Buch lesen: «A Distant Sound Of Thunder»

CHAPTER ONE

THE velvet dusk of evening was spreading its cloak over the island, stilling the chattering minah birds and dimming the brilliance of the exotic frangipani and flame trees. A welcome, cooling breeze sprang up as the sun sank below the tangled web of the jungle behind the villa, pushing probing fingers against Rebecca’s hot forehead as she emerged from her patient’s room and closed the door thankfully. The humidity throughout the long day had been exhausting and not even the air-conditioning could cope entirely with the damp heat. Rebecca ran a weary hand through the thick silky fairness of the curls on her brow and longed for the luxury of the shower she would soon be taking. Adele had been particularly trying today, but she was asleep now and for a few hours her time was her own.

As she passed along the terrazzo tiling of the hall she glanced automatically towards the wide windows which in daylight gave a magnificent view of the lush green grass which was all that separated the villa from the palm-fringed reaches of the beach. Beyond the stretch of silvery coral sand surged the brilliant waters of the Pacific and Rebecca never tired of marvelling at the natural beauty of her surroundings. It was worth the humidity, the persistent hum of insects, the sometimes nauseating aroma of drying copra, and even Adele’s often cruel contentiousness.

Now she made her way to her room and stripping off her uniform and underclothing she went into the adjoining bathroom. The chill of the water took her breath away as she twisted and turned beneath the shower and she gasped pleasurably. She was vigorously towelling herself dry when the doorbell chimed.

At once she stopped what she was doing and frowned. What an annoying thing to have happened! It was the servants’ night off and she was alone in the villa, apart from the sleeping Adele, of course, and she would not remain sleeping long if whoever it was who was calling persisted in ringing the bell. She sighed exasperatedly. Perhaps they would see no lights and go away. She hoped so. She couldn’t imagine who it might be. Adele had few friends and it was not a night that the doctor usually called.

The bell rang again, and Rebecca pressed her lips together in annoyance. She would have to answer the door. There was nothing else for it. Thrusting the towel aside, she reached for her housecoat, a silky garment in rather an attractive shade of apricot. Her hair was a tangled mass of curls, and she had no time to comb it now. Smoothing it with a careless hand, she left the bathroom and walked impatiently along the corridor to the front door. In daylight a mesh screen was all that covered the entrance, but tonight the doors were closed and secured and she was loath to open them to admit … who?

She slid back the bolt, turned the key and opened the door a few inches. In the faint light emanating from the hall she could see a tall man waiting outside and for a moment her heart flipped a beat.

‘Yes?’ she murmured tentatively, but to her surprise the man stepped forward, gently but firmly propelling the door back so that he could step into the hall. ‘Just a moment—–’ began Rebecca indignantly, and the man inclined his head with frowning speculation.

‘Your pardon, mademoiselle,’ he exclaimed, his accent unmistakably French. ‘For the moment I mistook you for Adele’s maidservant. My apologies for startling you.’

Rebecca was trying to control the hot flush that was running up her body and engulfing her at the realisation that she was wearing only the clinging apricot gown and this man was standing, regarding her indolently with dark eyes which were nevertheless intense. He was one of the most attractive men Rebecca had ever seen, but this knowledge only added to her confusion.

‘Miss—Miss St. Cloud has retired for the night,’ she informed him uncomfortably. ‘I—I am her nurse.’

The man glanced round the wide hall with inscrutable eyes and then returned his gaze to Rebecca. ‘Ah, so. I should have realised perhaps, but my plane was delayed …’ He lifted his shoulders in a careless gesture. ‘No matter, I will not disturb her now. Will you tell her in the morning that I called?’

Rebecca swallowed hard. ‘Who—who shall I say has called, monsieur?’

The man raised his dark eyebrows for a moment, and then shrugged. ‘Just tell her it was St. Clair, mademoiselle. She will know who that is.’ He studied her flushed cheeks with faint amusement. ‘And you, mademoiselle? Do you have a name?’

