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This idea of Drus stepbrother Mart sounded rather fun-he had suggested that she join him
on the beautiful Caribbean island where he lived and pretend to be his fianc, to keep other
husband-hunting females at bay. But that was before she met the enigmatic but irresistibly
attractive Captain Keith Faulkner! From their very first precipitate meeting Dru had
managed to give the worst possible impression of herself, so even after she had fallen
headlong in love with him Keith continued to have the lowest opinion of her. And anyway,
he believed she was engaged to another man...
CHAPTER ONE
THE scream of the jet engines died away. The plane door
opened and the warm air met Dru like the opening o an
oyen door. Already, she was feeling overdressed in her
trim linen suit as she stepped from the plane into a drowsy
sunlit world to the quiet rustle o palm trees murmuring
in the soft aftemoon breeze. Beyond the runway, densely
wooded hills were outlined darkly against the shimmering haze o a tropical blue sky. Dru's breath of pure

pleasure was mingled wth surprise and delight when her

eyes alighted uponthe red double-decker bus trundling
across the tarmac to pull up beside the plane. It was as
unmistakably British as the island, despite the gay canopied roof.
The driver caught her eye and grinned as she boarded
the bus. Men usually grinned at Dru Temple, a natural
blonde with dancing green eyes, a small piquant face and
a smile dazzling everyone who carne into contact with it.
She settled down in her seat confident that she was going
to enjoy her visit to the island o St. Ovis. She had heard
so much about it from her stepbrother Mart, who was
registrar at the hospital. Dru had only to put her hand
inside her white shoulder bag to feel the crispness of his
letter.
'Be a sport, Dru,' he had written. 'Come and rescue me
from the husband-hungry females. There's a shortage of
males on the island and the pressure is terrfic. Have a
holiday at my expense posing as the fiance 1 need for
protection, or your newly acquired brother will never be a
surgeon!'
.
Mart's father, a distinguished consultant surgeon in
London, had met and marriedDru's mother within a few
months of their meeting. A widower sinee the death of his
first wife soon after Mart's birth, Steven Loghtan had
fallen headlong in love with Emma Temple, a pretty divoreee who ran a high-class boutique in the West End of
London. After the honeymoon he had whisked her off to
graee his eharming home on the Thames near Marlow.
Dru had met her new stepbrother Mart at the wedding,
a light-hared, slightly built young man whose blue eyes
had roved over her with approval. Like his father, he was
clean-shaven and immaeulately dressed, and while Dru
found him likeable, she had decided that one member of
the medical profession was enough for any farnily. So she
had waved him baek to his island without a qualm.
Mart's letter had come at a time when Dru was feeling
the break with her mother profoundly. Not wishing to
carry on the business herself, she had prevailed upon her
mother to sell it. The new owner was a brash young
woman of twenty-five, four years older than Dru. She had
none of Emma Temple's exquisite taste or delieate approaeh, and Dru, who had stayed on to help her to learn
the business, was only too glad to get away in the end.
Now she was on the island of Sto Ovis posing as Mart's
fianee to lend an image to the shadowy figure he had
eonjured up o his intended. Mart had not enquired

whether she had beeome engaged herself, whieh was not

surprising since she had told him at the wedding that her
heart was staying under the eounter until the right customer came along.
Dru never forgot that her mother had divorced her
father when she herself was little more than a baby and
she had vowed that the same thing would not happen to
her. She was determined to marry the right man or none
at all. She had steered clear from the more promiseuous
way of living, and while her boy-friends had been varied,
there had been no sleeping about with them. Sex before
marriage, in her opinion, did not solve a thing. Dru was
eonvinced that if one married a healthy normal person
everything worked out as beautifully as her mother's
marriage to Steven had done.
The bus had pulled up at the Customs sheds and Dru
stepped into line with the rest of the passengers. There
was a small crowd awaiting the plane's arrival, she noticed, as she left the Customs to hoist her shoulder bag
into position and piek up her suitcase. Mart was among
them, srniling whitely against his tan in a suit o white
drill. The next moment, mindful of her role as his fiance,
Dru put down her case and ran towards him. The erowd
surged forward as she ran and she threaded her way
through to fling herself at the suit of white drill. Pulling
down his head, she kissed him soundly on his lips.
But the arms, instead of drawing her close, were putting her from him. Dru had closed her eyes against the
glare ofthe tropical sun. N ow she was opening them ever
wider in sheer dismay to see a pair of strange grey ones
beneath a uniform hat. Her breath caught in her throat
and her green eyes did a double-take, summing up in
seconds the much wider shoulders. They were in white
drill all right, only these were adorned by navy and gold
braid to match the cuffs of the strong brown hands putting her away from him.
He had an arresting faee, a slightly curved maseuline
nos e and a rather sensitive mouth redeemed by a firm
determined jaw. His mouth had curved upwards slightly
as though ehecking the urge to chuckle. His eyes, however,
were his best feature. They were slate grey and enigmatic.
'Wrong number,' he vouchsafed in the kind of deep
musical voice which Dru could imagine notched up more
than the usual number of dates.
Her cheeks could not have been more scarlet. 'Oh, my
goodness!' she cried, 'Do forgive me. I'm most awfully

sorry. 1 thought you were ... 1 was mistaken. You see, my

step...'
Dru checked the wild rush of words just in time. What
an idiot she was! Within minutes of arriving on the island
she had nearly given the game away by referring to her
supposed fianc as her stepbrother. She could not make
up her mind if her giddy reaction was on account of the
kiss or the tropical heat. But she certainly felt odd, and it
really was her own heart thudding aloud like a ceremonial drum.
'Of course. Now, if you'll excuse me.'
" The heavenly voice passed on and Dru found herself
staring up into Mart's startled face.
'What was that in aid of?' he drawled. 'Seems 1 missed
out.'
'So did 1,' she commented weakly. "What happened?
First you were there, then it was someone else. Whatever
must the man think of me?' She put her hands to her
buming cheeks.
Mart shrugged. 'Probably put you down as just another
designing female after her man. The island's full of them.
Being handsome and viril doesn't help, as 1 well
know.'
Dru's withering look relegated his smugness to the
depths.
'Perhaps, my dear answer to a maiden's prayer, you'l1
step down from that pedestal of yours long enough to
explain a few things. Why did you hold back at a time
when you should have been rushing forward to demonstrate to all and sundry that your fiance had at last arrived?'
He grinned. 'Because I'd spotted another arrival who
might have beaten you to it had I shown myself. 1'11
fetch your case.'
.
As Mart strode away, she looked ahead of him to see
the man she had kissed greeting the star tum off the jet
plane, a beautiful sophisticate who had aroused her
interest during the joumey by her Ianguid poise.
"Is that the reason you backstepped?' she asked as Mart
joined her with the case.
He followed the direction of her eyes and nodded.
'Name, Liane Marshall. Sister at the hospital.'
'And the Adonis in naval uniform?' Dru fell into step
beside him,

"The captain of the cruiser in the bay. Half his ratings

are in the hospital with a mystery illness - picked up a
bug in Martinique.'
Dru could still"feel the imprint of strong fingers on her
arms when the man had put her away from him. His very
abruptness should have put her off. Instead it was having
the opposite effect, Ten minutes on the island and she was
bowled over by her first man!
She gurgled. 'Why are there so many more. women on
the island than men?' she asked curiously.
'There's no future here for the men apart from farm
work, They leave when they're old enough for work
abroad in the cities.'
'Then the birthrate can"t be very hgh,' she deducted.
'Don't you believe it, They breed like rabbits,' he
grinned. 'There's none of mine yet.'
'1 should think not! What are you aiming to do? Court
all and marry none? Surely it would have been better for
you to engage a fiance on the island instead of sending
for me?'
He said derisively, 'And find myself hooked for life by
the same obliging female? No, thanks. I'm safe with
you,'
Dru, however, was only half with him. The other half
was trying to figure out why every conceivable gift of
feminine beauty should club together and attach itself to
one person, namely Liane Marshall. She sensed an undercurrent,
'Why try to evade this Liane Marshall, who's surely
every man's drearoboat?' she asked curiously.
"Let's say it's a case of embarras de choix, as the French
sayo Too many dishes to choose from. Besides,' he grinned
down at her, 'I've been dabbling in research since I came
to the island, tropical diseases and all that kind of
thing.'
Dru nodded. 'In other words, you prefer some loathsome bug to the charms of the female form? I thought
you were a normal man.'
'If that's meant as a chaUenge to my manhood, I can
soon prove it, I'm no monk, but I won't become involved
too deeply. I make it a rule never to take the same girl out
twice.'
'Is that why you sent for me, because you ran out of
girls?'
'That, my pet, is the understatement of the year. Remember the rabbits? They were breeding long before I

arrived. A surfeit of girls. Hop into the car while I chuck

your case into the boot.'
Intrigued, Dru obeyed and Mart stowed her case away,
then slipped into the driving seat beside her. The wide
roadway leading from the .airport weaved through a residential area dazzling the eye with frangipani, bougainvillea and hibiscus. Then the villas grew fewer until they
disappeared and plantations of breadfruit, coconuts,
bananas, yams and mangoes nestled in cool groves between irrigated ditches overlooking the blue water of the
bay. Presently Mart stopped the car on a rise.
"The hospital.' He gestured to long sprawling white
buildings to their left overlooking the village below. 'Built
two years ago.'
Dru was impressed by th immaculate grounds and the
windbreak of pines.
'Very nice,' she murmured inadequately.
Mart was enthusiastic. 'It's fine to work in. We have a
special research block which deals in tropical deseases.' .
They drove down a slight incline to continue along the
coast road. The air was sweet and enervating and Dru sat
back allowing the strangeness to seep into her as she enjoyed first impressions.
'What do you do, apart from taking out difIerent girls?'
she asked drowsily,
"Play golf, tennis, riding, sailing and water-skiing,
Sometimes I go skin-diving aroong the coral or fsh for
tuna and marlin.'
He was slowing the car down to take several hairpin
bends when Dru sat up to stare at what looked to be a
fairy castle set on a shelf of rock against dark green,
densely-packed woods.
'Isn't that lovely?' she cried, leaning forward in her
seat. 'A fairy castle overlooking the sea, What more could
anyone aski"
'The governor's residence,' Mart commented laconically.
'Eligible or married?' Dru teased.
'Married with a daughter plump and playful as a
puppy.'
Dru chuckled.'Sounds delicious. Is she?'
The car bounced over several potholes in fue road and
Mart muttered something unprintable under his breath.
'About as menacing as these potholes, like the rest of the
island women.' The subject obviously bored him, for he
changed it abruptly. 'The hotel I'm taking you to is one

of the most popular on the island. It's just ahead, facing

the Caribbean. Further north is the Atlantic.'
He slowed down as he spoke to turn in between double
gates and along a driveway. The grounds were a riot of
tropical plants, flowers and palm trees.
'Here we are.' Mart puUed in at the car park. "The
Garland Hotel.'
Dru stepped from the car to gaze up at fue place that
was to be her home for the duration of her visit, The air
was warm and relaxng, as her green eyes travelled over
the white facade of balconies encircling the four-storied
stone building.
'It's just perfect.' She shone up at him. 'Just thinking of
palm trees and gorgeous sandy beaches sends me in a tizzy
of delight. Oh, Mart, I don't know how you'll be able to
tear yourself away when the time comes.'
'I'm arnbitious, remember,' he reminded her, bringing
his eyes suddenly to meet hers. 'Y ou're right, though,
about leaving. The island kind of grows on one.'
He accompanied her to the reception desk where she
signed the register and was handed her keys. A porter
carne to take her case and Mart made arrangements to
call for her that evening.
A few hours later, Dru had washed and changed into a
white tailored evening dress and was ready when Mart
arrived.
He surveyed with approval the golden hair swathed
around her small head, leaving free tantalizing curly tendrils on her cheeks.
'Peaches and cream,' he murmured, his eyes coming to
rest on her clear skin and bright eyes. 'What a change
after olive skins!'
'Don't try to convince me that all the sultry beauties of
this island leave you cold, because I just won't believe
it.'
Dru smiled up at him as she settled beside him in his
car, noting how his white evening jacket became his
tanned face. As she did so the picture of a big dark man in
uniform shut him out. The way her whole body and lips
. had met his still conjured up a thrill of excitement hitherto unknown to her. Brief though it had been, it had
opened up an entirely new world, a disturbing, almost
frightening one. No man had ever had that effect on her
before.
She rea:lly ought to have taken care instead of making

blindly for a suit of white drill, yet she did not regret it
one bit. The thrill she had experienced was one she
wanted to repeat again and again. She must either be
mad or overtired ever to think of such a thing, of
course.
Mart was saying, 'We're going to the clubhouse, again
a popular place, where everybody meets including the
hospital staff. Introducing you there as my intended is as
good as announcing it in the press.'
'I've no ring, a little fact you seem to have overlooked,'
Dru said dryly ..
He grinned. 'You forget I'm only a poor registrar. Advertising that along with your presence should keep me
safe.'
She chuckled. 'What about hooking a rich wife?'
. He snorted. 'And dance to the fiddler playing the tune?
No, thanks. How do you like your hotel?'
Dru thought back to bright cheerful rooms leading out
on to a balcony and remembered her elation as she emptied her case into spacious built-in cupboards. Her sigh
was ecstatic.
'Lovely. Someone put a vase of flowers on my dressing
table that I don't know the name of, apart from a few
li:lies among them. I feel as if I had a little serpent of
energy inside me ready to shoot forth at the drop o a hat
and run riot around the island. I'm going to love it.'
Mart swung the cal' on to the shingle coast road going
further north. Five minutes later they were passing
through the village almost hugging the sea where small
jetties were lovingly lapped by the calm water. Yachts
and small craft swayed gently at their moorings and, as
they left the town behind, scents from the gardens of
villas greeted them.
Dru guessed that the clubhouse lay between the village
and Government House, which seemed much nearer
when Mart dipped the nose o the cal' downwards to the
beach. The setting was hewn out of rock, an enclosed
semi-circle with a windbreak of palm trees fronted by the
clubhouse with its own private beach.
Tennis courts and bowling greens lay behind the main
building, sheltered and cool with a luxuriant growth of
cascading creepers lining the rocks of the cliffs behind,
Mart parked the car and led the way between gaily
striped loungers and tables to the clubhouse veranda
where he guided her along to the end table.
A smiling waiter brought them drinks and the other
tables filled. The husky dulcet tones fell pleasantly on

Dru's ears from behind where she sat with her back to
the other tables.
'Mart's done it again. Trust him to hook a new arrival!
Tourist, probably. He always plays safe.'
Mart grinned over Dru's shoulders, in no whit dismayed by the mocking laugh.
'No tourist this time, Liane. May I introduce my intended? Miss Dru Temple, Miss Liane Marshal1 and Mr,
Howell Seabright, our pedriatic surgeon.'
Dru tumed to see the woman she had admired at the
airport that aftemoon. She looked breathtaking in a
halter-necked dress of vivid pink imparting a deep rich
glow to her honey-coloured shoulders. Her raven hair,
which she wore loose about her neck, had the blue-black
sheen of a raven's wing. The carmined lips parted to present a wary smile.
Her greeting was perceptively cool, but the warm
cordial one of her companion more than made up for it.
Beauty and the beast, Dru thought. A nice beast with a
pleasantly ugly face and bulky figure. His hand clasp was
furo and reassuring, his features clean-shaven and topped
by hair receding from a high intelligent forehead. The
frank and engaging twinkle in his eyes put her immediately at her ease and she could imagine his charm working wonders with his small patients.
'Delighted to meet you, Miss Temple. Have you been
in this part of the world before?'
'No.'
'Then I envy you first impressions. In my opinion
nothing is ever quite like them.'
He hitched up immaculate trousers to take one of the
chairs Mart had hastily drawn up at their table. Before
Mart could sit down again they were joined by a second
couple, a pleasant red-haired young man, obviously American, and a pretty dark-haired girl with merry brown
eyes.
Mart said 'Pete Brady and Wisp Mallon, the
,
Govemor's daughter. My fiance, Dru Temple.'
Dru thought Wisp looked a little taken aback, but the
next moment her face still reflected an inner sense of fun.
She had two delightful dimples when she smiled and they
peeped out at Dru.
'Y ou don't know what you're taking on, Dru - I may
call you Dru?'
'By all means.'

They all sat down and a waiter served drinks. Liane,

who sat next to Mart with Dru on his other side, said
lightly, '1 must say I'm rather surprised, Mart. After Miss
Temple's rapturous greeting at the airport, I'm rather
confused.' Her smile at Dru was meant to be disarming,
but Dru felt the sting. 'Is Keith an old friend of yours?'
Dru, aware that all eyes were upon her, blushed to the
roots of her hair. She was momentarily confused.
'Keith?' she echoed dumbly, a frown on her youthfully
smooth forehead. '1 don't know anyone named Keith.'
Liane's delicate eyebrows shot up and she laughed. 'Do
you usually go around kissing strange men?'
Dru cringed inwardly at the ensuing silence and caught
Mart's steady gaze in desperation. One thing she had to
leam fairly quickly was how to deal with any situation
which let Mart down in her role as his fiance. He got the
message,
Im afraid Dru was so eager for my loving arms that
she dashed forward to the wrong man. He grinned at her.
Never mind, darling, Im sure Captain Keith Faulkner
Was in no whit put out. I have yet to meet a man more
Capable of taking everything in his stride.
'Some people have all the luck,' Pete drawled in a pronounced American accent.
"How delicious,' Wisp gurgled. rtwhat a lovely mistake! Keith is a terribly attractive and exciting man.' Her
dancing eyes strayed to Mart. 'But what a let-down to kss
Mart after that!'
Mart growled ferociously, Jealousy will get you nowhere,' and everyone laughed.
The first hurdle successfully cleared, Dru set out to
enjoy herself. Her face assumed its habitual expression of
sweet serenity and she sparkled as the meal progressed,
enjoying the perfectly cooked food and the young gay
companionship. Later, they danced to the music of a
small group of musicians with the thunder of the surf on
the shore providing a restful background. During the
evening, she was introduced to members of the club,
knowing that she would never remember half their
names. Several times she had looked thoughtfully at Mart
to see bis reaction to Wisp and Liane when he danced
with them.
Which one was he most afraid of? Wisp's impish charm
or Liane's sex appeal oozing out of every delicate pore of
her lovely olive skin? Pete Bradshaw, the American, paid
marked attention to Wisp and he had been very attentive
to herself. Dru had discovered that he was a member of

the American Forces on the entertainment side. Along

with a concert party be entertained Nato forces stationed
in isolated places and was on the island after a forced
landing because of engine trouble.
When Mart had to leave the club at ten to go on duty
Dru left with him. Mart had dropped her off at the Garland Hotel and she stood on her balcony realizing that the
night was still young and much too lovely to leave. The
gold and orange sky reflected like molten metal on the
water in the bay in the rays of the dying sun. Dark silhouettes of bathers enjoying the warm moist air increased her
restlessness and on the spur of the moment she decided
to join them,
The next half hour was one of sheer bliss as she waded
out .into deep water, swimming easily and tirelessly in the
salt buoyancy beneath the glassy surface. The moon had
risen to cast a silvery path across from the horizon to the
shore. The breathtaking beauty of the scene was dazzling
to Dru, filling the very air with enchantment. Refreshed
and not in the least sleepy, she made her way back to the
hotel. Overhead, the palms rustled gently as though disturbed by the distant twang of a guitar and the hotel
loomed in a white blur caressed by enveloping blue
shadows.
Idly, she tweaked the branch of an oleander in passing
and was rewarded by a pouf of sweet fragrance. So far,
the other guests at the hotel were an unknown quantity
and she gazed up at the balconied facade wondering
what they were like. The balconyof the rooms below her
own on the second floor had the windows thrust wide
open, but there seemed to be no one about.
Back in her room after changing into her pyjamas, she
washed the salt from her swimsuit and decided to leave it
to dry on the balcony rail during the night. As she leaned
over her balcony to shake it out, the top sailed from her
fingers to land on the rail of the balcony below. Dru
gasped in dismay.
-, What to do now? The obvious thing to do was to ring
room service, but when they put her through to the rooms
below there was no answer. The occupants were either
out or asleep, Upon reflection, Dru concluded that they
would not be asleep because the balcony windows were
flung wide open, so they must be out.
Once again a peep over the balcony told her the swirnsuit top still dangled tantalizingly on the rail below. If
only she could drop a line down and hook it up - better
still, why not lower herself down outside the rail of her

own balcony, swing inwards and drop down on to 'the

lower balcony floor. She could then retrieve her swimsuit
top, enter through the open French window, cross the
room and let herself out in the hotel eorridor. Her
pyjamas, a pretty shade of turquoise, would not look out
of place if anyone should see her on the way up to her
own rooms. In any case, a wrap would impede her progress down.
Climbing over her balcony rail, Dru lowered herself by
the ironwork, swung herself inwards and landed softly
on the balcony floor, right into the arms of a wide-shouldered figure in a towelling robe.
'What the devil is going on?' a deep voice thundered as
Dru's heart dropped simultaneously with the bathrobe
draped on his shoulders. The next moment he was lowering her to the ground as she blinked at bronze rippling
muscles and a hirsute chest in utter dismay. It was
difficult to say who was the most surprised, herself or the
big brown man standing looking at her with slate grey ice
chips of eyes. It was only too clear to her that he had
entered his rooms as she was climbing over her balcony,
having returned from his bathe. Of a11 the luck! Another
five minutes and she would have rnissed him.
The silence was shattering, herself bereft of speech and
noting much against her wi11 that he was as magnificent
without uniform as with it.
He drew in a rasping breath.'NQt you again! Don't te11
me you've rnistaken these rooros for those of your boyfriend?'
Dru stiffened indignantly. 'If you want to know,' -she
said witheringly, '1 came down to pick up a part of my
sw.imsuit which had fallen on your balcony rail as I was
putting it out to dry.'
'1 don't suppose it oceurred to you to ring room service,' he said curtly,
'1 did,' she snapped. 'You were out.'
There was an uneasy silence during which he took bis
time looking over her slim figure before shooting a glance
at the balcony rail.
His firm lips thinned. 'A likely story,' he said cool1y.
He's hateful, she thought, and said aloud, 'If you'll
allow me to collect my belongings 1'11 go.'
He strolled lazily to the open French window and
waved a brown hand towards the balcony. 'Go ahead.'
Something in his tone swung her round. The swimsuit
top was no longer on the rail. It had gone. The next

moment, Dru was bending over the rail looking down

below to the forecourt. There was no sign of her swimsuit.
It had disappeared completely.
She swung round again then to face him, her arros outstretched, her hands gripping each side of her on the ra l,
like an animal at bayo
"It isn't there,' she gasped. 'It's. - .. gone!'
'Exactly. Now suppose you te11 me the real reason why
you sneak 'down to my rooms clad only in your
pyjamas.'
His voice was chipped from the same ice as his eyes.
They pierced her until she felt as exposed and helpless as
a fish thrown suddenly on to dry land. A cold sweat broke
on her forehead. She had never known anything like it.
The hateful man was making her feellike some gangster's
moll!
'I've told you the reason. Good heavens, man, what
kind of person do you take me for?'
'Now that's a very interesting question, and one which
I could ask you.'
Her green eyes flashed sparks. '1'11 tell you what kind of
a person 1 think you are - an overbearing, cynical, arrogant brute who delights in thinking the worst about
anyone, especially women. I'd hate to be on your ship. 1
bet your crew haven't a leg to stand on when you're about,
No wonder half of them are in hospital l'
'Careful,' he warned. 'You're living dangerously.' He
had straightened from an indolent pose against the
window frame and the slate grey eyes glittered menacingly. 'Come now, you can think up a better excuse
than that. Even one of my unfortunate ratings, as you
term them, would hardly be so stupid as to come up with
a tale like the one you would have me believe.'
Dru lifted her chin, her voice trembling with indignation.
'You can believe what you choose, you hateful
creaturel You wouldn't believe me no matter what 1
said,'
Again he looked her over, his eyes taking in her golden
hair tumbling about her shoulders with the ribbon hanging down near to one ear, The colour flooded her clear skin
and one hand reached up for the ribbon to drag it down
and tie back her hair. She did it like a child looking very
young and defenceless.
'1 hope you realize that you've placed us both in a very
compromising situation,' he said at last. 'While you might

not care about your own reputation, 1 have a healthy

respect for mine.'
Too late now to regret leaving off her wrap. Dru had
never felt self-conscious before in her pyjama suit, but she
wanted that wrap badly now. Furthermore, she did not
care to-see that he was in a worse state of undress in his
swimming trunks.
'Don't worry,' she scoffed to cover her nervousness, 'No
woman in her right mind would want to seduce you. 1
wouldn't touch you with a bargepole!'
He smiled, oddly, in no way perturbed. 'Then you have
a strange way o sbowing your revulsion o me. I recall
tbat you kissed me soundly on our first meeting. That you
could bave made a honest mistake, I didn't doubt. However, you can hardly call sliding down a balcony to enter
a strange man's rooms late at night a mstake.'
'1 can see tbat it was now. I carne down hoping I could
return undetected to my rooms witb my own belongings.'
"And you would have had to walk through my rooms in .
order to make your exit?' He scooped bis robe from tbe
floor to tbrow it on to a chair.
'Yes. Why not?'
'In which case you might easily have caught me minus
my batbing trunks. Had you paused to put on a wrap I
would probably been caught witb my ... er ... trunks
down. As it happened I strode forward on seeing tbe
strange spectacle o two feet dangling above my balcony,
and caught you in tbe act of entering.'
Suddenly it was all too much for Dru. Laughter bubbled, her green eyes danced. The room had darkened, but
tbere was enough light to see tbe sharp angles of his face.
There was notbing in it to suggest kindness or that any
generosity was involved in what to him was the unforgivable intrusion of a stranger into his priva te domain.
Had she been on his ship she had the feeling that he
would almost certainly have put her in irons. Her sense o
humour, never long repressed, struggled to the surface,
and she began to laugh.
'Glad you find it amusing,' he said with irony.
'!t's ... so funny!'
She wiped a tear o mirtb from beneatb her eye with a
prettily manicured finger. The last chuckle was her final
undoing, for, witbout appearing to have moved, he seized
her arms and pinned tbem down to her sides.
Gradually her laughter died and all the anger he had
aroused earlier carne to the surface. She fought furiously

to free herseIf, demanded him to let her go, but his grip
remained to bite unmericfulIy into her soft flesh,
'How dare you! Let me gol' she cried, gasping with
pain. 'You're hurting my arms!'
'Stop struggling, then, and tell me what you're doing
here,' he commanded curtly.
"Go and bump your silIy head against a walI,' she cried,
furiously near to tears. '1'11 scream if you don't let me
gol'
'You're scared at last,' he jeered.'You're going to get
what you're asking for if you don't teH me.'
Her only answer was to struggle in another desperate
attempt to free herseIf - all to no avail. She was no match
for his brute strength,
'I'll scream if you don't let me go,' she threatened
again.
He gave the only answer possible to that one. Hauling
her into his arms, he bent his head and smothered the
scream with his mouth fastening firmIy on her own. The
kiss deepened brutally, a kiss meant to punish, to send her
down into the depths of degradation. It was impossible for
her to move an inch. She savoured the tang of sea water
from his lips and bare flesh with a feeling that she would
hate it for the rest of her life. Then she was swaying on
her feet as he released her.
'Now get out,' he commanded. 'And thank your lucky
stars you got off so lightly.'
For seconds, Dru could only stare at him in bewilderment, too shaken to speak, trembling too much to
face his angry eyes glinting in the gloom.
It was he who strode forward to open the door. And
Dru, whose only desire was to escape, went swiftly from
the room.

CHAPTER TWO
DRU surfaced dazedly as the shrill ring of the bedside
phone penetrated through the mists of sleep. Her watch
said four o'clock as she reached sleepily for the receiver.
Mart. She might have known.
'Mart,' she protested, 'did you have to ring me up at
this hour? What's wrong? Has one of the nurses assaulted
you?'
. He chuckIed. 'Sorry to waken you, but it may be my
only chance to talk to you. It's been one of those nights
with a steady flow of the rest of the crew from the cruiser,

including several officers. We don't know what it is yet.

Looks like food poisoning.'
Dru said hopefully, 'Is the captain among them?'
'Not him! Tough as old boots. He needs to be, poor
blighter, with man-eating nurses surrounding him on all
sides when he comes to the hospital to enquire about his
men.'
She could not resist saying, 'Some women will chase
anything.'
'He re, hold on!' Mart protested. 'They chase me
too.'
'That's what 1 mean.'
'Thanks,' he answered equably. '1 know you're feeling
narked because I've wakened you from your beauty sleep,
but 1 forgive you. Actually, 1 rang to say 1 shall be too
busy to see you untilthis evening. If I'm lucky, 1 might
get away to have dinner with you. Anyway, come to the
hospital this morning and the chief will show you round
his rabbit incubators. Catch the half past ten bus. It stops
outside your hotel.'
She caught the half past ten bus which put her down at
the hospital gates. Passing pretty nurses flitting across the
grounds, she came face to face with Liane coming off
duty. She looked tired, but she bore her weariness with an
air of sophistication. Wonderful to be disciplined in one's
actions, Dru thought, to be always calm and collected and
still look lovely and desirable at the same time.
Liane's greeting was brief as she walked gracefully
across the grounds in the direction of the nurses' quarters.
Several groups of pretty nurses followed in her wake and
Dru found herself smiling at the thought of the extra
patients from the cruiser. The hospital personnel would
find little difficulty in hooking a sailor for a husband.
They were such pretty girls. Dru had entered the hospital
to the familiar aroma of waxed corridors and clinical
scents when she heard light footsteps behind her.
'Miss Temple?'
She tumed to greet Howell Seabright, wondering why
it was that overweight people were usually so light on
their feet.
'Good moming,' she said. '1 hope I haven't arrived at
an inopportune momento I can go if you're busy.'
'On the contrary, I shall be delighted to show you
around, Miss Temple. Shall we go?'
He guided her past consulting rooms and side wards,
his hands thrust into his pockets, his shoulders slightly
hunched.

'The hospital is rather like a ship at the moment, with

officers and crew filling most of the wards. Mart obviously
had the same idea as myself in thinking your visit will
brighten up their day. Your glowing presence will certain1y send up their morale, not to mention their temperature.'
Dru laughed. '1 think noto The island girls are realIy
beautiful.'
Howell said quietly, '1 have yet to see a greater beauty
than a fair English woman.'
'Is the epidemic serious?' she asked, surfacing from her
blushes.
'Food poisoning or tropical tummy. We're taking a
series of tests.'
Dru was like a rose when, after leaving the men's
wards, they entered a long sunny room filled with the
sweet sounds of contented infants. She gazed down with
delight at large liquid brown eyes, ivory skins and mops of
tight curls.
'Aren't they delicious?' she gurgled, bending over a
cute five-year-old who cuddled a teddy bear.
Howell smiled. 'We've begun at the wrang end. We
should have started with the new arrivals before coming
in here.'
Her laugh was low and sweet. -'A kind of before and
after.'
They moved on down a corridor to peep through a
glass wall at tiny babies. Dru thought of Mart's rabbits
and chuckled. 'They're beautiful.' She shone up at Howell
who had a twinkle in his eyes. 'Have you any?' His eyebrows shot up and he looked startled. She chuckled. '1
don't mean here. 1 mean a family of your own?'
He began to walk down the corridor, giving Dru the
impression that he did not want her to see his face.
'No. It's the one thing I've always wanted.'
'May one ask if you're married?'
'I'm divorced,' he answered quietly. 'My wife refused
to share me with my patients. I was on my way up and
didn't realize how lonely she must have been. I know
different1y now.'
He was walking again with his hands stuffed into his
pockets, rus shoulders hunched, a portrait of an unhappy
mano
'Is it too late to do anything about it?' Dru asked sympathetical1y.
'I'm afraid so.'

'But you could marry again?'

'We're going along now to have coffee with Matron,'
he said, and Dru accepted the closing of what must have
been, to him, a disturbing subject.
She was leaving the hospital after a pleasant hour in
Matron's room when she cannoned into someone taking
the hospital steps two at a time. She would have lost her
balance had not two arms shot out to grip her shoulders.
'1 beg your pardon. Have 1 hurt you?'
Dru wriggled free from Keith Faulkner's grip as he
gave her a look she was beginning to resent. Dislike sparkled in her green eyes.
'I'm sure you'll be sorry to hear that I'm quite all
right,' she said caustically, and swept by with an air of
utter disdain.
The unexpectedness of her encounter with the hated
captain sent an annoying stiffness into her limbs. She
stalked down to the village, seeing again the long lithe
stride, the arrogant tilt of his head, and felt again the
imprint of strong fingers on her arms. The ruthless set of
his well cut mouth and fine.nostrils had shown more than
a hint of mastery, as if he would have taken a fiendish
delight in allowing those well-kept hands of his to crush
her arms. Instinctively, Dru felt his awareness of his own
attraction for the opposite sex and she. disliked him more
than ever.
The village main street meandered down steeply to the
shore. Beyond, the vast open sky began as a pale blue on
the horizon to deepen in colour as it soared into the
heavens. The sun was high, but the air was still cool
enough to enjoy a stroll around the shops. To Dru shopping for presents was a thrilling appendage to any holiday
and the mysterious little shops seemed to abound with
treasures like a smugglers' cave.
She browsed around until lunch time when she went
into a small restaurant overlooking the bay. She was
studying the menu when someone stopped by her table.
'Mind if 1 join you?'
Pete Brady slid into the chair opposite to her at the
table, as pleased with her company as she was with his. As
they were both fond of seafood, the meal was soon
ordered and Pete smiled across the table as they waited
for it.
'Y ou're acquiring an enchanting honey tan,' he said,
'And your eyes are like clear rock pools. Has anyone told
you you have a most delightful femininity?'

Dru could feel the warm colour flooding her cheeks.

