Rose of the Desert (25 page)

The heat became more and more oppressive with every mile along the river, and on their arrival at Khartoum, Julie learned that the temperature was one hundred and twelve degrees. No wonder the merest turn of one's head could bring out the perspiration!

Clay left them immediately after arriving at the hotel, saying that he had some business to attend to. Julie and the children spent the afternoon in the swimming pool. Though the water was lukewarm it was still considerably cooler than the blanket of heat that lay over the city.

Clay hadn't arrived when Julie put Janet and Mark to bed, and a little while after she retired herself, being completely exhausted with the period of travel, and this strength-sapping heat.

The next two days were spent mainly in sightseeing. Clay said nothing about why they were waiting in Khartoum. He didn't seem unduly concerned by their prolonged stay. As for Julie, the prospect of viewing the Sudanese capital gripped her with the thrill of excitement. Still not very sophisticated when it came to travel, she couldn't help gazing at everything with pure wonder.

There were colourful stores and banyan-shaded avenues, old men squatting on carpets offering souvenirs and trinkets to the passers-by, and beautiful Greek and Armenian women dressed in the height of fashion. Clay kept a hand on Julie's elbow, occasionally quirking a lazy smile as shy dark-skinned children peeped round corners, or from behind a robe.

They went to where the rivers meet.

"The Blue Nile and the White Nile," Clay said, pointing in the distance. "One comes through the Ethiopian mountains, the other through endless miles of desert."

Julie looked to where two rivers were running incredibly side by side, before they merged. One was a light ochre, the other a dull blue.

Janet and Mark had been quite happy playing in the - hotel grounds under the supervision of an attendant, but they didn't refuse a trip to the zoo. It was there that Mark fell in love with a hippopotamus, and couldn't be persuaded to to leave. Janet tugged him and Julie coaxed him, but it was no use. He had eyes only for the creature that slithered around in its bath of slimy water.

Eventually Clay came up with a suggestion. What about going to see the steamers anchored in the Nile? He hadn't forgotten Mark's excitement when he had travelled on them to and from Marubo. The bribe worked. Mark allowed Clay to carry him shoulder-high to the hired car. The run to the river was only a matter of minutes.

They arrived back at the hotel in the middle of the afternoon. The heat was so fierce it was impossible to do anything but lie and doze on one's bed with as little on as possible. Later, when the air had cooled, Julie took the children down to splash in the pool. She and Clay sipped iced drinks on a shaded terrace at the side.

At first Julie thought her drink must be a lot stronger than she had realised ... or was it that she hadn't quite woken up from her afternoon doze?

A second ago Janet and Mark were rolling their wet little bodies blissfully on the lawn, and now there they were, the two of them, running pell-mell alongside the swimming pool towards the garden entrance!

Alarmed, and realising it wasn't a dream after all, Julie sprang to her feet. Clay laid a restraining hand on her arm.

She watched as they flung themselves into the arms of a rounded woman of about thirty.

Behind her was a thickset distinguished-looking man probably eight or ten years older, who by this time had come in for a share of the children's onslaught. Amidst the laughter and general pandemonium, it struck Julie that she had never seen Janet and Mark run to anyone quite like that before ... not since Tripoli, when perhaps Lynn had arrived back from shopping, or Steve had come on leave.

With a lump in her throat she turned to Clay for enlightenment. He winked non-committally. The man came forward, smiling, his arm outstretched.

"Clay! It's good to see you. You're looking fit as ever." Clay got to his feet and took the hand warmly,

"Hello, Ralph. I hope my cable didn't upset things too much?"

The man tossed a tolerant grin to where the woman was happily disengaging herself from small damp bodies.

"What do you think? Maureen hustled me on to the first available plane out here, and I admit she didn't have to twist my arm!"

"Clay! " The woman came forward with a radiant smile. "How lovely to see you!"

Clay grinned and drew Julie forward.

"Julie, meet Ralph and Maureen Bliss. They were pretty good friends of Steve's and Lynn's."

