Patterson's Island Page 6

  Her smouldering eyes watched the man and the sailor. The latter showed no sign of giving up the fight, and his arms flailed wildly at the empty air. Her eyes widened as she saw that his captor was moving slowly but surely towards the pool.

  `What are you going to do with him?' she asked, thinking it was a silly question, for it was obvious. `Cool him off,' was the haughty reply.

  `He mightn't be able to swim,' cried Beth, now very alarmed.

  `We shall soon see, won't we?' drawled the man, `In any case, he won't drown in three feet of water.'

  Beth gasped, and for a second she was speechless; the sheer audacity of the man confounded her, but not for long. Her sense of fair play refused to let her just stand by and watch, and she threw herself into the battle by grabbing hold of one of the man's arms and attempting to slow up the process. 'Let him go ! ' she said furiously. 'This instant, do you hear?' she demanded.

  `Thass right, you tell him, baby,' hiccoughed the sailor.

  The man turned his attention to Beth, but still kept a firm hand on the sailor. 'I'll come to you later,' he threatened. 'Now stand aside, unless you want a little of the same treatment.'

  Beth stared at him, unable to believe her ears, but he had meant every word of it, and she knew it, and was forced to do just that, but she contented herself with a fierce, 'You try, that's all. You might find that you're taking on more than you can chew ! ' she ground out.

  In more ways than one, she told herself consolingly, for she couldn't see the kind Mr Patterson standing for this sort of treatment to visitors, be they intoxicated sailors or what have you.'

  Her fury rose to fever pitch as she watched the man's elegant back bend as he lowered the sailor into the pool. People could still drown, she told herself furiously, in three feet of water. Her eyes narrowed as the thought occurred to her that it might be a good idea if the Admiral went in with him—at least he'd be on the spot to administer a spot of life-saving ! He didn't stand a chance; it only took one push in the middle of his back, and there was a gasp, then, 'Why, you little ... ! and half the pool came up to meet her.

  The last thing Beth heard as she fled through the club doors was a hiccoughed laugh from the sailor that considerably cheered her up. At least he was all right; as for the Admiral—well, she had no worries on that score. All he'd be suffering from was a deflated ego—and about time, too, she told herself happily.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  THE following morning Beth had a silent argument with herself about how much of the previous evening's episode she should tell Janice, and a sense of preservation to both of them won in the end, and her conscience was stifled. It stood to reason, she argued with herself, that the insufferable man was hardly likely to broadcast the fact that a mere girl had got the better of him, for his pride's sake if nothing else. No, it was best that she said nothing; she didn't intend to have Janice worried. If it did eventually come out—well, she would worry about that when it happened, and she felt sure Janice would wade in on her side. On this thought, she gave a little chuckle; just like the old days, she thought.

  Apart from asking her if she had enjoyed the evening with the Harrises and receiving a favourable report, Janice's mind was on other matters, and was in fact floating on cloud nine. The house had come up to full expectation, and they had said 'yes' then and there. With eyes shining like stars, she told Beth, `It's only two miles from the estate, so John will be practically living on the doorstep. I just can't wait to show it to you! '

  It wasn't until the subject of the house and its numerous advantages had been fully expounded that she returned to the subject Beth would rather

  have left unexplored, and she had a few qualms when asked, 'Did you see the pool?' to which she gave a wary yes, adding quickly, 'It's lovely, isn't it?' and hoping that would be that.

  `Did you meet Gavin?' persisted Janice, and Beth explained about there being something else on at the yacht club, and she presumed he was there. This satisfied Janice, and gave Beth a momentary reprieve, for it was quite possible that he had been present later, but due to her enforced sojourn at the pool she hadn't met him, for she was sure Mr and Mrs Harris would have introduced her to him had the occasion arisen, but it hadn't, for the simple reason that she had met them in the foyer on her return from the pool, and this was a relief all round, as they were beginning to get worried about her.

  `Oh, well, you'll meet him this afternoon,' said Janice happily. 'I'm sure you'll like him. He's a perfect pet, and I'm certain you'll love working for him just as much as I do.'

