Unknown (8 page)

‘There are certain principles to abide by, Miss Theron.’

‘What, for instance?’

‘Well, that persuasion is better than force, for instance. Are you coming? I don’t want to have to force you.’

Feeling trapped by his close proximity, Tirza made to open the heavy door, but he brushed her aside and did this himself.

Hugo led the way to the cocktail bar and Tirza walked beside him with a natural grace, her tawny hair bouncing about her shoulders.

To reach the cocktail bar they had to go down several shallow steps and, catching her heel in her long gown, she stumbled. Without thinking, she took his arm and directly she had recovered her balance she snatched her hand away.

To her surprise, the girls who were going to model for Hugo were escorted by young men, and Tirza felt a surge of relief. Being in a mixed party would simplify matters, give her time to compose herself.

Beside her, in the dimly-lit space, Hugo held his glass with his fingertips around the rim. Tirza appeared poised, chic and remarkably self-possessed, but her mind was a network of anxieties. Her nerves screamed with impatience for this night to be over, and she wondered what time they were supposed to dine and imagined the huge round table which would accommodate them all.

She was amazed, therefore, when they were in the foyer of the hotel to hear Hugo say, ‘Well, until rehearsals tomorrow ... goodnight.’

When they were alone she said, ‘I’m afraid I don’t understand. I thought we were all going to have dinner together? That’s what you said.’

His eyes brushed over her. ‘That’s not what I said. What I
did
say, and I quote, was that I usually go out of my way to entertain business associates and, since you are one, I’m taking you to dinner.’ Feeling furious with him, she retorted, ‘I remember, word for word, what you said. You said, and
I quote
—not just with you. I wouldn’t want to be so involved.’

‘You’re gifted, it would appear, with a most remarkable memory. Well, I have a reputation for changing my mind.’

‘For that matter, so do I have a reputation for changing my mind—and I’ve now changed my mind about having dinner!’ She turned her furious green gaze on him.

Hugo took her arm. ‘Look, we’re going to see a lot of each other over the next couple of weeks and I have a number of things I want to discuss with you.’

Moving away from him she said, ‘I can’t think what there is to discuss.’

‘You’re going to work for me—isn’t that enough to go on?’

‘It would appear that apart from creating a whole lot of unpleasant hassles for myself, I have no option but to work for you. , I can’t imagine what you have to discuss with me privately. What about those other girls?’

‘Those girls often model for Swazi Signature. They’re aware of the ropes. Now stop arguing.’ He took her arm and led the way to the dining-room.

Soon after they had been shown to their table they were given the menu, which they studied before ordering. Tirza felt a thrill at being with Hugo Harrington. Automatically, her eyes went to him, just as he turned to look at her and in the dim light, their eyes met and held. The look was like a two-way magnet. She felt it and she knew he felt it.

‘My head dyer is right,’ he said, very softly, ‘you are very beautiful. The man you call Nigel knew what he was about.’

Looking at him, across the small round table, her eyes glowed malevolently. ‘The way you speak only serves to show up your true character.’

‘Really? Could you be more explicit?’ His eyes lingered, with lazy insolence, on her mouth.

‘You’re cold and calculating. Why bring him up?’

‘You know where you stand with me—in this case. I do have a cold and calculating character. In other words, I expect things between you and the Mobrays to run smoothly during the next couple of weeks. Okay?’

‘And you brought me here just to tell me
that?'

‘Yes.’

While they were waiting for a very special dessert, which had to be especially prepared for them, Hugo asked her to dance.

‘I think you misunderstand the situation,’ she said. ‘This happens to be a business appointment. There’s absolutely no need for me to dance with you.’

‘Let’s not fool ourselves,’ he replied, ‘the music is good and we would both like to dance to it.’

‘It isn’t compulsory to dance.’ She realised that she was being childish, but went on, ‘It says nothing about dancing in the contract, because I’ve studied it.’

‘To everything there’s a social side. As a buyer, you should know that.’

Tirza gestured helplessly, trying to convey the futility of arguing with him.

