, recovering, he said graciously, striding towards them from his place at the bar,
‘What a charming companion you have, Jake.’
Dominie’s head was held high, but at this she inclined it slightly and said with faint hauteur,
‘Thank you, Mr. de Arden,’ and she saw his amber eyes flicker, and move from her face to her hair, beautifully coiffured, and then his eyes swept downwards, the full length of her dress. It was of heavy white satin trimmed with hundreds of tiny coloured beads on the collar and hem. The mandarin collar was all that held up the front; her shoulders and back, flawless and tanned to a rich golden brown, were bare. The toe-length skirt was slit at one side to well above the knee. It was the most glamorous gown Dominie had ever owned and on getting it home after buying it she had suffered an hour or two of sheer agony at her extravagance as she dwelt on the cost for one evening only, as it was most unlikely she would ever wear it again.
But as she noted the effect of Rohan and that on Sylvia, who was staring, dumbfounded, from where she stood, some distance away, with her parents, Dominie felt that her dress had been worth every penny it had cost.
‘Come and have a drink.’ Rohan’s voice, rich and low and possessing the merest hint of an American drawl, cut into the small silence following Dominie’s coolly-spoken words and she and Jake moved over to where the others were standing, chatting over their drinks. All eyes became focused on Dominie; she dominated the scene entirely and elation rose within her. She could hold her own in this distinguished and fashionable gathering. Mrs. Fortescue’s glance went from Dominie to her daughter and she frowned slightly. Comparing, mused Dominie with a secret smile. The girl’s eyes were still fixed disbelievingly on Dominie, and she also frowned. She was immaculate and there was an innate confidence about her which Dominie lacked, but she was no longer the main centre of attraction.
‘Miss Worthing, what are you having...?’
Dominie scarcely heard Rohan, for Grace Osborne was actually commenting on the dress.
‘It’s delicious,’ she added with a tinge of envy. ‘Where on earth did you get it, Miss Worthing? Did you bring it with you?’
‘I bought it in Charlotte Amalie—’
‘Then why didn’t I see it first!’
‘Wouldn’t fit you, darling,’ interposed her husband with a grin. ‘I’m always telling you you eat too much.’
‘Abominable man! Why did I marry you!’
‘For my money, I shouldn’t wonder,’ was the swift reply, and everyone laughed.
‘Frank Osborne’s a millionaire,’ whispered Jake a moment later as he and Dominie sipped their drinks.
‘I should imagine this island’s full of millionaires
.’
‘It’s certainly a very wealthy island. The rich come to the Caribbean to build magnificent homes in the sun. You should see the Osbornes’ place—it’s a dream, a veritable palace.’
‘And Rohan’s? Is that also a palace?’
‘Indeed it is, but in a smaller way. The Osbornes’ place is enormous; Rohan, who’s probably even more wealthy than they, doesn’t flaunt his money as Frank does.’
‘I’m surprised—’ Dominie broke off, the words having escaped involuntarily.
‘You don’t like Rohan?’ from Jake in a curious tone as his eyes went to the man under discussion. Rohan was by far the most distinguished-looking man present in the bar. His evening clothes were of superlative cut and quality, and he possessed the kind of physique that was bound to show them off to perfection.
‘I haven’t had much opportunity of forming an opinion,’ she evaded, her mind on that conversation she had overheard between Rohan and his beautiful companion. Dominie more than disliked the man: she detested him!
‘He’s the most genuine man I know,’ stated Jake in his thoughtful way. ‘I’d trust him with my life. I know he appears off-hand with most women, but as I told you, he has cause to dislike them. If he marries Sylvia I shall be most surprised, since he’s always struck me as favouring bachelordom—this even when he was keeping company with Nina. I was never quite as certain as all the others that he would decide to marry her.’
‘You weren’t?’
Jake shook his head, his eyes wandering as the Meads entered the bar. Both seemed to blink questioningly on seeing Dominie, as if for the moment wondering who she was. With recognition came admiring looks, and Mrs. Mead whispered something to her husband.
