Across the Lagoon (17 page)

Gray scooped her along with him as though they were merely about to catch a bus. Stephanie, who had been to Switzerland, also viewed the prospect of dangling thousands of feet up on a tiny wire with blithe unconcern.

Up past the ticket offices, over a handrailed bridge, everyone filed towards the waiting car, a kind of oval- shaped cabin with curved glass windows at either end. It held about a dozen people standing crammed together like sardines. Carol, whether she liked it or not, found herself crushed against a window. Stephanie was beside her and Gray behind. She could already see quite a stretch of the valley below the roadway, and as the car jerked to a start she decided that the trip was going to be nothing at all.

Slowly they began to climb. She looked down on clumps of vegetation and rocky escarpment falling away below the window. That wasn't too bad, but then the tips of tall pine trees began to spin away beneath the cable car, and coward that she was, she closed her eyes on the'scene.

Miraculously, after only a few minutes they came to a stop. Carol, feeling quite pleased with herself at the way she had stood up to the experience, filed out of the cabin behind Stephanie and ahead of Gray. Only when she stepped out on to the little platform did she discover to her horror that there was yet another cable car waiting for them. And the route, which she could see by the tiny red speck coming down, was towards a sheer perpendicular wall of the mountain which seemed to tower in the sky. She wasn't the only one petrified at the thought of going up there. But none of the other first-timers wanted to show their fear, so they shuffled along to the second cable car, giggling to bolster their nerve.

This time Carol, with Gray and Stephanie, was amongst the last in. This meant that they ended up being tightly packed against the door as the cabin jerked to a start. Stephanie cheerfully squeezed herself in beside a window. Her eyes as she gazed upwards expectantly seemed to Carol to be a little over-bright.

For herself she ought to have felt easier on this second climb. She had no view to terrify her. Worse than this, however, as the cabin began to swing, dip and alter its pace her attention became riveted on the door only inches away from her nose. It was fastened with the flimsiest little catch which rattled ominously. In horrified fascination she stared at the cracks of light at the bottom and up the sides of the door, picturing all too vividly the yawning chasm of unending space outside.

There was of course an attendant in the cabin, but having probably done this trip a few thousand times before, he stared down at his shoes with bored detachment. Gray was on the other side of her. As the cabin lurched, throwing them closer together, he dropped his arm across the door and said to her, 'We're almost there.'

Caring not at all about his nearness now, Carol gladly let him shield her from that flimsy barrier.

The trip took ten minutes. To many of those inside the cable car it seemed considerably longer. Stepping out at the top also had its complications. Now that they were so high some were too timid to brave the ordeal of looking down. Stephanie had no nerves. She skipped towards the wide rough-hewn barrier at the edge without a qualm. Carol picked her way to the rail as though she were walking the plank at the top of a skyscraper.

Miraculously she found it was no ordeal at all. The mountain sloped away only gradually from the barrier, and way, way down below, looking like a scattering of tiny yellow beads on the floor of the valley, was Cortina.

It was a fantastic feeling being up so high and staring at the surrounding grandeur of other mountains. Massive separate peaks and cones reached up even higher into the sky above soaring buttresses and bulky domes.

Behind her, Gray pointed to a towering mass across from them and told her, 'That's the one they call the Glass Mountain.'

Stephanie was fidgety. There were dozens of people roaming over the crown of the mountain and she wanted to roam too. The three of them walked past the timber-built caf6 at the side of the cable car station and upwards. Though there was yet another car lift to the summit, nobody ever bothered much with this because the best views were to be had at this level. However, many people liked to see how high they could walk just for the fun of it.

The threesome were on this route when Stephanie, unusually keen today, suddenly took it into her head that she wanted to pick flowers. Carol had to admit that the pinks, blues and yellows were pretty enough, and especially the edelweiss, but she was more intrigued by the surrounding peaks. However, when Stephanie, going further and further ahead, called for her assistance, she went to help her uncomplainingly. Gray lit a cigarette and sat down on a rock to wait.

