a weale sea fever.docx

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SEA FEVER

Anne Weale



Angel was grateful to him

Charles Thetford had come to her rescue when Evangeline Dorset

desperately needed a friend. Now, settling in to her new life in

London, she was conscious of stronger feelings for him.

Of course, there was no denying Charles was etremely attractive!

rich, successful and a highly sought"after matrimonial pri#e. $ut

Angel %new little a&out the way of the world. 'erhaps she was

confusing gratitude with love.

And Charles""how did he view her( As an attractive woman""or asan irritating disruption to his ordered life.



T)E L*NE+ -O Sea Fever A-E -E'-*NTED /*T) T)E 0*ND

'E-*++*ON O T)E +OC*ET1 O A2T)O-+ A+ T)E L*TE-A-1

-E'-E+ENTAT*3E O T)E E+TATE O 4O)N A+E*ELD



CHAPTER ONE

THE girl &eached the inflata&le dinghy, then straightened and stood

for some moments, &arefoot on the pale sand, loo%ing &ac% at the

moonlit sloop at anchor in the deep water &eyond the sharp,

dangerous corals.

Sea Fever. )er home for as long as she could remem&er.

A riding light hung from the fore"stay, &ut no lights showed

&etween dec%s.

rom the house at the &ac% of the &each came a &urst of laughter!the &aritone laughter of men and the higher"pitched sounds made

&y women. The girl turned and, with a resolute &racing of her

shoulders, crossed the wide &each towards the garden surrounding

the house.

*t was the only ha&itation on this stretch of the coast of $ali. Therewas a small fishing village on the other side of the headland, &ut

here, in this &ay, only this one large house surrounded &y well"%ept

grounds at which she had loo%ed through &inoculars &efore

deciding to row ashore and as% for help.

/here the garden met the &each there was a wall with steps

leading up to an opening in a coral stone &alustrade. *nside thisentrance, on &oth sides, were small shallow pools of water. The

girl understood their purpose. Once or twice, out of curiosity, she

had wandered through the grounds and pu&lic rooms of large

hotels where rich Europeans and Australians spent winter holidays.

+he had seen notices re5uesting the hotels6 patrons to rinse the

sand from their feet as they left the &each rather than in their

&athrooms.



There was no such notice here, &ut she paddled in one of the pools

to remove the powdering of coral from her straight toes and thin

&rown an%les. )ad she &een wearing a piece of &ati%"patterned

cotton wrapped round her narrow hips, as she often did, she could

have stood on one foot to dry the other on the hem of her sarong.

$ut tonight she had put on 7eans and a clean shirt8her &est

clothes. +he had once had a dress. There was a photograph of her

wearing it on &oard Sea Fever, a snap ta%en with her parents when

she was five. +he couldn6t remem&er them or the dress. /hile she

was growing up she had always worn shorts or sarongs, with 7eans

on the rare occasions when something more formal was called for.

Tall palms towered over the flowering shru&s planted on the lawns

of coarse springy grass on either side of the path leading up to the

house. /anting to see the people on the terrace &efore they saw

her, she avoided the path and approached silently on the grass,

%eeping to the patches of dense shadow cast &y the shru&s.

There were five of them! two middle"aged men and three dressed"

up women. They all had drin%s in their hands and, &eyond them,

inside the house, &eneath the swirling &lades of two ceiling fans,

was a ta&le laid for a dinner party. The girl had seen dinner parties

ta%ing place on the dec%s of large, luurious yachts.

The first person to notice her was one of the women, who said in astartled American voice, 6Oh... where did you spring from(6

The girl advanced to the edge of the terrace. 69ood evening. *6m

sorry to distur& you, &ut * need some advice... some help.6 +he

loo%ed at the older of the two men. 6*s this your house(6

$efore he could reply, a sith person appeared, a very tall, deeply

tanned man who, at the sight of her, raised an en5uiring eye&row.



6/ho are you(6 )is accent was English.

6*6m Angel...6 she corrected herself, 6Evangeline Dorset. *6ve come

from the sloop Sea Fever. /e put in here late last night8you may

have noticed us this morning. * wanted to come for help then, &ut

Ludo wouldn6t let me. )e didn6t &elieve in doctors and hospitals.)e said there was nothing they could do for him. )e.. .he died

a&out an hour ago. )e wants... wanted to &e &uried at sea, &ut *

can6t manage that &y myself, and also * thin% * may need

permission from the Consul or someone.6

*t was only &y an effort of will that she managed to %eep her voicesteady and unemotional. +he couldn6t show her true feelings in

front of these strangers to whom her intrusion upon a festive

occasion must come as a nuisance.

6/ho was Ludo( 1our father(6 as%ed a red"haired woman, the most

glamorous of the three.

6y grandfather.6

6/ere you alone with him( *s there no one else on &oard with you(6

This 5uestion came from the man she had spo%en to first.

Angel shoo% her head. 64ust the two of us.6

69ood lord... poor child:6 he said, loo%ing concerned. 6/hat a

distressing situation:6

)is sympathetic tone made her throat tighten, her eyes pric%le with

tears. +he was glad when the tall man said &ris%ly, 61ou6d &etter

come to my office and *6ll find out what has to &e done.6

As she followed him past the ta&le laid for dinner and across the

large room to another leading off it, she heard the woman with red



hair say, 6/hat a &ore: * hope Charles can sort it out 5uic%ly. One

feels sorry for her, of course, &ut it is a &it much...6

+he left the remar% unfinished and perhaps the man called Charles,

now several strides ahead of Angel, hadn6t heard it. /as she his

wife( she wondered.

$y the time she reached his office he had switched on a des% light

and another overhead fan. )e sat down &ehind the large des%,

indicating with one hand that she should sit down in front of the

des% and pic%ing up a pen with the other.

6/as your grandfather6s surname the same as yours(6

61es... Ludovic Dorset.6

+he watched him 7ot it down, the ni& of the gold"&anded

tortoiseshell pen moving swiftly over the notepad, leaving a line of

flowing &lac% writing.

)is hands, li%e his face, were very &rown and not, she noticed,

those of what Ludo would have called a des%"wallah. /hatever

this man did in his office8there was a computer screen and

%ey&oard on a smaller des% and other pieces of e5uipment she

didn6t recognise8he didn6t loo% li%e a sedentary person. )is

shoulders were in proportion to his height and his &ody was leanand muscular, as powerful as Ludo6s had &een when she was small

and he had swung her up to ride on his shoulders. )e had &een

seventy then, &ut still a formida&le man. *t was only in the past

year that he had &ecome old and frail.

6And the &oat... Sea Fever, yes( /here6s she registered(6

6+he6s out of $riham in Devon, &ut that was a long time ago...

&efore * was &orn. *6ve never &een to England.6



6$ut that6s where your family come from.. .where your other

relations are(6

)e loo%ed up from the pad and gave her a searching stare with his

curiously cold grey eyes. +he was used to Ludo6s %ind &lue eyes

which had loo%ed at the world with good"humoured tolerance.Those were not the characteristics suggested &y the handsome face

on the other side of the des%. +he recognised his good loo%s &ut

couldn6t define the 5ualities she saw in his face. +he %new only

that he was a type of man she had never encountered &efore and

wasn6t certain she li%ed.

6* have no other relations... or none that * %now of.6

6* see. )ow old are you, Angel(6

)e missed nothing, she thought, remem&ering how swiftly she had

su&stituted her rather old"fashioned first name for the pet name

first used &y her parents and then &y her grandfather. +he had &eennamed after his wife who, li%e her namesa%e, had never &een

called &y her full name &ut always Eva.

6*6m eighteen... almost.6

Again his right eye&row shot up, this time in patent scepticism.

6Are you sure( 1ou don6t loo% more than fifteen.6

6;uite sure,6 she answered firmly. 6* have a &irth certificate to prove

it. *6ll &e eighteen in arch.6

The chair in which she was sitting was far enough from the des%

for him to &e a&le to flash an appraising glance from her nec% to

her &lue"7eaned %nees, ta%ing in the &oyishly slim lines of the &ody &etween those points.



No dou&t it was her etreme slenderness which made him say,

6/hen did you last eat(6

+he couldn6t remem&er. Normally she had a good appetite, &ut the

past twenty"four hours had &een too fraught for her to thin% a&out

food.

6*8* don6t %now, &ut *6m not hungry.6

6Do you %now the cause of your grandfather6s death( 1ou6re certain

he is dead( Not comatose(6

6*6m certain. )is heart gave out. )e6d &een ta%ing pills for a heartcondition, &ut they weren6t wor%ing any more. )e felt poorly all

yesterday and this morning, he didn6t get up. )e 7ust lay in his

&un%, tal%ing sometimes... &ut very wea%. )e %new he was dying.

)e... he even said good&ye.6

*n spite of her resolve not to show the anguish she felt, her eyesfilled with tears. +he tried to &lin% them &ac%, &ut two overflowed

and &egan to tric%le down her chee%s.

6*6m sorry,6 she muttered hus%ily, striving to recover control, wiping

the tears away with her fingertips.

At this moment a $alinese man in a dar% &rown sil% tunic wornwith a sarong appeared in the doorway.

+pea%ing the lingua franca of *ndonesia, the man &ehind the des%

said to him, 6$ring a light supper on a tray, please. The meal for

my guests may proceed without me. This young woman is in

trou&le. )er grandfather has died on the &oat which came

yesterday.6



/hile he was spea%ing, he produced a folded, unused

hand%erchief which he handed across the des% to Angel.

As his servant &owed and disappeared, he too% the receiver from

the telephone and dialled a num&er. As he waited for it to answer,

he loo%ed, not at her, &ut at a large $alinese painting on the wall.

A few moments later, he said, 6Charles Thetford here. +orry to

trou&le you out of office hours, &ut * thought you were the &est

person to advise me on the proper procedure when a yachtsman

dies on &oard his &oat. Natural causes, and he epressed a wish to

&e &uried at sea.6

Angel could hear the voice at the other end of the line, &ut not

clearly enough to follow what was &eing said. +he wiped her eyes

and &lew her nose, reluctant to use the fine white linen

hand%erchief &ut having no option as, foolishly, she had failed to

&ring one with her.

'resently Charles Thetford put his hand over the mouthpiece and

as%ed, 6/as your grandfather a religious man( /ould he wish for a

priest or a clergyman to officiate at his &urial(6

+he shoo% her head. 6)e had his own religion. )e as%ed me to read

his favourite poem over him. That was all he wanted.6

+he epected to see his eye&row lift disapprovingly, &ut he only

nodded and told the man on the line that none of the conventional

funeral rites would &e re5uired.

)e was still on the telephone when the manservant came &ac%,

carrying a tray on which was a covered dish, a tall glass of fruit

7uice, a small &as%et of &read and a pot of &utter.



At his employer6s signal, he placed the tray on Angel6s side of the

des% &efore indicating that, if she stood up, he would move the

chair forward for her. /hen she was seated again, he whipped the

cover off the dish, revealing a lightly coo%ed omelette.

The sight of it made Angel realise that it was twenty"four hourssince last she had eaten. Today she had had nothing &ut coffee to

%eep her going. +he still wasn6t hungry &ut, presented with the

omelette, she %new that she ought to eat something. +he stretched

out her hand for the glass and, lifting it to her lips, sipped. *t was

the most delicious 7uice she had ever tasted, ice"cold and

wonderfully refreshing.

+omething had gone wrong with the refrigerator on Sea Fever

while they were island"hopping in the lores +ea to the east of

$ali. Ludo hadn6t &een a&le to repair the fault and it was several

wee%s since they had en7oyed cold drin%s. The chilled 7uice was so

good the sip &ecame a long swallow, followed &y another. +he

could easily have drained the glass, &ut forced herself to replace iton the tray, half full.

Conscious that r Thetford was no longer loo%ing at the painting

&ut now had his eyes on her, she unfolded the starched cotton

nap%in, folded li%e the petals of a lotus flower on the side plate,

and spread it across her lap in the way Ludo had taught her.

)e had not always &een a sea"gypsy, roving from island to island

across the 'acific Ocean and then up through the seas surrounding

the vast archipelago of *ndonesian islands as far north as the 9ulf

of +iam. 2ntil the death of his wife he had &een a wee%end sailor,

spending the rest of his time in London, one of the leading

&arristers of his day. $ut there must always have &een a strea% of restlessness in him, for at fifty, desolated &y the death of his



adored Eva, he had thrown his career aside for a life of travel and

adventure.

2nfortunately, thirty years of inflation, and some unsuccessful

speculations, had steadily reduced his financial resources. *n recent

years he had &een hard pressed to ma%e ends meet.

6/hen * go you6ll have to sell her and find yourself a shore &erth,

my darling,6 he had told Angel, many times.

Now he had gone, leaving her completely alone in the world, with

only the tiny income8nothing li%e enough to live on8from his

remaining investments, and the sloop, long overdue for refit and

not li%ely to fetch much of a price since she wasn6t the type of

vessel to appeal to people with money. They went in for wide"

&eamed motor yachts with powerful tur&o"diesel engines and

opulent fittings. Even sailing vessels were re5uired to have

aluminium masts, self"furling sails, electric winches and air"

conditioning &etween dec%s.

Sea Fever needed s%ill and muscle"power to sail her. +he had an

auiliary engine &ut was &uilt to &e driven &y the four winds of

heaven. The thought of parting with the sloop, the only home she

had ever had or wanted to have, sent a thrust of panic through

Angel. )er hand shoo% as she pic%ed up the for% and forced

herself to cut off a corner of the omelette.

+he was wo%en out of a deep sleep &y someone sha%ing her

shoulder and opened her eyes to find a $alinese woman &ending

over her.

61ou get up now... have &ath... put clothes on. * put water in &ath.

1ou get up, please.6



/ith no clear idea where she was, still more than half asleep,

Angel let herself &e led to a &athroom where the woman helped

her to undress and then &undled her long sun"strea%ed hair inside a

plastic shower cap.

6* come &ac% in five minutes... &ring clean clothes. Tuan Thetfordnot li%e &eing %ept waiting,6 she informed Angel gravely.

At first, su&merging herself in the lu%ewarm scented water, Angel

still felt confused and disorientated. Then she &egan to remem&er

the events of the previous evening, &ut with no recollection of how

she had come to spend the night in Charles Thetford6s houseinstead of returning to the sloop.

The last thing she remem&ered was the small, soft"footed

manservant removing the first tray and &ringing another with

coffee on it while the owner of the house made some more

telephone calls.

Could she have fallen asleep in his office( *t wasn6t impossi&le.

+he had &een awa%e, worrying, most of the previous night, and

yesterday, %nowing that Ludo was leaving her, had &een the worst

day of her life.

Tears filled her eyes as she thought of him holding her hand in a

clasp which had suddenly &ecome pitia&ly fee&le compared withhis former strong grip.

6* shouldn6t have let it come to this,6 he had murmured. 6* should

have let you go long ago. $ut * couldn6t &ear to part with you.

1ou6re so li%e her...so li%e my Eva. *6ve &een a selfish old man... it

was wrong of me to %eep you with me. 1ou should have &een

training for a career. /omen need to stand on their own feet... not

to rely on a man. *t6s all changed since * was young.6



And then he had started to ram&le a&out the world in his youth and

the girl he had fallen in love with, the most &eautiful de&utante of

<=>?, Evangeline Chesterfield, whose suitors had included two

aristocrats &ut who had turned them all down to marry him.

The $alinese woman came &ac% and saw Angel lying in the &athwith tears streaming down her face.

+he &ent over her and gently stro%ed Angel6s hair, saying in the

language common to all the islands of *ndonesia, 61es, weep, &ut

weep for yourself, not for the venera&le man whose spirit has gone

elsewhere. Death is a 7oyful release for those who have lived goodlives.6

+he straightened and used a corner of the towel folded over her

arm to dry the girl6s chee%s &efore opening it out and holding it

ready to enfold Angel when she stood up.

@ @ @

An hour later, wearing white, the colour of mourning in $ali,

Angel stood on the dec% of Sea Fever as the sloop headed into the

dawn of a new day.

)er sails were furled and she was propelled &y her engine, with a

$alinese man at the helm. There were a num&er of men on &oard!the doctor who had signed Ludovic Dorset6s death certificate, the

official who had given permission for him to &e &uried at sea and

two strong young fishermen from the near&y village who %new a

place where the sea was many fathoms deep and would lower him

over the side there.

/hile Angel was sleeping, the rites of death had &een performed

&y others, and now her grandfather6s long form, shrouded in stout

cloth and weighted, lay on the dec%, strewn with flowers.



$eside her stood the $alinese maid, whose name was Lila, with a

sil% sash round her waist, the sash all $alinese wore when they

entered a temple or followed a funeral procession on the way to

the colourful pu&lic cremations which were an essential part of

their culture.

Angel guessed that Charles Thetford had as%ed Lila to come with

them in case she &ro%e down. $ut she felt calm and composed

now, and deeply grateful to him for ma%ing himself responsi&le for

all the arrangements needed to carry out her grandfather6s wishes.

*n spite of a certain hardness a&out the set of his mouth, he must &e

a %ind"hearted man.

)e had even remem&ered the poem which was to &e Ludo6s

valediction, and as%ed if she needed to read it and, if so, where the

&oo% containing it was to &e found.

6* %now it &y heart,6 she had told him. 6*t6s 4ohn asefield6s Sea

Fever. Ludo learnt it at school and * learned it from him when *was a little girl.6

They were several miles off the coast of $ali when they came to

the place where his &ody would &e given to the ocean. The

helmsmen cut the motor and the sloop glided over the calm surface

of the sea, now tinged with red as the sun rose a&ove the hori#on.

Angel, who had &een facing the &ows with her &ac% to the others,

now turned towards the stern. +he loo%ed at Charles Thetford.

/ith his dar% hair ruffled &y the &ree#e, he loo%ed rather less

intimidating than her initial impression of him. )e gave a slight

nod of the head, at the same time unfolding his arms which had

&een crossed over his chest and clasping his hands &ehind him in amore formal posture. /hereas some tall men she had seen were

inclined to stoop or to slouch, r Thetford was li%e her



grandfather, whose &earing, even in his eighties, had always &een

upright, giving him8as it did the younger man8an air of innate

authority.

+he loo%ed down at the old man6s remains and wondered if his

long life had really come to an end or if, as $uddhists &elieved, hisspirit was setting out on a new stage of the long path to

enlightenment.

Lifting her chin and raising her eyes to the s%y8 now a&la#e with

fiery strea%s8she &egan to recite the poem she had learned at

Ludo6s %nee.

6* must down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the s%y, And

all * as% is a tall ship and a star to steer her &y...6

As the great glowing or& of the sun cleared the line of the hori#on,

the dar% outline of $ali &ecame &athed in golden light. emories

of all the landfalls they had made together flitted through Angel6smind as she came to the poem6s last lines.

6...And all * as% is a merry yarn from a laughing fellow"rover, And

5uiet sleep and a sweet dream when the long tric%6s over.6

At a signal from Charles Thetford, the fishermen stepped forward,

raised the &oard on which the shrouded form lay and carried it tothe rails. Angel loo%ed up at the s%y again and remem&ered a line

from another of 4ohn asefield6s poems8 'Death opens unknown

doors'.

A few moments later there was a splash and it was over. /hen she

went to the side and loo%ed down, all that remained were the

flowers, floating on the sunlit sea.



6* don6t %now how to than% you for your %indness, r Thetford,6

she said, loo%ing up at him as the sloop returned to her anchorage

near the &each in front of his house. +he was tall herself, &ut her

head &arely reached his shoulder.

6* was glad to &e of service,6 he said courteously. Sea Fever'sdinghy was still on the &each where Angel had left it. +he and the

rest of the funeral party had come a&oard in a power launch used

&y Charles Thetford and his guests for water"s%iing.

Angel would have li%ed to say good&ye and watch them go ashore

while she stayed on the sloop and &egan to come to terms with &eing on her own. )owever, &ecause she had to recover her clothes

8 the white &louse and s%irt she was wearing had &een loaned &y

one of the three women she had seen on the terrace last night8and

also the sloop6s tender, she was o&liged to go ashore with them.

Later in the day she would have to ma%e one &rief final trip ashore

to return r Thetford6s washed and ironed hand%erchief to him.

There was no sign of any of his guests when they returned to the

house. uch to Angel6s relief, &oth the doctor and the Consular

official declined an invitation to stay for &rea%fast. Their

deferential manner towards him seemed to confirm her intuitive

feeling that he was someone of great power and influence. 1et he

was many years younger than the two men staying with him.

6* must change &ac% into my own clothes,6 she said, when the

doctor and the Consul had gone.

6They won6t &e ready for you yet. The sun hasn6t &een up long

enough to dry this morning6s laundry,6 said her host. 6/e6ll have

&rea%fast in the ga#e&o where our conversation won6t distur& mylate"rising friends. *6ve told them they6re missing the &est hour of

the day &ut have failed to persuade them to change their ha&its.6



The ga#e&o was a %ind of summer"house &uilt at one end of the

long &alustraded wall &etween his grounds and the &each. *t had a

roof supported &y four corner pillars. *ts low walls were a

continuation of the &alustrade with a &ench &uilt round three sides

and a ta&le in the middle. The &ench had &een made comforta&le

for them with indigo and white &ati% s5ua&s and cushions and the

ta&le was &eing laid &y the manservant, who this morning was

wearing a starched cotton tunic with his sarong which was tied in

the $alinese way with a fish"tail effect at the front.

)e had five or si other servants under his command, and they

came &ac% and forth from wherever the food was prepared to thega#e&o at the unhurried pace of people &red in a climate where,

within an hour of sunrise, the temperature &egan to soar and metal

left in the sun soon &ecame too hot to handle.

6Do you li%e tea or coffee for &rea%fast(6 Charles Thetford

en5uired.

6Tea, please.6 The 5uestion reminded Angel of the coffee she had

drun% last night &efore falling asleep where she sat.

6*6m sorry a&out last night.. .going to sleep in your office, * mean. *

can6t understand why * didn6t wa%e up when they hauled me off to

&ed.6 +he assumed that two of the servants must have carried her to

the room where she6d slept.

61ou didn6t wa%e up &ecause you were sedated. There was a her& in

your coffee which helps people to &lac% out for a few hours when

that6s what they need. * use it myself occasionally. *t6s not li%e a

chemical sleeping pill and has none of their side effects.6

61ou mean you drugged me(6 she eclaimed.



*t was her first intimation that he was not only rich and influential

&ut ruthless as well. 'erhaps it was only men with a ruthless strea%

who achieved power at his age, or indeed any age.



CHAPTER TWO

6* THOUGHT you needed a rest. * made sure you had one,6 Charles

Thetford answered calmly.

Angel ni&&led her full lower lip, a ha&it of hers when in dou&t. *tseemed impolite to reprove someone who had &een so helpful. At

the same time she felt she must say what she thought of his

ar&itrary action.

6* realise your intention was %ind, &ut * don6t thin% you should have

done that without my %nowledge. Ludo says... Ludo used to say

that good ends never 7ustify &ad means.6

6*n general your grandfather was right, &ut there are eceptions to

every rule. /ill you have some of this rice(6

)e had removed the cover from a dish of lightly fried rice mied

with &its of chic%en and vegeta&les.

Angel found she was hungry. 61es, please.6 +he helped herself.

As she handed the serving spoon to him their fingertips &rushed

and she felt a curious sensation 5uite different from any ordinary

casual physical contact. *t would have &een an eaggeration to

descri&e it as li%e touching a live wire, and indeed she had never had that eperience. $ut it was the comparison which came into

her mind. The sensation startled and pu##led her. As she waited for

him to finish serving himself &efore she &egan to eat, she

wondered if it could have &een an after"effect of the her& he had

given her. The drug, whatever it was, might have no side effects on

him &ut perhaps could produce some strange reactions in other

people. This was the only eplanation she could thin% of for the

very odd feeling, li%e a charge of electric power, which had shot

up her arm as the spoon changed hands.



They ate in silence for some minutes until he said, 6Tell me

something a&out yourself, Angel.6

6There6s not much to tell. $oth my parents were %illed in an

accident when * was five, so Ludo too% charge of me. *6ve lived

with him ever since.6

'On board +ea ever(6

61es.6

6/hat a&out schooling(6

6/hen * was twelve Ludo thought a&out sending me away to

&oarding school. $ut it would have &een very epensive...the fees

and flying &ac% and forth to wherever he was for the holidays.

)e6d &een teaching me himself up to then and he felt that * %new as

much as most girls of my age, so he decided to go on giving me

lessons. )e didn6t thin% much of the curricula at schools he madeen5uiries a&out. )e felt they were all geared to passing eams, not

to the development of girls6 individual talents.6

6/hat are your particular talents(6

6* don6t thin% * have any. * can6t draw and although * li%e music *6ve

never wanted to learn to play an instrument. y a&ilities aremostly practical. * can do all the things one needs to live on a &oat.6

6Can you navigate(6

6Of course. * could do that &y the time * was eight. *t6s rather

essential %nowledge if there are only two of you on &oard. *f Ludo

had ever &een ta%en ill at sea, or had some sort of accident, *should have had to ta%e over as s%ipper.6



6y %nowledge of sailing is confined to much smaller &oats than

your grandfather6s sloop. $ut * should have thought Sea Fever

needed at least two people to sail her.6

6*deally, yes. $efore * was old enough to &e useful, Ludo generally

had someone to crew for him, although he did sail her single"handed at times. * shall have to find someone to crew for me. *s

there a &us service along this road(6 she as%ed.

61es, two or three &uses a day, * &elieve. /hy do you as%(6

6Tomorrow * might go to 0uta and see if * can find an Aussie who

%nows how to sail and fancies a few months at sea. Once or twice,

when our funds were a &it low, we did some chartering, and that6s

how *6ll have to earn my living from now on. There are always

&ac%"pac%ers stopping off in 0uta on their way to Europe or *ndia.

*6ll go to ade6s waning. They might let me put up a notice

advertising for a crew.6

*t occurred to her that he might not %now a&out ade6s, an open"

fronted eating place on one of the main streets in 0uta, where she

and Ludo had often had a meal and watched the world go &y. $ut it

wasn6t the sort of place that rich people patronised.

6ade6s is where young people, hard"up people, eat,6 she eplained.

6* %now ade6s... and the clientele includes a sprin%ling of people *

wouldn6t trust further than * could throw them,6 he added drily.

61ou can say that a&out any cheap eating place, and pro&a&ly a&out

epensive restaurants too.6 Angel dran% from a glass of the same

miture of fruit 7uices she had had the night &efore. 6*6m 5uite a

good 7udge of character. Ludo taught me. )e was a lawyer when

he was young and he %new a lot a&out dishonest people.6



Charles Thetford finished his rice. 61our plan isn6t practical,6 he

told her. 6A girl of your age can6t charter for a living. Even if you

were older.. .in your middle twenties... it would &e a dodgy

underta%ing. At seventeen it would &e folly.6

6Almost eighteen...and * haven6t any choice. *t6s the only thing * cando.6

6* realise that you don6t want to sell a &oat which has &een your

home since you were a little girl, &ut *6m afraid that6s what you6ll

have to do,6 he said firmly. 6*t loo%s to me as if the sloop could do

with a refit, so you won6t get a very good price for her, &ut youshould ma%e enough to tide you over until you can earn your

living in a more suita&le way.6

6* wouldn6t dream of selling Sea Fever' she said, shoc%ed at the

suggestion. 6*6d &e li%e a cra& without its shell. /here would * live(

/here would * go(6

+he had &een spea%ing rhetorically, &ut he answered as if she had

&een as%ing his advice.

6/hy not try England first( *t6s where your grandfather practised

law, * presume( 1ou6re $ritish &y &irth, aren6t you(6

61es, * was &orn in London, &ut *6ve never wanted to go &ac% there.The only cities which appeal to me are 'aris and 3enice and New

1or%.6

61ou wouldn6t &e allowed to wor% in America without a permit, and

in rance and *taly you6d have a language pro&lem. England would

&e the easiest place for you to ma%e a start.6

Angel shoo% her head. 6* don6t want to go to England. * prefer it

here... not necessarily here in $ali &ut in this part of the world. *6d



li%e to visit Europe one of these days, &ut *6d rather live

somewhere in south"east Asia or the 'acific. * feel this is where *

&elong.6

)e was a&out to reply when his attention was distracted. )e rose to

his feet. 69ood morning.6

Turning to loo% over her shoulder, Angel saw the woman with red

hair strolling towards them. +he was wearing a &rilliantly"coloured

%imono and didn6t appear to have anything on underneath it. )er

&reasts, which were moving slightly as she wal%ed, were clearly

outlined &y the thin sil%.

69ood morning, darling.6 As she entered the ga#e&o she lifted her

chee% for a %iss and Charles stooped to &rush it lightly with his

lips.

6Come and sit &etween us,6 he said, standing aside for her to seat

herself facing the sea. 6* don6t thin% you two have &een properlyintroduced,6 he added. 6This is Leonora 1or%, Angel.6

6)ow do you do,6 said Angel. +o she wasn6t his wife, or not yet.

'erhaps they were engaged. 6*s it you * have to than% for lending

me these clothes for the funeral(6

6No, they &elong to Amy. *6m so sorry a&out your grandfather.6

*f she hadn6t overheard the remar% Leonora had made the night

&efore, Angel would have thought her sympathy was genuine. As it

was, she couldn6t help wondering if Charles had also overheard

and had remonstrated with his fiancBe or girlfriend, which was

why she was &eing nicer this morning.

6Than% you. Of course * shall miss him dreadfully, &ut he was

eighty"two and he wasn6t ill for very long. )e would have loathed



ending his days as an invalid,6 she said, striving to sound if not

cheerful at least philosophical. +he %new that her grief could only

&e an em&arrassment to these people who didn6t %now her and had

never met Ludo.

6/e6ve 7ust &een discussing Angel6s future,6 said Charles. 6+he will pro&a&ly ta%e your advice more seriously than mine, Leonora.

