The Youngest Bridesmaid (14 page)

But the small mishap troubled her. The place seemed suddenly evil and the longing for sunlight and the familiar freshness of the open air drove her back down the passage. The cave was so beautiful, with its myriad facets of light, but she wanted to get away; she wanted the warmth of Piers
’
hearth, though empty of is presence, even of Tibby, who, insolent and resentful though she might be, was still flesh and blood and a formidable antidote to fanciful imaginings. But the passage seemed different. Coming, she had splashed through pools in the darkness, but now the water was continuous and noticeably higher. She had not reckoned, she realized in her city-bred ignorance, with tides and the menace of the sea; she had forgotten the stories she had heard of the disregarded dangers of the Cornish coast.
The water seemed to be rising with alarming speed, rushing in through the passage with a spate of spume and spray, echoing from the rocks with an ominous boom.

Lou retreated, afraid that the rush
o
f water would knock her down and drown her, but presently she started fighting her way back again; better to drown here quickly than in that sacrificial cave, climbing on to the altar stone for safety, but only prolonging the end while she watched the water rise.

She thought, in her ignorance, that one of the storms
of which Piers had warned her must have suddenly arisen while she explored the cave, and she emerged
at last into the sunlight with a sense of shock. The sky was as blue, the sea as calm as before; only the diminishing stretch of sand had changed. The tide was coming in; in a very little while the water would have reached the mouth of the passage, blocking escape.

Lou turned to run with all speed back to the safety of the harbor and the cottages and found herself caught in a rough, ungentle grasp.

“What
the hell do you think you
’
re doing, spying and prying round my domain?
”
Piers
’
furious voice
demanded, and for a moment she scarcely gathered the sense o
f
his words, so relieved was she to
find
contact with human hands.

“
I might have been drowned,
”
she said in protest.
“
I found a passage in the rock and a wonderful cave—-only I think it was evil. I—I don
’
t know about tides, Piers. I suppose I should have asked.
”

“
So you found the Druid
’
s Cave, did you?
”
he said.
“
That was my own discovery when I f
i
rst bought the island. How dare you go snooping without my sanction?
”

“
I might have been drowned,
”
she said again, aware that he was extremely angry, but not, as she had
fi
rst supposed, on account of anxiety for her.

“
You were perfectly safe,
”
he replied chillingly.
“
The cave never fills to danger point except in the storms.
”

“
Oh!
”
She felt def
e
ated and at the same time indignant at his unconcern.

“
Have you no common sense?
”
he said, marching
her resolutely along the shore.
“
Tides and currents can be dangerous in this part of the world, even though the cave is safe enough this
weather. You should have told Tibby where you were going.
”

“
How did I know where I was going?
”
she retorted reasonably.
“
I was simply exploring—not snooping or prying, as you seem to think. Why shouldn
’
t I, anyway?
”

“
Because,
”
he said,
“
the island is mine, and I show it to whom I please. If yo
u
’
d waited—
”

She
w
as about to counter
”
that, having been deserted so early on their honeymoon, it hadn
’
t seemed to her that he would care how she spent her time, but feeling his ungentle grip on her arm, and glancing at his hard, implacable profile; she refrained, realizing that she had hurt him in some inexplicable
fashion; that, like a small boy, he had planned to show her his treasures, and she had taken that pleasure from him and, more unforgivable still had stumbled upon his own special discovery.

“
I
’
m sorry,
”
she said dejectedly as they reached the harbor.
“
I—I love your island, Piers. Who lives in those cottages?
”

But he was not, she realized, to be diverted or placated. Although he saw no reason to explain his own absence, he had clearly expected her to be awaiting his return before making free of his domain. They walked to the house in silence, and Tibby, who must have been watching for them, observed with caustic pleasantry:

“
Town clothes aren
’
t fit for Rune. Made a pretty mess of your trousseau already, haven
’
t you, missis?
”

Lou glanced ruefully at the ruin of what had once been an elegant and costly creation. Melissa
’
s smart wardrobe, she thought, had hardly been designed for a honeymoon such as this.

“
I haven
’
t anything else,
”
she said, wondering if Tibby knew that all those unsuitable garments had not been intended for her.

“
We
’
d better get you some slacks and jerseys, or something,
”
Piers said absently, observing Lou
’
s dishevelment without much interest.
“
Town-bred women seldom have anything suitable for roughing it, Tibby.
”

The woman made no comment, but her smile hinted plainly that his choice in brides was no less unsuitable.

“
Where were you?
”
she asked Lou.
“
Mr. Piers was surprised not to find you here.
”

“
She found the Druid
’
s Cave. She seemed to think she might drown,
”
Piers said, his voice tinged with ridicule.