Julie remembered now. She had seen a photograph of the couple on Lynn's writing bureau. Maureen Bliss held out a hand, smilingly unconcerned at the damp and grass stains on a once impeccable sharkskin suit. This endeared her to Julie straight away. She took the hand, smiling shyly.

"Julie, I've been wanting to meet you. I heard what a wonderful job you were doing with the children, but I never expected to find them so bounding! You must let me know the secret."

Julie's heart lurched.

'You shouldn't have any difficulties, Maureen," Clay interjected idly. "I haven't said anything to Julie, by the way," casting her a fathomless smile. "She's inclined to fever up when it comes to the business of Janet and Mark's welfare."

He pulled up more chairs, and when the drinks were ordered Ralph Bliss leaned forward anxiously.

"Well, Clay, tell us the worst! "

Clay grinned. "There is no worst, Ralph. I wouldn't have brought you out here had there been. I'm in touch with Steve's legal men. There are no complications."

"And you say," Ralph cast a wary glance to where Jane* and Mark were floating a rubber toy in the pool, "Lynn's sister doesn't want the children?"

"That's about the size of it."

"But when we were in touch with you shortly after the plane crash, I understood no one could be considered outside this Mr. and Mrs. Mayhew ... as guardians, I mean."

Clay nodded. "Lynn's sister's name was given as legal guardian. As you know the company insist on all this information for their files. Naturally we had to follow it up. Mrs. Mayhew was willing at first but later turned out to be ..." he gave a half smile, "to put it in legal jargon, the disinterested party."

"And what about the
interested
party?" Ralph asked his voice a little unsteady. "Clay, you know how we feel about Janet and Mark. Are you telling us there's a chance we might be able to adopt them as our own?"

"Going through the necessary channels I can see no hitches." There was a common sigh of relief between man and wife. For a brief moment they squeezed hands across the table.

"I wish we could have saved you all this trouble." Maureen looked with concern at Clay and Julie. Clay offered cigarettes and lit them.

"I suppose it was natural for Lynn to name her only blood relative on the form. Just because she had known you and Ralph for years, it didn't necessarily follow that you would want to take care of her children."

"But how we do! " Maureen breathed fervently.

"And what's the next step ... for us now, I mean?" Ralph asked eagerly.

"You'll be hearing from the appropriate department within the next couple of weeks, I should think." Clay slapped his shoulder. "And relax, Ralph, it's going to be okay."

Ralph smiled, fidgeted and got to his feet.

"You don't mind if we don't stay on, Clay? The airport have laid on a couple of rooms for us tonight, and we fly out again in the morning." His glance locked happily with his wife's for a moment. "If it's all right with you and Julie, we'd like to get the children home."

Clay got leisurely to his feet.

"It's the best thing you could do for them. I have all the necessary papers in my room if you would care to come up with me, Ralph," and as Julie would have got to her feet he turned. "It's all right, Julie. I'll see to the children's packing."

The two men strode away, and Janet skipped up with a rubber duck. "Momo! He swam all the way to the other side. Isn't he clever?"

"Well, he's a duck, isn't he?" Maureen raised an eyebrow humorously and pushed a wet strand of hair from Janet's face. As the child skipped away again she lay back with a happy sigh.

"Momo ... it's been their name for me ever since they could get it out, and it looks like I'm stuck with it!"

Julie struggled to find her voice.

"You've known them as long as that?"

Maureen nodded.

"We live in Tunis, and as you have probably guessed my husband is in oil. He has to make at least two business trips a year to Tripoli and on past occasions we always stayed at the Rowlands'. Our visits usually lasted several weeks, so you can imagine we got to know the children pretty well."

To the question that was hovering in Julie's eyes she answered,

"Ralph and I can't have a family. I was ill just after we were married. It's physically impossible for me to bear children." She spoke the words without bitterness and her face held a sereneness that comes from making the best of what life has to offer. Her cheeks were round and full and the smile wide and unaffected. Her grey eyes held depth and seemed to reflect an affectionate nature.

"Is that how you came to know Clay, staying at the Rowlands'?" Julie asked.

"Yes, he was a regular visitor to the house, and often his leaves coincided with our visits."