‘Er—Lindsay—Nurse Lindsay,’ replied Rebecca jerkily.

He regarded her intently for a moment. ‘Nurse Lindsay,’ he repeated slowly. ‘You have been with Adele long?’

‘Two—two years, monsieur,’ responded Rebecca reluctantly, wishing he would go.

He frowned again. ‘Two years. A long time, mademoiselle. I should imagine my sister-in-law is not the most understanding of patients. And working here—in Fiji—do you not find it lonely? Or have you friends?’

Rebecca objected to this intent questioning, but as she had no idea what his involvement with Adele might be she could hardly be rude to him. ‘I—I am quite happy, thank you, monsieur.’

His dark eyes narrowed with mockery. ‘So formal, mademoiselle. I am embarrassing you, I can see it. I am sorry. You must put my curiosity down to a mere male’s insensitivity. I must apologise again.’

‘That’s not necessary, monsieur.’ Rebecca shivered involuntarily.

At once he was contrite. ‘You are cold, mademoiselle. I will go and contain my curiosity until another day. Au revoir.’

Rebecca’s cheeks burned. She could have said she was far from cold. She could have said that the shiver she had experienced was stimulated by entirely different sensations. But she said nothing, and with a faint smile he stepped outside again.

Rebecca waited until he had taken several steps and then she closed the door behind him, thrusting home the bolt with trembling fingers and leaning back against the cool panels. As she pressed herself against the wood she heard the sound of a powerful engine roar to life, and a few moments later the sound died away along the private track that led to the main road. Only then did she allow herself to relax completely, but the legs on which she walked back to her bedroom were uncomfortably unsteady …

Adele St. Cloud was a woman in her late thirties who looked years older. Born with a heart complaint that had crippled her life and to some extent her mind, she had left England more than ten years ago to make her home in the warmer climate of the south Pacific, taking with her an elderly servant who had served her as both nanny and nurse. Adele’s family were wealthy cloth manufacturers of French descent, living in Somerset, but apart from accepting an allowance as her due she had never got on with them. Maybe her congenital weakness was to blame, or maybe she was just naturally averse to her sisters, in any event when her only remaining parent died she lost no time in making a new life for herself in Fiji. Unfortunately her elderly nurse died some eight years later and in consequence Adele had to advertise for a replacement. And that was how Rebecca came to apply. Looking back on it now, Rebecca wondered whether she would ever have had the courage to travel so far alone if she herself had not wanted to escape from an unhappy situation.

The morning following the visit of the stranger, Rebecca was very thoughtful as she went for her early morning swim. This was the time of day she liked best when she could cast herself into the creaming waters of the lagoon and pretend the day ahead of her would not be filled with the constant demands of a fractious, unhappy woman.

As usual the water was still warm from the heat of the previous day but refreshing at this early hour. Rebecca shed her towelling jacket and ran into the water. In a white bikini, her skin tanned an even brown, she looked young and healthy, and she knew she had a lot to be thankful for. She swam strongly out to where the water deepened to dappled green and turning on to her back floated for a while, her hair spread like seaweed around her. Her eyes surveyed the shoreline, the darkness of the palms casting patches of shade in an oasis of gold. This was her particular sanctuary, for no one ever came here. The beach belonged to the villa, and as Adele never used it Rebecca had come to regard it as her own. The only sounds were the cries of the seabirds wheeling overhead and the distant thunder of the breakers over the coral reef.

When she returned to the villa she felt completely relaxed and ready to face the day and after breakfasting in the kitchen with Rosa, the Fijian housekeeper, she collected Adele’s tray and went to wake her.

Adele was already awake when Rebecca went into her room. Lounging back against the silk-covered pillows she looked pale and languid. Her naturally fair colouring was given an artificial brittleness by the coarse brilliance of her hair which she persisted in bleaching and without make-up her skin was unhealthily white. Rebecca, seeing her like this, could not help but feel pity for her even though she knew that Adele would not appreciate such sentiments.

