Who Rides the Tiger by Anne Mather Read Free Book Online Page B

was, but Dominique had the feeling that she and John would provide just another subject for discussion between Marion and her cronies.
    Dominique had met the three women with whom Marion spent most of her time, and had not been impressed. They were all of an age and disposition, only living through the lives of their neighbours who lived, from their biased point of view, a thoroughly immoral existence. Dominique couldn't understand their reasoning. Couldn't they see that the world was going on its way and leaving them behind?
    She and John resumed their relationship. It took a while, of course, and Dominique felt it was all her fault. But since John left England she had grown used to making decisions for herself and was not quite so willing to allow him to dominate her as he had used to do just after her father died. But she enjoyed working in the apartment, and in the evenings, when John came home and she cooked their evening meal, she could almost imagine they were married already. Not that John made any attempts to anticipate their married state, respecting her desire to keep their relationship warmly affectionate, and thus avoid any strain which might have developed in other circumstances.
    The Santos Corporation provided recreational facilities for its staff, among them a golf and tennis club, and in the evenings sometimes John took Dominique down to the clubhouse Where they sat beside the swimming pool and drank long cooling lagers and talked to his colleagues and their wives. As well as Harry Rawlings and Marion, Dominique got to know several other couples, although Marion's close friends did not appeal to her.
    She had been in Bela Vista ten days when Vincente Santos's name cropped up again.
    Since her arrival she had deliberately refrained from discussing him with John as she had sensed John's withdrawal on the subject, and it was from Marion and her cronies that she heard Vincente's name.
    It was one morning when she was at the Rawlings' home, running up some curtains on Marion's sewing machine. Lynn Matthews, Susan Wheeler and Mary Pedlar were there, having coffee with Marion, and Dominique just happened to be sewing in the same room. It was Mary Pedlar who mentioned him first.
    'I see Santos is back,' she remarked conspiratorially, glancing in Dominique's direction. 'Bob was talking to him yesterday at the plant.'
    'Is he?' It was Marion who answered her. 'I didn't know that. I wonder how long he's staying this time. Is he alone?'
    'I've no idea,' said Mary, shaking her head. 'Bob did say something about a board meeting being held in a couple of days. I expect he's here for that.'
    'Most likely,' agreed Susan Wheeler. 'Have you met our chairman, Dominique?'
    Dominique glanced up, pretending not to have listened to their conversation. 'What?' she asked. 'Your chairman? Who's that?'
    Marion clucked her tongue. 'Of course she's met him,' she exclaimed. 'Heavens, didn't he meet her at the airport?'
    Dominique's face suffused with the revealing colour she despised so much. 'You mean Mr. Santos?' she asked.
    'Of course.'
    'But how come Santos met John's fiancee?' exclaimed Lynn Matthews in astonishment. 'Heavens, I would have thought. ...' Her voice tailed away at a look from Marion, and she added defensively: 'Well, I mean, he is the chairman, isn't he?'
    Marion licked her lips in preparation for relating the story. 'There was a landslide, don't you remember?' she say, leaning forward. 'John phoned in to the refinery in the hope that there might be one of the staff in Rio who could be contacted to meet Dominique. Anyway, as it happened it was at a time when there were few people about and the call was directed to Santos's office by mistake. He happened to be on his way to Rio on business and he offered to meet Dominique there. After all, it was the reasonable thing to do. The girl couldn't be left stranded at Galeao, now could she?'
    'No, but even so. ...' Lynn sounded amazed.
    'I know, but Santos does these