“
Oh,
”
said Tibby.
“
Your special treasure—what a shame.
”
Her sharp eyes went to Lou
’
s twisting hands.
“
What
’
s become of your wedding ring, missis?
”

“
It fell into the pool. It was too big,
”
Lou said nervously, and the old woman smiled with a dark, secret knowledge, not on
l
y, thought Lou, because she must have known the ring had been made for another bride.

“
Maybe you
’
ve made your peace-offering sacrifice, maybe not,
”
she said obscurely.

“
Sacrifice?
”

“
The voice demands Sacrifice, didn
’
t you know? But then you were offering up what wasn
’
t yours, so maybe it won
’
t count.
”

“
Tibby!
”
snapped Piers, the anger back in his voice.
“
Stop talking nonsense and take yourself
off.
”

‘“
I meant no harm,
”
Tibby replied, and went off with a sly, backward smile at Piers.

“
What did she mean about sacrifice—and the voice?
”
Lou asked, considerably shaken by the reception her harmless exploit had received from both of them.

“
Superstitious nonsense she
’
s picked up from the locals, I imagine. She was upset because you
’
d taken it upon yourself to explore without permission,
”
he said, and Lou exclaimed with exasperation:

“
Anyone would think I
’
d committed sacrilege the way you two go on about that stupid old cave. I thought it was horrible, anyway.
”

Only then did his eyes soften to amusement as if he remembered he must be tolerant of a child
’
s blunders.

“
Then you
’
re not likely to visit it again, are you?
”
he said.
“
Go and get cleaned up, Cinderella. Prince Charming would never look at you in that state.
”

She ran upstairs to change into another of Melissa
’
s frocks
, w
ondering if his remark was purely idle or was intended to convey a hint, but when they met again he appeared to be occupied with facts and figures concerning the business matter which had taken him to the mainland. He had meant not
h
ing that should be taken seriously, evidently, thought Lou, but the Cinderella joke was wearing a bit thin.

She left him at last, still juggling with figures, and began to mak
e
re
a
dy for bed. The day had, a
f
ter all, en
d
ed b
adly
. She had unwittingly trespassed in his private world, not waiting to be granted the freedom of his
kin
gdom, and Tibby, she was sure, had made more mischief, for despite her remarks last night, nobody had moved the second bed. For a moment she felt anger and a sense of defeat, but she could do nothing now. She remembered the old woman saying:
“
Happen Mr. Piers will have changed his mind by morning,
”
and perhaps he had. Perhaps he already had regrets for his hasty marriage, or perhaps the car accid
e
nt had shaken him up more than he would admit. In either event she could scarcely ask him, so, as a token that she understood, she closed the door firmly between their rooms and went to bed.

CHAPTER FIVE

But
the next day, Piers had become
a
different person. Lou, waking uneasily to the prospect of th
e
long, uncertain hours ahead, found him standing b
y
her bed with a tray of early morning tea and a quite humble
request that he might share it with her
. Sun
poured in at the windows and the sky held the delicate promise of spring rather than of the approaching winter.

“
How odd to think it
’
s November,
”
she said, remembering the wet greyness of her wedding day and the early twilight which seemed to descend s
o
quickly upon London,
“
but Cornwall has a different climate, hasn
’
t it?
”

“
So they say. This is probably a freak spell o
f
halcyon weather before the storms set in,
”
he replied.
“
We
must make the most of it.
”

She glanced at him shyly, wondering if his remark contained more than an allusion to the weather, and he smiled back at her with reassurance, sitting on the side of the bed drinking his tea, bringing a comfortable warmth to the small shared intimacy.

“
I
’
m sorry about yesterday,
”
he said.
“
I didn
’
t really mind you exploring the island, you know. I—I wanted to show it to you myself.
”

She released a little sigh of pleasure. It was nice to know that for all his reputed wealth and sophistication, he was still young enough to care about a childish disappointment.

“
I should have realized,
”
she said:
“
It was just that I wanted something to fill the day. I
’
m sorry, too.
”

“
You felt deserted, didn
’
t you?
”

“
Not exactly, but—I wanted to get away from Tibby, I suppose. I
’
m afraid she doesn
’
t like me.
”

“
T
ibby
’
s just jealous—not only because she doesn
’
t want any competition here on Rune, but because she thought that in marrying Melissa I would cancel out a slight.
”

“
A slight?
”

“
To my father, and so to h
e
r. She was prepared to put up with Blanche
’
s daughter, you see, for she, too, fell under the old spell. Tibby
’
s rather feudal in her ideas.
”

“
You
’
re a little feudal yourself,
”
Lou said, wondering at the same time whether she was rash to submit a small challenge, but he only smiled.

“
Yes, well
...
it
’
s a habit you
’
ll doubtless break me of in time, Cinderella,
”
he replied, and watched with affectionate amusement the flash of surprise and doubt which came into her eyes. She looked so like a rather uncertain little girl sitting propped against her pillows, her face innocent of make-up, her hair soft and uncurled, ruffled from sleep like a child
’
s, that he was, not for the first time, a little ashamed of the ease with which he had acquired an unwilling bride.