'Flatterer,' she scoffed to cover her embarrassmeot.
'Never mind me. Tell me about yourself. It isn't often 1
meet an American.'
Encouraged by her warm interest, Peter talked of his
life at home. He told her that his people were farmers in
the Middle West. He had always been theatrica1ly
minded and had regularly put up concerts in the vilIage
where he lived. It was after he had joined the American
forces that he had the idea of an entertainment group to
tour Nato. They had been grounded on the island because
of engine trouble and would be off any day now. He was
hoping they could stay another few days because they
had been invited to entertain at Wisp Mallon's twentyfirst birthday party at Government House.
'Wisp,' murmured Dru. 'What an extraordioary name,
1 wonder how she carne by it.'
'1 believe her father called her Will-o'-the-Wisp when
she was young 00 account of her always being missing
wheo she was wanted, and the name stuck. What do you
say calling at Governmeot House this afternooo? Wisp
wilI be delighted to see you.'
'I'd love to, if it's all right. 1 mean, I've had no invtation.'
Pete waved a hand airily. "That's all right. Wisp won't
mind,'
Dru had the sensation o being two people when Pete
drove her to Govemment House. The first was her real
self, a spontaneous fun-loving person who responded to
the fun in the Govemor's daughter. The second was a
new wary seIf questioning the wisdom of becoming too
involved. It meant being on the alert every moment in
sustaining her role as Mart's fiance.
Leaving the village behind, Pete drove for some distance along the coast road passing delightful bays where
the surf thundered up the beach before receding in a
greenish-white foam, They they tumed inland up a
gradient threading through the grandeur of woodedhills.
Govemment House was a colonial-type residence with
added towers. The architect must have indulged in flights
of fancy, thus giving the fairy castle effect which had so
delighted Dru at her first glimpse of it from Mart's caro A
uniformed sentry at the gates saluted them through on
seeing Pete and they cruised along a winding drive to
draw up at the porticoed entrance.
The setting, a vast world of sea and sky, was a breathtaking one presenting a glorious technicolor scene of trop-

ical flowers and plants offset by green lawns and massive

trees. A power mower could be heard but not seen as they
left the car to mount the steps to the main door. It was
open and Wisp was already there, having heard the caro
Her delight upon seeing them went without question.
'Pete!' she squealed, throwing her arms around his
neck. 'Am 1 glad to see you - you too, Dru.' Linking their
arms as she walked in between them, Wisp rattled on,
'I've been fearfully busy with the arrangements for my
birthday ball, and I'm simply dying for tea.'
She escorted them to a charming lounge and a footman
brought tea on a trolley. There was home-made plum
cake and minute salad sandwiches which Wisp passed
around while doing most of the talking.
'1 love birthday balls,' she said enthusiastically. 'lt's
always an excuse to buy a gorgeous dress.'
Dru listened, transported into a world where things
were still done on a grand scale. To Wisp, a ball meant
not only a new dress but the exciting company of young
men showering compliments and taking her for romantic
strolIs in the beautiful grounds accompanied by a back .
ground of music from the ballroom. Every bedroom in
the great house would be opened with the perfume of
wood fires airing them and a regiment of uniformed servants would be flitting in and out among the distinguished guests.
Watching the animated little face of her hostess, Dru
wondered how much she, upon whom fortune had lavished 50 many gifts, really cared for Mart, The way she
had taken the news of his engagement had alerted Dru to
some undercurrent between them. Certainly Mart was
not in a position to keep Wisp in the way to which she
was accustomed. When she left [ater, Dru learned she had
been invited to the ball along with Mart,
That evening Dru waited for Mart until after eight
o'clock and when it was obvious that he was not coming,
the pangs of hunger sent her down to the dining room. She
knew none of the guests and breathed a sigh of relief to
see that the odious captain was not present when the
hotel waiter led her to a table. Dinner lay ahead with the
prospect of dining alone and, feeling rather holIow inside,
she accepted a cocktail flavoured with fresh limes from a
smiling waiter.
The night was warm and she longed to be outside with
the meal over in the breathtaking beauty of a tropical
scene. Yet when she did eventually stroll along the white
beach in the sunset, the frothy rolIers breaking on the

verge echoed with loneliness. She would have liked to

have danced for the rest of the evening. In the dining
room her first thought was to get away. Now it seemed a
pity to be dressed for an evening out and curtail it just
because there was no one available.
The members of the Club would be dancing outdoors
and sipping iced cold drinks through straws in the scented
dusk. Dru sighed, wanting to make the most of every
moment of her holiday, then retraced her steps back to
the hotel feeling terribly guilty at the thought of Mart
sweating it out on duty at the hospital.
Mart phoned when she was in bed. He was all in. The
last two hours had been the heaviest of the day with him
being called out to a major accident on the coast road, He
thought he would be free the following moming. Would
she catch the ten-thirty bus to the hospital and bring her
swimsuit? He would see her in the canteen.
Dru replaced the receiver, wishing she knew what had
happened to the swimsuit top last seen dangling on Keith
Faulkner's balcony rail. She had made no enquiries about
it. Fortunately, it was one of three suits she had brought
with her. What a joy it would be to be able to prove to the
odious captain that she had been speaking the truth! But
for some mysterious reason the thing had disappeared
completely and it was not to be.
Her second swimsuit came out the following morning
when Dru decided upon waking at six to go for an early
moming bathe. With a pleasurable feeling of anticipation, she looked at the patch of blue sky framed by her
room window heralding another golden hot day.
Scooping up a towel, she went out briskly on ropesoled, laced sandals past the wind break of palm trees and
on to the beach. Dru loved the beach, The taste of salt
upon the lips, the clean smell of the water and the warm
air felt surprisingly good. Ther were shells, beautifully
shaped stones and pieces of coral washed up by the tide
lying between half submerged pieces of white rocks and
she loitered enchanted.
She slipped off her sandals; it was fun to stand for
blissful moments to watch the rising sun spray coins of
silver across the water while the white frothy surf washed
caressingly about her feet. The previous evening, at
sunset, the sea and sky had merged together into colours of
flameand gold in thebreathless hush of approaching night.
This moming the sky held a quivering expectancy
offering a new world as newly minted as a coin. To swim

in tropical waters was to appreciate the wonderful gift of

life. Nowhere else could one ever feel so happy, carefree
and relaxed. So thought Dru as reluctantIy she left the
water.
She had slipped on her beach robe when she noticed
the solitary figure swimming towards the shore. With a
lurch of her heart, she recognized him as he carne striding
from the surf some distance away. The fine head set on
powerful shoulders was probably a personality on bis
ship, she mused, imagining bis crew jumping to attention
on bis first deep-voiced command.
It was the memory of bis strength and hateful kiss
which spurred her on to hurry and put space between
them. Unfortunately, in her haste she stumbled and, in
falling, struck her knee on a piece of rock half submerged
in the sand. The pain in her knee was excruciating and
she sat for several moments struggling against a feeling of
nausea. Gulping in deep breaths, she rose slowly to her
feet to discover that she was quite able to stand. Apart
from a painful tingling, her knee was none the worse.
1 t was the slow ominous trickle down her leg that did
it. Dru was no coward, but she had a thing about blood.
Thesight of it always made her keel overo She staggered
on to reach the haven of a friendly rock and leaned
against it. There was dew on her temples and she bit on
her lip in an effort to keep herself conscious.
'Had an accident?'
Keith Falkner loomed over her, wide beach-robed
figure shutting out the heaving sky. Dru made no answer,
nor did she look up. She could not look down either, since
another sight of the blood would be fatal. The next
moment he was down on his haunches taking her shapely Ieg in a firm brown hand with a surprising gentleness.
'The skin is broken, but you'll survive,' he commented
in a tone which conveyed the impression that he did not
know why she should. 'Hurt yourself anywhere else?'
Dru shook her head.
He rose sIowly to his feet, then took in her pallor.
:'Sure?' he insisted.
She leaned back heavily against the rock, knowing that
if she moved it would be downwards to the ground. 'Go
away,' she muttered, and her lips felt as green as her face.
'I'm all right.'
He placed a finger beneath her chin and lifted her
ashen face, pushing back the hair from her forehead.
'You look like death,' he said.

Somehow Dru summoned the strength to push his

hand away feebly. 'Will you please go? 1 .. , 1 can't ...
stand the sight of blood, that's all.'
His answer was to scoop her up into his arms and stride
towards the hotel.
When Dru opened her eyes she was lying on her bed.
The windows were wide open and the salt air was refreshing to her parched lips. Although her mind boggled she
took in an extraordinary number of details about Keith
Falkner, who sat sideways facing her on the bed, the
blue whites of his slate grey eyes, the black lashes, the
dark crispness of newly drying hair curling free without
the usual disciplined brushing.
'That was some faint,' he said. 'And now for operation
number two.'
He moved over to sit at the head of the bed and draw
her up on pillows. It was then that she saw she was lying
on the top of the bed. Her leg had been cleaned and her
knee bandaged neatly.
'Come on, drink this.'
He had reached out to the dressing table for a glass and
was holding it to her lips. The brandy spread through her
system, sloughing off the feeling of nausea. "
'Another drink,' he commanded, still holding her in the
crook of his armo
Dru obeyed, knowing that the sooner she recovered,
the sooner he would go. He put the half empty glass back
on the dressing table, his arm remained around her. She
made a small instinctive movement away from him, but
he did not seem to notice.
'How do you feel?' he said.
'Heaps better, thanks. The knee is very comfortable.
Thanks for what you've done.'
He gave her a faint1y whimsical look.'lt goes against
the grain, doesn't it, that it had to be me? May 1 say I'm
happy to have been of service?'
Dru was silent.
He went on, '1 would like to take this opportunity to
apologize for my behaviour last evening. It wasn't the
action of a gentleman. I'm sorry.'
.
Dru struggled to speak indifferent1y, a herculean task
with his face so near and the warmth of his arm around
her.
'But then you hardly regarded me as a lady, did youi"
she said. '1 can't prove that 1 lost my bathing... top, but
1 do assure you that 1 had no idea who it was had the

rooms below me. The last person I ever expected to see

was yourself.' A wave of hot colour flamed over her pale
face. 'It's just occurred to me. You ... you don't think I
went bathing this morning because you were there?'
'The thought never occurred to me. I must be improving. Are we friends?' "
She raised her eyes and a curious thrill shot tbrough
her as she met his intent gaze. 'You've quite taken my
breath away.' She gave a smalllaugh. 'Yes, if you want
to.'
'It's good to hear you laugh. You're sure you haven't
hurt yourself anywhere else? I'd like to take you to the
hospital for a check-up. I'm going there after breakfast
and I can take you along with me.'
'Oh, I'm sure that isn't necessary. I always keel over at
the sight of blood no matter how I fight against it,' said
Dru.
'AlI the same, I should like to see you after breakfast to
see how you can use that knee.' He had stood up and
thrust his hands into the pockets of his bath robe. 'I've
ordered breakfast for you in here at nine o'dock. I take it
you did intend to go out afterwards?'
Dru leaned back on her pillows, feeling strangely cold
where his arm had been round her. 'I'm meeting Mart in
the canteen. He's hoping to get the rest of the day off.'
He nodded approval. 'Y ou'lI be in good hands. He'll
probably see that you rest. See you later.'
Her knee felt a little stiff when she stood up on t after
breakfast. But she felt little the worse. The tap on her
door startled her more than a little, although she had
been prepared for it. He strode in on a wave of fresh air,
immaculate and glowing.
'Ready?' he asked, his keen eyes on her lightly made up
face. 'Y ou look a better colour. How do you feel?'
'Fine, thanks.'
'And the knee?' The grey eyes were speculative, though
he smiled charmingly.
'That's all right too.' She smiled brightly. 'In fact
there's no reason why you should take me to hospital. I've
taken up enough of your time.'
He digested this thoughtfully, then spoke with challenging forthrightness.
'Shall I carry you to the car, or can you make it?'
She looked perfectly capable of doing the latter, and not
wishing him to think she was being arch, she said quietly,
'I'm quite capable of walking.'

The car was parked near to the hotel entrance and she
slipped inside after he had taken her beach bag and tossed
it on to the back seat.
'Comfortable, Miss Temple?' he asked before starting
the car, and she wondered what else he had found out
about her.
'
The silence which foIlowed was not an easy one. To
begin with, Dru was trying to dissect her feelings. Her
companion was disturbing enough as an enemy. As a
friend, he was too disturbing for words. A longing to be
with Mart where everything was straightIorward and uncomplicated swept over her. Mart was so easy to be with.
The man beside her, with his remote smile and magnetic
charm, was dangerous to her peace of mind. At the same
time she was deeply aware of a delicious fear and wondered with an apprehension new to her what lay ahead.
She gave him a swift sidelong glance without tuming
her head. The firm, brown profile and the strong hands
holding the wheellooked as unshakable as his cruiser; he
was the kind of man who would never flap in any emergency,
His dark hair was cut short and almost hidden by the
uniform hat which he wore correctly and not at a provocative angle. Dru was guessing his age to be around
thirty when he tumed his slate grey eyes upon her suddenly,
'How are you liking the island?' he asked.
'Very mucho I suppose it's only one of many suco
places you've visited in the course of your duty?'
'Yes. We get around,' laconically.
The silence was restrained. For a man whose keen
trained eyes missed nothing he was surprisingly reticent.
'Well?' he asked with a hint of amusement in his
voice,
Dru started, aware that she had been staring at him. "1
... I'm sorry, I didn't realize I was staring. I was wondering what kind of man you are.'
'Don't attempt to discover what makes me tick,' he
mocked. 'We men of the sea are no different from the
landlubbers. We happen to live by the rules and like it.'
'But surely you enjoy being ashore? Even a life you
enjoy can become tedious when you see the same faces
day after day?'
'Naturally, I'm enjoying the break. 1 would enjoy it
more if 1 was sure the men were going to be all right. Half
the crew are sick.'

'lt must have been very worrying for you.'

'The M.O. has had the brunt of it. He thought it wise
to bring the men ashore to the hospital in case of compIications.'
The short ron to the hospital dispensed with further
conversation and after parking the car, Dru and he parted
company once inside the hospital.
'Good morning, darling.' Mart was there, grinning
down at her before she could make her way to the canteen. 'You couldn't have timed it better. I'm simply gasping for a coffee.'
He escorted her to white cane chairs and a small table
in a comer of the staff canteen and fetched the coffee.
'ls that heightened colour for me?' he wanted to know,
and grinned at her over his cupo
Dru raised a hand to her flushed cheek and feIt her
heart stilI beating heavily after her encounter with the
captain. Part angry with herseIf for being so foolish and
part angry with Mart for being so discerning, she said
rather indignantly, 'We're not exactly at the North Pole
and the sun is already hot - or hadn't you noticed?'
'1 might have done had 1 not been so busy Iooking at
you.' He Iooked appreciatively at her golden hair, her
golden tanned shoulders emerging tantalizingly from her
primrose beach suit and her embarrassed smile. 'The
golden girl from the west,' he murmured. 'What a setting
for you among the peonies! 1 bet the captain couldn't tear
himself away from those sparkling green eyes.'
'Don't miss a thing, do you?' Dru shook her head.
'Some girl is going to have to be on her toes when she
marries you. The captain gave me a lift here and I'm sure
he wouldn't have noticed the colour of my eyes. 1 can
imagine him looking a woman over to see if her slip was
showing or if she had a hair out of place, that's all.'
Mart laughed. 'You have a point there. The hospital
staff haven't half been sprucing themselves up since the
Navy arrived. Some of the nurses, 1 noticed, have been
sporting new hair-styles. A uniform can work wonders.
Anyway, the hunt is now focussed on Navy personnel. It
gives our chaps a breathing space.'
Dru smiled. 'Maybe it's as well I'm here. At least you
won't feel so deserted with a fiance around.'
'1 don't know about that. Since word has gone around
about you 1 seem to be receiving more covetous looks
than before.'
Dru shrugged lightheartedly. 'Sheer wishful thinking.
You're probably handing out more hungry looks than you

did now that you've fenced yourself in with a fiance. 1

wonder how long you'll stick it?'
She would have given anything in that moment for
Mart to tell her to drop the whole thing. But Mart simply
took down the rest of his coffee.
'It's still on, my pet,' he stated, firmly putting down his
empty cupo 'However, if anyone asks when the wedding is
to be, tell them I've yet to work my passage. 1 had hoped
to spend more time with you, but 1 have the rest of the
day off!' He glanced at his wrist watch. 'Shall we go?'
He was helping her into his car when he saw her bandaged knee, and he sat quietly and listened as she told
him of her accident. For some reason, Dru decided not to
tell him about the captain, and she watched him take off
the bandage.
'You've bandaged it very professionalIy. 1 couldn't
have done it better myself,' he said, examining the bruise.
'1 don't think 1 would do any bathing today. While the
sea water will do it good, it will also start it bleeding
again. Hard luck. You'll have to sit and watch me enjoying myself.'
The beach Mart drove to overlooked the blue Caribbean. He parked the car on a rocky plateau and they
went down to the shore where a caf nestled among palms
and gay canopied tables beckoned. Behind the caf were
changing huts where they put on swimsuits and while
Mart bathed, Dru paddled in the surf.
Later, they sipped iced drinks in the cool shade of trees
and laughed a lot, at least Dru did, over Mart's funny
stories of life at the hospital.
That day was only one of many really happy days for
Dru. Mart had been saving his off duty time up until her
arrival and he was able to spend some of it with her. She
rode a surfboard through flying l'pray, dived for coral,
danced until the small hours to the music of an island
band and sipped iced drinks beneath banyan trees on
gold-flecked beaches,
It was a joyful vacuum from which all problems were
banished, leaving only a warm glow of contentment. Dru
revelled in lying in the warm sun doing absolutely
nothing. The unpolluted air was heavy with the scent of
tropical flowers drifting into her room each night to send
her off into a dreamless sleep.
. One magical day there was a visit to a vol cano, a drive
in one which nestled unexpectedly between mountain
peaks. The sud den appearance of the volcano around
a bend in the road, belching out smoke from bubbling

lava, was quite an experience, especially as they were able

to drive on to the edge of the wide shallow crater. It was
fun to leave the car and step cautiously over hot stones,
then wash off the lava dust under a mountain stream.

CHAPTER THREE
SATURDAY was the evning of Wisp Mallon's birthday
ball. Dru stepped out of a scented b'ath to put on her
nicest evening dress in delicate blue-green taffeta to
impart a rich glow to her lightly tanned skin and deepen
the green of her eyes. She looked cool, fresh and radiant
with the golden tendrils of hair caressing the lovely
planes of her face. The high-coiffured hair-style suited
her face, throwing into relief the widely spaced bright
eyes, the youthful contours of her cheeks and the little
firm chino She was ready when Mart called, looking very
distinguished in a white evening jacket over black
trousers.
He looked her over with approval from the mohair
stole around her slim shoulders to the twinkling feet in
silver sandals, as he helped her into his caro
'1 can see you being the belle of the ball tonight - only
don't forget you're supposed to be engaged to me,' he said
as he slid into his seat beside her.
An air of gaiety welcomed them as they drove along
the drive of Govemment House beneath trees festooned
with fairy lights. Mart parked the car and they were
greeted at the entrance by an elderly servant who smiled
and stood aside with a murmured greeting for them to
entero Dru was aware of the perfume from masses of
flowers decorating the hall and a radiant Wisp in white
organza with a flower in her dark hair waiting to greet
them.
Her parents stood a little behind her. Sir Athol Mallon
looked a kindly man, with white wings of hair at his
temples and horn-rimmed spectacles. Lady Mallon,
charmingly dressed in lavender blue, was an older edition
of her pretty daughter. Generously equipped by nature to
make a success as the wife of a govemor, Lady Mallon
had achieved a sophisticated poise and chic during her
term of office which she could not fail to pass on to her
daughter. Dru tried hard to imagine Wisp as a struggling
registrar's wife and failed.
Introductions were made politely and they moved on
to make way for further arrivals. Th room they entered
was already half filled with a select gathring evidently
already acquainted with each other. Uniformed footmen
moved silently around balancing filled trays over the
coiffured heads of beautifully dressed women and men
whose white evening jackets looked well against their
tan.

Mart pushed a drink into Dru's hand from a passing

tray and helped himself to one. Liane stood further along
the room beneath a crystal chandelier. Her scarlet gown
emphasized her curves deliciously and she looked like a
bright peony among the white jackets which surrounded
her.
Mart, tossing her a calculating look, said sourly, 'Liane
is in top form as usual!'
Dru chuckled. 'And why not? Good hunting!'
'You're as bad as the rest of 'em,' he growled. 'Husband-crazy.'
Dru's chuckle became a low musicallaugh and several
heads tumed belonging to Liane's admiring circle.
'Y ou're not being very gallant, Mart,' she reprimanded.
''Y ou aren't jealous by any chance?'
'Good lord, that'll be the day,' he answered, tossing off
his drink.
Dru took down a little more of hers, enjoyed the cool
tang in her throat and tumed as a man approached.
Black eyes captured her own surprised green ones and
held them.
'Won't you introduce me, Mart?' the newcomer murmured, looking Dru over with frank appraisal.
Mart did so politely but perfunctorily. 'Dru, meet one
of my colleagues, Francis Gurley. My fiance, Dru
Temple.'
'De!ighted to meet you, Miss Temple. Perhaps we shall
meet again later as 1 see we're about to go into dinner.'
He had kissed her hand in a manner as Latin as his
appearance, complimenting her on her beauty and saying
how refreshing it was to find a golden flower among so
many darker blooms. His remark was exaggerated since
there were quite a few blonde Englishwomen among the
guests, but Dru could not help but feel flattered. He was
exceedingly good-lookng in a dark, foreign kind of way,
and she murmured some reply as Mart led her away to
join the trickle into the dining room.
Walking to their allotted places some way down the
long glittering table, Dru was aware of several officers
entering the room. Keith Falkner's wide shoulders
seemed to dominate the small group as they parted to find
their places. More than one pair of feminine eyes were
drawn in his direction, including her own. She felt the
energy and power emanating from him, divided as they
were by a crowd of people.
With a charming smile he was seating Lady Mallon

and Wisp before taking his allotted place between them.

Dru, taking her seat beside Mart, viewed the arrangement with satisfaction. The air of the room was narcotic enough with the Captain keeping his distance. From
where she sat his dark face was still visible, heightened by
his white smile as he laughed at some remark of Wisp's.
To Dru, with Mart attentive and amusing on one side
and an elderly man attached to the staff of Government
House on the other, the time passed swiftly and
pleasantly.
Later, in the ballroom, Dru and Mart became lost in
the happy crowd. The large windows leading into the
grounds were thrown open and everyone seemed to en joy
the dancing. Pete Brady and bis party entertained during
an interval when refreshments were served.
Captain Keith Falkner had chatted to the Govemor
and bis wife for quite some time between dancing first
with bis hostess, then with several other women. And he
had kept bis distance - a fact which Dru appreciated
since the longer the space between them, the better she
could relax.
Muncbing refreshments with Mart, she sat back in her
chai-r near to the open window and gazed out over the
beautiful grounds. Blossoms drifted down like snow from
trained creepers partially obscuring the veranda roof and
she breathed in their fragrance blissfulIy.
'Doesn't the garden smell heavenly?' she said drowsily.
'An island paradise with dangerous undercurrents,'
said Mart, bis legs outstretched comfortably in front of
him.
'lt must be the air,' she said lightly.
'1 agree. lt certainly gives one an appetite. Mind if 1
join you?'
Pete Brady stood there grinning, armed with a plateful
of food and drink. Mart waved a lazy hand to a vacant
chair next to his own. 'Not at all. Take a seat.'
In between demolishing the food on his plate, Pete
talked of amusing incidents that had happened to the
company through the years, adding that their next destination was Germany. Near the end of the interval, Dru
went to the powder room to repair her make-up and
found herself sharing a mirror with Liane.
'Lovely party,' Liane said with a friendly smile.
Dru agreed.

Liane used lipstick and surveyed the result in the

mirror. 'Pity your enjoyment is somewhat restricted by
your engagement to Mart. AlI those gorgeous ship's
officers too.' Her dark eyes slid ineaningly to Dru's ringless left hand. 'Y ou're still not wearing a ring, which is
something when you're not with Mart. I'd have fun if 1
were you.'
Dru wondered if Liane's remarks were meant as leading questions, and answered them as such. '1 aro having
fun. Besides, other men don't count when you're more
or less engaged. At least, that's how I see it.'
'Must be a heavenly feeling.' Liane's tone was frankly
cynical.'I'll have to try it myself some time. Take my tip,
though, and never give too much of yourself to any man ..
It's always a mistake.'
Their eyes met in the mirror, Liane's hard and bright,
Dru's wide and wary. Then Liane had gone. The woman
had certainly planted her feet firmly on the ground, Dru
mused, taking a last look at her face in the mirror. Her
training as a nurse could have disciplined her emotions to
a certain extent. On the other hand, some women never
gave anything of themselves. They had simply nothing to
give.
On retuming to the place where she had left Mart, Dru
found him in conversation with Wisp and Keith. Pete had
gone. She had the feeling of walking into deep water
gradually rising to press against her chest and restrict her
breathing. This is ridiculous, she scolded herself. He's
only another man, after all.
Wisp was standing looking down at Mart in exasperation. 'Oh, come on,' she demanded. 'Y ou're not tired at
all. You just want to be awkward. You haven't danced
with me all evening.'
"My dear girl, 1 could not have got near enough to ask
you if I had wanted to,' Mart drawled.
'Well, you can now.'
Dru was hardly aware of Mart rising to bis feet to drift
away with Wisp in bis arms. She was too conscious of
Keith, who was now looking down at her.
'May I?' he asked politely.
His deep voice, like his regard, was purely impersonal
and for a second or so she hesitated, about to refuse. It
was hardly complimen tary to know that he had been
foreed to request the dance out of politeness. Then, with a
tight little smile, she surrendered.

Neither spoke. He danced easily and correctly as

though he had accepted the social graees as being as
much a part of his life as his duties on board ship. On her
part, Dru was airbome with the rhythm of his body at
one with her own. This was something she had never
experienced before, this wonderful feeling of unison. Puzzled, she was asking herself why the sudden exhilaration,
the craving to go on dancing in the arms of aman with
whom she had found it so difficult to relax. In some subtle
way he was drawing her on to aplane of deeper
emotional feeling and thinking like drifting into some
safe, cosy harbour. None of it was real. It could not be.
There was a dreamlike quality about it indueed by the
haunting music and the arrogant tilt of his well shaped
head outlined against the 'wall lights as they circ1ed the
room. Really, she was all kinds of a fool to dramatize a
perfectly ordinary situation which had arisen from a
challenge of different personalities.
'How is the knee?'
Dru started and missed a step, for she had completely
forgotten about her injured knee which had practically
healed.
'Oh ... er .. better, thanks,' she stammered.
The firm mouth, on a level with her eyes, twitched,
'Dancing is as good a test as any.'
'1 always heal well.'
Dru hardly recognized her own voice. The stupid
breathless feeling was back again and she was hating herself for being so weak. They spoke no more and as the
dance number ended Wisp joined them. Mart had been
called away to the phone, she told Dru, who excused herself and went in search of him.
He was putting the phone down in the hall. 'Sorry,
Dru, 1 have to go to the hospital right away. One of my
special cases is causing concern.' He consulted his wrist
watch. 'As it's not yet eleven o'clock you must stay on.
The fun is only just beginning. 1'11 come back later if 1
can. If not Wisp will see that you're taken back to the
hotel,'
The next moment he had gone. Time passed swiftly
after that, for Dru was claimed for every dance. One of
her most persistent partners had been Francis Gurley, the
good-looking doctor whom Mart had introduced as a col.
league. He was an excellent danger, but he obviously fancied himself as a ladies' man judging by the rather
intimate way in which he held her.

Dru heartily disliked men of this kind and she greeted

Wisp with a sense of relief when she approached at the
end of the dance number to draw her aside.
'Mart has rung up to say he won't be free to come back,
so Keith will take you to the hotel later.' Her face was
flushed with excitement.'Have fun - I must dash to see
about the firework display in the grounds.'
Wisp, living up to her name, was away with a swirl of
perfumed skirts, Ieaving Dru with her dislike of the idea
of Keith taking her to the hotel tuming into a kind of
panic. She would think something out during the next
hour or so, steal away and phone for a taxi. It was a
thought.
'Shall we go to see the firework display?'
Francis Gurley took her elbow and guided her from the
ballroom into the grounds. They were joined by other
guests making for the lake. He walked her to a secluded
comer a little away from the rest of the crowd who were
focussing the illuminated windmill at the far side with its
reflection mirrored in the water. It was there that the
fireworks were to be discharged.
It was a fascinating display as rainbow colours exploded in the sky to cascade down in fiery rain into the
water. Dru, engrossed in the performance, was almost
unaware of Francis taking her hand. As his hold tightened
however, she was dragged away from the last quivering
spectacle of a realistic waterfall to wriggle her hand free.
'Shall we go to the buffet?' she suggested hurriedly,
preferring anything sooner than linger in the grounds
with him when the other guests had strolled indoors, In
the buffet, they were caught up in the gay crowd and Dru
scarcely had time to finish her long drink before she was
whirled away by Pete for a dance.
By now the ball was becoming riotously gay with carnival streamers and balloons floating around. Dru managed to evade Francis by the fact that she was in great
demand as a partner. She had seen Keith from time to
time dancing with Liane more than once, and she tried
not to be aware of him. She failed, of course, and was
annoyed to find it impossible to be as indifferent to him as
he appeared to be to her. His vibrant personality carne
across despite the crowd of people, and she noticed
against her will that he appeared to be a little aloof from
. the young noisy crowd surrounding him, Liane had
caught one of the flowers being pelted indiscriminately
across the room and, after putting it to her lips, placed it
in his buttonhole.

Then Dru saw no more,for Francis Gurley had cut in on

her and her partner to swing her away in the direction of
the garden. The warm scented air of the garden was all
around them as he danced her down a broad path to a
more secluded spot among the trees.
The moon had risen and with the muted sound of the
music floating on the still night air nothing could have
been more romantic, Yet to Dru the very air which she
breathed held a warning. Perhaps Francis could not be
blamed altogether for being rather free with her because
she had regarded him as taking Mart's place. But while
she was obliged to the man for paying her such marked
attention, any lovemaking in the grounds was definitely
out. He was not her kind of man and she had Mart to
consider.
An overhanging cluster of white blossom showered
upon them like confetti as Francis swung her round and
they both stopped and laughed.
'Don't they smell gorgeous?' she said, catching one as it
floated down and putting it to her nose.
''Y ou have them in your hair,' he murmured. lAllow
me.'
She stood quite still while he picked off petals from her
hair and shoulders, and the next moment he had grabbed
her into his arms.
Dru could not struggle, she could not move - his grip
saw to that. Her arms were pinned by her sides and her
face was being forced back as his lips rested suffocatingly
on hers.
'When you're ready, Miss Temple.'
She was released instantly as the last ofthe metallic
words hit the soft evening air. Shaken, she put a trembling hand to her hair and endeavoured to fill her lungs
with much-needed air while controlling herself at the
same time. The unexpectedness of the clipped English
tones had shaken her as much as the brutal embrace. It
did not help to know that Keith would probably have
been guided to them by the sound of their laughter.
That being the case he would never believe she had
been kissed against her will.
Francis said, 'I'11 take Miss Temple home when she's
ready.'
'I' d say she was more ready now to be taken back to her
hotel, and you're not the one to take her,' The curt comment brooked no interference.

Dru by now was growing calmer and she saw something more beside the broad outline of her rescuer's
shoulders and the dark head. He was holding her wrap,
which he now dropped on to her shoulders with a disdainful flick of his hands.
She stumbled forward and the walk back to where his
car was parked seemed never-ending, The scene was a gay
one as the cars of guests drove away down the drive lit by
fairy lights in the trees to the babel of voices saying their
goodbyes. Inside Keith's car all was quieto Dru felt a little
sick and annoyed with herself for allowing Francis to go
so faro Yet, looking back, she did not see how she could
have avoided it. It had been the blossoms, of course,
laughing up at him and catching a blossom. Had it been a
provocative gesture? It had not been meant tobe, It was
too late now 10 do anything about it. Keith Falkner would
have to believe what he had seen and he could hardly
refute the evidence of his own eyes.
If his profile was anything to go by he was definitely
not in a convincing kind of mood. He kept his attention
on the road ahead and travelled at speed as if he could
not reach the hotel soon enough. However, she was gratefuI to him for having appeared when he did, for he had
rescued her from a very unpleasant situation.
Strain weakened her voice. '1 would like to thank you
for ... for giving me a lift back to the hotel.'
He lowered his headlights as a car appeared around a
bend in the road. When he had flicked them on again, he
said coldly, '1 would have given a yone else a lift back in
the circumstances. Mter all, we're both going the same
way.'
Something, a little core inside her insisting upon fair
play, forced her to continue. 'The scene you carne across
in the garden just now was ... was not what it seemed.'
'I'm not interested, Miss Temple.'
Dru bit on her lower lip, 'But 1 want to explain. I'm
very grateful for you turning up just when you did.'
'Let's forget it, shall we?' he said curtly. 'There's
nothing to be gained by continuing with this conversation.'
Suddenly Dru was angry, very angry. :'Why do you
insist upon thinking the worst of me?'
'On the contrary, 1 think you're a very clever young
woman.'
'Clever?' she echoed. 'In what way?'