‘Good morning, Miss St. Cloud,’ Rebecca said now, crossing cheerfully to the bed and placing the tray across Adele’s knees. ‘Did you have a good night?’

Adele sniffed, regarding her nurse contemptuously. ‘No, I slept badly,’ she said, lifting the lid of the coffee pot and peering inside. ‘Those new tablets Dr. Manson gave me are not as good as the others. It took me hours to get to sleep and then I tossed and turned—–’

‘You tossed and turned for hours?’ Rebecca frowned rather resignedly. ‘You surprise me, Miss St. Cloud. I thought you must have gone straight to sleep. After all, you didn’t hear the bell, did you?’

‘Bell? What bell? The telephone bell?’

Rebecca shook her head. ‘The door bell.’

Adele’s brows drew together. ‘We had a visitor last evening?’

‘Yes. Just after you had gone to—bed.’

Adele snapped her fingers. ‘Stop baiting me, miss! If I didn’t hear the door bell it must have been because I happened to be dozing at the moment it rang. Go on! Go on! Who was the caller? Dr. Manson? Or old Blackwell?’

‘No, it wasn’t the doctor, or Mr. Blackwell,’ replied Rebecca, tempted to tease her employer for just a few moments longer. But then she capitulated, and said: ‘It was a man. His name was Monsieur St. Clair. Does that mean anything to you?’

‘Piers St. Clair?’

‘He didn’t tell me his Christian name, Miss St. Cloud,’ replied Rebecca, suddenly aware of the similarity between the two surnames.

Adele sighed, shaking her head. ‘It will be Piers,’ she said, with definition. ‘I know his business takes him all over the world. It is not beyond the realms of possibility that he has business here in Suva.’ Her gaze grew speculative. ‘Why didn’t you let me know he was here?’

Rebecca sighed. ‘You know Dr. Manson’s instructions are very explicit. You must not be disturbed—–’

‘Rubbish! How dare you send away a friend when he takes the trouble to come out here to see me!’

Rebecca bit her lip. ‘I didn’t exactly send him away, Miss St. Cloud. He went of his own accord. He realised it was an inconvenient hour—–’

Adele moved impatiently, almost upsetting her breakfast tray in the process. ‘Did he say he would come back?’

‘Yes,’ Rebecca nodded. ‘At least—I assumed—–’ She halted abruptly, remembering certain parts of that encounter. ‘I’m—I’m sure he will come back.’

Adele’s face was contorted with anger. ‘Stupid girl! Can’t you do anything right? Haven’t you the sense to realise when a visitor might be admitted and when he might not? Surely it crossed your limited intelligence that Piers St. Clair was no ordinary visitor!’

Rebecca suffered Adele’s rage in silence. Apart from the fact that to argue with her would stimulate her still further, she knew that to do so was useless. It was far better to allow her employer to rid herself of the pent-up emotions which seemed to develop so quickly these days, and afterwards go on as though nothing had happened.

Adele finally lay back on her pillows, spent, and Rebecca came forward and poured her a cup of coffee without saying a word. Adele raised the cup to her lips and after swallowing several mouthsful, she said in quite a different tone: ‘What did you think of him anyway, Rebecca?’

Rebecca straightened, and sighed. She had half-hoped the subject of Piers St. Clair might be put aside for the time being. But knowing Adele she guessed she intended to make the most of the incident.

‘He—he seemed very nice,’ she responded rather inadequately. ‘Would you like me to butter you a roll? Would you like some of this mandarin jelly?’

Adele’s eyes flickered upward, and she studied her nurse’s face rather mockingly. ‘He’s a very rich man, Rebecca. He owns several construction companies in France and Spain.’

‘Indeed!’ Rebecca smiled with what she hoped was a politely interested manner. ‘Are you going to get up this morning? Shall I run your bath?’

Adele uttered an exclamation. ‘For heaven’s sake, Rebecca, stop behaving like an automaton! I asked you what you think of St. Clair. Surely you have some opinion!’

‘I don’t know him well enough to form any opinion, Miss St. Cloud.’ Rebecca folded her hands with resignation.

