The Man at Mulera (32 page)

“
If I have a thorough check-up they
’
ll send me back to
England.
What would I do in England?
”

“
Get well, and come back again.
”

“
I
’
m fine. Been tipping the bottle too much, that
’
s all. Tell me your plans.
”

“
I haven
’
t any yet.
”

“
But what will you do while Keith is with the Randalls and Ross is away on his honeymoon—supposing the two coincide?
”

The question, brutally to the point, stated something which Lou
’
s mind had avoided for days. Her mouth went dry, but she summoned the new brittle smile.

“
I may be able to find a temporary job of some kind, or I may fix up something permanent and rent a home that I can share with Keith.
”

“
You won
’
t get him, I
’
m afraid. Paula will certainly send him away to school.
”

“
Then I
’
ll go to the school and ask for a j
o
b. I
’
ve had first class training.
”

“
Sounds brave,
”
he said laconically.

They talked for another half an hour, and then Lou gave her note to a waiter and strolled with Greg to Mrs. Bain
’
s car. She got behind the wheel and he closed the door and spoke through the open window.

“
Will you come down again tomorrow?
”

“
Probably, to see Keith.
”

“
Make it a certainty and I
’
ll meet you on the road—about four?
”

“
If you like. But, Greg
...
”

He reached in and patted her hand on the wheel.
“I’
m not hoping for anything, Goldilocks. I think you can help me sort something out and make a decision, that
’
s all.
”

“
About your future?
”

“
That
’
s right.
”
He paused, and said with a trace of bitterness,
“
I had to work at Mulera before I knew that what I
’
d like most is a share in a plantation. That
’
s the way things happen—too late.
”

“
Not always,
”
she said quickly.
“
Don
’
t ever lose heart; that
’
s the secret.
”

The kind of advice, she reflected hollowly, as she smiled at him and drove away, which was easy to give and nearly impossible to follow once one had passed a certain point on the down grade. She thought quite inte
n
sively about Greg that evening. The fact that he had improved so tremendously during the first week or so at Mulera showed that he had in him the germ of at least moderate success. It had been bad luck for Greg that Lou Prentice had been on the spot, to lift his hopes and perhaps unintentionally to torment him a little. She owed it to
him
to help him, if she could.

The next morning was grey and windy. Hot gusts swept into the house, bringing dust and raindrops. By lunchtime all the windows had to be fastened against the damaging, damp-laden wind, and the air was hot and clammy indoors, the sounds ghostly. Ants came out in regiments from cracks in the floor, and
r
ainflies found their way in through the vent-windows; horrible, gauzy, blood-sucking little things these rainflies, but they succumbed in myriads to sprayed insecticide.

Even the Bains had small appeti
t
e for lunch, and Mrs. Bain thought it would be wrong for Lou to drive down to the Vima Hotel today.

“
Mrs. Randall won
’
t expect you in this weather,
”
she said.
“
If it
’
s fine tomorrow morning you can set out first thing. That would be wiser.
”

For an hour, Lou watched the weather, and waited. But the hoped-for respite did not materialize. In fact, the rain fell faster and was swept horizontally among the trees. The elements in Africa have no pity. The sun is lethal, the winds have tornado strength, the rain lashes the earth in such vast quantities that rivers are filled, roads and bridges are washed away and villages demolished in the space of a few hours. Lou remembered this as she looked out at the red mud that covered the lawns, but she knew that this was a mild storm compared with the type that came in season.

She turned to Mrs. Bain, who sat placidly reading.
“
I really ought to go down to Vima. I met a friend there yesterday and he said he
’
d be on the road to meet me today at four. I can
’
t let him down.
”

“
He won
’
t be there—not in such weather.
”

“
He
’
s awfully unwise—and his car isn
’
t entirely waterpr
oof. I hate to ask for the coupe
but I do think I should go.
”

“
Won
’
t he come on here?
”

“
He might.
”
Then
s
he remembered.
“
But he doesn
’
t know where I am—only that I
’
m staying at a tea plantation for two weeks.
”

“
Or longer, my dear, if Ross doesn
’
t come back so soon.
”

Lou thought it safer to ignore this comfortable statement. She said anxiously,
“
He
’
s one of those men who worry you—doesn
’
t take care of himself. He
’
d get thoroughly wet and cold, and still wait
.
”