'In the way you try to turn every indiscretion into

something that's not quite your fault, Give it up. You
have no substance to back any of your protestations of
innocence. '
She said quietly, 'You still think 1 made the story up
about the missing swimsuit top, don't you?'
'Like 1 said before - you can't produce it.'
Dru sat back in her seat, giving him a killing Iook from
her green eyes.
'Not being able to produce it doesn't mean that it was
never there. However, you were right - it's quite pointless
to continue with this conversation, You and 1 haven't a
thing in common.'
'You're probably right,' he replied, aggravatingly unmoved. 'On the other hand, it's been extremely interesting meeting you, especialIy our first meeting which
literally took my breath away.'
Dru felt the colour rush under her skin.Her face flamed.
He had wanted to embarrass her and he had succeeded.
But she would not give him the satisfaction of knowing it.
She rnade no answer, but kept her head turned away from
him to look through her window. Then on Iegs that
trembled she stumbled from the car almost before it had
pulled in at the Garland Hotel.
Stalking to the entrance, she collided with the uniformed figure of the night porter. Though winded by the
unexpected encounter, he was delighted to see her,
'Miss Temple,' he gasped onregained breath, 'I've
been wanting to see you. 1 think 1 have something of
yours. It fell on my head the other night as 1 was passing
beneath the balconies on my usual tour of inspection. I
rammed it in my pocket until I'd finished my rounds,
then promptly forgot all about it.' He fumbled in the
pocket of his jacket and drew forth the missing swimsuit
topo 'At least, I presume it's yours. It's a small size,
round about yours, I'd say.'
He held it up hopefully.
'Y es, it's mine.' Dru accepted it politely, aware of Keith
not far behind her. It was a chance too good to be missed.
'1 rather think the Captain might find it interesting.' The
next moment she had flung it in his face. 'Better measure
it for size. Thirty-four. Now perhaps you'll believe me!'
With that she stalked past the astounded night porter
into the hotel.
Dru slept fitfully that night and awoke on a note of
conflict to recall two things simultaneously, the ball at
Government House and meeting the night portero The

next moment she was laughing helplessly into her pillow

as she remembered his shocked expression. The poor man
would wonder what it was all about, and Keith would
hardly enlighten him. She knew she ought to be ashamed
of herself, yet she was not, although it worcied her a little:
to think of going again to Government House later in case
he was there.
Dru never remembered being so rude in the whole of
her life, but the superior Captain had certainly asked for
it. Fortunately for her peace of mind he was not one of
the party at Government House when Mart took her there
after lunch. As Wisp had said, they were mostly young
people who were unanimous in deciding to spend the
afternoon on the lake.
It was a welcome idea to Dru, who could not imagine a
more pleasant way of spending an afternoon than onthe
cool water in the heat of the day. Mart found a boat, gave
her a hand and rowed off into deeper water. They drifted
idly after a while and Dru gazed back at the house dreaming in the sun with the reflection of the grounds mirrored
in the water.
'Have you noticed that the owners of beautiful large
houses in spacious grounds hardly, if ever, have large
families to enjoythem?' she asked dreamily.
Trailing her hand luxuriously through the water, she
watched as Mart tossed a careless glance back at the
house. 'Children these days cost the earth, and the upkeep
of a Iarge house is virtually impossible unless one happens
to have plenty of money.'
Dru looked at him thoughtfully. 'You do want to
marry some day, though, don't you, Mart? 1 can't imagine you remaining dedicated to your work. lt isn't you
somehow.'
'1 have to be dedicated until I've made the grade.
Which reminds me - 1 have something to ask you.'
He had rowed away from the rest of the guests, although they could still be seen and heard. Pulling in the
oars, he allowed the boat to drift and leaned forward.
'1 want you to act as the possessive type of fiance. By
that 1 mean if the question of our breaking off the engagement comes up in public, 1 want you to refuse to
release me.'
'Is that likely to happen?'
He shrugged. 'One never knows. 1 could go berserk and
forget my vow to persist in my studies to the bitter
end.'

Dru asked slowly, 'Have you anyone in mind?'

'No. But it's as well to be prepared.'
'Liane, for instance?'
He laughed a little self-consciously, erm afraid 1 took
Liane out more than the usual number of times. That waswhen 1 was a raw recruit. Fortunately, she isn't the type
to stick to one man. She likes a change. At the moment
it's the dashing Captain Falkner.'
'And Wisp Mallon?'
'Wisp is just a child out to enjoy herself, but there's a
risk that she could become emotional some time.'
Dru sat back in her seat wondering just what she had
let herself in foro She knew little or nothing about his
way of life on the island apart from the hospital. Posing as
his fiance could still be fun if she did not become too
deeply involved. For one thing, she hated scenes of any
kind in public or otherwise and did not fancy being
caught up in one.
Dru steadied her thoughts and said quietly, 'Hadn't
you better put me in the picture?'
'There is no picture, my peto Sometimes circumstances
can be very misleading.'
Dru thought about her encounters with Keith and
'could see his point.
'1 agree. But aren't you forgetting 1 shall only be here
for a short time? What happens when I'm gone?'
'By then you'll have been here long enough for everyone to meet you. You're such a sweet person that no one
will have the slightest desire to step into your shoes.
They'll regard me as your property when you've gone.'
He regarded her gravely, 'Will you do it?'
Dru hesitated, realizing that her life on the island had
already been cut to a pattern. Perhaps it was something in
the clear air, or the intoxication of the breathless, lovely
evenings, which gave her a feeling of wanting to be free
from any entanglements - free from belonging to anyone,
even to Mart. But she had already committed herself, and
to Dru, who was always loyal to any contract, that was
that.
Dinner that evening at Government House was uproariously gayo The food was delicious, the wine perfect
and the service second to none. Sir Athol and Lady
Mallon had gone to the other side of the island to fulfil
several engagements and Wisp was letting her hair down.
She was the life and soul of the party.

Mart was not doing too badly either, Dru thought,

watching him sparkle in his usual witty and amusing
way. She could see his fascination for a girl like Wisp.
Their attitude to each other was crisp to the point of
rudeness, with Wisp advancing and Mart imperceptibly
retreating. Watching them baiting each other across the
table, Dru recalled her conversation with him earlier on
the lake.
Was he afraid of Wisp, Wisp who could marry any man
she set out to get with her looks, impish charm and
money? Maybe it was just as well that Mart had no illusions about himself. He knew quite clearly what direction he was going. It was a road he wanted to take. His
father had set his feet upon it and he felt that with her
help he might finally reach his goal.
They had coffee on the veranda with a waiter serving
from a trolley. Cigarette and cigar smoke mingled with
nocturnal scents from the garden and, after a Ieisurely
interlude, the guests began to trickle towards the ballroom where a radiogram played for dancing.
Wisp did her best to persuade Mart to join them.
'Come on, lazybones. Dancing,' she said.
But Mart refilled his coffee cup. 'Too lazy, Wisp. Go
and enjoy yourself. More coffee, Dru?'
Dru nodded, wanting to hang on to the sweet untrarnmelled moments of peace and tranquillity. However,
she saw Wisp's impatience, and she was their guest and a
very sweet one. It was wrong for Mart to annoy her deliberately. She was about to speak when she saw Wisp smiling suddenly at someone who had entered the veranda
immediately behind them.
'Keith darling,' Wisp cooed. 'So you do come sometimes. Where have you been, you naughty boy?'
Dru's nerves tightened as the deep brown voice spoke
from somewhereabove her head.
.
'1 don't happen to be. on holiday, my sweet,' Keith
drawled. '1 told you I couldn't make it today.'
'Never mind.' Wisp was shining up at him. 'Dancing' is
just beginning.'
'So I believe,' was the tolerant reply. 'When I looked
into the ballroom just now I was reminded of a college
ball on Boat Race Night with all the sweet young things
letting their hair down. Any coffee going?'
'Really, you men!'
Fuming with temper, Wisp flounced away, Ieaving
Keith to take off his uniform hat and lower himself into a
chair beside Mart. Dru kept her eyes lowered while Mart,

reaching for a clean cup and saucer from the trolley,

poured coffee and handed it to him.
'Thanks,' he said. '1 want a word with you. I won't
keep you long.'
'You're not keeping uso I'm expecting a call from the
hospital at any moment - I gather that's what you want
to talk to me about. Your unfortunate chief engineer?'
Mart smiled encouragingly.
Dru tensed, wondering if Keith was going to make
some caustic remark about seeing her in Francis Gurley's
arms the previous evening. Surely not? Not even he could
be that malicious. While it was not important if he did,
she shrank from being the centre of an unpleasant scene,
for Mart would almost certainly tackle Francis Gurley
about it.
Keith stretched out long legs and spoke on a grim note.
'Yes. A good man, my first engineer O'Brian. Poor devil.
Sheer bad luck that we had to pulI in to the island because of the outbreak of sickness among the crew. Had we
kept right on we should have been in home waters by now
for the ship to have the overhaul she so badly needs. How
bad is he?'
'We're hoping he'll pull through,' Mart answered optimistically. 'Quite a memorable trip, skipper, what with
your crew dropping round you like ninepins from suspected food poisoning and your chief engineer badly
scalded in the engine room. They say bad luck runs in
threes. I trust your third dose is of a lighter nature.'
'In a way it was, but just as shattering,' laconically.
Mart looked interested, but before he could say anything more the phone rang shri11y from indoors.
'That will be for me,' he said, rising to his feet. 'Excuse
me. 1'11 be back, Dru.'
Keith had taken down his coffee, put down his cup and
produced cigarettes. When Dru refused one, he lighted
one for himself and smoked in silence.
Desperately, Dru wished Mart would hurry back to fill
the empty seat between them. Scarcely knowing what she
was doing, she filled her own coffee cup and in doing so
was compelled to refi11 Keith's. Was it only moments ago
that she had been so relaxed and happy? Now she was
anything but. The air fairly bristIed with angry words
and a swimsuit top sailing through the air because she
had passed the limit of her self-control. But then he had
been equally rude and very arrogant.

'Well, that was good news,' Mart said as he joined

them, hands thrust in his pockets as he looked down at
them. 'O'Brian is responding to treatment. We've tried a
new drug and it seems to be paying off.'
'You mean he's out of danger?' Keith queried.
Mart refused to comrnit himself. 'It's a little early yet
to say for sure. However, he's survived the initial shock
and everything is going accarding to plan. I take it you've
sent for his wife?'
'Ves, right away. I felt we owed him that.'
A whirlwind that was Wisp appeared at that moment to
grab Mart's armbefore he could sit down again.
'Come on. We're short of men partners. Dru can come
with Keith.'
She whisked him away and Keith watched them go
with raised brows. Then his attention carne back to Dru
and with it the whole force of his personality. Nonchalantly, he flicked a glance at her ringless left hand.
'That hand of yours would have more power behind it
in holding on to your man if he had put a ring on it,' he
commented dryly, picking up his newly filled cup of coffee.
Dru lifted her chino 'I've a fairly good right hand,' she
answered stoically.
She was favoured with the kind of sardonic smile she
expected. '1 agree. You scored a bull's-eye with your
swimsuit.'
Her face was a pink rose. '1 suppose you expect an
apology. But you did ask for it.'
There was mockery in his gaze after he had taken some
of his coffee.
'As a matter of fact,' he informed her obligingly, 'I'm
keeping your suit in order to present it personally with
my sincere apologies fr misjudging you.' The twinkle
deepened. His eyes became darker in consequence. '1 shall
... er ... present it like a gentleman, of course.'
'Of course,' she echoed, making no attempt to restrain
the sarcasm in her voice.
Keith, however, seemed unperturbed by it. Re drained
his coffee, stubbed out his cigarette and rose lithely to his
feet. '1 must go,' he said. 'I'm sure you'll excuse me.
Thanks for the coffee.' Re picked up his uniform hat, put
it on his neatly trimmed hair and looked down on her
mockingly.
Dru did not attempt to hide her relief and her active
brain took in every detail of his appearance, the arrogant
keenness, the athletic perfectly built body enhanced by
the immaculate cream uniform with the gold braid on the

broad shoulders depicting his rank. Re was a splendid

symbol of success and achievement, everything that Mart
was still struggling foro
Re saluted derisively. 'Goodnight, Miss Temple. A
pleasant evening.'
She sat quivering when he had gone. The night scents,
warm and comforting, were aIl around her, but the contentment was no more. There had been a cold malice in
his smile. Maybe he was mocking fate which, at the
moment, seemed to be dead against him. Re had been
bitter enough about the third misfortune to befall him.
She wondered what it was. Come to think of it, he looked
tired - a fact which set her wondering why she should feel
con cerned. Mart carne for her as she was finishing her
coffee and the rest of the evening was uneventful.
Mart appeared to be strangely preoccupied when he
was driving her back later to the hotel. Dru had to ask
him twice how long the Mallons had been on the island
before he answered.
'Ten years,' he volunteered. 'Wisp carne back twelve
months ago from a finishing school in Switzerland. We
happen to sit next to each other on the plane coming
overo She'd done some shopping in London before returning home.'
'Then you're old friends?'
'You could say that.' Mart shrugged, leaving Dru wondering whether he was as indifferent as he professed to be.
'She's fond of you.' .
Again the careless shrug. 'Wisp is fond o everyone.'
'Enough to drag aman away from his supposed fiance
to dance?'
He laughed. 'Wisp is like that. She could have been
playing up to her cousin.'
Dru wrinkled a youthful brow. 'Her cousin?'
'Captain Falkner. His mother is Sir Athol's sister. They
both inherited a piJe of money from the family estates.'
'Interesting,' she murmured. "That explains why he regardshimself asfairgamefor the husband-hunting females.'
They had reached the hotel and Mart switched off the
engine to face her companionably, his arm on the driving
wheel. 'He has reason to be. That's why he took room s at
this hotel, to escape the parties Wisp puts on at Government House as much as possible. He's still on duty if his
crew is sick. 1 believe he can be quite a lad when he
chooses and he has something - you have only to watch
the women's reaction when he's around.'

'He's quite capable of handing out the frozen mitt,'

Dru commented dryly.
Mart tweaked a brow. 'You don't like the man?'
'1 have 110 reason to like him, have 1? He was convinced from the moment 1 so idiotically kissed him on my
arrival that 1 was one of those designing females he's so
dead against.'
'1 like him. He's a good sort and is very con cerned
about his chief engineer and his crew. He's been to Martinique today concerning the bug his ratings seemed to
have picked up there. 1 wouldn't be surprised to know
that he hasn't only missed lunch but dinner this evening
as well. 1 noticed how thirstily he drank the coffee.'
Dru spoke impatiently because she felt so concerned.
'Surely he could have eaten here before he left in such a
hurry?'
'No time, probably. He's gone to .meet the O'Brian
family off the planeo He'd called here to see me first to
know what to tell them about O'Brian's chances. He
wanted to prepare them for what they had to face.'
'And you think O'Brian is going to recover?'
. 'Well, he's tough and we don't like to lose a case. He
has a good chance.'
Dru smiled. 'You're going to make a fine doctor, Mart.
Your father will be proud of you.'
She 'looked at him with more conccntration than her
usual quick perusal, aware that he was doing the same
with her and finding it interesting. Dru liked the amiable,
boyish lines of his face, his sensible outlook underneath
which lurked an inhibited warmth and a glimpse of maturity in the making. His mouth had curved goodhumouredly, making the rather weak lines of his jaw,
which any woman in love with him would not notice,
seem less apparent. It roused all her protective instincts
and her smile became maternal. The next moment she
was regretting it, for he slid an arm around her to draw
her close.
'Now, now,' she admonished. 'Don't push your luck too
faro I'm not that kind of a girl. 1 know you're on the band
wagon where affairs are concerned, but don't expect me
to improvise.'
'Not even a kiss?'
'Not even a kiss, my boy.' Dru wriggled free and
opened the car door. 'And don't think for a moment I'm
leading you on. One member of the medical profession is
enough in any family! See you tomorrow.'

In her room, Dru stood at her window. The moon cast

a bright silvery beam across the water throwing into relief
the superstructure of the cruiser anchored out in the bay.
She sought the cabins with eyes trying to pinpoint which
could be the Captain's. Then, as though her thoughts had
summoned his memory into reality, his car suddenly slid
to a standstill on the forecourt beneath her window.
Seconds later he was helping two people out, a young
woman in her early twenties and a boy of about six years
oId. The forecourt was moonwashed as Iight as day and
the young woman looked feminine and very pretty as she
stood smiling up at Keith. From the way he was smiIing
down at her, he thought so too. She was not very tall,
reaching almost up to his uniformed shoulder as they
walked into the hotel.
O'Brian's wife and son, probably, Dru thought, and
said a prayer for his recovery.
CHAPTER FOUR
DRU had awakened during the night reeal!ing Mart's
thoughtful regard when he had brought her back to the
hotel. His subsequent embrace was something she could
not entirely banish from her mind. She turned restlessly
in her bed, disturbed by it. Was it possible for him to
become fond of her? He was certainly not the man she
wanted to marry, although he appealed enormously to
the protective instinct in her. Dru wanted something more
from marriage than mothering her partner. She was not
really sure what she did want, but there had to be a
tremendous need sweeping her from her moorings in a
great tidal wave towards the man of her heart.
When she awoke again at seven o'clock, she felt more
settIed, although beneath her tranquillity an inner
emotion seemed to hold her in a strong grip, an emotion
leaving her trembling with a strange anticipation. After a
swim, she was one of the first to go down to breakfast.
The waiter looked her over appraisingly when he carne
for her order. Her dress was simplicity in itself, a turquoise pattern on a white background with a cool neckline. The youthful line of her throat was unbroken by
jewellery, apart from two turquoise studs in her ears.
There was no sign of Keith or the O'Brians in the
dining room and Dru ate alone. Dru did not mind being
alone. She needed intervals of solitude in which to contain al! the strangeness of an entirely new environment.
Back in her room, she touched up her lipstick and was

checking the contents of her beach bag when she heard

Mart outside sounding the car hooter very softly in short
peeps.
Have fun, she told herself, and went down to meet him,
dismissing a sense of impermanence which hovered like a
cloud, Above them the sky was a shirnmering blue as
Mart took the coast road. The island was awakening to
the day's activities and presented a brisk busy air as they
drove past trucks of farmworkers, big sun-scorched men
and pretty women on their way to work in the fields.
They sailed past several beaches where teak-brown
children leapt in the surf like playful porpoises. Then the
coast grew rockier with the mountains jutting out over the
sea as they turned off the road on to a narrower track
leading down to the beach.
Below them lay a rocky cove with a small sheltered
beach made prvate by thickly growing trees and shrubs.
The surf washed noisily and with joyous abandon up the
beach and as swiftly returned to the green depths. They
left the ear to drop down on to golden sand already hot
from the sun. To their left, the voleanic rocks jutted out
of waters sheltering shelves of coral where a few skindivers frolicked.
1 t was an enchanted spot and they both struck out in
the water for a rejuvenating swim. Later, drenched by the
surf, they raced up the beach to throw themselves down
with glorious abandon beneath the shade of trees. The
hot sand stung their feet as they ran and Mart pulled Dru
down beside him. She knew an uneasy moment when she
suddenly felt his weight on top of her and violently
heaved herself free.
'You men are all alike,' she fumed. 'You have a onetrack mind. Did you say you had a picnic basket?'
Rather sulkily Mart fetched it from the car, she spread
out a cloth and they enjoyed the repast. They spent the
afternoon sailing round the coral reefs in a glass-bottomed boat loaned to them by the skin-divers nearby and,
in the evening, they dined at the Garland Hotel. As Mart
had said it was a popu1ar dining and dancing place and
very much patronized by non-residents. A cosmopolitan
crowd, they spilled out from the dining rooms on to verandas and lawns beneath gaily striped umbrelIas and
there was a general air of festivity about it,
When Mart had left Dru lingered in the scented dusk
watching the tail light of his car fade away. The wall
lights outside the hotel entrance shed a soft yellow glow

and the sense of tranquillity was pleasing and complete.

Slowly, her eyes travelled from the warm circle of
light, reaching the festooned trees to the crimson glow of
the horizon at one with the molten sheet of calm sea in
the bayo It drew her forward with a pleasant and breathtaking familiarity and the warm moist air caressed her as
she made her way down to the beach.
There were one or two late-night bathers having fu~ in
the surf and on reaching the beach, she moved away in
the opposite direction, kicking driftwood and seaweed absentIy with the toe of her slipper as she gazed downwards.
lt was quite some time before she looked up without realizing how far she had walked. Then, on the point of turning back, she saw it.
At first, she thought it was a small bundle of clothes
until, on closer inspection, she saw it was the figure of a
small boy. He lay with an arm above his head as if flung
there by the tide and she hurried forward to bend over
him anxiously. To her relief he was asleep ancI quite dry.
lt was the O'Brian boy she had seen arrive with his
mother the previous evening. A swft glance around told
her that he was alone and that he had to be wakened if he
was not to be left there when the tide carne in.
GentIy, she pushed back the stray lock of yellow hair
from his forehead, taking in the delicate blue veined
'temples and his frailty.
'Wake up, sleepyhead,' she whispered softly in his ear,
not wishing to scare him.
He stirred and opened his eyes te .link up at her in the
bemused way of one corning out of a deep sleep. Then he
stared fixedly at her warm srnile in the gloom.
'Had a nice sleep?' she said.
He did not answer but regarded her unsmilingly with a
childlike solemnity.
'Shouldn't you be in bed, young man? It's very late and
I'm sure Mummy thinks you're fast asleep in your little
bed. What about going back with me? I'm going to bed
too.' She bent down to take his hands. 'Come on!'
He allowed her to take his hands and pull him to his
feet to walk beside her in silence,
'My name is Dru,' she told him brightly. 'What's
yours?'
,
'Bud,'he answered, trudging lethargically in the sand.
'Bud O'Brian.'
He spoke with a detached interest and her heart
warmed to him as it always did to children.

'Now that's an interesting name. Wha1's it short for? 1

mean, what's your real christian name or first name?'
'Just Bud. Mummy used to say 1 had a mouth like a
rosebud, so they called me Bud.'
'How long have you been on the beach?'
'Not long,' laconically.
'Long enough to miss supper?'
'Oh, that.' The thin shoulders shrugged supper off as
being of no consequence. 'I've had that, but 1 never eat
much anyway.'
'You don't? How's that?'
Again the shrug. 'Not hungry.'
'Have you been ill?'
'Yes. 1 take pills. 1 hate 'em.'
'What about having a glass of hot milk when you reach
the hotel to help you to sIeep?'
He gave a snort of .disgust. 'Milk? U gh! 1 hate it.'
Dru had to smile. 'Y ou could be aman and take it
because it will help you to grow big and strong. lt's only
weak people who are afraid of taking things that are good
for them.'
He looked at her then, wide-eyed and speculative, as
though that had never occurred to him. But he must have
thought it merited no answer, for they walked the rest o
the way to the hotel in silence. To her surprise, he
stopped short at the door next to hers in the corridor.
'This is our door,' he vouchsafed.
'WilI Mummy be in?'
He shook his head. '1 don't think so.'
'Want me to come in with you?'
'If you like.'
He spoke grudgingly, but Dru felt a new warmth in his
manner towards her and folIowed him meekIy into the
room. Bud walked across the room to pause at a door and
turned to speak in childish dignity.
'You can come in when I've undressed and aro in bed,'
he said as though bestowing a favour. 'I'Il teIl you
when.'
Dru nodded and smiled comprehendingly and something tugged at her heart-strings as he entered the room
and closed the door behind him.
He looked poignantly lost in the big bed with the bedside lamp throwing his smaIl face into sharp angles.
Below the pyjama sleeves, his wrists w~re painfulIy thin
as his hands rested on the overturned cover of the bed.
'Sure you wouldn't like a warm drink?' Dru asked.
He shook his head and showed a certain amount of

interest.
'Are you in the next room?'
She smiled. 'Yes.'
He seemed pleased at this. ~Are yQU married?'
Dru was rather startled by this question. :'No. Why do
you ask?'
'AlI grown-ups are married. Dad's been married
twice.'
Isn't he your real daddy, then?'
'Oh yes. Mummy died when 1 was little and Daddy
married Sheila - she's my stepmother. She's alI right.'
He spoke with no deep emotion but rather like someone repeating a lesson. Dru wanted to gather hirn up in
her arrns and give him a warm hug. Instead, she sat down
on the bed and reached out to push the truant lock of hair
frorn his forehead. She said gent1y,
'I'm happy to know your steprnother is all right. Why
did you go to the beach when it was so late? You know 11
was wrong to leave your room after Mummy had put you
to bed?'
'1 couldn't sleep. 1 was hot.'
'But you will go to sleep now, won't you? Close your
eyes and I'Il stay with you until you do. Would you like
me to teIl you a story?'
He nodded and Dru brought her hand down gent1y
over his eyes and began.
It was not long before he was asleep and Dru sat for a
while listening to his regular breathing before leaving the
room. As she entered the main bedroorn someone entered
from the corridor. It was Mrs O'Brian, who turned on
entering as sorneone spoke behind her on the corridor.
'Your purse, Mrs. O'Brian. You left it in the car.'
Dru stiffened at the sound of the deep familiar tones
and moved back out of sight of the open door.
'Thanks, Captain Falkner. You've been very kind. I'rn
so happy to know that rny husband is going to be aIl right.
Thanks for all you've done. Goodnight.'
Dru waited while Mrs. O'Brian carne back into the
room and closed the door. 'I'm sorry,' she began, scarletfaced at the women's uplifted eyebrows. 'I've been telling
Bud a story. He was hot and couldn't go to sleep.'
'1 see.'
Mrs. O'Brian's brown eyes traveIled over Dru's pretty
evening dress and her slim youthful figure with an air of
dismissal. Dru took the hint and walked to the door.
'Have you far to go when you leave here, Miss ... ?'

'Dru ... Dru Temple. I happen to be staying in the

room next door.'
"Then I won't detain you, Miss Temple. Thanks for
keeping Bud company. Goodnight.'
Dru murmured a reply and left the room with a smile a
little off centre. She was not very impressed by Mrs.
O'Brian and had hoped for someone more spontaneous
and warrn.
She dosed the door behind her and her heart tumed.
Keith stood there eyeing her with a cool insolence.
'Still at it? AnyIuck this time?' Tongue in cheek, he
looked her up and down. '1 saw you through the open
door with the same scared look on your face that you had
in my rooms.'
Dru lifted her chin. 'You're imagining things as usual,
Captain. This one happened to be a little under age, but I
keep trying.'
He laughed, still barring the way to her door. His teeth
were a bar of whiteness in his tanned face and her heart
lurched strangely. Against the wall lights, his face had a
nice firm look which gave an impression of complete
confidence and inner strength. It occurred to her then
that, arrogant and exasperating though he was, he was
the kind o man she would like around in an emergency.
He shoved his hands in his pockets. 'You really ought
to have a ring on that finger to give the poor blighters
more assurance when they find you in their rooms.'
'Very funny,' Dru retorted witheringly. 'On the other
hand, a few more encounters' with you might succeed in
putting me off entering strange bedrooms altogether.
Come to think of it, you're giving me a healthy dislike for
the whole of your sex.'
She spoke thoughts which on utterance had a ring of
truth but also made it imperative for her to escape to the
safety o her own rooms.
'Goodnight,' she said, and fled.
When she went down to breakfast the followinsr morn.
f
O>
mg a ter an early bathe, Dru noticed Mrs. O'Brian and
Bud seated at a table nearby. Neither of them noticed her,
although the eyes o more than one male were tumed her
way as she sat down graceful1y in a pretty sun dress which
showed to advantage the peach bloom of her slim shoulders and long tanned legs.

Bud was scowling down at his breakfast and pushing it

away. Wondering about his lack of appetite, Dru wished
it could have been stimulated by a dip in the sea. Her own
appetite, keen after her moming swim, floundered as
Sheila leaned across the table to talk to him.
'Come on, Bud, eat your breakfast.'
'1 don't want it. I'm not hungry.'
'Well, drink your fruit juice. If you don't I shan't take
you to see Daddy.'
He perked up at this,' his thin figure straightening.
Eagerly, he said,
'Can I see him today?'
'If you eat your breakfast,' was the firm reply.
He reached for his fruit juice and Dru;s attention was
diverted by someone pausing at her table.
'Mind if I join you?' Pete Brady asked.
'By all means.' Dru smiled a we1come. 'Take a seat. Are
you staying at this hotel too?'
He nodded, slipping into the chair opposite to her at
the table and blocking her view of the O'Brians. The
waiter carne with a tray from which Pete helped himseIf
liberalIy to jam wafHes and fruit juice.
"True American, aren't you?' Dru teased, watching
him tucking into his favourite breakfast.
He agreed. 'Which doesn't blind me to the fact that
this island is the most delightful I've ever visited.'
'Exactly the way I feel about it, and the longer 1 stay
the more 1 like it.' Encouraged by his sincerity she continued, '1 love the evenings - they're so romantic.'
Pete eyed her appraisingly. 'While 1 like the scenery, 1
much prefer to concentrate upon the beauty of the female
form displayed here so attractively. Are you doing anything today?'
'I'm going out with Mart.'
'Lucky Mart. lnfuriating how the ladies always make
for professional men and uniforms.'
'Oh, come now. There's a surfeit of women on the
island - or haven't you noticed?' Dru gave him a warm
smile.
'Noticed?' .he echoed quite indignantly. 'You're gazing
at aman with a one-track mind curving in that direction.
Unfortunately, the choicest fruits are only within reach
of the Navy and hospital personnel. Wisp Mallon is doing
voluntary work at the hospital to help with the rush of
casualties from the cruiser and the delicious Liane seems
hooked on the vibrant Captain Falkner.'
'Poor you! Surely there are other lovelies you could

have overlooked? The dusky-eyed island maidens are

really something.'
Pete's rather bold eyes travelled slowly over her golden
hair and dazzling smile. 'Maybe there ar~ others, but you
know what human nature is, always reaching for the unattainable.'
Dru looked him in the eye. 'How do you know anything is unattainable unless you try for it? Isn't that
rather a defeatist attitude?'
His tone was derisive. 'You must be joking! All the
dollies today care about is money, which means higher
ranking officers in the forces. They hook a guy who has
no money and watch hirn kill himself working for a status
symbol.'
Dru said quietly, 'Now you're being cynical. Wealth
doesn't always bring happiness. Besides, it can be fun
working together for life's comforts. What happened?
Did someone turn you down?'
Pete shrugged and used his table napkin. 'Don't take
any notice of me this morning. 1 guess I'm suffering from
a dose of the blues.' His smile was a trifle crooked. "The
morning after the night before, to be exact. We were invited to the cruiser in the bay last evening, the party of uso
The officers decided to give a party in their mess to repay
us for entertaining the crew while they're in hospital.
However, it was cut short.' He leaned back in his chair
and reached for cigarettes from his pocket. 'One moment
we were drinking Scotch in the officers' mess, the next we
were out.'
Dru's eyes flew wide open. 'What happened?'
'They'd taken it for granted that 1 was an officer instead I'm just an ordinary prvate doing my bit en tertaining Nato forces.' He grinned and lighted a cigarette
when she refused one.
'What has that to do with it?'
'Everything.' He blew a line of cigarette smoke ceilingwards and watched it disintegrate with a bitter pull to bis
mouth. 'lt was all done very diplomatically. We were out
before we realized what had happened. They thanked us
for coming and that was that.'
Dru stared aghast. 'Good heavens,' she exclaimed.
'What a thoroughly objectionable man Captain Falkner
must be!'
'It wasn't his fault. Officers never entertain the Iower
ranks in their own mess. 1 t just is not done.'
'1 see.'
Dru was hardly aware of the O'Brians Ieaving the

dining room until Bud planted himself in front o her.

