The Man at Mulera (14 page)

Lou
’
s mouth was dry, but a sudden sweat dewed her skin.
“
I
’
ve never heard anything like it in my life,
”
she said hoarsely.
“
Never!
”

But before she could say more he cut in smoothly,
“
It had to happen—you must see that
.
You
’
re too fond of Keith to leave him flat, and as it was his parents
’
wish that he should grow up here I can
’
t let him go. Not that I want to. Someone had to act
.
”

“
Without saying a word to me about it? Miss Buckland will think I
’
m mad, to let someone else write for me! You
’
ve gone too far this time, Mr. Gilmore
...
”

She stopped abruptly, gazed down myopically at a small dusty car which had swung round the drive and stopped below the veranda. She saw a man with thick, sand-colored hair and thin good looks, knew it was Greg Allwyn but was too incensed to bother.

But Ross had risen and gone down the steps. He shook hands with the other man and indicated the veranda, and within a minute Gregg was there, looking down at Lou with polite interest
.
He appeared different; clean and fit in khaki drill and every inch the keen new manager.

“
Mr. Allwyn ... Miss Prentice,
”
Ross said.
“
Had breakfast Greg?
”

“
As a matter of fact I haven
’
t
.
I
’
ve been staying with some friends in Dar-es-Salaam and I
’
ve driven all the way since nine last night. I stopped at the river for a clean-up this morning, but my food was gone.
”

“‘
Plenty of sausages and bacon here. Help yourself.
”
Ross seemed to have his tongue in his cheek as he glanced at Lou.
“
Mr. Allwyn is my new manager.
”
And to Greg:
“
Miss Prentice and I are young Keith Weston
’
s guardians. We never have a dull moment.
”

Greg smiled, a more lively smile than the one Lou remembered
.
She met his glance and looked away, saw that though she had dropped her hands to her lap they were still curled tight
.
She could feel a tightness in her throat too, the constriction of anger against this man who did just as he pleased about everything and everyone. She hadn
’
t spoken a word of greeting to Greg Allwyn but the fact had apparently passed unnoticed.

Ross was saying,
“
We got your house cleared out last night, just in time. Miss Prentice was down there with the boy, but my aunt arrived, so we
’
re all up here together for a while.
”
He rose.
“
There were a couple of letters for you in my mail yesterday. I
’
ll get them
.
”

As he went into the house Greg gave Lou a half-wink and said softly,
“
Thanks for taking me in out of the rain; you saved my life. I kept my promise and saw a doctor. I
’
m a hundred per cent now.
”

“
I
’
m glad. You look very fit
.
”

“
And you look even more attractive than you did that night
.
I
’
ve thought about you a lot.
”

“
Have you?
”
She remembered something and said quickly,
“
Mr. Allwyn
...
”

But Ross was back, dropping two letters beside Greg Allwyn
’
s plate. He sat down and put on another cigarette, and the houseboy brought fresh coffee which Ross must have ordered. Lou poured, shakily, had the pot taken from her with a paternal smile. Something that she could only think of as hate was welling up from her heart
.
The two men talked about coffee trees and drying grounds, about copra plantations along the Tanganyika coast Ross said that Greg could use the small lorry about the plantation, that an account in his name had already been opened at the store. Greg finished his breakfast thanked them for waiting with
him.

“
If I may, I
’
ll get along to the bungalow and unpack,
”
he said.

Ross concurred.
“I’ll
go ahead and show you the way.
”
He turned to Lou.
“
I won
’
t be back till one. You might
tell my aunt I
’
m bringing Martin and Paula for lunch.
”

“
Very we
ll
,
”
she said stiffly.

“
Don
’
t think too much, Louise,
”
he advised her nonchalantly.
“
It can be tiring and entirely without profit
.
”
She stayed seated till they had gone. Ross went first in the estate wagon, and Greg followed, looking back to wave as he took the bend in the drive.

Almost at once the houseboy came out to clear the table, and Lou got up and walked down into the garden. For a few
min
utes she moved blindly across the grass and under the orange and lemon trees. She was aware of white, heavily-scented blossom, of the lanes between the fruit trees and of the hot blue sky, yet consciously, she thought only of the fact that she was no longer a member of the kindergarten staff. She had been rendered homeless and jobless by a few strokes of Ross Gilmore
’
s pen.

That was not how he regarded the matter, of course. He had seen her as a girl who needed to have decisions made for her, a vacillating creature who ought to be grateful that he had taken her in hand. But she wasn
’
t grateful. She was angry and frightened. It was as though she were being swept along on an irresistible tide.

Perhaps it was fortunate that Keith found her just then. Childlike, he had forgotten his resentment at the breakfast table and was now occupied with his normal pursuits.
“
Are we staying with Uncle Ross for good?
”
he asked.

