Desert Barbarian

Marie turned down the bed. 'Clare, put the past behind you for a while. Lie down, try to sleep. I'll bring the cocoa along when you're in bed.'

'I don't really want any,' Clare said thickly. 'I'll sleep anyway—I have my pills in my handbag. Goodnight, Marie. If… if anything happens, call me, won't you?' Her blue eyes pleaded humbly.

'I promise,' said Marie, kissing her on the cheek. 'Goodnight, Clare.'

Clare turned away, then stopped dead, seeing herself reflected in the mirror. She put a hand to her cheek, grimacing.

'I look old suddenly. I've always felt quite young, even first thing in the morning without my make-up. But when I saw James choking and dying right in front of my eyes time seemed to rush away from me at trem­endous speed. I aged inside. James and I were so young once. If he dies part of me will die too. He's the only one who remembers me when I was eighteen… you don't know yet, darling, what that means… but when all those who knew you when you were young have van­ished, you really feel old.'

Marie smiled at her. 'You're still very beautiful, Clare. Even tonight… believe me.'

Clare laughed abruptly. 'You must think me very vain and silly.'

'No, just human,' Marie assured her.

They smiled at each other, then Marie closed the door and went back down the corridor. The kitchen door stood open. She went in, prepared to do battle with Mrs Abbot, and found Stonor there alone, putting cocoa into hot milk and whisking it vigorously.

'Where's Mrs Abbot?' she asked.

He glanced at her over his shoulder. 'I sent her to bed.'

'She had no right to say what she did to my mother,' Marie said.

'You're amusingly predictable,' he drawled, pouring the foaming cocoa into two mugs.

'What do you mean?' She stared at him suspiciously, sensing criticism.

'You fly off at a tangent over everything,' he said, leaning against the wall, his hand propping up his dark head as though he were physically weary. The dark eyes surveyed her, a glint of laughter in their depths. 'Earlier you were angry with me, then you were angry with your mother. You're emotionally unstable. You have to be taught how to respond in every situation. The first angry thought that comes into your head dominates you until you're shown the folly of it.'

'I'm sorry I'm so immature,' she snapped, naturally furious with him at once. 'Perhaps you'd better leave now. I'm sure you don't want to waste any more time on someone so silly and childish.'

He laughed, his eyes mocking her. 'You see? There you go again, leaping down my throat because I tell you the truth. My dear child, you've been both spoilt and neglected. Your father gave you every material possession but never had time for you yourself. Your mother deserted you. But all that's in the past, and now you're an adult. Try to behave like one. Think of things in an adult way. Tonight you've swung back and forth like a pendulum. Once I had pointed out that your mother was genuinely distressed, you were both kind and thoughtful towards her. You became over-protective, enraged be­cause Mrs Abbot was hostile towards her…'

'She had no right to say such things!' Mar

ie burst out.

'I agree, but you see Mrs Abbot is fond of your father, too, and she was just as disturbed by his heart attack as your mother had been. I suspect that your own reaction to Clare surprised her. You haven't always been very friendly towards your mother, have you?'

Marie flushed. 'All right, I get what you mean. I wasn't fair to Mrs Abbot. I'll go and say I'm sorry…'

Stonor caught her arm, looking down at her, shaking his head. 'No, leave it until the morning. I've already spoken to her.'

'Oh, have you?' She was indignant. Who did he think he was, arranging, interfering, ordering everyone around? 'And what did you say?'

'I told her you were too upset to know what you were saying or doing, and I apologised on your behalf.'

'You had no business to do so!' She was very flushed now, her blue eyes bright with anger.

'Blessed are the peacemakers,' he drawled. 'Or don't you believe that?'

'I think you'd better go,' she said.

'Without my cocoa?' he asked tauntingly, sipping from the mug. 'I make very good cocoa, by the way. Try it.'

Marie seethed for a moment, then gave in, picking up the mug and tasting it. They drank in silence, then he put his mug down and looked at her thoughtfully.

'Would you like me to stay the night? I can sleep on a couch quite easily.' His mouth curved in a tormenting smile. 'As you know, I'm quite used to sleeping on the desert sand, and a couch is quite luxurious compared to that.'