smoothness, the texture of skin and silken hair, the perfect moulding of limb and the delicate sculpturing of feature, the musical lilt of her voice, clear as the ring of crystal, the dancing grace of her movements, the very carriage of the small perfect head on bare brown shoulders.
Mark sat bemused, acutely aware of the way in which the whole huge house had changed its mood since she entered it, had become charged with her spirit, as though it had been waiting for this moment.
Mark had excused himself from dinner that evening, not wanting to intrude on the family's first evening together.
He intended going down to the drill-hall for the weekly muster, and afterwards he would dine with some of the other young bachelor officers. At four o'clock, he left the house through a side entrance and went down to the cottage to bath and change into his uniform.
He was thundering out of the gates of Emoyeni on the Ariel Square Four when he remembered that the General had asked for the Railway report to be left on his desk. In the distraction of Storm's arrival, he had forgotten it, and now he swung the heavy machine into a tight turn and tore back up the driveway.
In the paved kitchen yard he pulled the motorcycle up on its stand, and went in through the back door.
He was standing at the library table with the report in his hands, glancing through it quickly to check his own notations, when suddenly the latch on the door clicked.
He laid aside the report and turned just as the door swung open.
This close, Storm Courtney was lovelier still. She was three quick light paces into the room before she realized she was not alone, and she paused, startled, poised with the grace of a gazelle on the point of flight.
One hand flew to her mouth, and her fingers were delicately tapered with long nails that gleamed like pink mother of pearl. She touched her lips with the tip of one finger; the lip trembled slightly, wet and smooth and glistening, and her eyes were huge and a dark fearful blue. She looked like a little girl, frightened and alone.
. Mark wanted to reassure her, to protect her from her own distress, to say something to comfort her, but he found he could not move or speak.
He need not have worried, her distress lasted only a fleeting beat of time, just long enough for her to realize that the source of her alarm was a tall young man, dashing in the dress uniform he wore, a uniform that set off the slim graceful body, a uniform emblazoned with badges of courage and of responsibility.
Subtly, with barely a shadow of movement, her whole poise changed. The finger on her lip now touched one cheek with an arch gesture, and the trembling lip stilled and parted slightly into a thoughtful pout. The huge eyes, no longer fearful, almost disappeared behind drooping lids, and then examined Mark critically, lifting her chin to look up into his face.
Her stance changed also, one hip thrusting forward an inch, the twin mounds of her breasts lifting and pressing boldly against the gossamer silk of her bodice. The tender taunting line of her lips was enough to make Mark's breath catch in his throat. Hello, she said. Her voice, although low and throaty, bounced the word off Mark's heart, drawing it out into two syllables that seemed to hang in the air seconds later. Good evening, Miss Courtney, he answered her, surprised that his voice came out level and assured. It was the voice that triggered her memory, and the blue eyes flew wide as she stared at him. Slowly her surprise turned to angry outrage. The eyes snapped sparks and two bright scarlet blotches of crimson burned suddenly on the smooth, almost waxy perfection of her cheeks. You? she asked incredulously. Here? I'm afraid so, he agreed, and her consternation was so comical that he grinned at her, his own misgivings evaporating. Suddenly he felt relaxed and at his ease. What are you doing in this house? She drew herself up to her full height, and her manner became frostily dignified. The full effect was spoiled by the fact that she had to look up at him, and that her cheeks still burned with agitation. I am your father's personal assistant now, and he smiled again. However, I am sure you will soon become reconciled to my presence. We will see about that, she snapped. I shall speak to my father. Oh, I was led to understand that you and the General had already discussed my employment, or rather my unemployment. I, said Storm, and then closed her mouth firmly, the colour spreading from her cheeks down her throat as she remembered with sudden acute discomfort the whole episode. The humiliation was still so intense that she felt herself wilting like a rose on a summer's day, and a small choke of self-pity constricted the back of her throat. it was enough that it had happened, that instead of her father's unquestioning support, something she had been accustomed to since her first childhood memories, he had told her angrily that she had acted like a spoiled child, that she had shamed him by misusing his power and influence, and that the shame had been made more intense by the way she had used it without his knowledge, by sneaking behind his back, as he put it.
She had been frightened, as she always was by his anger, but not seriously disturbed. It was almost ten years since he had last lifted a hand to her. A true lady shows consideration to all around her, no matter what their colour or creed or station. She had heard it often before, and now her fear was turning to irritation. Oh, la-di-da, Pater! I'm not a child any more! she flounced. He was insolent, and anyone who is insolent to me will damned well pay for it. You have made two statements there, the General noted with deceptive calm, and both of them need correction. If you are insolent, then you will get back insolence and you are a child still. He rose from his chair behind the desk, and he was huge, like a forest oak, like a mountain. One other little thing, ladies do not swear, and you are going to be a lady when you grow up. Even if I have to beat it into you. As he took her wrist, she suddenly realized with a sense of incredulous dismay what was about to happen. It had not happened since she was fourteen years of age, and she had believed it would never happen again.
She tried to pull away, but his strength was enormous, and as he lifted her easily under one arm and carried her to the leather couch, she let out her first squeal of fear and outrage. It changed swiftly to real anguished howls as he positioned her carefully across his lap and swept her skirts up over her head. Her pantaloons were of blue crdpe de Chine with little pink roses decorating the target area, and his palm, horny and hard, snapped over the tight double bulge of her buttocks with a sharp rubbery crack. He kept it up until the howling and kicking subsided into heartracking sobs, and then he lowered her skirts and told her quietly, If I knew where to find him, I'd send you to apologize to that young man. Storm remembered that threat, and felt a moment of panic. She knew her father was still quite capable of making her apologize even now, and she nearly turned and rushed out of the library. It required a supreme effort once more to draw herself up and lIfft her chin defiantly. You are right, she said coldly. The hiring and firing of my father's servants is not a subject with which I should concern myself. Now, if you would kindly stand aside, Of course, forgive me. Still smiling, Mark bowed extravagantly and made way for her to pass.
She tossed her head and swished her skirts as she passed him and, in her agitation, went to the wrong shelves. it was some little time before she realized that she was studying intently a row of bound copies of ten- year-old parliamentary white papers, but she would not admit her mistake and humiliate herself further.
Furiously she pondered her next sally, picking and discarding half a dozen disparaging remarks before settling on, I would be obliged if in future you would address me only when it is absolutely necessary, and right at this moment I should like to be alone. She spoke without interrupting her perusal of the white papers.
There was no reply, and she turned haughtily. Did you hear what I said? Then she paused.
