asked anything of him? She wished Benedict wouldn't look at her in that appraising way. It reminded her that if he chose to think that he had the right to make an intimate study of her form, she was quite unable to prevent him from doing so.
'He's taken me out to dinner several times! Things like that,' she answered. 'He's - rather special.'
'Not to you, he's not!' Benedict said with a slight smile. 'You can't hide behind him, so don't try!'
She lowered her gaze to her plate. 'I don't know what you mean!' she declared.
'No?' It was outrageous that he should sound amused that she might find Bob Andrews attractive. 'I'm trying to tell you, in the nicest possible way,' he went on smoothly, 'that if you play with fire, you'll get burned. I'll see to that.'
'It's nothing to do with you!' Then, when he said nothing, she asked in puzzled tones, 'Is it because I'm
your wife?'
'Not entirely.'
'Because if it is, don't you think I might do the same by you because you're my husband?' She didn't look at him because she was-afraid that he would guess her true feelings.
'You can try!' he mocked her.
'That's not fair!' she flared.
But he only laughed and changed the subject by asking her if she had seen Lake Nakuru since it had become the first national park in Africa established specifically for the protection of its bird life. For an instant she tried to resist the bait, to tell him that she didn't consider herself answerable to him in any way. More, that she wanted a date for her departure to England there and then, so that she could begin to plan for it and work towards it.
'I saw President Kenyatta open it,' she said. 'It was a tremendous thing for the government to have done. They collected flamingo feathers from the side of the lake and sold them for pennies to children all over the world. Everybody helped. Everybody who's interested in wildlife, that is.'
'How many flamingoes are there?'
She knew he was deliberately drawing her out, but she had already swallowed the hook. She was happy to tell him everything she knew about the new park.
'More than anywhere else, I think. It's one of the few self-sustaining ecosystems in the world. They don't need anything from outside the lake. The lesser flamingoes live on a type of blue-green algae, which reproduce themselves so rapidly they can double their numbers every few hours. The flamingoes return to the lake about fifty tons of droppings every day, which decompose and are processed by bacteria and sunlight into food for the algae, which are eaten by the flamingoes at the rate of about a hundred and sixty tons a day! The only blot on the horizon is man who's busy polluting the lake!'
'Perhaps you'd rather go there than to Nanyuki?' Benedict suggested.
Hero stared at him in a tongue-tied silence. She pushed her plate away from her and rose to her feet. 'I don't want to go anywhere!' she exclaimed. 'Only to England. I can't
wait to go there!'
He raised his eyebrows. 'I thought you'd changed your mind about going to England?' he reminded her.
'No! Oh, no! I only meant that I saw that you couldn't take me there at once, but now I don't want to stay a minute longer than I have to! You can't make me stay! You promised!'
'Because I kissed you?'
'No!'
'Then why?'
How could she possibly tell him that? She took to her heels and ran out of the house, flying over the ground in her hurry to get away from him. She had not run like that since childhood, throwing all caution to the winds and pressing away from the earth with every step, until she was breathless and exhausted but, curiously, more alive than she had been for a long, long time, as one sometimes feels after a sudden spurt of physical activity.
When she could go no further she sat down, panting, under a thorn tree, her back to its trunk and drawing up her knees to try to get into the small piece of shadow that was all that the tree had to offer. But, although she might have run from him, Benedict Carmichael's presence was
'He's taken me out to dinner several times! Things like that,' she answered. 'He's - rather special.'
'Not to you, he's not!' Benedict said with a slight smile. 'You can't hide behind him, so don't try!'
She lowered her gaze to her plate. 'I don't know what you mean!' she declared.
'No?' It was outrageous that he should sound amused that she might find Bob Andrews attractive. 'I'm trying to tell you, in the nicest possible way,' he went on smoothly, 'that if you play with fire, you'll get burned. I'll see to that.'
'It's nothing to do with you!' Then, when he said nothing, she asked in puzzled tones, 'Is it because I'm
your wife?'
'Not entirely.'
'Because if it is, don't you think I might do the same by you because you're my husband?' She didn't look at him because she was-afraid that he would guess her true feelings.
'You can try!' he mocked her.
'That's not fair!' she flared.
But he only laughed and changed the subject by asking her if she had seen Lake Nakuru since it had become the first national park in Africa established specifically for the protection of its bird life. For an instant she tried to resist the bait, to tell him that she didn't consider herself answerable to him in any way. More, that she wanted a date for her departure to England there and then, so that she could begin to plan for it and work towards it.
'I saw President Kenyatta open it,' she said. 'It was a tremendous thing for the government to have done. They collected flamingo feathers from the side of the lake and sold them for pennies to children all over the world. Everybody helped. Everybody who's interested in wildlife, that is.'
'How many flamingoes are there?'
She knew he was deliberately drawing her out, but she had already swallowed the hook. She was happy to tell him everything she knew about the new park.
'More than anywhere else, I think. It's one of the few self-sustaining ecosystems in the world. They don't need anything from outside the lake. The lesser flamingoes live on a type of blue-green algae, which reproduce themselves so rapidly they can double their numbers every few hours. The flamingoes return to the lake about fifty tons of droppings every day, which decompose and are processed by bacteria and sunlight into food for the algae, which are eaten by the flamingoes at the rate of about a hundred and sixty tons a day! The only blot on the horizon is man who's busy polluting the lake!'
'Perhaps you'd rather go there than to Nanyuki?' Benedict suggested.
Hero stared at him in a tongue-tied silence. She pushed her plate away from her and rose to her feet. 'I don't want to go anywhere!' she exclaimed. 'Only to England. I can't
wait to go there!'
He raised his eyebrows. 'I thought you'd changed your mind about going to England?' he reminded her.
'No! Oh, no! I only meant that I saw that you couldn't take me there at once, but now I don't want to stay a minute longer than I have to! You can't make me stay! You promised!'
'Because I kissed you?'
'No!'
'Then why?'
How could she possibly tell him that? She took to her heels and ran out of the house, flying over the ground in her hurry to get away from him. She had not run like that since childhood, throwing all caution to the winds and pressing away from the earth with every step, until she was breathless and exhausted but, curiously, more alive than she had been for a long, long time, as one sometimes feels after a sudden spurt of physical activity.
When she could go no further she sat down, panting, under a thorn tree, her back to its trunk and drawing up her knees to try to get into the small piece of shadow that was all that the tree had to offer. But, although she might have run from him, Benedict Carmichael's presence was
Similar Books