Mrs. Bain glanced at the grey shimmer of rain.
“
This isn
’
t so bad, I suppose. You
’
re not likely to meet other trac, so if you drive slowly you
’
ll be all right
.
But don
’
t try the return journey, Lou. It
’
s uphill and the bends are more treacherous. Stay down at the Vima Hotel and we
’
ll come down there for dinner. By that
time
the rain will have stopped or at least we
’
ll be able to gauge the condition of the road. All right?
”

“
Yes, but I
’
ve no intention of putting you out like that!
”

“
Don
’
t be silly. We love having dinner out, particularly on bad days.
”

“
O
u
ghtn
’
t we to ask Mr. Bain about it first?
”

“
My dear, when you
’
ve been married as long as I have you
’
ll know your man well enough to make minor decisions for him. Run along and change. If you
’
re going, the sooner you set out the better.
”

Lou slipped out of her house frock and into a turquoise glazed cotton. She made up hurriedly, buttoned on her raincoat and pulled the hood over the glossy hair. She dropped a pair of high-heeled sandals into a bag and went along to the living-room. Mrs. Bain looked at the brown walking shoes and nodded approvingly.

“
The car keys are over there in my bag—the front pocket Take it slowly, so that you don
’
t have to use the brake very much and you
’
ll have no trou
b
le.
”
She paused.
“
By the way, you might ask at the
Vima
Hotel if they got any mail today. We should have heard from Ross before now.
”

Lou hesitated near the door, said in low tones,
“
You
’
ll have a telegram the day he leaves London and he
’
ll probably come by the fast service and arrive here the following day.
”

Mrs. Bain
’
s pretty, forty-year-old face lit up, impishly.
“
Are you looking forward to his return?
”

“
No.
”
Lou said it too quickly.
“
It doesn
’
t really mean anything to me at all. As a matter of fact, Mrs. Bain, I ... I intend to leave as soon as his telegram arrives. I believe it
’
s quite easy to get a temporary post in one of the towns.
”

“
You don
’
t want to see Ross?
”
the other woman asked curiously.

Lou
’
s young features looked sharp and rather said.
“
No, I don
’
t I
’
m very grateful to him for bringing me here to you. You
’
ve been so very kind and I
’
ve never felt more at home,
but ...
well, this seems the time to break away. I
’
ll keep in touch with Mrs. Randall at Vima Hotel, and if I possibly can, I
’
ll take charge of Keith when they go back to Singapore. But I
’
m not going back to Mulera—ever
.”

“
You know what
’
s best for you, I suppose.
”
Mrs. Bain said it lightly, but her usually merry glance was keen.
“
What if Ross wants you to live there after he
’
s married, to look after the child?
”

Lou lost a little color.
“
I wouldn
’
t do it,
”
she said briefly, and turned to the door.

A few minutes later she was backing the car out of the shed and setting the windscreen-wipers on the move. Rain beat in through the open window, and she wound it up, to find that within seconds the windows were obscured by vapor. So the window had to remain open and the hood of her coat had to be fastened at her throat so that her hair should not be drenched.

It was a journey rather worse than she had anticipated. The road was thick red mud with rivers coursing between
boulders and the verges submerged. Lou sweated within the raincoat but was cooled by the rain that washed across her cheeks and ran down to her chin. She drove carefully round the couple of hairpin bends, negotiated a river that crossed the road and climbed a low hill which, on clear days, gave a five-mile distant view of the Lake. Today the view was limited to a dozen yards of rain
-
washed jungle. She saw an uprooted tree which had miraculously fallen backwards into the growth, and an untidy straggle of pineapples which had presumably been heaped somewhere to await transport.

Then the hot mist from the lowlands closed in and she saw nothing except shadows and sudden tree branches which warned her that she was running off the road. The car crawled, and even with the window down there was a thick mist inside the windscreen. Had Mrs. Bain forgotten this condition when she had g
i
ven permission for the drive? Perhaps she had thought the wind and rain would take care of the mist; but there was no wind now, and the rain had thinned.

Lou drove on at about fifteen miles an hour. There was a patch of better visibility and she accelerated and congratulated herself. All this, for Greg Allwyn, who might have had a little sense today and stayed wherever he was camped. Still, it was good to be doing something. She liked the Bains, but being shut up in the house with nothing to do was apt to rasp the nerves. And she was glad she had been able to speak so plainly about her plans. It had been a good idea, if sudden, to confide in Mrs. Bain at a time when she could not ask many questions.