Anne Hampson Where the South Wind Blows (pdf)

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'Yes, I suppose so.'
'Same time?'
She nodded her head.
'Where shall we go?'
'I'll take you out to dinner.'
'Then I'll put on a long dress.'
He smiled at her in the dimness of the car.
'You always look so lovely in an evening dress, Melanie.'
'Passable,' she said briefly, her eyes wandering to the window and to
the beautiful girl sitting there, opposite to Luke, and with the light just
in the correct place to enhance the clear unblemished skin of her face.
Romaine had once said to Melanie,
'Your trouble is that you haven't either technique or finesse in your
dealings with men. Whatever the occasion you should position
yourself so that every advantage is derived from the light and shade
of the room, or other place in which you find yourself. Quite often
you look positively plain, and all because you haven't taken the
trouble to ensure that you're positioned correctly in relation to the
light.'
'Not passable,' declared Robin with a hint of anger. 'You always used
to say that.'
She shrugged and, opening the door, slid from the car.
'Good night, Robin,' she said, and scarcely waited for his answer as
she moved away from the car.
It turned, and disappeared along the drive; Melanie went up the steps
of the stoep and stood by the rail, staring out over the gardens to the
veld beyond. The loneliness was intense, breathless; the shapes of the
kopjes and baobab trees became mysterious in the implacable
moonlight. A few pinpoints of silver filtered the moving foliage of
palm and bamboo lights from the native huts which lay beyond
Luke's one cropped area of lucerne and soya beans.
She turned, nerves tingling, to find Luke standing in the frame of the
open window. Even in shadow his face showed up harshly and his
mouth was tight, matching the taut line of that strong inflexible jaw.
'I hope you enjoyed your evening.' He spoke with icy politeness and
she remembered with poignant regret that he had heard from her lips
words that had not been true words spoken in self-defence, and put
into her mouth by her sister who knew that Luke was close enough to
overhear.
'Yes it was most enjoyable, thank you, Luke.' She looked at him,
desperately wanting to undo the damage that had been done earlier,
damage to his pride, mainly, for it could not have been pleasant for
him to hear that he was not the type that appealed to her.
'I'm delighted that you're so happy.' Sarcasm, surely, since she was
certain that she was looking far from happy. Luke's eyes flickered
over her and she felt stripped. In consequence colour flooded her
cheeks and all she desired was to escape. But this was not possible,
with Luke standing in the window like that. She realized suddenly
that she was in the full glow of the light from the room behind; it was
not a position in which Romaine would have found herself no, not
in a harsh light such as this. Instinctively Melanie would have turned
from him, but he was speaking again and, she was forced to look into
his face. 'Have you made another date with him?'
She nodded, but then kept her head averted.
'Yes, as a matter of fact, I have.'
It seemed an eternity before he spoke.
'I conclude that you've decided to take him back?' Strange the
inflection in his tone; it mingled with the harsh undertone and she
wished she could have grasped its meaning.
'No, not at all,' she replied softly, her eyes straying once more to the
girl in the room behind. Romaine was becoming restless; it was clear
that she was feeling herself neglected and she would be hating it. 'I
promised to go out with him while he's here,' added Melanie, and
heard an exclamation escape him. As before she wished she could be
given some insight into what went on within his mind.
'And how long is he staying here?'
'I don't know.'
'Until you're in a position to go back with him,' rejoined Luke in harsh
and frigid accents. 'I hope you'll honour your promise to stay until
Deborah's father returns?'
'Certainly I shall! And as for returning with Robin, I've no intention
of--'
'Of picking up the threads?' he cut in almost savagely. 'But he's your
type I overheard you say so to your sister.' He waited, and she saw a
nerve move in the side of his neck. 'Well, have you nothing to say to
this?'
Automatically she shook her head, asking herself just what she could
say. Luke had heard, and that was that. A denial would be useless
under these circumstances. Luke would not believe her, and he could
not be blamed for any scepticism he might display. 'No, Luke, I've
nothing to say.' He raked her face contemptuously. 'You'll go back to
him,' he asserted harshly. 'Before you know where you are you'll be
wearing his ring again!'
She said, scarcely knowing why, 'I suppose it would provide me with
an anchor.' 'Undoubtedly! And as that appears to be all you require
from marriage then it should, after all, work out very well.'
'Security's important.' Again she knew not why she spoke like this.
She supposed that it was because she was indifferent about the
conversation, desiring only to bring it to an end.
'All-important, obviously. Well, Melanie, I wish you luck!'
So sharp and angry was his tone that she thought he would have
turned from her and re-entered the room where Romaine was waiting
for him. But he stood motionless, staring past her at the scene on
which she herself had been looking a short while previously. Clouds
shifting across the moon created patterns on the ground and on the
low hills, so that they became covered with a patchwork quilt of
contrasting light and shade. Along the dry stream bed palms and
bamboos moved gently, blanking out the lights from the huts now and
then. The silence was profound, unearthly.
'I think I'll turn in it's getting late.' Melanie was all awkwardness,
just as she had been in the very beginning.
'You're right; it is late.' Still he did not move; he seemed wholly
unaware of the girl sitting in the room, but he also seemed unaware of
Melanie herself as he said, so softly that she had to strain hard to
catch the words,
.. willing to accept second best ... simply for security.'
'What do you mean by that?' she wanted to know and, as he jerked
visibly, she knew that he had in fact been murmuring his thoughts
aloud.
'By second best?' He gave a shrug and added without much interest,
'Second best's sufficient for your present needs, so you'll marry
Robin who after all is your particular type,' he added, and she did
wonder if she detected a hint of bitterness to his voice. Something
about him made her think of his own unproductive love affair; he had
got over it without too much trouble, she decided. But then strong
emotional feelings were seldom found in men; they very soon
allowed other things to become superimposed on any hurts they
might happen to sustain. How easy it was for them! Melanie almost
wished she herself were a man.
'I'm going in,' she said again, and this time Luke moved to one side,
making room for her to pass him. 'Good night, Luke.' A moth flew
close to her before settling on a small branch of the bougainvillaea
vine curling its way around one of the tough wooden pillars of the
stoep. The little creature's eyes burned like rubies, and they seemed to
be looking right at her. Automatically she moved a finger close to the
bough and" the moth flew off again. Luke watched intently, but
Melanie never glanced at him again as she went past him and into the
room. She heard his good night, glanced at the petulant face of her
sister, then passed through the room to the corridor outside.
CHAPTER EIGHT
ROMAINE had somehow managed to convince the doctor that she was
still unfit to be moved. To Melanie the whole situation was ridiculous
simply because it was plain to her that her sister was totally
recovered, and had been so after the first couple of days. But she [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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