‘Oh, come now, Rebecca. Surely he has not changed so much over the years. He always was a handsome devil!’

‘The relative attractiveness of your visitors is nothing to do with me, Miss St. Cloud,’ answered Rebecca, rather shortly. ‘Is there anything else you want at the moment, Miss St. Cloud—–’

Adele put down her coffee cup with a clatter. ‘You’re deliberately misunderstanding me, miss! I just thought we might have a friendly chat about a man whom I once knew rather well …’ Her voice trailed away and there was a rather absent look on her face now. Then she seemed to realise she was being a little too confiding, for she thrust the tray aside, and said: ‘Of course I’m getting up this morning. I must look my best. St. Clair will call again. I’m sure of it!’

Later in the morning, Rebecca was wheeling Adele about the spacious garden of the villa when they heard the sound of a car’s engine. Adele looked up at her nurse, and her eyes brightened considerably. ‘That is St. Clair,’ she said. ‘Come! Wheel me round to the drive. Quickly!’

Straightening her shoulders, Rebecca complied, glancing down at her uniform to make sure it was smooth and uncreased. She wore a simple navy blue uniform dress, omitting the white cap and apron on Adele’s instructions. Her employer did not like to be continually reminded that she was an invalid.

A dark blue convertible stood on the drive, and even as they approached a man slid out from behind the driving wheel and looked swiftly up at the windows of the villa. Then, glancing round, he saw them, and began to walk towards them. In close-fitting beige slacks and a dark brown knitted shirt, open at the throat to reveal the brown column of his throat, Piers St. Clair was every bit as arrogantly attractive as Rebecca remembered, and she was annoyed to feel her pulse quicken. He was, after all, not the first attractive man she had known.

Adele’s manner became animated as they neared him, and holding out both hands she exclaimed: ‘Piers! Piers St. Clair! What in heaven’s name brings you to Fiji?’

Piers St. Clair grasped her thin hands within his two strong ones and the smile he gave her was warm and enveloping. ‘It is obvious you do not consider yourself a sufficient reason, Adele,’ he murmured, his accent giving his voice a husky tenor. His eyes flickered for a moment over the slim figure who stood just behind her chair. ‘Did your efficient Nurse Lindsay tell you that I called last evening?’

Adele nodded. ‘Of course she did. I was most annoyed that she had not bothered to tell me sooner. The doctors are fools. To be awakened one evening—such a special evening—would not have harmed me.’

Piers straightened, releasing her hands. ‘Chérie, doctors must be obeyed or there is no point in consulting them, you would agree, Nurse Lindsay?’ He looked fully at Rebecca.

‘Of course.’ Rebecca’s fingers tightened on the handle of the wheelchair.

Adele glanced round at her impatiently. ‘You would say that, naturally,’ she said shortly. Then she looked back at Piers. ‘Seriously, why are you in Fiji? Is—is everything all right at home?’

Piers lifted his shoulders in an eloquent gesture. ‘As right as it will ever be,’ he remarked enigmatically. Then he glanced with interest round the expanse of gardens, colourful now in the blaze of the sun. ‘You have a beautiful home here, Adele. I have long been curious about it.’ He thrust his hands into his trousers’ pockets. ‘As to what brought me here—there are plans to open up a stretch of coastline in the Yasawas. A community project, with hotels, etc. I am here to take what you would call—a survey, oui?’

‘Ah!’ Adele nodded. ‘Are you here for long?’

‘Two weeks, three maybe. I am staying in Suva at the moment, but I intend to move to Lautoka when my talks with government officials are concluded.’

Adele gestured towards the villa. ‘Come! We will go into the house. Rose will provide us with some coffee. You’ll stay to lunch, of course.’

Piers glanced once more at Rebecca, but she did not meet his eyes, and dropping his gaze to Adele, he said: ‘I should like that very much.’

