Part 19 (1/2)
They were alone, and that was hoasof utter commitment that she had experienced earlier, on their escape froered still filled her body and her conscious rilledat thedreamily at the brilliant diamond-white sparkle of the stars above the dark peaks, yet fully and electrically aware of hih they were still not touching she could feel the war from his body upon her arm like the caress of a desert wind
She could alaze was so coer pretend not to be aware of it, and she turned her head and low of the coals enhanced the clean regular lanes of his face, and gilded the red gold of his hair In thatshe had ever seen and it required an effort to tear her eyes away from him
As she stood up and walked away she felt her heart ha to escape its cage, and she heard the roar of blood in her own ears
The interior of her tent was lit softly by the firelight through the canvas, and she did not light the lamp, but undressed slowly in the se carelessly across the folding chair beside the entrance Then she lay down upon the narrow cot, and the woollen blanket was rough against the naked skin of her buttocks and back Each breath was an effort now, and she lay rigidly with her hands clenched at her sides alle pillow and staring down at her body, aware of it as never before Watching, with a sense of wonder, how each breath changed the shape of her heavily rounded breasts and how the nipples fir perceptibly until they were so tight and hard that they pained her exquisitely
She heard the crunch of his footsteps approach the tent, and her breathing jaht suffocate and die Then the flap of the tent swung open, and he stooped through and stood tall, letting the flap fall closed behind hi across her chest and the other hand spreading protective fingers over the mound of fine fluff at the base of her belly
He stood silently, outlined against the fire glow on the canvas, and she began to breathe again, quick and shallow
It seemed that he stood there for ever, silent and watchful, and she felt the skin of her aroose-flesh at the slow steady scrutiny Then he unbuttoned his shi+rt and let it slide to the earth The fire glow flickered on his finely old sheen, like wet marble, as he moved
He came at last to her bed and stood over her, and she wondered that the body of a man could be so slim and supple, with such lovely line and balance then she reelo's David with just the same depth of awe
She lifted the hands that covered her own body, reached up like a supplicant, and drew hiht, and the fire had died away outside the tent, but a bright white lowed noith a silvery light through the canvas above thee white light divested Gareth's sleeping face of all colour It was pale now, like that of a statue or of a corpse and Vicky experienced a sudden revulsion of feeling There was a sht at the back of her uilt and she experienced a uilt That she could not enjoy a man, that her body could not be used as nature had intended without this backlash of emotion
She raised herself on one elbow, careful not to disturb thethis new sense of guilt, and exploring her feelings for him
Slowly she realized that the tere bound inextricably together
There was no real depth to her feelings for Gareth Swales, she had been carried along on a treacherous tide of fatigue and reaction frouilt she had experienced was a consequence of this lack of substance, and she felt suddenly confused and sad
She lay back beside the long fine length of his body, but now she had er touched
She knew that after love, all aniht that there was s than that
Suddenly, without really knohy, she thought of Jake Barton and the depth and cold of her sadness deepened It was long before she slept again, but then she slept late and the h the canvas and outside there was the sound of engines and many voices
She sat up hurriedly, still half asleep, clutching the rough blanket to her breast, confused and owl-eyed, to discover that she was alone upon the cot and all that reht was the indentation and warmth of Gareth's body upon the blanket beside her, and the swollen aching feeling deep within her where he had been
Then Vicky threw on her clothes hurriedly and, still tying her hair, went out into the sunlight, she was just in time to witness the arrival of a sorry procession
In the lead was Jake's car, Priscilla the Pig No longer glossy white and blazoned with the insignia of the International Red Cross, it was painted instead a sandy tan colour with patches of darker ca angular hull and turret
The thick barrel of -a Vickers
Above the turret fluttered the tri coloured green, yellow and red pennant of Ethiopia and below that the dark blue field and golden lion of the Ras's household standard and everything was covered with a thick coating of fine red dust
Close behind the Pig, and attached to her by a stout towline, caorius's car si the standards of Ethiopia and Ras, and with her gun ports filled with lethal hardware However, despite the warlike trappings, the nobly into the ca clatter that brought Gareth Swales hurrying half-dressed frory question to shout as Jake's head appeared in the driver's hatch
”What the hell happened?” and Jake's face was red and scowling with outrage
”That old,--and at a loss for a suitable expletive, he indicated with a jerk of his thumb the Ras, who sat proudly in the turret of the crippled car, showing no re fondly and toothlessly on Gareth
”Not content with firing off a thousand rounds of Vickers aave us a deood at Indianapolis!”
”Oh roaned Gareth
”How do you do?” shouted the Ras cheerfully,acknowledging the applause
”Why didn't you stop him? ”demanded Gareth
”Stop hi rhinoceros! I chased hiht hiearbox, and burned out the clutch he h courage to look yet” Jake cliles Red dust had sifted into the thickin the stubble of his beard, and the protected skin around his eyes was pale and naked-looking, giving hi the dust out of his trousers and shi+rt, still berating the happily grinning Ras
”The old bastard is as happy as a pig in a mud
Look at his face Reconnaissance in force! It was more like a bloody circus” At that moment, Jake noticed Vicky for the first time, and the scowl disappeared miraculously, to be replaced by an expression of such transparent delight that she felt her guilt return swiftly and deeply, so that it gave her a cold sick feeling in the pit of her stomach
”Vicky!” Jake called ”God, I orried about you!” Vicky was able to purge a little of the feeling of guilt by busying herself at the cooking fire, in a fine show of dorilled steaks the last of the potatoes they had brought with thes laid by the scrawny native fowls The camp table was set out under the acacias, in the dappled early-ht, and as Vicky worked at the fire, Jake reported the results of the reconnaissance
” once the Ras had tired of firing the Vickers, shooting up every tree and rock we passed, and ere just about out of a the speed down to avoid dust, and we found a good piece of ground from which to observe the road from Massawa to the Wells There was a bit of traffic, transportsas the Ras, God bless his friendly little soul, wanted to continue his target practice on the him So I pulled back and we caain ”Jake paused to sip at theof coffee, and Gareth turned to Vicky as she squatted, rosy-faced, over the cooking fire , not the words nor the endearlance sharply at Vicky The tone Gareth had used was that which a lance, and then she turned busily back to her cooking, and Jake dropped his eyes thoughtfully at the steaet?” Gareth asked easily He had noticed the silent exchange between Vicky and Jake and he was relaxed and contented, lolling back in the caers
”I left the cars in the broken ground, and went in on foot
Didn't want to take the Ras too close I was able to watch the Eyetie position for a couple of hours They have dug in well, and I saw gun positions with a good field of fire placed along the ridge
They are in a hell of a defensive position and it would be crazy to attack them there We will have to wait for theht the food to them, and as she leaned across Gareth he touched her bare upper arm in a casual caress
She drew back quickly and went to fetch the pan of eggs
Jake had noticed the gesture, yet his voice was even and unruffled as he went on, ”I wanted to circle out and to figure the chances of attacking their positions froave us a dery” Jake filled his mouth with food, and then asked in a et on, Gary?”
”There is good defensive ground in the gorge I have the construction gangs digging positions in the slopes We should be able to give a good account, if the Eyeties try to force their way through”