Carol had been bothered all day by this feeling that Stephanie was acting oddly. When she reached the younger girl making her way across a rocky hollow she was convinced of this. There wasn't a flower in sight up here, and in any case Stephanie had as many as she could hold in her hand.

She noticed too, when she called the younger girl, that she simply waved her laughingly on, always keeping a good way ahead. Feeling a little cross at her antics after a while, Carol picked up speed. When she reached Stephanie, she said breathlessly, looking around at the steep rocks, 'What are we doing up here? I thought you were picking flowers?'

'I decided to explore instead,' Stephanie replied nonchalantly, moving on.

'This is idiotic, and you know it,' Carol said, following her.

'Oh, come on! It's fun.' Stephanie threw her a laugh and disappeared.

Carol felt a stab of fear. There were no grassy slopes up here, only rocks falling away steeply at the sides. And from these edges she caught dizzying glimpses of the valleys below.

As she moved upwards she became frightened for herself, but she daren't stop. It had been made perfectly clear to her when taking the job that Stephanie was her responsibility. And though just lately she had been finding life with the girl something of a strain, she had never once let herself forget this.

She kept on now, though her footholds were not all that secure, rounding sloping slabs of slate and tufts of coarse vegetation. There was no sign of Stephanie. It must have been ten minutes since she had last caught a glimpse of her.

Keeping her gaze away from the sudden drops at the side, she called her name. There was no reply. An awful thought gripped her. What if... ? Oh no 1

Calling louder in her anxiety, she stumbled on, but there was only the breeze to answer her as it came rustling over the slopes.

Panicking at the silence, Carol looked at her watch. It was just as she thought. They had been climbing far too long. Everyone in their party would have gone down by this time. The coach was due to leave Cortinain ten minutes.

At her wits' end, she stood on a sloping platform, the valley a pale green carpet miles below at her back. All was still.

Then she did hear a sound. A voice harsh and strident coming up the mountain slopes, 'Carol! Stephanie ... !'

After a few moments she saw Gray's shape move into view. Even from this distance she could tell he was very angry. He came striding up the crown of the mountain. Then seeing her over towards the edge, he quickened his step, his face paling in an odd way. Carol stood her ground. She was steeling herself to face the onslaught when suddenly from a rocky hollow to the side of the menacingly approaching figure, Stephanie skipped out and called gaily, 'Hello, Gray I Have you been looking for us?'

Ignoring her, he strode on towards Carol, who was standing where she was not out of bravado, but because she found she had cut herself off on the precarious path, and could move in a hurry neither up nor down.

Stepping down to swing her up by the waist, Gray bit out savagely, 'Are you out of your senses? We're ten thousand feet up and you have to play games!'

'It was my fault, Gray,' Stephanie danced in front of him, 'I wanted to explore.'

'You're employed to use your brains in these situations. You could both have gone over the edge!' Gray's thunderous brown gaze was raking Carol's drained look. She had just caught a glimpse of the valley down below behind her. He grabbed her arm, and taking Stephanie at the other side of him, he marched them both stumblingly along on an easier route down.

Neither dared speak. Carol moved tremblingly under his iron grip. Stephanie was more buoyant, though her exhilaration at having had to be sought out by her uncle was tempered by a puzzled resentment. Once or twice on the route down she slid a curious look at Carol, taking it on after a while to let it rest on her uncle.

They caught the next cable car down. Carol was so conscious of Gray's brooding presence close against her in the crush that she had no time to worry about the nightmare ride. At the bottom he took her arm and hurried them across to the coach.

As it happened there were one or two last-minute shoppers just straggling up, and Bianca, ever of a sunny disposition, overlooked the fact that they were setting off back a few minutes late.

Stephanie chose to sit with the guide again. She was a little cool on the journey back, she didn't turn around once. And at the halfway stop at the cafe beside the lake, she sat with her drink almost until it was time to board the coach again.