'You said you weren't married,' he said witheringly,
and marched off in high dudgeon.
'What was that in aid of?' Pete asked as the small figure
disappeared from the dining room.
Dru told him how she had found Bud on the beach.
'The kid looks sick,' was his only comment.
Dru moved uneasily. 'You think so? Yes, he does look
ill. 1 believe he's taking some kind o treatment.'
'Poor kid,' Pete said laconically.
Dru, waiting for Mart later in her roorns, thought uneasily of Pete's comment.
'Have you seen the O'Brian boy?' she asked when Mart
had picked her up at the hotel and they were on their way
to the Coconut Club.
'Yes,' Mart answered.
'Did you know he'd been ill and is still taking treatment? He has no appetite.'
'1 know I've had all the inforrnation from Sheila
O'Brian concerning him.'
Dru looked at a profile which revealed nothing. 'Then
you know what's wrong with him?'
'1 do.'
Again the evasion, and it infuriated Dru. 'Well, for
goodness' sake! Is it a secret?'
'In a way. lt's important for the boy to remain in ignorance o the fact that he hasn't long to live.'
Dru gasped in horror and dismay. 'Y ou ... you mean
nothing can be done?'
'Exactly.'
'But why not, in this day and age of medical skill and
knowledge ?'
'Beca use the boy has sarcoma of the lungs.'
'Sarcoma? But isn't that a forrn o cancer?'
'It is, and about the most deadly neoplasm to find in a
child.'
'Oh no!' Tears sprang to Dru's eyes. 'And there's absolutely nothing to be done?'
'According to his doctor a shadow was discovered on
his lungs a month ago after an attack of pneumonia. It
had spread past operating. The tragic part about it is that
O'Brian doesn't know yet. He's being left behind when
the cruiser goes.'
Dru quelled a strange empty feeling in her stomach. '15
the ship sailing soon? What about the sick crew?'
'They're mostly on the mend, except a few. It was a
bug they picked up in Martinique from some food they'd

eaten while ashore. Captain Falkner has applied for

specialleave for O'Brian to recuperate. It will mean hirn
having time with his son.'
Dru said hollowly, '1 suppose there's no chance that the
doctor is wrong and that Bud can eventually recover.
Doesn't he stand a good chance here in the unpolluted air
and sunshine?'
Mart said carefully, 'Sometimes a malignant disease
clears up miraculously on its own simply because the
patient refuses to accept it and fights back. With Bud it's
difIerent. He's too young to understand and he's not adult
enough to fight it.'
The joy had gone out of Dru's day as Mart drove on in
silence. They carne upon the little blue car when Mart
rounded the next bend in the road. The young woman
bending over the open bonnet was slim, sultry and familiar. Mart pulled in behind it and was out of his seat in a
jifIy.
'What's the trouble?'
Liane drew out her head from under the bonnet and
managed to look beautiful and helpless. She was wearing
a sun dress in a vivid pink which imparted a rich glow to
her suntanned limbs. Her hair had the blue-black sheen
o a raven's wings and she fluttered pink-tipped hands in
a eminine gesture o distress.
'Frankly, Mart, 1 haven't a clue,' she replied.
They were both bending over the bonnet when the
third car arrived to pull in at a small Iayby on the other
side o the road. A dark head materialized and Keith said
with the familiar casual charm,
'Having trouble?'
'Keith!' Liane breathed the name rather than spoke it.
The sudden gleaming smile with which she greeted him
was far removed from the little helpless woman act with
which she had met Mart. 'Y es, I am. I never expected two
knight errants, though.'
Watching from her seat in Mart's car, Dru decided that
Liane was really enjoying herself. In a way she was rather
like Keith. Both of them could conduct themselves well in
an emergency, Liane especially when there were attractive men around. Keith stayed in his car to survey the
couple who bent over the bonnet with an airy nonchalance.
When, quite unexpectedly, he tossed a glance at her
from his cool slate, grey eyes, Dru acknowledged his nod
with the feeling of an ever-tightening band around her
heart. His sud den appearance had started off the breath-

less sensation now becoming all too familiar each time she
saw him. She seemed to feel that life was less painful if
she kept her eyes from his mocking, tanned face.
Mart lifted his head to address Liane in no uncertain
terms. 'What an idiot you are, Liane, to even venture out
in this contraption. How long is it since you had the thing
serviced?' He lifted a hand. 'No, don't tell me. Just leave
it here for a garage to tow it in.'
Keith backed him up after leaving his seat to take a
brief look inside the bonnet.
'Mart's right, Liane. I'll give you a lift to wherever you
are going. I'm on my way to Govemment House. You're
welcome to come alorrg with me if you wish.'
Liane needed no second invitation. She slid inside
Keith's car and with a brief salute at Mart and Dru, he
drove away.
Mart watched them go with lifted brows, gave a resigned shrug and took his place beside Dru in the driving
seat.
'That was neatly done. He drves up and takes the
woman away without a by your leave,' he muttered in
disgusto
'We are supposed to be a practically engaged couple,'
Dru commented dryly. 'The man evidently thinks he's
doing us a good tum in taking away a third person.'
'Nothing personal,' Mart said abruptly, rather too abruptly. '1 wanted a word with Liane about one o my
patients. I understood she was on duty today.'
'Is she that good?'
'Not only good, when you've worked with the same
people for ayear you sort of come up with the same deductions. Yes, Liane is extremely efficient at her job.'
"Then couldn't that be one of the reasons Captan Falkner whisked her away? He might have wanted to ask her
about O'Brian or members of his crew, How are they
doing, by the way?'
'They're all doing well now that we've established the
cause o the mystery epidemic.' After a brief silence, he
added, 'Why the sudden defence o the Captain? I
thought you didn't care for him?'
Dru was a little taken aback at this since me had been
surprised at her own defence of the mano She chuckled,
'Do you know, I haven't a clue except that I like to be
fair and try to see things in their true perspective,' she
said rather weakIy.
Mart made no answer but drove on in silence. If he was

unusually preoccupied for the rest of the journey, so was

Dru. Bud's illness and the encounter with Liane and
Keith had blunted the sharp happiness of her day. She
kept seeing Liane and Keith together at Govemment
House, spending the day there and leaving early to dance
at some night spot to music backed by the rumble o the
surf. Later, in the flame-colour gloaming, they would sip
cool drinks from long glasses beneath the banyan trees
and look meaningly into each other's eyes. .
It was after breakfast the following morning that Mart
phoned to say he would not be free all day. He suggested
that she should go to the Coconut Club where there were
all kinds of activities to fill her day with people she had
already met.
Dru welcomed the break. Relations between them were
becoming a little strained and she was beginning to view
Mart's possessiveness with more than a little apprehension. It would be a good idea to get away from it all and
explore the island. Neither Mrs. O'Brian nor Bud had
been at breakfast, but earlier, wherr she had gone down
for her bathe, Keith, virile and glowing in a bathing robe,
had been making his way back to the hotel. Perversely,
Dru had looked the other way and had taken a path
which forked off away from him. It had taken a little
longer to reach the beach, but rather that than having to
pass him. Her heart, however, had still been beatnz
heavily from the chance encounter when she slipped off
her robe and entered the water.
Her relief at not seeing him at breakfast was overlaid
by a sneaky sense of disappointment. Accepting a holiday
at Mart's expense and posing as his fiance had not been a
good idea. Her commitments had secured her with a ball
and chain to Mart, making her feel reaIly bound to him
when actually she was as free as air.
Dru knew she was not the same person who had come
to the island so lightheartedly with the idea of helping
Mart and having a good time. Since her arrival the loneliness brought on by her mother's recent marriage had
dissolved into a new sensation, something both breathtaking and deliciously frightening. Since it was not Mart
who invoked the new emotion it must be the island with
the cruiser in the bay filling her foolish mind with romantic notions.
It had nothing to do with the Captain. How could it?
Dru felt her dislike of him welling up into her throat as
she repaired her make-up after breakfast before going
out. Her mind bauIked at the thought of hirn. She had

timed the bus neatly, for it drew up at the hotel as she

emerged neat and trim in a cool sun-suit showing long
tanned legs.
. There. was only a sprinkling of passengers, a few housewrves gomg to market and a few brown-skinned children
eyeing her solernnly with big black eyes beneath caps o
tight black curIs.
The road leading to the village encircled tbe island
meandering at times past sea-grape and casuarinas as it
dipped close to the sea. The village lay huddled against a
background of rock as though for protection against the
gales which swept mercilessly across tbe island. Heavy
shutters gave. the ~ittle ~hops an air of mystery and tbey
were not unlike dimly 11t caves displaying tbeir treasures
to Dru, who was drawn to the lttle tightly packed stalls
in the market place.
She wandered past stalls displaying herbs in pots, tomatoes and strange-Iooking small eggs, mangoes, red
peppers and sweet bananas to gift displays.
'Lucky shell necklace, lady. Very pretty. Bring good
luck. Come from sea to protect you from harm, Very
cheap.'
White teeth gIeamed in tbe dark face of the vendor
who held up a pretty sheIl necklace. His dark eyes rested
hopefuIly on her face, Dru's pink-tipped fingers reached
for the fastener o her shoulder-bag as a voice whispered
in her ear.
'Why not? Take it with you on your tour o strange
men's bedrooms. At least it will protect you from some
man's irate wife when she finds you in tbeir room.'
Dru swiveIled ro~nd to Iook up into the mocking slate
grey eyes o Captain Falkner. Refusing to be moved in
any way by tbe man, she smiled sweetly.
'Captain Falkner, how sweet of you to remind me. The
small matter of self-preservation never entered my
head. I can see now why I must buy one. I might come up
against someone like you who really enjoys thinking the
worst of poor little me.'
Her piece delivered in crushing style, Dru turned, adjusted her sunglasses and presented a slim back as she
bent over the stall to choose a necklace.
She chose a very pretty one of perfectly matched pink
and white shells and put it in her shoulder bag as the
vendor fished for change in a small tin on the stall.
'Capitan! Capitan!'
Moving away from the stall, Dru heard the cries of
children as they milled around Keith. In the white uni-

form with the gold braid, he was a picturesque figure at

any time with his flashing smile and powerful physique.
Island people had gathered round to greet him, the men
jocular, the women admiringly, swaying their beautiful
bodies. They were meltingly alluring with their dark eyes
luminous as lamps.
Dru's progress between the tightly packed stalls was
slow, but she managed eventually to put space between
herself and the admiring crowd around the Captain.
Consequently, her feet in the rope sandals felt lighter as
she left air fraught with the electricity of his presence for
a more normal, natural atmosphere. The sun was already high in the sky which verged from
a horizon of palest blue to a vast cloudless ceiling of a
deeper hue. The sea, a blue and shimmering silver mirror
edged by frothy white foam, beckoned her from the
crowded market to breathe in deeply of the clear invigorating air.
The smart cabin cruiser, newly painted blue and white,
was anchored not far out on the placid water. It Iooked
bright and perky, as cool and fresh as a newly plucked
lettuce to Dru, who puUed back slim shoulders to loosen
the beach suit from her hot skin. Longingly, she looked at
it, imagining the cool sea spray on her face from its deck
as it roared through the water.
A dark-skinned man wearing a uniform hat and with a
brown torso above blue trousers was approaching it in a
dinghy and she watched him pull up alongside to carry
fishing tackle and provisions aboard. Then he was back in
the dinghy again, making for the shore where someone
was striding across the sand to meet him. It was Captain
Falkner. He saw her and their eyes met simultaneously.
'Care to join me?' he called. 'I'm going fishing.'
Dru shook her head. 'No, thanks.'
'Poor sailor?' he queried mockingly.
Dru did not answer.
'It doesn't need as much spunk as entering strange
men's rooms,' he baited.
'Perhaps not. But at least the company is varied,' she
shot at him across the narrowing distance as he strode
towards her.
'The day is going to be really hot. It will be much
cooler on board.' He had stopped to tower above her.
Beneath the beck of his uniform hat, the slate grey eyes
narrowed speculatively. 'What are you afraid of, the sea
or me?'
'You flatter yourself!'

He smiled at her swift rejoinder, an odd sort of smile,

tongue in cheek.
'Not afraid of anything?' he suggested. 'That doesn't
tie up with your refusal to accompany me.'
'It might when you pause to consider your lack of hospitality in the past.'
Unconsciously, Dru lifted a hand to a slow trickle of
moisture down one side of her nose. He watched her
remove it with a nervous finger and she wished desperate1y that he would go. When he made no attempt to do
so, she decided to leave him flippantly.
'Enjoy your fishing,' she said airily, and turning away,
could not resist a parting shot. 'Don't lean too far over
the side, though. Fish are usualIy very partial to a
worm.'
What happened next was so sudden that she was
speechless. He scooped her up into his arms and strode
with her as easily as he would a child to the dinghy. Dru,
temporarily immobilized by the swiftness of his action,
carne to shakily when he put her into the dinghy. The
bare-torsoed man, obviously the owner of the cabincruiser, pushed the dinghy out of shalIow water, lifted his
hat to the back of his head and stood, hands on hips,
watching them go.
Dru watched him growing smaller and smaller as the
line of frothy white foam between them lengthened. Her
kidnapper made short work of landing on the cabin
cruiser. She was lifted on to the step up the side and
seated on one of the built-in seats of the covered deck.
The island was now some distance away and she found
herself seeking familiar landmarks, Government House in
its nest of greenery in the hilIs, the white buildings of the
hospital and a tantalizing glimpse of striped awnings on
the forecourt of the GarIand Hotel.
A freshening breeze from the windward side freed
curIy tendrils of hair to fall across her green eyes. She
pushed them away, loving the cool, exhilarating breeze so
welcome after the enervating heat on shore. Keith had
started up the engine and they roared through the water
for quite some time until he final1y decided to drop
anchor. He then busied himself with a fishing rod, throwing the line over the side of the boat expertly with a
powerful arm slotting the rod firmly into the fixture on
the built-in seat.
'How come you're on your own today?' he asked,
lowering his long length down beside her.
Dru's eyes wandered over the c1ear blue of the water

----wondering what his idea was o bringing her along with

him. Did he mean to teach her a lesson for insulting him?
Or was he intending to use a more refined kind of torture,
that of keeping her guessing? Glancing at his lean profile,
she knew it was his presence and not the unaccustomed
movement of the boat which was causing her senses to
soar and dive so giddily.
'Mart is on duty,' she admitted at last. '1 was Iooking
forward to spending the day on my own exploring the
island.'
He narrowed a keen gaze at her averted head. 'You
mean you find it a relief to be away from your in tended
once in a while?' he asked politely.
'1 didn't say that,' she protested.
'Do you enjoy being engaged to a poor registrar?'
Dru looked at him then with a mixture of anger and
exasperation.
'Naturally. Are you insinuating that I don't?'
He stretched out his legs indolently to a more comfortable position.
'Why so quick on the defensive? Is it only anger that
makes you sparkle, or do you only come to life when
you're with Mart?' he favoured her with another sidelong
glance. :'Y ou certainly don't strike me as being ecstaticalIy
in love!'
'It's really none of your business, is it?' Dru retorted. '1
love being with Mart. He's ... he's so thoughtful and
kind.'
'A doctor usually is to his patients. A wife is another
matter. You don't know him very we1l, do you?'
He captured her gaze and Dru feIt like a c1ockwork toy
with the mainspring suddenly going haywire inside
her.
'What exactly do you mean by that?' she demanded.
'What I sayo You don't strikeme as being the kind of
person to be satisfied with so little if you did.'
Dru's green eyes sparkled with anger. 'You haven't the
least idea what you're talking about! You accuse me of
not knowing Mart and criticize aman you know nothing
about.'
'True. On the other hand, it's quite well known on the
island that your Mart changes his girIs as often as he
changes his shirts. That's some record in a warm climate.'
'1 know. He told me,' she said coolly.

He gave the fishing rod a cursory glance when it moved

slightly, then lifted a sardonic brow in her direction.
'You mean to say you have no objection to him carrying on in that way? Is that why you've taken to wandering around in strange men's rooms as a kind of letting off
stearn?'
'1 don't wander into strange men's rooms, and well you
know it. In any case, what I do is my own business. Why
don't you leave me alone?'
She felt his eyes upon her. "That's a strange request
from someone who's sought me out on two different occasions. You can't go around kissing strange men and not
expect them to be interested.'
He shot up then to seize the twitching rod and landed a
decent sized fish without any trouble. The rod was cast
for a second time and it was not long before he was hauling in his second catch. By lunch time the box at his feet
was well filled with a golden horde of fish. I
'Not abad morning,' he commented, washing his hands
in a pail of water before calling it a day. 'Hungry?'
Dru was surprised to find that she was, ravenously. He
had evidently come prepared to eat well, for the smaIl
table he set up on the deck was a tempting sight, with
fresh salad, sIices of chicken breast, cheeses and tropical
fruits to foIlow.
He was an entertaining host, filling in the gaps in the
conversation equably when they happened, which was
often, He made good coffee and the meal was ambrosia to
Dru, who was slowly becoming hypnotized by his charroing deep voice. After lunch, he piloted the cabin cruiser
around the coast and stopped the engine for her to gaze
enchantedly at a shoal of ftying fish leaping like streaks of
lightning from the water and disappearing again into the
depths.
Keith had tossed his hat aside and his jacket and was
looking swarthy and sun-tanned as he revelIed in the
wind-blown activity at the wheel, turning the boat in the
direction of the open sea. By this time Dru had decided
th.at his reason for taking her on board was a friendly one.
She gazed up at him in the bright light with the sun
turning her hair into a dazzling gold. Her forehead was
puckered thoughtfully.
'Aren't you tired of the sea?' she asked curiously. '1 surely this is a busman's holiday?'
'1 carne out today with a purpose - to visit a small
island I carne to as a boy with my two brothers. It was

inhabited then by people who made a living out of diving

for sponges. Do you like fish?'
Dru nodded. 'All kinds,' she confessed.
He grinned. 'So do l. Ever tasted fish cooked fresh from
the sea?'
She shook lier head.
'Then I'Il cook you some and you can tell me what you
think about it. When we reach the island.'
During that journey to unexplored territory it seemed
to Dru that everything life had to offer was hers for the
taking. Everything around her was outlined with dazzling
clearness, the shining deck, the disturbing man at the
wheel and the fast approaching greenery of the island
they were making foro The sun was shining with a serene
brilliance when they neared the shore. Keith anchored the
cabin cruiser and put Dru with provisions, including one
of the freshIy caught fish, into the dinghy.
Drawing nearer to the shore, he concentrated on keeping the dinghy free from shelves of overhanging coral reef
just beneath the surface of the water. The sea did the rest,
sweeping them on shore where Keith hauled the dinghy
above the tideline.
Dru stood with her back to the surf looking at thick
tropical growth reaching well into the hills, There was no
habitation to be seen.
Her initial nervousness, a mixture of apprehension and
anticipation, swelIed in her throat. He was looking at her
with that impersonal interest which both intrigued and
irritated her. The glow in her cheeks was not entirely
owing to the sea breeze - she knew by the heavy thudding
of her heart threatening to knock a hole into her ribs.
'How can you be sure this is the island?' she asked.
'You forget I'm a sailor,' he reminded her.
'Are we the on1y two people on the island, do you
think?'
As she asked the question a sense of shock ran through
her. She was so entirely at his merey.
'Scared?' he scoffed. 'Come on. First a stick to help us
break through!'
Dru watched him stride forward to some strong
bamboo shoots growing in a clump above the tideline.
Taking a pen-knife from his pocket, he chose an extra
stout one and proceeded to clear it of shoots.
"There are a few derelict sheds and the remains of the
village to be seen,' he said. 'Everything is now covered with
jungle growth.'
'What happened?'

'Hurricanes,' laconicalIy.
Dru moistened a dry throat. 'Hurricanes. When do
they happen?'
'Don't worry about that. This island just happens to be
right in their path. The inhabitants didn't give up without a struggle. Eventually they moved out, after finding it
too costly to keep rebuilding after the damage.'
He bent the bamboo stick for strength and watched it
spring back withsatsfaction. Then he led the way, beating aside the undergrowth to reveal a path. They carne
after a surprisingly short time to a stone hut cuddled by a
semi-circle of rock forming the hilIside behind a wind
break of trees. Sturdy and defiant, it had weathered the
hurricanes as though blessed with immunity.
Keith grinned down at her. ~'Amazing, isn't it? The
story goes that a certain bishop of an English church was
marooned here for months, the sole survivor of a shipwreck. When he was picked up by a passing ship, he
blessed the place for giving him shelter.'
He beat a twisted mass of grey rnangoes choking the
entrance over which a crude wooden sign had been fixed
and rnade a way through.
'Bishop's Rest.' Dru read the name on the sign aloud.
'Sounds like the name of a pub,' she said.
'With all mod cons,' he suggested, leading the way
inside. When Dru's eyes became accustomed to the
dimness, she saw a bench-like bed against one waIl, a
rough-hewn table and chair and shelves on one wall containing pots and pans. Two windows shed light into the
room showing up the dust on a small corner cupboard.
She sobered as she looked around. 'No fresh water?
How did the bishop survive?'
"There's a mountain stream in a glen. It runs frorn the
hills and forms a pool where one can bathe. Care to take a
dip?'
Dru coloured. 'I've DO swimsuit with me.'
An instant picture of a swimsuit top deepened the
blush.
He laughed. "Don't look so embarrassed. Ever bathed
in the nude?'
Dru shook her head.
"Then it's time you did. I'm going to wash the fish in
the pool and while I'm cooking it you can have your
swim. No one will disturb you.'
He unhooked an old hatchet from a hook on the wall
near the door and Dru followed him to where they had

left the dinghy. Tossing her a bath towel from one of the
boxes, he took a kitchen knife from the picnic hamper
and carrying one of the fish he picked up the hatchet and
bade her follow him. ,
He seemed to know the way, for he hacked away at the
dense undergrowth with an unerring precision, going off
to the right of the hut into the interior. Dru heard the
refreshing rush of water before they reached the glen. It
was a green grotto with fingers of sunlight stiffiy spread
through the foliage of immensely tall trees overhead giving
it a kind of stage setting, Water cascaded down over rocks
to flow into a pool.
Keith cleaned the fish along with two large cabbagelike
leaves and wrapping them round it gave Dru a mocking
salute. 'So long,' he said. 'Enjoy your swim.'
Minutes after his footsteps had crushed away to silence
in the undergrowth, Dru was in' the water. It was
heavenly to swim free of any clothing. She floated on her
back in sheer enjoyment. Above her a ceiling of trees
ranging from yellow-gold to blue-green towered to fantastic height to pierce the vast bowl of sky. The scene
mirrored in the water dazzled with a breathtaking beauty
and Dru would have stayed longer had not the fact that
shewas minusa covering alerted her to the dangerof Keith
coming to see what was keeping her. She towelled her
hair, decided to leave it loose and lightly made up her
face. Keith had cut more from the path on his way back
to the shore making it easier for her to retrace her steps,
and Dru went forward on winged feet to meet an appetising aroma of fresh fish cooking.
He was on his haunches re-stoking the fire he had built
among stones and looked up at her arrival. With one lithe
movement he was on his feet. His smile flashed,
'Enjoy it?' he queried.
She nodded, tossing back her golden hair, almost dry
now in the heat of the sun. 'It was super!'
He reached out for her towel, slung it over one broad
shoulder and saluted lazily. 'So long. Keep an eye on the
fire until I get back.'
Dru nodded again and sank down on the sand, feeling
decidedly odd. She lay back and closed her eyes. Her acquaintance with Keith was far too short for deep
emotions. Yet seconds ago, exposed to his scrutiny, her
strength had melted away. Whatever was the matter with
her? She hardly recognized herself as the girl who had
come away so lightheartedly a few days ago. Life on the
island was a thing apart from any previous existence. It

was Keith who made it seem complicated.

She looked after the fire, dozing a little until she fell
asleep. She awoke to the pop of a cork. Keith was pouring
out two glasses of wine. The fish, done. to a turn, was
ready to be served.
'Your fish, madame,' he said, passing her portion on a
papier-mach plate.
It was surprisingly delicious.
'The fish wouldn't have been the same without the
wine,' Keith commented, refilling her glass.
Dru agreed, glancing down at him as he lay beside her
supported by an elbow, glass in hand. His hair was drying
crisply from his recent bathe in the pool, bis eyes, half
closed, drew attention to the dark eyelashes and attractive masculine nose. The fingers curled around his
glass were strong and flexible, blunt at the tips ..
'It was a delicious meal and I've enjoyed it very mucho
Where did you leam to cook?' she asked him curiously.
'1 was a boy scout,' he scoffed.
'Were you actually a small boy with a scrubbed look
and a tooth missing in front? I can't imagine it.'
He Iaughed, showing an even set of white teeth. The
grey eyes were smilingly apen. 'Do 1 Iook so ancient? I'm
not much older than your Mart. How oId is he? Twentyfour or so?' 'Twenty-five. Now 1 can imagine him as a boy. He's
still boyish. You talk and act much more maturely.'
-'As I'm five years oIder than Mart there's still hope for
him. Should 1 take that as a compliment?'
'If you want to. Lots of women prefer men who are
mature and arrogant.'
He Iooked startled. 'Am 1 arrogant? All right,' he said
equably. :'How do you Iike your men, mature and arrogant or boyish and immature?'
'Since Mart is my intended, you have your answer.'
He took down part of his drink, then said slowly, You
are sure he's the right man for you? You'll be happy with
him?'
'1 suppose so,' Dru replied quickly, aware of a strange
tension in the air. 'One can never predict future happiness. One can only work towards that end.'
'True. But there's Iess chance of success when one o
the partners has les s to put in the kitty - and 1 don't mean
money.' He finished his drink, rose to rus feet and reached
for her glass. 'Would you still want to marry him if you
discovered that he was deceiving you over his affairs with
other women?'

'No ... 1 mean... Yes, I would,' she stammered in

confusion, tom between speaking the truth and keeping
her promise to hang on to Mart at all costs. Her face was
scarlet. She could not Iook up at him to save her Iife to see
the utter surprise and probably contempt in the keen grey
eyes.
In the silence that followed, she knew he was Iooking at
her with a new puzzled keenness. Her hands dug into the
warm sand. The happiness flooding her heart a few
moments ago was trickling out as quickly as the sand
through her fingers. She had the sensation of walking on a
tightrope where there was no retracing of her steps.
Either she must go on or rernain balanced precarious1y
and unsure. The aching need which was somehow part of
this new unhappiness was on1y bearab1e if she kept stoically on. There was no tuming back without betraying
Mart.
CHAPTER FIVE
DRU had dined alone that evening and had gone up to her
room expecting Mart to phone. Accord.ing to the rece?tionist there had been no phone call during the day while
she had been out. There had been snatches of talk she had
picked up in the dining room about a truckload of f~rm
workers overtuming on a bend not far from the hospital,
which meant that Mart could be dealing with the casualties.
Several times Dru had picked up the phone by her bed
to ring him, only to put it down again in case he was too
busy to bother with her. In the end, she decided to settle
down on her balcony with a book.
It was eight-thirty when the knock came on her door
and she opened it eagerly.
'Hello ' said Bud. He was clad in his pyjamas and was
carrying a small cardboard box under one armo :'Are you
alone?'
He fixed her with a wide innocent stare and Dru could
have hugged him.
She chucked. 'If you mean is my husband here, no. And
I'm not married. The young man you saw dining with me
is a friend.'
He beamed. 'I've come to show you my new game.
Captain Falkner bought it for ~e.'.. . .
He walked into the room, his fair hair tousled, his little
face oddly delicate beneath the new thin coating of tan
Dru closed the door and watched him empty the contents
of the box on to a low coffee table.

'Shouldn't you be in bed? Surely Mummy hasn't left

you alone?' .
She strolled up to him as she spoke to see him deeply
immersed in the task of making two neat piles of coloured
cut-outs on either si de o the table.
'It's all right,' he said without looking up. 'Marie keeps
an eye on me. She's one o the maids. She comes to see if
I'm asleep, then she goes.'
'But won't she come back and find you missing?'
He shook his head. '1 pretend to be fast asleep, so she
won't come again. She goes out to meet aman if she
thinks 1 won't wake up. I've seen her from iny window.
Marie always does that.'
'Does your mummy know?'
Again he shook his head. The cardboard cut-outs were
now in two even piles on the table and with deep concentration, Bud placed a dice in a red plastic cup and
shock it.
'Number four,' he cried as the dice rolled to a halt. He
fished among the cut-outs and produced a clown's head
with the number on it and placed it away from the littIe
pile on the table. 'Your'tum.' He held up the dice in the
cup.
Dru sank into a low chair by the table and said dazedly,
'What do 1 do?'
'Shake it, silly.'
Dru shook the dice and threw number one. It was the
clown's torso which Bud took from her littIe pile of cutouts to place in front of her. His second throwalso produced the number one and he fixed a torso to the head o
his clown.
'Oh, 1 see,' exclaimed Dru, shaking the dice and en tering into the spirit o the game. 'It's a kind o jigsaw which
fits together with numbers.'
'Not a jigsaw,' he said in disgust. 'Clowns. We have
three each and the first one to complete them wins the
game.'
He was taking the game quite seriously. His small faee
grew more determined as Dru went on to complete her
second clown while he was still trying to get a much
needed number five to complete his first. At last he threw
the number he wanted and went on to win the first
game.
They went on to play a second game, munching nut
chocolate - Dru had remembered a slab in her handbag.
At half past nine, she rang room service for two hot
drinks and biscuits and they went on to play their final

game. It was ten o'clock when Bud went sleepily to bed

with his game tucked under his armo
'See you tomorrow night,' he said after she had tucked
him into bed.
Dru bit her lip, hating to disappoint him. '1 might be
out.'
'With a man?' he snorted in disgusto
She smiled. 'Possibly. You'll be aman yourself some
day. When you are you'll be taking girls out and loving
it.'
He shook his head. '1 shan't get married. I'm going to
have a ship like Captain Falkner's. Then 1 can give
Daddy lots of leave to come home.'
There was a prickle of tears behind her eyes which she
blinked on determinedly. 'That will be wonderful. You'll
make a very handsome captain.'
He considered this gravely. 'A-s big and handsome as
Captain Falkner?'
'Of course.'
It only occurred to Dru when she was back in her room
that Bud had done something he had refused to do before,
drink a glass of miIk. Maybe he had been too engrossed in
his game to care what he was drinking, 'but Dru preferred
to think that he had drunk it because she had shared a
glass with him. It was good to feel she had influenced him
to take something to do him good. Would to heaven she
could do more and commute his death sentence to one of
long life.
--She was in bed when Mart rang to ask how she had
spent her day. Dru 'told him she had been shopping in the
village and fishing in that order, deliberately omitting the.
fact that she had been with Keith. For some reason she
was reluctant to mention him.
Mart said he had been busy all day and would be busy
the following day too. He was, however, hoping to call for
her the next evening to take her to a party. Dru fel! asleep
wondering where it might be.
Awakening on the island after a restful night was to be
instantly and gloriously alive. Dru had never experienced
anything like the exhilaration she felt on leaving her bed.
The lethargic, empty feeling familiar since her mother's
marriage had gone. The beauty of the morning dazzled
her as she made her way down to the beach for her early
morning bathe.
The swimming, the air and the walk back to the hotel

provided an incentive for her to explore the island after

breakfast. It was something to know that the day was
going to be sunny and hot. The blood sang in her veins at
the thought of a day spent in the greenery and sunshine
among the flowers and she set forth feeling gay and adventurous. As the day had started so it would go on.
Dru had left the beaten track to take a path behind the
hotel where, for a while, she would be sheltered by trees.
N ow and then there were clearings between the jungle
scrub where thatched houses nestled in between patches
of sweet potato and banana groves. In one garden trailing
thunbergia cast a mauve shawl up the side o the
house.
The sun moved higher in the blue sky and although
Dru had clirnbed well above sea level, the negligible
breeze coming from the sea did not entirely offset the
overpowering heat. She began to feel hot and thirsty.
Then she saw it, . a dear little villa set at the end of a
clearing. One carne upon it quite unexpectedIy and unless
one knew the path or carne upon it accideotally like Dru
had, one would not find it. It was built rather high above
the ground with a screen of trees guarding it like sentinels.
A sense of adventure lightened her footsteps, She forgot
the heat. One peep, she told herself, staring wide-eyed at
candy pink walls and white shutters in a garden filled
with tropical flowers. Behind the house casuarinas made a
drama tic blue-green background. Dru was enchanted
until a movement in the garden told her she was not
alone.
A large shady straw hat lifted above a patch of crimson
bougainvillea to reveal a pair of sunglasses framing a
familiar face. It was Liane, glamorous and sultry in a
black halter-necked top, bare midriff and scarlet shorts,
She carried a long flower basket in which laya few choice
blooms.
'Hello there,' she called. "})on't stand looking. Come
right in.'
She waved a gloved hand in the direction of the garden
gate. Dru obeyed and said apologetically, '1 didn't mean
to intrude. As a matter of fact you're the last person I
expected to see.'
Liane had stripped off her gardening gloves. 'Come sit
on the patio,' she said, 'while I take the flowers away and
get you a cool drink. Have you walked here?'
'Yeso 1 shall be glad o a rest, though.'
Dru sat down on a lounger and felt a sudden upsurge of

heat as she lay back with relief.

'Slip out o your shoes.' Liane was there with two tall
glasses o fresh lime with ice tinkling against the glass. '1
always think it cools you to feel your feet free. It's the first
thing 1 do when 1 come off duty.'
'Thanks.' Dru slipped off her sandals and accepted the
drink gratefully.
Liane draped herself gracefully opposite to Dru, who
was conscious of silky black hair, dark lustrous eyes and
long slender legs. For no reason at all Mart carne into the
picture. Had he been in love with Liane? Anyone might
fall in love with Mart working with him as intimately as
Liane did, she thought loyally. If they had been lovers,
Liane was certainly not the kind to fret over it. For all her
femininity, she had a sense of balance. The affair had
probably been a short-lived passionate one with a sense of
unreality about it ..
Dru wanted to ask Liane about Mart. After all, she liad
the right to know if there was anything between them.
When it carne to realities, it was herself who had to
strengthen Mart's side in his tug-of-war against the island
lovelies, and Liane was certainIy one of the, dangerous
ones. An inadequate feeling washed over her as though
Liane was a challenge to Mart and herself. On the other
hand any inquiry about Mart could be an act of disloyalty
towards him,
'That was deliciously cool and refreshing,' she said as
the cool drink moistened her dry throat. 'You'll be as
surprised to see me as 1 am to see you. 1 wasn't aware that
you had a place of your own.'
Liane raised a delicate brow. -'1 tliought you'd come to
look me up before coming to the housewarming party
tonight with Mart. Surely he told you?'
'I'm afraid noto All he said was that we were going to a
party this evening. 1 had no idea where.'
Liane shrugged. '1 bought this place twelve months ago
from an old friendo It was in abad state of repair and it's
taken all this time to put it right. There are still things to
be done, but at least it's habitable.'
Dru had taken another drink from her glass. '1 think
it's enchanting. And what a view over the sea! Is it a
retreat, or are you considering matrimony?'
'Now that's a good question.' Liane carefully unwrapped a packet o cigarettes from the table between
them and proffered it. When Dru refused, she lighted one
for herselvNo, I'm not a prospective bride. I wouldn't
mind being one, I'm twenty-five.' She studied Dru's fair

hair, green eyes and golden skin dispassionately. "You're

much younger.'
'Twenty-one. Twenty-five isn't old. It's an ideal age to
marry.'
'Only by English standards. I'm half Polynesian. My
father was American, my mother Polynesian. To be regarded as a perfect beauty a Polynesian must be shortnecked with practically no waist. Fortunately, my skin is
not as dark as a full-blooded Polynesian - they tend to
run to fat as they grow older.'
"But you have a perfect figure. You've probably inherited it from your father's side.'
Liane did not contradict this. 'You mean 1 won't grow
fat and age early. I'd like to think so. But we foreign
women don't wear as well as you English.' She tapped ash
from her cigarette on to an ash tray. 'What do you do jobwise?'
Dru told her briefly about her mother's shop and subsequent rnarriage.
'It was fortunate then for you that you met Mart?'
Liane said,
Dru had not disclosed the fact of Mart being her stepbrother, so she had to tread warily. 'Ves, wasn't it?'
'Was it love at first sight?'
Dru smiIed. 'One can't help loving Mart!'
'Mart is a remarkable man.' Liane tumed her gaze to
the garden. 'He's been spoiled from the moment he drew
breath, first by an induIgent father and by the staff of the
hospital here. His fondness for all kinds of sport has kept
him fit and given him an appetite for women.'
Slowly, she tumed a curious glance on Dru. ~Are you
annoyed at my analysis of a nian I know better than
most?'
'No. Do go on.' Dru took another sip of her drink. "This
is interesting.' '
'His easy-going charm attracts women too easily therefore he shows a certain amount of contempt in his attitude towards them. Mart is also nobody's fool and he's
always been too clever to become involved with any
woman - until he met you. I suppose he has told you that
he has no money and that he doesn't plan to marry until
he's able to support a wife? He's always managed to take
what he wants from women without marriage. He'd no
doubt try it on you too.'
Dru smiled, refusing to be drawn. 'Men are men, after
aIl,' she said.

