The sky above was streaked with peach and apricot and lavender. It was a lovely evening, warm and soft and peaceful.
Where the hell was Ellie? Why had she wandered off like this when she must have known he’d be back soon. He hoped she wasn’t daydreaming about that son of Vivienne Carr’s. Perish the thought!
‘I need a proper drink,’ he exclaimed, but just as he turned to go there she was in the far distance making her way slowly towards the Casa. No hat, of course, silly girl. Rafe watched as she drew closer and his face darkened with concern. Even from this distance he could tell she looked ready to collapse …
Rafe raced down the garden and vaulted the stone wall, just in time to see Ellie’s knees fold under her …
Waiting for Rafe … to make the time pass more quickly, Ellie had gone for a ten-minute stroll. But there was so much on her mind that she’d wandered further than she meant to. For some peculiar reason, putting one foot in front of the other was becoming a curious effort. Her head started to pound and her mouth was parched and dry with a tickle that felt ominously like the beginnings of a sore throat. She felt like lying down right here among the wild vines and the goats and the seedpods of the little blue lupins. Just a ten-minute nap and she'd be her old self again - damn this wretched glandular fever, why wouldn’t it leave her alone and let her get back into hospital, where she belonged. Her knees melted under her and an unconscious Ellie dropped softly down onto the sunbaked earth among the little droppings of goat shit and dry husks of lupin pods.
Suddenly - there was Rafe beside her, his Mr Big shadow blocking out the sun, his cool fingers firm on her pulse. Ellie’s first thought was one of huge relief . Rafe … the one person she needed … the one she most wanted to … wanted to … He was kneeling beside her, his hands feeling for her pulse, his head now pressing against her chest, listening for her heartbeat. She wanted to put her arms around his head and hold him there against her, but for some reason there was no strength in them and they refused to obey, lying limply as they had fallen when she hit the ground.
And anyway, there was something wrong … maybe it wasn’t Rafe after all … He was shaking her, not roughly, but trying to get her to sit up, to stand, to get back on to her feet. ‘Come on, Ellie,’ he was saying and his voice sounded strange, kind of shocked; but yes, that was definitely his voice. He pulled her arm round his neck and hoisted her to her feet, the solid warmth of him cradling her exhausted body.
‘I can walk,’ she murmured groggily as her feet left the ground. ‘No, you can’t.’ She was lifted over the stone wall and stood swaying there till he joined her on the other side. Ellie felt herself swept off her feet once more and the next thing she remembered was coming to on a wicker chaise-longue in the verandah’s shade.
Giovana came running, uttering exclamations of dismay. ‘She’ll be fine,’ said Rafe. ‘No hat!’ he said to Giovana, pantomiming putting on a hat and then shrugging his shoulders to demonstrate the stupidity of not wearing one.
Giovana brought a glass of water and Ellie downed it greedily. ‘Th-thank you,’ she stuttered dopily, looking gratefully up at the two of them bending over her. The chilled water cleared her blurred vision and her rescuer came into focus.
‘Your hair!’ she gasped, dismay written all over her upturned face.
‘A buzz-cut, Rafe, how could you!’
‘Much cooler.’ Rafe grinned and looked mighty pleased with himself.
Giovana laughed and nodded as if she understood every word. She touched her own head which was as ever covered with a triangle of red printed cotton tied at the nape of her neck.
‘Stay right where you are, I’m going to see to the supper.’
‘Oh but I –’ she struggled to sit up only to feel hands on her shoulders pushing her down again.
‘Doctor’s
Where the hell was Ellie? Why had she wandered off like this when she must have known he’d be back soon. He hoped she wasn’t daydreaming about that son of Vivienne Carr’s. Perish the thought!
‘I need a proper drink,’ he exclaimed, but just as he turned to go there she was in the far distance making her way slowly towards the Casa. No hat, of course, silly girl. Rafe watched as she drew closer and his face darkened with concern. Even from this distance he could tell she looked ready to collapse …
Rafe raced down the garden and vaulted the stone wall, just in time to see Ellie’s knees fold under her …
Waiting for Rafe … to make the time pass more quickly, Ellie had gone for a ten-minute stroll. But there was so much on her mind that she’d wandered further than she meant to. For some peculiar reason, putting one foot in front of the other was becoming a curious effort. Her head started to pound and her mouth was parched and dry with a tickle that felt ominously like the beginnings of a sore throat. She felt like lying down right here among the wild vines and the goats and the seedpods of the little blue lupins. Just a ten-minute nap and she'd be her old self again - damn this wretched glandular fever, why wouldn’t it leave her alone and let her get back into hospital, where she belonged. Her knees melted under her and an unconscious Ellie dropped softly down onto the sunbaked earth among the little droppings of goat shit and dry husks of lupin pods.
Suddenly - there was Rafe beside her, his Mr Big shadow blocking out the sun, his cool fingers firm on her pulse. Ellie’s first thought was one of huge relief . Rafe … the one person she needed … the one she most wanted to … wanted to … He was kneeling beside her, his hands feeling for her pulse, his head now pressing against her chest, listening for her heartbeat. She wanted to put her arms around his head and hold him there against her, but for some reason there was no strength in them and they refused to obey, lying limply as they had fallen when she hit the ground.
And anyway, there was something wrong … maybe it wasn’t Rafe after all … He was shaking her, not roughly, but trying to get her to sit up, to stand, to get back on to her feet. ‘Come on, Ellie,’ he was saying and his voice sounded strange, kind of shocked; but yes, that was definitely his voice. He pulled her arm round his neck and hoisted her to her feet, the solid warmth of him cradling her exhausted body.
‘I can walk,’ she murmured groggily as her feet left the ground. ‘No, you can’t.’ She was lifted over the stone wall and stood swaying there till he joined her on the other side. Ellie felt herself swept off her feet once more and the next thing she remembered was coming to on a wicker chaise-longue in the verandah’s shade.
Giovana came running, uttering exclamations of dismay. ‘She’ll be fine,’ said Rafe. ‘No hat!’ he said to Giovana, pantomiming putting on a hat and then shrugging his shoulders to demonstrate the stupidity of not wearing one.
Giovana brought a glass of water and Ellie downed it greedily. ‘Th-thank you,’ she stuttered dopily, looking gratefully up at the two of them bending over her. The chilled water cleared her blurred vision and her rescuer came into focus.
‘Your hair!’ she gasped, dismay written all over her upturned face.
‘A buzz-cut, Rafe, how could you!’
‘Much cooler.’ Rafe grinned and looked mighty pleased with himself.
Giovana laughed and nodded as if she understood every word. She touched her own head which was as ever covered with a triangle of red printed cotton tied at the nape of her neck.
‘Stay right where you are, I’m going to see to the supper.’
‘Oh but I –’ she struggled to sit up only to feel hands on her shoulders pushing her down again.
‘Doctor’s
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