  Beth stared at her. 'W-working for him?' she asked bewilderedly.

  Janice chuckled delightedly. 'It's a plot John and I have hatched up, love. You see, he doesn't want me to go on working after we're married, and I see no reason why you shouldn't take my place. It lets me out of a fix, too, because I didn't want to let Gavin down, but I knew how John felt. I also know how Gavin feels about employing a local person—not that there's any shortage of candidates. Miss Greer, for one, but she'd send Gavin crazy in a week.'

  Still reeling under her sister's plans for her future, Beth queried absently, 'Miss Greer?' not that she

  was interested, but it held Janice's attention while she considered her proposal.

  `Colonel Greer's daughter,' explained Janice. 'She's got a soft spot for Gavin, and wouldn't give him a minute's peace. That was why he advertised the position abroad. He felt that it wouldn't be a good thing to employ a local person; could have caused a lot of jealousy. It's quite a responsible post, and a lot of the work is confidential—another reason why he didn't want someone local.'

  Beth's brows raised at this, and her feelings were clear to Janice, who gave her a wide grin. 'Oh, not the secret service, darling,' she chuckled, then grew serious again. 'It's just that Gavin's promoting tourism. It's the island's main income, and provides work for the local people, but some of the people who come are what's known as V.I.P.s, who wish to remain incognito, and you'd be surprised how many do come. The island's perfect as a kind of hideaway for them —it's not on the usual travel agent's itinerary, for one thing, and for another, they know from past experience that their identity will not be disclosed. If it was they wouldn't be able to take two steps without being gaped at, not to mention the rush of the social climbers to invite them to dinner.'

  She gave a wry smile. 'What a few of them wouldn't give to take a peep at my season's visiting list, but only Gavin sees it, and he has the right to refuse entry to someone he feels would be an undesirable visitor. It's the same with the cruisers, only a few are allowed to call during the season, enough to ensure a good living for the inhabitants, but he has no intention of letting things get out of hand. It's his island, and he

  likes to keep a strict eye on all events. There's not much that goes on that he doesn't get to hear about sooner or later.'

  On this remark, Beth choked on her last sip of coffee and found herself swallowing hard. It hardly sounded as if he had a sense of humour--a sense of propriety, more likely! What had she done? Well, one thing was certain, she had to tell Janice now. At least her version would reach Mr Patterson before that detestable man could put his on record.

  Taking a deep breath, she was about to confess all when Janice jumped up from the table. 'Is that the time?' she wailed, as the silver chimes of the clock on the bureau struck the hour. 'I must rush, dear. See you at lunch. It'll have to be a quick one, I have to be back to supervise everything before the kick-off. Now don't wander off, will you?' she called back to Beth, who sat in dejected silence for a long time after she had gone.

  By the time Janice put in her next appearance, Beth's courage had deserted her, and all she could do was hope for the best, for it had occurred to her that the man she least wanted to meet might be at the garden party—he certainly seemed to be everywhere else, to her way of thinking. Being Janice's sister, of course, might make a difference, and should she be unfortunate enough to cross his path again—well, this time she would have Janice with her, an
d he might, she thought hopefully, even apologise to her. She tried to imagine the scene, with her graciously forgiving him, but somehow it didn't gell, and she had to abandon it. She simply could not see him apologising to anyone, let alone someone who had flouted his

  authority, not to mention pushing him into the swimming pool !

  After a hurried lunch the girls prepared for the garden party, and as before, Janice suggested the dress Beth should, wear. It was pale blue, and had long sleeves with lace at the cuffs, and a Peter Pan-style collar, that Beth had bought in a weak moment during a shopping spree and had since wondered why, because it was very dressy, and she really preferred simplicity. 'I shall feel like Little Boy Blue,' she complained when Janice pounced on it when going through her wardrobe to find a suitable dress for her, determined she should make a good impression on whom she hoped would be her future employer.

