Diamond Fire Page 10

  ‘I’m sorry,’ he said huskily, and for a minute she hadn’t the faintest idea what he was talking about.

  ‘Are you?’ she got out breathily, and, unconsciously, she leaned towards him. His lean mouth was only inches from hers, and she ached to feel it moving against hers, to have his tongue invading her mouth…

  ‘Yes,’ he replied, but now the husky note had hardened to a harsh denial, and as he stepped back his hand fell away. ‘I guess we all make mistakes,’ he added and, brushing past her, he took the stairs two at a time.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  THE enquiries Camilla made were not encouraging. The airline office in Honolulu assured her they would do their best to accommodate her, but they already had a stand-by list for both today and tomorrow. However, they were sure they’d be able to get her on a flight to Los Angeles after the weekend, and they took her telephone number, just in case they had a spate of cancellations.

  Not that Camilla held out much hope. As Alex had said, it was the busiest time of the year, and, although the islands didn’t really have a season as such, most people took their holidays through the recognised summer months. In consequence, she was obliged to stay here for at least another two days, and the prospect was not appealing.

  Of course, Alex had said he would make her travel arrangements for her, but after what had happened that morning Camilla was desperate to do something to help herself. She wanted to get away before she had to meet Alex again if possible. She had made an absolute fool of herself earlier, and the thought of facing him again made her cringe with embarrassment.

  It was useless to tell herself that, in fact, she had done nothing, that she hadn’t grabbed him physically and forced him to suffer her mauling. She knew that was too strong a word to use to describe what had actually happened, but it made her feel better to think of it in those terms. If she could justify her unsubtle come-on as the involuntary counterpart to his treatment of her perhaps she could live with herself. Otherwise, she had humiliated herself totally and utterly.

  Yet she had nothing to blame herself for, she argued defensively as she squatted on the sand later that morning. After making her call to the airline office she had gone along to her room and changed into fresh shorts and a bikini. She knew Alex wouldn’t be back until late that afternoon, and she had decided to take a dip in the ocean. It probably wasn’t the right thing to do, with Virginia and Maria still missing, and her own relationship with Virginia’s husband in such a state of turmoil, but she was hot and sticky, and she needed to cool down.

  She could have taken another shower, of course. That would probably have been the sympathetic thing to do; but she didn’t. The ocean was just lying there, waiting to be enjoyed, and she couldn’t fly all this way without taking a dip in the Pacific.

  Nevertheless, fifteen minutes after going down to the beach Camilla was still sitting with her knees drawn up to make a support for her chin. The sun was hot on her shoulders, and in spite of the breeze she could feel its heat probing her flesh. She was probably going to get burned, she thought resignedly, but she made no attempt to cover herself with the towel she had brought with her. It would probably serve her right, she decided. And at least it was burning away the lingering imprint of Alex’s fingers.

  She sighed. Maybe he hadn’t noticed, she consoled herself, not altogether convincingly. After all, he had been the one who had initiated the contact. Maybe his reaction had been a response to his own reckless behaviour. He might not have realised that she had been involved.

  But she had leaned towards him, she reminded herself depressingly. She had allowed her tongue to appear, and gazed up at him like some lovesick fool. No, sex-hungry fool, she corrected herself bitterly. Oh, God! He probably thought she was desperate for a man! She’d already told him she had been going on holiday with another woman. Made a point of it, in fact, she remembered miserably. Perhaps she should do as he suggested and find herself an hotel room until she could get a flight out of here. There was bound to be some hotel on Waikiki with a single room available. When she went back to the house she should make a few calls. It was the next best thing to leaving the island.

  Her shoulders were beginning to prickle with the heat, and, deciding there was no point in crucifying her flesh any longer, she stood up and kicked off her canvas boots. Then, unfastening the button of her shorts, she dropped them to her ankles. It was the first time she had worn a bikini this year, and as well as noticing how pale she looked Camilla was intensely conscious of the windows of the house behind her. Not that she really thought anyone might be watching her. But Grant Blaisdell had arrived uninvited before and, remembering that he hadn’t told Alex about his visit, she couldn’t altogether rule out his intervention.

