The Man at Mulera (18 page)
Authors: Kathryn Blair
Elinor
’
s brief laugh was discordant.
“
You and Ross Gilmore are against me—I felt it. You think I want custody of Keith because of his money, but that
’
s not true. I couldn
’
t afford to keep Keith myself, but I could take care of him far better than you two people who are enemies!
”
“
Enemies!
”
Lou echoed blankly.
Elinor
’
s expression was knowledgeable.
“
The man considers you a nuisance, and you
’
re aware of it, and resent it I don
’
t blame you—but as the child
’
s guardians you two are thoroughly incompatible.
”
Lou shivered. It was like having one
’
s heart drawn out and examined. She turned to the door and would have gone to her room had not a car drawn up beyond the screen door and Martin Craddock came striding up the steps.
She crossed to open the screen, smiled automatically at the big placid man whose smile asked if he might come in. She stood aside so that he could enter, made the introduction.
Martin gave his usual courteous greeting, added,
“
You must come over and have tea with my sister and me, Miss Weston. We
’
re always glad to have a guest
.
”
“
Are you?
”
said Elinor in hard tones.
“
I can
’
t imagine myself having anything in common with a government officer.
”
Martin parried the slight rudeness.
“
Then perhaps you
’
re in for a surprise.
”
He turned to Lou, took a small bottle from his pocket
.
“
I called in to give Mrs. Acland this pick-me-up. Tell her I had it freshly dispensed this morning. The instructions are on the label.
”
Elinor tilted a small malicious smile at him, stretched her legs so that she looked thin and feline in the chair.
“
I
’
ve met your sort before,
”
she said.
“
You run everything and everyone according to the book of rules and are looked up to like a patriarch. The Bwana D.C.
”
Lou wished the woman would curb her bitter tongue, but Martin was not in the least put out. He was still smiling in his solid English fashion when he replied,
“
The duty of a D.C. is to develop a personal interest in everybody in his province. To me, it
’
s no longer a duty; it
’
s part of my life, and I like people of all kinds.
”
He picked up the bottle he had set on the table, shook it meditatively and put it down again.
“
That
’
s an awfully big chip you have on your shoulder, Miss Weston.
”
“
But all mine own, and we
’
re the best of friends. I
’
ve never been safe, as you are.
”
“
Then you must stay with us and taste safety for a while,
”
he suggested.
“
We
’
re not so bad when you get to know us.
”
He gave Lou an elder-brotherly smile.
“
Bring Miss Weston over some time soon. And give Mrs. Acland my regards, will you?
”
He was gone, and Lou was left with the thin, fading Elinor. She took the bottle and moved once more towards the corridor.
“
If you want anything, just ring the bell.
”
B
ut Elinor held up a tropically yellow hand.
“
I think you
’
d better know at once that I can
’
t remain in Mulera for more than a few days. I might have tolerated Ross Gilmore—you know where you are with such a man—but I can
’
t bear the Craddock type. So you and the other guardian will have to come to a quick decision.
”
Lou nodded and went from the room. She slipped the medicine bottle on to the table beside the bed in which Mrs. Acland slept and crept along to her own room. And there she stood and breathed deeply, tried very hard to shed the battered sensation. Really, life was becoming too much of a tangle. She couldn
’
t, even momentarily, imagine Keith in the care of Elinor Weston, and yet she was rent by a deep compassion for her. It wouldn
’
t be fair to turn the woman away, her life as empty as ever.
Lou opened her letter and read it disinterestedly. Arnold posed an ultimatum. If he did not hear by return mail that Lou was relinquishing Keith and coming home, he would assume she did not care for him. Well, he would have to assume it, she thought unhappily. She didn
’
t miss him at all, so it must be true.
Later, when the boy brought her a cup of tea, he presented her with another envelope addressed to hers
e
lf. It held a note from Greg Allwyn.
“
What about watching the sun rise, with me, tomorrow morning?
”
he asked.
“
Set your alarm clock at five and come straight out. I
’
ll be on the road, waiting for you. Unless you turn me down at once, I
’
ll take it you accept. Do come!
”
It was like a cool draught of clear water. Lou definitely intended to awaken at five, and without an alarm that might rouse the household!
