The Devil at Archangel (20 page)

caressingly, freeing the flimsy material of her shirt from her

waistband. His fingers were cool and deliberate on her warm skin,

spreading along her spinal column, finding the hook fastener that was

the final barrier to his seeking touch and dealing with it effortlessly.

She gasped as she realised what he had done and tried to pull away,

but his grip tightened ruthlessly, and she lay pliant again in his arms,

her breath coming raggedly.

For a moment he lifted his mouth from hers, and his eyes seemed to

pierce her face. Then, as if satisfied with what he had found, he bent

to her again, his kiss deepening and demanding more response than

she had ever dreamed she was capable of. Time stood still as his long,

leisurely, frankly intimate exploration of her mouth and body

continued. She was unable to think coherently. She was all sensation,

all awareness, and she gave a little broken sigh of pleasure as his lean,

hard fingers tantalised the softness of her breasts.

Her head fell back across his arm like a broken flower as his lips slid

down her throat and lightly brushed her shoulders before discovering

for themselves the sweet excitement his touch had aroused. She heard

herself moan faintly as the warmth of his mouth woke new hungers in

her. His fingers lingered caressingly on her rib cage, then slid lower

to the waistband of her skirt. As if she was in a dream, she felt the

button which held it give way. And then it was all different. He was

still holding her, but his mouth was no longer rousing her to feverish

intoxication.

Dazedly she opened her eyes and looked up into his face. He thrust up

a hand and raked back some strands of tawny hair, damp with sweat,

from his forehead. Hisbreathing was uneven, and his body held a

sudden tension - as if he had himself rigidly in check.

He saw her watching him, and his mouth twisted cynically. 'Well,

Christina? Have you learned your lesson—or do we proceed to the

next step?'

Insultingly casual, his hand returned to the zip of her skirt. His eyes

never left her face. For a moment, she could hardly take in what he

had said, and then with a little cry she flung herself away from him,

dragging her unfastened shirt over her breasts.

'I suppose I have my answer,' he said after a slight pause. He stood up

and started to straighten his own dishevelled appearance.

She stared up at him, her eyes blurred with shamed tears. 'I hate you,'

she whispered unsteadily.

He laughed softly. 'Then it must be a very cerebral hatred, honey girl.

Your body certainly hasn't heard about it.'

Her hands were shaking as she re-fastened her clothes, thrusting the

buttons through holes that seemed in some strange way to have

become far too small to accommodate j them.

'Do you need any help?'

'Don't you dare to touch me!' she breathed.

'There's no "dare" about it,' he said tautly. 'If I wanted to touch you

again, I would, and there'd be damn all you could do about it. You

know it, and so do I. But this is neither the time nor the place. I have

to see my aunt—and you have to finish typing those envelopes,

although I would not give much for their chances of getting in the

mail today.'

'Oh, get out!' she cried passionately, burying her face in ' her hands.

She did not move until she heard the library door close quietly behind

him.

CHRISTINA remoyed the last envelope from the typewriter and placed

it on the completed pile. She checked through the list to make sure

that no one had been missed, then sat back with a sigh, stretching her

arms wearily and flexing her shoulder muscles. It might look like a

pile of envelopes, but she knew it was really a major victory for

applied concentration. Her head might ache, and her body might be

damp with sweat, but she felt that she had won out over her own

weakness.

She picked up the pile of envelopes and the list to take them upstairs

to Mrs Brandon, then hesitated. For all she knew, Devlin might still

be with his aunt, and she could not face seeing him again so soon. Not

now. Not while she still ached with the frustrated longings he had so

cynically roused in her.

Her sole consolation was that Devlin would never know how

successful his so-called punishment had been. Alt he knew was that

he could make her respond to him physically—but then he was an

experienced man dealing with an inexperienced girl, so he would

probably expect that. What he did not know was how deeply her

emotions were involved. At least she did not have that self-betrayal to

regret when she left St Victoire behind her for ever. There was a

chance—just a chance—that she might still be able to take her

departure with a little dignity left.

She got up and wandered over to the open window. Her clothes felt

clammy on her, and she thought with longing of the swimming pool.

There was no reason, of course, why she should not go for a bathe.

She had finished her appointed task, and her time was presumably her

own again.She did not hesitate for a moment longer but ran up to her

room and changed into a bikini narrowly striped in dark green and

white, then, grabbing a towel, made her way down the gallery stairs to

the poolside.

The water felt glorious. She swam lazily from one end 1 to the other,

then turned on to her back and floated, her - hair streaming on both

sides of her in the water. She began 1 to feel refreshed, and decided

that strenuous physical exercise had been just what she needed. She

swam another couple of lengths, then hauled herself out and sat on the

side, drying her hair on the towel. Then she applied sun oil liberally to

her arms and legs and lay down on one of the padded loungers to

sunbathe. It was very quiet. Archangel could have been peopled by

mutes. The only sound came from insects buzzing in the flowers and

grasses, and in the distance a bird called raucously. Christina found

her thoughts drifting drowsily, and made no effort to jerk herself back

to wakefulness. Perhaps, when she woke, the pain would be gone, she

told herself sleepily.

But her dreams as she slept were wild and disturbing with a quality of

nightmare about them. Wooden figures grew and came to life—a boat

sailed away and left her alone and desolate on the shore. A storm

brewed and lightning flashed with the rumble of thunder in the

distance. It was raining too—big icy drops which fell vindictively on

to her bare skin as she tried unavailingly to shelter ...