/ouldn6t you agree with my view that her plan to employ someone

to crew for her and try to ma%e a living chartering is out of the

5uestion(6

6* really wouldn6t %now,6 said Leonora. 6y %nowledge of theyachting world wouldn6t cover the head of a pin.6

6$ut you %now what it6s li%e to &e a girl of seventeen... going on

eighteen,6 he amended, catching Angel6s eye, a hint of amusement

in his own. 6/ould you have wanted to &e alone at sea with some

guy you6d pic%ed up in 0uta on the strength of his claim to &e a

competent crew(6

6* wouldn6t have wanted to &e alone at sea with anyone,6 said

Leonora. 61achting isn6t my idea of fun, ecept possi&ly on

something the si#e of 0hashoggi6s floating palace. * shouldn6t mind

a cruise on that. Tal%ing of 0uta, *6d li%e to go &ac% to the shop

where * &ought my &ati% s%irt and get them to ta%e in the waist a

couple of inches. Could we do that today(6

6/hy don6t you and Amy and aureen go together( 1ou don6t need

me to help you shop.6

6* hate shopping with other women. *6d rather go on my own... &ut

it would &e more fun with you.6



*gnoring the rider, Charles said, 6*n that case ta%e the car and go &y

yourself. Last night the others were planning to spend today

relaing and * shall &e &usy most of the day.6

61ou6re supposed to &e relaing as well,6 she reminded him, laying

a &eautifully manicured hand on his muscular forearm.

6* am relaing. erely &eing here relaes me.6 )is ga#e swept from

the pro7ecting headland to the point where the island6s coastline

curved away out of sight. Then his eyes came &ac% to the anchored

sloop. 6/hen was Sea Fever &uilt(6 he as%ed Angel.

-eluctant to admit how old the sloop was, she said, 6+he was &uilt

7ust &efore /orld /ar ** for a man who went into the Navy and

was %illed in action. +o she was laid up for years and was virtually

new when Ludo &ought her in <=. Not long ago we read a&out a

si"&erth cruising yacht, &uilt in <=>, selling for three"5uarters of

a million dollars. +he was much larger than Sea Fever, with a

fireplace in the saloon, &ut it does show that age isn6t necessarily adisadvantage if the &oat was well &uilt in the first place.6

6$ut nowadays cedar hulls, tea% dec%s and mahogany fittings have

to &e com&ined with the latest developments in marine electronics

and hydraulics to fetch the sort of price you6ve mentioned,6 said

Charles. 6The latest thing is satellite navigation. * have an interest

in a $ritish company ma%ing that e5uipment. *t can fi a yacht6s position to within a couple of metres, *6m told.6

61es, and it can &rea% down. All that new stuff can and does &rea%

down and then where are you(6 said Angel. 6*6d rather rely on old"

fashioned seamanship.6

)e smiled at her. *t was the first time she had seen him smile and it

wrought an etraordinary change on features which in repose and

when his epression was serious suggested a forceful &ut



somewhat stern personality. +uddenly charm was evidentF a great

deal of charm.

6* agree,6 he said unepectedly. 6* shouldn6t care to put my trust in a

s%ipper without the old s%ills of hand and eye as a &ac%"up to the

latest gadgets.6 )e turned to loo% at the sloop again. 6A few yearsago, on a trip to America, * was ta%en to see the classic yacht

regatta off Newport, -hode *sland. The Coup d6Elegance was won

&y a %etch &uilt at ife in +cotland way &ac% in <=G=. Sea Fever

has the same &eautiful lines. *6d li%e to see her under sail.6

/armed &y his praise, she said, 61ou pro&a&ly will... when * leave.6

6/here were you heading for &efore you stopped off here(6 as%ed

Leonora.

)er hand was no longer on Charles6s arm. /ithin seconds of her

placing it there, he had put his hand over hers, patted it and put it

aside in a manner which suggested that, however intimate their private relationship might &e, he disli%ed possessive caresses &eing

&estowed on him in pu&lic.

6/e were going to 4ava and from there to the east coast of

alaysia, &ut our plans were always fairly elastic.6

6*6m going for my swim,6 said Charles. 6As% Leonora what shewould do in your position, Angel. +he might not loo% li%e a career

woman at the moment, &ut in fact she6s a partner in a very

successful pu&lic relations agency and is therefore an ecellent

person to advise you a&out your future.6

)e rose to his feet and strode away.

)er tawny eyes following his tall figure, Leonora said, 6Charles6s

idea of a swim is a thirty"minute thrash which * find ehausting to



watch. )e has incredi&le energy, &oth physical and mental. 1ou

were luc%y to have him on hand when you needed help. )e doesn6t

spend much time in $ali, &ut it6s typical of him to learn the

language and to have the necessary contacts to handle any

emergency.6

6Oh, * thought he lived here... wor%ed here.6

69ood heavens, no: This is 7ust a holiday house where he spends a

few wee%s in winter and entertains people with whom he has

&usiness involvements. 2nfortunately * get lum&ered with the

wives who, more often than not, are as &oring as the two who arehere at the moment. Not a thought in their heads which isn6t related

to their hus&ands, their children, their houses or their clothes,6 said

Leonora, with a shrug.

To Angel these seemed the natural preoccupations of middle"aged

women. )er grandmother had married at nineteen and devoted the

rest of her life to &eing a wife and mother. Angel6s mother had &een a pro&ationer in the London teaching hospital where her

father had &een a medical student. +he had continued nursing for a

short time after their marriage &ut had given up when she was

pregnant and never resumed her career.

6/here is r Thetford6s &ase(6 she as%ed.

6/e live in London,6 said Leonora.

*t sounded as if they lived together, a couple in all &ut name. Angel

wondered why they didn6t ma%e it official. +he could thin% of a

num&er of possi&le reasons. They might thin% marriage archaic.

Leonora was a&out the same age as CharlesF one or &oth of them

might have &een married &efore and still have a partner in the

&ac%ground, or a divorce which put them off marrying again. Or

may&e one of them wanted to marry &ut the other didn6t. *n which



case pro&a&ly it was Leonora who did and Charles who didn6t.

rom what she had seen of him so far, Angel felt that he was a man

who, if he wanted something, would move heaven and earth to get

it.

+he was a&out to as% a&out the pu&lic relations agency when themanservant came to en5uire if there was anything more he could

get for them.

6+ome more coffee, please,6 said Leonora. 6* have &rea%fast in &ed

when *6m here,6 she added, when he had gone. 6Charles always gets

up at si wherever he is, &ut he tries not to distur& me. There hegoes now... and 9il&ert with him. 9od, imagine going to &ed with

that &arrel of lard:6

+he was spea%ing of the Englishman who had sympathised with

Angel the night &efore. Now, clad only in &athing trun%s, he did

not loo% his &est, especially when his portly &ody, too white"

fleshed to ac5uire a sun"tan easily and 5uic%ly, was seen net toCharles6s long &rown lim&s and flat midriff as the two men

continued down the &each after discarding their thongs and

dropping their towels &eside them.

Charles entered the water at a run, flinging himself forward in a

plunge"dive from which he surfaced seconds later, sha%ing his

head and ra%ing &ac% his wet hair, his raised arm gleaming li%e &ron#e. 9il&ert waded to waist"depth &efore starting a leisurely

&reast stro%e.

6+ee you later:6 they heard Charles call &efore he rolled li%e a seal

and struc% out in the direction of the headland, his head low in the

water, his arms rising and falling in the effortless rhythm of a &ornswimmer.



+eeing him made Angel aware that &oth yesterday and the day

&efore she had missed her morning and evening swims. Normally

they were as much a part of her daily routine as &rushing her teeth

and com&ing the long sun"&leached hair which fell in a heavy

swathe down her &ac% almost down to her waist. /hen,

sometimes, she wore it plaited, it could &e seen that the colour, in a

temperate climate, would have &een medium &rown. )er eye&rows

and lashes were dar% &rown, the lashes fringing a pair of large,

wide"apart eyes with irises of the deep, vivid &lue which Ludovic

Dorset6s eyes must have &een when he was a young man.

The coffee came and with it another pot of fragrant $alinese teafor Angel.

6r Thetford thin%s * should sell up and go to England, &ut * don6t

%now anyone there and * thin% *6d &e a fish out of water,6 she said.

Leonora as%ed her much the same 5uestions he had as%ed. After

hearing the answers, she said, 6Australia would &e more your scenethan Europe, * should thin%. *f you6ve lived out here virtually all

your life, you6d shrivel in an English winter. Also, with no

5ualifications, you6d have a hard time getting a 7o&. *t seems to me

a more practical idea is to sell the &oat, spend some of the money

on a training course and invest the rest to give you a small &asic

income. *6m sure Charles could give you some introductions to

people in +ydney. )e has contacts all over the world.6

6)e mentioned an interest in satellite navigation. /hat6s his

principal interest(6 as%ed Angel.

6)e6s a corporate consultant with Cornwall Chester, the most

aggressive merchant &an%ers in the City...the City of London,6Leonora added eplanatorily, 6Do you %now what a merchant &an%

is( $asically, instead of handling money and loans for ordinary



people and small firms li%e the high street &an%s, merchant &an%s

deal with millionaires6 money, large corporations and institutions,

even governments. They handle ta%eover &ids and arrange issues

of shares... in other words, high finance.6

6)e doesn6t loo% li%e a &an%er... or not my idea of a &an%er,6 saidAngel, her eyes on the man who, having swum to the headland,

was now re"crossing the &ay, slicing through the water as if power"

driven.

6No, 9il&ert is more in line with most people6s image of a &an%er,

&ut in fact a lot of the younger financiers ta%e fitness seriously...they have to, to stand the pace,6 said Leonora. 6*t6s a tough life,

wheeling and dealing...which is why Charles needs to rela when

he6s here and not get too involved in other people6s pro&lems,6 she

added meaningly.

6Don6t worry, iss 1or%. * have no intention of as%ing r Thetford

for any more help than he6s already given me. As soon as myclothes are ready8 which they may &e &y now8*6ll move on.6

Angel hadn6t intended to leave today, &ut in view of the pointed

hint it seemed &est to depart forthwith.

6There6s no need for that,6 said Leonora. 6+tay for lunch... tal% to the

others... as% their advice. $ut * thin% Charles pro&a&lyunderestimates your a&ility to do your own thing. After %noc%ing

a&out the East with your grandfather for years, you have to &e a lot

more canny than most girls of eighteen. 'erhaps you can find

another girl to crew for you. 'lenty of girls learn to sail these days.

Loo% at the num&er of women who6ve done long voyages single"

handed.6

6*t6s a possi&ility,6 Angel agreed. 6*f you6ll ecuse me, *6ll go and see

a&out my clothes.6



+he left the ga#e&o and wal%ed purposefully &ac% to the house. *t

was o&vious that Leonora didn6t want her around, although why

she should feel that way was ineplica&le. 'erhaps it was that she

only li%ed men and was &ored not merely &y the two wives staying

here &ut &y the entire female se. Angel had read a&out women

who prided themselves on &eing 6men6s women6. $ut it seemed a

curious attitude in someone who had chosen pu&lic relations as a

career. Not that Angel was very clear what pu&lic relations

involved.

+he had %nown a&out merchant &an%s, &ecause Ludo had acted for

some of them in cases &efore the )igh Court in his years as a &arrister. +he had rather resented the patronising tone of Leonora6s

eplanation. The fact was that she and Charles6s girlfriend had

instinctively disli%ed each other on sight, &ut why that should &e

so perpleed her.

*n the house she met Lila, who said her own clothes weren6t ready

yet. As they were her &est clothes anyway, Angel decided to rowout to the sloop, change into her &i%ini, have a 5uic% swim, then

put on a T"shirt and shorts and come &ac% ashore with the

&orrowed clothes. $y that time Charles would have finished his

swim and she could say good&ye and &e on her way to an

anchorage closer to 0uta. On that side of the island the sea wasn6t

calm as it was hereF it swept ashore in huge com&ers, ideal for surfing. +he would pro&a&ly &erth off +anur, another of the main

tourist areas, and go to 0uta &y mini"&us. Transport was no

pro&lem in the more populated parts of the island.

-eturning to where she had &eached the ru&&er dinghy, she was

pu##led to find the oars missing. /ho could have ta%en them(

Anywhere else she might have thought they had &een stolen, &utnot here on what was virtually a private &each. Could they have



&een removed to a place of safe %eeping &y an over"cautious

servant(

69ood morning, iss Dorset. /e met &riefly last night. *6m 9il&ert

/interton.6 )is stout &ody swathed in a towelling &each ro&e, the

Englishman offered his hand. A dou&le line of footprints in thedamp sand at the sea6s edge showed that after his swim he had

&een for a stroll.

69ood morning,6 she said. 6y oars have vanished. * hope they

haven6t &een pinched.6

6No, no, Charles has them somewhere,6 he told her. 6)e was

carrying them when * met him in the garden this morning. 'erhaps

he thought it unwise to leave them lying a&out. * don6t %now what

he did with them. 9ave them to one of the staff, * epect. )e was

only gone a few moments and then he came &ac% and we wal%ed

down here together. 9loriously warm, the sea here. *6m a &it li%e a

hippopotamus ... en7oy a nice wallow &ut never was much of aswimmer. $ut, my word, you should see Thetford go: )e6s still out

there somewhere.6 )e shaded his eyes with his hand, scanning the

sea. 6/here6s he got to( Can you spot him(6

Angel was accustomed to s5uinting at the sea through narrowed

eyes, &ut she couldn6t see any sign of Charles.

6/here the devil has he got to(6 said 9il&ert, with a hint of aniety.

6+eems to have vanished, li%e your oars. * say * hope he6s all right.

Even strong swimmers can get cramp.6



CHAPTER THREE

'THERE aren6t shar%s in these waters, are there(6 was 9il&ert6s net

5uestion.

There was definite alarm in his voice now. Angel guessed that hewas a man who, deep down, was afraid of the sea and whose

su&conscious fears were 5uic%ly &rought to the surface in

circumstances such as this.

+he also felt some misgivings, &ut not &ecause she thought

anything &ad had happened to Charles.

6Don6t worry, r /interton. Loo%, there he is... on &oard our &oat.6

*t came as no great surprise to her to see Charles stepping on to the

dec% from the main hatchway. +he hadn6t loc%ed up when they

came ashore after her grandfather6s &urial. +he had gone &elow for

a moment to replace the %ey without which the engine couldn6t &estarted on the hoo% in the saloon where it was %ept when not in

use. *t had always &een Ludo who had poc%eted the sloop6s %eys

when they went ashore togetherF and this morning, upset and

preoccupied, she hadn6t thought it necessary to loc% up for the

short time she had epected to &e ashore.

Charles didn6t linger on Sea Fever's dec% &ut swung long legs over her rails and dived neatly into the sea, his ta%e"off causing the

sloop to roc% gently at her moorings.

6/ell, that6s a relief,6 said 9il&ert. 6or a moment he had me

worried, disappearing li%e that.6 )e turned to her. 61ou6re going to

&e staying with us for a &it, * gather, iss Dorset... getting your

&earings after this sad event.6



6Did r Thetford tell you that(6 she as%ed, her misgivings

increasing.

)e nodded. 6No dou&t it would have &een a great relief to your

grandfather had he %nown that, &y a fortunate chance, his... er...

demise occurred at a place where the help and support of compatriots was not far to see%.6

Angel said nothing. +he was &eginning to find r /interton

irritating. )ow Ludo would have snorted at that euphemistic

6demise6: And what made this overweight &an%er suppose that

compatriots were necessarily the &est people to help her(

Lila, who had wiped her tears away so tenderly in the &athroom

this morning, would never have said what Leonora had said on the

terrace last night. *f Angel had &een o&liged to go to the village for

aid, dou&tless they would have &een 7ust as helpful. 0indness and

sympathy were not the prerogative of Europeans, as his tone

seemed to imply.

+he watched Charles swim &ac% to the &each. As he stood up and

waded ashore, water streaming from his powerful shoulders, she

saw that against his &ron#ed chest lay a small tu&e"shaped

container on a cord, a container in which he might, on occasion,

carry a car %ey and money. As he couldn6t possi&ly need either of

those things here, the tu&e must contain something else8her %eys.

/hile his girlfriend was anious to see the &ac% of her as soon as

possi&le, was Charles proposing to %eep her here &y force(

6/hy have you ta%en my oars away(6 she as%ed, as he 7oined them.

6Do you want them(6

61es, please. *6d li%e to swim and my &athing suit6s on &oard.6



6/hy not &orrow a &i%ini from my wife8she6s &rought at least

half a do#en8and * %now she6d &e happy to lend you one. +ave

you rowing out to the &oat,6 suggested the older man.

6Than% you, &ut *6d rather not &other her.6 Angel loo%ed up at

Charles. 6/here are the oars(6

6*6ll fetch them for you. *t won6t ta%e long.6 )e moved away to pic%

up his towel and ru&&er thongs.

/atching him rinse his feet in the pool inside the &alustrade, she

wondered if she might &e mista%en and he hadn6t ta%en her %eys.

$ut what other reason could he have had for &oarding the sloop(

+he had dragged the light dinghy to the water6s edge &y the time he

returned, his wet trun%s replaced &y cotton shorts, his &road chest

still &are, the tu&e no longer hanging from his nec%.

Angel hitched up her &orrowed s%irt so that it wouldn6t get wet andtogether they floated the dinghy.

6)op in,6 said Charles. )e still had the short, lightweight oars

&alanced on his shoulder.

+he o&eyed, thin%ing he would hand them to her one &y one. $ut

the net moment he was in the dinghy with her and o&viouslyintending to do the rowing.

As she opened her mouth to protest that this wasn6t necessary, he

said, 6/hile * was swimming * was thin%ing things over. * have a

suggestion to ma%e. $y the way, it occurred to me that you hadn6t

loc%ed up, so * came a&oard, as you saw, found the %eys and

loc%ed the door to the hatchway. At times we6ve had three or four cruising yachts in this &ay and on one occasion a guest of mine had



a pair of epensive sunglasses stolen from the &each, so one can6t

&e too careful.6

-elieved that it was only security"consciousness which had made

him remove the oars and the %eys, she said, 6* should have loc%ed

up myself, &ut *6m still... a &it off course. /hat6s your suggestion(6

6)ave your swim first. /hile you6re doing that *6ll ma%e some

coffee and then we6ll discuss my idea.6

6All right,6 she agreed.

Sea Fever had more accommodation &etween dec%s than theslee%ness her hull suggested. There were two dou&le ca&ins, two

singles, heads and showers fore and aft with a roomy saloon

amidships and a well"designed galley. *n addition there was plenty

of loc%er space and an alcove fitted with a chart ta&le.

/ithin a few minutes of &oarding, Angel was in her &i%ini, divinginto water as clear and shining as a fine a5uamarine held under a

strong light. +he had not showed Charles where things were %ept

in the galley &ut left him to loo% for himself. *t would &e

interesting to see if a man accustomed to dealing with vast sums of

money could cope with something as simple as ma%ing coffee in

unfamiliar surroundings.

Long ago, while teaching her to gut and fillet a fish, her

grandfather had descri&ed his discovery, in middle age, that he

couldn6t perform the simple tas%s of washing, ironing and mending

his clothing and coo%ing appetising meals. All his life, up to that

time, he had &een waited on &y women and never realised how

helpless he was without them.

6And it too% me 5uite a long time to learn how to loo% after

myself,6 he had added. 6*f Eva hadn6t died * might have gone to my



grave not %nowing how to sew on a &utton or %noc% up a decent

omelette.6

*n his seventies his s%ill with a needle was such that often he

would pass the evenings doing needlepoint while Angel read

aloud. The wife of an American yachtsman had introduced him tocushions, or pillows as she had called them, with succinct slogans

em&roidered on them. Ludo6s last piece of canvaswor% had &een a

cushion cover with the slogan I fight poverty—I work.

-emem&ering, as she swam, their evenings together8good coffee,

a good cigar and a glass of good &randy after the main meal of theday were three things which Ludo had retained from his previous

way of life8 Angel felt as if the &ottom had dropped out of her

world. To com&at the pain of loss, she flung herself into a fast

racing crawl.

+he felt &etter for the vigorous swim. The fragrance of freshly

ground, newly percolated coffee was wafting from &elow when sheswung herself up the &oarding ladder. Charles came on dec% at the

same moment that she gathered her streaming hair into a han% to

s5uee#e some of the water from it.

)er &ody wasn6t as &rown as his &ecause in a temperate climate

her s%in would have &een paler than the naturally olive

pigmentation which went with his almost &lac% hair. Nor did sheever lie in the sun li%e people who lived in colder parts of the

world and wanted to soa% up as much sun as possi&le. Not while

they had &een at sea &ut whenever they were moored, Ludo had

rigged up an awning to shade the afterdec%. +o although she had

lived in the sun for thirteen years and had only small areas of flesh

which had never &een eposed to it, her tan was a deep goldencolour, not the leather"&rown loo% ac5uired &y tourists who came

to the East for two or three wee%s of dedicated sun"worship.



/hen Charles loo%ed at her, for the first time in her life she was

aware of &eing almost na%ed. )is appraisal was &rief and

impersonal, which in itself made her conscious that her figure left

a lot to &e desired. 2p to now she had never minded having small

&reasts and no other curves to spea% of. +uddenly she longed to &e

more rounded and less leggy. A twenty"inch waist was an asset

only if it were com&ined with full &reasts and hips, which in her

case it wasn6t.

/hile he returned to the galley to &ring the coffee on dec%, she

wrapped a sarong round herself. /hen Charles came &ac%, the two

parts of her &i%ini were draped over the rails to dry and from chestto %nee she was swathed in indigo"on"pale"ochre cotton, li%e a

$alinese girl going to the river for a &ath.

)e had even found the &iscuit tin, she noticed, with a tightening of

the throat. +he and her grandfather had ta%en it in turns to &a%e

&read, &ut he had %ept the &iscuit tin filled &ecause he had a sweet

tooth. Angel6s mother had wanted her to have &eautiful teeth and asa small child she had &een given pieces of carrot and apple in place

of sweets. $y the time she had come to live with Ludo her taste

had &een formed. +he loved fruit, especially ripe papaya with its

&eautiful dawn"s%y flesh, &ut anything made with refined sugar

tasted sic%ly to her. At eleven and four, while her grandfather ate

&iscuits or ca%e, she had had a small sweet &anana or a slice of pineapple.

/hile she was in the water, Charles had not only made coffee, he

had set up the two dec%chairs which, at sea, were %ept lashed to

the hatch cover. 'erhaps, unli%e Ludo in his younger days, Charles

had not &een waited on hand and foot &y women. Angel wondered

if he were what her grandfather had termed a self"made man, or if he had started life from a privileged position. )e had certainly

&een &orn with every physical advantage, she thought, watching



the play of muscle from &road shoulder to shapely hand as he

poured out the coffee he6d made.

6*6ve &een thin%ing for some time that *6d li%e to have a &oat,6 he

said. 6There6s something a&out this one which appeals to me. *f a

survey shows she6s &asically sound, *6m prepared to &uy a half"share in her and to finance a refit. That would ena&le you to %eep

her and ta%e a training course of some %ind. /hat * should want in

return for my investment would &e the use of her for myself and

my guests from Novem&er to e&ruary. )ow does that stri%e you(6

As she %new roughly what a refit would &e li%ely to cost, it struc% her as ama#ingly generous8too generous.

6* should have to thin% a&out it,6 she said cautiously.

6Naturally. /hat *6ve given you is only the outline of the

arrangement. /e should have to thrash out the details. And the

whole thing is contingent on a 5ualified marine surveyor givingher a thorough chec%, &ut that shouldn6t &e difficult to arrange.6

)e leaned &ac% in his chair, his long legs stretched out in front of

him and crossed at the an%le, giving her time to thin% a&out it

while he watched with narrowed eyes a triangular"sailed $alinese

fishing &oat with outriggers heading out to sea.

6*6m not too happy a&out the idea of selling a half"share,6 said

Angel, after some reflection. 6* thin% sity"forty, in my favour,

would &e more accepta&le. After all, you %now nothing a&out

&oats...or not much. *t ma%es sense for the person who %nows how

to sail her to have the final say if a difference of opinion arises.6

)e loo%ed at her thoughtfully. +he wondered what was in his

mind. +he and Ludo had shared an almost telepathic understanding

of each other6s thought processes. ay&e it was &ecause they had



only 7ust met that Charles seemed enigmatic, no hint of his

thoughts showing in his epression.

6All right, *6ll agree to that on condition that you agree to come to

England for a year,6 was his unepected reply. 6*t will ta%e at least

that long to spruce her up, * should imagine, and it will &e a goodopportunity for you to see how the other half of the world lives. *

have an aunt with a house in London which is far too &ig for her.

*6m sure she6ll &e pleased to put you up while you find your feet.6

6* don6t understand your concern for my welfare, r Thetford,6 she

&egan. 6* "6

6Call me Charles,6 he cut in. 6And my concern for your welfare is

no more than any responsi&le person would feel for a young girl

left in your circumstances. *t6s o&vious that your life with your

grandfather has to some etent %ept you isolated from the

pressures and influences on most girls of your age group. 1ou6re in

a vulnera&le position and there are men who would try to ta%eadvantage of that. $ut *6m not one of them. Disa&use yourself of

the idea that * have any sinister designs on you.6

Angel flushed. 6*6m sure you haven6t. * wasn6t suggesting that you

had. *t6s 7ust that most people are so &usy with their own lives that

they haven6t time to &other with other people6s difficulties. And

your life sounds &usier than most.6

Charles arched an eye&row. 6/hat do you %now a&out my life(6

6Only what * can see and what iss 1or% mentioned. 1ou6re

o&viously very rich and...and high"powered.6

)e gave a short laugh. 6-ich is a relative term, and what does high"

powered mean( * wor% harder than most people. * don6t have a

wife or children or any a&sor&ing interests other than my wor%. To



&e successful in my world8which is very different from your

world8it6s only necessary to put one6s whole heart and &ac% into

something, &ut not many people do that. They prefer to fritter their

energies on half a do#en things. $usiness, li%e art, demands total

dedication.6

6And is it as satisfying as art, do you thin%(6

6* find it etremely satisfying. *f * didn6t * should do something

else.6 As he spo%e he glanced at his watch and uncrossed his

an%les, drawing in his legs and rising to his feet in the manner of

someone who has idled long enough.

6* have things to do. * suggest you spend the rest of the morning

thin%ing over my proposition. *f you decide to go for it, after

lunch, while the others are resting, we6ll wor% out the details.6

As he had &efore they too% off from $ali, earlier this morning, on

the first lap of the flight, the first"class ca&in steward came round

again with a &as%et of small hand towels which had &een plunged

in &oiling water and wrung out. They were still hot, damp and

refreshing. Net came the stewardess with crystal go&lets of ice"

cold orange 7uice.

Angel, who had the window seat on the star&oard side of the aisle

with the ad7oining seat empty, wondered if the economy"class

passengers were also &eing given hot towels and cold 7uice.

)aving seen them, a short time ago, crowded into a large pu&lic

lounge while the first"class passengers had an air"conditioned

private lounge, she was inclined to dou&t it.



They were at the airport of 4a%arta, the capital of *ndonesia, and

very soon would &e ta%ing off for $ang%o% where they would &e

staying for two nights &ecause Charles had &usiness there.

)e and Leonora were occupying the pair of seats on the opposite

side of the aisle. Leonora was trying on a pair of earrings she had &ought, or he had &ought for her, in the 7eweller6s shop in the

airport.

Eploring the small shopping comple, Angel had noticed that

everything on sale seemed to &e much more epensive than in

ordinary shops. +he had seen nothing she wanted to &uy.

*t had surprised her that Amy and aureen, who had done a lot of

shopping in $ali, should want to add to their purchases at this

airport. They and their hus&ands were still in the glass"walled first"

class lounge, waiting for their flights to Los Angeles and )ong

0ong to &e called. +hopping seemed to &e a passion with them.

Angel had &een astonished when she6d seen the num&er of suitcases they had &rought for their holiday at Charles6s house.

Two porters with trolleys had &een needed to handle all the

&aggage. Only she and Charles travelled light, he with a thing

called a suit &ag and an. epensive"loo%ing flight &ag, and she with

one medium"si#ed case stamped with Ludo6s initials and

containing her few clothes and her favourite &oo%s.

Leonora, on seeing the case, had said it should &e thrown out and

replaced with a new one. Angel had argued that although it loo%ed

a &it &attered it was still servicea&le. At that time she hadn6t

realised that they would &e flying first"class and her case would

loo% out of place amid piles of luurious matched luggage. *t didn6t

matter to her and she didn6t thin% it &othered Charles, &ut perhapsit was an em&arrassment to the others, especially Leonora who,



plainly, wouldn6t have &een pleased to have Angel travelling with

them even with a &rand new suitcase.

On Charles6s advice, Angel6s most precious possessions, the

photograph of her parents, an al&um of snaps ta%en during the

years with her grandfather, and his private logs as distinct fromSea Fever's log &oo%s, were pac%ed in the smart flight &ag issued

&y the airline and now stowed in an overhead loc%er &y one of the

attentive stewardesses.

+uspecting that one paid a great deal of money for all this

deferential cosseting, she would have &een perfectly happy totravel in the cheaper part of the plane and re7oin the others on

arrival at their destination. $ut Charles had &oo%ed her flight

without consulting her, and o&viously as far as he was concerned

there was only one class8first.

Listening to Leonora and the other two women chatting while his

party went through the formalities of departure, Angel had theimpression they found travelling &y air a great &ore, having done it

so often &efore.

or herself, having little or no memory of the flight she had made

with Ludo when he had &een summoned to Europe to ta%e charge

of her, this 7ourney was, in effect, her first view of the world from

the air and as such tremendously eciting. Today it would ta%eonly hours to reach the 9ulf of +iam, instead of the wee%s they

had once spent getting there &y sea.

+he had &een eleven that year, poised on the &rin% of adolescence.

Tim, their crew, had &een eighteen, a man in some ways, a youth in

others. +he had almost forgotten a&out him until loo%ing throughthe photograph al&um for the first time in a long while she had



come across a snap Ludo had ta%en from the dec% while Tim was

rowing her ashore to &uy some supplies they needed.