“
For some weeks, darling.
”

“
May I have a sand-pit then?
”

“
I
think
so. But you must wait till Ali gets back before you mention it If you like, we
’
ll have a lesson while we
’
re
walking this
morning. I
’
ll pull some leaves and we
’
ll use them for arithmetic.
”

“
Is that sums?
”

“
Yes. Here we are. Take six leaves to begin with, and
I’ll
have six
...
”

The outdoor lesson was a success. When they entered the house an hour later Keith told Mrs. Acland about it and the older woman
’
s smile at Lou was congratulatory. Those fine, astonishingly youthful-looking hands were busy with embroidery, but Mrs. Acland
’
s pointed features were pallid.

“
I never go far during the first week or so at Mulera,
”
she said.
“
I
’
m no longer young, so I
’
m compelled to rest while my system makes friends with the climate. I never do get up for breakfast, by the way. You were about early, weren
’
t you?
”

“
Fairly, but Ross and Keith beat me to it
.
The new manager turned up.
”
Lou passed on the message about guests for lunch and added,
“
I still have Peter Whyte
’
s car. Do you
think
it would be all right for me to take Keith out for a picnic?
”

“
If you want to, yes.
”
Mrs. Acland
’
s bright eyes flickered thoughtfully and she murmured,
“
It
’
s a very good idea. I
’
m sure Ross sees too little of Paula, and if there are only the four of us I shall be able to monopolize Martin.
”
Her
smile
was almost impish.
“
I
’
ll tell him my opinion of you and find out his. Will Martin be disappointed to find you absent?
”

“
Of course not
.
”

“
Well, we
’
ll see.
”
Her expression held humor.
“
You know, my dear, I
’
d have given a great deal to find you a little older and a good bit wiser about men. It would have been wonderful to see you pushing through my nephew
’
s defences and making him uncomfortably aware of his own needs. But I
’
m afraid your effect on him isn
’
t that kind at al
l.
You rose only the protective instinct.
”

“
I
’
m sorry,
”
said Lou, a little abruptly.

“
You mustn
’
t mind my being outspoken,
”
Mrs. Acland returned quickly.
“
You
’
re a very sweet girl, and as soon as I
’
m used to the heat we
’
ll get to know each other. Run along for your sandw
ic
hes and drinks. I insist that you enjoy life here as much as possible.
”

Half an hour later, when she was driving along a by-lane towards the river, Lou contemplated her future and found it depressing. She had no choice but to accept the step Ross had taken, but the thought of remaining at Mulera in Ross
’
s house was hardly to be borne. It might be true that the few white settlers in the district would finance the building of a small prep school and be happy to employ her, but Ross hadn
’
t really meant her to take the suggestion seriously; he had merely used it to lead up to his announcement that he had cut off her retreat to England.

She stopped near the river and Keith chanted happily. He knew, without being told, that he must not paddle. In fact, he offered his own version of the reason.

“
There
’
s snails so small that you can
’
t even see them,
”
he informed Lou.
“
They dig into your skin and leave germs there, and you
’
re sick as anything for months.
”

Lou nodded. She had been lectured during her first days at the bungalow about bilharzia and other risks. The water looked cool and inviting but it was too sluggish to be healthy. She lay back in the grass and looked across at the opposite banks, where yellow acacias bloomed and plumbago rioted with lantana in tangles of soft blue and orange. There were tall trees behind the low ones, and against the sky she could see the gnarled bent limbs of a baobab. The baobabs were monstrosities, she thought; except that they sent out a few leaves and flowers every year they might be petrified growths of a primeval era. It was strange to
think
of all the growth blossoming that went on year after ear, in secret
.

“
I want to eat
”
said Keith,
“
and I can
’
t wear this silly hat—it
’
s too tight.
”

“
Is it? We must buy you a larger one. Start off with an egg sandwi
c
h while I open a bottle of squash.
”

They ate a little and lazed. Lou related something from Hans Andersen which Keith proceeded to lengthen with fantastic incidents about cowboys. He climbed a low tree and grazed his knee in the descent, went drowsy in the shade and was persuaded back into the car. It was after two when Lou set the car moving again. She felt better, but as she neared the homestead her uneasiness returned. Yet there was no need for it; Mrs. Acland would probably be resting and the house otherwise empty.

But as she turned into the drive she saw the estate car under a tree, and Paula and Martin, with Ross in attendance, close to Martin
’
s big tourer. She stopped Peter
’
s car behind the tourer, found her door opened and Ross
standing
there with a set look in his face that made her knees weak.