  `I don't know why I brought the wretched thing,' Beth went on. 'Just shows what a state I was in when I packed ! '

  Her remarks were blithely ignored by Janice, who would not hear of her wearing anything else. 'It looks adorable on you. Do wear it, love—just to please me ! '

  The dress wasn't the only thing she was prevailed upon to wear, for Janice provided her with a wide-brimmed straw hat, in a slightly darker blue than the dress. It was a nice hat as hats went, and Beth felt this one could go. 'I never wear hats—you know I don't,' she protested.

  `I'm afraid you must today,' answered Janice firmly. 'It's an unwritten law for these occasions. I don't know what you're complaining about. It's the nicest hat I own, and it goes with the dress beautifully.'

  If Janice was proud of Beth's appearance, Beth

  was no less proud of her sister's. She wore a lime green dress cut on simple lines, that clung to her slim figure and looked elegant without being too fussy. Her hat was a white floppy style, that with her height she could wear so well. Hats, decided Beth, suited Janice, but all they did for her was sap her confidence, and between the hat and the dress, she did not envisage herself deriving much enjoyment from the coming occasion.

  The walk through the park-like scenery that led to Chartways soon took Beth's mind off her appearance. The tall trees on either side of them, forming an avenue to the house, were the trees she could see from her bedroom window. 'They'll soon be coming into flower,' remarked Janice, noticing Beth's interest. `You've come a little early for the summer blooms, but they're worth waiting for.' She gave Beth's hand a squeeze. 'You won't know what to paint first,' she teased.

  Beth's first sight of Chartways rather pleased her, for it was no different from many of the large country houses she had seen in England, although few now were privately owned, the upkeep alone forcing many to sell, owing to their dwindling fortunes and the estates were either sold off piecemeal, or snapped up intact by oil sheiks.

  The grounds were beautifully landscaped, and pleasing to the eye. The velvet green lawns were another reminder of home to Beth, but the brilliance of the flowers and the calendar date brought sharp reminders that this was a tropical world. As they neared the house there were signs of great activity;

  long trestle tables had been placed on the lawn directly fronting the house and food had been arranged on snowy white cloths. Noticing the amount catered for, it occurred to Beth that at least half the island's inhabitants were expected, and she said as much to Janice, who chuckled, and replied, 'No, dear, this is purely a get-together for the residents, plus a few extra guests that Gavin is entertaining.'

  There were small groups of people standing by the open french windows, engrossed in conversation, and Janice said in a low voice, 'Oh, bother, I had hoped to be the first. Will you mind, dear, if I introduce you to a few of them and leave you to it? I promise to be back as soon as I can, but I must make sure all's well with the catering firm.'

  Beth would have preferred to have gone-with her sister, but had no wish to get in her way, so she answered -a trifle untruthfully, 'Not a bit—but don't be long,' she added quickly.

  The conversation ceased as Janice and Beth approached the first group, and Beth noticed with a spurt of pride how popular Janice was, for she was hailed from all sides as more people joined the gathering, and after introducing Beth to a few of them she excused herself and slipped away, leaving a rather nervous Beth to cope With what seemed an enormous amount of strangers.

  Before long, however, she found herself chatting amicably with all and sundry. To her surprise, many of the residents had ties with England, and were hungry for news of what they still called 'home'. Quite a few, Beth found, were a little behind with the

  times, and one little old lady enquired whether they were still receiving food parcels, which made Beth wonder if her figure had prompted this enquiry, but she managed to answer soberly enough. This was the start of a series of questions from the same good lady. Did Beth know of a village in Surrey called Meresworth, or at least, she thought it was called Meresworth, or it might be Meresdale. Her sister had lived there for some years, and was quite well known there as a matter of fact. To this query Beth had to plead ignorance. She had never even heard of the village, let alone the sister, and she felt a spurt of relief at Janice's reappearance at this point.