Tim was also mentioned several times in the detailed record of

events %ept &y her grandfather in addition to the factual logs.

Tim $olton, great"nephew of my old friend and colleague,

4ohn $olton, came a&oard. A well"&uilt, well"mannered

youngster &ut not happy, according to 4ohn who as%ed me to

give him a &erth for a couple of months. 'arents divorced.

ather seriously displeased that the &oy has failed to 5ualify

for +andhurst.

A couple of wee%s later, Ludo had written!

Tim has settled down well and does more than pull his

weight. )e6s intelligent, relia&le, has a strong sense of

humour and would, in my opinion, have made a first"rate

officer. )owever, if O and A levels are more important than5ualities of character in the modern Army, that6s their loss. *

feel sure he6ll do well when he finds his metier. Angel,

du&ious of him at first, now shows every sign of developing

a crush.

)ad she had a crush on Tim( Angel wondered, as the aircraft

taied out to the main runway. *f so it must have worn off very5uic%ly after he had gone &ac% to Europe. )e would &e twenty"

five now. +he wondered if he had found his metier. )e hadn6t %ept

in touch and shortly after his voyage with them his great"uncle

4ohn, a 7udge who had once &een in cham&ers with Ludo, had died.

Ludo had only found that out &y chance, coming across a reference

to 6the late +ir 4ohn $olton ;.C.6 in an out"of"date periodical in ayacht clu&. /hat had &ecome of Tim they.. .she would never %now.



)ow hard it was to stop the ha&it of thin%ing of herself as half of a

partnership, she thought, with a sigh. This was how widows must

feel... &ereft. +he didn6t remem&er grieving for her parents,

although she must have missed them deeply at the time. $ut now,

after losing Ludo, every so often a great wave of pain and

loneliness would sweep over her, ma%ing her want to hide in a

corner and cry.

The steward and stewardess reappeared, this time with glasses of

champagne to sip while the plane was ta%ing off and a large silver

tray of delicious"loo%ing tit&its served, when each passenger had

made their selection, on a gold"rimmed plate decorated with anorchid and accompanied &y a linen nap%in.

Angel remem&ered an adage she had once read, something a&out

money not &uying happiness &ut ena&ling one to &e misera&le in

comfort:

+he glanced across the aisle at the other two. Leonora was flic%ingthrough a fashion maga#ine &ought at the airport. Charles was

studying some %ind of report which had come through on his Tele

machine and 7otting notes in the margins.

+he wondered if she had done the right thing in agreeing to his

proposition and selling him a su&stantial share in Sea Fever.



CHAPTER FOUR

ALTHOUGH she had visited the southern part of Thailand &efore,

Angel had never &een to $ang%o%, or indeed to any large city.

Ludo had avoided them, preferring small fishing ports to the

crowded and epensive marinas of large ones.

6The Thai name for $ang%o% is 0rung Thep8 City of Angels,6

Charles told her, as a large air"conditioned limousine swept them

away from the airport some way outside the city. 6At first sight the

downtown area isn6t attractive. *6m told it was in the old days,

&efore the canals were filled in. Everything went &y waterwaythen. Now $ang%o% is cho%ed &y road traffic and the noise and the

fumes are hellish. $ut if you %now where to loo%, the old charm

still lingers in places.6

To Angel, the crowded streets were fascinating and she actually

en7oyed a succession of traffic 7ams &ecause they gave her more

chance to loo% at the &uildings and the people. $ut Leonora tappedimpatient fingers on the cover of her glossy maga#ine and visi&ly

fumed with annoyance when a man in a dilapidated van peered at

the occupants of the &ig car stopped alongside him as if they were

unusual animals in a cage at the #oo. )is uninhi&ited interest made

Angel repress a grin, and she was glad to see Charles6s mouth

twitch slightly.

'oor Leonora, she thought. *t was rather hard on her if she had

epected to come to $ang%o% alone with him and now found

herself saddled with an unwanted third party. Angel could

understand the older woman6s feelings even if, in her place, out of

politeness and %indness she would have tried not to show how

unwelcome an interloper was.



'erhaps Leonora6s lac% of sensitivity to Angel6s feelings was

caused &y her own deep unhappiness &ecause she suspected that

Charles was never going to marry her. At least, he hadn6t sounded

as if marriage was on his agenda the day he had tal%ed a&out

&usiness demanding total dedication.

6Do you have a dress in your case, Angel(6 he as%ed suddenly.

6No, * haven6t,6 she answered. 6*6ve never really needed one. The

only parties *6ve &een to have always &een on &oats, where my

7eans were O0.6

6Not all restaurants loo% favoura&ly on 7eans. 1ou6d &etter &uy a

dress for dinner tonight. Leonora will help you choose something

suita&le.6

6* shan6t have time, Charles,6 said Leonora. 6As soon as we arrive *

want to have my hair and my nails done. Angel doesn6t have to eat

in the restaurant tonight. +he can have dinner in her room andwatch a video movie on television. That will &e far more of a treat

for her, won6t it, Angel(6

As an affirmative answer was clearly what was re5uired of ha ",

Angel was a&out to agree when Charles said, 6* should thin% it

would &ore her witless. +he hasn6t &een reared on a diet of soap

operas and second"rate movies. *f you6re too &usy, *6ll go shoppingwith her. *t won6t ta%e more than half an hour.6

or an instant Leonora loo%ed furious. 6+he might prefer to go

shopping on her own. +he6s not a child.6

Charles made no response to this and Angel 7udged it &est to hold

her tongue. *t made her uncomforta&le to &e the cause of strife

&etween them. Although it was possi&le there had &een some latent

discord &efore she appeared on the scene.



ortunately it wasn6t long &efore the car arrived at their hotel. At

the reception des% in the enormous lo&&y Charles was greeted as if

he had stayed there many times &efore. +oon they .ere &eing

ushered into a lift &y someone who loo%ed as if he might &e the

manager of this super"de"lue place or, if not the manager, his

deputy.

6/e6ve given you your usual suite, r Thetford, and iss Dorset6s

room is on the floor &elow,6 said this personage.

/hen the lift stopped and the &ell&oy accompanying them stepped

out to ta%e Angel to her room, Charles said to the manager, 6iss1or% has some urgent appointments and wants to unpac% as soon

as possi&le. *6ll stop off here and ma%e sure iss Dorset

understands how everything wor%s.6

The door unloc%ed &y the &ell&oy led into a &edroom which made

Angel6s eyes widen at its opulence. An open door gave a glimpse

of an e5ually luurious private &athroom. $ut it was the viewthrough the epanse of glass that formed the outer wall of the

room which really too% her &reath away. The large window loo%ed

down on a &road river which she %new must &e the Chao 'hraya,

where on special occasions the golden royal &arges with their

crews of scarlet"uniformed oarsmen rowed past.

6/hat a fa&ulous view:6 she said eagerly. 6/ho needs televisionwith an. outloo% li%e this( *6ll &e perfectly happy having my supper

on a tray and watching the river traffic.6

61ou will eat with us,6 said Charles firmly. )e showed her how to

control the air"conditioning and chec%ed that the shower over the

&ath was simple to operate.

6These ro&es are for guests to wear going to and from the

swimming pool in the garden,6 he eplained. The room had twin



&eds, enough towels for si people, it seemed to Angel, and two

terry ro&es hanging on the &ac% of the &athroom door. 6As soon as

they &ring your case up, why don6t you get out your &i%ini and go

down and have a swim. *6ll meet you in the lo&&y in an hour and

we6ll go shopping.6

6Charles, it really isn6t necessary for you to come with "6 she &egan.

6'ossi&ly not,6 he cut in. 61ou may have an instinctively good dress

sense, or you may need to learn it. $e downstairs in an hour.6

/aiting for Charles in the lo&&y8she was there &efore the

appointed time8reminded Angel of the man who had gaw%ed at

them in the traffic 7am. Although she ga#ed more discreetly, she

was no less fascinated &y the hotel guests coming and going

through the lo&&y with its shining mar&le floor, cascading

chandeliers and ela&orate arrangements of flowers.

The glass doors were opened for them &y a white"gloved young

doorman who was also wearing white stoc%ings with the panung, a

garment not unli%e a sarong &ut drawn up &etween the legs to give

a resem&lance to %nic%er&oc%ers. +he %new its name &ecause

among the &oo%s she was ta%ing with her to Europe was one on the

traditional costumes of the peoples of +outh"East Asia which had &een her fourteenth &irthday present from her grandfather.

Darling Ludo: Each time she thought of him, it was with that

sin%ing sense of loss. To stop herself lapsing into unhappiness, she

&egan to play a game he had taught her when she was small.

+he had &een playing it for some minutes when she sensed that

someone was watching her and loo%ed round to find Charles



standing a few yards away, his hands in the poc%ets of a pair of the

lightweight trousers Americans called chinos.

9oing towards him, she said, 6*6m sorry...* didn6t see you there.

/hy didn6t you spea%(6

6* was trying to wor% out what was going on in your mind,6 he

answered. 6or several minutes your epression has &een

alternating &etween a slight smile and a slight frown.6

6)as it( )ow idiotic * must have loo%ed: * was playing Ludo6s

game,6 Angel eplained. 6*t6s &etter to play it with someone else and

score points, &ut you can play it &y yourself. 1ou have to predict

what people will do. /hat language they will spea% if they6re

foreigners. /hat they6ll choose from the menu. /hat they6ll drin%

in a &ar. /hether they6re smo%ers or non"smo%ers8that sort of

thing.6

6* see. /hat were you predicting a&out the people arriving(6 heas%ed.

6Three thingsF whether they6d smile at the doorman, say than% you,

or ignore him.6

6* see, and how was your score(6

6Not good. * epected people staying in a place li%e this to have

&etter manners than they seem to have8at least 7udging &y that

sample. 'erhaps the net ten people to come through the door will

&e more courteous,6 she said hopefully.

6* dou&t it.6 )is tone was cynical. 6*6ve held doors open myself8in

London, New 1or% and adrid8 and could have remained thereall day for all the notice anyone too%. *6ve no dou&t professional



doormen get used to &eing ignored and aren6t &othered &y it as

much as you are.6

6'erhaps not, &ut who can tell what effects small rudenesses have(

'erhaps it6s an apocryphal story, &ut they say that )o Chi inh

&ecame a Communist, defeating the rench and later supportingthe 3iet"Cong, &ecause he was treated with contempt when he

lived in England and rance as a young man.6

6There may &e an element of truth in it. +hall we go(6

/hen the doorman opened the door for her, Angel smiled and said,

'Khawp, khun,' part of the &asic Thai which she and Tim $olton

had pic%ed up long ago. According to her grandfather, any

civilised person learnt to say please and than% you in the language

of the country they were visiting.

The doorman6s impassive epression changed to a grin. 61ou6re

welcome.6

Evidently he too% them for Americans:

6Did you have a swim(6 Charles en5uired, as they crossed the

hotel6s forecourt where several uniformed drivers were waiting

&eside gleaming cars li%e the one which &rought them from the

airport.

61es, * did8and used the dryer in the &athroom to dry my hair.

Tonight *6m going to have a long lying"down &ath. There6s even a

little pillow, with suc%ers, to rest one6s head on... and a face cloth...

and wonderful thick towels, as good as the towels at your house. *

didn6t realise how thin and scratchy our towels were until * used

yours and the hotel6s. )ow much does a room here cost(6



6Less than it would in London, &ecause wages are lower here. No,

than% you, we6re wal%ing "6 this to a hopeful tai"driver.

Not far from the hotel they came to a ma7or thoroughfare where

Charles too% her &y the arm and hurried her across the road during

a gap in the traffic. Angel concluded, from his purposeful stride,that he %new where he was going. 'erhaps on a previous visit he

had shopped with Leonora. *t wasn6t yet clear from their

conversation how long they had &een together.

A few minutes later they clim&ed the steps of an epensive"

loo%ing shop called Design Thai.

6ay * help you(6 A small, slender girl, her lustrous &lac% hair cut

in the page&oy style worn, Angel had noticed, &y many Thai girls,

smiled en5uiringly at them.

6/e6re loo%ing for a simple dress to wear in the evening. The

plainer the &etter,6 said Charles.

6/hat si#e(6 the salesgirl as%ed, loo%ing at Angel.

6*6m not sure.6

The assistant cast an eperienced eye over her figure. 6* show you

what we have. This way, please.6

+he led them to a rail of sil% dresses. 6* thin% this your si#e.6 +he

selected a pale pin% froc% with em&roidery on the sleeves and

round the hem.

$efore Angel could ma%e any comment, Charles said decisively,

6Too fussy. /hat a&out the &lue one(6

6That one also right si#e... very nice,6 the salesgirl agreed.



/hen she too% it from the rail to display it, he gave a nod of

approval.

69o and try it on.6

+omewhat stung &y his authoritative manner, as if he were tal%ingto a child, Angel did as she was told. $ut once the &lue dress was

on, she %new that his 7udgement was right. The sil% matched the

&lue of her eyes and the style with its full s%irt and tight waist

suited her coltish figure. The nec%line was modestly low at the

front and more daring at the &ac%, &ut a short matching 7ac%et

fastened &y loops and Tur%6s head %nots turned it into an outfitwhich could &e worn during the day for a formal occasion. $ut her

life had never included formal occasions, and would it ever(

6Ecellent,6 was Charles6s verdict, when she emerged from the

fitting"room and showed herself to him. *n her a&sence he had cast

his eye over the rest of the shop6s stoc% and pic%ed out a s%irt and

two &louses which were &eing held &y another assistant. 6Now goand try these on.6

The s%irt was made of navy &lue cotton, &oth &louses were white,

one with a sailor6s collar trimmed with navy &lue &raid and the

other with a rounded collar and tuc%s down the front. $oth made

her loo% very young, li%e a schoolgirl, she thought.

Charles didn6t as% her opinion. )e said &ris%ly, 6/e6ll ta%e them.6

$y the time she re"emerged from the fitting"room, the clothes had

&een pac%ed in a carrier and he was paying for them.

6Now you need shoes,6 he said, as they left the shop and continued

along the &usy street. 6The girl who served us has recommended a

place which isn6t far.6



6*6m sure * could manage to &uy some shoes &y myself if you only

have half an hour to spare.6

6*6ve rearranged my appointments. *6m in no hurry. *n England it

will &e cold and you6ll need warmer clothes, &ut the summer isn6t

far off, so we may as well get you %itted out with some lighter things. 1ou may have filled out &y then, &ut * don6t thin% you6re

ever going to suffer from puppy fat,6 he remar%ed, with a

downward glance at her slender figure.

*n the shoe shop, the assistant &rought high heels for her to try, &ut

Charles frowned and shoo% his head.

61ou have pretty feet. Don6t spoil them &y cramming them into

tight shoes and tottering around on stilt heels,6 he told her. 6/hen *

notice a woman wal%ing gracefully, invaria&ly she6s &arefoot or

net to &arefoot8never in fashiona&le shoes.6

Angel didn6t mind his prohi&ition on high heels, &ut she 5ueriedhis insistence on a colour called taupe which turned out to &e what

she would have descri&ed as muddy river water.

6/hy this colour( /hy not &lue to match the dress(6 she as%ed, as

the assistant gave her a nylon stoc%ing to put on her &are &rown

foot &efore trying on the plain low"heeled style which Charles had

specified.

6$ecause a woman who travels the world and always loo%s elegant

told me that if there6s only room for one pair of shoes in a suitcase

this is what they should &e, taupe pumps... what in England are

called court shoes.6

6Did she eplain why(6



6NoF &ut having seen how little &aggage she ta%es around with her,

and how good she loo%s, * ta%e her word for it. +he has more claim

to &e on the list of the world6s &est"dressed women than anyone

with closets full of clothes which are only worn a few times,6 he

said drily.

Angel wondered who she was and how close their relationship had

&een. +urely a woman would only tal% a&out clothes to a man with

a strong interest in her( Otherwise she would &e afraid of &oring

him.

After &uying the shoes and a small taupe leather &ag with adetacha&le leather strap which made it suita&le for day or evening

use, they wal%ed &ac% towards the river.

61ou6ll have to deduct what all these things cost from the price of

your share of Sea Fever' said Angel.

The sloop had &een surveyed &efore they left $ali and he hadmade her an offer which she had accepted.

Near the hotel there was a shop with nightdresses and underwear

in the window. 'erhaps guessing that she slept in a sarong, Charles

said, 61ou6d &etter &uy yourself some night things. *6ll leave the

choice of them to you.6

)aving paid for everything else with a &an% card, he opened his

&illfold and gave her some five"hundred"&aht notes.

6*6ll have these parcels sent to your room. Come up to the suite

a&out seven.6

@ @ @



/hen Angel returned to her &edroom with another large carrier

containing peach sil% py7amas piped with a5uamarine and an

a5uamarine man6s"style dressing gown piped with peach, the rest

of the shopping was already there, with the addition of a pac%age

she hadn6t seen &efore.

'u##led, she removed the wrapping from a long narrow &o which

contained a string of small pearls and a pair of pearl earrings.

There was also a card with a message in writing she recognised.

6An advance present for your eighteenth &irthday.6

+he was ready &y a 5uarter to seven. As she loo%ed at herself in the

full"length mirror, she could see that she loo%ed nice. $ut was this

demure young person in &lue sil% and pearls the real Angel Dorset,

or was she Charles6s idea of how a girl of her age ought to loo%(

'erhaps it was only &ecause she wasn6t used to wearing a dress that

she didn6t feel herself, she thought, studying her reflection. Or may&e it was her hair which wasn6t right. Long loose hair loo%ed

all right with cotton, &ut not with this lustrous Thai sil%, which

called for something more formal. +he gathered her hair into a

&unch, twisted it, coiled it high at the &ac% of her head and

surveyed the effect. $etter. uch &etter. $ut she had neither the

time nor the hairpins to put it up tonight. Tomorrow, if there was a

chance, she would &uy some pins and also some ma%e"up. +he hadonce had a lipstic%, &ought on impulse in a mar%et and used for a

few days until, left in the sun, it had melted into a gooey mess. +he

hadn6t &othered to replace it.

*t was a few seconds to seven when she pressed the &ell &eside the

door of Charles6s suite. *t was only as she chec%ed the time that sherealised the man6s watch she had automatically replaced on her

wrist after her &ath wasn6t in %eeping with the rest of her



appearance. $ut as she hadn6t &rought the new &ag with her, and

the dress had no poc%ets, she had nowhere to put it if she too% it

off.

Charles opened the door. 6+pot on time,6 he said, with a smile.

)e was wearing a pale grey suit of some tropic"weight cloth, with

a pin% shirt and a grey tie striped diagonally with pin%. As he stood

aside for her to enter a mirrored lo&&y, she caught a faint spicy

scent which might &e his soap, shampoo or aftershave.

The lo&&y led into a large and luurious sitting"room with two

long, deep"cushioned sofas covered in pale green Thai sil% to

match the large celadon vases used as lamp"&ases on the glass end"

ta&les. There was no sign of Leonora.

6/hat would you li%e to drin%( Orange 7uice... Co%e... fresh lime

7uice(6 Charles suggested.

Angel thought a&out as%ing for a Campari and soda, a deep pin%

drin% she had heard &eing ordered &y a girl a year or two older

than herself while she was at the pool earlier in the day. $ut she

didn6t %now how strong it was, so she decided to play safe. 6Lime

7uice, please.6

As he moved across the room to an ela&orate gilt side"ta&le with atray of drin%s and glasses and a large ice &uc%et on it, she said,

6Than% you very much for the pearls. *t6s very %ind and generous of

you.6

6* noticed you had pierced ears. *n America it6s the custom, in

traditionalist families, to give pearls to girls of eighteen.6

6Do you spend a lot of time in America(6



6Enough to find it worthwhile to %eep a pied"a"terre there.6 )e

handed her a tall glass and turned his cuff &ac% from his watch.

+he saw his dar% &rows contract slightly &efore he pic%ed up his

own glass of what loo%ed li%e gin and tonic. 6Come and sit down.6

They sat on opposite sofas. )ad she &een alone in the room, Angelwould have slipped her feet out of her new shoes to delve her toes

into the dense pile of the Chinese sil% rug overlying the cream

fitted carpet.

6)ow luurious to have all this space,6 she said, with a glance

round the room. 6* was wor%ing out earlier on how many times myca&in on Sea Fever would fit into my &edroom here. Even the

&athroom is larger.6

6)ow was your lying"down &ath(6 he as%ed, with a smile in his

eyes.

6*t was lovely. * might have another later on. A shower is fine for getting dean, &ut lying in a &ath is &etter for thin%ing.6

6)ave you &een thin%ing a&out what to do with your time while the

sloop is &eing refur&ished(6

61es, and *6ve had two good ideas. irst, * thin% * should "6

+he stopped short as the sound of a door opening &ehind her

distracted Charles6s attention and made him rise to his feet.

A few minutes earlier she had sensed that he was annoyed &ecause

Leonora wasn6t ready. No displeasure showed in his face now. )e

was loo%ing over Angel6s head with an epression which was as

clear to her as his previous irritation! the epression of a manseeing a woman whose attractions outweigh her shortcomings.



Leonora closed the door &ehind her and strolled across to the

sofas. +he was wearing a %nife"pleated s%irt of dull &lac% satin

with &uttons all down one side, most of them undone. A &lac% satin

7ac%et was draped over her shoulders. A glittering, gleaming gold

halter top clung to her opulent &reasts and was cinched at the waist

&y a wide and shiny &lac% &elt. *n $ali she had &een an

outstandingly good"loo%ing woman. )ere in $ang%o%, after

several hours in a &eauty parlour, she was a %noc%out.

6)ello, Angel. Don6t you loo% sweet(6 she said %indly. +he turned to

Charles. 6Am * going to &e reprimanded for &eing five minutes

late(6 she as%ed, her tawny eyes teasing.

The net day Angel6s lunch consisted of hot fritters and other tasty

tit&its from coo%ing stalls in the street. +he actually found these

cheap snac%s, served on stic%s or in paper cones, more en7oya&le

than last night6s grand meal in the hotel restaurant.

Today she was supposed to &e sightseeing and shopping with

Leonora. That had &een the plan settled last night, &efore Leonora

had persuaded Charles to ta%e her to a nightclu&. $ut this morning,

after he had left for the first of his meetings, Leonora had

telephoned Angel and said, 6* have a migraine, so you6ll have to

loo% after yourself today. Ta%e a guided tour round the temples8 you can get details at the des%. *6m going to stay in &ed. No,

than%s, there6s nothing you can do.6

A tour with a group of other tourists didn6t appeal to Angel. +he

too% a tuktuk, a three"wheeled open"sided vehicle with a noisy

motor and room for two &ehind the driver, to the 9rand 'alace, acity within a city. After spending most of the morning there, she

too% another tuktuk to the heart of the Chinese 5uarter where she



planned to spend the afternoon wandering around the crowded

alleys and mar%ets.

*t was here that she had her lunch, confident that anything coo%ed

in &oiling fat must &e as safe if not safer than the sauces and

creamy puddings she had seen &eing served in the restaurant.

+he had &ought herself various cosmetics, some ri&&ons and

com&s for her hair and a pair of em&roidered sil% mules to wear

with her new dressing"gown, when a voice said, 69ood afternoon.6

or a moment or two she didn6t recognise the young Thai who was

smiling at her. Then she realised it was the doorman who had said,

61ou6re welcome,6 yesterday.

61ou have &een shopping, * see. )ave you &ought some nice

things(6 he as%ed. 61ou6re a long way from the hotel. Can you find

your way &ac% there( 'erhaps you would li%e me to show you(6

+urprised at his ecellent English, which she thought would have

5ualified him for a more interesting 7o& than opening a door all

day, Angel said, 6Are you on your way &ac% to wor%(6

6No, not until later this evening, &ut * should &e pleased to wal%

with you. * have nothing to do for the net hour, and tal%ing to you

would help to improve my English.6

61our English seems perfect already.6

6No, no, it is very &ad. 1ou would &e doing me a favour.6

6/here the hell have you &een(6



Angel wasn6t the only person who recoiled as Charles stepped out

of the lift at lo&&y level where she was waiting to go up to her

room.

Two other women flinched as the tall, angry man glared down at

the startled girl.

6/hat was that all a&out, * wonder(6 one of them said to her

hus&and, after he had steered her round the palpa&ly irate

Englishman and the lift was on its way up again.

The white"haired American shrugged. 6Don6t as% me, &ut *6d say

she6s in trou&le. That guy sure was in a temper a&out something:6



C)A'TE- *3E

)is strong fingers &iting into her arm, Charles hustled Angel away

from the &usy area &y the lifts.

6/here have you &een(6 he repeated, in a 5uieter part of the lo&&y.6Leonora6s &een frantic: +he was epecting you for lunch. /hen

you didn6t show up she didn6t %now what to do. $y the time * came

&ac% at four she was going up the wall with worry.6

6*6m s"sorry,6 Angel stammered. 6* meant to &e &ac% an hour ago,

&ut *8* was delayed. Leonora and * must have got our wires

crossed. * didn6t realise she was epecting me &ac% here for lunch.

* thought if * came &ac% at teatime it would &e 5uite soon enough.6

6*f she hadn6t had one of her migraines, she wouldn6t have let you

out of her sight this morning,6 he said curtly.

6* don6t %now why not... * can cross the street &y myself. *6ve &eendoing it for years.6

6Not in $ang%o% you haven6t. This town is famous for its &rothels...

thinly disguised as massage parlours. There6s more prostitution

here than in any city in the East.6

6+o there may &e,6 Angel retorted. 6$ut *6ve never heard that theya&duct female tourists. The only man who6s touched me today is

you8and you6re hurting my arm.6

6*6m sorry.6 )e released his grip. +till loo%ing seriously displeased

&ut no longer &oiling over, he said curtly, 6The first thing to do is to

let Leo %now you6re all right.6

They had the lift to themselves, &ut neither of them spo%e. Angel

%new she was at fault for arriving &ac% after Charles instead of



&efore him. *n similar circumstances Ludo would have &een

annoyed with her. $ut he wouldn6t have &la#ed at her in pu&lic, or

gra&&ed her arm roughly enough to &ruise it. )e had never &een a

hot"tempered man, or never within her memory. $ut of course he

had &een old, half a century older than the tall tight"lipped man

&eside her.

$y the time they stepped out of the lift into the luuriously

appointed corridor leading to the suites, she had pulled herself

together and, &ut for one thing, would have &een ready to eplain

and apologise. /hat stopped her saying she was sorry was

Leonora6s part in this upset. +he had lied to Charles. +he hadn6t &een epecting Angel to return at lunchtime, and nor had she &een

distraught with aniety, or only to the etent that he would have

&lamed her if something &ad had happened. *n her heart she

wouldn6t have cared. To Charles6s flam&oyant girlfriend, Angel

%new she was nothing &ut a nuisance.

The older woman was not in the sitting"room when they enteredthe suite. $ut the &edroom door was open, and Charles called out,

6*t6s all right.. .she6s &ac%. End of panic:6

)e was on his way to the &edroom when Leonora appeared in the

doorway. +he was wearing a clinging green ro&e and no lipstic%,

which altered her appearance enough to ma%e a man thin% she was

pale and distraught. $ut her eyes were made up, Angel noticed. At

dinner last night she had studied the way Leonora did her eyes and

she could see that an e5ually s%ilful com&ination of shadows had

&een applied &etween her eye&rows and upper lashes today, with

some shading under her lower lashes.

6Oh, what a relief: 1ou6re O0,6 Leonora eclaimed. 6/here haveyou &een, for 9od6s sa%e( *6ve &een &iting my nails to the 5uic%,

imagining all %inds of horrors. *t6s really too &ad of you, Angel: *f



you wanted to stay out all day, why didn6t you leave a message(

1ou must %now how to use a pay"phone, don6t you(6

Angel saw that she had two choices and must ma%e a 5uic%

decision &etween them. +he could contest Leonora6s story a&out

epecting her &ac% for lunch, or she could let her get away with it./hat would &e gained &y showing her up as a liar( Nothing.

Charles might not &elieve the truth and having her veracity

challenged would only ma%e Leonora even more hostile. *t was

&etter to say nothing.

6*6m sorry if you were worried... &ut glad to see that your nail" &iting was only metaphorical. *t would have &een a pity to spoil

your nails on my account,6 she said, with a glance at the long coral"

varnished nails spread on Leonora6s upper arms as she stood with

her arms folded, a posture which also made the most of the eye"

catching cleavage displayed in the 3 of the green ro&e.

Leonora6s mouth thinned and her fingers curled, ma%ing her pointed nails loo% even more li%e shiny claws. 61ou don6t give a

damn, you little "6

6Leo:6 Charles cut in sharply.

or an instant the glare which had &een focused on Angel was

swivelled in his direction. Then she turned and stal%ed &ac% to the &edroom, slamming the door.

Charles loo%ed pained. 61ou6d &etter go to your room,6 he said,

loo%ing coldly at Angel. 6'erhaps when you 7oin us for dinner

tonight you6ll have the grace to apologise properly.6

)e didn6t follow Leonora into the &edroom &ut crossed the room to

the glass doors giving on to the suite6s private terrace. Angel

watched him go to the &alustrade and stand with his hands on the



top rail. +he wondered if he was regretting ta%ing her under his

wing.

/hen, at a few minutes to seven, she made her way &ac% to thesuite, the mirrored walls of the lift showed several changes in the

demure appearance they had reflected the night &efore.

Tonight she loo%ed at least two years older, Angel thought, with

satisfaction. )er hair was up, with a silver ri&&on threaded through

its coils. *n place of the discreet pearl studs, silver earrings li%e

crescent moons swung from the lo&es of her ears, and her eyes and

lips were carefully made up. +he hadn6t used as much paint as

Leonora did &ecause she %new it would loo% wrong on her. This

time the lipstic% she had &ought wasn6t a &right, hard red &ut a soft

papaya"toned pin%, and instead of choosing the &lue shadow from

the palette of si colours in her new eye ma%e"up %it, she had used

the merest dusting of green powder"shadow on her lids with dar% &lue mascara8&ut not much8 &rushed on her upper lashes. The

idea for &lueing her lashes had come from a close"up photograph

of the 'rincess of /ales on the cover of a maga#ine someone had

thrown away a couple of years ago and she had %ept.