  But no one watched from the balcony as she ran into the ocean, and Camilla was relieved. And it was heaven to feel the silky water lapping about her. The initial feeling as she plunged into the waves was one of chill, but it didn’t last. The temperature of the water had to be at least seventy degrees, she decided, and its sparkling salty tang was both soothing and exhilarating.

  The beach shelved fairly quickly, and there were waving gardens of seaweed beneath her kicking legs. The tide was also fairly strong, and until she got beyond the point where the surf broke its roll she kept finding herself engulfed by the creaming swell. In consequence, she was forced to go out further than she had intended, and although she was a good swimmer she didn’t stay out long.

  Nevertheless, she did enjoy it, and by the time she reached her depth again and waded up on to the sand she was feeling infinitely brighter. She had been overreacting, she decided, picking up her towel and drying her face. In a couple of days she’d be out of here, out of Alex’s life forever. And Virginia’s, she reminded herself uneasily. In heaven’s name, where was she?

  She was standing with her towel about her bare shoulders, gazing unseeingly at the ocean, when she heard someone calling her name. ‘Miss Richards! Camilla! You wanna come and take a call?’

  A call? For her? Camilla blinked, and looked round to see Mama Lu standing, waving her arms about, at the top of the terrace steps. The housekeeper was evidently trying to attract her attention, and without stopping to put on her clothes Camilla picked up her shorts and boots and started towards her.

  But her mind was buzzing. Who could be calling her? she wondered. Who knew she was here, apart from Grant Blaisdell and the Contis? She determinedly refused to consider that it could be Virginia, even though the idea refused to be dislodged. Mama Lu would have recognised Virginia’s voice, she told herself impatiently. Better than she would, probably.

  And then she remembered the call she had made to the airline office. Of course, it would be the girl there returning her call. Maybe she had found her a cancellation for today after all. No matter how empty that made her feel, she had to take it.

  Mama Lu was waiting impatiently, and Camilla kept her voice free of expression with an effort. ‘Who…who is it?’ she asked, conscious of the brevity of the bikini, which seemed so unsuitable in the circumstances. But she had put it in as an afterthought, never dreaming what she was going to find at Kumaru.

  ‘She says she’s calling from the New Zealand Airlines office,’ declared the housekeeper, accompanying Camilla into the house. ‘You can take it here.’ She indicated the phone in the garden-room, a delicate green instrument that was virtually invisible against a bank of orchids. ‘Just pick it up.’

  Camilla blinked again. New Zealand Airlines! she was thinking blankly. She hadn’t flown with New Zealand Airlines; she certainly hadn’t called New Zealand Airlines. Unless…She frowned. It was possible that the airline she had called had tried to fix her up with an alternative. She hadn’t realised there was such a rapport between them.

  ‘Thank you,’ she called, as Mama Lu hauled her bulk up the curving staircase, and the housekeeper lifted one hand in silent acknowledgement. Then, putting the receiver to her ear, she said, ‘This is Camilla Richards.’

  ‘
Miss Richards?’ The voice was vaguely Chinese in intonation, the words clipped and lisping.

  ‘Yes.’ As Camilla confirmed her identity she heard the distinctive click as the upstairs phone was disconnected. Evidently Mama Lu had replaced her receiver, and she waited impatiently for the girl to continue.

  Then, ‘Camilla?’ she heard in a hushed whisper. ‘Camilla, it’s me: Virginia.’

  ‘Virginia!’ Camilla’s mouth went dry, and she sank down on to the cushions of a basket chair nearby. ‘Virginia, for heaven’s sake! Where are you?’

  ‘Never mind that now.’ Virginia spoke urgently, her voice gaining in volume as she continued. ‘You don’t think that old fool recognised my voice, do you? What did she say? Did she tell you it was the airline?’

  Camilla swallowed. ‘She…she said it was New Zealand Airlines, yes.’

  ‘Well, that was all right, wasn’t it?’

  ‘I suppose…’ Camilla shook her head. ‘But I didn’t fly with New Zealand Airlines.’

  ‘Didn’t you? Damn! I was sure you would.’ Virginia sounded frustrated. ‘Oh, well, never mind. You’ll have to make some excuse as to why they would be calling you. It was the only thing I could think of.’