They walked on to the dance floor, and men at various tables looked up from their food to look at her, while others momentarily broke off what they were saying. Before taking her into his arms, Hugo studied her for a moment, as though deciding to reappraise her.

The music, at this stage, was slow, with a slow beat, and necessitated close contact, and while they were dancing, from beneath her lashes Tirza discovered that the angles of Hugo Harrington’s cheekbones and jaw were sculptured and she felt her nerves begin to tighten up. It was not the first time she realised that she was more than just a little attracted to him.

Finally they went back to their table and the Don Pedro dessert was served.

‘Where is the casino?’ Tirza asked. ‘It seems so quiet. One would expect more activity in a hotel with a gambling casino.’

‘We’ll drop in later.’ He gave her a brief smile.

‘Thank you.’

The casino was dimly lit and filled with smoke and click-clack noises, and the intensity of the people around the tables struck Tirza with considerable force. The clientele was mostly what she supposed could be described as ‘jet-set’. The expressions of the croupiers, at their tables, seemed bored and blank.

She found herself whispering, ‘This kind of sophistication is almost frightening, isn’t it?’ The heavy gold earrings she was wearing glinted. When Hugo took her arm, she allowed him to get away with it. ‘Come and stand over here,’ he said, and she experienced an odd little thrill.

The roulettes continued to spin and the air was electric with fortunes being lost by the minute. Tirza’s eyes began to bum and she touched her cheeks with her fingertips.

‘Is the smoke worrying you?’ Hugo asked, his eyes on her face.

Laughing a little, she said, ‘Yes. I’m not used to it—it’s so thick.’

‘I don’t think the smell of it could ever be eradicated from this place,’ he said. He had his charming side, obviously, and was demonstrating it now, she thought.

At that moment she caught a glimpse of Cathy and Paige at one of the tables on the other side of the casino. Both women were gambling and both were wearing the same calculating expression. It was obvious that they had come here to gamble and knew what they were about. Could this be one of the reasons why Cathy had not gone through with the marriage to her father?

There was a mixture of races, but on each face there was the same calculating expression. They had all come here for one thing, and that was to gamble, and to gamble heavily. Many of the older women were beautifully gowned and bejwelled, while the young women wore no jewels and very little make-up.

Beside her, Hugo said, ‘Would you like to try?’

‘I wouldn’t know where to begin. No—thank you.’ After a moment she asked, ‘What about you?’

‘Gambling isn’t something I take very seriously,’ he told her.

For a while she watched him, and although she knew nothing about what was taking place at the table she had the feeling that he was winning. At the far end, she could see Cathy and Paige preparing to leave, and it was obvious that Hugo had not noticed them.

Afterwards she said, laughing a little, ‘You’ve won some money?’

‘You brought me luck,’ he replied. ‘Come along, let’s go and collect it.’

When they had done this they went out to the foyer from where they could see the garden, which was festooned with coloured lights and, without thinking, Tirza said, ‘I’d love to get some fresh air, after all that smoke. It was so stuffy in the casino.’

‘That’s not a bad idea,’ he agreed.

When he reached for her in the garden she found it impossible to resist him and found herself becoming excited and strained against him. Against her mouth he said, ‘I couldn’t let you come all this way for nothing, could I? What do I get in return?’ He held her away from him and looked down at her.

‘Don’t you ever say that to me again! I don’t want anything from you.’ Humiliation washed over her.

‘You came to Swaziland to use me,’ he shrugged. ‘What’s to stop me from using you?’

Numbly, she stared at him, feeling his words like a whiplash. ‘Are you trying to tell me that because I signed a contract this gives you the prerogative to force your attentions on me?’

‘Force?’ He laughed softly.

Turning away from him, Tirza ran through the garden in the direction of the main entrance to the hotel and, once inside, she went straight to her room with its ornate lamps and sliding glass wall, giving access to the balcony. She was too angry to cry and sank down on the kingsize bed and stared at nothing. After a while she sat up, then lifted the phone and dialled her father’s number in Cape Town. She would have to speak to him about the ridiculous contract. There must be a way out of it, without having the Harper name dragged into court, she thought. She had also committed the offence of not signing her true name. At the other end of the line the phone kept on ringing and ringing until, finally, she put the receiver back on its cradle. Her father was out—as usual. ‘You seem to forget I’m your daughter,’ she muttered aloud. ‘You seem to forget that I might just need you now and then.’