As she was wal%ing along the corridor to Charles6s suite,

wondering how he and Leonora would react to her new loo%, shemet an elderly couple leaving one of the other suites.

*t seemed polite to smile and say good evening. A few moments

later she was astonished to hear the woman say to her hus&and,

6*sn6t that girl the image of 'rincess Di: or a moment * thought it

was her.6

*t had never occurred to Angel &efore, &ut perhaps, &eing tall and

slender, with a similar &ump on the &ridge of her nose and chee%s



which formed dimples when she grinned, she did &ear a slight

resem&lance to the 'rincess. Especially now that her hair was up.

Cheered that someone could mista%e her, even for a second, for the

glamorous Diana, she pressed the door"&ell.

This time it was Leonora who opened the door, &ut she didn6t show

any reaction to Angel6s new loo% &ecause she opened it without

even chec%ing that it was Angel who had rung.

Nor did Charles, who was fiing drin%s, loo% round when Angel

followed Leonora into the sitting"room.

*t was only when she said, 6Charles has told me to apologise

properly for upsetting you, Leonora,6 that they &oth turned to loo%

at her. 6*f * really did worry you, then * &eg your pardon,6 she went

on. 6* had no intention of &eing late. * was tal%ing to someone

interesting and didn6t notice the time passing.6

Leonora6s eye&rows had risen at the sight of the upswept hairdo

and the earrings. )er epression as she too% in the changes wasn6t

approving. /hat Charles thought it was impossi&le to tell.

6/ho were you tal%ing to(6 he as%ed.

6One of the doormen... the young one. /e met in a mar%et in theChinese 5uarter. )is name is Cham. )e grew up in a slum called

0long Toey. )e was telling me a&out it, and also eplaining the

tones used in spea%ing Thai. )e says it6s difficult for /esterners to

learn the correct tones &ecause we put feelings8such as dou&t or

disli%e8into our words. To spea% Thai properly you must never

allow any emotion to enter your voice.6

6And later on he offered to ta%e you to a factory selling gemstones

at wholesale prices, * suppose(6 said Leonora.



6)e never mentioned gemstones. /hy should he(6

6$ecause that6s the usual reason for Thais &eing friendly to

foreigners. They6re touting for 7ewellery wor%shops who give them

a small commission on whatever is &ought.6

6Cham wasn6t touting. )e thought * might have lost my &earings

and offered to wal% me &ac% to the hotel. On the way we stopped

for a cold drin%, and that6s when he gave me a language lesson

which was so interesting that * forgot the time.6

6)e may thin% you6re here for several days and &elieve in ta%ing his

time to get to the o&7ect of the eercise. 1ou can &et your life there

is one,6 was Leonora6s cynical reply.

Tonight she was wearing the pleated evening s%irt with a vivid

green se5uinned top. Convinced that Cham6s friendliness had had

no ulterior motive, &ut not wishing to argue with her, Angel said

politely, 6/hat a lovely colour your top is.6

6Than% you.6 Leonora6s response was mechanical and she didn6t

reciprocate with a favoura&le remar% on Angel6s appearance. *f it

hadn6t &een for the comment of the woman in the corridor, Angel

would have &egun to feel that instead of improving her loo%s she

had only succeeded in ma%ing a guy of herself.

)owever, when they went to the restaurant, she sensed from the

way other people loo%ed at her that, even if Charles and Leonora

were unimpressed, she did loo% &etter tonight.

*t was after they had decided what to eat and Charles had chosen

the wine that he said, 61ou have a new watch, * see.6



61es, * realised last night that my everyday watch loo%s wrong with

this dress. This watch * &ought today was very cheap from a stall

in the street.6

6*t6s a copy of an epensive Cartier watch,6 he told her. 6*f this were

London, * dou&t if anyone would guess it wasn6t the real thing. A 7eweller would %now as soon as he opened it, of course. *t will &e

interesting to see how well the gold"plating wears.6

6* thought you disapproved of &uying pirated things, Charles,6 said

Leonora. 61ou wouldn6t let me &uy those cassettes * wanted last

time we were here.6

61ou %new they were pirated &y the price &eing as%ed for them.

Angel chose this watch &ecause it appealed to her, not &ecause she

recognised it as a clever copy of one of the current status sym&ols.

$y the way, you said you had two good ideas for what to do when

you get to England, Angel. /hat are they(6

6Oh, yes8well, the first thing * want to do is to get my

yachtmaster6s certificate, which shouldn6t &e difficult. And then *

thought *6d ta%e a course in coo%ing. * can do all the &asic stuff, &ut

*6d li%e to %now how to ma%e some of the fancy dishes they serve

in places li%e this.6

6/ith what o&7ect(6

6$etter catering if * go in for chartering seriously. 1our guests will

want good food, won6t they( Even if you ta%e them ashore to eat a

lot of the time, they6ll still need some meals on &oard, and they

might as well &e good ones.6

6* agree, and * thin% those are &oth very sensi&le suggestions,6 said

Charles. 6Do you %now how to go a&out getting your yachtmaster6s

certificate( Did your grandfather have one(6



6)e got his years ago, &efore his first long voyage. * thin% * may

have to wait for my eighteenth &irthday to get mine8*6m not sure

a&out that.6

61ou could pass for nineteen tonight,6 he said, with a smile. 6/here

did you have your hair done( *n the salon downstairs(6

6Oh, no, * did it myself.6

6-eally( Turn your head a moment. Let me see the &ac%.6

Angel o&eyed.

6*t loo%s most professional to me. Don6t you thin% so, Leo(6

61es, it does,6 Leonora agreed. 6$ut * epect Angel has put it up

&efore. 9irls of her age spend hours eperimenting with hair and

ma%e"up. * did myself in my teens.6 +he smiled across the ta&le.

6Living alone with your grandfather, inevita&ly you6ve missed a lot

of the fun that6s normal and right for your age group8pop music,

discos, discussing Life with your peers, first dates. Never mind,

you6ll &e a&le to catch up when you get to England.6

Angel was a&out to reply that she had heard plenty of pop on other

people6s radios and it didn6t appeal to her as much as the classical

music she had grown up with, &ut Charles spo%e first.

6* thin% Angel has &ypassed that stage of life. Not everyone goes

through it. At eighteen * didn6t spend my evenings at discos. * was

studying.6

61ou were eceptionally clever and serious"minded. 1ou can6t

compare yourself with ordinary people. *6m sure, if she6s truthful,Angel will admit that she would have li%ed to come nightclu&&ing

with us last night8or, &etter still, gone to a disco with the young



man who chatted her up this afternoon. * %now more a&out teenage

girls than you do, Charles. *6ve &een one.6 Another smile with a

hint of conspiracy in it flashed across the ta&le at Angel. 6All this

etra glamour tonight8the hairdo, the earrings, the &lue mascara

8are for Cham6s &enefit, not ours. And perhaps also for the

handsome young +wiss at -eception.6

Angel had noticed that there was a tall fair"haired man among the

Thais who staffed the des% in the lo&&y. *t would have &een

impossi&le not to. $ut the idea that she had put up her hair to

impress him or Cham was so far"fetched that it too% her &reath

away. +he had put it up for Charles. As the truth of the matter struc% her8a truth she had not &een aware of until this moment8

a rush of warmth flooded her face.

6There, you see, she6s &lushing,6 said Leonora. 6*6ve only noticed the

+wiss &oy, &ut * epect the hotel is full of attractive young men

who would li%e to ma%e a date with Angel if only she were here

longer. Never mind, when we get to London *6ll ma%e a point of introducing you to aggie, Angel. +he6s a 7unior girl in my office

who really has a &all in her spare time. Once you6re in her set you

won6t have a minute to spare8or a dull one:6

Angel clim&ed into &ed and turned out the lights. $ut she didn6t liedown. +he sat with her %nees pulled up and her arms clasped round

them, loo%ing out at the moonlit river flowing endlessly seawards,

reminding her of the untrou&led life she had led &efore her

grandfather6s &rief illness.

*f it had happened a day earlier or a day later, they would have &een somewhere else when he died and she wouldn6t &e here now.

)er life would &e going in a different direction towards a



completely different future. +he wouldn6t %now that a man called

Charles Thetford eisted.

*nstead of which she was sitting up in &ed, watching the flow of

the Chao 'hraya and facing the fact that she had fallen headlong in

love with a man who was forever out of reach. )e was older. )ewas a financial genius. )e had a 7ealous mistress.

/hy Leonora should &e 7ealous of someone who had no hope of

stealing Charles from her was a pu##le. 'erhaps she had foreseen

that Angel would fall for him and that alone was enough to ma%e

her hostile. Tonight, at dinner, she had done her &est to ma%eAngel loo% gauche, and she had succeeded.

The net night was spent flying to London, leaving $ang%o% at

one minute to midnight on a non"stop flight to )eathrow which

would land at five minutes past si the following morning, localtime, after twelve hours in the air.

Leonora had ta%en a sleeping pill, and as soon as the plane was

air&orne she put plugs in her ears, covered her eyes with a &lac%

sil% mas% and settled down under a soft vicuna &lan%et, having

instructed the stewardess that she wasn6t to &e distur&ed until

&rea%fast was served.

+he had had dinner at the hotel, &ut Charles preferred to dine in

flight, and while Leonora was having a normal dinner he and

Angel had eaten only a small omelette and a side salad to stave off

hunger until their Thai Airways dinner was served &etween

midnight and one.



As on the flight from $ali, Angel had a free seat &eside her, and to

give Leonora as little distur&ance as possi&le, Charles came and sat

net to Angel for dinner and stayed &eside her to watch the movie.

+he must have fallen asleep &efore it was over. /hen she wo%e

she was covered &y a &lan%et and Charles had gone &ac% to theother side of the aisle and was reading &y a thin &eam of light from

a&ove his head. All the main lights had &een turned off, leaving

7ust enough illumination for people to find their way to the heads if

necessary.

Angel turned on her side and watched him, thin%ing that he loo%eda lot li%e photographs of Ludo as a young man when his hair had

&een &lac% instead of white, and his s%in still taut over high

chee%&ones and a strongly"mar%ed 7awline.

Ludo had &een twenty"nine when he met Eva at a &all during her

first season as a de&utante. )e had married her the following year,

soon after her nineteenth &irthday. *n spite of the difference in their ages, they had &een perfect for each other. /asn6t it possi&le that

&y the time she was nineteen she, Angel, could have made herself

into someone worthy of Charles( Leonora wasn6t right for him.

There was a core of hardness in her. -elaed in sleep, her mouth

had a petulant droop. And how could Charles li%e &eing caressed

&y those too"long, too"pointed nails( Talons, Ludo would have

called them.

Charles turned his head and caught her watching him. )e leaned

out of his seat, his long &ody ena&ling him to spea% to her without

distur&ing those around them.

6Can6t you sleep( /ould you li%e a glass of water(6

+he shoo% her head. 6No, than% you.6



)e smiled at her, the warm smile which transformed his face and

made her insides turn over.

61ou6re not worrying a&out things, are you( There6s no need to, *

promise you.6

The net time she wo%e he was sleeping, his arms folded across

his chest, his head leaning sideways.

*n sleep his mouth didn6t ta%e on an unpleasant line. Angel found

herself wondering what it would &e li%e to &e %issed &y thatmouth. +he had no direct eperience of %issing, %nowing only

what she had read a&out it.

'utting aside the soft &lan%et which Charles or the stewardess had

tuc%ed round her last night, she found her wet pac% and went

5uietly to the washroom.

)er watch, still on $ang%o% time, showed it was a few minutes to

si. They were a&out halfway there, somewhere over the iddle

East. )ow ama#ing really, to &e &rushing one6s teeth in midair:

The others too% it for granted, &ut to her it was a miracle that all

these people and all their &aggage could &e transported in the

space of a night over mountains and deserts and oceans from oneside of the world to the other.

As she returned to the ca&in, a man rose from his seat and then

waited to let her pass. )e loo%ed tired and in need of a shave.

6* wish * loo%ed li%e you after four hours6 sleep, young lady,6 he

said, as she smiled at him.



Ten minutes later Charles wo%e, fleed his shoulders and arms, ran

a hand over his stu&&le"shadowed 7aw and stood up.

69ood morning,6 he mouthed at Angel, &efore disappearing in the

direction she had come from.

)e came &ac% ten minutes later, his chin with its slight centre dent

now smooth again, his hair &rushed and the shirt he had slept in

replaced with a clean one.

6*6ll sit &y you, if you don6t mind( They won6t serve &rea%fast till

eight. /ould you li%e some fruit 7uice or coffee(6 )e pressed the

&ell to summon a steward or stewardess.

)ad they &een flying in the opposite direction, it would have &een

day&rea% &y now with a &eautiful eastern dawn to watch as they

dran% their coffee. $ecause they were travelling west, the s%y

outside was still dar% when the &rea%fast menus were &rought

round and a stewardess gently roused Leonora.

To Angel6s surprise she didn6t spea% to Charles nor he to her &efore

she went to the washroom. They said good morning when she

reappeared, freshly made up and &ringing with her an aura of some

heavy scent which wasn6t as pleasant to Angel6s nostrils as the light

spicy lotion he used.

A low cloud &ase prevented her seeing the lights of 9reater

London as they came in to land at )eathrow. A tai too% them to

the centre of the city. *t was raining, and the wet lamplit streets

seemed strangely deserted compared with the &ustle of $ang%o%.

6/e must &e mad to live here,6 said Leonora morosely, loo%ing out

at the early wor%ers scurrying along with hunched shoulders and

um&rellas. 6And no dou&t * shall find a stac% of pro&lems on my

des% when * get to the office.6



Angel had heard Charles give two addresses to the driver, the first

&eing Leonora6s flat and the second his aunt6s house. +he was

&eginning to feel apprehensive that his aunt might not li%e having

an un%nown girl foisted on to her.

/hen the tai stopped for the first time, Charles sprang out,carrying Leonora6s flight &ag and offering a hand to help her

alight.

)er farewell to Angel was a casual, 69ood&ye6, offhand to the point

of rudeness.

/hile the tai driver unloaded the &ul% of the luggage and dumped

it on the step of the house to &e carried inside &y Charles, Angel

huddled in her corner of the &ac% seat, inclined to agree with

Leonora that anyone who had a choice must &e mad to live in this

land of cold, dar%, wet winter mornings.

+he wasn6t physically cold &ecause the tai was heated and &eforethey left the airport Charles had made her put on a sweater he had

o&viously intended to wear himself, a sweater made of wool even

softer than the vicuna &lan%et. *t was nervousness which made her

shiver as she waited for him to re7oin her. +he wished he was

ta%ing her to his house. Already, after less than a wee% in his

company, she dreaded &eing separated from him. /hat if his aunt

turned out to &e li%e Leonora and too% an instant disli%e to her(



C)A'TE- +*H

'CHARLES, my dear &oy: *t6s always a pleasure to see you8even

at half"past seven on a fiendish morning.6

As the woman who had opened the door greeted her nephew,Angel6s first thought a&out her was that she could have &een

Ludo6s sister.

Tall, thin, white"haired and weather&eaten, she was wearing 7eans

and a navy &lue seaman6s sweater over a mannish chec% shirt. $ut

her &ony wrists 7ingled with feminine silver &racelets as she lifted

her arms to hug Charles and %iss him on &oth chee%s, and a long

deep pin% *ndian sil% scarf was wound round her nec% with a

spar%ling &rooch pinned to the %not of the &ow in which it was tied

at the front.

6And this is your protBgBe,6 she said, turning to smile at Angel.

6Evangeline, shortened to Angel,6 said Charles. 6Angel, this is my

Aunt Dorothea...iss Thetford.6

6Never mind the iss Thetford. Call me Dorothea, dear child. Oh,

how young you are8 and how &eautiful:6 *nstead of sha%ing

hands, his aunt stro%ed Angel6s chee% with a gentle fingertip.

61ou6ll never &elieve it, &ut once * had chee%s li%e yours. 'eacheslong since turned to prunes. Never mind, it6s not so &ad &eing

ancient if one has one6s health and a consuming passion to %eep

one lively. Come inside out of the cold.6

+he ushered them inside and led the way down a long hall to the

&ac% of the house.

6This is my %itchen"cum"living"room"cum"studio"cum"garden"

room... the heart of the house,6 she eplained to Angel, as they



6/hat lovely cups,6 she said, lifting a large red"rimmed cup of

mil%y coffee to her lips.

6* &ought them in rance,6 said iss Thetford. 6The rench ma%e

the world6s &est &rea%fast cups, and this ta&lecloth comes from a

shop in Aries in the south. As you see, *6m a magpie...a compulsivecollector. y house is full of souvenirs of my travelsF &ut * never

&uy things made for the souvenir trade. Those are invaria&ly

hideous, as * dare say you6ve noticed. * can6t a&ide %nic%"%nac%s.6

Angel had heard %ippers etolled &y Ludo, &ut had never tasted

one &efore &ecause, according to him, a %ipper out of a tin was ana&omination not to &e compared with the genuine article straight

from the smo%e"house.

The %ippers grilled &y iss Thetford, and served on heagonal

plates of deep green earthenware, a perfect foil for the coppery

colour of the fish, were indeed delicious. $ut they made Angel

thin% of her grandfather and of Sea Fever, now so far away.

After &rea%fast Charles called another tai.

6+hall we see you tonight(6 as%ed his aunt.

)e shoo% his head. 6No, &ut *6ll try to loo% in tomorrow.6

After he had gone, iss Thetford showed Angel the room she was

to occupy. *t was at the top of the house and there was a large

&lac% cat asleep on the &ed.

This is 4aco&. Turn him out if you don6t li%e cats. There are plenty

of other places for him to snoo#e.6

6Oh, &ut * do,6 said Angel. 6iss Thetford, it6s terri&ly %ind of you

to ta%e me in li%e this. *6m not at all happy a&out imposing on you.6



6y dear, it6s no imposition. *6m delighted to have you. * don6t see

enough of young people. $eing unmarried, *6m in danger of miing

only with my own generation. /hen Charles was at university and

living with me in the vacations, * used to en7oy entertaining his

friends.6

6/hy did he live with you(6

6)e has never got on with his stepmother whom he suspected, *

thin% with 7ustification, of marrying his father for money. Charles6s

mother died when he was &orn. Two years later my younger

&rother, who is dead now, married again, &ut +ylvia couldn6t havechildren and she wasn6t interested in her predecessor6s child.

Charles was loo%ed after &y a nanny and sent away to school at the

earliest possi&le age. any of his holidays were spent with me. *

should have li%ed to have children, &ut unfortunately the man *

was engaged to marry was %illed in the 0orean /ar in the early

fifties. A woman with a strong mother has to &e madly in love to

give up her independence. * only felt that way once. +o Charleshas &een more li%e a son to me than a nephew.6

6$ut he doesn6t live here any more(6 said Angel, who was curious

to %now where he did live.

6No, no, he hasn6t for years. )e has a flat in the $ar&ican which is

close to the &an% where he wor%s. /e don6t see a lot of each other./e6re &oth &usy people. * suppose we meet a&out once a month.

Either he comes to one of my parties8* en7oy entertaining8or he

as%s me out to dinner. )e ta%es care of my financial affairs. /hen

* was young, * hardly made enough to live on. Lately *6ve &ecome

rather fashiona&le and can charge etremely large fees for &usts of

important men8*6ve got a Ca&inet inister coming to sit for methis morning. As you haven6t"had a proper night6s rest, why don6t

you hop into &ed for a couple of hours8read if you find you can6t



sleep8and this afternoon we6ll see a&out %itting you out with

some cold weather clothes(6

*t seemed strange to go to &ed at nine o6cloc% in the morning, after

two lots of &rea%fast, &ut Angel felt that she ought to do as her

hostess suggested. Once she had settled under the &ag of downwhich too% the place of &lan%ets, and 4aco& had rearranged himself

and was curled against her on the outside of the 5uilt, she found

she was sleepier than she had realised. +he closed her eyes,

listening to the cat6s rhythmic purring, and wondering if Charles

had slept here when he was an undergraduate.

On the morning of her eighteenth &irthday, Angel was wo%en &y

the familiar sensation of 4aco&6s paws %neading her stomach. +he

opened her eyes and for a moment they stared at each other &efore

he &lin%ed and loo%ed away. *f he found her lying on her &ac%

when he came to her room after his nocturnal prowls, he always 7umped on to the &ed and stepped lightly on to her tummy.

'reviously a cat who held aloof from humans &ut who had lodged

with iss Thetford since turning up as a %itten, from the day of

Angel6s arrival 4aco& had adopted her as the person around whose

an%les he would sometimes twine himself and on whose lap he

would sit when in a lap"sitting mood.

6Tonight we6re having a party, 4aco&,6 she told him. 61ou6ll have to

stay out of the way or people will stro%e you and pet you, and you

don6t li%e that, do you(6

As she spo%e, she ru&&ed under his chin, ma%ing him purr. rom

the caresses of strangers he would wal% away, &ut hers he would

usually accept. No one, not even she, could pic% him up. )e would

s5uirm free and scamper off.



6That cat is li%e a man who6s terrified of marriage,6 Dorothea had

once remar%ed. 6The merest hint of possessiveness and he6s off li%e

a flash.6

Angel loved the &lac% torn, &ut she didn6t intend to let him %now it.

No sooner had he folded his paws and settled down than she said,6*6m sorry, dear &oy,6 and tilted her pelvis, tipping him off her &ody.

4aco& opened his green eyes wide in a loo% of pained surprise, &ut

5uic%ly made himself comforta&le on the warm place where she

had &een lying.

Laughing, Angel went to the &athroom. Today, at last, she was a

grown"up person with all sorts of rights she hadn6t had yesterday.

And tonight, for the first time in three wee%s, she would &e seeing

Charles and wearing her &eautiful new outfit.

)e was the first to arrive. +he heard the door&ell ring as she was

stepping into her shoes.

)e had said he would come early. Angel hurried on to the landing

to catch a glimpse of him &efore he saw her. Leaning over the

&anisters, she watched Dorothea passing the curl of polished

mahogany in which the &anister rail ended three floors &elow. Afew moments later she heard them greeting each other. The tim&re

of Charles6s voice sent a little shiver through her.

6Come and have a 5uiet drin% &efore the others arrive. Angel isn6t

down yet.6

Dorothea came into view again, wearing a s%irt made from an*ndian sari with a &order of glittering threads and a plain dar% sil%

shirt which she had adorned with Tur%ish and African &eads.



Then Charles appeared close &ehind her, his hair as thic% and

glossy as 4aco&6s fur, and as inviting to the touch. 0nowing that

she shouldn6t &e having these thoughts a&out him when he

&elonged to someone else, Angel wondered where Leonora was.

)eld up at her office and coming later, perhaps. )ow much nicer the party would &e if she weren6t coming at all: Dorothea didn6t

li%e her either. +he had never said so, &ut Angel could tell. )is

aunt was perfectly polite to Leonora whenever Charles &rought her

to the house, &ut Angel had never seen her touch her, and iss

Thetford was a person who welcomed most regular visitors if not

with a hug then with &oth hands.

Angel went &ac% to her &edroom to ta%e a final loo% at herself in

the full"length mirror. +he hoped Charles wouldn6t &e offended that

she wasn6t wearing his pearls, &ut they didn6t go with her loo% for

tonight. $ecause clothes in England were very epensive

compared with prices in *ndonesia and its neigh&ouring countries,

she had had the idea of trying to ma%e what she wanted. Dorotheaowned one of the early electric sewing machines, a heavy &lac%

and gold +inger with a polished wooden cover. Although it

wouldn6t do any fancy stitches, it was ideal for Angel6s first

attempts at dressma%ing.

Tonight6s outfit had &een inspired &y a fashion photograph in

!arpers " #ueen, an epensive maga#ine which Dorothea didn6t

&uy regularly &ut of which she had this one issue &ecause it

contained photographs of the private view of her most recent

ehi&ition.

The short8very short:8evening s%irt which had caught Angel6s

eye as she loo%ed through the rest of the maga#ine had &een madein the wor%rooms of an *talian designer and cost nearly a thousand

pounds.



The s%irt she had made for the party had cost the price of a $ogue

paper pattern and a reel of sil% thread to match the material, which

had started life as an evening 7ac%et worn &y Charles6s

grandmother in the Thirties. Dorothea had %ept it after her mother

died &ecause it was made of &eautiful damson and gold &rocade.

)aving worn it herself several times, she had offered it to Angel

for her party s%irt.

/ith the s%irt, which had a wide tight waist&and and pleats to mid"

thigh, she was wearing a &lac% leotard, &lac% tights and a pair of

inepensive &lac% suede shoes, with low Louis heels, to which she

had added &ows made from the damson &rocade with an iron"onstiffener. The leotard had a scooped"out nec%line which had called

for some sort of filling, &ut not Charles6s pearls. *n the end,

inspired &y a portrait of an eighteenth"century rench &eauty in a

low"cut dress with a frilled sil% cho%er, Angel had made a dou&le

frill of &lac% lace attached to a &lac% velvet ri&&on which tied in a

&ow at the &ac%.

/ith her hair, washed that afternoon, piled on top of her head, she

felt she had achieved the effect she wanted8young, a %a &ode,

and su&tly sey. $ut whether Charles would approve remained to

&e seen.

)er heart &eating faster than usual, she ran down the stairs to find

out.

)e and his aunt were in the conservatory. /ith the chairs removed

and the plants grouped more closely together, it provided enough

space for dancing to taped music and tonight loo%ed especially

pretty with the roof lit &y strings of tiny green lights li%e fireflies.

6Ah, here she is. 1ou loo% delightful, Angel,6 said Dorothea, as she

7oined them.



Did Charles agree( *t was hard to tell. )is enigmatic grey ga#e

too% in the frill, the long"sleeved, low"nec%ed leotard, the short

s%irt, the sheer &lac% tights. $ut he made no comment, saying only,

6any happy returns of the day.6

6Than% you.6

)e too% from his inside poc%et an envelope and handed it to her.

On it was written, 6To Angel from Charles. )appy &irthday.6

+he had wondered if he would give her another present and had

thought that he pro&a&ly would. $ut what could this &e( A che5ue(

A &oo% to%en(

*t turned out to &e a voucher for a course of driving lessons. +he

loo%ed up at him, her eyes shining with pleasure.

6)ow %ind and generous you are:6

*mpulsively she reached up to %iss him and Charles inclined his

tall head to receive the 5uic% &rush of her lips on his lean chee%.

6Everyone should %now how to drive. )ow are your coo%ery

classes going(6

61ou6ll find that out later. +he6s prepared tonight6s &uffet almostsingle"handed,6 said his aunt. 6And she made that very fetching

s%irt. +he6s a clever girl who seems to &e a&le to turn her hand to

anything. 9ive her some &u&&ly, Charles.6

At this point the door&ell rang and Dorothea went to answer it.

6/e thought of starting the &uffet at half past eight. /hat time willLeonora &e here(6 as%ed Angel, as he handed her a glass of

champagne.



saying, 6Ladies and gentlemen, shall we drin% a toast to the girl

whose &irthday we6re cele&rating( +ome of you have met Angel

for the first time tonight, &ut those of us who have %nown her

longer feel that she6s a rather special person, partly &ecause of her

unusual up&ringing &ut also &ecause of certain innate 5ualities. *

%now you will want to 7oin me in wishing her a long and happy

life.6

)e loo%ed across the room to where she was standing and raised

his glass. 6To Angel... may all your dreams come true.6

*f only he %new what her most important dream was: she thought,as they dran% to her.

Clearing her throat, she said shyly, 6Than% you very much...

everyone. And than% you also for your presents. All the &irthdays *

can remem&er have &een happy days, &ut *6ve never had so many

presents or a large party &efore. *6d li%e to say a special than% you

to Dorothea for ta%ing me into her house and ma%ing me sowelcome and comforta&le, and to Charles for &ringing me to

England. They6ve &oth &een incredi&ly %ind, and if all my dreams

do come true it will &e largely due to them for helping me.6 +he

raised her own glass which at the moment contained &itter lemon.

6To Dorothea and Charles8my two %ind &enefactors.6

+he smiled first at iss Thetford and then at her nephew,wondering if it were possi&le that, one day, he would ma%e that

most important dream come true &y returning her love for him.

6That was a charming little speech you made in reply to Charles6s

toast,6 said Dorothea, some hours later when the last guests,

including Charles, had gone home and the two of them weredrin%ing hot chocolate as a nightcap. 6/as it entirely impromptu,

or had you rehearsed it(6



Angel shoo% her head. 6* didn6t %now he was going to propose a

toast. )e6s told you a&out Leonora(6

61es, and * can6t say *6m sorry their liaison has come to an end. *6ve

always suspected that her chief interest in Charles was the same as

+ylvia6s in his father. +ylvia wasn6t a career"woman, &ut 7ust &ecause a woman has achieved success on her own, it doesn6t

mean she wouldn6t rather have a man to pic% up the &ills. * may &e

doing her an in7ustice, &ut *6ve always felt that Leonora was a ta%er

rather than a giver, and what Charles needs is someone who will

love him for himself, not for the luurious life he can provide. All

the clearing up can wait till the morning. Off you go to your &ed,dear child. * must stop calling you that now you6re eighteen,

mustn6t *(6

6* li%e it,6 said Angel. 6* should li%e you calling me dear child if *

were twenty"five.6

6*t6s a pity "6 iss Thetford stopped short and left the remar% unfinished. 6* shall set my alarm for an hour later in the morning.

*6m getting too old to &urn the candle at &oth ends.6

/hat had she intended to say( Angel wondered, as she undressed.