  When they had moved away, Beth couldn't resist relating the food parcel query to Janice, who laughed and said, 'It shows just how much interest they really take in what they fondly call home. We do get the London papers here, you know, a day or so later, it's true, but nevertheless, if they really wanted to, they could keep abreast with the times.' Her eyes rested on the vista of gardens gently sloping away from where they stood. 'I guess it's the climate, but one gets the definite feeling that time has stood still here. There's none of the bustle, you see, that you find in the big cities. I don't think I could ever go back—at least, not to stay.' She smiled at Beth. 'Soon you'll feel the same—it's catching, you know.'

  But Beth did know, for she had already felt the call of the island; the horrible feeling of being slowly asphyxiated by Nicholas's personality had now receded into the past, even though it was such a recent past.

  Janice's gaze went back to the guests. 'I did want

  you to meet ...' her look centred on a small group a little way away. 'Oh, there he is; come along, Beth, you'll like Mr Fisher, he dabbles in watercolours. He's quite good, too, but a bit shy about talking about his work. Let's try and draw him out. He doesn't really like these occasions, and only comes to please Gavin.'

  Mr Fisher turned out to be a middle-aged man Beth had seen hovering on the fringe of a few groups during her earlier introductory tour, looking as if he wished he were elsewhere, and she had felt a kindred sympathy with him. Of the few men that were there, all wore correct wear for such a function in spite of the warmth of the day, and all appeared to be reasonably comfortable, except for the man Janice was now taking her to meet. His continual jerking at his collar said more than words, and Beth knew he felt as comfortable in his collar and tie as she did in her long-sleeved dress.

  As Janice had said, he was shy, but it did not take long for Beth to put him at his ease, particularly when he found he had a fellow artist beside him, and was soon advising her on the local beauty spots, promising to let her have a map sometime of where they were to be located. On this pronouncement Janice's brows went up, but she held her tongue, suffice to say that Beth had scored a hit, for he was not usually so forthcoming.

  They were in the middle of an interesting discussion on the merits of watercolour as against oils, when he broke off in the middle of a sentence and hurriedly excusing himself, drifted off towards another group, leaving a perplexed Beth staring after him.

  Beside her, Janice gave a low chuckle, and said

  softly, `He's had to take evasive action—look ahead ! '

  Beth looked, and saw a matronly woman bearing down on them with a sense of purpose in her stride. Her bright pink hat, with a red rose dead centre, made Beth wince. 'Mrs Winton,' supplied Janice still in a soft voice. 'She's always trying to g
et Mr Fisher to join the local bridge set. He made the dreadful mistake of telling her he played, but he hates it. As long as he can keep out of her way, he's safe.'

  `Ah, Janice ! ' exclaimed the woman as she reached them, her eyes focusing on Mr Fisher's retreating back. 'I see I've missed Mr Fisher again.' Her brown eyes held a positive gleam in them as she added, 'I'll make it one day, you see if I don't ! ' Her attention then focused on Beth. `So this is your sister, is it? Do you play bridge?' she asked hopefully.

  Beth had the same feelings about bridge as Mr Fisher had, and happily disappointed her.

  `Oh, well, we can't win them all, can we?' she remarked philosophically. 'I thought I saw Amanda somewhere — She looked round vaguely, then spotting another quarry, excused herself and sailed off.

  `She's all right really,' remarked Janice, smiling. `Just a bit overpowering. I think Mr Fisher suspects a deeper motive in her pursuit of him. I'm afraid the women outnumber the men here, and we have quite a few of what's known as "merry widows", Mrs Winton being one of them. Mr Fisher's a bachelor, and intends to stay that way. Oh, here's Gavin,' she exclaimed brightly.

  Beth turned in the direction Janice was looking,

  and her welcoming smile froze on her face as she saw the person striding towards them. It couldn't be ! she told herself frantically, but Janice ought to know her own boss ! She swallowed; there was no mistaking that height, let alone the blond hair, blanched almost white by the sun. Janice's boss and Beth's 'Admiral' were one and the same person! A number of thoughts flashed through Beth's mind at that moment, and none of them what one would call comforting. For instance, what time was the next flight back to dear old Blighty? Janice was going to be very disappointed, but not half so miserable as she would be if her John lost his job !