Liane crushed out the butt of her cigarette and finished

her drink.
'Would you like to see over the house?' She stood up,
waited for Dru to finish her drink, then led the way
indoors. 'Mart has helped me enormously. It was he who
suggested replacing doors by open archways to make for
coolness. He's al so put shelves up in the kitchen.'
Each room they went in Mart had contributed to in
ideas or actuallabour.
'1 could go on and on about what Mart has done,'
Liane laughed self-consciously. '1 don't mean anything by
it. I'm only giving credit where it's due, you understand?'
Dru wished she did.. Lane seemed honest enough,
indeed, much she had said about.Mart was true. He had
been spoiled. Even so, there was much that she did not
know about him. Nor did she care to. Mart's life was his
own. It was disturbing to her to find her life tied up with
his, but she could not discuss it with Liane.
If the outside of the house had enchanted her, so had
the interior. She said so. '1 like the white walls and the
splashes of colour in the furnishings, You have a flair for
it."
Liane looked pleased. 'Do you think so? You don't find
the white walls too clinical?'
'Not at all. 1 adore your garden,'
They had returned to the patio and Liane gestured to a
spot in the garden screened by brilliant bougainvillea.
'Mart put up the barbecue in the far comer. You'll see it
this evening at the barbecue supper.' She gave a light
laugh, "There I go again, ranting on about Mart! Do forgive me.'
A rather brittle silence followed with neitlier having
anything to say to each other. Dru had not been invited
to sit down again and she waited for her companion to
make the first move. Liane did so, looking at her watch.
'1 have to go down to the village to pick up a few things
for the party this evening. Can I give you a lift?'
Dru shook her head. It occurred to her that it would
have been nice to have had lunch with Liane in one of the
small restaurants in the village. Mart had said they put on
a first-class menu in air-conditioned rooms and were very
popular with the residents, But there was something
about Liane which prevented her from suggesting it, a
kind of inner reserve raising a barrier to any suggestion of
friendship. Maybe she preferred men friends. Some
women did and were only at their best when with the

opposite sexo
Dru shook her head. e'No, thanks. I'm enjoying meandering around out-of-the-way places. 1'11 be off, unless
you'd like me to come a little early this evening to lend a
hand?'
'1 have plenty of staff coming.'
Dru accepted her refusal with a sense of relief and took
her leave, resolving to forget all about Liane's dark
beauty and disturbing personality, It was relaxing to
come down to earth once more with a natural feeling of
normality, to feel suddenly detached and free. Keeping to
the narrow winding paths near the coast, she became
steeped in a deep quietness undisturbed by the soft lapping of the sea, the swish of the grass beneath her feet and
the murmur of the foliage in the trees. At last she paused
and stood isolated upon a hill to look down on the village
blow. It was a hive of activity right down to the shore
where men sorted out fish into baskets for the market. A
glimpse of gay canopied tables outside a restauran: reminded Dru that she was feeling peckish and she decided
to take her time on her way down to lunch.
Later she would explore the shops, then go back to the
hotel t; prepare for her evening out with Mart. Tbat
evening held all the magic of an indian summer. The
trees in Liane's garden were festooned with fairy lights 10
readiness for the barbecue and there were tables and
cbairs placed upon the lawns for guests to sit outside if
they wished. The few guests already assembled ,;hen Dru
and Mart arrived were tanned and athletic-lookng.
Tonight Liane was softIy alluring, sec.ure in her triumph. She wore a white dress from which her honeycoloured shoulders rose tantalizingly. Her dark eyes took
in every detail of Dru's black chiffon dress emphasising
her slenderness. Diament-embroidered, it billowed out
from her small waist over a stiffened underskirt. Her
golden hair was piled high on the top of her small head
leaving curly tendrils against her cheeks.
'1 haven't seen you for a few days, Miss Temple. I hope
you've been enjoying yourself. We've let Mart off the
hook as much as we could.'
Howell Seabright was behind them and Dru turned to
meet his admiring regard.
'1 appreciate that,' Dru smiled up at him. Im enjoymg
myself tremendously.'
'Good. I hope you have an appetite. I m to preside
over the barbecue la ter and I expect you to do justice to

my cooking.'
His keen penetrating gaze rested a mement on her
glowing face before he obeyed a signal from Liane to join
her. Over a drink with Mart, Dru told him how she had
visited the house earlier that day.
'A charming place.' Dru's eyes tea sed over the rim of
her glass. 'Liane told me you'd done quite a bit to it.'
Mart's face went a dull red. 'AIl done in mad moments.
They're over now.' And as if to show that they were
indeed over, he changed the subject abruptIy. 'You're
looking very enchanting tonight. Black shows up your
clear skin marvellously. You look youthful and sophisticated, and very lovely.'
Dru's lips curved sweetIy. 'Thank you. You don't have
to flatter me. But it's nice against so much competition to
be told I'm holding my own.'
She looked round at pretty women and smart men in
evening dress. Mart greeted old friends. Dru heard him
say something conventional to a tall soldierly-looking
mano Tlien Wisp was there in a flame-coloured dress with
several young men in tow. The evening had begun on a
lighthearted note, much to Dru's relief. A few couples
began to dance in the lounge to a record player and it was
the cue for everyone to join them.
Mart and Dru danced together, then parted and circulated. More guests arrived later, including officers from
the cruiser in the bayo Dru was taking a breather from
dancing with them when a deep voice startIed her.
"May 1 have the pleasure, Miss Temple?'
Half tuming, Dru felt her waist encircled and her
heartbeats quicken. It was useless to rebel against the
emotion he roused in her. Held close against him she was
conscious only of his neamess and the strength of his body
moving effortIessly across the floor. She drifted from ordinary surroundings to a new, exciting world of precious
ecstatic moments stolen from time never to be replaced.
Then, with the sudden chill of an east wind, she saw the
position she had saddled herself with. As Mart's fiance
she was not free to enjoy the companionship of another
man She was honour bound by her word to stand by him.
Her face paled as she realized she had to batten clown
her own feelings regarding any other mano She was trembling a littIe when Keith released her through an excess
of emotion and somehow she drew herself away from
him. She heard him say swiftIy, 'Are you all right, Miss
Temple? You're very pale.'
'PerfectIy, thanks.' The quiet reply did come from her

own lips, which surprised her, for she feIt beyond speech.
'1 t's probably the heat.'
'Then let's go into the grounds. But first a wrap in case
you hook a chill.' He looked around and picked up a
mohair stole flung on the back of a chair near the open
french window. 'We can borrow this.'
He dropped the stole around her shoulders and taking
her e1bow in a firm grip, led her outside into the fragrant
garden. Someone had lighted the barbecue fire and he
steered her in the opposite direction to avoid the smoke.
The air was filled with the pungent smell of buming
wood which reminded Dru of autumn fires back home as
they strolled past a small arbour of white blossoms to a
seat in a small clearing where they sat down.
The newly risen moon sprayed silver coins across the
water, while Dru's cornmon sense mocked, Now get yourself out of this one!
'Beautifully peaceful,' she commented, when she felt
anything but herself. 'Y ou must see similar views like this
over the water many times when you're at sea.'
'Yes, 1 do. But then this is only one of many. The sea is
very much like a woman, she can present countless
moods, each one different within a space of a few hours.
She can be as now, scintillating and mysterious in evening
dress, or be as green and fresh as youth itself. She can be a
vicious murderess or a dangerous siren, yet be as sedate
and dignified as a queen in a mande of blue edged by,
ermine-white foam.' He tossed a glance at her averted
profile. 'The sea can also, like a woman, make aman very
aware of his own masculinity.' Her sudden blush amused
him. 'How are you feeling? Better?'
Dru wanted to say, Happier than I've ever been in my
life. Instead she said, 'Much better, thanks. You must
lead a very satisfying life.'
'Satisfying?' He savoured the word. 'In a way.' He sat
motionless for a few seconds as though debating the point
with himself. After a considerable pause, he said, '1 never
intended to make the sea my career when young.
Strangely enough my brothers did, yet both of them
landed up as landlubbers. I was the one who eventually
chose the sea.'
'Are they married now, your brothers?'
'Yes. I'm noto Are you fond of the sea?'
"Very.'
"Do you live by the sea ?'
'No.' Dru found herself telling him about the boutique.
"I'm thinking of going after something new in the way of

jobs,' she ended.

'Your father? Did he die?'
There was a pause with Dru hating to be reminded of a
father who had treated them so shabbily. 'Mother divorced him. He went abroad with the other woman when I
was two.'
'1 see. Do you keep in touch?'
'No. Mother is very happy in her second marriage. I
miss her companionship.'
Dru wondered why she was telling him all this. After
all, it was not as if they were friends,
'But it won't be long before you marry.'
Dru gave a start. She "had forgotten all about Mart.
Really, it was absurd the power this man had to make.her
forget everything and everyone else when she was with
him. His personality was such that neither time nor place
had any meaning when he was near.
She said shakily with a nervousness she was sure did
not escape his keen eyes, 'Mart has a further year to go at
the hospital here before he can marry. We ... we haven't
been engaged long.' She looked away from his probing
look. '1 feel quite all right now. Shall we go back?'
She moved swiftly in the wrong direction. Instead of
retracing her steps the way they had come, she continued
along the path which brought her into a secluded arbour
of fiowers. The couple she disturbed were as startled as
she was. One moment they were standing locked in each
other's arms, the next, they had sprung aparto Mart and
Wisp!
Dru halted in her tracks. Her brain hastened to action
stations and she sought Mart's eyes for a clue on how to
acto Did he want her to play the role of the indignant
fiance resolved to hang on to her man at all costs, or did
he want her to accept the situation as it stood? He gave
her no help, and a furious resentment burned inside her
against him. How dared he put her in such an ernbarrassing position?
It was Wisp who spoke, lifting her chin defiant1y.
'Well, I'm not sorry - you had to know some time.'
The girl's militant attitude put Dru on her mettle.
'Know what?' she asked.
Wisp was indignant. 'That I love Mart.'
Dru summoned a smile. 'Don't we all? Y ou've been
carried away by the moonlight, Wisp. We mayas well
understand each other here and now. Mart is going to
marry me, and I don't intend to release him from his

promise unless he asks me to.'

'Mart belonged to me first and still does. Tell her,
Mart, that you want to marry me.' Wisp had pushed a
possessive arrn through his and looked up at him appealingly.
But Mart had heard the voices of the guests coming
into the grounds for the barbecue supper and he spoke
urgently to Wisp. 'Keep your voice down. We'd better
go inside and talk it over.'
But Dru had had enough. There were limits to what
she was prepared to do for Mart, and haggling over him
was not one of them.
'There's nothing more to be said. I intend keeping
Mart to his promise.'
Having said her piece, Dru turned, to find Keith had
gone. Miserably, she wondered how much he had heard.
He would despise her for hanging on to aman who could
not play straight before he was married. She had not gone
more than a few yards when she was caught up with the
guests making for the barbecue. The next thing she knew
someone had thrust a plate ino her hand and she was in
the queue for her supper.
Howell Seabright in a white overall and a chef's hat
was slapping barbecued pieces of chicken on to plates.
Dru received hers and was passing on when a voice whispered in her ear.
'I'm sorry, Dru. Thanks for rescuing me.'
It was Mart, following her with his portion of chicken
on a plate. She felt like throwing her plate at him,
chicken and all.
'Forget it,' she whispered tensely, and paused while
someone plonked sausages on her plate along with a
chunk of bread. '1 refuse to discuss it,' she continued without lifting her eyes. 'Where's Wisp?'
Mart cleverly caught two bottles of beer with his free
hand and tucked them under the arm holding his plate of
food. Then he collected cutlery which Dru had passed by
in her anger.
'1 don't know where Wisp is, neither do I care,' he
muttered, following her across the garden. '1 don't know
what got into her. I've kissed her dozens of times. Tonight
was no different from any other.'
Dru made for the patio looming as a refuge from a
disturbing evening.
'Y ou can't make love to a girl and then look like a prize
idiot when she takes you seriously. Even you can't be that

juvenile,' she said, sitting down at a table in a comer of

the patio.
Mart put down the cutlery and bottles and set bis plate
beside hers on the table. Then he slid into a chair. 'Wisp is
always flirting with some chap. I'm only one of many. No
one takes her seriously.'
'No, but she's taking you seriously.'
More guests joining them at the table made further
talk between them impossible. Mart opened the bottles
and filled their glasses and a buzz of conversation began.
Keith was not arnong any of the guests who spilled
out on the lawns enjoying their supper. Liane was not
there either, but she carne out from the house as Mart
mopped up his plate to bend over him.
'You're wanted on the phone. It's the hospital.'
Mart was on his feet in an instant and as Liane foIlowed him indoors, Dru heard her say, 'What happened
to Wisp? She's gone home with Keith.'
A yearning to go back to her hotel room weIled up
inside Dru. It was too late to dweIl upon the agony of
regret over her arrangement with Mart. He was weak
where women were con cerned and she had to be strang
enough for both of them. Had Keith not been there her
task of carrying the whole thing off lightheartedly would
have been easy. In the permissive society of the present
day people went far beyond kissing for kicks. Mart had
asked her to the island to act as his guardian angel in
scenes which were bound to arise similar to the one she
had just taken part in. She had to abide by her decision to
help him, chance what it might cost her personalIy.
When Mart returned, he looked grim. '1 have to leave
immediately for the hospital,' he told her. 'Mrs. O'Brian
has be en taken to emergency with a suspected appendix.'
'1'Il leave with you. You can drop me off at the Garland Hotel. 1 must see what arrangements have been .
made to take care of Bud.'
Dru walked with him to his car after taking her leave
of Liane and thanking her for an enjoyable evening. The
moonlight filtered through the trees lining the road as
Mart put on speed, and Dru lay back in her seat feeling
mentaIly and physicaIly exhausted. The catacIysmic
finish to a day spent wearing herself out exploring the
island had in some inexplicable fashion outraged an inner
sensitiveness of spiri t.
She felt near to tears. Mart appeared disincIined to
talk, but she felt impeIled to do so if only to put her own
problems behind her.

'Poor Mrs. O'Brian,' she murmured with cIosed eyes.

Mart kept his attention on the road ahead. '1 only hope
it isn't a burst appendix, that's all. 1 shaIl drop you off at
the hotel and scarper. There isn't a moment to be lost.'
'She was probably in pain the other evening when 1
thought she was so unfriendly.' Dru's conscience gave a
twinge.
.
Mart gave a snort of disgusto 'That's the trouble with
you women. You enjoy playing at being a martyr. Men
are more realistic. When they have a pain, they say so and
save time and trouble.'
Dru smiled. 'That's a nice way of covering up the average man's inability to suffer pain in silence. A common
cold is enough to convince them that it's their last day on
earth.'
Mart grinned. 'So what? 1've no time to argue, because 1 want to thank you again for standing up to Wisp
like you did. 1'Il make 1t up to you.' .
'Don't bother,' she said dryly. '1 can understand you
wanting a little relaxation from a very exacting job - only
pick someone next time without marriage in mind.'
Mart snorted,'Those kind don't exist.'
Dru took this attack on her own sex calmly. Liane was
right - Mart's easy conquests with women had given him
a contemptuous opinion of them. What a babe he was,
she thought irritably and a little illogically. Yet she felt
compelled to help him. She fell to wondering as they sped
through the night how fortunate it was that she had not
become involved emotionally with him. Any involvement
with aman would on her part, have to be total. This was
the quality she looked for in aman. Would she find it in
the permissive society of today?
She felt suddenly lonely and unsure, an irrational feeling emphasizing a new frustration which had been
with her often since she carne to the island. There had
been little traffie on the roads and when Mart dropped her
off at the Garland Hotel, Dru welcomed the air of tranquillity. A light bumed in the trees, giving a golden glow
to the entrance and lighting up the windbreak of trees.
Bud, dad in pyjamas, was sitting on the floor outside
his door looking anxiously in her direction as she approached. His blue eyes were luminous and near to tears
as he leapt to his feet and ran forward to hug her. .
:'Where've you been?' His voice was muffled against
her. :'I've been waiting ages for you. Sheila's had to go to
hospital. Can 1 stay with you, Dru?'

He was clasping her tightly with trembling arrns and

looking up at her appealingly. She smiled down at him
tenderly, pushed the truant lock of golden hair from his
forehead and kissed the top of his head.
"Why, of eourse you can, poppet. 1 shall have to see
what arrangements have been made for you first, though.
Come on, 1'11 put you to bed - and don't look so unhappy.
I'm sure everything is going to be all right.'
He walked with her docilely to his bedroom cIutching
her hand as if he was afraid she might leave him. Poor
scrap! A lump constricted her breathing and brought a
prickle of tears behind her eyes. He had lost his own
mother, his father had left him to go to sea and now his
stepmother had gone. His short life had been littered with
good-byes. No wonder he was so scared of being left
alone. '
'Sheila has stomach ache,' he said, watching her tuck
him into bed. 'WilI they get her better?'
'Oh yes. They're making Daddy better, aren't they?'
Dru smiled brightly down at him, smoothing the worried
frown from his forehead with a gentIe hand. 'Now don't
think about it any more. Just go to sleep and think of alI
the good times you and I will have together while they're
making Sheila and Daddy better.'
She stayed for a long time after Bud had gone to
sleep. He had a smile on his face, put there by the littIe
story she had told him. Fate at the moment was dead
against the O'Brians, yet surely it could not be so cruel as
to take his stepmother away just when Bud needed her
most? His father, according to Mart, was on the way to
recovery, Poor man, he had two shocks in store, his wife's
ilIness and his son' s incurable one.
Dru lay awake for a long time waiting to hear from
Mart before drifting off to sleep. The phone beside her
bed awakened her at four. It was Mart. He had removed
Mrs. O'Brian's appendix, which fortunately had not
burst. The operation had been a perfectly straightforward one and she was going to be aIl right. He understood that Bud had been left in the care of a
chambermaid at the hotel, but Mrs. O'Brian would feel
better if Dru would keep an eye on him and give him his
pilIs which he had to take each day. Bud was very fond of
her and Mrs O'Brian hoped she would not mind. As for
himself, Mart said he would ring her when he would be
free.
After breakfast the foIlowing moming, Dru set off to
spend the day with Bud. Taking him out was the diver-

sion she needed after the events of the previous evening.

Her inside chumed each time it carne back in her mind,
picturing Keith's slate grey eyes full of contempt at her
cool acceptance of Mart's unfaithfulness. He probably
thought she must love the man very much to refuse to
take the evidence of her own eyes of bis unworthiness.
A ragged emotion of anti-climax urged her to treat the
whole affair as though it had never happened. It was
something to know that the day ahead would be uncomplicated, tangible and carefree. Answering Bud's questions as they waited for the bus outside the hotel, Dru felt
almost happy. At least she would be able to give Bud a
good time. He had so little time left. Pity they hadn't a
cal'. Bud was perfectly happy on the bus, though.
'Look, Dru, there's Daddy's ship!' he cried when the
bus topped a rise in fuIl view of the village below and the
cruiser anchored in the bay. '1 wish I could go on it.' The
wide blue eyes he tumed on her were wistful. "Do you
think Daddy will take me when he's better?'
:'1 don't see why noto Daddy is going to stay with you
for a long time when he leaves the hospital.'
Bud frowned. "Does that mean the ship wilI go and
leave Daddy here?'
Dru nodded. :'Yes, but the ship won't be going yet.'
The bus deposited ihem in the high street with the sun
a!ready high over their heads breathing down heat. It was
cool enough yet to enjoy browsing around the shops, Dru
decided, thinking that the nicest parts of the day were the
early momings and evenings. It was fun gazing into shop
windows at a jumble of wares spelling magic to Bud, who
was delighted with a small cruiser Dru bought for him.
The post office was the last building as the high street
meandered down to the sea. On the way, Dru bought Bud
a slice of melon from a fruit shop decorated with greenery
and long stalks of sweet bananas. She left him sitting on
the sea wall eating bis melon while she went into the post
office for stamps.
As she emerged again into the strong sunlight, her
heart missed a beat to see Bud taIking to a familiar figure
in uniformo Keith was holding the toy cruiser in fum
brown fingers and Bud was saying, "Dru bought it for me.
1 shaIl have a real one like yours when 1 grow up. You
won't take yours away before Daddy can take me on it,
will you, Captain Falkner?'
The compassion in Keith's eyes as he gazed down on
Bud betrayed the fact to Dru that he knew of rus illness. A

stab of jealousy pierced her heart at the thought of Sheila

O'Brian confiding in him.
As he saw Dru, the quality of his smile changed. "Good
morning, Miss Temple,' he said smoothly. 'Bud is anxious
to see over the ship. There's no time like the present,
unless,' he paused to give her the direct look she found so
disconcerting and went on, :'you have other plans in
mind?"
He handed the toy cruiser back to Bud, who was
speechless at his words,
['CouId we, Dru?' he gasped with something like awe.
She dragged her gaze from the grey one beneath the
peaked hat and, against her wiIl, grudgingly admitted
how very attractive his tan was against the white driIl
uniformo lnwardIy, she was saying a reluctant good-bye
to the carefree day with Bud that she had so looked forward to. There was nothing to do but to accept on Bud's
behalf,
As she Iooked down at him tenderly, her red lips were
already cwving into a smile of acceptance. ~Certainly,'
she said, r'providing Oaptain Falkner can spare the
time:
:'1 t will be a pleasure. As a matter of fact, one of our
boats is tied up at the jetty. Shall we go?'
They aIl three stroIled down to the small jetty built
among the recks where a boat was waiting, Keith gave
them a hand into it and took the controIs. The sea was
green this morning and as smooth as silk as they made a
beeIine for the ship.
'Your eyes are ever so green, Dru,' Bud commented
enviously. '1 wish mine were green.'
Dru smiled down at the wide eyes and kissed his
temple. :'Do you? But yours are a beautifuI blue.'
He wrinkled his small nose, unimpressed. 'Sheila has
brown eyes and Daddy has blue,' he vouchsafed. 'Daddy
had a beard and Sheila made him shave it off. She said it
tickled.' He chuckled and turned to see the ship looking
ahead.'Wow!' he cried. 'lsn't she a whopper?'
A naval rating was there at the rail to give them a hand
as they went up the steps at the side of the ship. Keith
ollowed, giving an order for coffee and refreshments in
his cabin in a quarter of an hour.
Bud gaped at the sailor's 'Aye, aye, sir,' and watched
himgo.
'1 shall give orders when 1 have my ship,' he said
stoutly.
Dru's eyes filled with tears and she hastily blinked them

away at Keith's uplifted brows. It was about the only

reaction he made to her presence during their tour of the
ship. He was especially Dice to Bud, answering all his
questions in a tolerant, lazy way which drew the boy out
more than anything else COuId have done. He simply revelled in everything he saw.
Not so Dru. She was experiencing an acute feeling of
disappointment. Strangely enough she knew there was no
real reason for it. Keith had been an excellent guide,
explaining to Bud the work his father did in the.engine
room in the simplest terms for the boy to assimilate.
Contrary to her expectations, there had been nothing
stimuIating about bis company. He had remained cool,
polite and utterly impersonal during the tour of his ship.
She had been prepared since the incident of the previous
evening for him to keep his distance, but she resented him
treating her as a casual acquaintance. A dull throbbing at
her temples had brought extra colour to her cheeks when
they entered his cabin for refreshment. She sat down
carefully away from his chair by the desk while Bud stood
beside her and the aetion of drinking her eoffee and nibbling a biscuit helped her to feel more normal. Fortunately, Bud did most of the talking, filled as he was with
the wonder of what he had seen.
They were strolling back along the deck when Keith
said, "Do you have sole charge of the boy, Miss
Temple?'
Bud had gone on ahead to examine a lifebelt fastened
to the ship's rail and was out of earshot.
:'1 share the responsibility with a chambermaid at the
hotel,' she said. :'No doubt you've heard about Mrs.
O'Brian being rushed to hospitaIlast evening?'
'Yes. Your registrar rang me up to tell me about it,
Seems he operated just in time. Poor Mrs. O'Brian. Hard
luck about the boy too. O'Brian doesn't know yet, which
makes it all the more tragic.'
As the end of the visit was near, Dru felt surprisingly
calmo His conversation awoke no answering chord in her.
An hour ago she might have been relieved to talk to him
about Bud, who worried her more than a little. Now, she
could not wait for them to get off the ship. She had
nothing to say to him.
At last Keith was giving them a hand out of the boat
and something seemed to unwind inside her. Perhaps the
hurt Iook in her green eyes, which unknown to her were
brilliantly eloquent, caused his eyes to linger on the red
lips slightly parted and the silky tendrils of hair blowing

against her flushed cheeks. For a moment the ironie twist

o his mouth softened, and he appeared about to speak
again after taking his leave. Then he drew back and left
with a brief salute to his uniform hat,
Dru stood there watching the wide shoulders weaving
through the crowd of morning shoppers. Her hand tightened around Bud's fingers as he examined his toy cruiser,
comparing it with the real thing he had just left, He
looked up in surprise at her sud den grip and she smiled
down at him, fighting off the nagging inexpressible
longings underlain by something frightening and disturbing.
They had lunch in the village at a small but select
restaurant run by a Frenchman. The food was good and
the prices reasonable. Most o the professional people in
the area, clerks and lawyers, used it daily. Bud did not eat
much of the main meal, preerring the strawberries and
ice cream which followed. He seemed to be exhausted
with the tour o the ship that morning, so after lunch Dru
took him on the beach to sleep it off.
Sitting watching the shallowness of his breathing and
the delicate blue-veined temples, she moved uneasily.
Surely there was something somebody could do? That
evening she put him to bed early, knowing that he would
sleep through the night and rang up Mart. Ves, he said,
he had been talking to Mrs. O'Brian and she had agreed
before she had been taken ill to allow the boy in the hospital for tests. Now was as good a time as ever, for they
could tell him he was going in to be with his parents.
CHAPTER SIX
With Bud in hospital for tests and Mart keeping his nose
to the grmdstone, the days were exclusively Dru's to do
with as she wished. The first moming she wrote a letter
home, taking care what she put in it about Mart, in case
her mother read it out to his father. Neither of them were
aware of the reason why she had gone to the island for a
holiday. They simply took it for granted that Mart had
asked her to go with a view to giving her a good time
while getting to know her better.
She told her mother how well Mart was doing at the
hospital and described the beauty of the island. She made
n~ mention of Keith nor the cruiser in the bay, but she
did tell her about the O'Brian family and the tragedy
happening in their midst.
Dru went to the hospital that aftemoon to see Mrs.
O'Brian. Armed with gifts of fruit, flowers and candies,
she popped into a bright sunny children's ward to see Bud

engrossed in a jigsaw puzzle before continuing to the

other wards. Sheila O'Brian was sitting propped up with
pillows and she looked remarkably well, less harassed.
Thanking Dru for the gifts, she asked her to take the seat
at the side of her bed.
"It's awfully good of you to look after Bud,'. she said.
'Actually, my operation has been a blessing in disguise.
Since my marriage it's bothered me, not producing any
children. 1 knew it wasn't my husband's fault since he has
produced Bud. Yet somehow 1 never liked the thouzht
of going to be examined myself, Then 1 carne here for the
emergency operation and who should come to see how 1
was after it? None other than the paediatric surgeon, Mr.
Howell Seabright. Now he's going to perform a slight
operation which he thinks will do the trick.'
'That's wonderful,' exclaimed Dru. 'Now all we want is
a miracle to save Bud.'
Sheila shook her head. '1 don't hold out much hope,
not when the cleverest surgeons in London had given him
tests and all come up with the same answer. The shadow
has partially covered both lungs.'
'Mart said it was serious, but 1 suppose he wants to
make doubly sure that there's no hope. It must be a terrible thing for you to bear alone. 1 don't suppose your
husband will be strong enough yet to be told.'
'No, he isn't, but he is improving. 1 shall be able to see
him when 1 get up.'
Dru told her about Keith taking Bud and herself
around his ship.
Sheila laughed. 'Keith's a marvellous man, isn't he?
The ideal answer to a maiden's prayer, cultured voice and
so virile and exciting. He isn't married, you know.'
Dru made no comment, but changed the subject,
asking if there was anything Mrs. Brian might require
while she was in hospital. She mentioned a few toilet requisites which Dru promised to bring on her next visito
She stayed for about an hour and left feeling inexplieably
depressed. Since Mart had taken Bud into the hospital for
tests, she had begun to feel optimistie about her results.
Now it seemed unlikely that Mart would find any improvement in Bud's condition.
She passed from the clinical odours and starched
efficiency of the hospital with no sign of Mart and viewed
the welllaid out grounds. The sun shone bright and hard
on a profusion of dark green foliage, and exotie blooms
casting long shadows from the fringe of palm trees scar-

cely moving in the heat. It seemed incomprehensible that

tragedy could lurk in such lovely surroundings. She tried
not to think about it, to wipe out for a few hours the
anxiety she felt over Bud even while telling herself that
Mart had still to give the results of his tests. It was just
possible that ...
'Good afternoon, Miss Temple. Can 1 offer you a
lift?'
Dru started, her thoughts rudely shattered by the
smooth tones of Francis Gurley, the last person she
wanted to meet. To see him again was to recall his hateful
embrace on the evening of the Government Ball when
Keith had come upon them in the garden. Her cheeks
famed at the thought. She could not remember actively
disliking anyone so mucho His manner of acting as if
nothing had happened between them was galling, to say
the least, and added anger to her dislike of him.
'No, thanks,' she replied coldly, admitting despite her
anger that the man had reason for his male ego in thinking he was irresistible to women.
The sun shone on his black sleek head and the fulllidded dark eyes which he knew how to use to their best
advantage. They told her that he understood the reason
for her anger and he was looking suitably repentant. He
had poked his head out of the cream roadster, but his
hand had hesitated on the handle of the door.
'1 wanted to apologize for my behaviour the other
evening at Government House. It was unpardonable of
me. 1 can only put it down to the amount of champagne 1
consumed.'
His unexpected apology surprised Dru as he had expected it would and he pressed on his advantage. 'Do
show me that you forgive me by accepting my offer of a
!ift.'
She hesitated on a fiush of embarrassment as Keith
sailed by in his caro He did not glance in their way, but she
knew he had seen them. To force her attention to come
back to her companion was quite an effort, for the image
of Keith refused to be dismissed from her mind. Strange
how he always managed to upset her - a catch of the
breath, an instant communication of a strong emotion alI
the more heartbreaking beca use it was all on her side.
Dru was hardly aware of slipping in the seat beside
Francis as he opened the car door. His offer oI a lift had
been unpremeditated, so where was the harm? It was idiotic of her to feel somewhat lonely and rejected as she
settled in the seat beside him. Once again she was re-

gretting the impulse that had brought her to the island as

Mart's fiance.
As the car moved forward Dru felt the exhaustion of
anti-climax.
'1 should like to go back to the Garland Hotel, please,'
she said.
He looked her way briefiy. 'Sure you won't come out
for a spot of tea with me? 1 didn't have much lunch and
it's a long way to dinner this evening. 1 don't suppose
you'Il come out with me for dinner?'
Dru shook her head. 'I'm sorry.'
'1 didn't think you would. You haven't quite forgiven
me, have you?'
'It isn't that,' she protested. You forget I'm engaged to
Mart.'
"But Mart isn't always available, is he? At least have
tea with me at the cIubhouse or 1 shall feel 1 haven't been
forgiven.' His grin was almost artless. 'Please!'
Perhaps it was because Dru had never felt less like her
own company that she accepted. There were only a few
people at the cIubhouse sunbathing on loungers and sipping iced drinks when they arrived. Francis parked the
car and guided her to a smaIl table in a corner of the
covered veranda.
It was pleasant and cool sipping a drink of fresh cool
limes and watching the surf roll lazily up the beach with a
teasing roar. Dru looked up when a jet engine shook the
air and saw the sun catch the fuselage as it shot away into
the blue.
'Did you know that Wisp Mallon had left the island?
Parents whisked her away to some relative in London.
Seems there was a scene with some man at a party.'
Francis spoke casually, betraying the fact that he had
heard about the little scene at Liane's party when Dru
had found Wisp in Mart's arms. It had simply not occurred to her that the incident could have circulated all
over the ,island.
'Really?' she answered, then she was staring wide-eyed
over Francis's shoulder at a couple approaching the clubhouse. With a swift intake of breath, she watched Liane
swinging a tennis racket with superb self-assurance. In
her white, full-skirted, very brief tennis dress, her dark
hair caught back in a ponytail, Liane was a partner any
young man would be pleased to take on.
Keith stroIled by her side and they made an arresting
couple, he taIl, dark and very masculine, she slender and
very lovely. Dru's heart gave a painful twinge. Keith was

smiling down at Liane, completely engrossed in what she

was saying, looking up at him provocatively. His deep
chuckle sent Dru's fingers curling hard around her drink
as she remembered his punishing kiss in his rooms on the
night she had gone down in search of her swimsuit topo
They were bypassing the clubhouse entrance and Dru
was hoping they would not be noticed in their comer of
the veranda. But the next momentLiane's clear voice hit
the air.
'Hello, Dru, Francis,' she called, holding up her racket. 'Care to make it doubles?'
Francis turned. 'No, thanks,' he answered. '1 prefer to
take the weight off my feet.'
Dru lowered her eyes as Keith nodded coolly to her, his
eyes a hard slate grey. His express ion had changed as he
saw her with Francis. He looked insolently cynical, in
cream flannels, the opening in his cream silk shirt revealing the strong, smooth brown throat. Dru relaxed
when they continued on their way to the comparative
cool of the tennis courts behind the clubhouse.
'Didn't want to go with them, did you?' Francis
proffered cigarettes as he spoke. 'Y ou can always borrow
a racket.'
Dru shook her head, refusing a cigarette.'No,
thanks.'
Francis lighted his cigarette, blew out a line of smoke
and leaned back in his chair to study her with an impassive thoroughness.
'Our gallant Captain circulates rather freely, don't you
think? 1 suppose you're pretty pally with him since your
first amorous meeting?'
His eyes narrowed as he looked at her swift bIush. It was
not a friendly look and the very nature of it put Dru on
her dignity.
'So ,you've heard about that too? Tne island grapevine
must be working overtime! 1 mistook Captain FaIkner for
Mart since they were both wearing white drill, a fact
which the grapevine couId have omitted when it circuIated the news. To answer your question, the Captain
and 1 don't hit it off too well for some reason or other.'
'No?'
"No,' she echoed, hating his smile. For the first time
since coming to the isIand, she was beginning to see what
Mart was up against. It would onIy be too easy for some
wiIy femaIe to hook him once he was caught in the tender
trapo The grapevine wouId do the resto What a fooI he
was to risk his reputation! There was the news of Wisp

leaving the isIand too. Dru hoped she was not taking her
supposed engagement to Mart too much to heart. She
liked the girl.
-'Ah well,' Francis drawIed. -'1 can see the subject is di stasteful to you. 1 wouIdn't have minded being in the Captain's shoes, though. It was some greeting, by all
accounts.' His smiIe was meant to be disarming, aIthough
he continued with the subject.' I find it hard to believe he
didn't follow up the encounter by making at least one
pass at you.'
Dru said dryly, :'He's not the marrying kind. He's absorbed in his career.'
'A typical sailor, eh? With a wife in every port? The
strong silent type, though, wouldn't you say, whom
every woman goes for?'
Francis kept his full-lidded eyes lowered and tapped
ash carefully from his cigarette into a beautiful pink shell
ashtray. Dru's blush matched it as she parried the question adroitIy.
:'As you say, a wife in every port.'
She picked up her taIl glass and swirled the ice cubes
around the remainder of her drink before taking it down.
Looking at his veiled eyes, she felt her dislike of him
mounting. What an objectionable type of man he was, the
omniscient male so full of his own ego that he could
become a bore. And a malicious one at that. Their parting
when he drove her back to her hotellifted a vague weight
from her mind.
The reception clerk handed her a note with her keys. It
was from Pete.
'We've had our marching orders, Off early tomorrow.
Am giving a fareweIl party at the clubhouse. Will send a
car for you. Pete,' he had scrawled hastily,
For the party, Dru put on her favourite dress, a delicate white chiffon which set off her golden tan perfectIy.
The bodice moulded, the slender curves of her figure, billowing out from her smaIl waist into a fuIl swirling skirt
delicate as a cloud. The emerald green necklace of perfectIy matched stones brought out the clear green of her
eyes. It had been a wedding present from her stepfather
and quite the nicest gift Dru had ever received. At least,
she thought as she clasped it around her slender throat, he
would .appreciate what she was doing for his son if he
knew. But it was smaIl consolation when she went downstairs at the hoot of a car after waiting vainly for Mart to
put in an appearance.