“
Were you unwilling?
”
he asked, adding as
he
saw her forehead wrinkle in perplexity under the disordered fringe
.
“
I
was following my own thoughts. I was referring to unwilling brides.
”

He spoke too lightly for her to be sure whether he meant to be taken seriously, and she was as yet too
inexperienced to retaliate provocatively and keep him guessing.

“
You must know I wasn
’
t,
”
she answered with simple honesty.
“
I would never have married you, even for Cousin Blanche
’
s sake, if I hadn
’
t—if I hadn
’
t—
”

“
If you hadn
’
t what?
”

But she could not, in the face of such an unpropitious start to a honeymoon, embarrass him with further offers of compliance. She could not tell him that the attraction he held for her might, with such little effort on his part, turn so easily to love. She did not even know if, in spite of his earlier warnings, he meant to demand anything of her at all.

“
If I hadn
’
t liked you, of course,
”
she answered primly, and thought he put down his empty cup and got to his feet with a certain air of relief.

“
Of course,
”
he echoed with a tinge of mockery.
“
Well, get up and get dressed now, lazybones. The day
’
s too good to waste indoors. Tibby can put us up a picnic and we
’
ll do a tour of inspection.
”

It was the first of many such days. The unseasonable weather continued to hold, deceiving Lou into imagining that this re
m
ote little island was not only cut of
f
from the outsi
d
e world
’
s demands, but from the vagaries of the elements as well. As she came to know the island, she came also to know a little of
P
iers, and realized she had been right when she had told her cousin that Rune was, for him, an escape. He seemed relaxed and at ease in this wild solitude and his tongue lost its sharp arrogance as he patiently explained island customs and answered questions. Lou was grateful to him for sharing his small kingdom with her and careful never to trespass with proposals of her own. So
m
etimes she thought he was merely accepting her as he would a
well-trained dog which knew its place and required only casual attention, then he would surprise her quite suddenly
by an intensely personal question or answer and touch her with the tender, lingering hands of a lover.

Once he said to her:
“
You
loo
k at me sometimes,
Lou, as if you didn
’
t understand. You don
’
t, do you?
”

She shook her head dumbly. She had such little self-conceit that she accepted his apparent reluctance to consummate their marriage as a si
g
n
of
regret for his hasty action, just as she accepted Tibby
’
s prevarications about moving the secon
d
bed. She knew, and Tibby knew, that the excuse o
f
the car accident had served its purpose; the stitches ha
d
been taken out, the scar was nearly healed, and there was nothing left to suppose but that the acci
dent
had been a timely let-out for Piers.

“
No, you don
’
t understand,
”
he said, breaking into her thoughts with
a certain roughness.
“
Why do you imagine
I brought you to the island?
”

They were on the shore and he had pinioned her gently but firmly against the rock face with one of
those sudden changes of mood she found so disconcerting.

“
Because it was easiest, I suppose,
”
she answered, groping vainly for the right words.
“
I mean the—the honeymoon you had planned would have , been—would have been—
”

“
Wasted, were you going to say?
”
he mocked as she broke off uncertainly.
“
Oh, no, my dear, that honeymoon was devised for obvious reasons—the sort of tour-de-luxe expected in the circumstances. On the island one has a chance to get to know one another.
”

She blinked up at him, the wind stinging her eyes to an impression of tears which she brushed away impatiently.

“
But surely you would have wanted to get to know Melissa?
”
she said gently, and his slow grin was both confusing and a little alarming.

“
I already knew all that was necessary about Melissa, and I don
’
t think she was proposing to dig much below the surface where I was concerned,
”
he said, and she experienced a small, irrational spurt
of anger.

“
If you were so indifferent to each other, then I
’
m not surprised she ran off with someone else,
”
she retorted, and his smile became suddenly tender.

“
You
’
d never seize an advantage where you could, would you?
”
he said with amusement,
“
Most girls would be rubbing it in how badly I
’
d been treated.
”

“
Perhaps I don
’
t think you have been badly
treated,
”
she replied, standing her ground.
“
If Melissa knew you were simply making what you thought to be a suitable marriage, you can hardly complain if she preferred someone else at the last
moment.
”

“
Oh, I
’
m not complaining. Still, I wouldn
’
t like you to
think
I
’
m entirely devoid of natural feelings.
I wasn
’
t indifferent to Melissa in the sense you imply. She
’
s a very attractive young woman,
”
he said deliberately, and knowing that he had hurt her,
took a perverse pleasure in watching her instant recoil.

“
Of course,
”
she said.
“
I spoke without thinking, I suppose. All the same, it was hardly fair to marry me out of spite, was it?
”