‘I used sometimes to think the affair would peter out,’ Jake was saying, his gaze now on Rohan. ‘Yes ... even if Nina had not transferred her affections to someone else I rather think that Rohan would in the end have himself ended the affair.’
‘It must have been a blow to his pride—Nina giving him up.’ Dominie stopped rather abruptly, sorry she had said a thing like that to Jake, who was such a good friend of Rohan. Jake merely shrugged and made no comment.
‘It looks as if we’re to go in to dinner,’ remarked Frank, who had come to join them, thus terminating the conversation about Rohan. ‘Are you enjoying your stay on our island?’ he added with a smile for Dominie, who nodded instantly.
‘I’m having a wonderful time. Jake’s been taking me round in his car. The views and the countryside are superb.’
Frank’s smile broadened.
‘And I suppose you’ve been to the Mountain Top Restaurant and drunk their famous Banana Daiquiri?—and sat on Drake’s seat and made a wish?’
Dominie laughed.
‘Yes, I’ve done those things, and many more. I’ve seen the limbo dancers and the steel bands and listened to the calypso singers at the beach club down in the bay there.’
‘So you’ve a lot to tell your people and friends when you get back to England?’
She nodded but made no reply. Taking her arm, Jake escorted her into the Frangi-Pani room and to their table which was shaded by potted palms, and very dimly lighted from candles and muted wall-lamps.
‘Have you no relatives at all?’ he asked when they were seated.
‘Just an aged aunt—if she’s still living. I haven’t heard from her for years. My last two letters went unanswered, so I haven’t bothered any more. She’s very distant—not a blood relation even.’
‘Sad. It must be a lonely sort of feeling when you have no one at all of your own.’
‘It is. When I had Jerry it didn’t seem to matter that I’d no one else. I had long since become used to the fact of having no parents, and so long as I had Jerry I was happy.’
Jake nodded thoughtfully. His good-natured face was clouded and his voice was gentle when he spoke.
‘I think I understand, my dear. And I think it’s the same with Rohan. He loved his sister dearly, and as he was her guardian he also had the protective instinct one would expect in those circumstances. I believe he’s still missing her; and I sometimes think, too, that he blames himself for her death. He once said he should never have allowed her to go to England and become an actress. Had she not been in your country the accident would never have happened, you see.’
‘Yes...’ A small pause as Dominie’s eyes strayed. Rohan was talking to Sylvia, his dark head bent, and very close to hers. ‘He was not strict with his sister, apparently. This surprises me, as he appears to be a stern sort of man.’ She was noticing his mouth and jaw, and taking in the inflexibility she saw there.
‘He was strict, in many ways, but I expect he felt unwilling to curb her when it came to her career. She was extremely talented and acting was what she wanted. As I’ve said, he later regretted allowing her to have her own way.’
‘Perhaps she would have insisted, though.’
‘No doubt of it, as I told him when he spoke of this self-blame. She would most certainly have defied him once she was free of his authority.’
‘But of course the accident wouldn’t have happened, because she wouldn’t have been in that particular place at that particular time.’
‘True, but I believe in fate, Dominie.’
She felt tears prick her eyes suddenly.
‘Then fate is cruel. My brother was only eighteen, and for all I say it myself, he was one of the good people of this world. Jerry never said an unkind word to anyone in the whole of his life.’
The band was playing; Rohan and Sylvia had got up to dance and in order to put an end to a painful subject Jake asked Dominie to dance. The second course was served when they sat down again. Immediately it was eaten Rohan came to Dominie, inviting her to dance. She slid into his arms, suddenly tensed for no reason she could explain. She said, when they were at the other side of the room,
‘May I take this opportunity of thanking you for inviting me this evening? I’m enjoying it immensely.’ Her voice was one of cool politeness and Rohan leant away from her for a second, appearing to be a trifle puzzled by her manner. She wondered whether he would be put out were she to tell him that she had overheard his conversation with Sylvia.