  ‘But why? Why did you have to disguise your voice in the first place?’

  ‘Are you kidding?’ Virginia snorted. ‘You’ve been there three days, and you don’t know that yet?’

  Camilla sighed. ‘Virginia,’ she said the name again, and then, realising how exposed she was in the garden-room with its open doors and spiral staircase, she lowered her voice, ‘what’s going on? What are you doing? Why did you walk out when you knew I was coming?’

  ‘I didn’t know.’ Virginia expelled her breath noisily. ‘Or, at least, I couldn’t be sure. In any case, that’s not important now. I want to know what Alex is doing. Is he still looking for me in San Diego?’

  ‘I imagine so.’ Camilla caught her breath. ‘Is that where you are? San Diego? Virginia, you know this is crazy. He’s going to find you—’

  ‘Maybe.’ Virginia sounded dismissive. ‘But I don’t want to talk about that now. I didn’t make this call to hear what you think. I did what I had to do. That’s all you need to know for now.’

  Camilla shook her head. ‘No, it’s not.’ She could feel herself getting irritated by the other woman’s attitude. ‘You got me here under false pretences, Virginia, and I want to know—’

  ‘Not now, Cam. I don’t have time to explain my reasons. You’re there and that’s all that matters. If I need you I’ll call.’

  ‘No!’

  ‘What do you mean, no?’

  ‘I mean I’m leaving. Just as soon as I can get a flight. As a matter of fact, I rang the airline this morning.’

  ‘Please don’t do that.’ Virginia’s voice rose perceptibly. ‘Not when you’ve got a ready-made excuse for this call.’

  ‘I’m not going to tell lies, Virginia.’

  ‘But you won’t leave. You can’t.’

  ‘I have to.’

  ‘Why?’ Virginia sounded desperate now. ‘For God’s sake, Cam, don’t do this to me! Is it Alex? What has he been saying about me? Did he ask you to leave? If he’s been telling you lies—’

  ‘Virginia—’

  ‘Well, go on. What has he been saying? This isn’t all my fault, you know.’ Virginia’s voice was agitated. ‘Look, I can’t explain now, but I need you to be there for me.’

  ‘Because of Alex?’ Camilla was shocked.

  ‘Yes. No. As I say, I really can’t explain now. But everyone tells lies about me. I have no one I can trust. Are you listening, Cam?’

  Camilla was listening but she didn’t know how to answer. Within a few seconds Virginia had gone from speaking reasonably to shouting down the phone, and Camilla was half afraid to speak in case she said the wrong thing.

  ‘I want to help you, Virginia,’ she protested now, choosing her words with care. ‘But everyone’s worried sick about you and Maria, and I—well, I feel in the way.’

  There was an ominous silence, during which Camilla became afraid that Virginia had rung off. But presently she spoke again, and once more she seemed to have herself in control.

  ‘Look,’ she said, and, listening to her, Camilla began to suspect what Alex had had to deal with, ‘I have my reasons for doing this. I can’t tell you what they are. Not yet, anyway. But, if you won’t stay for me, stay for Maria.’

  ‘Maria?’ Camilla was shocked. ‘Virginia, I don’t even know Maria. How can my staying here help her? Why…why don’t you let her come home? I mean,’ she hurried on, ‘you may have had your reasons for leaving, as you say, but surely Maria would be…happier…at home.’

  ‘You were going to say safer, weren’t you?’ Virginia exclaimed angrily. ‘And you say Alex hasn’t poisoned your mind against me! You can’t lie to me, Cam. I know you too well. Don’t let him turn you against me. I need you.’

  ‘He hasn’t. I mean…’ once again, Camilla was at a loss for words ‘…naturally he’s worried about you—’

  ‘Not about me,’ retorted Virginia. ‘Only about Maria. She’s all he cares about. Well, I’ve got her now, and she won’t be coming back unless I say so. So he can sweat!’

  ‘Oh, Virginia!’ Camilla’s hand clenched around the receiver. If only Alex were here, she was thinking desperately, he might know what to say to get through to her.