It's a pity you're not could that have &een the thought she had

chosen not to epress( /as it possi&le Dorothea guessed how she

felt a&out Charles(

/ithout Leonora in his life, Charles came to see them more often

than he had &efore. +everal times, as the spring advanced, he drove

them into the country for lunch on +unday.

)e also too% them to the theatre where, during the intervals, Angel

saw girls and women eyeing him with interest. +he felt it could



only &e a matter of time &efore Leonora6s successor crossed his

path.

rom what she had read, and the range of her reading had widened

since coming to London, a man accustomed to having a regular

partner wouldn6t find it easy to give up se and since Charles, shefelt sure, was too fastidious to engage in casual relations, sooner or

later he would find another semi"permanent girlfriend.

Or he might even fall in love. The thought terrified her. +he was

more or less resigned to the fact that she was too young to attract

him at present. *n a way it might have &een &etter if hisrelationship with Leonora had continued as a stopgap until Angel

had learned enough a&out life and men to arouse and hold his

interest.

Late one afternoon towards the end of April, when they were due

to meet him at seven at a concert hall, Dorothea announced that

she wasn6t feeling up to going.

6*6ve a pain in my &ac%,6 she eplained. 6* thin% * strained it this

morning when * was heaving pots around in the garden. *t6s a pity,

&ut * %now * shan6t en7oy a concert tonight. *6d rather go to &ed

early.6

Angel was torn &etween concern for Dorothea and delight at the prospect of an evening a deu( with Charles.

6/hy don6t you go to &ed now... at once,6 she suggested. *t was five

o6cloc%. 6*6ll run up and put your electric &lan%et on for you

"warmth is good for &ad &ac%s. And then *6ll ma%e you a nice

supper on a tray so that you don6t have to come downstairs again.6

6That sounds lovely,6 said Dorothea. 6* epect &y tomorrow *6ll &e as

right as rain.6



Angel made a pan of soup, some to %eep for tomorrow and some

to put in a vacuum flas%. Then she coo%ed a small +panish

omelette which would &e good cold with a mied salad. inally

she arranged a tray which she would carry upstairs &efore she left

the house.

+he arrived at the concert hall in good time. /hen Charles 7oined

her, she eplained what had happened.

6/e rang your office in case there was someone else who could

have had Dorothea6s seat, &ut your secretary said she didn6t thin%

you6d wish to &e distur&ed.6

6No, * was in an important meeting which * particularly didn6t want

interrupted. +he gave me your message later, &ut * couldn6t thin% of

anyone * could as% to 7oin us at such short notice. 'oor Aunt D., is

she in a great deal of pain(6

6ore than she6s let on, * epect, &ut she insisted on my comingwithout her.6

6;uite rightly. +he also insisted on your coming &y tai, * hope.6

)e had told her when they first came to London that he would

prefer her to travel &y &us rather than 2nderground, and that she

was never in any circumstances to use the Tu&e late at night. $ut a5uarter to seven wasn6t late at night, and when she failed to get a

tai after five or si minutes of trying, there had seemed no harm

in using the Tu&e for a short 7ourney at an hour when it would &e

full of other people going out for the evening.

6No, * came &y Tu&e,6 she admitted.

To her dismay, Charles was furious.



61ou %now my feelings a&out that. * don6t want you eposed to the

%ind of unpleasant incidents which could happen to a girl of your

age on her own:6

6Oh, Charles, that6s silly,6 she protested. 6Of course * wouldn6t use it

late at night, &ut what could possi&ly happen at this time of theevening(6

6Anything could happen,6 he said curtly. 6*6m not %een on your

using the 2nderground at any time of day, &ut certainly not outside

office hours. *t6s neither advisa&le nor necessary. +ome people

have to travel &y Tu&e8you don6t.6

6* had no choice. * couldn6t get a tai. A&out twenty passed me... all

full.6

61ou should have telephoned for one to pic% you up from the

house. *6m seriously annoyed with you,6 he told her sternly.

A heated retort sprang to her lips, &ut she &it it &ac%, not wanting

to ma%e matters worse. /hat had promised to &e a specially

en7oya&le evening was in danger of going awry. 'erhaps if she

accepted his censure mee%ly, his anger would pass off.

After leaving their coats in the cloa%rooms, they entered the

auditorium and were shown to their seats.

Angel was reading the notes in the programme Charles had &ought

for her when someone in the row &ehind touched her on the

shoulder. +he loo%ed round and saw a vaguely familiar face

loo%ing en5uiringly down at her from the higher level seats in that

row.

6*s your name Angel Dorset(6 the fair"haired man as%ed.



61es, it is,6 she agreed. Then Charles6s wrath, of which she had still

&een conscious while reading the notes, was driven from her mind

as she recognised who had spo%en to her.

69ood lord, it6s Tim... )i& $olton:6



C)A'TE- +E3EN

6* WAS fairly sure it was you, &ut you weren6t as pretty at eleven as

you are now,6 said Tim.

Then he flic%ered a glance at the man in the seat net to hers,o&viously wondering if the compliment had &een a gaffe.

Angel laughed and said, 6Than% you,6 adding, deli&erately, 6And

you weren6t as handsome. /hat fun to meet you again, Tim: Do

you live in London now(6

6Not all the time. * move around a good deal.6

+he thought it was time to introduce him to Charles. $ut &efore

she could do so, the house lights were dimmed and an epectant

hush fell over the audience.

6/e6ll tal% later,6 Tim whispered.

+he nodded and turned to face forwardF stealing a sideways glance

at Charles whose epression, in profile, loo%ed etremely

for&idding. +he was not yet forgiven for diso&eying his edict.

)ad iss Thetford &een sitting &etween them, insulating her from

the dominant male aura which always emanated from her nephew,Angel would have &een a&le to give her whole attention to the

music.

El&ow to el&ow with Charles, and with a sailing companion from

her childhood sitting immediately &ehind her, she found it

impossi&le to concentrate on the $ach concerto for two violins

&eing performed on the lighted stage.



'resently another covert glance at Charles showed that his mouth

was less tight. The music had calmed and relaed him. According

to his aunt, it had never &een ear"&lasting deci&els of pop music

which she had had to as% him to turn down when he stayed with

her in his teens. /hat had, at times, threatened to lift the roof and

deafen the neigh&ours had &een the thunderous crescendos of $ach

and $eethoven. Classical music had poured through the house li%e

a flood tide, and so&eti&es Dorothea had gone up to the top floor

to deliver a telephone message and found her nephew conducting

the symphony which was playing.

6)e never wanted to &e a musician,6 she had told Angel. 6$ut themovement involved in vigorous conducting was another outlet for

his etraordinary energy. )e never wal%ed in those days. )e too%

the stairs four at a time8up and down8and he went everywhere

at a sprint. )e couldn6t wait to start con5uering the world and, to

an etent, he has done that, &ut * suspect that he isn6t really

satisfied with his achievements. )e wants something more and he

hasn6t yet found out what it is.6

'erhaps, thought Angel, he &lew up a&out my coming &y Tu&e

&ecause his important meeting didn6t go as well as he hoped. *t was

easy to forget that Charles was involved in deals worth millions of

pounds, regularly ma%ing decisions as vital, in a different way, as

the life"and"death decisions of surgeons. +he %new that very oftenthe 7o&s, investments and savings of thousands of people depended

on his 7udgement and he was a man who would &e conscious of

that, not one who manipulated other people6s lives without caring

a&out the effects on them.

/hen the concerto came to an end and the conductor and soloists

too% their &ows to enthusiastic applause, Angel 7oined in theclapping, &ut %new that she might as well have &een listening to

&ac%ground music on the radio.



As the lights went up and the applause died down, she said to

Charles, 6The man who spo%e to me from the row &ehind us

crewed for my grandfather years ago. ay * introduce him(6

6$y all means.6 Charles rose from his seat and turned to appraise

Tim, who was also on his feet.

6This is Tim $olton, who sailed with us when * was eleven,6 she

said. 6Tim, this is Charles Thetford, who now owns a share of Sea

Fever.'

The two men said how do you do and shoo% hands. *t was evident

that Tim was alone as the people on either side of him were now

on their way to the &ar.

6Let6s go and have a drin%,6 Charles suggested. 6Do you crew for a

living(6 he as%ed Tim, as they moved towards the aisle.

6No, * only sail for fun,6 said Tim. 6*6m a photographer &y trade.6

6Oh, really( /hat %ind of photographer(6

6* ta%e pictures of interiors for house and garden glossies. *f you

remem&er, * was 5uite %een on photography when your

grandfather too% me on, Angel. $ut at that time it didn6t occur to

me that * might ma%e a career of it. )ow is Ludo(6

6)e died a few months ago...heart trou&le.6

6Oh, dear, *6m sorry to hear that. )e was a wonderful old guy. *6d

have li%ed to meet him again. Those si wee%s * spent with the two

of you had a &ig influence on me8you could say they changed my

life. * owe Ludo a lot.6



$y this time they had reached the entrance to the &ar. Charles said,

6/hite wine for you, Angel( /hat can * get for you, $olton(6

6A gin and tonic, please. Can you manage three drin%s( +hall *

come with you(6

6No, no, stay and tal% to Angel.6

6*s he a relation of yours(6 as%ed Tim, when Charles had left them.

6* met him the night Ludo died when * went ashore for help.

Charles has a holiday house in $ali and luc%ily for me he

happened to &e there with some guests. Now *6m living with hisaunt in London and Sea Fever is &eing completely renovated at his

epense. The plan is for him to use her for entertaining for four

months a year and the rest of the time * shall charter.6

6* see... and what6s his line of country( +omething very rewarding

financially, &y the sound of it.6

6)e6s a consultant with Cornwall Chester. )ave you heard of

them(6

6The merchant &an%ers( /ho hasn6t( They6re a &ig noise in the

city. )e must &e seriously rich.6

61es, and seriously %ind and nice with it... and his aunt is a darling.

1ou must come and meet her. +he has the most fascinating house

*6ve ever seen8 perhaps she6d let you photograph it.6

Tim laughed. 6* can see you %now nothing a&out my sphere of

operations: 'eople 5ueue up to have their houses photographed for

the top glossies li%e )he *or%d of Interiors, +rchitectura% Digest,and !ouse and arden. +ome go to ama#ing lengths to get their



places in. *t6s a status sym&ol. Others, of course, wouldn6t allow us

in at any price. They regard it as an invitation to &e &urgled.6

Charles returned. *t was typical of him that instead of 7uggling

with three glasses, he was carrying them on a small tray which he

had &alanced on one palm as epertly as a waiter.

61ou can ta%e this &ac%, if you would(6 he said pleasantly to Tim.

6*6ll hold your 9 and T for you.6

6Of course, sir.6

As Tim went to return the tray, Charles pulled down his mouth in ahalf"amused grimace. 6* don6t much care for that sir. a%es me

sound fifty at least:6

6* thin% it was more in deference to your importance than your age,6

said Angel. 6)e as%ed what you did and * told him.6

6)ow old is he(6

6Twenty"five.6

)er ga#e shifted to Tim coming &ac% from the &ar. )e was not

greatly changed from the way she remem&ered him. 2nli%e

Charles, who was wearing a suit, Tim was in 7eans and a sweater, &ut the 7eans were epensive and immaculately clean and the

sweater and the shirt underneath it were &oth of ecellent 5uality.

The overall effect was casual &ut far from scruffy.

6+o what are you doing with yourself while you6re in London(6 he

as%ed her, as he re7oined than.



+he eplained a&out the catering course, to &e followed &y a wee%

studying navigation in Devon &efore sitting for her yachtmaster6s

certificate,

6/hat a&out you, Tim( 1ou said you were only in London part of

the time. /here else are you &ased(6

6* share a flat with two other guys in Chelsea and * also have a

sta%e in an apartment in New 1or%. *t6s a slightly cra#y set"upF ten

of us paying a percentage of the rent of what6s called a loft. $ut a

lot of the time *6m on location anyway. Last month * was in the

south of +pain, ta%ing pictures of a millionaire6s pad at +otogrande,and net month *6m going to Nantuc%et, the island off Cape Cod,

for a feature on the houses &uilt &y whaling captains.6

6*t sounds an interesting life,6 said Charles.

61es, &ut it has its draw&ac%s. * can never say where *6ll &e this

time net month, and sometimes not this time net wee%. There area lot of freelance photographers competing for the choice

assignments. 1ou have to &e ready to go when and where you6re

wanted. *t can complicate life,6 Tim said wryly. 69irls don6t li%e

having dates cancelled. *6m on my own tonight &ecause the girl

who was to have come with me told me to get lost after * had to

cancel our last date.6

6)ow unfair:6 said Angel. 61ou can6t help it if your 7o& means

you6re more or less permanently on call. The Nantuc%et

assignment sounds fascinating. *t6s one of my hundred islands.

Ludo and * once made a list of a hundred islands we6d li%e to visit,

and Nantuc%et was one of them. *t came &etween usti5ue and

Oahu.6

61ou must have crossed off at least half the list already, haven6t

you(6 said Tim.



+he nodded. 6A&out that, &ut none &etween the 9reenwich

meridian and longitude ninety west, and that6s where a lot of my

dream islands lie.6

6+uch as(6

6Oh ... To&ago ... 9renada ... the 9renadines ... all the Leewards

and /indwards, really.6

6* thin% you might find the /est *ndies less romantic than the East

*ndies,6 said Tim. 6*6ve &een to the Cari&&ean, and the islands with

the 7et airstrips li%e Antigua and $ar&ados have &een pretty heavily

commercialised in the past few years. They6re fine for people from

Europe and the northern states of the 2+ who want two wee%s in

the sun in the middle of winter. $ut they6re not li%e, for instance,

the islands in the south of Thailand which are still undeveloped, or

were when you and * and Ludo were there.6

6* agree that parts of the Cari&&ean have &een over"commercialised,6 Charles put in. 6$ut * feel there must still &e

&eaches on the smaller, more remote islands where one can play

-o&inson Crusoe and loo% out to sea half epecting to see a

galleon on the hori#on or a great fleet of turtles passing &y. /hen *

was nine or ten, +ir )enry organ, who started out as a &uccaneer

and wound up as governor of 4amaica, was what is called now my

role model.6

6-eally(6 said Angel, surprised. 6* wouldn6t have epected you to

have those sort of daydreams, Charles, even as a small &oy.6

6Other people6s daydreams are often surprising,6 he said drily. 6Even

more so when they6re adults.6



4ust then the first &ell rang. There was only one interval and Tim

said, 6*n case you want to get away 5uic%ly afterwards, may * have

your telephone num&er, Angel( *6d li%e to %eep in touch this time.6

6Of course, &ut * haven6t anything to write it on.6

6* have.6 rom the &ac% poc%et of his 7eans, Tim produced a

&illfold. )e too% from it a card which he gave to her. 6That6s my

num&er, and if r Thetford has a pen * can &orrow, *6ll 7ot down

yours.6

Charles put his hand inside his coat and &rought out his

tortoiseshell pen. +oon after Tim had returned it to him, the second

&ell rang and they returned to the auditorium.

2sually, when Charles too% his aunt and Angel out, the evening

ended with a meal in a restaurant or supper at iss Thetford6s

house. Tonight, when the concert was over, they didn6t 5ueue for a

tai li%e many of the other concert"goers. Charles had a car waiting to pic% them up.

)aving given iss Thetford6s address to the driver, dashing

Angel6s hope that the evening would end with supper a deu(, he

settled himself on the seat &eside her, stretching out his legs which

must have &een somewhat cramped during the concert.

*t was a cool night, and Angel was wearing the long straight navy

&lue cashmere and wool miture coat which iss Thetford had

advised her was the classic all"purpose coat for girls of her age to

wear as they dashed a&out London. As she crossed her legs it fell

open, revealing her opa5ue dar% tights and the hem of her 7ersey"

%nit mini"s%irt which tonight she was wearing with a matching

lam&s"wool turtlenec% and Charles6s pearls.



+he had dressed to please him, not herself. +ince coming to

London she had realised that her legs were pro&a&ly her main

attraction from a masculine point of view. $ut, 7udging &y

Leonora6s figure, Charles6s preference was for other parts of the

female anatomy, and although she had filled out a &it lately, Angel

felt that her &reasts and hips still left much to &e desired.

'resently Charles leaned forward and closed the glass partition

&etween them and the driver.

)e said, 6* epect Tim will as% you out. Did you ever have a date

with a &oy while your grandfather was alive(6

6No, * didn6t.6

6+o *6m right in thin%ing you6re a virgin.6

Angel felt herself starting to &lush. 61es... yes.6 The first yes came

out too softly and the second too loudly.

6There was a time8&efore my time8when most girls of eighteen

were virgins, &ut now they6re not,6 said Charles. 6* read somewhere

recently that of eighty"five sith"form girls 5uestioned a&out se,

fifty"three per cent had had se &efore they were seventeen, twenty

per cent thought of se as recreational and only si per cent

thought it should &e saved for marriage. /hether such5uestionnaires are relia&le is, in my view, de&ata&le. 3ery few girls

in that age group have sufficient strength of character to give

answers which might ma%e them seem an oddity. /hat6s your

impression of the se lives of your contemporaries(6

6* don6t really %now,6 said Angel. 6ost of the girls on my course,

some of whom are older than * am, have steady &oyfriends.

/hether they sleep with them or not, * wouldn6t %now. *t6s

coo%ing, not se, we tal% a&out.6



6* imagine so. $ut if you go out with Tim, se is something which

is &ound to crop up. ost young men of his age have the idea that

a pass is epected of them. And they don6t epect much resistance,

if any. +o it might &e a good idea to sort out your thoughts on the

matter.6

6* already have,6 said Angel. 6* thin% people should only ma%e love

with people they really care a&out. *6m not going to 7ump into &ed

with anyone unless * love them. +o you don6t have to worry a&out

me and Tim...if you were worried(6 she added 5uestioningly.

6* wouldn6t say that,6 he answered. 6$ut * do thin% your unusual &ac%ground ma%es you rather more vulnera&le to hurts and

disappointments than girls who6ve grown up in the /est. *t might

&e a good idea to ma%e your ideas clear to Tim from the outset.6

6)ow can * do that(6 she as%ed.

6Don6t let him ta%e you &ac% to the flat he shares. Don6t as% him tothe house when Aunt D.6s not around. 0eep things on a friendly

&asis. 1ou don6t have to let him even %iss you goodnight merely

&ecause he crewed for your grandfather.6

6* might en7oy it,6 she said. 6Even years ago, when nice girls didn6t

do other things, they6d &een %issed at my age. )ow long am *

supposed to wait( *t could &e years &efore my true love turns up.6

)e made no reply to that, and presently the car drew up outside

iss Thetford6s house. Charles sprang out and loo%ed up to her

windows on the second floor &efore helping Angel step out.

6No lights on. +he must &e asleep.6 )e leaned down to spea% to the

driver. 6/ait for me, will you( * won6t &e more than five minutes.6

)e straightened and loo%ed down at Angel. 69ive me your %ey.6



*t too% her some moments to find it and then he unloc%ed the front

door and reached in to switch on the light. +tanding aside for her

to precede him into the house, he said, 6*6ll come through to the

&ac% and chec% that everything6s in order.6

Angel %new that he felt his aunt didn6t ta%e enough precautionsagainst &rea%"ins. iss Thetford6s view was that she didn6t want to

live with her windows &arred &y security grilles li%e those of some

of her neigh&ours.

As Charles led the way through to the &ig room, switching on

lights as he went, she said, 6Can6t * fi you some supper(6

6No, than%s. * have wor% to do. There6ll &e something to eat in my

fridge.6

)is flat, which she had yet to see, was %ept in order &y a daily, his

refrigerator and food cup&oards stoc%ed &y the woman who

organised the directors6 lunches at the &an%.

)aving satisfied himself that the ground floor was as she had left

it, he said, 6Now come and see me out. *6ll give Aunt D. a call in

the morning.6

On the way &ac% to the front door Angel than%ed him for the

concert.

6y pleasure,6 said Charles.

/ith his hand on the door%no&, he turned and gave her the

thoughtful loo% she could never fathom.

69oodnight, Angel. +leep well.6



this morning and with whom * am a&out to start my honeymoon.

Come up here and ta%e a &ow, darling.6

or some moments after wa%ing, Angel remained aglow with the

7oy she had felt at his announcement. Then, as the reality of the

dream faded, she remem&ered what had happened in the hall and &egan to ponder whether Charles had %issed her solely for the

reason he had given or partly &ecause he had wanted to.

The net evening Tim rang up.

6There wasn6t enough time to tal% last night. * wondered if you6d

li%e to come out for a meal tonight(6

6*6m sorry, Tim, *6m &usy tonight.6

6* %new it was pretty short notice. /hen do you have a night free(6

6Er.. .not this wee%, *6m afraid. /hen is your trip to Nantuc%et(6

)e gave her the dates.

Angel said, 6/hy not ring me when you come &ac%(6

6*6ll do that. 0eep a night free for me.6

+he avoided committing herself. +he could have gone out with him

tonight, &ut she had the feeling that it might &e &etter, if Charles

said, 6)as Tim called you yet(6 to &e a&le to say, 61es, and he as%ed

me out, &ut * said * was &usy.6



CHAPTER EIGHT

'MM ... this is de%icious-' said Angel, after her first taste of the

pi##a she and Tim were sharing in a &ooth of Chelsea6s newest

pi##eria.

+he cut off another chun% with the edge of her for% and put it in

her mouth, closing her eyes the &etter to savour the inspired

com&ination of crispy dough, melted cheese and hot, her&y

Neapolitan sauce.

A sudden flash of &right light made her give a startled &lin%.

6* couldn6t resist snapping the ecstatic loo% on your face,6 said Tim,

grinning and putting down his camera.

)e carried it with him at all times. Everywhere he went he too%

photographs of people, of &uildings, of interesting details which

Angel, although she was o&servant, wouldn6t have noticed if hehadn6t drawn her attention to them.

This was the third time she had &een out with him. The first time

they had gone to a movie and had a Chinese meal afterwards. The

second time they had spent a whole +unday together, Tim showing

her parts of London she would not have discovered &y herself,

with lunch at a pu& and, in the evening, a ta%eaway curry supper for three at iss Thetford6s house.

Dorothea had li%ed Tim. 63ery nice manners and a good sense of

humour,6 had &een her opinion of him, reminding Angel that her

grandfather had made a similar comment long ago.

6The night we met, at the concert, you said that crewing for Ludohad changed your life. /hat did you mean(6 she as%ed.



+o far they had tal%ed mainly a&out the present and future and not

done much reminiscing a&out the voyage on Sea Fever. 'erhaps

Tim had hesitated to spea% of it in case memories of her

grandfather were still un&eara&ly painful to her. At times it did hurt

to realise she would never see him again, &ut in general the happy

memories salved the aching sense of loss.

62p to that point * hadn6t &een sure that my father wasn6t right to &e

furious with me for slac%ing at school and not getting the Os and

As * needed for a +ervice commission. $ut Ludo could see life

from &oth sides. )e6d &een a worldly success and he6d thrown all

that up for a roving life a&oard Sea Fever. )e told me that if he hadhis life over again, he wouldn6t have gone in for law. That was his

father6s influence. /hen he left school what he secretly wanted to

do was to wor% his passage round the world.6

6*f he6d done that, he wouldn6t have met my grandmother or, if he

had, he would never have got her parents6 permission to marry her,6

said Angel.

6)e6d have met someone else,6 said Tim. 61ou don6t &elieve there6s

only one person in the world to &e happy with, do you(6

6*6m not sure. Dorothea never met anyone else she wanted to marry

after her fiancB was %illed.6

6ay&e she saw that it would &e &etter for her, as an artist, not to

&e &othered with a hus&and and children. 9etting married isn6t

o&ligatory8it6s a choice people ma%e. That6s what Ludo made me

see. That life is a matter of choices and you don6t have to do what

everyone else does or what other people thin% you should do. 1ou

have to sit down and decide what you want for yourself.6



6$ut people can6t always have what they want. *t6s no use wanting

to &e a &allet dancer if you6re too tall, or a champion s%ier if you

grow up in i7i.6

6That6s right,6 Tim agreed. 6The first thing is to distinguish &etween

cra#y pipe"dreams and practical possi&ilities.6

Angel sipped the glass of red wine he had ordered to go with the

pi##a. or several days after Charles had %issed her goodnight,

wanting to spend the rest of her life with him had seemed a

practical possi&ility. Tonight it seemed a cra#y pipe"dream.

As Tim wal%ed her home she wondered if, when they got there, he

would give her a goodnight %iss. +o far he had shown no sign of

feeling that a pass was epected of him. +he wondered if he might

have &een seriously fond of the girl who had cut him out of her life

and he wasn6t ready for another relationship yet. +o far his manner

towards Angel had &een that of an older &rother.

6*6ll see you on riday, right(6 he said, when they came to her door.

And that, with a friendly pat on the shoulder, was how he said

goodnight.

Dorothea was ma%ing pastry. +he did things when the mood too%

her and 5uite often started coo%ing for the free#er late at night. +he

was not on her own. Charles was sitting at the other end of the%itchen ta&le. )e stood up as Angel came into the room. /asn6t it

7ust her luc% that he should finally show up on a night when she

was out with Tim, she thought veedly.

6)ello,6 he said. 6)ow are you(6

6ine, than%s. )ow are you(6

6*6m 7ust &ac% from $arcelona.6



6$earing gifts,6 said his aunt. 6Loo% at what he6s &rought me. *sn6t it

lovely(6

)er hands &eing floury, she nodded her head at the &ench on which

lay a stylish &louson of dar% red leather.

6*t6s gorgeous,6 said Angel, feeling the soft, supple teture.

6* chose some trousers for you. * hope they fit,6 said Charles. )e

handed her a shiny carrier &ag with the name oewe on it. *nside,

folded in tissue, were a pair of greige suede trousers.

6Oh, Charles, they6re gorgeous: )ow %ind of you.6

69o and try them on. *f they don6t fit, there6s a &ranch of oewe in

$ond +treet where *6m assured you can change them.6

+he ran up to her room and came down a few minutes later

wearing the trousers with a cream sweater.

6They fit perfectly. * feel li%e a million dollars in them. Than%

you... than% you very much.6

'De nada, as they say in +pain. * hear you6ve &een out with Tim

$olton. )ad a good time(6

61es, than% you. /hat were you doing in +pain, apart from

shopping for us(6

6*t was a &usiness trip. y travels aren6t as interesting as young

$olton6s,6 Charles said dismissively. 6* must go. 9oodnight, Aunt

D.6 )e %issed his aunt on the chee% and gave Angel an unsmiling

nod. 69oodnight.6



6*6ll see you out.6 As they wal%ed along the hall, the only thing she

could thin% of to say was, 6Don6t you want to ring for a tai(6

6No, *6ll pic% one up later, &ut * want to wal% part of the way. *

haven6t had enough eercise recently.6

6Charles loo%s tired,6 said his aunt, when Angel returned to the

%itchen. 6* suppose he6ll go &ac% to that soulless flat he calls home

and wor% till two in the morning. *t6s not my idea of a rich full life.

)e needs a companion, someone to ma%e him rela and do

something more rewarding than merely ma%ing money for himself

and other people.6

6'erhaps he has a companion that we don6t %now a&out yet. +he

may have helped him to choose your 7ac%et and my trousers,6

suggested Angel.

6* dou&t that. Charles isn6t the sort of man who needs a woman to

go shopping with him, and if he had found another girlfriend hewouldn6t &e so irrita&le.6 Dorothea gave her a %een loo%. 61ou

weren6t very forthcoming a&out your date with Tim. Did you en7oy

yourself(6

6/e had a terrific pi##a.6

$ut not so terrific that it was worth not &eing here when Charlescame, thought Angel forlornly.

On Thursday Tim rang up to postpone their date &ecause he had

&een given an unepected assignment to photograph a village in

southern *taly.

6Never mind,6 Angel said philosophically.



The truth was that she was relieved. uch as she en7oyed Tim6s

company, she would rather sit at home every night for a year than

&e out the net time Charles called.

+he was still waiting for that longed"for eventuality when she ran

into Leonora.

*t was on a +aturday morning that they came face to face in a street

near iss Thetford6s house. *t was one of those streets to &e found

all over London which are much the same as a village high street,

with a chemist, a newsagent, a florist and various other small

shops. This particular street also had two restaurants, a furrier, afashiona&le hair"dressing salon and two epensive dress shops, one

of which attracted customers from far &eyond the immediate

neigh&ourhood.

Angel had &een to the paper shop to pay Dorothea6s monthly &ill

when she saw Leonora emerging from the dress shop with a carrier

&ag and the pleased face of a woman who had 7ust &oughtsomething etremely &ecoming. $ut that epression changed when

she saw who was wal%ing towards her.

6)ello, Leonora,6 Angel said politely.

Even though Charles6s e"mistress was loo%ing daggers at her, she

felt o&liged to stop and echange a few words.

At first she thought the older woman was going to cut her dead.

$ut then Leonora6s mouth formed a patently insincere smile and

she said, 6Oh, hello, Angel... how are you(6

63ery well, than%s. And you(6



6*6m surviving. 1ou wouldn6t epect me to &e on top of the world,

would you( Not after having my friendship with Charles wrec%ed

&y your arrival on the scene.6

6* don6t thin% * had anything to do with the ending of your

relationship,6 Angel said uncomforta&ly.

61ou don6t( * do. * thin% you had everything to do with it. /e

weren6t a&out to &rea% up before you &urst into our lives with your

&ig &lue eyes and your helpless loo%. /e6d &een together for two

years and would &e together still if it weren6t for you.6

At first Angel didn6t %now what to say. +he didn6t &elieve the

accusation was true. )ow could it &e( /hatever had &rought an

end to Charles6s liaison with this woman, it couldn6t have &een her

doing. )ow could she have wrec%ed an affair which was sound

and strong( O&viously it had &een starting to &rea% up some time

&efore that anguished night at $ali.

6* thin% you6re deceiving yourself,6 she said 5uietly.

