Dangerous Waters by Rosalind Brett Read Free Book Online Page B

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    She took one and placed it between her lips, had to lean a long way over him to the flame he held. Just as her cigarette tip met the flame he drew it back, and she couldn ’ t help but look down into his face. It was dark and mocking, the teeth very white. She stared and slowly sat back, the cigarette unlighted.
    “ Here, ” he said negligently, “ have the lighter yourself. ” She took it from him and used it, found that she puffed rather fast until her breathing evened out. The beast was enjoying some joke of his own. For two pins she ’ d jam her cigarette tip down on to his hand. Even in the darkness she must have exuded vexation, for he said.
    “ I ’ ve a hunch we ’ re going to be very glad to part from each other at Penghu. You don ’ t care for men like me, and I find girls of your sort extraordinarily irritating. I haven ’ t met one for some time, but I seem to remember all the signs. You want to marry Roger Payn and settle down to life with plenty of servants, bridge parties and discreet gossip. You ’ ll have your sister for a neighbor and a few spare men to admire you. Too bad I shall be living only a few miles out of Penghu, but I ’ ll try not to haunt you. ”
    “ Shut up, ” she said crossly, and turned her back to him. There was silence for a long time, a jungle silence that teemed with chirping and the drone of insects, the little noises of the river, the whispering of leaves. The moon had risen higher, dappling the river with silver coins, and from the undergrowth came the scent of damp earth, forest flowers and decaying vegetation. It was cooler.
    Terry flicked her cigarette butt down into the river, heard the tiny hiss as it died. She said, “ I ’ m sorry I ’ ve made such a poor impression. I didn ’ t mean to, but yesterday and last night must have unnerved me a little. I ’ m really very grateful for what you did for me in Vinan. ”
    “ Forget it, ” he said carelessly. “ Your chief trouble is that you ’ re a bit young. ” A pause. “ What do your parents think of your sister marrying out here? ”
    “ My father was a little disappointed; Annette has always been his favorite—not in a bad way. He ’ s fond of us both. ”
    “ And your mother? ”
    “ She ’ s a stepmother, but not the traditional kind. She ’ s businesslike and loyal, and she ’ s been good to us, though Annette has never liked her very much. Mother helps to run the shop—a book and gift shop at Henton, not far from London. Annette broke away. She helped at rush periods, but she had her own job; she was a model. ”
    “ Good lord, is she one of those? She could have married well in England, surely? ”
    “ Yes, except that it was Vic Hilton she wanted, and he was dead keen to take this job in Malaya. ”
    “ She ’ ll be out of her element here, love or no love. In any case, the emotions either fade or get swamped in this climate. ”
    “ Do they? ” She was still half-turned from him. “ I find it easier to get angry, so I should think the other emotions are equally near the surface. ”
    “ Oh, they flare up occasionally, just to break the monotony, but after one ’ s lived here for a while there ’ s not much risk of leaping passion. You get so that you can handle things before they reach that pitch. ”
    “ You ’ re talking as a bachelor with lots of experience, ” she said. “ Annette ’ s known dozens of men, but she fell really hard for Vic, even though, you might say he ’ s not her type. Surely you don ’ t think the climate can kill what they feel for each other? ”
    “ Not knowing them, I can ’ t say. What sort of man is this Vic Hilton? ”
    “ He ’ s rugged, twenty-eight, a bit old in his ways and a very good engineer. ”
    “ And your sister—is her temperament anything at all like yours? ”
    “ I don ’ t think so. She ’ s a dual character, really; the poised and sophisticated model, calm and assured—and underneath she ’ s uncertain of