  ‘Anyway…’ with a disturbing lack of consistency, Virginia changed her tone ‘…what do you think of Alex? Handsome, isn’t he? And rich; filthy rich! I certainly landed a live one, wouldn’t you say?’

  ‘So why did you leave him? Virginia, I’m sure he cares about you—’

  ‘Stop saying that.’ Virginia was scornful. ‘I asked you what you thought about him. Don’t you find him attractive?’ She paused. ‘Have you tried to console him?’

  ‘No!’ Camilla was horrified, but she heard Virginia laugh.

  ‘Don’t sound so outraged. I know the kind of life you lead in London. All that free sex. I’m sure you’ve thought about it.’

  ‘I haven’t.’

  And, in spite of herself, Camilla could feel her anger rekindling. It was all very well telling herself that Virginia was just baiting her, that she wasn’t quite normal, but her words stung all the same.

  ‘Anyway you’re welcome to him,’ Virginia went on carelessly. ‘I don’t want him. Not any more. He hasn’t slept with me for God knows how long, and I don’t care what he does.’

  Camilla couldn’t believe what she was hearing, but she had to stop it. ‘I…I wouldn’t dream of…of…’ She couldn’t finish. ‘Virginia, he’s your husband!’

  ‘He doesn’t love me,’ retorted Virginia harshly. ‘I don’t think he ever did. I’ve had to find other ways to amuse myself. Other men. Men who made me feel like a woman, not a—’

  ‘Virginia, stop it!’ Camilla’s hand was sticking to the receiver, and her whole body felt suffused with heat. ‘I—I don’t want to talk about your personal affairs. You…you and Alex have to work that out between you.’

  ‘Is that what he said?’

  ‘No.’ Camilla’s head was beginning to spin with the lack of continuity in the conversation. ‘Virginia, please—tell me where you are. At least tell me when you’re coming back.’

  ‘I can’t.’ Virginia sounded almost furtive now. ‘I’ve got to go.’

  ‘Not yet—’

  ‘Why not?’

  ‘Virginia, what am I supposed to do?’

  ‘I’ve told you: stay.’

  ‘I can’t.’

  ‘Why can’t you?’

  ‘Because I’ve told Alex I’m leaving.’

  ‘Tell him you’ve changed your mind.’

  ‘I can’t do that.’

  ‘Why not?’

  ‘Because I can’t.’ Camilla pressed her lips together. ‘Virginia, why are you doing this?’

  ‘Wait and see,’ Virginia answered, and Camilla was still digesting that remark when the line went
dead.

  * * *

  Fifteen minutes later Camilla stepped out of the shower in her bathroom and wrapped herself in one of the fluffy cream bath-sheets she found stacked on a metal rack. Then, padding through to the bedroom, she used the end to dry her dripping hair, trying not to consider the problem of what she was going to do now.

  Of course, integrity demanded that she tell Alex about the call, and allow him to deal with it. He might even be able to trace its source, though she thought that was only possible while the call was actually connected. The itemised bill she got for her phone at home listed all her out-going calls, and their destination, but not her incoming ones. Nevertheless, she ought to give him the chance to try.

  But how could she? To do so would be to betray Virginia and the friendship they had once had. She put it in the past tense because she couldn’t honestly feel that there was any real compatibility between them any longer. However unnatural it might seem, her sympathies were all with Alex, and it was impossible to ignore that.

  Even so, the idea of relating the details of her conversation with his wife to Alex was not appealing. Like her letter, Virginia’s remarks were not for publication, and she could hardly tell him that she had been asked to stay on like some undercover agent for Virginia.

  Which left her only two choices: either she said nothing about the call, and relied on Mama Lu to judge it unworthy of mention; or she lied, as Virginia had asked her to do. Neither one was particularly appealing, but the alternative was equally so.

  Wong Lee served her lunch in the cool environs of the dining-room, but Camilla was hardly in a mood to appreciate the shrimps in scooped-out wedges of papaya and served with a spinach salad, or the bananas wrapped in sugary crêpes. It was a pity, she thought, because it was obvious that Mama Lu had gone to some trouble on her account. But food was the furthest thought from her mind, and she was still sitting, staring blindly through the windows, when Alex walked into the dining-room.