6And you6re deceiving yourself if you thin% that Charles will ever

fall for you,6 was Leonora6s angry retort. 6* don6t suppose you %now

it yet, &ut what you are is a guinea"pig. Charles has never found a

real woman to match up to his ideal. /hen you came along he

realised he could mould you any way he wanted. That6s your attraction, my dear. 1ou6re mallea&le. )e can ma%e you fit his

&lueprint.6

6$ut * hardly ever see him,6 Angel countered.

Leonora loo%ed surprised at that. *t too% the wind out of her sails

for a moment.



-ecovering herself, she said, 6*6ve no dou&t you eat out of his hand

when you do see him. *t was o&vious you were da##led &y him

from day one. Do you thin% * didn6t %now what that attempt to

upstage me on our second night at $ang%o% was all a&out( Of

course * did. And *6ll tell you the reason why it wor%ed. 1ou

pro&a&ly thought you loo%ed ama#ingly glamorous. /ell, you

didn6t, my dear. 1ou loo%ed li%e a little girl who6s &een trying out

her mother6s cosmetics, and Charles saw that and li%ed it.6

+he loo%ed Angel up and down and then shrugged her shoulders.

6*t may &e that, having grown up under a man6s thum&, you won6t

mind conforming to the pattern of perfection Charles has in mind.$ut 7ust ma%e sure that you never step out of line, never answer

&ac%, never argue, never want to do your own thing. $ecause if

you do, dear sweet little innocent virgin, you will find yourself

dropped the way * was.6

+he un#ipped her small shoulder &ag and rummaged inside it.

Angel thought she might &e on the verge of tears and loo%ing for atissue, &ut it was a small &unch of %eys which Leonora had

wanted.

69ive my regards to 'ygmalion when net you see him,6 she said,

in a sarcastic tone, &efore turning away to unloc% a car par%ed at

one of the meters.

Dorothea was out when Angel got &ac% to the house. +he loo%ed

up 'ygmalion in the encyclopaedia.

A legendary %ing of Cyprus who made an ivory statue

I%nown as 9alatea in modern versions of the storyJ and fell

in love with it. /hen he prayed for a wife who would &e as

&eautiful as the statue, Aphrodite Iin 9ree% mythology the



goddess of loveJ gave the statue life and 'ygmalion married

her.

Angel closed the heavy volume and put it &ac% on the shelf. +he

didn6t %now what to thin% a&out Leonora6s em&ittered allegations.

/as there an element of truth in them( /as Charles attracted toher &ecause of her ineperience( /as he, at heart, an old"fashioned

seist who thought men and women should live &y different rules

and regretted the days when women had &een dependent and

su&servient(

+he was still wondering and worrying a&out the unpleasantencounter outside the dress shop when Dorothea returned.

6+hortly after you went out, Charles telephoned to as% us to have

dinner with him,6 said his aunt. 6* told him < was already

committed tonight &ut that you were free. )e6ll call for you at half"

past seven.6

6Did he say where we6d &e eating and what * should wear(6 Angel

as%ed, trying to sound casual.

6At some new trattoria in $ayswater. *nformal, * gathered.6

After lunch they went for an energetic wal% in )yde 'ar%. Later

Angel did her nails and washed her hair. +he decided to wear the+panish suede trousers with a soft angora sweater with padded

shoulders and pieces of sil% appli5ued in an a&stract design,

em&ellished with &eads, on the front. A wide imitation tortoiseshell

&angle and matching hoop earrings were the finishing touches.

iss Thetford left the house &y tai at a 5uarter"past seven and

Angel spent the net fifteen minutes wondering if tonight she had

too little ma%e"up on.



Leonora6s 7i&e a&out her attempt to loo% more sophisticated in

$ang%o% had made her nervous of repeating that mista%e8if in

fact she had overdone it that night. ay&e there had &een more

cattiness than truth in the &ar&ed comment.

The door&ell rang while she was staring aniously at her reflectionin the huge loo%ing"glass fied to one wall in the hall. +he hurried

to open the door. *t was raining slightlyF Charles was holding an

open um&rella to protect her from the dri##le and there was a tai

with its engine running at the %er&.

6)ello, Charles. * wasn6t sure if you6d &e coming in for a drin%. *shan6t &e a sec. y &ag and mac are right here.6

)er latch%ey was already in her poc%et, &ecause, li%e that of many

houses in London, the door had two loc%s. *t too% only seconds to

shrug on her raincoat and 7oin him on the doorstep, closing the

door &ehind her and 5uic%ly inserting and turning the %ey in the

lower loc%. oments later she was settling herself in the &ac% of the tai and her second evening alone with him had &egun. /ould

it end the same way as the first one( she wondered, her pulses

fluttering at the memory of his goodnight %isses.

6/hy are you smiling(6 she as%ed, an hour later.

6* was comparing your plate with the one on the ta&le opposite,6

said Charles.

Angel glanced at the couple dining on the other side of the room.

The girl had chosen the same main course as she had and had also

finished eating. $ut 7udging &y what was left on her plate, she

could only have swallowed a few mouthfuls. On Angel6s all that

remained was a neat pile of small empty shells. Every morsel of



the spaghetti and sauce which had accompanied them had

disappeared.

6* thin% it6s wrong to waste food,6 she said, in a lowered voice. 6*f

she6s worried a&out her weight, why not order a salad( *f * were a

man, * wouldn6t date a girl twice if she chose an epensive dishand left most of it. /ould you(6

6* wouldn6t myself, &ut it may &e that her host epects a different

return on his investment than the pleasure it6s given me to watch

you eat with relish while his companion merely rearranged her

food,6 Charles replied drily. 6)ave you room for a pudding(6

61es, please.6 Angel had seen some delicious"loo%ing confections

passing &y on the pudding trolley. 6$ut perhaps we could have a

little pause first.6

6$y all means. *6ve &een thin%ing over something you said the last

time we went out together.6

)e paused as the *talian waiter came to remove their plates and

replenish their glasses with the wine Charles had ordered. Angel

thought &ac% to the night of the concert, wondering what she could

have said to interest him to the etent of thin%ing a&out it

afterwards.

61ou would li%e a sweet(6 the waiter en5uired.

6Not immediately.6 /hen he had gone, Charles went on, 61ou were

tal%ing a&out your list of islands... most of your dream islands

&eing, li%e mine, in the Cari&&ean. That &eing so, * feel it would &e

a good idea to have Sea Fever moved there. /hat do you thin%(6

6* thin% that would &e fine, &ut it6s a long way from $ali to the

Cari&&ean and886



6* wasn6t suggesting she should &e sailed there. /hen her refit is

completed, she can &e transported on the dec% of a freighter. *t

happens all the time. )ow do you thin% international ocean racers

get a&out the world( Not under sail.6

6* suppose not, &ut wouldn6t it cost an awful lot of money to haveher transported...and where to(6

6*6m advised that English )ar&our, Antigua, would &e an ecellent

&ase for her. * &rought some details to show you.6 Charles un#ipped

the leather document case which was lying on the &an5uette &eside

him. Angel had wondered why he had it with him and assumed hemust have collected her straight from the &an%.

Later, when they had &oth had some lemon cheeseca%e and were

finishing the meal with coffee and candied figs, Angel de&ated

mentioning her meeting with Leonora and seeing how Charles

reacted, especially if she reported the angry redhead6s parting shot.

$ut the evening had gone so well that she didn6t want to ris% spoiling it.

6/hen6s your net date with Tim $olton(6 Charles en5uired

suddenly.

6* don6t %now when *6ll &e seeing him again, and our meetings

aren6t really dates in the usual sense. /e6re 7ust friends who are notthe same se. That is possi&le, you %now.6

6*s it( Not in my eperience.6

6/ell, *6m sure your eperience is etensive, &ut perhaps that6s one

you6ve missed out on.6

6Not the only one.6 )is grey eyes were som&re as he made this

remar%.



)e was having a li5ueur with his coffee and his right wrist was

resting on the edge of the ta&le while his long fingers toyed with

the stem of the glass. Angel had a strong impulse to lay her hand

on his arm and give it an affectionate s5uee#e. $ut she didn6t.

)e switched his ga#e from the glass to her face. ;uic%ly sheloo%ed away, afraid he would see in her eyes what she felt for him.

6Dorothea is going to miss you when you go &ac% to sea,6 he said.

6+he told me this morning how much she en7oys having you with

her.6

6* love &eing there. * epect the &oat will seem terri&ly cramped

now that *6m used to more space.6

61ou aren6t tempted to change your life and come ashore

permanently(6

6)ow can *( * have to earn my living, and the sea is the only placewhere * can do that.6

6Not necessarily. The other girls on your course are going to &e

catering on land. +o could you.6

6$ut the sea has &een my life. * should miss it terri&ly8unless *

had something very special to replace it.6 After a slight pauseAngel added, 6Or someone very special.6

6/hat you need,6 said Charles, 6is a younger version of your

grandfather. +omeone who %nows the sea as well as he did.6

6Not necessarily. The man in my life will have to &e someone with

Ludo6s personal characteristics8 %indness, tolerance, a marvelloussense of humour8&ut he may not have the same s%ills. All the

world6s nicest men aren6t sailors,6 she said, with a smile.



)e didn6t respond to her 7o%e. 6The man in your life will come

later. 1ou6re too young to &e thin%ing of marriage. 4ust don6t let

yourself &e em&roiled in pointless affairs. +tic% to your guns and

don6t go 7umping into &ed until you %now what you feel is for

%eeps,6 he advised her.

6*6m as old as my grandmother when she fell in love with Ludo.

+he too% one loo% at him and %new she would never loo% at

anyone else, and she didn6t. Nor did he.6

6)ow old were they when they married(6

6+he was nineteen. )e was thirty.6

6A year older than you. Three years younger than *. *t6s a &ig age

gap.6

/as he only referring to Eva and Ludo, or also to herself and him(

she wondered.

+he said, 6* don6t thin% age matters particularly if people are on the

same wavelength. * mean, loo% at the age gap &etween Ludo and

me, &ut we got on &rilliantly.6

61es, it sounds as if you did.6

The waiter came to refill their coffee"cups. Afterwards Charles

started a new line of conversation &y as%ing her opinion of a

controversial issue reported in the morning papers.

*t wasn6t late when he too% her home. No light showed through the

fanlight a&ove the front door, which meant that his aunt was still

out.

6*6ll wait till she gets &ac%,6 he said.



6/ould you li%e some more coffee(6 as%ed Angel, un&uttoning her

raincoat.

61es, as long as it6s decaffeinated.6 Charles helped her to ta%e it off

and then tossed it over the newel post.

6Does strong coffee %eep you awa%e(6

6Among other things.6

)e followed her through to the &ig room where, as she put the

lights on, 4aco& sat up and stretched, showing the rose"pin% roof of

his mouth as he opened it wide in a yawn.

Allo, onsieur iaow. 6Ow are you #is evening(6 Angel had got

into the ha&it of chatting to him in a stage rench accent and spo%e

to him thus without thin%ing, realising too late that Charles might

consider it silly.

To her surprise, he said, 61ou6ve seen 'eter 2stinov playing

)ercule 'oirot, * ta%e it(6

+he shoo% her head. 6/hy do you as%(6

6The cat reminds one of 2stinov in that part. )e6s a splendid actor

and an even &etter raconteur. * have some tapes of interviews he6sgiven on television. * must play them to you some time8you6ll &e

on the floor.6

6*6ll remind you.6

/ould Charles also &e on the floor with laughter( she wondered.

That was something she would li%e to see.



They had coffee in the conservatory %ept, all year round, at a

temperature which would allow his aunt to grow plants which

wouldn6t survive even under glass without some heating.

6Dorothea told me you gave her this room for her sitieth

&irthday... something she6d always wanted &ut felt she couldn6tafford,6 said Angel. 6That was a nice thing to do.6

)e shrugged. 6* could afford it easily and * %new it was something

she wanted.6

6$ut another man might not have thought of it or, having thought

of it, done it.6

They were sitting in old Lloyd Loom chairs which had &een

resprayed a soft green to merge with the greenery around them.

Charles replaced his cup and saucer on the cane and glass ta&le

&etween their chairs.

6Don6t thin% too highly of me. y faults are legion,6 he said, at his

most sardonic.

As she put her cup aside, he rose to his feet and, ta%ing her hands,

drew her up to stand in front of him.

6*f * were a &etter man * shouldn6t &e doing this,6 he said, loo%ingdown at her.

There was a gleam in his eyes she had seen &efore, &ut only in

films. The desire she saw in Charles6s face was real and a little

frightening in its intensity.

+he held her &reath as he placed her hands against his chest and put his arms round her.



C)A'TE- N*NE

THIS time his first %iss was li%e the second %iss last time. After

some seconds Angel &egan to %iss &ac%, her lips instinctively

responding to the soft movements of his.

*t was rather li%e dancing, she found. The %ind of dancing called

6nightclu& shuffle6F not a matter of %nowing any steps &ut going

with the flow of the music.

Almost at once she %new that it would &e &etter if her arms were

not trapped &etween them &ut were round his nec%. /hen she did

something a&out this Charles seemed to thin% for a moment that

she was trying to &rea% free. )is hold on her slac%ened. $ut when,

standing on tiptoe, she loc%ed her arms round his nec% and pressed

herself lovingly against him, he gave a strange smothered groan

and crushed her to him, ma%ing her feel the latent strength she had

%nown he had since seeing him swimming off $ali.

To &e powerless in a man6s arms was a strange sensation which she

%new she wouldn6t have li%ed with anyone else. /ith him it was

eciting. )er whole &ody seemed to &e melting as if she were

made of wa. $ut, unli%e a candle which had its flame outside it,

hers was an internal flame, a fire which flic%ered and &urned along

every nerve.

The %iss was going really wild when suddenly he &ro%e it off.

They had &oth heard the sound of the front door &eing opened, &ut

Angel had &een too far gone to come down to earth as 5uic%ly as

he did.

6* epect Angel is in the %itchen, or she may have gone up to &ed.

No, her raincoat is over the &anisters. +he must still &e downstairs.6



Da#edly aware that Dorothea must have &rought someone home

with her, Angel watched Charles ta%e the hand%erchief from his

&reast poc%et. irst he used it to remove lipstic% smears from

around her mouth. Then, 5uic%ly, he ru&&ed traces of colour from

his own. )e was &reathing more deeply than usual, as if he had

7ust stopped running.

$y the time iss Thetford entered the %itchen, followed &y a man

Angel had never seen &efore, Charles6s hand%erchief was &ac% in

his poc%et and he was in full control of himself.

6Oh, you6re here too, Charles. )ow nice,6 said his aunt, when shesaw them in the conservatory.

)e had made Angel sit down, pushing her into her chair with

gentle force &ecause, as dou&tless he could tell, she was still in a

da#e.

iss Thetford turned to the grey"haired man who must haveoffered to run her home from the dinner party.

6'rofessor, let me introduce Angel Dorset who lives with me, and

my nephew, Charles Thetford. This is 'rofessor 0ingsland, one of

our most distinguished surgeons.6

Angel stood up to sha%e hands. +he wondered if the surgeon couldtell that her heart was still racing and her nerves 5uivering.

/hile the two men were sha%ing hands, she said to Dorothea,

6+hall * ma%e some more coffee(6

6-alph prefers China tea. *6ll share a pot with him. Than% you,

dear.6



)alf an hour later, &y which time Angel had calmed down, Charles

got up to go. 6Come and see me out, will you(6 he said to her.

After he had said good&ye to the surgeon, Angel also said

goodnight to the two older people. *f Charles meant to %iss her

again in the hall, she wanted to &e a&le to recover in private in her &edroom.

$ut Charles didn6t %iss her again. At the door, he said, 6* thin% it6s

7ust as well Lesson Two was &rought to that a&rupt conclusion.

1ou have a natural aptitude which too% us further than *6d

intended.6

Ta%ing the tip of her nose &etween the %nuc%les of his first two

fingers and giving it a little s5uee#e8 a caress she had seen given

to small children8he said, 69oodnight.6

+he was awa%e until three, reliving those heavenly all"too"&rief

minutes in his arms, longing for Lesson Three.

/as he awa%e too( /anting to ma%e love to her( There could no

longer &e any dou&t that he desired her. The way he had %issed her

had proved that. $ut desire and love were not always concomitant.

)e had wanted Leonora6s &ody &ut hadn6t loved her.

*f she hadn6t met Leonora, Angel would have lain awa%e happier

than she had ever &een in her life. $ut her memory of the

morning6s encounter %ept intruding on and spoiling her en7oyment

in reliving the evening. Try as she might, she couldn6t rid herself of

the uneasy feeling that for Charles to have fallen in love with her

was too good to &e true. ay&e Leonora was right. ay&e he

wasn6t in love with her, &ut with an ideal which he thought he

could ma%e her match.



/hat was his ideal woman li%e( 'erhaps, the net6 time they met,

in a rounda&out way she could as% him.

At &rea%fast the following morning Angel wouldn6t have &eensurprised if Dorothea had made some o&li5ue, gently teasing

reference to what had &een happening in the conservatory when

she and 'rofessor 0ingsland had entered the house. iss Thetford

had very sharp eyes which missed nothing. +he was 5uic% to pic%

up every nuance in other6 people6s conversation. +urely she must

have felt the vi&rations in the garden room(

*f she had, she chose to ignore them. *n fact she was noticea&ly

withdrawn, saying little a&out the dinner party and not as%ing

a&out Angel6s evening.

Angel &egan to wonder if she had pic%ed up the vi&rations and

wasn6t pleased. +he had disapproved of Charles6s relationship withLeonoraF she might &e strongly opposed to him starting something

with someone as young as Angel.

or several days this new and mar%ed reserve continued until

Angel felt she could &ear it no longer. .

One evening, during supper, she said, 6Dorothea...are you annoyedwith me(6

iss Thetford loo%ed surprised. 6Of course not, dear child. /hy

should * &e annoyed with you(6

61ou haven6t tal%ed to me much for the last few days. * felt * might

have displeased you.6



The older woman put down her %nife and for% and reached a hand

across the ta&le to pat Angel6s arm,

6*6m sorry, my dear...have * &een as a&stracted as that( * didn6t

realise it was showing. The fact is "6 +he paused uncertainly. 61ou6ll

thin% *6ve gone mad, * epect, &ut the fact is *6ve lost my heart to-alph 0ingsland. * can6t stop thin%ing a&out him ... wishing he6d

ring me. )e said he was going to, &ut he hasn6t. 'erhaps it was 7ust

one of those things people say without really meaning them.6

Angel was ama#ed and greatly relieved &y this confession.

6*6m sure it wasn6t,6 she said. 6)e wouldn6t have &rought you home

if he hadn6t li%ed you, &ut he6s pro&a&ly terri&ly &usy. 'erhaps

several emergency operations have cropped up. *s he a &achelor or

a widower(6

6Oh, not a &achelor. * should &e very wary of a man of his age who

had never &een married. )e6s a widower with four grown"upchildren who are scattered all over the world, so he only sees them

occasionally.6

The net day Dorothea got her call from 'rofessor 0ingsland and

an invitation to go to the theatre with him. Angel got a postcardfrom *taly.

The picture side of the card showed a cera&ista at wor% on a tall

earthenware pot with twin handles. On the reverse was the

message86+hould &e &ac% soon after this reaches you. *nteresting

trip. Lots to tell. Love, Tim.6

Angel felt sure the 6love6 wasn6t meant to &e ta%en for more than

friendly affection. +he wished that, li%e Dorothea, she had a date



with her love. /hen would she see Charles again( Every day

seemed li%e a year while she waited to hear from him, yet

whenever they were together hours seemed to flash past li%e

minutes.

+he didn6t see him or hear from him until Dorothea gave one of her +unday lunch parties to which she invited 'rofessor 0ingsland and

Charles and a couple of artists who were not married &ut had lived

together for twenty years and hyphenated their surnames. *an and

9ina had met while &ac%pac%ing in the East with companions of

their own se.

6*f we6d &een on our own, we6d have 7oined forces straight away,

&ut we couldn6t leave our friends in the lurch, so we only had two

wee%s together &efore we had to separate. *t was the longest si

months of my life &efore * saw *an again,6 said 9ina, during lunch.

6ine too,6 said her partner.

Clearly they were still very happy together.

After lunch Charles said to Angel, 6Come for a turn round the

garden.6

Leaving the others relaing in the conservatory, they wal%ed down

the long narrow garden which was starting to show signs of spring.

6*6m flying to 4apan tomorrow. *6ll &e away for two wee%s, coming

&ac% via Canada,6 he told her.

6)ow * wish * could come with you: *6d love to go to 4apan.6

6*t6s an interesting country and in parts very &eautiful. y schedulenever allows enough time to en7oy it.6



6Can6t you ma%e time(6

6Not on this trip.6

6Ludo would have 5uoted /ordsworth to you. 9etting and

spending, we lay waste our powers. Do you %now that poem(6

)e nodded. 6And * plan to emulate your grandfather and give up

the sordid &oon, perhaps rather younger than he did. $ut not for

a few years yet.6 )e smiled at her. 6Not until * have enough in my

piggy"&an% to ensure that * and those in my care have the means to

%eep us in comfort in perpetuity, as the lawyers say.6

6* thin% your idea of comfort is my idea of luury,6 she said. 6And

how do you %now that you6ve got enough years ahead of you to put

off the time for en7oying life(6

69ood 9od: *6m not that old,6 he said almost &rus5uely.

6That6s not what * meant. 'eople die or get %illed at my age. /ho

was it wrote Loo% thy last on all things lovely every hour(6

6*t was /alter de la are, and that6s what *6m doing at this

moment... loo%ing at a lovely face * shan6t see again for two

wee%s.6

Angel caught her &reath. )is grey eyes held the same glint she had

seen in them &efore he %issed her. /as he going to %iss her again,

here in full view of the others(

Charles thrust &oth hands into the poc%ets of his trousers in a

movement which gave the impression that, if he hadn6t, he might

have reached out and pulled her to him. Or was she only imaginingit(



6*8* shall miss you,6 she said.

6* hope so.6

or a moment longer he loo%ed down into her eyes and then he

&egan to wal% &ac% in the direction of the house, and shortlyafterwards he left, saying good&ye to her with a handsha%e as if

she meant no more to him than 9ina did.

$ut although she couldn6t &e sure he had wanted to %iss her in the

garden, she had one heartening fact to hug to her during his

a&sence. )e had said she had a lovely face.

6)i: *6m &ac% and *6ve got some great news. Tony +heringham

wants to meet you:6

Tim6s voice on the telephone sounded as if he were announcing

that she had won some fantastic pri#e in a competition.

6/ho6s Tony +heringham(6 as%ed Angel.

6Oh, come on, you must have heard of him. )e6s the top fashion

photographer. The glossies are full of his pictures.6

6/hy does he want to meet me(6 she said, mystified.

6$ecause * showed him a folder of pictures * too% of you and he6s

impressed. )e %nows potential when he sees it. Loo%, can * come

round right away( Tony6s still got the folder, &ut *6ve got a

duplicate set. /hen you see them you6ll understand. 1ou6re

seriously photogenic, Angel. 1ou6re one of those luc%y people thecamera loves.6



)alf an hour later he was with her, spreading a do#en large prints

on the %itchen ta&le.

6Now...d6you see what * mean...you loo% great from every angle...

even with your mouth full of pi##a:6

Angel had forgotten the flash photo he had ta%en of her in the

pi##eria. +he did remem&er &eing snapped while she was playing

with a puppy in the par%, &ut she hadn6t %nown she was having her

&ac% view photographed while she was stretched over the top of a

wide stone &alustrade, upended li%e a school&oy awaiting a caning,

all mini"s%irted &ottom and long navy &lue legs.

6Tony said that reminded him of a classic shot of 4ean +hrimpton,

one of the +ities6 top models, in a pair of wool stoc%ings,6 said

Tim. 6)e6s a lot older than we are, forty.. .may&e forty"five. )e6s

&een in the &usiness a long time. )e remem&ers when Twiggy got

started. )e thin%s you could &e as &ig a hit as she was.6

6Twiggy( /hat a funny name.6 Angel was still studying the prints.

6+he6s an actress now. * %eep forgetting you haven6t heard of people

who are household names to everyone else.6

Angel for&ore to point out that many names which were famous in

Asia were virtually un%nown in Europe. +he had noticed on thecatering course that most of her fellow students %new little or

nothing a&out the part of the world she came from, although some

of them wanted to travel and as%ed her a&out it. Charles had an

international outloo%F he was truly a man of the world. $ut Tim,

although he had travelled, was curiously insular in some of his

attitudes. 'erhaps he had inherited them from his father.



6* don6t thin% you6ve got the message... with Tony &ehind you, you

could go straight to the top, and top models earn &ig &uc%s,6 he

said.

To Angel it sounded as unli%ely as winning the foot&all pools or

&rea%ing the &an% at onte Carlo, which she %new a&out from acatchy music"hall song which Ludo had taught her when she was

small.

6/hy with him &ehind me(6 she as%ed. 6/hy not with you &ehind

me( 1ou too% these pictures(6

61es, &ut only to get him interested. ashion6s not my line of

country, it6s a different &all game. Tony %nows everyone who6s

anyone on all the fashion glossies. 1ou6re to meet him on

/ednesday morning. )e6ll lay on a hair stylist and ma%e"up

person, and the pictures he6ll ta%e will ma%e these loo% li%e

amateur night.6

6$ut *6m &usy on /ednesday8you %now that.6

6Angel dear, this is your &ig chance,6 said Tim, with eaggerated

patience. 61ou6ll have to ma%e some ecuse to s%ip your classes

that morning. This is far more important. A successful model earns

more in an hour than most girls earn in a month. *n two or three

years, with Charles to help you invest the money you6d earn, youcould &e seriously rich.6

6* don6t thin% Charles would approve. *6m sure he wouldn6t.6

6Are you cra#y( A &an%er disapprove of ma%ing money( Anyway,

it6s not up to Charles. *t6s up to you. Don6t you want to &e

independent( Don6t you want to &e successful( * %new the minute *

saw you it was a possi&ility, &ut * didn6t want to raise your hopes

until *6d got Tony6s opinion.6



+eeing she was still unconvinced he said, with a trace of anger,

6Loo%, if * wal%ed down Oford +treet and as%ed fifty girls if

they6d li%e to do a test with Tony +heringham, *6d have all fifty

lined up li%e that.6 )e snapped his fingers. 6*t6s the chance of a

lifetime:6

Angel didn6t want to annoy him when clearly he had gone to a lot

of trou&le on her &ehalf. 6All right! *6ll &e there,6 she agreed.

Tim rolled his eyes upwards. 6+he6ll do it: This &lasB young lady

will %indly condescend to accept an opportunity which anyone else

would %ill for,6 he said sarcastically. Then his enthusiasm overcamehis easperation and he sei#ed her in a &oisterous hug. 61ou6re

going to &e a name8* feel it in my &ones: 1ou6re going to &e as

&ig as arie )elvin was, and 4erry )all. $ut they were Eighties

names. 1ou6re the face of the Nineties.6

There was no sign of Tony +heringham when Angel arrived at the

rented studio where she was to meet him. $ut the people who were

going to prepare her for the photographic session were waiting for

her in a changing"room with whitewashed &ric% walls and a long

mirror and counter.

The girl stylist had already plugged in a set of rollers, and thema%e"up man8who loo%ed decidedly effeminate, Angel thought

8was unpac%ing a case of cosmetics. Evidently they had wor%ed

together &efore and, after saying hello to her and introducing

themselves, they continued the conversation they6d &een having

&efore she arrived.

irst the stylist, Li#, wound Angel6s hair on the rollers, and then

she moved away to unpac% a &o of clothes and hang them on a

porta&le clothes rail while her colleague, arty, set to wor%.



'erched on a high stool, Angel watched him apply a &asic

foundation and then add lighter and dar%er shades to emphasise the

modelling of her features. )e did everything 5uic%ly and deftly,

&ut there were so many stages that it still too% a long time.

Although she had naturally long eyelashes, he seemed to consider

it necessary to apply etra lashes, one &y one, to the outer sides of

her eyelids. )e also changed and enlarged the shape of her mouth

with a &ric%"coloured pencil &efore filling in the new outline with

lipstic% followed &y a coat of gloss.

/hen, at last, he had finished, Li#, who had interrupted arty6s

wor% to ta%e off the rollers some time ago, continued thetransformation of Angel6s hair from her own straight and simple

style into a tur&ulent cloud of what Dorothea called 9orgon6s

loc%s, her name for hairstyles which reminded her of the hissing

serpents on the heads of the three mythological sisters, edusa,

Euryale and +theno.

Angel didn6t li%e the way she loo%ed when they had finished withher, and she %new Dorothea wouldn6t approve and Charles would

&e horrified. )e would never have called her face 6lovely6 loo%ing

as it did now. $ut Li# and arty seemed delighted with their

handiwor%.

arty had gone to get a coffee and Li# was helping her to put on

one of the dresses from the rail when there was a perfunctory tap

on the door and a man wal%ed in and loo%ed her up and down.

)e didn6t smile and say hello or tell her who he was. )e said, 6As

soon as you6re ready, we6ll start.6

6That was the great Tony +heringham, * presume(6 Angel said toLi# when he had turned and wal%ed out.



61es... in one of his grumpy moods, &y the loo% of him. 1ou6d

&etter watch your step,6 said the stylist. +he gave a finishing twea%

to some of the wisps round Angel6s ears. 6-ight, off you go, love.6

/hen Angel wal%ed into the studio, one end was a&la#e with light

and an assistant was rearranging some white paper screens inaccordance with Tony6s instruction.

Angel wal%ed up to him. 69ood morning. *6m Evangeline Dorset.

)ow do you do(6 +he held out her hand.

Loo%ing surprised, he too% it, and she gave him her firmest clasp

which, after years of crewing, had a good deal of more muscle

&ehind it than most girls6 handsha%es.

6Tim said your name was Angel.6

6That6s what my close friends call me. To everyone else *6m

Evangeline, r. +heringham. *6m ready when you are.6

Two days &efore he was due &ac%, Angel posted a letter to Charles

at his flat.