It was dark when they arrived back at the Albany. They had just time to slip upstairs to wash and change before dinner. At the table in the restaurant Carol was feeling slightly more relaxed after the long drive back. She had put on a neat cornflower blue dress which brought out the blue of her eyes and contrasted with the paleness of her hair. Stephanie, strangely enough all smiles again, had chosen a pastel flowered nylon dress. Gray was in his usual dinner jacket, but in the past few days he had developed a tan which, with his dark hair and prominent features, made him look quite striking.

No mention was made of the affair on the mountain in Cortina as they dined, though once or twice Carol looked up from her plate to find Gray's glance brushing over her. She wondered if he was still angry with her and supposed he must have spent his time on the drive back brooding on what a useless companion he had engaged to look after his niece. Certainly his gaze when it met hers seemed to have lost some of its thunder, but she supposed she was still in his bad books.

S
TEPHANIE
led the way into the lounge for coffee afterwards. As they had been fairly late arriving back, there was not much of the evening left. In their section of chesterfields Gray finished his coffee, then taking out his cigarettes he told them that he would be leaving for Venice early the next morning.

This was no surprise as he had mentioned going back the day before. Nevertheless Carol felt a little bleak inside at his words. Stephanie, of course, was immediately despondent. At least until her uncle bethought himself to rivet her with his flinty gaze. Then she shone as a jewel might shine when the sun flashes on to it.

'And no tricks while I'm away,' he warned her. 'You're to stay around the hotel and do as you're told. Understand?'

'Yes, Gray.' Though his tones were threatening Stephanie glowed under his gaze and gave him her beguiling smile.

There was something about that smile which worried Carol long after Gray had packed them off upstairs, and she lay in her bed in the dark. Familiar by this time with Stephanie's whimsical ways, she experienced a sharp sense of unease whenever she thought of that smile. It was a feeling she couldn't shake off during the days ahead.

Surprisingly enough, the younger girl couldn't have been more agreeable. She was a willing partner in anything Carol suggested and they made the fullest use of the amenities around the hotel besides going to the beach every afternoon.

The days passed pleasantly. Carol was beginning to think that she had misjudged Stephanie and imagined the mischief behind her smile. Then one evening when they had been sat up in their rooms for quite some time after dinner, Stephanie clapped the magazine down which she had been reading and announced brightly, 'I think I'll go out.'

Carol, feeling her heart start to pump, said quietly, 'It's a little late, don't you think?'

'Ten o'clock's not late. Not in Italy,' Stephanie laughed, sailing off to her room.

Carol followed her, using a firm tone. 'Your uncle said you were to stay around the hotel.'

'I know what Gray said,' Stephanie replied cheerfully. She had been lounging in a pair of white slacks and an orange top. She didn't bother to change but began to plaster her face with make-up before the dressing-table mirror.

Carol watched her, knowing she was no match for that jaunty imperiousness. She wished now that she had demanded that the other key to the apartment be turned over to Gray. At least then she could have hurried to lock the door.

Knowing that once again she was on the losing end, Carol said coldly, 'If you're thinking of going to the Devil's Den...

'I'm not.' Stephanie coiled her hair on top of her head with a gay light. 'Venice is where the life is, and the launches run till the early hours, I believe.'

'Venice?' Carol stared, her blue eyes round. 'But you can't go there!'

'Why not?' Stephanie put the final touches to her hair, pleased with the effect.

'But... your uncle!' Carol gasped. 'He'll see you!'

'Maybe,' Stephanie said lightly.

Carol went on staring, but she was no longer surprised. She knew Stephanie's game all too well. She was obsessed with the idea of making her uncle notice her, and by this time past caring what methods she used to gain his attention. She wasn't going out tonight in the hope of meeting her uncle. She was going out with the express purpose of running into him.Carol wasn't angry any more. She watched the small figure preparing to leave. The make-up she had applied was a grotesque mask, but it was no cover for her vulnerable youth. It seemed heartbreakingly pathetic that Stephanie should have to stoop to such measures to glean a little affection.

Carol knew that she would go with her to Venice. The best she could hope for was that Gray was not in too obvious a part of the city. Neither of the girls knew where he stayed, or. in which area he worked, but it was a big enough place. With luck they might not run across him at all.