Her room seemed very quiet, but then she was used to this. Her father’s Cape-style mansion always seemed extra quiet when he was away on a business trip. The feeling that she had now, though, this wild, restless feeling, was different. It was a feeling which had Hugo Harrington at its starting point. Her eyes were wide and green and confused. One moment she had thought that she couldn’t survive without Nigel Wright and the next moment she had known that she could. And what was more confusing was the fact that she realised, now, that she could pinpoint the exact moment... and that was when she had turned, in her stool at the Holiday Inn, on the Eastern Boulevard, to speak to Hugo Harrington.

In
the morning, Tirza ate breakfast at the poolside. After lunch there was to be a rehearsal of the fashion show and so, until then, she was free to mope, for that was all it amounted to. So far, it appeared, to Hugo Harrington she was still Tirza Theron, since apparently Cathy and Paige, unaware of the fact that Hugo knew her by this name, had not put him wise.

She was wearing white slacks and a floral shirt, the collar of which framed her face. Her hair was drawn back in a smooth elegant style and she had an air of confidence about her. She was extremely chic and there was nothing to show that she was being tom by conflicting feelings.

After a while she stripped down to her bikini and dived into the glittering blue water. Later she sunbathed and, all the time, her mind was busy with the problems she had so unwittingly created for herself. Even the buying for Harper’s had come to nothing, she thought a little wildly. Everything she had intended had collapsed about her. In short, she had succeeded in making a fool of herself. Her mood improved a little after the swim and the warmth of the sun and she even found herself thinking that she would buy where and when she deemed fit. This entire hideous episode would be in the interest of Harper’s, and the fact that she had to carry out the contract to model for Swazi Signature would take second place, so far as she was concerned.

Skipping lunch, she went to her room and took a shower, then changed into fresh slacks and a shirt to go with them and went along to the reception room which had been allotted to the Swazi Signature for the purpose of putting on a series of fashion shows.

The girls she had met the night before were already there, but there was no sign of Cathy and Paige. When they did arrive it was with Hugo. There was no sign of recognition in his eyes as he glanced carelessly in Tirza’s direction.

‘Okay,’ his dark blue eyes flickered from beautiful face to beautiful face, ‘let’s get down to business.’ He was wearing white trousers and a dark-green shirt and he looked fabulous, Tirza found herself thinking. Part of his sex appeal was the mystery which seemed so much a part of him. The kind of mystery which made you wonder how deeply he felt. Just how deeply
could
he feel?

The two Mobray women barely glanced at her, which really made no difference as they were all soon caught up in the changing world of fashion. Creations in mohair conjured up the distant lands of Morocco, Persia, India, Hungary and Turkey, not to mention Africa, and Tirza thrilled to the exotic colours and fine textures. While she changed and rechanged into the glamorous collection of clothes she was able to forget about Cathy and Paige. To go with much of the collection was an exciting assortment of jewellery made up of semi-precious stones—quartz, agate, tourmaline, rock crystal...

The models were efficient and were clued up to the tricks of the trade, and it was obvious that the forthcoming fashion shows were going to be profitable.

These came and went far more swiftly than Tirza imagine they would do, and without the ill-feeling she had anticipated. Both Cathy and Paige had been coldly polite and there was little to show, outwardly, that there had been ill-feeling.

Unless he had to, Hugo did not speak to her, and Tirza found herself brooding about this state of events. Ironically, her father’s business had always created an impassable barrier between them, and now it was Hugo’s.

Finally it was time to leave the Ezulwini Valley and Swaziland where, in the famous casino, fortunes were made, and lost, by the flick of a wrist. Even Cathy and Paige had played at one of the gaming tables with the kind of apparent skill that had made them oblivious to the fact that they were being observed.