CHAPTER SIX
S
unrise,
watched from the top of a hill, was all Lou could possibly have expected. There was darkness, with a shimmer on the Lake below and the yawning twitter of stirring birds in the cedars and palms. Then a thin scribbled line of flame showed the mountains in the distance, colors came alive, tenderly bloomed over with dusk, and the flame paled into a wash of gold which turned the Lake into a molten yellow-blue metal. Leaves shone with last night
’
s mist, a crane flapped up into the branches and a small animal darted sleepily after a lizard.
The world turned gently in a walking dream, stretched and began to slide into its daily rhythm. Lou sighed pleasurably, drank the coffee Greg gave her and blinked at the swift dove-blue of the sky, the glassy ripples of the Lake.
“
The air is so fresh,
”
she said,
“
and everything is beautiful.
”
“
Everything,
”
he agreed, looking at her.
“
Lou, have you ever been made love to first thing in the morning?
”
“
Never, and it
’
s not going to happen now. I didn
’
t get myself up for it!
”
“
You smell like a perfumed waterfall.
”
“
Hair-wash and eau de Cologne,
”
she told him unromantically.
“
It
’
s been marvellous, Greg, but we must go back now.
”
“
It
’
s not seven yet
.
Why not have breakfast with me?
”
She shook her head.
“
I mustn
’
t overdo it
.
Please let
’
s go
.
”
He started the engine of the jeep, and as he let in the clutch and they moved away towards the road she looked at him. His sand-colored hair was untidy and youthful
-
looking, and the jaded humorlessness had gone from
his
mouth. His chin was still too graceful for a man, of course; he couldn
’
t alter that
.
But there was more life in his light b
r
own eyes and his smile had regained the quality which had doubtless caught at many feminine hearts in the past. In his short time at Mul
e
ra he had shed years and a degree
of disillusionment, which in its way was something of a miracle.
As he drove he spoke lightheartedly. The job was hard, he said, but congenial. Ross was making some improvements in the storage sheds and he, Greg, had made a suggestion which had actually been accepted. Ross was talking of increasing the cotton acreage and starting an additional nursery for coffee seedlings. There was nothing like growing things for making a man feel good.
“
You grew trees before,
”
she pointed out
.
“
It was monotonous and long-term, and it didn
’
t really matter whether we made the forests pay or not. Actually, in Nyasaland the forestry does pay for itself, but there
’
s no drive for profits which can be ploughed back into the land. Believe it or not, I
’
m learning a whale of a lot from Ross.
”
“
I believe it
,
”
she said dryly.
“
You
’
re not the only one.
”
She waved towards the coffee trees.
“
I
’
ll walk through, Greg. I
’
d rather.
”
Reluctantly, he came to a halt at the lane which led round to the house.
“
I wish we could see each other more often. Shall I tell you something?
”
“
What sort of something?
”
“
You
’
re the first really innocent girl
I’
ve ever known. They may have existed near me but I passed them by.
”
“
Because you were looking for something else?
”
He grinned.
“
Maybe. The trouble is, I
’
m no longer myself. For the first time in my life I
’
m on the defensive with a woman. It
’
s shattering!
”
She laughed and opened her door, looked back at him.
“
No, don
’
t move. It
’
s been lovely, Greg. And stay on the defensive, will you? It
’
s such a relief!
”
She waved to him and turned along the lane; the jeep moved on. In navy jeans and an open-throated powder-blue shirt, the streaky gold-brown hair tucked under a gay bandanna, she looked like a gangling, carefree boy as she entered the garden and halted at the tap from which the gar
den
hose snaked away towards the flower beds. She unscrewed the nozzle and dropped the hose, turned on the tap and let the water run over her hands and arms before burying her face in her cupped palms. It felt good, almost as cold as the deep well from which it was drawn. She dabbed her cheeks with a handkerchief but left the droplets in her brows and across her forehead. She turned up towards the house, felt her heart skip a little as she found Ross on the path. Ross, in drill slacks and a white shirt,
his
dark hair slicked back and still damp from the shower.. He looked big and heartbreakingly handsome.
“
Good morning,
”
he said with cold politeness.
“
Been places?
”
Lou
’
s light mood fell away and her nerves began to tingle.
“
Yes, I have,
”
she answered, borrowing his brevity.
“
I didn
’
t know you favored the early morning.
”
“
I thought you knew everything.
”
A muscles tightened in his jaw but he spoke without heat.
“
I heard Greg
’
s jeep before dawn. You didn
’
t go out with him, by any chance?
”