As they moved towards the villa, he gently but firmly took the handle of the chair from Rebecca, propelling Adele himself, and she glanced round at him warmly. Rebecca had, perforce, to walk by his side, and looking at her again he said: ‘It is a beautiful morning, is it not, mademoiselle?’

Rebecca managed a faint smile. ‘Beautiful,’ she agreed. ‘But then most mornings are beautiful in Fiji.’

He inclined his head in agreement and went on: ‘Even so. But it puzzles me that a girl like yourself should be content with a position of this kind. My apologies to you, Adele, but you must admit it is usually older women who take up private nursing, is it not?’

Rebecca saw Adele’s impatience rise in a flood of colour up her cheeks. ‘For heaven’s sake, Piers!’ she exclaimed. ‘Don’t say that! You’ll make Rebecca discontented. I can assure you she is more than adequately reimbursed for her services!’

Rebecca flushed now, with embarrassment, but Piers St. Clair merely regarded her rather mockingly. ‘I am sure Nurse Lindsay would not be impressed by anything I said,’ he commented softly. ‘She strikes me as being a very self-contained young woman.’

Adele’s temper subsided, and she glanced at Rebecca with mocking amusement. ‘And you would know, of course, Piers,’ she said, making Rebecca feel worse than ever. She was relieved when they reached the slope leading into the villa which Adele had had installed to give her wheelchair easy access to the house.

In the hall, Rebecca halted uncertainly, and Adele said: ‘Ask Rosa to bring coffee to the lounge. You can tell her we have a guest for lunch, too.’

‘Yes, Miss St. Cloud.’ Rebecca was willing and eager to escape, not only from Adele’s mockery, but from the speculative amusement in Piers St. Clair’s eyes.

For the rest of the morning she busied herself with attending to writing up her daily report and checking the contents of the medicine cupboard in Adele’s bathroom. Then she tidied her room, washed a few of her personal items, and washed and added a touch of lipstick ready for lunch. As she brushed her hair into a smooth chignon on the nape of her neck, she wondered with dismay whether she would be expected to eat with her employer and her guest today. In the normal way, Adele was glad of her company, but perhaps today she would be dismissed. She hoped so; she had no liking for becoming a whipping boy for Adele’s complaints and her twisted sense of humour. She sat for a long moment staring at the contours of her face with critical evaluation. She was long accustomed to her features, and while she knew they presented a pleasing aspect, she had never felt any sense of complacency in the realisation. As for her hair, it would have been much easier to manage in a short style, but she was loath to have it cut. To do so would bring back too many memories of the days when she had lived with her ageing grandmother, who, while caring for her adequately, had nevertheless missed out on affection, and to save time and trouble had kept Rebecca’s hair in a kind of urchin style until she was old enough to look after it herself. Those were days Rebecca had little desire to recall, days when the hapless situation her mother had found herself in seemed to be branded upon her daughter, days when her grandmother had lost no opportunity to tell her how fortunate she was not to have been abandoned in some children’s home. And yet now, from the maturity of years, Rebecca could see that such a predicament might have been less tortuous in the long run.

Thrusting these thoughts aside, she rose from her dressing-table stool and crossed the bedroom to the door. Down the hall, the lounge door stood wide and she was forced to look inside to find her employer. Adele was seated in an armchair now, sipping a glass of iced cordial, while Piers St. Clair stood before the broad stone hearth, one hand resting on the mantel as he drank from a glass containing an amber-coloured liquid which Rebecca assumed was whisky. Adele looked across at her as she hovered uncertainly by the door, and said:

‘Come in, come in, girl. Is lunch ready yet?’

Rebecca compressed her lips. ‘I—I don’t know. I—I just wanted to see if you had everything you needed. As you have Monsieur St. Clair here for lunch today, I’ll—I’ll eat in my room.’

Adele frowned. ‘Very well, Rebecca. You may tell Rosa we are ready when she is—–’

‘Oh, but surely Nurse Lindsay is welcome to eat with us if that is her normal practice,’ exclaimed Piers St. Clair, at once. He looked at Adele. ‘Our conversation is not confidential. I think we have had plenty of time for confidences, do not you, chérie?’