Martin Craddock said pleasantly,
“
We missed you, Lou. Too bad you promised Keith a picnic before you knew we were coming.
”

Lou slanted a swift glance at Ross, said faintly,
“
Yes, wasn
’
t it? I suppose you
’
re leaving now?
”

Paula had not moved from the open door of the tourer, but her china-blue eyes rested unsmilingly on Lou
’
s slightly flustered appearance.
“
You must come over and
see us again,
”
she said, acidly conventional.
“
Tomorrow?
”

“
Thank you very much.
”

Make it mid-morning. Peter will be here by then, so you can return his car, and I
’
ll drive you home.
”

Lou murmured something.

Keith
w
ent indoors to rest in his room, the two Craddocks got into the car and Martin set it in motion. Ross said something and lifted a hand, gravel spurted and the tourer disappeared.

Lou, heat and tension gripping her nerves, turned towards the steps. She found Ross beside her, his hand tight about her elbow as he guided her into the living-room. He closed the door behind them, strode across and closed the door to the corridor, and then stood still, staring at her with a narrow-eyed intensity which held the ruthlessness of a surgeon
’
s probe.

Lou spoke first, her tones scratchy and nervous.
“
I didn
’
t just vanish. Your aunt thought it would be all right for me to go.
”

“
Your clearing out just before lunch is the least of it,
”
he said crisply.
“
I
’
m prepared for that sort of thing from you. What I wasn
’
t prepared for was blatant deceit! Don
’
t pretend to wonder what I
’
m talking about. You know well
enough!
”

“
You
...
you might explain, just the same.
”

“
Explain! Explanations should come from you, surely?
”
The words were sharp little flints.
“
You sat out there on the veranda this morning and greeted Greg Allwyn as if you
’
d never seen him before. It must have been a put-up job between you!
”

Well, is was out, and in a way Lou was relieved, though she flinched from the green fury in his eyes.
“
Have you spoken to Greg about it?
”

“
Not on your life!
”
he flung at her.
“
I either had to ignore it of kick him out at once. I decided that for the present I
’
d let him think he
’
d got away with it. But you
...
you
’
re a different proposition.
”
His teeth snapped.
“
I
’
d have trusted you, Louise. There are things we don
’
t agree about but I
’
d have said that however young and silly you may be, you
’
re honest all through. Which only shows how even someone as seasoned as I am can be deceived. He came the day of the rain, didn
’
t he?
”

She nodded, and swallowed.
“
How did you find out?
”

“
Very easily. I noticed he was wearing a new type of watch and mentioned it
.
He said he
’
d lost his old one during the storm but didn
’
t know where.
”
The white edges of his teeth were closed.
“
But I know where. I still have the damned thing! You let me show it to you and you didn
’
t say a word.
”

She threw out a hand.
“
You asked me if I
’
d seen it before; I hadn
’
t
.
He must have dropped it as he came into the bungalow. If you
’
d only
...
”

“
Tell me what happened that day!
”

“It ...
it was night—almost ten o
’
clock when he arrived. He was unwell and thought the house would be empty. I suppose he imagined a servant would let him in.
”

“
Was it
after
I
’
d tried the doors?
”

She nodded, and moistened her lips.
“
You see
...”

“
And you
opened
to someone? Why didn
’
t you speak to him through a window and send him away?
”

“
It didn
’
t even occur to me. The rain was tumbling down and he must have waded through mud for some time before he arrived. I opened the door, he spoke just like anyone you might meet in England and I knew instinctively that he was a decent type.
”

“
That might be funny if one were in the mo
o
d for it
,
”
he said grimly.
“
You asked him in, gave him a drink
...
maybe the whisky
...
”
he broke off.
“
You even let me jest about that, yesterday!
”
he exclaimed.
“
What
’
s wrong with me! Why couldn
’
t you have come to me openly and said that the man turned up and you let
him
dry out?
”

By now, Lou
’
s private feelings were mingling with her indignation. She flared.
“
Greg Allwyn knows you, and to some extent I know you, too. He needed rest and to recuperate, and when I told him he
’
d have to live here at the house with you he wasn
’
t keen to do it while he was seedy. He simply wasn
’
t well enough to present himself for a new job.
”

“
The obvious procedure was to send the servant up here to
me!
”

“
I wanted to, but Greg was muddy and went and unshaven. I suppose he thought a night
’
s rest and a thorough clean-up in the morning would have made him fit to meet you. I was a complete surprise to him, and he had to alter h
i
s plans.
”

“
Because neither of you would approach me! You dried him out and sent him away to get wet again, and all because
...”
He stopped suddenly, then asked with dangerous quietness.
“
You
did
send him away, I suppose?
”

Drowningly, Lou cast about for something her mind could clutch and found nothing. Despairingly, she said,
“
Please try to understand. Greg had been ill, and he didn
’
t want you to see him as he was. He
’
d hoped to crawl into the house and perhaps be ready to meet you some time next day. I spoiled the hope for him, and the least I could do
...”