Julie gazed to where Mark sat energetically poking his finger down a crack in the path. His sister sang snatches of a song as she dried the duck off with a small handkerchief.

'You're going to miss them, aren't you?" Maureen said, following her gaze.

"I'll miss them, but I shan't worry about them now," Julie replied jerkily, trying to sound bright

"Don't, my dear." Maureen dropped a hand over hers reassuringly. "We have a sizeable house on the outskirts of Tunis, with masses of lawn just aching to be trampled on. There's an English school quite near and I want to take them and collect them myself each day when they are old enough to attend. There's no question of our ever being far from them." The grey eyes clouded for a moment. "Ralph and I were stunned when we got news of the air crash, but perhaps this is one thing we can do for Steve and Lynn."

Julie nodded and gazed long at the children. After several seconds she got to her feet with a wavering smile.

"Well, hadn't we better get Janet and Mark dried off and dressed ready to go?"

After a perceptive look at Julie, Maureen rose and took her arm.

"Yes, I think we'd better do that."

The suitcases were in the taxi. Janet and Mark, neatly dressed in pale blue linen, stood staring up with polished faces as the goodbyes were said.

Julie's hand was taken and squeezed in Ralph's large brown one, and then Maureen took over.

"I hope this isn't the last we see of you, Julie. What are your plans ? Do you expect to stay on in Tripoli ?"

Clay, who had been standing a little way behind, stepped forward and dropped a hand lazily across Julie's trembling shoulders.

"Those questions are a little premature, Maureen," he smiled suavely, "but you can take it we'll look you up in Tunis in due course."

"I'm glad to hear it." Maureen looked from one to the other. With a slow, dawning smile she nodded her head mechanically. "And somehow I don't think I
have
seen the last of Julie!"

She continued to stare at them dreamily until Ralph grabbed her with mock roughness and thrust her into the cab. He grinned mildly. "I think it's time we were getting out of here!"

Clay got down from his tremendous height to touch a fist lightly to Mark's chin. "So long, old-timer, and you take care of that sister of yours."

To Janet he tugged gently at the pony-tail and muttered, " 'Bye, nipper."

She twined her arms about his neck. "Can't you come too, Clay?"

"Afraid not, but I'll be seeing you soon." With a tight smile he stretched up and went to say something to the cab driver.

And now it's my turn, Julie thought. With a lump in her throat the size of an egg, she bent to where Mark was staring up, his eyes like saucers, the blond eyebrows above looking like white wings.

"I'ne going to have a big bed
all
to myself!"

"Are you, darling?"

Julie hugged him and swallowed a tear back at the softness of his cheek. "You must show it to. me when I come and see you."

"Will you come very very
very
soon?" Janet pleaded, crooking an arm round her neck.

"Very very
very
soon!" Julie smiled brilliantly.

The children clung and she clung, nobody wanting to be the first to break away. Clay had long since left the driver's window. Time was up. She looked up to meet his gaze, pleading for a few more seconds. He looked at her face, the entwining arms.... She thought his eyes rested on the three of them for rather a long time. Abruptly he turned and thrust his head into the car.

What he was saying to Ralph and Maureen she had no idea, but as long they talked she had these few precious moments with Janet and Mark. When at last the conversation ended she thrust the children from her.

"In you both get, and see if you can wave to me from the window!"

There was a scramble for seats and before the engine had started small noses were pressed up against the glass. Clay stepped to her side and Ralph and Maureen waved. The car drew away from the pavement in a cloud of smoke and Julie could just make out two small faces at the rear before the car disappeared round the corner towards the airport.

She stood for a long time staring with damp eyes alongthe road, then Clay steered her back into the hotel grounds.

"We could have gone too," she said slowly, looking up „ at him.

"We could have."

She stopped. "Clay, why didn't we fly with them as far as Tripoli?"

Clay gave her a dark glance.

"Because, my dear, you and I have some unfinished business to attend to here in Khartoum ... a date with the River Nile, remember?" A forceful glint in his eyes, he led her back into the hotel. "I'll be along for you in a little while. In the meantime put something different on .., that mauvish thing will do."