Illyrian Summer (2 page)

He gave her new scripts with innumerable alterations suggested by Miss Roche. Then there were long lists of expenses and money paid out to the
“
extras
”
employed
locality i
n some of the scenes for crowd work. Sarah was hard at work when Daniel appeared.

“
Let me order you a drink—what d
’
you want? Tea? Coffee?
”

“
A long iced orangeade, please, and—if I could say so without offense—half an hour
’
s solitude. Edmund will flay me if I don
’
t get these scripts done so that he has them ready tonight for Vittorio.
”

“
Understood, my pet.
”
Daniel put his hand on her shoulder, and at that moment Edmund came in through the open doorway, with Adam Thorne immediately behind him.

“
Oh, Daniel, clear off, there
’
s a good chap,
”
Edmund said good-naturedly,
“
and leave Sarah alone to get on with her work.
”

“
As you say,
”
retorted Daniel,
“
although it doesn
’
t look as though you
’
ve come in to give her a hand. I
’
ll send you that drink, Sarah.
”

“
Mr. Thorne is sailing with us tomorrow, Sarah, down
to Dubrovnik,
”
Edmund told her.
“
So will you attend to his tickets and cabin and all the rest of the details?
”

“
Of course.
”
Sarah made a note, then glanced up at Adam
Thorne
.
“
I may need your passport and tourist visa numbers, if you have them handy.
”

He produced his passport and other papers.
“
I have
a
different kind of visa, as I
’
ve been staying in the country for some time.
”

“
Adam is working farther south on the new steel plant,
”
Edmund put in,
“
and he knows the district quite well. I think he
’
s going to be quite useful to us.
”

When Edmund had gone from the room, Adam said,
“
We
all seem to jump to the conclusion that the other person is on holiday. When we met at the amphitheater, I thought you, too, were a tourist.
”

Sarah looked up and colored slightly.
“
And evidently a rash one. I was glad of your advice about the bus, anyway, or I would never have got on.
”

When later she was telephoning the shipping company, she wondered if Adam
Thorne’
s apparently sudden decision to accompany the party to Dubrovnik was due to his desire to help the film unit or to his meeting Melanie Roche again, but of course Mr.
Thorne’
s reasons were no business of Sarah
’
s.

Late the next afternoon when Sarah had finally checked all her lists and was enjoying a peaceful cup of coffee, Daniel joined her.

“
Splendid news!
”
he told her enthusiastically.
“
Melanie is flying down to Dubrovnik instead of coming with us on the steamer.
”

“
Oh!
”
Sarah
’
s exclamation sounded like dismay.

“
Why? What
’
s the matter? Aren
’
t you pleased?
”
he demanded.

“
It makes no difference to me whichever way she decides to travel, but I must send
some of her luggage to the airport instead of the docks.
”

Daniel strolled about the room.
“
I thought—oh, what
’
s the use! Anyway, I shan
’
t have to run after
Melanie like a little dog. But I was hoping you might like the idea of our having a bit of free time to spend together.
”

She smiled at him.
“
Well, of course, Daniel, I shall see you on the ship.
”

He stormed out without answering. She was thinking of Adam, who had no doubt specially booked his trip by steamer to be with Melanie. Should Sarah warn him of Melanie
’
s changed plans? She decided that would be too interfering. Better leave matters alone.

But when the steamer had left Rijeka and was sailing down the Adriatic to its first port of call, Sarah did not see Adam. Perhaps, after all, Melanie had informed him of her change of plan.

Sarah had traveled very little by ship, apart from one English Channel crossing, and was delighted with the prospect of a leisurely twenty-four hours
or so on board while the ship zigzagged from the mainland to some of the islands along the coast. She was pleased, too, with the compact appointments of her cabin shared with Radmilla.

Next morning she was up and dressed before the steward brought her breakfast to the cabin at six.

“
Are you coming ashore, Radmilla?
”
Sarah shook the other girl
’
s shoulder.

“
No. I am too tired. I have seen Split.
”
Radmilla rolled over in her berth and Sarah left the cabin.

