Lindsay stared at him. ‘But you’ll want to keep this!’
‘I was savin’ it, sir.’ He shook his head. ‘Maybe this is what for. Anyway, I reckon she’d appreciate it.’ -
Lindsay placed it inside the case. ‘She will. As much as I do.’
Jupp shifted from foot to foot. ‘Well, this won’t get the work done. Chatterin’ like this.’ He hesitated. ‘An’ good luck, Cap’n.’
‘I shall miss this sort of treatment when I go back to the real Navy.’
Jupp grinned. ‘I’ll probably take a pub after this lot’s over, sir. You can come an’ see me sometimes.’
‘It’s a promise.’
Jupp followed him to the ladder and watched as he — hurried down to the promenade deck. It was strange to be parted from the little silver ship after all these years, he thought vaguely. But the girl for whom it had been intended had not waited for him. His lip curled with disgust. She had married a bloody bricklayer, and it — served her right.
He heard the trill of pipes and gave a deep sigh of relief. Lindsay had got away all right. He loped into the.
cabin and picked up the telephone.
“S’all right, Bob. You can reconnect the phone now.
All’s well.’
Then humming cheerfully he went to his pantry to find
the bottle of Drambuie.
The car was a very old open M.G. but the engine sounded healthy, and when they had cleared the town limits the miles began to pass more quickly.
Once, as they swung around a wide curve above the sea she asked, ‘Why are you staring at me? It’s not fair. I have to watch the road.’
Lindsay rested his arm along the back of her seat, his fingers touching her hair as it ruffled in the wind. He had never seen her out of uniform before. At the dockyard gates he had almost walked past her. The dress was pale green and very simple. Itwas, she had explained, straight off a stall, and had proved it by removing a price tag which had been dangling from the hem.
‘I’m enjoying it. So you drive and I’ll stare, okay?’
Another time, while they waited for some cattle to wander aimlessly across the road, they held hands, oblivious to the heat and dust or the native driver who paused to study them.
Green hills with trees almost touching above the road changed in seconds to long open stretches and only an occasional building or bungalow to show any sign of life. The dust poured back from the wheels in an unbroken yellow bank, the car jerking violently across deep ruts and loose stones with careless abandon. Climbing in low gear then roaring down again, with quick flashes of dark blue between the tall palms to show that the sea was never far away.
Then another road, narrower than the main one, and the girl had to reduce speed to take an increasing number of bends.
She said, ‘What you were saying about the ship. Is it definite?’
He nodded. ‘Yes.’
She reached out and grasped his hand, keeping her eyes on the road. ‘You feel bad about it, don’t you?’ She hesitated. ‘Maybe I can get transferred near this place you’ll be going.’
She must have been thinking about Canada again for she added, ‘I’m not jolly well going away from you again, if I can help it!’
‘You’d better have a word with Marion! She’s bound to know about these matters.’
She laughed, showing her even teeth, and shouted above the engine, ‘She did that already for another. girl. Told her to get herself pregnant to avoid going overseas.’
‘And did she?’
‘Shouldn’t think so. You should have seen her bloke. Like a rhinoceros!’
The car stopped eventually on the crest of a small hill. Below, Lindsay saw a crescent of beach, the sea making a necklace of surf to the next headland. There was some sort of building set amongst the palms. It looked as if it had been there since time began.
‘Is that it?’
She turned and studied him gravely. ‘You are nutty. That’s an old temple.’ She let the car move forward again and called, ‘There, see!’
The house was inside a low wall, painted white and partly screened by a line of trees: It looked very cool and inviting.
Lindsay could see no sign of life, and even when the car halted outside the gates nothing moved.
She said, ‘An old chap and his son look after things most of the time. When proper visitors come here they have more servants, of course.’
‘It’s marvellous.’
She jumped from the car and dragged at his arm. ‘Brother, you ain’t seen nothing yet!’ She was laughing. Like a tanned child. Watching his face as she pulled him towards the house.
There was only one storey, and the whole house seemed to have been built of stone and marble: Even in the days of cheap labour it would have cost a small fortune.
She said, ‘Ah, here he is.’
The head servant, was grey-bearded and extremely wrinkled. He must be about eighty, Lindsay thought.
He said, ‘Welcome back, Missy. I have sent my son for your luggage.’
The girl looked at Lindsay. ‘You’ll be wanting a telephone?’ She gestured to a door. ‘In there.’ For an instant her face clouded over. ‘Don’t go back. No matter what. Even if the base is on fire!’
‘What will you be doing?’
She ran her fingers through her hair. ‘Ugh, the dust! I’m going to have a swim. Then we’ll have something to eat.’ She made a mock curtsy. ‘Anything sir desires.’
Lindsay walked into a low-ceilinged room. There was little furniture but what there was looked old and handcarved. An unlikely brass telephone stood beside the window, and he imagined someone in the past sitting there. Listening to a voice from the outside world. Who would ever want to leave such a place, he wondered?
The line was surprisingly clear, and after a short delay he was connected to the ship’s telephone.
‘This is the captain. O.O.D., please.’ He waited, picturing the sudden bustle on the-upper deck, and tried to control a pang of apprehension.
But it was not the O.O.D.
Goss sounded calm and matter-of-fact. ‘Everything’s all right this end, sir. Two marines just brought aboard drunk. And I’m about to kick the arse off a thieving coolie I found in the bosun’s store.’ He paused. ‘A normal day, in other words.’
Lindsay ‘looked at the number on the telephone and gave it to Goss. Then he said, ‘Thanks for holding the fort.’
‘No bother, sir.’ There was a pause and the sound of someone else murmuring in the background. Then Goss said abruptly, ‘Just heard where I can lay my hooks on some paint. Can’t stop, sir. Might lose it!’ The line went dead.
‘I take it from your cat’s smile that the base is not on fire?’
He swung round and saw her framed in the open doorway. She was wearing a black swimsuit which made her limbs appear even more tanned.
‘You’re staring again!’
He walked towards her. ‘As I told you. You’re very lovely. Especially today.’
She put her hands on her hips and tried. to frown. ‘My mouth is too wide, I’m covered in freckles and I’ve got a figure like a boy.’ She watched him as he put his hands on her shoulders. ‘And I love you, even if you are a liar.’
‘I’m surprised they allowed you in the Wrens.’ Her skin was very smooth. ‘You must need glasses.’
She dropped her head against his chest. ‘A nice liar.’ Then she pushed him away. ‘Get your pants, or whatever commanders wear for informal occasions, and join me on the beach.’ She paused and looked back at him, her cheeks flushed. ‘Old Mohammed will tell you where your gear is stowed.’
‘Is that really his name?’
But she was already running out into the sunlight, her
bare legs like gold against the nodding palm fronds. The old man was waiting at the door of an end room,
the swimming trunks in his hands.