After saying she hoped his trip had &een successful, and that sherealised he would have a lot to do immediately after his return, she

wrote! 6+omething has happened which *6d li%e to discuss with you.

As soon as you have an evening free, could you come to supper(6



C)A'TE- TEN

HE CAME within hours of his return to London, ringing the

door&ell while Angel and Dorothea were washing up their supper

dishes.

Opening the door to him, Angel eclaimed, 6Charles: $ut * thought

you only got &ac% this morning(6

6* did.6

+he stepped &ac%wards to let him come in. 6/elcome home8&ut *

hope it wasn6t my note which has &rought you round here so5uic%ly. *t isn6t anything urgent and you must &e ehausted, aren6t

you(6

)e shoo% his head. 6* slept pretty well on the flight. /hen we

landed * went straight to the &an% to deal with one or two top

priority matters, after which * went home and slept for three or four hours. Then * had a long shower and a shave and *6m more or

less &ac% to normal. )ow are you(6

6*6m fine.6

+he put her hand into his, &ut instead of sha%ing it he surprised her

&y lifting it to his lips and %issing the &ac%s of her fingers.

61ou certainly loo% it. *s Dorothea in(6

61es, we6ve 7ust finished supper. )ave you eaten since you landed(

Can * ma%e you something(6

6No, than%s, not hungry. y appetite thin%s it6s the early hours of the morning. $ut *6ll have a cup of coffee, if * may(6



6Of course. /hile you6re saying hello to your aunt, *6ll fetch some

things from my room which * want to show you. * shan6t &e long.6

As she raced up the three flights of stairs to her eyrie on the top

floor, her heart was &ursting with 7oy &ecause Charles cared

enough a&out her to come round as soon as this. *t was wonderfulto have him &ac%. Although so many eciting things had &een

happening to her since he left, London wasn6t the same place

without him. Even when she wo%e up in the morning %nowing

there was little li%elihood that she would see him, she felt &etter

%nowing he was only a pigeon6s flight from her than when the

distance &etween them was a long 7um&o 7et flight.

/hen, carrying a card"stiffened manilla envelope, she 7oined the

others, Charles said, 6O&viously *6m a &it 7et"lagged. *6ve forgotten

the presents * &rought &ac% for you &oth8*6m sorry a&out that. *6ll

&ring them round tomorrow.6

6/e6re flattered that you found time to shop for us, dear &oy,6 saidhis aunt. 6/as it a successful trip(6

63ery, &ut * won6t &ore you with the details. *6m impatient to hear

what it is that Angel wants to discuss. +he6s already tal%ed it over

with you, presuma&ly(6

6No, * haven6t told Dorothea yet,6 said Angel. 6* thought *6d &rea% itto you &oth at the same time. $ut first *6ll get your coffee

organised, Charles.6

6*6ve thought for some days that you had an air of suppressed

ecitement a&out you,6 said iss Thetford. 6$ut how did you %now

she had something to tell us, Charles(6

6There was a letter from Angel waiting for me at the flat... a

summons to come round post"haste.6



6Not a summons...a re5uest,6 she corrected. 6And * didn6t epect to

see you as soon as this. *t would have %ept until the end of the

wee%.6

6$ut my curiosity wouldn6t,6 he said, smiling. 6Don6t %eep us in

suspense. /hat6s happened( *t has to &e something to do with your course, * imagine(6

6Only in the sense that it6s a career opportunity, &ut nothing to do

with catering. )ave a loo% at these photographs.6

+he opened the envelope and too% out a selection of prints made

from the do#ens of shots Tony +heringham had ta%en of her. +he

handed several to Dorothea and the rest to Charles, %nowing that

their first reaction was &ound to &e astonishment and wondering

what their secondary reactions would &e.

*t was iss Thetford who spo%e first. 69ood heavens, for a

moment or two * almost didn6t recognise you,6 she said. 6*t6s you...and yet it6s not you. Did Tim $olton ta%e these, Angel(6

6No, they were ta%en &y a man called Tony +heringham. * shouldn6t

thin% you6ve ever heard of him, &ut he6s a top fashion

photographer. Tim introduced me to him. Tony thin%s * could &e a

successful model for maga#ines li%e $ogue and !arpers'

6No:6

Charles6s eclamation was short, sharp and decisive. *t &roo%ed no

discussion or argument. *t was finalF the first and last word.

6No(6 his aunt echoed mildly, with a slight lift of her eye&rows.

6That6s a very snap 7udgement, Charles. Don6t you thin% you shouldhear more a&out it &efore giving your opinion(6



6* don6t need to hear more a&out it. * don6t li%e these pictures and

from what * %now a&out modelling it6s not a suita&le 7o& for

Angel,6 he said, in his most adamant tone of voice.

6/hy not(6 as%ed Angel. +he hadn6t epected him to &e in favour of

it, &ut nor had she epected his opposition to &e so immediate andar&itrary.

64ust ta%e my word for it8it6s not.6 )e tossed the prints on the

ta&le. 6As Aunt D. says, that6s not you. *t6s some idiot6s idea of

glamour.. .ma%e"up an inch thic%... hair li%e a &ird6s nest... even the

clothes are grotes5ue:6

6*t6s isn6t the way * should want to loo% out of wor%ing hours, &ut if

that6s what the maga#ines want "6 she &egan.

6/hen were those photographs ta%en(6 he interrupted.

6One morning last wee%, and since then they6ve &een seen &yvarious art directors and fashion directors, and Tony says * can

start wor%ing right away. $ut * wanted to tal% to you first &ecause

it will ma%e a difference to our plans for Sea Fever .'

6*t won6t ma%e a difference to our plans &ecause you won6t &e doing

it,6 Charles said flatly. 6* don6t %now why you allowed yourself to

&e persuaded to ta%e part in this nonsense.6

6Charles... Charles... you6re &eing far too scathing,6 his aunt

intervened, on a soothing note. 6/hat girl would need as%ing twice

to have pictures ta%en &y a well"%nown fashion photographer( *

thin% it6s very natural that Angel should have agreed to it. +he

photographs terri&ly well, if you relate these pictures to the sort of

thing one sees in the glossies.6



that they smile and loo% happy. *t was 7ust the same when * was a

girl. The haughty loo% was in then, with pluc%ed eye&rows and

long gloves.6

Dorothea was trying to defuse an eplosive situation, Angel

realised. $ut instead of feeling grateful for the older woman6sdiplomatic intervention, she found herself irritated &y it. /hat

gave Charles the right to condemn the idea out of hand( /hy

should she %owtow to him( $y all rational standards it was he who

should &e apologising for epressing himself too impulsively and

forcefully. /hy should she &e denied an interesting opportunity

merely &ecause he disapproved of it(

6*6m sorry you6re against it,6 she said. 6$ut perhaps you6ll change

your mind when you6ve had as much time as * have to weigh up

the pros and cons. y conclusion8after a lot more thought than

you6ve given it8is that it6s a very eciting opportunity which *6d

&e cra#y to turn down.6

)ow Charles might have answered or acted had they &een on their

own she would never %now. At that moment he loo%ed capa&le of

anything from tearing the prints to pieces to gra&&ing hold of her

and sha%ing her.

-estrained &y the presence of his aunt, he said coldly, 6*n that case

there wasn6t much point in as%ing me to come round, was there(6

)is arctic glare made her chin lift defiantly. 6*t was a matter of

courtesy. * thought you6d &e interested... pleased for me... not

throw cold water on it. /ell, *6m sorry you disapprove, &ecause

you6ve &een very %ind to me. $ut that doesn6t give you the right to

run my whole life for me, Charles. *6m going to have a crac% atthis... whether you li%e it or not.6



or a moment longer he stared at her. Then, with . a movement of

the head and shoulders which was a miture of indifference and

ac5uiescence, he said, 6Do whatever you wish. As you6ve pointed

out, * have no right to interfere. 1ou must ma%e your own

decisions. *6ll see myself out.6

64et lag,6 said Dorothea, after they had heard the front door close.

6)e said he was 7et lagged, and clearly he is. Laying down the law

in that aggressive fashion isn6t Charles6s normal &ehaviour. *

shouldn6t let it worry you. )e6ll see your point of view when he6s

had a proper night6s rest.6

'*i%% he/' +nge% said doubtfu%%y. She was re&e&bering eonora's

warning. a%e sure you never step out of line, never answer &ac%,

never argue. *f you do, you6ll find yourself dropped the way * was.

6)e may never approve of your ta%ing up fashion modelling, &ut

*6m sure he6ll concede that it6s an opportunity very few if any girls

would turn down,6 said his aunt. 6* wouldn6t myself8were * your age and had your loo%s.6

6The girl he mentioned... the model... did you %now her(6 as%ed

Angel.

6)er name was 9enia Camp&ell. One of her grandmothers was a

-ussian aristocrat whose family had escaped &eing %illed in the-evolution. 9enia always reminded me of a &or#oi, a -ussian

wolfhound. +he gave up modelling to marry a man old enough to

&e her father...a +wiss &an%er. Charles introduced them.6

6/as Charles in love with her(6

6Not seriously. *t was a long time ago. They were &oth *n their

early twenties. * should thin% it6s years since he last gave her a

thought. $ut these68with a gesture at the photographs86would



naturally remind him of her. *t6s true that she was always

complaining how tiring and &oring her wor% was. +he only did it

for the money, &ut of course that applies to most people6s attitudes

to their 7o&s. To en7oy your way of ma%ing a living, as * do, is one

of life6s &est and rarest gifts.6

Angel gathered the prints together and put them &ac% in the

envelope, trying not to show how deeply sha%en she was &y

Charles6s irate departure.

/as iss Thetford right in thin%ing it was only &ecause he was 7et

lagged that he had &een so disagreea&le(

At the navigation school in Devon where she too% a wee%6s

refresher course &efore having her competence as a yachtmaster

tested and certified, Angel met a man who seemed the ideal person

to ta%e charge of Sea Fever for her.

)er grandfather had &een fifty when he had thrown up his career at

the $ar. $ill orston, the son and grandson of country solicitors,

had decided to change his lifestyle at twenty"eight. )e had learnt

to sail on an estuary near the small mar%et town where for four

generations the firm of orston K Lynn had, handled the legal

affairs of the largely agricultural community.

To please his parents, $ill had followed in his father6s footsteps,

&ut had always spent every spare moment messing a&out in &oats,

latterly crewing for the owner of an ocean racer. /hen his younger

sister had decided to 5ualify as a lawyer, he had realised that this

released him from an o&ligation which he found increasingly

tedious.



$ill and Angel met soon after his decision to pac% up &eing a

solicitor and ma%e sailing his life, prefera&ly in a part of the world

where the sea was warmer and &luer than in the east coast estuary

where, as a small &oy in an orange life"7ac%et over a thic% navy

7ersey, he had learned to handle an eight"foot dinghy.

$ill reminded Angel of her grandfather. )is eyes were a paler &lue

and he wasn6t as tall as Ludo, &ut he had the same easy"going,

tolerant personality. +he couldn6t imagine him ever losing his

temper. Of the group ta%ing the course he was &y far the most

relaed and good"humoured. )e had also managed to pac% a lot of

eperience into the long wee%ends and holidays his position as a 7unior partner in a family firm had allowed him.

At iss Thetford6s suggestion, $ill was invited to lunch on a

+unday convenient for Charles, whose share in the sloop entitled

him to some say in who was put in charge of her.

The luncheon would &e the first time Angel had seen Charles sincehe had stormed out of the house, and she was etremely tense and

nervous a&out his attitude to her and to $ill. +he had written to

Charles, eplaining $ill6s &ac%ground and his 5ualifications, &ut

had received no ac%nowledgment. The date for the two men to

meet had &een arranged &y his aunt on the telephone.

$oth men were due to arrive at the house at half"past twelve and inthe preceding hour Angel changed her clothes three times, starting

with an outfit which she decided was too trendy and might put his

&ac% up. +he followed that with a sweater and the +panish suede

trousers, &ut later came to the conclusion that they were too

o&vious an attempt to please him.

inally she settled for the navy &lue s%irt he had pic%ed out for her

at Design Thai in $ang%o% and a 'aisley"printed shirt she had run



up on Dorothea6s machine. +he dou&ted if he would recognise the

s%irt. )ow un&elieva&le it would have seemed, that day he had

ta%en her shopping, that within si months she would &e starting a

highly paid career as a photographic model, her first cover picture

to appear on the net issue of $ogue.

On the stro%e of twelve"thirty, someone rang the door&ell.

6* epect that6s Charles... invaria&ly punctual to the second. +hall *

let him in or will you(6 as%ed iss Thetford, o&viously aware that

Angel was on edge a&out meeting him.

6*6ll go,6 said Angel, &racing herself.

+he had &een awa%e half the night8or so it had seemed8

visualising the confrontation and rehearsing things to say. $ut as

she approached the front door she could hear him spea%ing to

someone, and she opened it to find that $ill had also arrived on

time and the two men had &een standing face to face on the step &ut now were &oth turning towards her.

6)ello, Angel. As you see, we6ve met,6 said Charles, with a gesture

inviting the shorter man to precede him across the threshold.

6)ello, Angel. )ow are you(6 $ill shoo% hands, his amia&le grin in

mar%ed contrast to the enigmatic epression on the face of the tallman &ehind him.

Leaving Charles to close the door, she led the way down the hall to

introduce $ill to Dorothea, who greeted him warmly &efore lifting

her chee% for her nephew6s %iss.

To Angel6s surprise and relief, it was soon apparent that he and $illwere going to get on with each other. +he had never had any dou&t

of $ill6s friendliness towards Charles, &ut had worried that her co"



owner might respond with at &est reserve and at worst with

palpa&le antipathy.

)owever although, during lunch, Charles as%ed $ill a num&er of

searching and unepectedly %nowledgea&le 5uestions, his manner

was always affa&le, as it was towards her.

'ressed &y his hostess to stay past the conventional time of

departure from a lunch party, $ill didn6t leave until after they had

had tea and walnut ca%e in the garden. )e was spending the night

with a friend who lived in 'utney, south of the river.

61ou6ll want to tal% it over &efore deciding whether *6m the man for

the 7o&. $ut *6d &e grateful if you6d let me %now as soon as you

can,6 he said, &efore ta%ing his leave.

/hile Charles saw him to the door, Angel collected the tea things.

$ut when she would have carried the tray to the %itchen, iss

Thetford too% it from her, saying, 6*6ll deal with this while you andCharles have your discussion. 1ou don6t want to %eep that nice

young man in suspense a moment longer than necessary.6

They had &een sitting at the far end of the long narrow London

garden, and halfway to the house she met her nephew coming &ac%

and surrendered the tray to him. A few minutes later he reappeared

and, with a sudden revival of apprehension, Angel watched himcoming to 7oin her for a tte"M"tte.

6As far as $ill is concerned, * don6t thin% there6s much to &e said,6

were his first words as he re7oined her. 61ou o&viously thin% highly

of him and *6m e5ually favoura&ly impressed. *t was a fortunate

chance that he was in Devon at the same time as you were.6 )e had

already congratulated her on her yachtmaster6s certificate.



6*6m glad you agree. *n that case *6ll ring him this evening at his

friend6s house,6 said Angel.

$ecause he had no previous eperience of chartering, and would

have to pic% up the necessary %now"how as he went along, $ill

was willing, for a couple of years, to s%ipper the sloop in return for no more than his %eep and a modest personal allowance.

There followed a silence in which Charles watched 4aco& padding

along the top of one of the high &ric% walls which divided the

garden from those net to it, and Angel watched him, feasting her

eyes on the forceful profile and the mouth which, twice, had %issedhers.

/hen Charles turned his head to loo% at her, she flic%ed her ga#e

away 5uic%ly, refocusing it on the &lac% cat, who now was almost

motionless, only the end of his tail &eginning to lash to and fro as

he loo%ed down at something in the garden net door.

6* don6t intend,6 Charles said 5uietly, 6to reiterate the views *

epressed8perhaps rather too vigorously8the last time * was

here. *6ll only say that my en5uiries a&out this man +heringham

aren6t reassuring. )e6s given two wives grounds for divorce and a

few years ago he mied with a group of people whose parties

made news when, at one of them, a girl died from a com&ination of

drin% and drugs. )is professional reputation may &e high, &ut thesame can6t &e said of his personal standing.6

6)ow did you find out all this( rom your e"girlfriend, 9enia

Camp&ell(6

6+he6s 9enia 0eller now and, yes, * did give her a call to as% if she

wor%ed with +heringham when she was modelling. +he did, and

never li%ed him. a%ing a pass at every good"loo%ing girl who

comes his way is routine with him, according to 9enia.6



Angel didn6t much li%e the sound of 9enia 0eller. Anyone who

could have had Charles &ut had preferred to marry a rich older

man saw life from a different perspective.

+he said, 6'erhaps Tony +heringham isn6t as randy as he used to &e.

$ut forewarned is forearmed. *6ll &e ready to dodge if he loo%s li%e pouncing in my direction.6

6Do you %now how(6 as%ed Charles. 6Avoiding a determined pass

isn6t easy. *6m not sure you6d see it coming.6

+he opened her mouth to tell him she wasn6t as half"&a%ed as he

appeared to thin%, &ut the words were lost in a startled indrawing

of &reath as, with a single lithe movement, he rose from his chair,

pulling her out of hers and into his arms.

61ou see( *t can happen when you least epect it. *f * were Tony

+heringham how would you get out of this(6 he said, holding her

round the waist with one arm, the fingers of his other hand easilycircling her right wrist.

6*6d pro&a&ly %ic% you... him on the shin,6 she said &reathlessly, the

unepected close contact with his tall &ody ma%ing her heart

&ehave li%e a trapped &ird.

6Clumsy.. .and not necessarily effective. *f you don6t want anaw%ward showdown, never let things get to this stage.6

Angel loo%ed into his eyes and smiled. 6/ith any other man *

wouldn6t.6

)is fingers tightened on her wrist, communicating a tension she

hadn6t felt seconds earlier.



6Don6t try flirting with me, Angel. 1ou might get more than you

&argained for.6

+uddenly rec%less, she ran her free hand up his chest to his

shoulder, feeling the latent power of well"eercised muscle under

her eploring fingers.

6* might en7oy it,6 she murmured, copying the mischievous glance

and the play of eyelashes she had seen other girls use on men &ut

had never tried out herself.

)is arm tightened round her waist. 61ou as%ed for this,6 he said

thic%ly, &ending his head.



C)A'TE- ELE3EN

IT WAS li%e &eing caught in a flash"flood, a sudden s5uall or the

violent &ursting of a dam. *f he hadn6t %issed her &efore, she would

have &een devastated.

/hat had happened the last time, in the conservatory, had prepared

her a little, &ut it was still a shoc% to &e %issed li%e this in a place

which, although not precisely pu&lic, was far from &eing private.

or it was an etremely private %issF the sort of %iss she had often

imagined receiving, &ut never in a garden overloo%ed &y many

windows, to which Dorothea might return at any moment.

$ut Charles who, last time, had stopped %issing her the instant he

realised they wouldn6t &e alone for much longer, seemed now not

to give a damn who might &e watching their em&race.

)e clasped her to his hard &ody with almost painful strength,%issing her slowly and hungrily, leaving no dou&t that what he

would li%e to do would &e to ta%e her to &ed. That message was

une5uivocal and Angel hoped that her response was e5ually clear.

*t was something she wanted as much as he did. *f not here and

now8which was manifestly impossi&le8as6 soon as it could &e

arranged.

+he was panting and trem&ling and Charles, too, was &reathing

hard when they finally drew apart. $ut the loo% in his eyes wasn6t

the one she had hoped to see. Almost at once his epression &egan

to suggest that anger rather than pleasure was replacing passion as

his dominant emotion.

6'erhaps after that you6ll ta%e my advice more seriously,6 he said

&rus5uely.



urgent things to say, even though Angel told her this wasn6t a

convenient moment for a long gossip.

+hort of ringing off while the other girl was in mid"sentence, there

was nothing Angel could do &ut stem the flow as soon as possi&le.

$ut &y that time Charles had gone, his farewell &eing an avuncular pat on her shoulder in passing, as if the heart"churning em&race in

the garden had never happened.

+he found it hard to sleep that night. Charles had aroused deep

longings which no dou&t would die down eventually &ut tonight

would not let her rest. +he tossed and turned, aching to &e in his

arms, in his &ed. )e was the only man she wanted to ma%e love to

her, ever. $ut clearly he had scruples a&out &ecoming her lover.

/hich could only mean that, although he found her physically

desira&le, he didn6t love her in the way she loved him8wholly,

completely, forever.

/hy should he( +he wasn6t old enough, didn6t %now enough, to &e

worthy of him. 1et Leonora had implied that it was her immaturity,

her mallea&ility, which appealed to him.

Two nights later she went to his flat.

Dorothea had gone to a concert with -alph 0ingsland, thin%ing

Angel intended to watch a film a&out *ndonesia on television. $ut

soon after they had left the house, she programmed iss

Thetford6s video to record the film for her and too% a tai to the

$ar&ican. There was every possi&ility that Charles would &e out

when she got there, &ut at least she would %now where he lived

and the colour of his front door.



6Angel: /hat are you doing here(6 were his first words, when he

opened it.

6Are you &usy( ay * come in(6

)e stepped &ac% to allow her to enter. or a second8&ut only asecond8he had seemed to &e pleased to see her. Now his face had

resumed the epression she was never a&le to read.

6/hat &rings you to this end of town(6 he demanded.

6An impulse. Dorothea is out with -alph, and * was feeling lonely.

* thought *6d come and see you. 1ou don6t mind, * hope(6

)e avoided a direct answer &y saying, 6* might have &een out. 1ou

could have saved a wasted 7ourney &y ringing up first.6

Angel un&uttoned her windcheater. 6*f * had, you6d have put me

off... wouldn6t you(6

)e didn6t answer that either. )elping her ta%e off the 7ac%et, he

said, 6)ave you ever tried apple tea( The woman who stoc%s my

free#er came &ac% from Tur%ey last wee% and she &rought me a 7ar

of Oralet. * was 7ust going to ma%e a cup of the stuff.6

Tossing her 7ac%et on a chair, he led the way to his %itchen which,compared with his aunt6s, was a place of soulless efficiency, more

li%e an operating theatre than the heart of a home.

The electric %ettle switched itself off as they entered. Charles

produced a second mug, tipped in spoonfuls of pale grains and

added hot water.



6The taste is a &it synthetic, &ut it ma%es a change from instant

coffee.6 )e carried the mugs to a &rea%fast counter and, having

placed them on top, drew out two tall chrome stools.

$efore perching on one, Angel said, 6Am * not to &e allowed to see

your sitting"room(6

*t crossed her mind that he might already have a visitorF one he

didn6t want her to meet, or to meet her. *t was agony to wonder if,

so soon after %issing her, he was entertaining someone who would

&e spending the night here.

$ut there was no hesitation or em&arrassment in his reply, 6Of

course, if you want to.6

A few moments later, loo%ing round his large, comforta&le,

modern sitting"room, she regretted her suspicions. Clearly he had

&een spending the evening wor%ing. Through the open door of an

ad7oining study, she could see the monitor of a computer with acomplicated chart showing on the screen.

6Oh, dear, you were wor%ing. *6ve distur&ed you. /hy didn6t you

say so(6

6*6m usually wor%ing. *t isn6t anything urgent. +it down and tell me

why you were lonely. * thought you had several girl friends if youneeded company. /hat a&out the girl who rang up on +unday...

Carol, was it(6

61es, Carol8what an ecellent memory you have:8&ut * wasn6t in

the mood for a natter with her this evening. * wanted to tal% to

you... a&out +unday.6

At his suggestion Angel had seated herself, &ut Charles was still on

his feet and now wal%ed away towards the window which, his flat"



&eing a penthouse, had a wide view of London6s old and new

rooftops.

6/hat a&out +unday(6 he as%ed, standing with his &ac% to her.

+he moistened her lips with a sip of the hot apple tea. 6Charles,that6s the third time you6ve %issed me... which suggests that you

rather li%e doing it. * li%e it too.. .very much. *6d li%e to.. .to go all

the way.6

)e swung round, visi&ly staggered. +he had never epected to see

him flummoed &y anyone, least of all &y her.

+ei#ing her momentary advantage, she said, 61ou said you didn6t

want me to change. $ut * can6t stay a virgin much longer. /ouldn6t

it &e &etter for you to ma%e love to me than, say, someone li%e Tim

who may not &e very good at it(6

Charles had recovered himself. )e said, with an incisive snap, 6*twould &e &etter if you stuc% to your original plan to stay out of

men6s &eds until you find someone you want to share everything

with. *s Tim trying to persuade you to have an affair with him(6

6No, he isn6t. No&ody is. $ut *6m ready for love...ripe for it. *n the

East girls much younger than * am are married with children.6

6$ecause it6s their only option. *n the /est, if they have any sense,

girls mature &efore they get married.6

6$ut they don6t wait until they marry to find out a&out ma%ing love.

/hy must *( *6m curious ... longing to %now if it6s all it6s crac%ed

up to &e. /hy can6t you show me(6

6or 9od6s sa%e, Angel "6 he &egan. Then words seemed to fail him

and he put down his mug and strode past her into the net room.



rom where she was sitting she could see him remove a dis% from

a slot under the screen and put it away in a case. Then he touched a

switch and the screen went &lan%.

-eturning to the sitting"room, he said, 6Come on! *6m ta%ing you

home.6

6$ut * don6t want to go home.6

6And how do you thin% Aunt D. would feel if she came home and

found you missing( Or haven6t you thought a&out that(6

+he hadn6t, for the simple reason that when she set out it hadn6t &een her intention to offer herself to him.

6O&viously not,6 said Charles. 6Clearly you haven6t thought this

cra#y idea through at all. 1ou can try apple tea another time.6 )e

too% the mug from her hand, set it down and yan%ed her ungently

to her feet, &efore hustling her &ac% to the hall. There he &undledher into her 7ac%et &efore ta%ing a light raincoat from a cup&oard

and his latch"%ey from the hall ta&le. oments later they were on

their way down to ground level.

Angel had thought he might put her into a tai, give her address tothe driver and send her home &y herself. $ut he came with her.

As the tai sped along )igh )ol&orn, at this hour clear of its heavy

daytime traffic, Angel sat in her corner and wondered what had

possessed her to ma%e such a fool of herself. At the time it had

seemed a good idea to ta%e the initiative. Now it seemed an act of

madness.



*nwardly cringing with em&arrassment, &ut determined not to let

him %now it, she gathered the rags of her self"possession around

her, saying, 6The way you rushed me out of your flat was almost

panic"stric%en, Charles. One wouldn6t epect you to flap at &eing

propositioned.6

)e leaned forward to close the sliding glass panel &ehind the

driver6s seat. $ut all he said was, 6*6m not superhuman, Angel.6

/hat did that mean( That he had &een tempted( That he wanted

her so &adly that he couldn6t trust himself to &e alone with her( +he

wished she could &elieve it, &ut a more li%ely eplanation was thatsince he had8as far as they %new8no regular girlfriend at

present, any willing woman was a temptation to him.

+uddenly he stretched out his hand and too% hers, holding it

loosely on the leather seat &etween them.

6*f you were a little older... twenty... twenty"one ... * wouldn6t &eta%ing you home,6 he said. 6Or if * were ten years younger and

women were still playthings to me. $ut that6s over.. .that stage of

my life. One grows out of light love affairs. They6re li%e discos,

they lose their appeal8ecept to people who suffer from arrested

development,6 he added drily.

Angel thought! * shall remem&er this moment for the rest of mylife. The feel of Charles6s hand holding mine.

+he said, 6* thin% my pro&lem is accelerated developmentF perhaps

&ecause of growing up with Ludo. * generally feel more

comforta&le with older people than with my contemporaries. They

often seem childish to me.6

6*n some ways you are more mature than most people of your age,6

he agreed. 6$ut life is full of wonderful eperiences, Angel. 1ou



don6t have to try them all at once. +ave ma%ing love for later. *f

you try it merely out of curiosity, you6ll &e disappointed.6

+he nerved herself to say, 6Not with you. * %now that &y what

happens to me when you %iss me. 'lease, Charles... won6t you

reconsider(6

or a moment his fingers tightened in a grip which made her

%nuc%le"&ones crunch. )e said a&ruptly, 6There6s only one

circumstance in which * would ma%e love to you.. .if we were

married. *s your curiosity so great that you6ll commit the rest of

your life to me to satisfy it(6

/as he serious( /as this a proposal( Or was it a sardonic 7o%e(

Confused and uncertain, she searched his face for the meaning

&ehind his etraordinary statement.

+till unsure of her ground, her heart pounding with nervous

ecitement, she answered him with a 5uestion. 6/hat would youdo if * said yes(6

or an instant she saw in his eyes8or thought she saw8the loo%

which had &een there &efore he %issed her in the garden a few days

ago. $ut this time it wasn6t followed &y a ravenous %iss. *nstead he

let go of her hand and folded his arms across his chest, perhaps to

stop himself reaching for her or perhaps &ecause it was one of hismost characteristic postures.

6* should suggest that we tal% a&out this again in, say, a year6s time.6

6-alph has as%ed me to marry him and *6ve said * will,6 issThetford announced at &rea%fast the following morning.



6Oh, that6s wonderful... *6m so glad:6 Angel 7umped up to dart round

the ta&le and hug her.

6Than% you, my dear... so am *,6 said the older woman, &eaming. 6*

didn6t thin% it was possi&le to fall in love at my age, &ut it seems

that it is. * lay awa%e half the night, thin%ing a&out him and howluc%y * am to have met him.6

Angel had also lain awa%e, &ut for reasons very different from the

happy cause of Dorothea6s insomnia. )ad Charles proposed to her

or hadn6t he( +he still wasn6t sure. $ut even if he had &een serious,

there was no way his offer could &e construed as a declaration of love.