She opened her eyes and found that the drops were real. Theo was

standing over her, sprinkling her with a handful of water from the

pool. She sat up unwillingly, conscious of his eyes appreciatively on

her scantily clad body. He had kept away from the pool over the last

few days, but today he was wearing his usual brief trunks and had a

towel slung over his shoulders, so she guessed he had decided the

time was ripe for him to try and get back on the old terms with her..

'Thank you for waking me,' she said quickly, reaching
for her own

towel. 'It's time I was going in. Your grandmother will be wanting

me.'

'Grand'mere doesn't want anyone today.' Theo scowled slightly. 'She

has had Devlin with her all morning. I know these sessions of old.

She will be in a terrible temper for the rest of the day and will

probably insist on having all her meals in her room. So you and I will

have to make the best of it together, my sweet.' He spread his towel on

the flags beside her lounger and lay down.

'All the same, I ought to be going ...' she began, but he put out a hand

and took hold of her ankle.

'Don't leave me, Tina,' he said plaintively. 'You're surely not holding

the other night against me still?'

'Of course not,' she assured him too quickly.

He smiled up at her. 'Then stay for a little while. Swimming pools are

dull places without a beautiful girl beside them. And I do find you

very desirable, you know.'

'If you're going to talk like that, Theo, then I shall go indoors,' she

said, irritated.

He sighed petulantly and let go of her. He rolled on to his back and

lay staring up at the sky.

'Devlin would have to come today,' he remarked sulkily. 'Just when

Grand'mere was making the arrangements for my party. I was hoping

this afternoon to take her to look at my boat.'

'Boat?' Christina turned and looked down at him questioningly. He

nodded eagerly.

'My birthday present,' he said. 'Oh, it's beautiful, Tina —far better

than Devlin's
Moon Maiden.
Bigger too. It's tied up at Fort Victoire at

the moment—just waiting for Grand'mere to sign the papers.' The

moody look returned to his face. 'Of course, now she may refuse.'

'I hardly think that's likely,' Christina said drily. 'You seem to get your

way in most things.'

'Yes.' He sent her a speculative look under his lashes. 'Except in the

one thing I want most.' His voice changed, became lighter, almost

laughing. 'Come with us to see the boat, Tina. She's a lovely

thing—perfect for a honeymoon. I might even call her after you.'

'I don't think that's a good idea,' she said tightly, and sat up.

'Now I've upset you again.' He gave a gentle sigh. 'You are so touchy,

Tina. Don't run away, I promise to be good —that is if you'll answer

me one question.'

'What is it, Theo?' she said wearily.

'Why don't you want to marry me?' His tone was frankly curious. The

golden boy, she found herself thinking sadly, the top prize in the

competition unable to understand why he hadn't been won yet. She

wished she had stuck to her guns and gone back indoors. She tried to

temporise.

'We—we can't dictate our feelings, Theo. It's hard to explain, but...'

'You just don't want me,' he said gently. He turned his head and

smiled at her. 'Go on, Tina. Be frank. I can take it.'

'It—it's not as simple as that,' she began stiltedly. 'I don't want anyone

...'

'No?' His smile widened slightly. 'That's not what anyone passing the

library window this morning would have thought.' She lay very still,

loathing the betraying colour she could feel flooding into her face.

'Oh, Tina,' he gave an exaggerated sigh. 'Another scalp for my Cousin

Devlin's belt—and he has far too many already. Don't worry, I won't

give you away to Grand'mere. And not the jealous type, you know.

Once we were married, I wouldn't mind you having—the odd

diversion—as long as you were discreet, of course.'

She was more appalled by that than by anything he or Mrs Brsfndon

had ever said to her before.

'You can't be serious!'

'Why not?' he shrugged. 'It could be very entertaining.

I wonder how dear Devlin's pride would stand sharing a woman with

me—knowing that he might be contributing another little Brandon to

stand between him and Archangel.' He looked quizzically up into her

horrified face and flung back his head in a shout of laughter,

displaying his perfect teeth. 'My God, Tina, I think you really took me

seriously for a moment. You're deliciously easy to shock, you know.

Come on,' he rose to his feet in one easy, graceful movement, 'let's go

for a swim together and forget all this nonsense. You may not want

me as a lover, but we can still be friends.'

She yielded unwillingly to his urging. Perhaps she was too easily

shocked, she thought, as he tugged her towards the edge of the pool,

but she hadn't thought that he was joking. There had been a bite in his

words that had really got under her skin.

Their bodies cut the water together, and they began to swim the

length of the pool side by side. Theo seemed to be - holding back,

matching his stroke to hers, showing a consideration which surprised

her. When they had swum together on previous occasions he had

always seemed anxious to demonstrate his superior strength and

expertise, making her feel like a clumsy schoolgirl in the water.

'Race you!' he called out, and Christina smiled inwardly as she

quickened her stroke. That was more like the Theo she had come to

know. Which made it all the more surprising when she found she was

actually in the lead. She had no illusions about her swimming. She

was competent in the water, no more, whereas Theo had probably

learned to swim almost as soon as he could walk. With a feeling of

unreality, she touched the end of the pool, lifting her hand in triumph.

Theo surfaced beside her. 'Well done!'

'You let me win,' she accused.

'Nonsense.' He splashed her playfully, and with a gasp she retaliated.

The air was full of flying droplets. Her ears were singing and

instinctively she closed her eyes against the barrage. When it stopped,