Adele raised her eyebrows. ‘Rebecca can make up her own mind,’ she said, with a shrug. ‘We usually are alone. This situation does not normally occur.’

‘I gathered that. That is why …’ He spread his hands in a continental gesture.

Rebecca managed to remain calm. ‘Thank you all the same, Miss St. Cloud, but I shall be quite happy to eat in my room.’

Adele’s expression altered and she looked at Rebecca rather curiously, sensing that her nurse did not want to join them for lunch. In consequence, she chose to be difficult, and Rebecca, watching the changing features, felt a sense of dismay. She should have known better than to express any preference. She knew of old Adele’s delight in thwarting her.

‘Why don’t you want to join us for lunch, Rebecca? she enquired challengingly. ‘I gather you don’t, do you?’

Rebecca sighed. ‘My reasons are quite simple, Miss St. Cloud. I naturally assumed you and your—your guest—would prefer to be alone.’

Adele studied her lacquered fingernails. ‘Now why should you imagine that, Rebecca? Do you suppose that Piers and I cherish some long-lost affection for one another? Do you think perhaps we were once lovers?’

Rebecca’s cheeks burned. ‘I—I’ll go and tell Rosa you are ready, Miss St. Cloud.’ She would not argue with her.

Adele chewed her lower lip impatiently. ‘Why do you persist in disregarding my questions, Rebecca?’ she exclaimed. ‘Am I a child to be humoured but never debated with?’

Rebecca heaved a sigh. She cast a fleeting glance in Piers St. Clair’s direction but looked away from the mockery in his gaze. Obviously he could not—or would not—help her.

‘I think it would be as well if I got on with my work, Miss St. Cloud,’ she said at last. ‘I’m sorry if you feel I am being deliberately obtuse, but it is not part of my duties to share my—my breaks—with you.’

‘You impudent little chit!’ Adele stared at her incredulously. Rebecca had never answered her back in this manner before.

‘Now, Adele,’ murmured Piers St. Clair quietly. ‘Perhaps Nurse Lindsay is right. Perhaps she does not have to spend all her time with us—with you! She has feelings, too, you know, and I think you have teased her long enough, oui?’

Rebecca stared at him now. Although she hated to admit it, his intervention was welcome, and his deliberate use of the verb to tease reduced it all to a playful confrontation and gave Adele the chance to get out of the situation without loss of face. In consequence, after a moment’s soul-searching, Adele accepted his directions, and said reluctantly:

‘Yes, that’s all right, Rebecca. You can go.’

With relief, Rebecca left the room, and after informing Rosa that her employer and her guest were ready for their meal, carried a solitary tray to her room.

When the meal was over, another problem presented itself. Adele usually slept for an hour after lunch, but how was Rebecca to arrange such a thing today? She wondered whether she should simply forget her instructions, but somehow her code of training was too strong, and therefore it was with an immense sense of relief that she heard, a few moments later, the sound of a car’s engine being started. She rushed to the window and looked out. Her room was on the side of the house, but by opening her window she could look out and see the further length of the drive. She was in time to see the blue convertible approach the gates and after slowing, accelerate into the road beyond.

She heaved a sigh, resting her elbows on the window ledge. So he had gone. And now she could go and settle Adele down for her sleep without complications.

But that was easier said than done. Adele was emotionally and physically stimulated by her visitor, and was in no mood to be amenable with Rebecca.

‘How—how dare you speak to me like that in front of a guest!’ she stormed, as soon as Rebecca appeared to take her for her rest. ‘Don’t imagine because Piers chose to champion you that I have forgotten it! A chit like you who doesn’t even know who her own father was!’

Rebecca controlled the angry retort that sprang to her lips. Once, in a moment of compassion for Adele, she had confided the circumstances of her birth to her employer and she had regretted it ever since. ‘My father was killed on his way to the church to marry my mother!’ she said, through taut lips. ‘I wish you would not speak to me about it again!’