She was excited at tripping down the gangway and mingling with the crowds in the streets. Stall holders offered fruit and live chickens, vegetables and pottery, shoes and fish. It was only now that Sarah was becoming accustomed to the early-rising habits of southern Europeans. Here in the town there was as much bustle at half-past six as there would be in an English market at eleven.

She moved around a corner to get a better view of an archway, and suddenly Adam Thorne came through the arch.

“
Good morning,
”
he greeted her.

Momentarily she was disconcerted.
“
Oh, er, good morning. I didn
’
t realize you were ashore.
”
She stopped herself in time before she could blunder into some remark about Melanie
’
s absence.

Adam was armed with a leaflet about the sight-seeing points in Split not to be missed, and together he and Sarah made their hurried tour before returning to the ship.

On the way he asked her questions as to how long she had been working for the film company and what ambitions she had to be among the actors instead of the staff.

“
No,
”
she told him
.
“
I
’
ve no hankering after acting. Certainly not filming. On a stage and feeling the atmosphere of a tense audience watching you—that might be different and more exciting. But all these litt
l
e bits of scenes shot on different days—and then, in the end, half of them not used in the final cutting version
—
oh, no, that wouldn
’
t please me at all.
”

His serious, almost stem features relaxed into a smile.
“
I
’
ve noticed that you have an adventurous spirit, Miss Catherall, but you must be careful that it doesn
’
t lead you into situations from which you have to be extricated by others.
”

Her face flamed, but she answered coldly,
“
You
’
re referring to my visit to the amphitheater at Pula. I would have been quite safe. I think I usually have enough sense not to rush into dangers from which I have to be rescued.
”

It was a pleasant relief to meet Daniel again on board. If sometimes she was irritated by his flirtatious attentions, at least he never made her feel the insignificant speck of feminine triviality that Adam did.

It took all the beauty of the long day
’
s sailing down the coast and between the islands to soothe her ruffled temper of the early morning, and she reflected contentedly that Melanie
’
s arrival would probably divert
Adam for the next few days. If he was on holiday from his steel plant in the interior of the country, sooner or later he would have to return, and Sarah would be delighted to wave him goodbye.

But then Sarah found herself in his company once more. On arrival in Dubrovnik Edmund told her,
“
Adam
Thorne
is taking me and one of the camera team on a preliminary trip round the countryside so that I can choose the best spots. You
’
d better come and take notes.
”

Adam drove the car, and for a time the road ran parallel with the coast and was reasonably good, but when he turned inland the surface became rougher and more dusty. Frequent stops were made so that Ricardo, the cameraman, could take experimental shots with a small cinecamera, and Sarah noted down details of scenery and lighting for Edmund
’
s benefit. When Adam drove over a particularly rough stretch of road, she wondered how she would eventually decipher some of her shaky shorthand outlines, and prudently she wrote out notes in longhand before she could forget what Edmund had said.

On the homeward journey Adam stopped at a junction.
“
What do you want to do, Edmund? We can go left and across the river and onto a better road that will take us to Trebinje and then down to Dubrovnik. Or we can go right and down a rather rough piece close to the mountain and so back to the road by the coast, the way we came this morning.
”

Edmund decided on the wilder stretch, since he was interested in main roads only from the point of getting his heavy equipment along them.

“
I
’
ll drive for a while,
”
he offered.
“
You
’
ve been at it all day.
”

Ricardo changed to sit in the back with Sarah, and Adam sat next to Edmund to direct the latter if necessary.

The road became even rougher, and now the surface
seemed to consist of large stones with soft dust in between, so that the car rocked perilously as a wheel sank into the sand.

Suddenly Sarah heard Adam shout and the next moment felt the car shudder, tilt alarmingly, remain poised for a second before it gathered momentum, and then it seemed that she was being dizzily thrown about inside a box.

When at last everything stopped moving, the cushion she was lying on gave a muffled groan and she discovered that she was sitting on top of Ricardo.

“
O mama mia
!”
he gasped as she tried to move.

Then she saw that she and Ricardo were wedged into the wreckage of what had been the back seats.

“
Sarah! Are you all right?
”
A voice penetrated her muzziness.