Her conveyance was a mini-bus already half filled with

guests. As they greeted her cordially, Dru recognized several members o the club.
Pete's warm greeting when she arrived lifted her heart,
"Enter a lovely lady without an escort. How 1 wish 1 was
staying longerl
Drinks and savouries were circulating with everyone in
party mood, including Pete. Lifting bis drink aloft to inelude everyone, he cried, "If any o you happen to visit
the Middle West 1 invite you tocall on my people, who
will only be too delighted to meet you. Some of my
friends are not able to be with us this evening at such
short notice, so 1 suggest we drink to them.'
Dru raised her glass with Wisp in mind. Had she been
the instigator of his toast? She was the one who would
mean anything to him, although Mart, Liane and Howell
Seabright were also absent. Francis Gurley had strode in
when she had been talking to Pete and the sight of him
had fiIled her with a chill of apprehension. Far from desiring his company, Dru avoided him as much as possible,
Several times during the evening she had intercepted a
veiled Iook in her direction which she had interpreted as
being distinctly amorous and a warning to watch her step
with him.
Although she ignored his presence, Dru could not relax
and enter into the party spirit. At eight-thirty Keith
had arrived bringing with him a disturbing current of air
charged with electricity. Catching her breath, Dru
wished he had stayed on his ship and not come ashore so
often. Without his uniform hat, his dark crisphair and
teak-tanned features had a chiseIled look. He looked
glowing, vital and arresting. She was not the only one to
notice him, for he was soon surrounded by a bevy of
pretty girls. She watched them, her heart beating in thick
strokes, and her whole being aching with a yearning
which was becoming all too familiar at the sight of
hirn,
She had been moving away from a group to whom she
had been chatting and with shaking fingers, she put down
her glass on a passing waiter's tray. A sudden need to go
outdoors urged her forward to slip through the French
windows and out into the night. The air, drenched with
the scent of flowers, became impregnated with the tang of
the sea when she made her way down to the shore. The
laughter and music drifting from the clubhouse was
muted and the soft swish of the surf near her feet graduaIly soothed the wild beating of her heart, bringing back

a sense of reality. AlI that had gone before carne into her
mind, all that Keith had done to her, what he believed
her to be. What had happened to her in the last few
moments did not make sense. She had been madly jealous
of the girls surrounding him, aman there was no reason
at all even to like.
If only Mart were here, she thought hopelessly, and
turned in nervous haste as someone came up swiftly
behind her. Swiftly, silently, she was hauled close to a
hard body and her Ips were imprisoned in a suffocating
kiss, _
Anger swept through her like a devouring flame and
wrenching herself free, she slapped his face hard.
"How dare you ' .. ' you worm!' she cried, trembling
with fury. ['1 never thought you'd be despicable enough to
make the same mistake twice. 1 shall teIl Mart about
you!'
Francis Gurley touched his smarting cheek, his look an
open insulto '
"Mart! That's rich. Anyone who's been with Mart is
reckoned as fair game - or didn't you know that?'
['1 don't believe you. Mart is a gentleman. He doesn't go
around forcing his attentions upon defenceless girls,"
'No? 1 wonder how well you know him.'
'That's none of your business.' Dru spoke with dignity
covering a sense of humiliation. He could be right about
Mart. Liane had hinted that day at her villa. She gazed
up uncertainly at the heavy-lidded eyes not far above her
own. He was neither taIl nor broad, but he seemed to
tower above her menacingly.
'Why did you come out here if it wasn't with the intention of inviting someone to join you? You can't blame a
fellow for accepting the invitation.' He had regained his
poise and smiled ruefully as he continued to stroke his
cheek. 'Besides, this is a party.'
'But not a free-Ior-all,' Dru said coldly. "1 happen to be
engaged to Mart - or have you forgotten?'
He laughed. 'Mart and 1 are friendly rivals. We've been
with much the same girls.'
Dru stiffened. 'Well, this one doesn't happen to be
available. Now, will you please go?'
"Come now . you and 1 could have fun. Why don't you
relax and enjoy yourself? Mart would have no qualms at
enjoying himself if he were here.' He reached out to
touch her and she recoiled in revulsion. ~ Ah, I'm beginning to understand. You're waiting for someone else.

It can't be Mart, because he's on dutyat the hospital.' He

stroked his jaw thoughtfully. 'Could it be Captain Falkner?'
Dru's hand itched to strike the leer from his face and
she controlled herself with an effort. 'There you go again
with your horrible insinuations! What a despicable cad
you are!' she flared. 'l'm waiting for no one and if 1 was it
has nothing at all to do with you. Now will you please go
and take your attentions where they're more welcome!'
He shrugged, in no way perturbed by her outburst. 'AlI
right. We must have a little get-together some time. I'm
not bad when you get to know me. Anyway, what I really
carne out to teIl you was that Pete is putting on a show, a
kind of fareweIl performance starting about now.'
They returned in silence to find Pete and his conc:rt
party on a raised dais at the far end of the room. Chairs
had been placed in rows facing them, but Dru chose a
solitary one near the French window, determined not to
give Francis the chance to sit beside her. It was inevitable
that her eyes should be drawn across the room to meet
Keith's speculative regard. _ He flicked a glance at her
companion, a glance which became insolently mocking
when Francis stood behind her chair, Dru's face gre~ hot.
How dared Francis hang on to her after what bad happened! As for Keith's mocking glance, no need to say that
he thought her fair game too. Yet, arrogant creature
though he was, his reassuring presence mitigated the
menace of the man standing behind her. Strange that sbe
was not afraid of him as she was of Francis.
As usual, Pete put on a good show which Dru. could
have enjoyed more in happier circumstances. Despite the
excellent fare and equally excellent entertainment, the
cvening had already been spoiled for Dru. TQ begin with, .
she hated saying good-bye to a friend, and she did regard
Petc as one. Parting with Pete would only be the forerunner of more partings, Mart, the O'Brians and ...
Keith. _
The thought of never seeing Keith again set her trembling anew. What was the matter with her? She did not
love him and was not even sure if she liked him. He was
an overbcaring creature whom she hardly knew and be
obviously distrusted her. Why then the sudden tempestuous longing, a longing she had never felt for Mart or
any other man? In that moment Dru bated him for his
domination of her life, his deep voice twanging echoing
chords inside her and the challenging glances drawing
her like a magneto

The show bad ended on a gay note, and amidst the

tremendous applause, a waiter approached Dru to say she
was wanted on the phone.
It was Mart. 'Hello, Dru. Sorry I couldn't make it for
Pete's party. Look, can you come over to the hospital?'
'What, now?'
:'Yes. Right away.'
Dru's heart lurched. "Is anything the matter?'
'No. It isn't anything I care to talk about over the
phone. Just come. Is Francis Gurley still there?'
'1 think so.'
Mart grunted. -'He shouldn't be. He's due here in less
than a quarter of an hour. He's supposed to relieve me.
Ask him to give you a lift here. And watch him, he's a
slimy individual ... Are you still there?'
Dru found her voice. 'Of course I am.' It was on the tip
of her tongue to tell him his warning was a bit late.
:'Won't it wait until the morning?'
"No, 1 shall be on duty most of the day. Step on it and
go in search of Gurley in case he's left. See you soon.'
For a few moments she stood staring stupidly at the
receiver in her hand after he had rung off. Then she replaced it and went for her wrap. She caught Francis on
his way out to bis car and asked him to give her a lift to
the hospital. If he was surprised, he did not show it but
opened the car door for her to slide inside. He spoke with
his thumb on the starter.
:'Y ou're not by any chance aiming to tell Mart about
me, are you?' he asked quietly, menacingly.
Dru quelled an inward shudder, then chided herself for
being afraid. Since he had little time before reporting for
duty at the hospital, he could hardly play apy tricks.
'Of course noto I'm going to see Mart. He'll be off
duty when you relieve him. In any case, you're not tbat
important.'
'Lucky Mart,' he answered, and set the car off at speed.
The road was deserted apart from an occasional car passing with dipped headlights, and he made it in good time.
Mart was at the hospital en trance. His cigarette made an
are of light as he flung it on the gravel drive when the car
drew up in front of him.
'Cutting it fine, aren't you, Gurley?' he growled, helping Dru from the car and arming her inside.
He walked with her down a long corridor to a room at
the far end which he used as an office. Inside, he seated
her and switched off the light. Dru's nerves tensed as she

found herself gazing at an X-ray photograph of a pair o

lungs. Mart perched on a comer of his desk near to where
she sat facing him and reached out an arm sideways to
tap the base o the X-rayo
'There, you see.' He indicated the shadow shown
c1early on the lower part of each lung. 'I'm afraid there's
nothing we can do for Bud.'
Dru's eyes filled with tears. The X-ray danced in blurred fashion and she blinked furiously. 'Oh, Mart! Are
you sure?' she asked shakenly.
.
He nodded grimly. 'That's why 1 wanted you to see for
yourself.'
'Poor Bud. Have you told Mrs. O'Brian?'
'1 have.' He switched off the X-ray photograph and
flicked on the light.
'How is she taking it?'
:'Vey well. She knew there was nothing to be done.
Bud has been to so many specialists. She doesn't want her
husband to know yet, and we agree with her. He's improving.'
'Was he very badly injured?'
'He'll need skin grafts Iater. Otherwise he'll be fine unless,' he paused significantly, 'something happens to
Bud in the meantime.'
Dru deliberately held her emotions in check. "How long
has Bud before ... ?'
She faltered and Mart said crisply, "Twelve months, at
a pinch. Now tell me what you've been doing while I've
been slogging away here.' His eyes slid over her appraisingly, taking in the delicately lovely dress, the golden radiance of her hair, her green eyes bright with tears and the
soft tremulous mouth. Dru looked down at her hands
linked loosely in her lap and chose her words. .
'Nothing 1 can say will make sense after what you've
just told me. 1 wish 1 could take it philosophically like
you, but 1 can't.'
'So what?' Mart asked roughly. "Letting it get you
down isn't the way to go about it. It solves nothing. Come
on, 1 promised Pete to call in to say good-bye, With luck
we should be able to have a little fun before the party's
over.'
Dru had never felt less like fun, but she went with him.
Mart had shed his white coat to reveal a neat dark lounge
suit. Sitting beside her with the shadows darkening his
fair hair, he looked subtly different, more mature. It was
the aura of glamour his profession spread around him. He
was no different. Ves, that was what it was. It spoke well

for him that he had not enjoyed seeing her upset and had
been uncomfortable about it. Dru, glancing at his absorbed profile, wondered at the intangible thing that
made one man fill a woman with passionate longing and
another so negligible. She would always like Mart despite
his failings; love him, never.
When they reached the clubhouse the party was still in
full swing. Quite a number of the guests were dancing in
the room where Pete had entertained with his concert
party. Others sat around at tables on the veranda enjoying sandwiches and drinks with the moon making everything as light as day. Pete was the centre of the gathering.
Had it not been his party he would still have been the
focal point. He had the American congenital gift of warm
hospitality. It flowed from him naturalIy and, allied to his
particular gift of showmanship, set the hallmark on a
very enjoyable party. While they talked to Pete, Dru noticed with relief that Keith had left. Mortified colour
crept into her cheeks as she realized a feeling of disappointment. lt remained with her despite her wish to
forget the mano Mart enjoyed himself, demolishing a pile
of sandwiches before whirling Dru on to the dance
fioor,
And so the evening wore on, with Dru discovering that
there were some things she could not do even for Mart.
One of them was to endure his amorous advances.
'Y ou're looking lovely tonight, darling,' he murmured,
his lips against her ear.
'Thanks.' Nerves ragged, she contrived a light rejoinder. '1 hope you're noticing how late it is - or should 1
say early in the moming? You did say you had to be on
duty part of the day.'
Then Pete was there. :'Who's for coffee to end the
party? We have an early plane to catch.'
Dru went eagerly with Mart to join other guests sitting
down to take coffee from circulating waiters. The small
dance band wearily put their instruments away and followed suit ..
'lt's been a marvellous party,' someone said, and everyone agreed. In the general conversation which folIowed,
Dru sipped her coffee, feeling a reluctance to go back to
the hotel with Mart. She had had more than enough
amorous attentions from the opposite sex for one night.
Francis Gurley's hateful kiss had filIed her with disgust
and Mart's, should he be that way incIined, would be
equally distasteul. Fortunately, Pete asked him to give
two of the guests a lift since they lived near to the hospital

and Dru cIinched the idea by suggesting that she should

go with Pete back to the hotel. Pete made short work o
retuming to the hotel since he had nly an hour to collect
his cases and catch the plane.
He helped Dru from the car, saying he had to dash, but
not before Dru reached up to kiss him good-bye. He
kissed her in retum in fulI measure, bemoaning the fact
that he had to leave the island at aIl. Then he had dashed
into the hotel. Dru stood in the slow golden glow
suffusing the sky. Her first tropical dawn. She looked past
the windbreak of trees to the sea where an are o fue
merged into the sky from the horizon sending up splinters
of gold into the heavens. They splayed across the water,
creeping inIand to chase away purple shadows from
building and trees. lt struck her in that moment that
while the scene enchanted it was also hauntingly sad. Unaware of having moved, she found herself walking down
to the shore.
The air was cool and fresh with the great glow of light
lifting up from the horizon with an ever-increasing intensity the darker shades of night. Dru walked without
thought or will, part of the scene and yet apart from it,
overawed by the unseen power behind it. lt was light
enough now to see colours, the seaweed, the shells and the
black-veined white rocks jutting out from the sand. Not
far away to her left was the cIump of rocks where she had
thought to find refuge from Keith on the day she had
fallen and struck her knee. For some unknown reason she
felt bound to walk up to them before retracing her steps
back to the hotel.
The rocks formed a sheltered niche and Dru did not
notice the legs and feet protruding from it until it was too
late. Keith sat on a flat rack jutting out shelf-wise forming
a seat. He sat there indolentIy smoking.
Dru's heart took a plunge. 'Oh dear!' she cried. 'How
you startIed me. 1 never expected to see anyone here.'
He stubbed out his cigarette and took his time, looking
her over thoughtfully. In the golden light his dark saturnine face looked carved in bronze and there was nothing
in the least friendly in his regard.
"Indeed? You startle me more each time 1 see you, Miss
Temple. Your antics are truly amazing. You deliberately
follow me out here, then put on an act of surprise worthy
of a first-class actress. However do you do it and still
manage to look so beautifulIy nave and trusting?'
Dru, shaken to the depths by the emotions this sar-

donic, irritating man invariably aroused in her, stared at

him bleakly.
'Y ou're joking, of course. 1 haven't seen you since leaving Pete's party earlier in the evening,' she assured him
bleakly.
'Ah, yes.' Keith folded his arms. "Not bad going - two
men in one evening, or is it three? We mustn't forget your
fianc. 1 presume you've seen him too?'
Dru lifted her chin angrily. '1 don't think it's any of
your business, is it?'
'It certainly is when you're after making me your
fourth. TelI me, strictly for the record, whose kisses did
you find the most scintillating?' He waved a brown hand
lazily as she was about to speak. 'Don't telI me, let me
guess. Francis Gurley's, since you left the party early in
his company. I've never seen anyone looked as kissed as
you did when you returned with him from a strolI in the
grounds of the clubhouse.'
Dru faltered. The knowledge that she was not the kind
of girl he took her to be only made lrer feel at a greater
disadvantage against his cynical sophistication. His
mockery hurt her in a new inexplicable way. Afterwards
she thought that she could have easily walked away instead of standing there staring blindly up at him.
Her own voice was strange to her ears as she clenched
trembling hands.
'You haven't the least idea what you're talking about.
You're only judging by what you saw. And if we're di scussing kisses let me tell you this - I'd go for Francis
Gurley's kisses any time before yours and, believe me,
that's saying a lot, since I heartily detest the man.'
'You have a curious way of showing your dislike of
him, 1 must sayo If that's how you behave when you dislike aman how would you behave when you loved
him?'
'That's something you'lI never find out for yourself, for
you've never loved anyone in your life.'
He lifted a brow tantalizingly. "No?' He rearranged his
long legs into a more comfortable position. 'You amaze
me, or have I underestimated you? It never occurred to
me that you gave any thought to love at all.' His voice
roughened. 'Y ou're as convinced of me being incapable of
loving as 1 am of you. At least we have something in
common. Why on earth don't you wait until the real thing
comes along instead of behaving like a little tart?'
A sudden shaft lit the sky, showing them plainly to
each other. Dru had gone scarlet, then very pale. Her

anger was such that she wanted to hurt him as he had

hurt her.
Her voice trembled. 'You say we're two of a kind. It
takes one bad person to recognize another. Why don't you
mind your own business and please don't speak to me
again even in company. As for following you...' she
laughed derisively, 'I'd have to be hard up for a man if I
ever did that!'
She swung round to go and the next moment his fingers
had closed over her slim wrist. The grip of his hand sent
tremors through her whole body which she despised herself for and, trying to wrench herself free, her hatred for
him sparkled in her green eyes ..
His look was openly insulting. "Surely you aren't going
yet? What a disappointing ant-climax to your evening of
fun,' he jeered.
Dru's only answer was to try to fling her arm clear of his
grip. She was entirely unsuccessful. He laughed. She saw
the flash of white teeth and a gleam in his eyes which
made her tremble, The next moment he had hauled her
into his arms. She tried to struggle as every bit of resistance she was capable of rose up against him. But she was
trapped against a hard body and lips that fastened on her
own. GradualIy, her anger dissolved into a giddy feeling
of blissful rapture. It was as if bones and sinews meIted
leaving no support for a body too weak to offer any resistance. She closed her eyes and clung.
The soft wash of the surf on the shore mingled with the
wild beating of her heart lifted her above earthly things
into a heaven she never knew existed until now. A raging
passion swept through her, leaving no thought for ~yone
but the man holding her in his arms and transportmg her
to unknown realms of delight. LulIed by such heavenly
bliss it was easy to cease to resist.
When he lifted his head, his eyes were filled with scorn.
'So you didn't want me to kiss you? A likely story, since
you offered no resistance. Why did your lips respond so
willingly if what you say is true?'
His alIDS had not slackened and Dru, bemused and
breathless attempted to replenish her lungs.
'How dare you, you beast! Let me gol' she gasped,
finding it impossible to move against his brute str~ngth.
"Why should I? Why should you have everything your
own way? Why should I not have fun too in punishing
you?' his lips moved down into her neck. 'Rather unique,
isn't it, kissing in the rosy glow of the dawn mstead of
beneath a moon. It's something new for you to put mto

your scrapbook of conquests.'

..
.
He spoke against her throat, his lips m~vmg ~nce ;nl?re
towards her mouth. And like a shaft of hghtnmg hitting
the sky the truth made itself known. She could no longer
ignore it or deny it any more than she could save Bud
from his fate. She loved him, aman who had only contempt for her. As his lips again fastened on her ?wn it
seemed that everything she had ever wanted from life was
being given, was there for the taking.
But before she could take it the cup of happiness was
rudely dashed from her lips by the contemptuous way in
which he suddenly lifted his head and released her,
'There, you've had your thrill and I don't suppose it's
any use saying let it be a lesson to you. I don't know why I
bothered.'
His grey chips of eyes flicked her like a lash. Flung
from the emotional heights of bliss, she made an effort to
grope her way back to reality - a task which, even if she
had been more experienced, was for the moment beyond
her. In blindly obeying the dictates of her own heart, she
had heaped humiliation upon herself and her pride was
gone. Her only instinct was to escape from eyes that bared
her soul. Stumbling away with the tears blinding her eyes,
Dru made for the hotel and the sanctuary of her room.
CHAPTER SEVEN
To awake was to recall immediately the disturbing events
of the previous night. Dru sat up in bed pushing the
heavy waves of hair from an aching brow and prepared to
face a new day. The night had been oppressively hot and
the patch of sky visible through her window glowed ominously like molten metal. Her rage against Keith had
gone, leaving only the sharne of responding to his kisses.
If she had been mad there was a conviction deep down in
her heart that the sarne madness would return again in
bis arms, What would have eventually happened was
anybody's guess and bis passion matched her own,
flarning as it had like dry twigs tossed on to an open
fire.
After a shower and a great deal of thought, Dru finally
convinced herself that there was enough distraction on
the island to fill in her time and heart and leaving no
room for loneliness. Bud, for instance.
Sheila O'Brian would be in hospital for a while and
when Mart was on duty she would do her best to keep Bud

happy. Breakfasting in her room in order to keep away

from any possible contact with Keith, she set off for the
village intending to make a few purchases for Mrs,
O'Brian as promised and have lunch there before going to
the hospital in the afternoon.
The air was still humid, the sky metallic when the bus
droned along past hedges trailing mauve thunbergia and
graceful casuarinas. A draught of cool air came in through
the open window of the bus when they swung around
corners and a sense of tranquillity settled on her which
had nothing to do with the tangled emotions within
her,
The village was astir with stallholders in the market
place and shopkeepers busily displaying their wares. Dru
enjoyed popping in and out of the shops on the shady side
of the street making purchases for Mrs. Q'Brian from the
pharrnacy and later at the fruit and flower stal!s in the
market. At the little restaurant where she stopped for
lunch, a waiter looking darker-skinned than ever in bis
crisp white suit showed her to a table in an air-conditioned room overlooking the market square and she
lingered over an excellent lunch.
Mart was the first person she met at the hospital. He
carne along the corridor, bis white coat flying open and
his stethoscope flopping from his pocket. He was scowling.
Dru beamed. "Good afternoon, Mart,' she said.
'Good afternoon, darling. You look happy.'
She could have told him she was feeling anytbing but
happy. However, his tone told her he was not feeling particularly happy hirnself and she wondered fleetingly
about it.
'Aren't you?' she queried.
He shrugged. In that moment he looked rather young
for a responsible job. Perhaps his slight build and light
curly hair combined with his well-scrubbed boyish features were apt to emphasize bis immaturity. He was like
bis father, yet unlike. Mart wore his badge of office, the
white coat, carelessly like a painter, whereas his father
wore the much longer one, as befitting bis status, with
gracious forrnality and charrn.
Mart would learn, Dru thought, eyeing his jaded look.
'You look tired, Mart. I should have a lie-in at the first
opportunity,' she suggested.
'I'm al! right. It happens to be one of those days.' His
eyes narrowed down at the picture she made, taking a
brief inspection of her bright hair, the colourful bouquet

in one slim suntanned arm, the long slender legs and all
her slender freshness. ''Y ou're too bright a vision for tired
eyes, my peto 1 hate to think of you wand,ering around
without me.'
Dru chuckled in sympathetic amusement. "So what? I
shall soon have an escort - Bud.'
"Budi" Mart echoed, dragging back his thoughts from
where they had flown.'Bud isn't here.'
'Not here?' Dru's heart jolted. 'Why not? Where is he?'
'Out with Marie, the chambermaid from your hotel.
She called to see how he was as it's her day off duty and
he wanted to go out with her. He'll be back at the hotel
tonight. By the way, should you take him out, take care
not to overtire him. He's apt to get breathless at the least
exertion.' He smiled down at her, a smile filled with
boyish charm. 'He can't wait to get back to the hotel, and
I think you're the reason. He's very attached to you.'
He had taken her arm and was walking with her along
the corridor towards Mrs. O'Brian's ward. Suddenly the
door of one of the small private wards they were passing
opened and Liane stepped into the corridor carrying a
chart, She looked crisp, vital and glowing, as beautiful in
her uniform as she was out of it. She greeted them
both briefly and continued down the corridor with her
lovely graceful walk showing an enchanting back view
of her legs.
Mart's eyes were glued on her, but they revealed
nothing. Liane had revealed a little more. Dru had seen
the look she had given Mart, brief though it had been.
She herself had never looked at Mart in that way, for a
very good reason. She was not in love with him. Liane
was.
'Lovely girl, Liane,' she remarked as Liane's skirts
swung around a comer out of sight.
'Hmm. What did you say?'
Mart looked round at her almost startled. She
laughed.
'Nothing,' she replied. "How is Mrs. O'Brian?'
'Much better. I presume those flowers are for her?'
Mart had paused with one hand on the door handle of
Mrs. O'Brian's ward.
'Yes. Is it all right if I see her?'
Mart's glance was lingering on the curly tendrils of
golden hair by each small ear. 'Go right ahead. 1 wish I
could supply all my patients with such an enchanting visitor.' He bent to kiss the softly rounded cheek nearest to

him. 'Have a nice day. 1'11 give you 'a ring when I'm
free.'
Sheila O'Brian was sitting up in bed in a bower of
flowers. She looked very young in her pretty mauve
nightdress and matching bedjacket, although the sun
picked out an occasional grey hair in the brown.
'Come in,' she said, 'if you can find a way through the
flowers.'
Dru stared, then chuckled at the array of blooms spilling around the room, on the bedside locker, on a table
near the door, along the window sill and in two floor vases
placed in corners.
'Y ou look like a prima donna on her first night,' she
said, laying down her flowers by the vase on the small
table by the door.
'Aren't they lovely? Captain Falkner brought these
beautiful blooms on my locker. The rest are from my
husband's shipmates and officers.' Do come and sit
down.'
Dru obeyed, taking the chair by the bed after laying
her purchases on the bed. '1 hope 1 remembered everything you asked me to bring.'
'I'm sure you have. 1 must pay you.'
Dru protested as Sheila leaned sideways to reach for
her purse from her locker.
'Oh no, please don't. They didn't cost the earth. How
are you?' She stood up before Sheila could lie back again.
;'Let me shake your pillows. There, isn't that better?'
'Lovely, thanks.' Sheila lay back against the soft
mound and smiled palely. 'Everyone is so kind.'
-'Y ou could do with a bit of kindness. Y ou haven't
exactly had a very kind time.' Dru's eyes lingered on the
wedding ring below the diamond solitaire on the small
white hand as it rested on the counterpane, and paused
before adding, "I'm very sorry about Bud.'
Sheila blinked rapdly and hung on to her composure.
;'1 expected it. 1 suppose 1 ought to be thankful that my
husband has been spared, but 1 want them both so much.'
Her voice wavered. '1 haven't told my husband yet about
Bud. 1 want him to be happy for as long as possible. I'm
not going to tell him. Do you think I'm wrong not to?'
Dru met her look squarely. "No, 1 don't. No one can do
anything about it and there's nothing to be gained in
making your husband prematurely unhappy. Besides,' her
smile flashed, -'1 simply don't believe that fate has any
more blows in store for you. You've had your share. Just

keep hoping.'
"You really think so?' Sheila's expression was one of
doubt.
'1 do. After all, things are beginning to look brighter
already. This slight adjustment you're to have in order to
have children of your own and the faet that your husband
is going to recover are two wonderful breaks in the dark
clouds. Who knows? There might be a third. These cycles
of fate are said to come in threes. 1 shall keep hoping for
Bud.'
Sheila's lips were tremulous, her eyes overbright. ~I
pray for Bud's recovery every night. It never ought to
have happened really. You see, when Bud's mother died,
his father left him in the care -of his sister, a divorcee.
Unfortunately he didn't know she was an alcoholic. 1 had
the flat next door and Bud was always around my place in
the evenings and at week-ends. When Bud's father, Bill,
carne home on leave, he took me out for looking after
Bud.' She gave a tremulous smile. 'Baby-sitting, his sister
called it. Then 1 had to go away for six months. 1 designed fabrics for a textile firm and they opened a branch
abroad. 1 returned to my flat on the day Bud's aunt was
rushed to hospital in a coma from an overdose of drugs.
She never recovered. Bill carne home on compassionate
leave during which time we discovered our love for each
other. We were married.
'Bud had been terribly neglected, poor darling, and it
took some time to nurse him back to health. Bill bought a
house with a garden and went back to his ship. About six
months ago there was an epidemic of 'flu at Bud's school.
He caught it and didn't seem to recover wholly from it.
W orried about his lack of energy, 1 took him to the hospital for a check-up.'
Sheila swallowed painfully, cleared her voice and continued. 'The result was given to me on the day 1 received
the news of Bill's accident. It .. , it was like receiving a
death sentence on them both, for 1 knew Bill's injuries
must have been causing concern or they wouldn't have
sent for me.'
Dru squeezed her hand. "But it wasn't, was it? Not on
Bill. He's going to be all right. And he's going to be so
thrilled when he hears that it's going to be possible for
you to have children. After your slight operation, of
course.'
Sheila nodded and managed a pale smile. Her fingers
closed warmly round Dru's.
"I'll never forget the joumey here with Bud prattling

on about seeing his daddy and wondering if he would

have any daddy when we arrived. 1 could have kissed
Captain Falkner when he met us at the airport to say that
Bill would be all right.'
'Oh dear, what a good thing you didn't!' Dru cried,
and went on to relate her own arrival when she had flung
herself in Keith's arms.
Sheila laughed and looked much brighter. -'1 bet he
enjoyed it, though,' she commented, surreptitiously
wiping the tears frorn her eyes.
'Not a bit.' Dru was annoyed at her blush at painful
memories. "He and 1 don't seem to hit it off!'
'No? 1 think you're mistaken. Captain Falkner isn't the
kind to take umbrage at a genuine mistake. 1 wouldn't say
he was averse to the ladies. No sailor is. 1 bet he's been
quite a lad - still is. The women will make sure of that.
He's so devastatingly attractive, for one thing, and is
definitely a virile maleo 1 confess 1 can't take rny eyes off
fue man when he's around, what with bis deep brown
voice and bis charm.'
'Which definitely is not for me,' Dru replied decisively,
and changed a subject which was proving too painful for
words. She talked in a lighter vein and by the time a nurse
wheeled in the teatime trolley, she was happy to see
Sheila looking much better ..
Later, she was leaving her on a lappy note when a tap
carne on the door and Francis Gurley put bis head in.
After a glance which summed up in seconds the occupants of the room, he said, "Sorry, 1 was told Mr. Seabright was making for this way.' He lifted a questioning
brow. "Haven't seen him, by any chance, have you,
ladies?'
When both women shook their heads he withdrew and
held open the door for Dru, who walked with him along
the corridor on her wayout.
'You're looking as sweet and fresh as a daffodil,' he
remarked, eyeing her with approval. 'After a hectic night
too.' .
His tone rnade Dru look at him sharply. -'A hectic
night?'
'Mart came in this rnorning for breakfast around
nine.'
''You're stretching the time a bit, aren't you? 1 happen
to know that Mart left Pete's party hours before that.'
Dru was irnmediately wary of where bis probing was
leading her and waited for bis next rnove.