6Don6t worry. This doesn6t mean that you6ll have nowhere to live,6

said iss Thetford. 6/e6re going to &e married almost

immediately, &ut * shan6t &e moving to -alph6s house in )arley

+treet. That6s really only a &achelor flat a&ove the consulting"

rooms he shares with another specialist. /hen his first wife wasalive, he spent every wee%end at their country house, &ut it was

sold after she died8he found it too large and too lonely without

her, so he6s going to come and live here and let his children have

his flat as a pied"a"terre.6

6$ut you won6t want me playing goose&erry,6 said Angel, using one

of the old"fashioned epressions learnt from Ludo whichsometimes pu##led people of her own age. 6* must find a pad of my

own.6

6No, no, -alph would &e most upset if he felt he6d driven you out.

)e %nows * regard you as my adopted granddaughter and he6s very

fond of you too. The thing is, shall you mind &eing here alonewhile we6re on our honeymoon( /e6re going round the world for

si months. Although we6ve &oth travelled fairly widely, there are



lots of places we haven6t seen and we want to visit them together,

&efore we get old and infirm.6

As she spo%e, Dorothea6s happiness and ecitement made her loo%

years younger than her actual age. Angel felt deeply enviousF she

couldn6t imagine anything more &lissful than a si"month 7ourneyto faraway places with Charles. $ut somehow she couldn6t see him

ta%ing a long &rea% from &an%ing to go on an etended

honeymoon. )e had told her that one day, when he had enough

money, he would get out of the rat race, &ut would that day ever

come( /ould he &e happy without the power and influence he

wielded at present( *t didn6t seem li%ely.

After their mid"morning register office wedding, 'rofessor and

rs -alph 0ingsland gave a lunch party at the +avoy )otel &efore

flying to 'aris for a few days, their long wedding trip &eing

postponed until later in the year when they would have fulfilledvarious eisting commitments.

$efore they set out on their travels it was arranged that, while they

were away, Angel would share the house with )ilary, a

schoolfriend of -alph6s elder daughter. )ilary was thirty"eight, had

recently left her hus&and and wanted to wor% in London where she

had lived &efore her marriage to a enland farmer. *t appeared tohave &een a case of a consuming attraction which for a time had

o&scured the fact that they had nothing else in common. )ilary had

&een unhappy in the flat, windswept emptiness of the ens and her

hus&and had &een disappointed when they failed to have the

children he wanted.

$y the time )ilary moved in, Angel6s career as a photographic

model had already &egun to ta%e off. The money which Charles



had paid for his share of Sea Fever 8which had seemed a lot at the

time8might, it seemed, soon &e eceeded &y her own startling

earnings.

-alph and Dorothea had &een overseas for three months, and were

planning to spend Christmas in New ealand, when her career too% on a new dimension. An appearance on an early"morning chat

show led to an invitation to stand in, at the last moment, for a well"

%nown actress who was one of the regulars on a panel game.

Angel6s role, she suspected, was to loo% decorative and leave most

of the tal%ing to the two males on the team, one an egghead, theother a wit. )owever, it happened that the first 5uestion she was

as%ed was on a su&7ect connected with one of Ludo6s &est 7o%es.

+he told it, and &rought the house down. The studio audience

roared and the two men on either side of her, whose manner &efore

the show started had &een faintly patronising, 7oined in the

laughter and loo%ed at her with more respect.

The show was screened a wee% later and the following night

)ilary, who still had many friends in London, gave a party. As the

women on her guest list outnum&ered the men, she had turned to

Angel for help with &alancing the num&ers. Angel had as%ed Tim

$olton, Tony +heringham and Charles, all of whom had said they

would come.

6+aw you on T3 last night. 1ou were terrific,6 said Tim, when he

arrived. 6)ave they as%ed you to go on again(6

6As a matter of fact they have. $ut it was only luc% that * %new the

answers. Net time * may not %now any.6

6Doesn6t matter, if you can ma%e people laugh.6



6* can6t. Those were Ludo6s 7o%es... don6t you remem&er( *6m sure

he must have told them while you were with us.6

6ay&e... it6s a long time ago. Anyway, you had everyone on the

floor last night, or whenever it was the show was recorded.6

Tony, who had also watched the screening, was more guarded in

his approval. 61ou were a hit, &ut T36s a tric%y medium. *t doesn6t

ta%e long to &uild someone into a nationally"%nown personality,

&ut there6s always a danger of over%ill, and once that happens

you6re finished forever,6 he warned. 6*f * were you *6d stay off the

small screen until you6ve run out of mileage as a model.6

)e loo%ed round the room, noticed )ilary and as%ed, 6/ho6s that(6

Angel too% him across and introduced him. Contrary to Charles6s

forecast, Tony had never made advances to her. )e used language

which made her wince and had no manners to spea% of, &ut

whatever he had &een li%e in 9enia6s time as a model, he no longer made passes at random. $ut the way he was loo%ing at )ilary

when Angel left them together, it seemed pro&a&le he might try

one later.

0nowing, &ecause she had said so, that )ilary was loo%ing for an

unattached man who would give her a good time in and out of &ed

without any of the penalties she associated with marriage, Angelhoped her co"hostess wouldn6t let Tony stay the night. +he felt

certain that -alph and Dorothea would disapprove, not only

&ecause they had the moral standards of their generation &ut

&ecause Tony was a chain"smo%er and, if he spent much time here,

would soon have every room in the house ree%ing of cigarettes.

Charles was the last to arrive. )e had come to the house for the

0ingslands6 farewell party, and &een introduced to )ilary, &ut since



then Angel hadn6t seen him, although they had tal%ed on the

telephone a&out the investment of her modelling fees.

*t was a cold night, and when she opened the front door, he was

standing on the step &eginning to un&utton a navy &lue overcoat. A

long scarf, cashmere on one side and dar% 'aisley sil% on the other,was tied round his nec%. The rims of his ears and his chee%&ones

had &een reddened &y the cold, &ut she %new he had &een &ac% to

$ali a few wee%s earlier and his s%in had its usual tan, ma%ing

everyone else, including herself, loo% winter"pale &y comparison.

6* was &eginning to thin% you couldn6t ma%e it,6 she said, offeringher hand &ut not her chee%.

)e stepped into the house. *n spite of the free#ing air outside, his

ungloved fingers were warm as they closed over hers.

6+orry *6m late8got held up at the office. Congratulations on your

performance last night. As )he )i&es critic said this morning, youlit up that rather stale show li%e a spar%ler on a party pudding.6

61ou watched it(6 said Angel, pleased. +he had told him she was

going to &e on, &ut she hadn6t felt sure he would watch.

6* was out last night, so * taped it and saw it this morning. * clipped

)he )i&es' notice for you in case you hadn6t seen it.6 )e handed her an envelope.

6Than% you.6 +he put it in the poc%et of her full &lac% taffeta s%irt.

6Let me ta%e your coat.6

6Don6t you want to read it now(6



6irst things first.. .you must need a reviver after a long &usy day.

Come and have a rum punch and a hot mince pie to %eep you

going until supper is served.6

As she hung his coat on a peg, Charles as%ed, 6)ave you made any

plans for Christmas(6

Angel6s heart leapt, then plummeted. )ilary was spending

Christmas with her &rother and his wife. Thin%ing it a vain hope

that Charles would want to include her in his arrangements, Angel

had accepted an invitation to spend the holiday with Carol and her

family. Now she wished she hadn6t. *t would have &een &etter toris% spending Christmas alone than to miss the chance to &e with

him. 2nfortunately the principles Ludo had drummed into her

from early childhood made it impossi&le to deny that she had any

plans.

All she could do was say, 6Carol6s parents %eep open house for

anyone who6s on their own. * said *6d go there, &ut "6

6That6s fine,6 Charles cut in &ris%ly. 6*6m going to &e in America, &ut

* would have fied you up with friends of mine if you6d had none

of your own to spend the festivities with. Now lead me to that rum

punch:6



C)A'TE- T/EL3E

SEEING Sea Fever lying at anchor off To&ago, Angel6s eyes filled

with tears.

*t seemed such a long, long time since she had last seen the sloop.ar longer than two years.

*n some ways those years had sped as the pace of her career had

accelerated. $ut always, deep in her heart, there had &een an

aching longing for the life she had lived with LudoF the unhurried,

carefree days and 5uiet nights of the time &efore fame and fortune

had come upon her.

+he still went to &ed at an hour which would have surprised those

who visualised her private life as a succession of parties or dinners

a deu( at fashiona&le restaurants. $ut early nights were almost the

only resem&lance &etween her past and her present. Early nightsF

and the fact that she always went to &ed alone, still saving herself for Charles, who didn6t appear to want her.

$ill orston, who had met her at the airport, said, 6+he loo%s good,

doesn6t she( $etter than the new sloops without &owsprits and

topsails.6

6+he loo%s wonderful,6 Angel said hus%ily.

+he had flown from London to Trinidad the wee% &efore on a

modelling assignment, her first one in the Cari&&ean and also her

first opportunity to spend a few days on Sea Fever while no one

else was on &oard ecept $ill and his crew, a girl called 4osie who

also coo%ed for the charter parties.

This morning, her assignment completed, Angel had flown the

short distance from Trinidad to To&ago, where a &ron#ed and fit"



loo%ing $ill had &een waiting to ta%e the roll"&ag which was her

only luggage.

6* thought you would have changed a lot, &ut you seem 7ust the

same,6 he remar%ed, as they clim&ed into the sloop6s tender.

61ou should have seen me yesterday, flouncing around the Trinidad

)ilton in the latest resort wear with a ton of ma%e"up on my face:6

said Angel, with a grin.

Now she was wearing pale &lue 7eans, white loafers and a plain

white T"shirt and her long hair was plaited for coolness. /ithout

ma%e"up or 7ewellery, she was hardly recognisa&le as the

sophisticated model8soon to turn T3 presenter8of yesterday.

'hotographs of Sea Fever's refit had prepared her for the changes

she would find &etween dec%s. $ut &efore $ill too% her &elow to

see the luurious alterations which had &rought the sloop up to the

standard demanded &y the rich people who chartered her for their holidays, he introduced 4osie, a small &ut sturdy &runette with

short hair and a gap &etween her front teeth.

One of the draw&ac%s of her 7o&, Angel had found out, was that

she often received hostile vi&es from other women, particularly

those who were self"conscious a&out their physical shortcomings.

$ut although 4osie was rather plain with short legs and solid hips,there was nothing unfriendly in her manner. +he euded good

humour and capa&ility.

6/e6ve put you in one of the dou&le ca&ins,6 she said. 6/ould you

li%e a swim &efore lunch(6

6Oh, yes, please8that would &e heaven,6 Angel said eagerly.



+he followed 4osie &elow to a ca&in no longer recognisa&le as the

sha&&y one her grandfather had occupied.

They had lunch on dec%, under the smart new awning at a ta&le

laid in the style %nown as -ustic Chic with food to matchF the

chilled +panish soup called ga0pacho, which 4osie had learned toma%e while crewing in the editerranean, followed &y a

decorative salad, followed &y fruit.

)alf a &ottle of champagne, shared with 4osie while $ill dran%

lager, made Angel feel drowsy afterwards. +he didn6t drin% much

as a rule, &ut $ill had opened the champagne to cele&rate her return to her former home and she hadn6t demurred when he had

twice refilled her glass.

6/hy don6t you ta%e a nap(6 4osie suggested, when Angel

suppressed her third yawn.

6Do you %now, * thin% < will. * epect it6s partly the heat which isma%ing me tired8* haven6t got acclimatised yet. $ut don6t let me

sleep too long. *6m only here for five days, * don6t want to waste

time snoo#ing.6

/hen she wo%e, she %new &y the much lower angle of the sun thatit was past the time when 4osie had promised to call her.

*n the saloon, she found a note on the ta&le.

69one ashore. Not sure when we6ll &e &ac% &ut no dou&t you6ll &e

glad to have + to yourself for a while. $.6

Angel was pleased to &e on her own for a time, &ut she thought it

odd they hadn6t mentioned having to go ashore again. Neither of



)aving made fast the dinghy, Charles turned to her and said

calmly, 6They6ll &e spending the night at -ichmond 9reat )ouse, a

two"hundred"year"old plantation house on the Atlantic side of the

island. *t &elongs to a To&agonian who6s a professor at Colum&ia

2niversity, New 1or%. /hen he6s not using the house, he lets

visitors use it. $ill and 4osie are spending the second wee% of their

honeymoon there. They were married last /ednesday morning &ut

agreed to stay on &oard until you and * arrived.6

6They6re married: /hy didn6t they tell me(6

6* as%ed them not to. * wanted to surprise you.6

61ou can say that again:6 Angel retorted. 6* hope, during this

conspiracy, you also arranged for a helmsman and coo% to replace

them. *6m here to ta%e it easy.6

6+o you shall. $ut would it &e too much to as% you to fi me a

long cold drin% while * ta%e a 5uic% shower( They6ve put you inthe green ca&in and me in the &lue, * &elieve.6 Charles headed for

the hatchway, saying over his shoulder, 6And a slug of rum in my

drin%, please.6

)is a&sence gave Angel a chance to pull herself together and

consider the implications of the arrangements he and $ill had

made &ehind her &ac%. $ut her mind was still in a state of considera&le confusion when he reappeared.

6*8* wasn6t sure how long you6d &e and * didn6t want the ice to

have melted &efore you were ready,6 she said, to eplain why so far

all she had done was to locate the tall, heavy"&ottomed glasses

intended for long drin%s.

6)aving &een out here &efore, * ma%e a pretty good rum punch.

/ill you 7oin me(6 he as%ed.



61es, &ut don6t ma%e it too strong. *6ve already had half a &ottle of

champagne with my lunch.6

6Then perhaps you6d &etter stic% to mineral water. * don6t want you

to nod off again. /hen they met me at the airport, 4osie said they6d

left you in a deep sleep and you might not &e awa%e when * gothere.6

6*6d &een up for some time. Than% you.6 Angel too% the glass of

iced water he handed her, and sipped it while he poured some dar%

rum into his own glass. 6Do you mind telling me how we6re going

to manage without them(6

6* have another surprise for you. Now * have a yachtmaster6s

certificate. )elped &y a lad who6ll &e coming on &oard when we go

ashore for dinner, * shall sail Sea Fever. All you have to do is to

ma%e your own &rea%fast.6

6/ho6s going to coo% all the other meals(6

6Don6t worry, it won6t &e you. ost of the time we6ll eat out at the

island6s hotels. Let6s go on dec% again, shall we... watch the sun go

down(6

6Are you serious a&out &eing a certified yachtmaster(6 she as%ed,

when they were &oth reclining on the comforta&ly padded fold"uploungers which $ill had put out &efore he left.

6Of course. * wouldn6t &e here if * weren6t... or not without $ill as

s%ipper. *6ve never &een the rec%less type. *f *6m going to ta%e

charge of a valua&le &oat and a girl who6s &een offered a headline"

ma%ing T3 contract, * need to %now what *6m doing. And * do. As

well as %nowing all the theory, *6ve pic%ed up a lot of eperience,

some of it in 5uite hairy conditions. Every spare day *6ve had has



&een spent on dec% off the south coast, or in the North +ea or

somewhere. /ee%ends and holidays as well.6

61ou6ve %ept it very 5uiet,6 she said. 6Even your aunt has no idea all

this has &een going on.6

6*6ve always %ept my cards close to my chest,6 he answered. 6+o do

you, for that matter. * didn6t %now you6d &een offered the 7o& of

presenter of a new pea%"hour show until * read it in the paper. *

ta%e it you won6t resist an offer as tempting as that(8 or were the

'ress eaggerating the si#e of the salary(6

6No, they weren6t. *t6s a lot of money...&ut * haven6t made up my

mind yet. That6s why * wanted this &rea%. To thin% things out...

decide where my future lies.6

Charles tilted his glass to ta%e a long swig of his drin%. )is hair,

still wet from the shower, was stic%ing together in strands which as

they dried would separate and &ecome a thic%, soft, dense mass.Angel felt an impulse to touch the parts of his chee%s now faintly

shadowed and pro&a&ly due to &e shaved &efore they went out to

dinner.

)e said, 61ou may not remem&er, &ut a long time ago we were

tal%ing in Aunt D6s garden and you 5uoted /ordsworth to me.

9etting and spending, we lay waste our powers. *6ve decided themoment has come when *6ve had enough getting and spending. *t6s

time for a simpler life. +o where my own future lies is here, on

&oard Sea Fever...unless you have some o&7ection(6

Not wholly clear what he meant, Angel said, 6/hat a&out $ill and

4osie(6

6They6d li%e to set up on their own and *6m prepared to finance

them at a less swingeing rate of interest than they6d have to pay on



a &an% loan. $ill6s seen a &oat he fancies at a price he considers

reasona&le. As soon as it6s fit for service, * shall ta%e over here. *6ve

already drafted my letter of resignation from Cornwall Chester. *t6s

on my computer, waiting to &e printed and signed.6

6Are you planning to carry on chartering(6

6That depends. 'ossi&ly... if * can find a coo%"cum"crew as good as

4osie.6 As the sun san% &elow the hori#on he peered at his watch.

6Time we were getting ready. On $ill6s recommendation, *6ve

&oo%ed a ta&le at the 0ariwa% 3illage.6

Angel went &elow and had a shower and washed her hair. As she

dried it, she thought a&out all the men who had &een interested in

her &ut whom she had always discouraged &ecause from the day

they had met she had cared only for this man. $ut now her delight

at Charles6s arrival was mied with anger and resentment &ecause

of the pain he had caused her.

)ad she &een dining on &oard, she would have left her hair loose

and put on 7eans and a shirt. Not %nowing how glamorous a place

the 0ariwa% would &e, she decided to put her hair up and to wear a

simple &lac% and white shift. +he had &ought it at the &outi5ue in

the Trinidad )ilton where she and the rest of the !arpers " #ueen

party had &een staying as guests of the management for whom the

feature on resort clothes would &e a good advertisement.

6Ama#ing,6 said Charles, when she 7oined him in the saloon and he

scanned the hairdo, the dress and the high"heeled sandals she was

dangling &y their sling"&ac%s.

6/hat6s ama#ing(6

6The speed of your transformation.6



6*t would have &een 5uic%er, &ut * had to wash the salt out of my

hair.6

Evidently the place where they were dining didn6t have too strict a

dress code. Charles was wearing white denim trousers and loafers

with a short"sleeved navy &lue shirt with the collar &utton undone.

)e was ru&&ing some li5uid from a &ottle on to his sinewy, lightly

haired forearms. 6)ave you anti"mo##ed your legs(6 he as%ed.

6According to 4osie they6re the most vulnera&le parts. os5uitoes

lur% under ta&les, especially out"of"doors ta&les.6

Two years in a temperate climate hadn6t made Angel forget the

precautions necessary in the tropics. +he had already used an

insect repellent in stic% form, li%e solid cologne. $ut he wasn6t to

%now that.

+he said, 6That stuff loo%s oily, * don6t want it on my hands. /ould

you put some on for me, please(6

+he lifted a long &are leg, resting her foot on the end of the C"

shaped &an5uette &ehind the oval ta&le. 1esterday her toenails had

&een dar% red, the colour chosen &y the fashion stylist. Now they

were painted with the natural varnish she preferred.

Charles dri&&led a little of the lotion on to her shin and ru&&ed itin.

6*t isn6t as stic%y as it loo%s. *n a few minutes6 time you won6t %now

it6s there.6

The feel of his palm stro%ing from the &ac% of her an%le, up her

calf to &ehind her %nee, made her trem&le inwardly. +he wanted toclose her eyes and revel in his touch, &ut she %ept them open and,



when he had done one leg, lifted the other. Did touching her have

the same effect on him as it did on her( *t was impossi&le to tell.

)er dress was sleeveless, high at the front &ut low at the &ac%.

6$etter have some on your arms,6 he said.

+he had as%ed for this delicious torture, Angel thought, as he

ru&&ed the stuff on her arms. +he had never tried aromatherapy,

disli%ing the idea of &eing massaged &y another woman.

'erformed &y Charles, aromatherapy would &e heaven. The mere

thought of his strong, gentle hands on the covered parts of her

&ody made her sha%e and 5uiver inside. Even now, with him

stro%ing her spine, it too% all her self"control not to groan with

sheer sensuous pleasure.

6This stuff has a &itter taste if it gets on one6s lips. *6ll wash my

hands and then we6ll &e off.6

)is voice sounded slightly hus%y and he went to his ca&in rather

than into the galley, ma%ing her wonder if, had she thought to loo%,

she might have seen conclusive evidence that touching her had

aroused him as strongly as she was aroused.

/hen the dinghy arrived at the place where they were to meet the

crew $ill had hired to help Charles and mind the sloop in their

a&sence, waiting for them was a tai"driver and a tall /est *ndian

youth with a grin as white as his T"shirt in the moonlight, and a

pair of snea%ers slung round his nec% &y their laces.

Charles had already rolled up the legs of his trousers. /hen he hadcut the motor and tilted it in&oard, and after the dinghy had glided

&y its own momentum into shallow water, he threw his loafers on



decided whether to start a new career as a T3 presenter. /hat6s

holding you &ac%(6

The ta&le was lit &y a candle inside an am&er storm"glass. Angel

loo%ed at the flame, not at him, as she answered, 6ainly the fact

that *6m not very happy in my present career. T3 would &e moreinteresting than modelling, * suppose, &ut &asically *6d &e

echanging one type of studio for another. The fashion scene and

television are &oth man"made worlds... totally artificial. * thin% *

&elong in the natural world of wind and water and sunlight.6 +he

raised her eyes to his face. 6/here do you thin% * &elong(6

/ithout hesitation, he said, 6* thin% you &elong on Sea Fever. *f

you hadn6t run into Tim $olton, you6d have come &ac% to her long

&efore this.6

6*f * hadn6t run into you, * might never have left her,6 she said. 6Or *

might have lost her forever.6

The waitress came &ac% with their first course and the &ottle of

wine Charles had ordered.

/hen she had gone, ignoring the food set &efore him, he said,

6'erhaps *6ve lost you. )ave *, Angel(6

+he &ro%e the home"made &rown roll on her side plate. 6* don6tunderstand that 5uestion. * was never yours to lose.6

61ou wanted to &e mine.6

+he made an airy gesture with her hand. 6That was ages ago.

-ather ungentlemanly of you to remind me of my youthful follies,

don6t you thin%(6



+he was going to leave it at that, &ut suddenly changed her mind

and, leaning towards him, spea%ing in a lower voice, said, 6*t6s not

important any more, &ut have you any idea how much pain you

caused me at the time, Charles(6

6No more pain than * felt myself,6 he said, with a twisted smile. 6$utthe difference &etween love and desire is that love wants what6s

&est for the other person. 1ou were too young then. 1ou had to

have time to grow up and do your own thing. *f you6d 7umped at

the idea of marrying me, * would have wea%ened. $ut you didn6t.6

64umped at an offer of marriage with no mention of love: /hatwoman would(6 she retorted.

6The fact that * was ta%ing you home should have told you

something,6 he said drily.

The waitress hovered &eside them. 61ou don6t li%e the fish

mousse(6 she as%ed, her epression concerned.

6*6m sure it6s delicious. /e were so &usy tal%ing, we forgot to start

eating,6 eplained Angel. +he tried a mouthful. 6m... it6s

ecellent.6

6*t wasn6t a good idea to come here,6 said Charles, when the girl had

left them. 6/e should have had pot luc% on &oard and thrashed allthis out in private.6

+he made a pretence of eating the mousse with en7oyment.

6Thrashed what out(6

6The future... whether we6re going to spend it together. * didn6t spell

it out &efore, &ut * will now. * love you. * want to marry you. $utyou6re still very young to settle down. *f you want to try the T3

7o&, that would &e O0 &y me. * could carry on at C.C. until you6d



got it out of your system. * %now *6ve sometimes laid down the law

in the past, &ut only &ecause you seemed so innocent and

vulnera&le. *f we were married, * would never want to cur& you.6

)e still hadn6t touched his mousse and although it was very good,

the thought of the main course and pudding made her say, 6Oh,Charles, let6s get out of here. *t really is 5uite impossi&le to discuss

our personal affairs with all these people around us. +ay you6re not

well or something. Tell them we6ll come &ac% another evening.6

@ @ @

The tai had not &rought them far, and wal%ing at this time of

night was not li%e wal%ing &y day when the heat of the sun was so

strong that it made the sand feel li%e a hot"plate.

Near the hotel was a main road and, &eyond it, a 5uiet &y"road

crossing some parched common land where a few scraggy cattle

were tethered.

Charles hadn6t spo%en since they had left the 0ariwa% and Angel

%new it was up to her to ma%e the net move. +he slipped her hand

into his.

6y feelings haven6t changed. * still feel the same as * did the night

* came to your flat,6 she told him.

)e had &een shortening his stride to match her pace in high heels.

Now, coming a&ruptly to a standstill, he swung to face her.

6Are you sure(6

6* was sure then... even &efore that. * was sure the first time wemet. * %new you were someone special.6



)e must have &een holding his &reath. *t came out in a long, deep

sigh.

6+o was *... and * thought *6d gone mad. Oh, 9od, Angel... darling...

at last:6

An instant later she was loc%ed in his arms, &eing %issed with a

pent"up passion which felt li%e &eing swept over&oard &y a giant

wave, ecept that would have &een terrifying and this was

wonderful.

Laughter and lewd remar%s from a passing car reminded them

where they were. *n the shelter of Charles6s strong arms Angel felt

totally safe, &ut she did wonder for a moment if warnings a&out

Trinidad applied to its much smaller neigh&our. $ut from what she

had seen of To&ago it had a 5uiet, rural air, 5uite different from

'ort of +pain where wandering around after dar% was said to &e

as%ing for trou&le.

Anyway, Charles seemed unworried and, remem&ering his over"

anious attitude to her safety in London, she felt sure he wouldn6t

have suggested wal%ing &ac% to the &each if he hadn6t already

chec%ed out the situation here with $ill.

As they strolled on, she said, 6*f you want to %now the reason why

* didn6t 7ump at your first proposal, it was &ecause of Leonora.After you6d &ro%en up, she and * met in the street. +he guessed

how * felt a&out you, and she told me you would never find a

woman to match up to your ideal, &ut &ecause * was young and

mallea&le, you might try to ma%e me fit your &lueprint.6

6Never heard such ru&&ish:6 was his comment. 6+he was 7ealous of

you, and with reason. /e &ro%e up &ecause, for the first time in my

life, *6d discovered what love was all a&out. *ncidentally, in case

you6re wondering, there6s &een no one else since Leonora.6



uncertainty now was whether her theoretical %nowledge of how to

ma%e love to a man would counter&alance her lac% of eperience.

+he wanted terri&ly to please him, to ma%e up for all the lonely

nights when he had needed her and she hadn6t &een there. +he

would never forget the &lea% loo% in his eyes when she had

accused him of causing her pain, and the wry grimace which had

accompanied his answer.

oonlight was flooding his star&oard ca&in, and silvery se5uin"

li%e patterns made &y reflections from the sea shimmered on the

dec%"head. )er ca&in, on the port side, would &e in shadow until

the tide changed. This was not why she had chosen his ca&in for their first night together, &ut it pleased her that she would &e a&le

to see as well as feel Charles ma%ing love to her.

)e drew her in and closed the door. As she felt for the pins which

anchored her upswept hair, Charles turned her round and un#ipped

the &ac% of her dress &efore sliding it off her shoulders. The dress

and her hair fell together, leaving her na%ed ecept for her s%impy &riefs.

+he felt his hands trem&le as they covered her &reasts and she

trem&led herself at the warm, unfamiliar contact.

6Darling girl... don6t let me rush you... it6s not an ideal

com&ination... a man who6s starving and a virgin.6

+he leaned &ac% against him, feeling the pounding of his heart

against her shoulder&lade, the urgent desire charging his tall

powerful &ody, and also the rigid control which was holding that

fierce force in chec%, %eeping his caresses gentle.

6Darling Charles... let me go a minute.6

*nstantly she was released.



+he was already &arefoot and it too% her two seconds to whip off

her little sil% &riefs and toss them aside &efore starting to un&utton

his shirt.

6$ut not a shy, shrin%ing virgin,6 she said, as she tugged it out of his

trousers and ran her hands over his chest. 6They died out a longtime ago.6

+he turned and &ounced on to the &ed, happy, confident, eager,

holding out her arms to him.

)ours later, when the tide was on the turn and they had made love

three times, they put on white towelling ro&es with the monogram

S F on them, and went to the galley and made sandwiches which

they too% on dec% with a &ottle of ontrachet.

+haring a lounger, with a ta&le for their moonlight picnicalongside, they discussed and eplained all that had pu##led them

a&out each other6s &ehaviour in the past &efore turning their minds

to the future.

+nuggled in the croo% of Charles6s arm, Angel said, 6*f we have a

son *6d li%e, if you don6t mind, to call him Ludovic.6

)e gave her an affirmative s5uee#e. 6* wish *6d %nown your

grandfather. Although * thin% you6d have &een the way you are

whoever had &rought you up. * remem&er after your first

appearance on T3, * &rought you a newspaper cutting, and instead

of snatching it from me to read what they6d said a&out you, you

were more concerned a&out warming me up with mulled punch.6

)e gave her another hug. 6/hat a rotten Christmas that was: *

wanted to fill a stoc%ing for you... ta%e you to&ogganing



somewhere... help you to decorate a tree. *nstead of which * %ic%ed

my heels at a glit#y Long *sland house party.6

6And * got the spinster6s thim&le in my slice of Carol6s mother6s

Christmas pud, and cried over the inscription in the &oo% you6d

given me. 4ust )o +nge% fro& 1har%es and the year.6

+he swung her feet to the dec% and turned round to face him.

6Never mind, that6s all in the past. Net Christmas, wherever we

are, we6ll fill stoc%ings for each other. Not epensive &oo%s from

)at"chards or solid gold trifles from Cartier paid for with plastic

money. /e6ll go to the local mar%et and find little %oving presents.Oh, Charles, it6s going to &e so much fun from now on:6

)e pulled her &ac% into his arms, and presently Angel do#ed with

a weale sea fever.docx

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