‘It’s a pleasure to have you, Miss Worthing. I’m glad that you’ve stayed long enough to come.’
‘I’m not leaving until Tuesday,’ she informed him, just for something to say.
‘I thought it was tomorrow you were leaving?’
‘Didn’t Jake tell you of the altered plans? The ship’s on its way to Florida, and then it’s making for home.’
‘No, Jake never mentioned this. So you’re not bothering to rejoin it?’
‘No. Jake asked me to stay with him and as I’m enjoying myself there didn’t seem to be any reason for leaving. I shall fly straight back to England and pick up my belongings in Southampton.’ Her tones were still cool, but not quite as cool as she would have liked them to be. For she was, to her astonishment, strangely affected by the nearness of the man, by his touch and his voice and the superb rhythm of his body as he danced. When he took her back to the table her glance caught that of Sylvia. The girl’s eyes were narrowed, her lovely mouth petulant. Deliberately she turned her head away from Rohan as he sat down.
Dutifully Rohan danced with all his women guests, but to Dominie’s astonishment she herself was more favoured even than the lovely Sylvia.
‘I must congratulate you on your dancing,’ he remarked on one occasion. ‘You do a great deal of it at home?’
‘I scarcely ever go out.’ She would have bitten back the words if she could, as they revealed her lack of social life.
Rohan made no comment on this; they were now outside, dancing to the steel band, and he gradually edged from the floor to the side and Dominie found herself standing alone with him, gazing across the sea to where a ship was anchored, its brilliant lights shimmering on the soft dark waters of the Caribbean. Water island drowsed in the distance while behind them, as Dominie swung right roun
d to take in the full vista, rose the lush tree-clad mountains.
‘It’s all so incredibly beautiful,’ she breathed, half forgetting her companion, standing there, silent and thoughtful. ‘Wherever one goes one has a view of other islands. How many are there?’
‘You mean the Virgins?’ She nodded and was told there were about fifty belonging to the U.S. and thirty owned by Britain.
‘So many!’
‘Not all are inhabited, as you probably know. Of the U.S. Virgins only three are of any major importance.’
‘Have you always lived here, Mr. de Arden?’
‘My parents had a house here when they were young, and we used to spend a good deal of our time on the island,’ Rohan paused, and a frown touched his brow. Watching him, Dominie guessed that his thoughts had run on to less happy times—when his father went off with that young girl. ‘I myself settled here just over ten years ago,’ he added at length, then abruptly changed the subject, pointing out a few islands and giving her the names of them.
‘We can see a similar view to this from Jake’s terrace—but of course you know,’ she said, flushing slightly. And then she added, ‘I expect you have the same view? Can you see Magens Bay and St. John, and the British Virgins—some of them, I mean?’
Rohan nodded his head, glancing down at her and suddenly saying,
‘You must see my place before you leave. I’ll tell Jake to bring you to dinner tomorrow evening.’
‘That’s very kind, Mr. de Arden.’ She felt shy all at once, because of his interest and the dropping of his mask of austerity which seemed always to be there even when he was chatting with his friends.
‘Not at all, Miss Worthing; I shall enjoy the pleasure of your company.’
She stared at him. Was he sincere? Something like a warning seemed to stab at her subconscious. Her uneasiness increased when he took her arm, cupping her elbow in his hand, and guided her back to where Sylvia was sitting with her parents, watching the dark-skinned men on the steel drums. The action was even more unexpected than his invitation, but for the present she had no time to dwell on it, her attention diverted by the expression on Sylvia’s face. Her mouth was tight with anger, yet it trembled slightly; her eyes glittered as they met those of Dominie, then seemed, astonishingly, to fill up with tears. She lowered her head before Rohan should notice, and shortly afterwards, when he was dancing with the girl, Dominie saw that neither spoke to one another.