'Er ... weren't you with him?' He cushioned the question with bis disarming srnile, but she was not deceived.
She parried bis words adroitIy.
'Mart very kindly offered to take several of the guests
horne on bis way back to the hospital. If he didn't return
until nine o'cIock then he must have had a breakdown.'
'A very convenient one, wouldn't you say?'
She bristIed. 'If you mean he stayed the night with me
you're wrong. What a filthy mind you must have!'
'Beca use 1 know how rnany beans rnake five? Liane
arrived after spending the night at her villa just five
minutes before Mart. Rather intriguing, don't you think?
Especially as they used to put on the same performance
before you carne.'
:'1 don't believe you.'
They had almost reached the reception desk and Dru
looked up at him with a hatred she could barely conceal.
He, however, seemed sure of bis facts.
"You will eventually. You're an intelligent girl as well
as a very pretty one. Y ou and 1 must become better acquainted. I'm sure you'd find ,it interesting.' He looked up
suddenly, then over her head when the flying white coat
of Howell Seabright caught his eye as the surgeon left a
side ward along the corridor. 'Excuse me, there's my
man.'
Dru watched him stride along the corridor with no
doubt in her rnind as to the rnan's intentions to ingratiate
himself with her. He was probably in love with Liane and
was madly jealous of Mart. But was Mart in love with
Liane? She wished she knew the answer to that one. Certainly he had admitted to taking her out more than the
others. It was no surprise to hear that he had spent the
night with her. He was aman who believed in satisfying
his sexual appetite to the full. She made her way back to
her hotel with the feeling that her enthusiasm whipped
up in a desire to help him by. posing as his fiance was
already on the wane. .
Dru was about to change for dinner that evening when
Bud knocked on her door.
'Dru!' he cried delightedly. 'Look what 1've brought
you. Bend down.' He hooped a garland of flowers around
her neck and hugged her.
She stooped down to kiss and hug him in return before
gazing up over his fair head into the dark eyes of a slim
girl around her own age.
'You must be Marie,' she said.
'Marie Denva, and you are Miss Temple.' The dark

eyes danced.
'Dru to my friends.'
"Bud has been talking about you all the time and 1
know he would rather you put him to bed. Do you mind
... Dru?'
Marie's dark eyes looked pleading. Dru smiled, surveying the girl's sIeeveless cotton frock and beautifuIly
tanned limbs with a warm glow of friendship.
'Not at a1l. I'd love to put Bud to bed,' she answered
with her usual spontaneous warmth.,
'Thank you.' Marie showed a perfect set of smaIl
pearly teeth in her delight.'It's my day off duty and 1
wanted to go dancing this evening with my boy-friend.'
She paused. 'Sure you don't mind?'
'Go along and have a good time. 1'11 look after Bud.
He'll have such a lot to tell me.' Dru straightened and,
looking down at Bud, ruffied his hair. 'Won't you, Bud?'
she added, laughing.
But Bud was too tired to say mucho He was asleep
within a few minutes of his head touching the pillow. Dru
sat for a long time by his bed looking tenderly on his face,
--which seemed 10 have gone thinner since their last meetmg, Back in her room she slipped the garland of flowers
from her neck, breathing in a fragrance strangely like
tears.
She went down early to dinner in order to get it overo
With Pete gone and Mrs. O'Brian absent too, the diningroom, full as it was, had an air of loneliness. Keith was not
there either and she fell to wondering what he had done
with the top half o her swimsuit which he had not returned,
Later, after looking in on the sleeping Bud, Dru went
to her room and stood on her balcony and, breathing in
deeply, looked down past the wind break of trees to the
calm iridescent water in the bay. So far the sun had
reigned supreme each day since her arrival with the sky
practically free of cloud, Tonight, the clouds were there,
a menacing pinky opal pressing down until they seemed
near enough to touch. The air was breathlessly still, and
too emotionally restless to stay indoors, she hurriedly
changed into slacks and light sweater to take a short
walk.
Avoiding the beach, she struck off inland to take a
mountain path. The light was not yet on the wane and
she was rewarded with breathtaking views from every

rise. How brilliantly beautiful the island was, she

thought, admiring a particularly lovely view across the
bay. Ideal for a honeymoon. It was the cruiser out there
silhouetted against the sky which was responsible for the
romantic trend of her thoughts, o course, not the captain.
But Dru, continuing on her way, knew that it was
Keith who had made her emotionally restIess, Keith who
had filled her with a passionate longing and filIed her with
the pain of love unrequited. Her love for him was like
some powerful drug for which she craved. Love for the
one man who would mean everything in her life had until
now been an unknown quantity. She had never imagined
the real thing to fill her with such aching need. It was
absolutely ludicrous that one could hate aman one
moment and the next know that life without him did not
bear thinking about. Yet she had to think about it because
one day he would sail away out of her life.
Suddenly she was staring across the water froma gap
between a banana plantation and a villa. Something
seemed to grip her by the throat. The cruiser was no
longer there. It had gone. Keith had gone as dramatically out of her life as he had entered it. Dru could not
believe it.
Dru lost count of the time she stood there just staring
across the bay. She was alerted at last by a low rumble in
the heavens. The sky had darkened and the first heavy
drops of rain began to fallo Lights popped up like fireflies
in isolated villas on the slopes and with great relief Dru
looked round to see she was not far from Liane's place.
She hurried along the path towards it and saw Liane outside on the patio and heard her laugh. There was aman
there too, a slightly built man who drew her into his arms
and bent his fair head. Mart.
Dru gazed down at them stupidly, knowing it was the
last place where she could seek shelter. It would be much
too embarrassing. For one thing, she would not have the
least idea how to act in her supposed role as his fiance.
Numbly, she stood watching them, oblivious of the rain
which was now a torrential downpour. Then she tumed
to re trace her steps back to the hotel. Soon she was stumbling, appalled at the sheet of relentless rain slashing at
her face, drenching her hair and slacks and making every
step she took leaden. To add to her di stress, she had wandered from the main road, blinded as she was by the water
streaming down her face, and she had no idea in which
direction it lay.

Finding a tree immediately in her path, Dru leaned

against it, taking in great gulps of air while the swish of
the rain sounded deafening to her ears. The handkerehief
she used to wipe her face was saturated and she tried to
cheer herself up by thinking how lucky she was that it
was not one of the dreaded hurricanes. It was not dark yet
either, another thing in her favour, but she had to move
on if she was to reach the hotel before it grew dark.
With her morale decidedly on the up-and-up, she
boldly took a path praying that it would lead to the main
road. It ~id. But by now the road was a quagmire of mud
as the rain flowed down like a small river. She seemed to
have been going for hours, making little headway with the
sensation of moving along the bed of the ocean. Each step
was bordering on exhaustion.
'Miss Temple! Can you hear me?'
The deep voice travelling on the thick wet air was eerie
and strangely familiar. Her immediate reaetion was to
wonder if she was suffering from some delusion that it
was all part of a nightmare she was going through and
that soon she would wake up warm and snug in her bed at
the hotel.
'Miss Temple! Are you there?'
His second call left her in no doubt as to his identity
and sounded much nearer. But by now exhaustion held
he~ by the throat and the joy mingling with the sudden
relief upon hearing his voiee rendered her speechless. At
last she managed to callo
'Y es. I'm here on the main road.'
He must have been around the next bend, for he suddenly loomed above her dad in a streaming sou'wester
with matchmg coat and leg coverings. His face was seto
'My heaven, you're soaked!' he said harshly. Already
he was whipping a waterproof coat from beneath his arm
and, wrapping it around her, gathered her to him.
His voice sounded thick to Dru, who in one fell swoop
had been transported from the depths into the dizzy
heights of happiness. AlI her discomfort was forgotten as
she stared up at him wide-eyed with wonder and trying to
believe that he really was here and not on the high seas.
'Did you ... have you come in search of me?' she asked,
not believing it yet wanting to so mucho
'Of course 1 have, you little idiot. What do you mean
by venturing out on such a night when it's simply been
asking for rain all day? When 1 saw you making off up
this way 1 could hardly believe it. Unfortunately, 1

haven't found you until you're already soaked. Good

thing 1 carne prepared.'
He tilted his head sideways sharply in order for the
water cascading from the brim of his sou'wester should
not fall on her upturned face.
The thoughtful gesture along with the knowledge that
he had probably been searchingfor her on side paths now
made treacherous by the torrential rain filled her with
remorse and pain. All the embarrassment she had unwittingly caused him hitherto had been nothing to this.
With a low moan, she clutched at him, trembling and
beaten. Her voice was muffled against his broad chest.
'What must you think of me?' she said.
Bending his head sideways, he spoke firmly but gently
in her ear.
'1'11 te11 you about that later.' His Iaugh was one of
relief. 'If we stand here much longer we sha11 be as
bogged down as the caro I'm going to carry you to it. It'l1
be quicker.'
Dru's head shot up then, her eyes a green flame hiding
her dismay. The last thing she wanted was for him to
hold her close and hear the wild thumping of her heart
which sounded to her like a drum.
'No, please. I'd rather walk.lshe protested.
He looked down at her sharply, some inexplicable
emotion flitting across his dark face. He hesitated as one
in doubt, then bending swept her up easily into his arms.
Striding through the deluge, he carried her as easily as he
would a child. The strength o his arms had crushed the
wet clothing against her skin like a clammy poultice, yet
Dru was on fire inside. The lean strength o him seeped
through and fired her with new energy. She wanted to
draw his dark face down to her own, to feel his hard lean
cheek against her soft one. And because the feeling was so
strong she found it impossible to think clearly or even to
speak. Upon reaching the car, Keith put her gently on
her feet, wrenched open the door of the back seat and
helped her inside.
'Hurry out of those wet things. You'll find a shirt and
shorts of mine to change into. Fortunately, !.t isn't cold,
but we can't risk you catching a chill.' He smiled down at
her look of consternation. "It's all right, I'm off to find
something to drive the car 00 to out of the rut. No one
will see you.'
He slammed her in and with her heart beating as
loudly as the rain on the roof of the car, Dru peeled off
her wet clothes, and using the towel he had provided,

slipped into his shirt and shorts. They fitted where they
touched, but she pulled in the belt of the shorts and proceeded todry her hair. After what seemed an age, he
opened the car door to slip into the driving seat, bringing
with him a shower of water, and pressed the starter. For a
while nothing happened, then the car leapt into life and
slid forward with a jerk on to firmer ground. After driving for a little way, he stopped. He then sloughed off his
waterproof and wiped his streaming face. The dark disturbing look was there when he turned all vital and glowing in his seat to ask her how she was feeling.
Dru pushed back hair she had rubbed into a golden
gleam feeling decidedly odd as she assured him she was
much more comfortable. His dark grey eyes seemed to be
entangled in the halo of bright hair cascading down on
her slim shoulders as she added, :I really am sorry to have
caused you all this trouble.'
"Forget it. We must hurry back to the hotel for you to
have a warm drink. Can't risk you catching a chill.'
He made no move, however, with the width of his
shoulders practically filling the two front seats. He was a
strong vitally healthy man who had shrugged off the
recent struggle against the weather as being of no consequence. It had been child's play to him after facing such
tremendous odds at sea. She watched him push back a
truant lock of hair from his forehead and said, '1 missed
your ship from the bay. I thought you'd gone.'
She hoped her voice did not sound as shaky to him as it
did to her. Beneath his steady regard, her heart was stalling and her eyes lowered to the lean brown hand and
arm very near to her on the baek of his seat.
"Not yet. We've moved further north into the Atlantic
and out of the path of the hurricanes.'
She felt his eyes willing her to look up and when she
did not he turned in his seat and started the caro On
reaching the hotel, he pulled up close to the entrance and
whisked her away into the dry interior.
;'All right?' he asked.
Dru gazed up at his expressionless face. ~Fine, and
thanks for all you've done.'
'Don't mention it. I'm only sorry I had no time to take
a drink with me to warm you up inside. Will you come
down to my room and have one with me when you've
ehanged? It isn't very late and it might be my last night
on the island.'
Her heart jolted and she felt strangely sick inside. So he
was going! She found her voice.

'Yes ... yes, of course I will, Give me ten minutes.' Dru

managed a smile and flitted away to her room.
Quickly she shed the shirt and shorts and ehanged into
a simple eotton knit, combed her hair and applied lipstick
with shaking fingers. When she was ready she picked up
Keith's clothes and folded them almost reverently, putting
her hot ch~ek against the silkiness of the shirt and loving
the masculine fragranee adhering to it after he had unpacked it.
Would there be time for her to have them laundered.
She hesitated and deeided to take them with her to his
ro?m. But first a peep in to see if Bud was still sleeping.
HlS door had been left slightly ajar and switching on the
light in the main bedroom, Dru moved across it silently to
peep In. The light from the room behind her illuminated
his bed and she stood absolutely still and unbelievinz.
This can't be happening! she thought. Emotion had h;r
by the throat and a sense of shock rippled through her like
the chill of an east wind. The bed was empty.
. "Bud!' she called softly, croakily, on a low note, thinkmg he was playing a triek on her. "Budl' she called again
on a louder note . but only silence answered her. He eould
not be on his balcony, for the window was shut tight and
the rain was running down it in sheets. Feverishly, she
searched every room for any small aperture into which
he could squeeze his slight frame. She looked in eupboards, wardrobes, even drawers without result with a
terrible feelmg of apprehension mounting insde her.
There was no doubt about it, Bud was not in his room.
Not giving herself time to think further, Dru shot off for
Keith's room and all but eollided with the waiter who
was coming out. In a saner moment, she would have
asked him ~f he had seen Bud, but she was much too
distraught even to notice his look of surprise when she
streaked past him before he could close the door behind
him.
Keith had ehanged into a white shirt, neat tie and
dark slacks. He was handling bottles and glasses preparing drinks. At her sudden entrance he looked up,
raised a brow at her obvious dstress and strode towards
her,
Gripping her trembling shoulders, he said quietly,
:'What happened? Was there someone in your room?
You're shaking all overo You need a drink.'
Dru shook her head and he led her to a chair, peremptorily pushing her down into it.

"It's Bud,' she gasped, "He isn't in his room and I ... I
left him in bed when I went out.'
'Say nothing else until you've had a drink. Then you
can tell me everything.'
Keith made short work of bringing her a drink which
he held to her ashen lips. Her teeth chattered against the
glass and he cupped her shaking hands with his own and
made her take part of the contents. The liquid ran
through her body like fue, melting away the numbness.
Then he drew up a chair facing her and taking away her
glass took both her hands in his.
Dru wondered however she could have thought him
hard and cynical.
'Now take your time and tell me why Bud not being in
his room has upset you like this?'
Dru told him how she had found Bud on the shore one
night and her fears that he could have awakened before
the storm began, gone out to look for her and was even
now lying somewhere, perhaps ... perhaps ... She could
not go on, for tears were rolling down her face.
"Steady now.' Keith released her hands and she wiped her eyes as
he strode to the telephone.
"What are you going to do?' she asked.
'Ring up reception to ask if he's anywhere in the hotel.
Haven't I seen him in the company of one of the
chambermaids ?'
He turned to look at her, phone in hand, and she
nodded miserably.
"Marie. I know he isn't with her because she's gone out
dancing with her boy-friend.'
He nodded, got through to reception and after speak ..
ing a few words put down the phone.
'They're going to search the hotel.' He paused to look
at her significantly. "You don't suppose he's been taken
back to the hospital? Your fianc, for instance? Is it possible that he could have calIed while you were out, saw
the boy and took him back with him?'
Dru shook her head. :'1 saw Mart earlier on. He
happens to be out ... I ... I'm sure he won't call.'
Keith thrust his hands into his pockets, taking in her
sudden blush.
"Then he isn't on duty?'
Again she shook her head. 'No. He .. he had to go out
somewhere.' Suddenly she was on her feet, finding his
look unbearable. "Look, I must go to see if 1 can find Bud,

Even now it may be too late.'

Immediately, he was in front of her barring her way,
'Calm yourself, there's a good girl. There's no need to
panic. It won't help yourself or Bud. Haven't you had
enough for one day?'
Dru put a restraining hand on his armo ['You don't
understand my position.' There was a break in her voice
which she could not help as a great longing swept
.through her to lay her head on his breast and burst into
tears. "It's .' . all my fault for leaving Bud, as it wilI be my
fault if anything has happened to him. I " . I just have to
find him. 1 ... 1 can't add to the trouble the O'Brians are
already facing.'
Keith stood very stilI, his face enigmatic. Then he said
quietly,
'1 understand perfectIy what you mean, but I'm doing
this my way. He doesn't appear to be anywhere in the
hotel. They would have found him by now. As you say,
he's probably somewhere on the beach.' He gazed down
at her small hand resting on his arm, smiled faintly and
patted her cheek.
"Don't look so 'tragic. AlI isn't lost.' His tone changed
sardonically. :'When you found Bud that first evening
asIeep on the beach was it anywhere near the rocks you
and 1 seem to be particuIarly fond of?'
The coIour flamed in her face as she recalled the scene
by the rocks on the day she stumbIed and hurt her knee
and the other occasion when he had sprawled there himself, accusing her of having followed him.
'Yes,' she answered, barely meeting his eyes.
Keith straightened. ''You'd better go for your waterproof,' he said gentIy. .
Dru needed no second bidding. She was off Iike a shot,
leaving the door of her room ajar whiIe she hurriedIy
donned the waterproof and sou'wester hato She was ready
when a quiet movement at the door aIerted her. She
swung round to see it quietIy closing to. A decisive click
followed as someone turned the key on the other side of
the door.
Someone had locked her in. It couId only be Keith.
How da red he? The telephone beside her bed was
reached without hesitation and picking up the receiver
in shaking fingers, she asked for room service.
.
"I'm awfully sorry for troubIing you,' she told the masculine voce answering her call, "but someone has pIayed a
practical joke on me and locked me in lPY room. Will you
send someone up to unlock it? The key might be on the

outside, but in case it isn't, will you bring along a spare

one?'
There was a pause at the other end of the phone. Then
a voice sounding considerabIy con cerned answered.
'1 hope that Madame is not going out in the storm.'
Dru controlled her impatience with an effort. 'Whether
1 do or not is irreIevant. 1 want my door unIocked at once
and 1 want the key. Will you please see to it?'
The answer carne promptIy this time. 'CertainIy,
madame. 1 will be there immediate1y 1 have the keys. The
clerk is with the rest of the hotel staff Iooking for the
O'Brian boy.'
At the mention of Bud's name, her fingers tightened
around the receiver.
'PIease hurry,' she pIeaded.
She waIked to and fro across her room for what seemed
like hours and was steaming beneath her waterproof with
moisture when the key finally turned in the lock and the
waiter whom she had seen earlier leaving Keith's room
stood hesitatingly in the doorway.
''Y our key was in the lock, madame,' he informed her
graveIy. "Sorry to be so long. 1 happened to be passing the
reception desk when you rango As 1 expIained earlier, the
clerk was engaged eIsewhere.'
Dru,poised for flight,paused. "Thank you. They haven't
found the boy, 1 suppose?'
Her green eyes were hopefuI and he gazed into them
appraisingly,
i'No, madame.'
1'1 didn't think they would. Well,' she smiled sadly,
"thank you again. Y ou've been very kind.'
The rain was still coming down in sheets when she
passed the windbreak of trees on her way down to the
beach. lt was quite dark now and she walked along the
shore with the visibility down to a few steps ahead. Fortunately, the clump of rocks she was making for would
show up whitely in the gloom.
Every step was a prayer for Bud and she was half-way
there when the light appeared just ahead. The rain appeared to be easing off and she stopped, waiting for it to
come nearer. It carne swiftly and Dru thought only Keith
would move like that. With her hands clenched at her
sides, her whole body tensed, she faced him as he loomed
out of the gloom. The torch illuminated her face before
he lowered it. It was then she saw the bundle in his arms.
Swathed in a blanket, it looked ominousIy still. Dru

moistened dry lips as a snake of fear rippled up her

spine.
'Y ou ... you've found him?' she stammered.
'Yes/ he answered. A breath rasped in his throat. 'Why
didn't you stay indoors?'
.
But she was staring at the motionless bundle. 'He ... he
isn't ... ?' she gasped, unabIe to go on.
.
'No. He's unconscious. My guess is he was runmng out
of the deluge back to the hotel when he collided head-on
with the rocks and knocked himself out.'
In the light of the torch he looked down at her in a way
she did not understand, and she wondered afterwards
what he had been thinking.
'Will he be a11 right?' Her eyes, wide and piteous, were
suddenly lifted to his. .
Keith continued on his way and she kept level with
him waiting for his answer. ....
'1 hope so. We must lose no 'time ID gettmg him to the
hospital. 1'11 put him in the car and ask Qne of the hotel
staff to alert the hospital that we're on the way.'
The short journey to the hospital was a nightmare for
Dru as Keith drove at a terrific speed, silent and grim.
She knew she had not helped matters by disobeying him,
but she couId not have stood the suspense of not knowing
what had happened to Bud when it was a11 her fauIt.
Whatever her parents would think when they heard was
something that did not bear thinking about. .
Howell Seabright was waiting when they arnved and
he followed Keith who carried Bud to a side ward on his
instructions.
Bud had not recovered consciousness when he was
taken to the children's ward and put to bed with hot
water bottles. Dru wanted to stay and wait, but both
Howell Seabright and Keith were against this. The surgeon strolled with them to the door. His round face looked
as sad as it was withdrawn.
He said,'The boy is in a state of shock from the blow
on the head and the exposure. But don't distress yourself.'
His expression softened at the marble rigidity of Dru's
smaIl face. 'We shaIl do everything possible for Bud. By
the way, 1 thought Mart was with you. He's off duty.'
Her face flamed beneath his curious regard . 'He's gone
to see an oId friend,' she volunteered.
At least that was true, she thought bitterly, angry with
Mart anew for exposing her to embarrassing moments.
He nodded kindly. "Registrars are always grossly over-

worked and under-paid. The further they're away from

work in their off duty hours, the better the break.'
Dru nodded miserably, wondering if he knew the truth
and the identity of Mart's old friendo She took her leave
hurriedly before pity replaced the kindness in his eyes.
Then Mart was forgotten when she was once more in
Keith's caro They were weIl on their way when he
spoke,
'You weren't planning on hanging around until that
fianc of yours decides to turn up, were you?' he asked
sharply. "1 don't know why yu bother with him.'
Dru was beginning to think the same. Strain wobbled
her voice,
"You know, I'd forgotten Mart until HoweIl Seabright
mentioned him. I'm much too upset about Bud.' Her lips
trembled and she controlled her tears with an effort. "1
did a dreadful thing in leaving him alone. But for me we
wouldn't be here now and Bud wouldn't be hovering between life and death.'
He said impatiently, "Boys are tougher than you think.
If they weren't half of them wouId never grow to manhood.'
He turned his head and met eyes wide with weariness.
"But Bud isn't going to live that long, is he? If he dies
now~ 1 shall have killed him. Don't you see?'
He gave his attention to his driving. 'I can see you
tossing and turning all night while you crucify yourself.
Snap out of it. What's done os done. We know the boy
isn't strong. On the other hand, he has no idea that anything is wrong with him. 1 have a feeling that he'll pull
through tonight's ordeal and be none the worse for It.' .
Hope dawned in her green eyes. A small hand reached
out tentatively and touched his sleeve.
'Y ou really think so?'
Coolly he replied without turning his head, -'1 wouldn't
say so if 1 didn't.' He put on speed. :'Close your eyes and
empty your mind of all worry. If yo~ can fall asleep all
the better. 1 can carry you to bed and you won't remember a tbing.'
But although she closed her eyes, Dru was wide awake
when they reached the hotel.
'Y ou're going to my room first for a nightcap,' he told
her as he gave her a hand from the caro
.
Despite her pro tests that she did not need one, he P1loted her through the doorway, taking off her waterproof
and divesting himself of bis own. Then while he busied
himself with bottles and glasses Dru sank down rather

hysterically into a chair. It was not so long ago that he

had thrust her from this same room. Now he had forced
her there and was mixing some deadly potion to put her
out for the night.
"There you are. Drink every drop.'
He stood over her pushing the glass into her hand and
she stared at it stupidly.
'AlI of it?' she gasped.
He nodded grimly. ''Navy punch,' he said laconically.
Dru, knowing that if she refused, he woul~ not be
within pouring it down her throat, drank part of it.
,'Phew!' she exclaimed as the heat rose In her face.
Keith lounged on the arm of a chair facing her, his arm
along the back, and gave her a look of satisfaction. 'Go
on, don't be afraid of it. You're certainly a better colour,
You're not the same bubbling creature who flung herself
at me on arrival. You're engaged to the wrong man.'
His slate grey eyes had the texture of steel and bis
mouth had thinned.
Dru quivered. 'Mart and 1 have an agreement which
you wouldn't understand."
,:'You're right,' grimly, '1 don't understand a set-up
where the woman clings to a fellow she knows is doing the
rounds with other women.'
Dru lowered her eyes with the stunned certainty that
he knew where Mart was spending the night, and guessed
that she knew too. Too shaken to answer, she swallowed
the rest of her drink. She simply had to get away.
"Take your time about standing up,' Keith warned.
The next moment she was swaying on her feet. Gently
he took the glass from her and put it down. Then he
paused, looking down at her with both hands closing on
her shoulders. When he swung her up effortlessly in his
arms she closed her eyes and he bore her swiftly to her
room.
:'Can you manage?' he asked, putting her into a chair
and taking off her wet shoes.
She nodded, wondering if her giddy reaction carne
from the rum punch or with being in bis arms.
"Go to bed. Sweet dreams,' he said, and was gone.
CHAPTER EIGHT
FOR the next few days Bud hovered between life and
death .. Sheila was with him most of the time and Dru,
after going to see her to explain, went away feeIing
wretchedly unhappy. Mart was philosophical about it,

He was far too busy with his usual routine cases to treat it
as emotionalIy as she did. When she saw him again at the
hospital his night out with Liane had not been men .
tioned. In her opinion1 Mart was only being Mart; Dru
realized that now, as she also realized how little she had
known him until she had come to the island.
With so little knowledge of a person one liad little
chance of reacting in the right way to their ways. It was
doubtful whether his affair with Liane would end with
marriage, To him the woman was satisfying a need and
was part of his growing up. And her own role as his
supposed fiance was to help him towards that end,
As for Keith, apart from one ortwo bref encounters,
he seemed to have gone out o her life, Bis manner at
such times had been politeIy cool and impersonal. Most of
his crew had now recovered from their indisposition and
were to be seen brightening the village with their cheery
uniforms as they helped to fasten sturdy shutters to shops
and houses in preparation for the hurricanes,
According to Mart, Bill O'Brian was much better and
was taking nourishment. Dru had not the heart to inquire
whether he had been told of his small son's dllness. Fortunately, Liane was in charge of Bud and telephoned her
each morning about his condition. Dru was very grateful
for her kindness, for it meant that, after the daily bulletin
on Bud, she was free to go out and let the beauty of the
island act as a balm to her troubled mind,
She now spent her days at the clubhouse in a whirl of
activities which gave her no time to think. The members
had accepted her wholeheartedly into their midst and she
found a measure of comfort and relaxation in their
company. Often when her mind was not on Bud, her
thoughts strayed to Keith, The embarrassment of their
first meeting was fading, but the memory of his lips and
arms was acute. Whenever her eyes alighted upon a naval
officer's uniform her heart bounded. Their wide-shouldered athletic figures presented a back view which could
only be his.
It never was, of course. Tnen came an evening when
she met him face to face. Mart had taken her to a dinner
party given by one of the hospital governors - a weaIthy
patron, his villa, with dts wide terraces presenting panoramic views of the sea, rivaIled that of Government
House. Dru had seen him immediately on entering the
room and his brief pause on reaching for a drink offered
him by a waiter was long enough to indicate he had seen

her too. He had looked at her again and, painfully aware

of his cold informal acknowledgement, Dru could not
resist claiming acquaintance.
Mart had gone to fetch drinks. Her smile was brittIe.
"Thanks for what you did the other evening.'
A dark eyebrow rose infuriatingly. The dark saturnine
face was deliberately blank. "Ah, the night of the storm. 1
trust you slept welI?'
Dru longed to strike the sardonic expression from bis
face. She felt foolish and naive. ['Yes, thanks. If you'
remember, you left before 1 could thank you.' Her voice
wavered, but he did not appear to notice it. "I'm sorry for
all the inconvenience 1 seemed to have caused you.'
There was a short silence with the conversation of surrounding guests filling the gap. Then matter-of-factIy
Keith said, 'Not at all. These things happen.'
How right he was, Dru thought bitterly, as she
made plans for the afternoon. He withdrew satisfied when
she told him that her fianc was waiting for her. Liane
telephoned as Dru was retouching her make-up to say
that Bud had shown a definite improvement during the
night and they were moving him in the basement along
with the other patients, The news cheered Dru, who was
stubbornly refusing to be nervous. But she grew tense as
lunch time approached without Mart putting in an appearance. At twelve o'cIock she went downstairs to see if
he was coming. The place seemed to be deserted and on
opening the front door she was blinded by a cIoud of
sand. Some of the staff could still be heard as she made
her way back upstairs hammering up shutters outside.
At last his knock on her door made her feel like a condemned person receiving a reprieve.
'Hello,' said Keith. "May 1 come in?'
Her ordeal of the past few days had put shadows into
the deep wells of her eyes and the deIicate bone structure
of her face was as pale as alabaster. Her mind had been
concentrated on Bud and she had not been thinking of
Keith, neither had she expected to see him. She stared up
at him, at the wide shoulders filling the doorway, and aIl
the poignant longing for the arrogant reassurance of his
strength, his intent grey eyes and heart-wrenching smile
brought her near to tears.
She stepped aside for him to enter, bringing with him a
sense of utter tranquillity far removed from the racket
going on outside.
He said in his usual cool fashion, ''What are you planning to do this afternoon?'

Dru fought down a spasm of hysterical laughter. He

might have come to ask her out on a picnic, he was so
composed.
Soberly she answered, "I'rn waiting for Mart to pick me
up.'
He glanced at his wrist watch. 'Y ou're coming with
me,' he told her forcefully. 'Where's your overnight bag?
Find it and shove in a nightdress. And put on a coat.'
Dru sprang to do his bidding. The day, instead of being
frightening, was now filled with adventure, vital and exciting. He took the bag as she closed it and helped her
into her coat. They had reached the door when the phone
rango With a couple of strides he was across the room to
Iift up the receiver. His voice sounded clipped, almost
curto
'Y es, she's here ... A bit late, aren't you? ... I'm taking
her with me. She can call you later.'
'1 suppose you guessed that was your fianc,' he said as
they went down to his caro 'Someone is already on the
way to pick you up.'
The force of the gale had increased when they stepped
outside the hotel and Keith half carried her to his car:
Dru settled down in her seat, blissfully aware of being the
only person on the island to feel so happy m the approaching hurricane. Keith was beside her, virile and
alert to any danger, and she would have faced a thousand
hurricanes in his company.
The Garland Hotel was shuttered and silent as he
swung the car round and shot forward at speed. The sky
was darkening and everywhere was taking on a queer
pinkish-grey light. A young tree snapped off by the gale
carne careering towards them along the road, leaping and
diving like a live thing.
Dru quivered. 'Poor tree, and poor birds. They won't
have a chance, will they?' She blinked away a prickle o
tears behind her eyes. '1 t really is good o you to think
about me.'
'Common sense to get you away in good time. In a
matter of hours now all hell wiIl be let loose. That young
man of yours cut it too fine. He was busy, but that was
no excuse for not sending for you sooner.'
He said no more. They were passing through the shut .
tered deserted village and the car rocked and lurched
over mounds of sand filling the main street. Several times
she was thrown against him and almost landed on his
knee when a furious blast almost blew the car over as he

swung it inland to the hilIs.

He laughed as she apologized. 'Hurricanes have no respect for persons nor human life. Better to lean this way
towards me than towards the door which could burst
open and throw you out.'
The windows of the car were now covered in sand and
debris and only Keith's strong dark profile
was clear cut in a hazy untidy world. Dru was glad she
could ~ot see the fields of citrus fruits and greens, the
plantations of tomatoes and sugar cane taking a beating
until they were eventually destroyed. Once he stopped
the car and got out to wipe the windscreen. He had
stopped between the shelter of woods on either side of the
road. Even so he had to use great strength to open the car
door and returned to fall into his seat breathing
heavily.
He had left his hat in the car and his dark hair had
fallen forward on to his forehead in chunky tendrils. His
gr~n was that of aman who thrived on dangerous situations, It was easy to see why he had chosen a career in
the Navy. Dru could imagine him tanned as an African in
his youth, messing about with boats, his dark hair tousled
by the wind and sea-spray - sleeping outdoors beneath
the stars - a slim boy who lived for adventure. Girls
would not have played a great part in his life, but there
could be one whom he had never forgotten and with
whom he kept in touch.
Dru shied away from disturbing thought to see that
they were turning along the road leading to Government
House. The drive was strewn with leaves and branches as
he drew up to what appeared to be a deserted place. The
front was all shuttered and Keith, unperturbed, rang the
bell at the side of the great door. They were evidently
expected, for the manservant who admitted them accepted Dru's overnight bag from Keith and greeted them
cordially.
'As His Excellency is away 1 have arranged for lunch to
be served in the morning-room. It is small and more
comfortable than the large dinng-hall, 1 trust that will be
to your liking, sir, madam?'
Keith nodded. 'Thanks, Miles. That will do nicely.'
The deeply carved character lines on the manservant's
face were more pronounced as he gave a small smile of
satisfaction. 'Perhaps Madam would like to go to see her
room before lunch is served?'
Dru looked at Keith, wondering if they were to be
the only guests.

His smile was reassuring. -'I'm sorry 1 can't join you for
lunch. 1 have to go out again. Meanwhile the staff will
look after you.'
Then he was gone. Dru felt strangely alone as she followed the silent Miles across the great hall lit with candelabra. Shuttered and silent and minus electricity, there
was a grim yet safe air about [t. Weapons glowed mellowly on the panelled staircase and the wide corridor upstairs was lighted by oil lamps placed in alcoves. The
room Miles showed her into was quite spacious with the
rich drapes at the window drawn and muted in the glow
of the oillamp on her beside table.
Putting down her overnight bag, Miles told her that
the morning-room was the second door to the left of the
staircase in the hall and that lunch would be ready in
fifteen minutes. Should she require anything she had only
to ringthe bell on her dressing-table.
When he had gone Dru went to the phone and rang up
Mart, It was a few minutes before he was found.
'Hello, Dru,' he said breezily. 'Sorry 1 was late in sending for you. Actually 1 expected you long ago. 1 wasn't
able to coIlect you myseIf and was going to ask one of
the staff to use my car. However, I saw Liane leaving
around ten on her way to take a last check at her villa.
She agreed to pick you up on her way back to the hospital.
You haven't seen her, by any chance?'
'No, I haven't.' Dru went on to telI him that she was at
Government House. 'Y ou don't think anything could
have happened to Liane?' she said apprehensively.
There was a brief pause from Mart. '1 doubt it. Liane
has been in hurricanes before and knows her way about.
There's been a steady stream of casualties coming in and
I dread to think of what faces us at the end. By the way,
your friend Bud is improving. We're quite pleased with
him. I believe Liane has been keeping you infonned?'
'Yes. It was very kind of her. It's wonderful to hear
that he's improving. Do you ... think he'Il ... recover?
Oh, Mart, do make him betterl' Dru's voice faItered, near
to tears.
'Howell Seabright says he's going to be all right, and
that's good enough for me.'
Dru gave a shaky laugh. 'It's good enough for me too.
You don't know the relief I feel. I suppose his parents are
aIl right?'
'Of course. 1'11 have you know we very rarely lose a
patient.' He paused significantIy. 'I'm wondering why the
gallant Captain Falkner dragged you off to Government

House. I know he's picking up strays, but I wouldn't have

placed you in that category. He was quite sharp with me.
He hasn't designs on you, by any chance?'
Dru laughed at the absurdity of it. 'You've been working too hard! Captain Falkner is the kind of man who
sweeps the board clean in any job he undertakes. He isn't
here. He's gone out again - don't ask me where.'
'Probably helping some other lame dog. Anyway, we
need all the assistance we can get at these times. It's
good to know you're in one of the safest places on the
isIand. As you said, the Captain knows his job. See you
later. Take care.'
.
Dru put down the phone, wondering about those Iast
two words spoken in a rather sardonic key. Surely he
wasn't showing jealousy of Keith? Shrugging off the idea
as being too absurd, she prepared to go down to lunch.
She had eaten lunch and had spent the afternoon
Iistening to records. The music muted the racket going on
outside as the winds increased in fury. After a maid had
brought her tea at four, she fell asIeep and was awakened
by the presence of someone in the room. Dru ~pened h:r
eyes and saw Keith sprawIed out eIegantly ID a chair
not far away from her own. Instantly aware of her surroundings, she repressed a tremor at being taken unawares.
"Goodness, have 1 been asleep?' she exclaimed, striving
to speak lightly with a feeling of embarrassment.
The ensuing siIence was filIed by a furious gust of wind
striking the house and she knew the violence outside
would have disturbed her far more had it not been for
Keith's presence. lt occurred to her then how complet~ly
they were cut off from the outside world. Was Keith
thinking the same? He was a long time in answering. His
tanned face had a ruthless expression of distinctness and
his grey eyes had captured her own, sending flags of colour
to her cheeks.
'You have. In half an hour, at eight, we shall have
dinner.'
His words were accompanied by a white smile which
churned her heart. She wanted to clasp her arms around
his neck, to feel his kisses on her lips and caressing her
flushed cheeks. She wanted to tell him how happy she was
that he had returned safeIy and most of all she wanted to
tell him how very much she loved him. Another violent
zust of wind tore at the house and her eyes grew wide
with apprehension.

