senses?’
‘I truly don’t think anything of the sort.’ he assured her, taking a spare-rib into his fingers and holding it poised for a bite. ‘It strikes me as perfectly natural that a woman should find some opportunity to wear a dress she has only recently bought. You are wearing eastern silk, for it has an almost sensual sound as it moves against the skin of a woman, and so I realise that you have been shopping in the kampong. And there you also bought the perfume, eh? Rather more effective than lavender water, if you don’t mind my saying so?’
His lips quirked and he took a hungry bite of the cold meat. Merlin shot him a questioning look as she lifted the coffeepot and filled their cups. ‘You do think I’m a fool, don’t you, mynheer?’
‘No, I think you are a shy woman who has rarely dared to be yourself. Why shouldn’t you indulge in a little vanity? There are females who indulge vices you would neither understand nor be capable of executing, so for the sake of heaven don’t call yourself a tart! You felt for once the natural urge to let the woman in you take over from the efficient secretary, and I do assure you that if your perfume offended me, I would request that you scrub it off. This is an excellent salad dressing, by the way.’
‘I’m glad you like it.’ She placed his cup of coffee within reach of his hand, and as always she felt a sense of wonderment as she watched the adept way he handled the act of eating, which to a sighted person offered none of the complications which someone blind came up against. She had taken care to lay his utensils exactly as they were laid by the houseboy, and to place his food as if his plate was a quarter-hour clock, with his meat at the twelve position, his potatoes at three, the salad at six, and the bread at number nine. He then knew exactly where to place his knife and fork and could make conversation quite naturally, without fumbling with his food. Whenever rijstaffel was served, the various small dishes were placed in a clockwise position on the table, making it easier for him to select what he wanted.
Merlin pushed her own food around her plate and she was glad he had a good appetite even if she didn’t feel very hungry. She had a fateful feeling that the tragedy which had started in London was going to come to a climax here on the island of Pulau-Indah ... the tempest, untamed and ferocious, was building up and she and Paul were facing together what might be their last hours on earth. It was said that confession was good for the soul, but she wanted him to go on respecting her right up to the end ... she shrank from him ever knowing who she really was.
‘You must eat your lunch,’ he said, having caught the restless movements of her knife and fork. ‘It might be hours before we eat again, for as the storm intensifies it will be safer if you remain here in this room. Come, you have provided an excellent meal and food inside you will help dispel the nervous tension. Eat, mevrouw, that is an order. I don’t want a fainting woman on my hands, for how should I cope with the method of revival when you are wearing that long silk skirt? It would be most awkward getting your head between your knees, ja ?’
‘The mind boggles, mynheer.’ She broke into a smile, and started to eat her lunch, enjoying far more the luxury of feasting her eyes on Paul, lounging there on his cushions, casually eating pickled plums, the light of the hurricane lamps playing over his face. His grey eyes had a sheen to them under the heavy lids, as of oyster-shell, full of light and yet looking only into blackness as he seemed to gaze at her from across the table.
‘We face damnation or heaven,’ he said, his eyes so strangely brilliant above the sculptured bones of his face. ‘I think I am glad that you stayed to keep me company, Miss Lakeside. At least I have had a good lunch.’
Merlin felt her heart’s movement ... she knew that Paul was thanking her in his own way
‘I truly don’t think anything of the sort.’ he assured her, taking a spare-rib into his fingers and holding it poised for a bite. ‘It strikes me as perfectly natural that a woman should find some opportunity to wear a dress she has only recently bought. You are wearing eastern silk, for it has an almost sensual sound as it moves against the skin of a woman, and so I realise that you have been shopping in the kampong. And there you also bought the perfume, eh? Rather more effective than lavender water, if you don’t mind my saying so?’
His lips quirked and he took a hungry bite of the cold meat. Merlin shot him a questioning look as she lifted the coffeepot and filled their cups. ‘You do think I’m a fool, don’t you, mynheer?’
‘No, I think you are a shy woman who has rarely dared to be yourself. Why shouldn’t you indulge in a little vanity? There are females who indulge vices you would neither understand nor be capable of executing, so for the sake of heaven don’t call yourself a tart! You felt for once the natural urge to let the woman in you take over from the efficient secretary, and I do assure you that if your perfume offended me, I would request that you scrub it off. This is an excellent salad dressing, by the way.’
‘I’m glad you like it.’ She placed his cup of coffee within reach of his hand, and as always she felt a sense of wonderment as she watched the adept way he handled the act of eating, which to a sighted person offered none of the complications which someone blind came up against. She had taken care to lay his utensils exactly as they were laid by the houseboy, and to place his food as if his plate was a quarter-hour clock, with his meat at the twelve position, his potatoes at three, the salad at six, and the bread at number nine. He then knew exactly where to place his knife and fork and could make conversation quite naturally, without fumbling with his food. Whenever rijstaffel was served, the various small dishes were placed in a clockwise position on the table, making it easier for him to select what he wanted.
Merlin pushed her own food around her plate and she was glad he had a good appetite even if she didn’t feel very hungry. She had a fateful feeling that the tragedy which had started in London was going to come to a climax here on the island of Pulau-Indah ... the tempest, untamed and ferocious, was building up and she and Paul were facing together what might be their last hours on earth. It was said that confession was good for the soul, but she wanted him to go on respecting her right up to the end ... she shrank from him ever knowing who she really was.
‘You must eat your lunch,’ he said, having caught the restless movements of her knife and fork. ‘It might be hours before we eat again, for as the storm intensifies it will be safer if you remain here in this room. Come, you have provided an excellent meal and food inside you will help dispel the nervous tension. Eat, mevrouw, that is an order. I don’t want a fainting woman on my hands, for how should I cope with the method of revival when you are wearing that long silk skirt? It would be most awkward getting your head between your knees, ja ?’
‘The mind boggles, mynheer.’ She broke into a smile, and started to eat her lunch, enjoying far more the luxury of feasting her eyes on Paul, lounging there on his cushions, casually eating pickled plums, the light of the hurricane lamps playing over his face. His grey eyes had a sheen to them under the heavy lids, as of oyster-shell, full of light and yet looking only into blackness as he seemed to gaze at her from across the table.
‘We face damnation or heaven,’ he said, his eyes so strangely brilliant above the sculptured bones of his face. ‘I think I am glad that you stayed to keep me company, Miss Lakeside. At least I have had a good lunch.’
Merlin felt her heart’s movement ... she knew that Paul was thanking her in his own way
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