“
Yes, Edmund, I think so. I don
’
t know.
”

A strong hand grasped hers and pulled her through the opening where a car door had been. Now she saw that the hand belonged to Adam.

“
No bones broken?
”
His tone was so abrupt that she was not sure whether he was asking a question or telling her the fact. In any case she had no time to answer, for he was now helping Ricardo out of the debris.

“
Edmund?
”
she queried.
“
What happened?
”

“
He
’
s all right,
”
Adam replied tersely.

She noticed that his bare arm was bleeding and his shirt and trousers blood splattered.
“
Your arm!
”
she exclaimed.

“
It
’
s nothing.
”

“
How did we crash?
”
she asked.

“
I think the steering failed,
”
Adam answered,
“
and coming down on that bend we went into the boulders on the side and toppled over the edge.
”

He rose from his kneeling position.
“
Not very far down the mountainside, fortunately.
”

She glanced up toward the road they had left. Not very far! Well, on one
’
s two feet, slithering about
twenty yards down a slope might be only trifling, but in a car it was different. Adam seemed to dismiss the event as though it were an everyday occurrence to crawl out of a wrecked vehicle.

Sarah still felt muzzy and the men
’
s conversation after they consulted the map only dimly registered. She rubbed her knee, which had begun to hurt intolerably.

“
Sarah, d
’
you think you can walk ten miles along rough roads?
”
asked Edmund.

“
I can try,
”
she said.

“
More than trying is necessary,
”
Adam pointed out.
“
We can
’
t abandon you halfway.
”

“
I know that,
”
she snapped.
“
All right, I can walk.
”

She saw that he was still trying to stem the blood from the cut on his arm.

“
I have a small towel you could use as a bandage,
”
she offered, and struggled to her feet to get it, but her knee gave way immediately and she collapsed with a cry of pain.

Adam turned toward her.

“
It
’
s only my knee. Bruised, I expect.
”
Sarah desperately wanted to make light of any injuries while Adam was present.

He and Edmund hoisted her to her feet.

“
I can
’
t put my weight on it,
”
she gasped as the knee again buckled under her.

Adam knelt down and his fingers gently probed her knee joint.
“
It may be nothing worse than a bad wrench,
”
he commented.
“
Have you had trouble with it before?
”

“
Of course not!
”
Indignation swept over her. Did he think that she had been half-crippled before she came on this jaunt?

Edmund
’
s arm supported Sarah and he looked at Adam.
“
This means a change of plan if Sarah can
’
t walk. We shall have to find some sort of transport and get it here.
”

Tears sprang into her eyes, but she blinked them
angrily away. This was no time to play the pathetically helpless feminine hindrance, especially in Adam
’
s presence.

Adam stood up.
“
Then two of us will walk to the next village and see what we can find. Ricardo, you
’
d better come with me, and Edmund will stay with Sarah.
”

The slight-figured Italian looked dismayed.
“
To walk on such roads! How far? Sixteen kilometers? It will kill me. I have never walked such distance in my life.
”

Adam grinned unfeelingly.
“
Then it
’
ll be a new experience for you.
”

“
No, no,
”
protested Ricardo.
“
You will walk so fast that I shall only delay you. Edmund is stronger. He will go and I will stay here with Sarah.
”

“
You will not!
”
snapped Adam.
“
Besides,
I
might need your help with the languages. I have only a slight knowledge of Serbo-Croatian and my Italian is very poor.
”

After he and Ricardo had set off, Edmund suggested,
“
We must keep our ears open in case a car or truck comes along. Or even an oxcart. Then we might catch up with the other two before they get to the village.
”

Sarah agreed.
“
How long do you think it will take them to walk there?
”

Edmund was thoughtful.
“
Most of three hours, I should think, if the road is rough all the way.
”

Darkness fell. Sarah must have dozed, for presently she became aware of voices and a lantern light shining in her face.

“
Are you all right, Sarah?
”

The light illumined Adam
’
s face.

She uncurled from her cramped position.
“
Yes. Are we going now?
”

“
Soon,
I
telephoned the hotel to send out a car to fetch us,
”
he answered.
“
It should be here any minute. In fact, I thought it would overtake me on my way back from the village.
”