:'Don't look so scared,' he said. :'You're quite safe

here.'
:'Will it grow worse than this?' she asked.
'Yes. Probably blow itself out by the morning.'
Dru shuddered. :'How terrible! 1 hope no one is caught
in it. Mart told me when 1 telephoned him this afternoon
that he'd asked Liane to piek me up on her way back from
her villa this morning. Do you think she was caught in
it?'
Keith did not answer right away, but sat rigid looking at her. An icy feeling ran through her body, her hands
clenched clarnmily.
'Has something happened? You look so strange. Is it
Liane?'
Her voice was barely above a whisper. The next volley
of wind outside would have drowned it. She shuddered
again as it camne clawing at the very foundations of the
house ..
"Liane has missed the worst of it,' he admitted at
length, and gazed at his watch. :'I'm sure you'll want to
freshen up before dinner. We can talk later.'
Neither of them did justice to the excelIent dinner,
although Dru knew that Keith had missed lunch and
afternoon tea. Like herself he had no appetite. Later they
returned to the chairs they had previously occupied for
coffee. For the next hour or so he taIked about the havoc
of previous hurrieanes and reIated severaI hair-rasing
stories of the ones his ship had been caught in at sea.
Fortunately it now lay anchored saely in a bay miles up
the coast right out o the hurricane's path.
'Do you think the Bishop's Rest is still there?' she
asked ..
'Of course.' He chuckled. ~I promised myself years ago
that when 1 married 1 would take my wife there.' He
paused while bis eyes twinkled devilishly on some secret
,thought, 'To spend the first night of our honeymoon,'
'Oh!'
Dru said the word weakly and inadequately. So he was
thinking of marrying, had probably already chosen his
bride. Her lashes veiled her eyes. It would never do to let
him see how absolutely shattered she was at the thought.
Trembling, she changed the subject and asked about
something which had been bothering her all the evening.
''Y ou said earlier that Liane had missed the worst of the
hurricane. Have you seen her?'
His smile had gone. He regarded her with asombre

gaze.
''Yes,' he said very quietly, "I've seen her. As I said, she
missed the worst o the hurricane.'
Her eyes pierced his like a sword, dilated with dread.
'Y ou mean ... she's dead, don't you?'
He nodded soberIy .. r'A tree fell on her caro She never
knew what hit her.'
Dru recoiled as from a mortal blow. She stared at him
in horror.
"Was .' .. was she on her way ... to pick me up?'
He made a gesture o irritation with a lean brown
hand. :'You want me to say yes, don't you? Then you can
blame yourself for her death. Aren't you flaying yourself
enough over Bud?'
"But then it wouId be my fault, Don't you see?' Her cry
was wild and piteous. "She wouId be taking the road leading to the Garland Hotel instead o making straight for
the hospital.'
"And if she wasn't? Liane was killed by the elements
and not by anyone else,' he said grimly.
Dru leaned her head back in her chair. The tears
streamed down her face. She thought o Liane, her lovely
limbs crushed beneath fue weight o the tree, and quivered with a passionate pity for a lovely woman who had
been cut off from life so soon. And what about Mart?
How wouId her death affect him? He had been expeeting
a number o casualties from the hurricane, but he had not
expeeted one of them to be Liane.
Following her train o thought, Dru asked tonelessly,
Have there been other casualties?'
'Not serious ones. Liane was your rival. Have you
thought o that? Wisp went, now Liane. It seems you
have a clear field.'
He spoke roughly and she stared at him fue tears
sparkling in her eyes. Had he Ioved Liane? He had been
off his food at dinner. Apparently he had been shocked by
her death. Yet he had joked of taking his bride to spend
the night at Bishop's Rest. Come to think o it, his smile
and chuckle had sounded ironic,
''You don't understand.' Her lips trembled in spite of
her. :'1 liked Liane. She's been giving me a daily bulletin
on Bud. Why did she have to go?'
'Thats something we can't answer. We have to accept
these thmgs. Every precaution is taken to ensure that as
few people as possible are involved when the elements go
haywire. Im as shocked as you are at Liane's death but
there's nothing we can do about it.' '

.Dru blew her nose and wiped her eyes. Huskily, she
said, I think 1'11 go to bed to be up early in the mornng,
I can help somewhere, if it's only giving out food to the
homeless.'
She was on her feet and he rose too.
'I shall be !eaving early myself, so I can give you a lift.',
He was Iooking down at .her with perfeet steady eyes. "1
want your promise first that you won't put yourself on the
rack about Liane's death. You had nothing to do with it,
You understand?'
He laid a hand on her shoulder to stop her quivering.
Dru stood motionless, her eyes avoiding his. Then she
nodded. His grip relaxed and she felt his arm warm
around her shoulders.
"Do you?' he insisted.
Dru looked up at him against her will. "Yes,' she whispered.
Her hand clenched on the handkerchief wet from her
tears. The temptation to lean upon his strong encircling
arm was unbearable. She wondered afterwards where she
had the strength from to resist the impulse.
His deep tones pierced her agony of mind, ~od girl,'
he said.
His arm drew her close before he released her. He was
smiling when he held open the door for her to go. In her
room, before going to bed, Dru tried to telephone Mart,
only to find that the lines must have been down. The line
was dead .

CHAPTER NINE
By the following moming the hurricane had blown itself
out. Dru was up and dressed when the maid carne with
early morning tea. The heavy window drapes were drawn
aside and the shutters unbolted. In her neat tailored
blouse and slacks, Dru went on to her balcony to breathe
in the fresh warm moming air. The damage was appalling,
utter devastation as if vandalism had been rife.
The once irnmaculate grounds were a shambles. Apart
from the more hardy trees few were left standing. Others,
tom up by the roots, were strewn about among heaps of
greenery and tangled vines, She clutched the balcony rail,
breathing inthe odour of crushed leaves, broken flowers
and mangled earth. It smelt strongly like tears. Debris
fIoated on the sea and she blinked back the tears thinking
of all the birds blown out there who had died. Like Liane,

they had gone for ever,

The grounds, the plantations and fields of grain could
be sown anew. Growth was luxuriant and swift on the
island. The native population would have taken the catastrophe in their stride and would even now be building up
again. Disconsolately, Dru made her way downstairs.
The morning-room presented a far different picture
from that of the previous day. The windows were flung
open to sunshine and fresh morning air. Keith, freshly
shaved and vital, greeted her with his charming smile,
"Good morning, Miss Temple. Sleep well?'
"Yes, thanks. A well built house makes all the difIerence
to the clamour outside. Thanks for bringing me,'
''Y ou can show your appreciation by eating a good
breakfast,' he said smoothly, seating her at the table laid
for two, 'No breakfast, No work.'
He sat down in the chair opposite to her across the
table and his eyes scanned her pale face ruthlessly, so Dru
thought. It was evident that he meant to have his way.
He went on.
'No one can work and give of their best on an empty
stomach. Not that there's any need for you to plunge in
with the resto You look tired. Sure you wouldn't prefer to
stay here for the day, read a book Qr listen to records?'
A little colour crept up to her temples and her
eyes flashed. Useless to wish she had Liane's skill at her
fingertips so that she could make this arrogant creature
eat his words as he watched her doing a worthwhile
job.
Her soft lips set thinly. "What kind of person do you take
me for? 1'11 eat my breakfast, Captain Falkner, and 1'11 do
a job as efficiently as the rest.'
His mouth quirked. 'I'm sure you will,' he murmured.
"As for my opinion of you, 1 find you very sweet although
a little misguided. 1 only insist upon you eating enough to
sustain you throughout the day. And you're not to do too
mucho Understand?'
Her eyes widened at something odd in his tone. She
said firmIy, .
'1 wasn't aware that it was any concern of-yours what 1
do.'
'You're right. It wouldn't be had your fianc the time
to look after you.' His tone had a faint touch of irony.
'Which,' emphatcally, 'is the reason I took it upon myself
to bring you here.'
Dru lowered her lashes. The heavy beating of her heart
threatened to choke her. His meaning was clear enough.

He had no other interest in her save that of a fellow

countryman whom he felt it his duty to protect. Mart had
told her the man was picking up strays and the arrogant
creature regarded her as one.
Dru was too choked to eat, but she did so after repeated
effort. The weather had resumed its usual serene brilliance beneath an eye-watering blue sky when they left
Government House. As she sat beside Keith in the roorny
car, Dru's spirits were as flat as the devastation surrounding them. She felt as lonely and deserted as the
villas they passed, many of which were stripped of their
balconies and half buried in debris. Her own future
stretched before her as flat and desolate as the landscape.
Already islanders were clearing the roads and loading
debris on to lorries. The ratings of Keith's ship were out
in force doing their share and they saluted smartly as he
drove by. The main street of the village had been cleared
and a marquee set up in the market square. It was here
that Keith deposited Dru. Inside was a beehive of activity
as willing hands made sandwiches and drinks at top
speed.
Dru lent a hand to practically everything, starting by
filling flasks and sandwich boxes for workers at outlying districts who had been working since early morning.
She worked non-stop until her clothes were plastered
against the heat of her body and her head throbbed. The
marquee became an oyen in the oppressive heat of the day
and she felt all in when Keith arrived at four o'clock. Her
lunch, sandwiches and tea, was still there untouched as
she attended to the demands of workers arriving in
Iorries,
She was filling the last of the flasks when it was taken
from her hot hands by a fino brown hand. It was passed
along with the rest to a waiting lorry driver. Then a hand
was placed firmly on her arm-and she was marched out to
Keith's waiting caro
:'Just what 1 expected,' he said roughly, leaning an arm
on the wheel of the car as she almost collapsed in the seat
beside him. 'You would have gone on until you dropped if
I hadn't come along.'
Dru smiled, not troubling to hide her weariness. "1 loved
it,' she said, and meant it.
W orking Il;0n-stop had cleared the fog of unhappiness
from her bramo lt had been numb. Now 1t was clear and
ale~t again. Even though she knew she meant nothing to
Keith the fact that he was there looking after her was

sufficient. Her joy knew no bounds.

Nervouslya slim hand touched the smoothness of her
bright hair.
'1 suppose 1 look awful,' she said, knowing that her
make-up had been absorbed hours ago in the heat.
His eyes lingered on the curly tendrils of hair <in each
side of her flushed face. Then they moved slowly over her
small ears and up to the golden swathed hair on her head
poised so gracefully on her slender neck.
'Y ou always look bandbox fresh to me even after a day
slaving in a marquee,' he muttered forcefully.'l bet you
feellike hell.'
She shone up at him, loving his concem. "You sound as
though you want me to feel that way. 1 wasn't trying to
prove anything, if that's what you're thinking.'
He started the ear, drove through the village and made
for the coast road without speaking. Dru welcomed his
silence. She was too busy coming to terms with the kind
of person she had become since meeting Keith to want to
talk at the momento Her love for him was stronger than
herself. His presence beside her left her feeling as giddy as
a schoolgirl on her first date. Yet he was further away
from her than he had ever been.
He might have been on the bridge o his ship for all the
notice he was taking of her. The bright sunlight played
on the bronze of his profile .showing with clarity the tired
lines around his eyes, and her heart ached at the thought
o him being exhausted too. They were high above the
village now with a faint breeze coming pleasantly
through the open ear window.
SuddenIy Dru was sitting up taking notice. They liad
reached a green grassy plateau commanding a wonderful
view o the sea and he stopped the ear.
"We're having a picnic,' he said, reaching on to the
back seat for a rug and picnic basket.
'Are we?' she replied weakly as he leaned over to release the stubbom eatch on her door.
She followed him to the spot he chose and looked at the
view as he spread the rug. Then she saw it, like a small
jewel in the sea.
"There it is!' she exclaimed. ''Your island. 1 hope the
Bishop's Rest is still there. Have you your binoculars with
you?'
He drew them from his pocket and gave them to her
without a word.
Eagerly, Dru adjusted them, 'lt's still there. lt hasn't

blown away. Do look,' she exclaimed excitedly.

Smiling up at him, she thrust the binoculars into his
hand. He took them, but his look wascursory before slipping them back into his pocket.
'So it is,' was his only comment.
Dru sat down on the rug feeling snubbed. She felt
worse when he lowered himself away from the ample
room left on the rug to settle on the grass. Rather bewildered, she wondered why he had brought her on a
picnic in the first place. He told her as he poured the
coffee.
'This ought to be champagne,' he said evenly, 1since
this is a rather special oceasion.'
He looked into her eyes as he passed her cup and she
lowered her lashes, perturbed by the steady look.
'ls it?' she answered, trying hard to keep on a light
note.
'My last meal on the island. 1 leave immediately 1 get
back to the hotel.'
She drew in an audible breath as the hot coffee spilt on
to her hand.
'It's all right,' she protested when he put down his cup
and mopped her hand with his handkerchief. Foolishly,
she added, '1 still have a handkerchief of yours.'
"Forget it,' he said rather thickly. 'Does it hurt?'
'No, it doesn't. Did you ' ... you did say that this was
your last meal on the island ?'
'1 did. 1 bet you can't wait to be rid of me.'
He was holding her hand and frowning down at the red
mark made by the hot coffee. The next moment he had
bent his dark head and kissed the place.
Dru had assumed a deadly calm, She felt like an onlooker gazing at a scene she would remember all her life
- the sun glinting on his dark head, the sparkling sea
beyond soon to take him away from her forever. Words
were beyond her as she drew her hand away, wanting to
kiss the place where his lips had rested.
'Sandwich?' she said, offering him a sandwich box
minus the lid.
He took one and she munched away at hers feeling that
she would choke on every mouthful. After they had
eaten, Keith lighted a cigarette, leaned back on his
elbow and stared out to sea.
"WelI, what did you think of your first hurricane?' he
said at last. 'Did it shock you?'
She wanted to say that it was nothing to the shock of
hearing that he was leaving the island. lnstead, she swal-

lowed painfully.
.
'1 don't realIy know. 1 got off lightIy, thanks to you,
which is more than poor Liane did. She was so beautifuI.'
The break in her voice on the last word was not entirely for Liane, but she hoped he would think it was.
'Yes, she was very beautiful. lt was rotten luck.'
He stubbed out his cigarette then as if he had lost the
taste for it and began to pack the picnic basket with what
was left. They drove back to the Garland Hotel and
neither spoke - Dru because me had nothing to sayo It
was like dying a littIe.
Keith was staring ahead and it did not help to know
that he was probably thinking about Liane. Had she been
the bride he had hoped to take to Bishop's Rest on rus
island? He had reacted very strangely when she had mentioned Liane's name. She had only to recaIl the grim way
he put the things back ID the picnic basket to see that.
The deadly silence they had shared during the run to
the hotel was broken by a spate of activity when they
arrived. The staff were straightening up the grounds and
men were on the roof doing repairs after the hurrieane.
The hotel entrance was stacked with garden furniture
which was being retumed outside as they left the ear and
they stood to one side while it was moved.
They were standing very close. Keith's expression as he
looked down at her was steady and intento
Dru looked up at him mouth parted, cheeks flushed. -'1
suppose xhis is good-bye,' she said galIantIy. "Thanks
again for what you've done for me. 1 ... 1 wish our acquaintance had been happier.'
There was a short awkward silence during which he
dug his hands into his pockets.
'I'm sorry too,' he replied, the faint lines of tiredness
around his eyes more pronounced by their cIoseness.
'How long wilI you be staying?'
The question took her unawares. "1... 1 don't know.
There's no hurry for me to go back and 1 would like to
wait to see how Bud gets on, his parents too.'
'And your fianc? Doesn't he come into it?'
She had forgotten Mart and she aImost admitted it, but
stopped herself in time. She bit her lip and lowered her
eyes against his keen perceptive regard.
;'Mart wilI be busy some of the time. He always is.'
Her eyes were stilllowered and he placed a firm finger
beneath her chin. 'You're still content to take a place in
the queue for aman who's so promiscuous?'

Something in his voice swept away the last vestige of

her self-control. She had to tell him the truth about herself and Mart. The chance wouId never come again. The
tears were bright in her eyes, but before she couId saya
word one of the staff was there speaking to them.
'The hotel entrance is quite clear now, sir, madam.
Sorry to have kept you waiting.'
,
Keith started and looked at his watch.'I've been cutting it fine,' he said. 'Shall we go in?'
They received their keys at the reception desk and the
clerk addressed Keith with a smiIe, offering him a buff
coIoured enveIope.
'A cabIegram for you, sir.'
As Keith took it Dru sIipped away up to her room. In
her corridor she met Marie.
'Miss Temple,' her smiIe flashed, '1 have a present here
for Bud - a ship in a bottle which my boy-friend has done
for him. I shan't be able to take it to him for quite a
while. There's so much work to be done here to clean up
the mess that I can't be spared. I wondered if you wouId
take it. Bud also needs a clean pair of pyjamas. Will you
come in while I find them?'
, She opened the door to the O'Brians; rooms while she
was taIking and Dru followed her in. Marie chatted away
brightly. She was as pleased as Dru at the news of Bud's
improvement. It was some time later when Dru returned
to her own room s with the two parcels. As she closed the
door her eyes were drawn to her window at a sound
belew. Running to her balcony, she was just in time to see
Keith's car on a curve in the drive. The next moment he
had gone.
CHAPTER TEN
FOR the next few days Dru went around in a dream,
numbed by a grief she had never before experienced. She
was unhappiest in her room where the cream phone at
her bedside became the most important thing in her life.
Why she should expect him to ring, she did not know. But
hope dies hard and even if he had not bothered to come
to her room to say good-bye, the final good-bye had yet to
be spoken,
Mart had been making his rounds of the wards on the
day she went to the hospital to see Bud. He Iooked
strained and grim.
Leaving the accompanying Sister to waIk on, he said,

~So you survived the hurricane, 1 hope you didn't find it

too alarming?'
He was teasing her, but Dru saw die smile did not reach
his eyes. She wondered how much Liane's death meant
to him and just how much bis strained look was due to
overwork. It wouId have to be mentioned, though. He
would think it strange if she did not remark upon it.
She said gently,'1 wish Liane couId have been as Iucky.
I'm terribIy sorry. !t's such a waste of life.'
Dru scanned bis face, but apart from a thinning of his
mouth, he gave nothing away.
"It's been a terrible shock to us all here at the hospital.
She had almost reached her villa when it happened.
The end wouId come very quickly.' He drew a hand
across his forehead on remembered agony. "What a
relief it was to know that she wasn't taking the road
back to your hotel. 1 would have blamed myself for
her death because I'd asked her to return that way
to pick you up.'
Dru nodded. '1 would have blarned myself too. Were
you in love with her, Mart?'
The blood crept up beneath bis tan. 'Y ou know, don't
you, about our last night together?'
'Yes.'
She told him about it as they walked down the corridor
to his next ward. They stopped simultaneously a few feet
from the door.
'1 didn't love her,' he admitted frankly. '1 liked and
admired her greatly, that was a11.' He smiled sheepishly.
'1'11 see you in about an hour in the canteen. All right?'
She nodded.
Bud continued to improve and after Sheila had recovered from the slight operation performed by Howe11 Seabright, she left the hospital and rented a fumished ~illa
not far from the hospital. Dru spent most of her tune
there at Sheila's invitation. Bud was delighted with the
house and a garden to play in. Since he had left the hospital, he even put on a little weight.
He met Dru and Mart at the gate one aftemoon. It was
Mart's first visit to the villa and they had been invited to
tea.
Bud flung himself at them in delight, running from the
villa with a speed that made Dru blink.
'Daddy's gone in aplane to have a new skin!' he cried,
flinging bis arms around her.
'Phew!' she excIaimed, hugging him to her. 'That
was a one-minute mile and you're not even winded. You

are better, aren't you?'

'I'm fine,' he cried. 'Come on, we're having tea in the
garden!'
He took their hnds to walk in between them and Dru
hardly recognized him as the same aloof little boy who
had always been so frail and exhausted at the slightest
exertion. Her eyes met those of Mart over the boy's head
and she was to think of the expression in them again later.
He rang her up one evening after she had gone to
bed.
"1've news for you, my peto Bud's lungs are cIear. I've
taken another X-ray and the shadow has completely
disappeared. That slight touch of pneumonia he had after
being picked up on the beach has cIeared it. These things
do happen from time to time.'
For several moments Dru was beyond speecli. ~Oh,
Mart, how wonderful!' Her voice quivered with emotion.
;'lt's like a miracle. No wonder he's so full of beans.l'm so
happy. Have you told Sheila?'
"No, 1 haven't.'
:'But, Mart, you must tell her right away.' She sighed.
"l'd just love to seeherface!'
;'So you shall.'
~What do you mean? Surely you're going to ring her
now right away?"
"No. You're the one to tell her, since you're the one who
worked the mirac1e.'
"But 1 don't understand.'
Dru was sitting up now wide awake, hanging on to
every word that carne through firm and clear.
"Had Bud not gone on to the beach that night while
you were out he wouldn't have had the illness which
eventually cleared his lungs. Furthermore, it was your
remark about the one-minute mile when he carne to greet
us the other day that decided me to give him another Xrayo So you see, you're responsible for Bud's retum to
health.'
There was a long silence from Dru's end o the phone,
broken by an audible sniff.
"Are you still there?' Mart wanted to know.
She mopped her tears. 'Yes. 1 can't believe that 1
played so big a part in his recovery. What about you and
the staff of the hospital? Liane nursed him devotedly
too,'
"1 know.' There was a pause. Then he went on, ~Somehow 1 think she knew he was going to recover com-

pletely.'
In the end they both went to tell Sheila the good news
the fo11owing morning. Dru thought it would be better
for Mart to te11 her personalIy in order that she could
rea11y believe it. After a11, the findings before had been
fairly conclusive. Besides, roe was sure to be overcome by
the news and if Bud was with her he would not understand her emotion.
They found her in the kitchen of the villa trying to
finish a birthday cake for Bud and failing miserably to
blink the tears from her eyes at the thought that it might
be his last one. Bud was out with Marie and her boyfriend in his boato
''Do come in: she said, trying to hide her misery. 'I've
been trying to ice Bud's birthday cake, but I'm afraid 1
shall have to leave it until tomorrow.'
There were more tears when Mart told her the good
news, but they were tears of joyo In the end it was Dru
who iced the cake and made the coffee while Mart and
Sheila talked.
"Thank you, Mart.' Sheila kissed his cheek as they were
leaving. Then she hugged and kissed Dru. "And you, Dru,
1 simply can't put into words the way 1 feel, Some day
Bud is going to know what you and Mart have done for
him. God bless you both.' She smiled through her tears,
"I'd like to donate a bed for the hospital. Any suggestions?'
1<Ves: said Dru, f<Donate it in Liane's name with a
plaque to remember her by.'
"That was sweet of you,' Mart commented when they
were driving away. :'1t was the kind of thing we a11 had in
mind at the hospital. We've discussed a brass plaque to
be put up in the hall with a vase beneath it for flowers.'
Dru was a11 for it, She had watched Mart closely since
Liane's death to see if it had rea11y affected him more
than he admitted. It had not, for he still had that unquenched twinkle in his eye - the keen appraisal of a
pretty face. She noticed it when he picked her up that
evening at the hotel and later when he picked Sheila up
to take them both out to a celebration dinner, which
Sheila had already booked for them at the clubhouse. It
was a relief to see hirn mourning her as he would a very
close friendo Dru would have hated to see him brokenhearted. As it was, he had made Liane's last days happy
ones.
Sheila had planned two parties at her villa on Bud's

birthday. One was in the afternoon for Bud and his small
friends, including those he had made since starting
school. The other was in the evening, mainly for the staff
of the hospital. Sheila had wanted to thank them for their
care of Bud. Since the good news of his complete recovery, however, it was more like a celebration.
Dru helped to prepare for it with Mart dashing up
from the hospital to fix fairy lights in the garden and
arrange for extra chairs and tables.
Bud's party in the afternoon had been joyously gay,
with Sheila and Dru joining in a11 the fun, and he had
gone to bed a happy little boy. She had tucked him into
bed while Sheila had gone to dress in order to be ready to
meet her guests. Then she had gone to wash and
change.
The party was a huge success with Sheila a very pretty
and happy hostess. Her husband had gone away for skin
grafts, he would come back to a very long convalescence
with her and Bud, and the stars in her eyes could be
twinkling for those babies she was aiming on adding to
the O'Brian family.
Dru felt her happiness as deeply as she would her own.
She had been too busy to dwe11 upon her own unhappiness and the bleak future facing her without Keith.
That would come later.
The two late arrivals entered the lounge with a cataclysmic suddenness that took her breath away. Her green
eyes dilated at a radiant Wisp displaying a huge diamond
on her engagement finger as she greeted her hostess on
Keith's armo As in a dream, she saw Sheila moving forward to welcome them and congratulate Wisp on her en ..
gagement. That was enough for Dru, who turned blindIy
frorn Mart, who was standing by her side and made for
the open French windows into the garden.
Mart's startIed look as she pushed past him counted for
nothing. AlI Dru could see was Keith, immaculate in
evening dress and as dear as ever. The sound of footsteps
behind her meant that Mart had followed her. But she
was past hiding her grief. With a moan, she tumed
blindly and crumpled against his chest.
'Oh, Mart,' she sobbed, "I'm sorry I couldn't stay and
congratulate Wisp and Keith. Y ou see, I love him too have done since that first day I threw myself into his
arms.' She felt his arms creep around her in sympathy
and went on, :'1 wanted to tell him about our bogus engagement, that we were only playing a part, that it wasn't
genuine. But I thought it wouldn't have been fair to you.'

She gulped on a sobo '1 was on the point of telling him

when he Ieft the island. It makes me shudder now to think
how embarrassed he would have been. Oh, Mart, I'm so
unhappy!'
.
'Wrong: number.' Keith's deep voice struck her heart
through his chest as he he1d her tightly against him. -o- is
it the right one this time?'
, His arms slackened enough for her to lift her head and
she stared up at him incredulously, her face scarlet.
'Keith,' Dru whispered in horror. "Oh dear! PIease
forget about what I've just said. I wish you every happiness, always.'
"Do you, my sweet?' He was laughing down at her,
'Then you'd better get cracking and show that you mean
it. For instance.'
He bent his head and took her Iips, drawing her closer
against him until Dru felt part of him. Wisp was forgotten. If this was a farewell kiss then she was sure Wisp
wouId not grudge her that. But Keith went right on kissing her as she had ached and dreamed that he would do on her flushed cheeks, the curly tendriIs of hair against
her ears, her neck and then back again on her lips.
There was complete surrender to a sweet space of time
which would never be hers again. The perfume of the
garden enfolded them and the sound of the surf way
down below thudded in rhythm with her heart. Too late,
Dru realized that she had, to her own bitter humiliation,
blindly followed the demands of her heart. Her passion
had matched his. Reality struck her like a blow between
the eyes. Wisp must not find them like this.
'Please,' she gasped when he freed her lips. '1 know you
mean to be kind.'
'Kind?' he echoed disgustedIy.
"Yes. You're engaged to Wisp, you know.'
'Nonsense. Wisp is engaged to some man she met on
the plane after she left the island.'
'But she was arm in arm with you.'
'Why not? We're related. I flew here in the same plane
and when I told her I was coming to the party she asked
to come too. Her parents came with her. Her fianc is to
follow Iater.'
'B,ut I don't understand. You've aIways been so beastly
to me. And ... and the last night at the hotel ... you went
away without a last word. We ... never actually said
good-bye.'
He had drawn her from the garden path on to a seat

screened by casuarinas. They were sitting very close with

his arm around her.
'1 know, my darling.' His deep voice held a note she
had never heard before. "1 didn't have to say good-bye
because 1 was coming back. 1 did foIlow you up to your
room, though. Why didn't you answer my knock?'
;'1 was in Bud's room. That's why 1 missed you.'
He shook his head teasingly. ;'I've never known a girl so
fond of other chap's bedrooms! Thank goodness 1 shall
soon have you locked in mine.'
Dru felt his kiss on her hair as his words sank in her
bemused mind.
'Y ou mean you carne back to the island because of me?'
She lifted wide unbelieving green eyes to sean his face.
-'1 carne back to the island for you,' he said seriously.
;'We're going to be married.' He smiled and drew her only
half resisting closer to him. -'1 met some very interesting
people on the plane coming overo Want to hear about
them?'
Dru struggled to be logical, knowing that the warm
circ1e of his arms was the last place in which she could be
so. There was certainly no logic in the wildthrill coursing
through her veins, but she made an effort.
'1 still don't understand how you knew about the party
here and why you should come back for me knowing 1
was engaged to Mart.'
'I've kept dn touch with Sheila. 1 had a feeling that
things weren't right between you and Mart. You aren't
very good at hiding your true feelings, my sweet. Besides,
1 knew 1 could go on no longer without -you.' His hold
became suffocatingly close, his voice thickened.'Y ou're in
my blood, right under my skin. You're part of me. It must
have happened to me the moment you flung yourself into
my arms at our first meeting. Y ou are so warm, so loving.
But 1 was too taken aback to know it - to know the kind
of girl you really were. So 1 fought against my love. 1 told
myself that 1 should get over it and forget you like all the
others, but it didn't work out that way.' He gave a short
mirthless laugh. '1 saw all my plans of staying in the Navy
for at least another five years go suddenly haywire and 1
didn't careo 1 had to have you.'
Dru trembled at the sudden passion in his voice. She
held him back, looking unhappily up at him.
'Why did you behave so oddly over Liane's death? You
hardly ate a thing, and when we mentioned her at the
picnic you looked so unhappy and grim.'

'1 was shattered by her death. Of course 1 was. Why?

Because 1 was counting on her affair with your fianc to
come between you. Don't you remernber? 1 said that with
Wisp and Liane out of the way you had a clear run with
him? 1 never loved Liane. 1 can't tell you how 1 feIt,
dreading your sentimental tender heart turning to him, to
comfort him.'
Slackening his hold, he took her by the chin, turning
her faceup and looking deep into her eyes. She looked at
him steadily, afraid to believe all he had told her. A
moment ago the gates of paradise had slowly swung open
to admit her. Now that logic she clung to so desperately
was closing them again.
She said sadly, '1 can't come between you and your love
of the sea. I've seen you fighting the elements and loving
it. You might want me now, but there'll come a time
when you'll hate me for changing the course of your life.'
There was a sharp edge of pain in her voice. "1 can't
marry you, much as 1 love you, if it only brings you unhappiness in the end.'
'Say that again - that you love me,' he demanded.
'1 love you more than life itself. 1 always will.'
'What else matters?' he said roughly. 'Apart from the
fact that 1 love you to distraction. Leaving the Navy a
few years earlier than 1 intended isn't mportant. We've
found something that most people spend their lives
searching for and never find. You and 1 are kindred
spirits, born to love each other for all eternity.'
Dru lost all count of time as she drowned in the bliss of
being kissed passionately and possessively by Keith. At
last, lying palpitating against his chest, she heard him
give a chuckle of pure happiness.
:'As I was saying about the interesting people on the
plane,' he murmured in her hair. ;'One was a bishop who
has agreed to marry uso The odd thing about it is he
claims to be a descendant of the bishop who stayed at
Bishop's Rest on my island. He's come over to see it.'
Dru trembled with remembered pain. '1 thought you
had Liane in mind when you said you were hoping to take
your bride there.'
'Did you now? It was you, my little doubting Thomas,
and you have only three days in which to prepare for our
night beneath the stars.'
Dru trembled still more. :'Y ou mean ... ?'
"Yes. I have the ring and the Iicence.' There was a
pause. Then he said, :'1 have something else too.' Grinning, he moved an arm from around her and fished the

top of her bathing suit from his pocket. Suddenly he was

frowning down at her in mock sternness. :'1 was going to
return this to you as a way of approach when I arrived.
Thank heaven you lived up to form and ftung yourself
into my arms. I shaIl expect you to do it often when we're
married.' He hugged her until she was breathless. "It's
going to be heaven and earth, I have six months' Ieave
while the cruiser is in Martinique for repairs, plenty of
time for us to make plans for our future, rny darling.'
They were married with Bud acting as page. He was a
little disgusted that Dru had married Iike the rest of the
grown-ups, but he forgave her because she had chosen his
idol, Keith.
Mart too was not as shattred as she had expected him
to be.
'1 had an idea you were hooked at your first meeting
with him,' he told her. 'Thanks for everything. I shaIl
make it, thanks to you. Keith is a very lucky man.'
Their honeymoon night on the island extended a week.
They fished, swam, walked hand in hand around the
island, danced to a record player brought over with many
more things necessary for their enjoyment and made love
beneath the sun and under the moon. Keith was a wonderful lover and Dru had never known such happiness.
And she owed it all to Mart.
She told Keith this on their last night on the island of
Bishop's Rest. They had made love and gone to sleep, and
Dru awakened at dawn with the thought of Mart uppermost in her thoughts. Keith stirred in her arms, murmured 'Darling' and, snuggling up to her, opened bis
eyes.
"Happy, my sweet?' he whispered.
She nodded. Gently, lovingly, she touched his face. 'Do
you realize that we owe our happiness to Mart? Had he
not sent for us we might never have met.'
"We were fated to meet, you and 1,' he growled. 'You
still don't know the real reason why he sent for you, do
you?'
'Of course Ido.' She thrust her fingers through his
crisp dark hair.
'Oh no, you don't. He sent for you because he wanted
you himself. He was in love with you, my sweet, and I
can't blame him. You're mine now, though. What I have
I hold. And don't you ever forget it.'
And Dru was only too happy to remember as he pulled
her against him.