For His Little Girl

'Luke, please don't blame me too much-'

'I don't. I know some things are hard to say. It's just that you were always such an honest person-well, you'd tell the truth if it brought an avalanche down on you…and on the rest of us.'

'Maybe I've learned a little tact,' she said quietly. 'When you grow up, you don't want to risk avalanches. They tend to engulf the people you love.'

'I wish I knew who you include on that list.'

'Well…Josie mainly. You must understand that I've had to put her first.'

'Of course.' He seemed deflated. 'It's just-would you tell me whether it's too late?'

Oh, God! He did know.

'I can't tell if it's too late or not,' she said slowly. 'How can I know that before I've got back to London?'

'And seen him.'

'What?'

'Mark. That's his name, isn't it? You called him from your room…'

'Yes, he was due to meet us at the other end. I had to let him know not to.'

'You were on the phone to him a long time.'

'I called Josie, too, but she was at the zoo.' She couldn't mention Frank.

'Is he a nice guy, this Mark?'

'Very nice.'

'A good friend?'

'The best.'

'Handsome, too.'

'Very. In the guest house we call him Adonis.'

'Oh, really! Well, I guess that's that! More champagne.'

'Luke-what is it?'' She dismissed the suspicion creeping into her head as too impossible. 'How did you know he was handsome?'

'Josie showed me some snapshots. There was a real nice one of you and him together in his car. She says you go driving with him a lot.' He was looking out over the pool.

'Luke is this what you were talking about just now? Mark and me?'

'Of course. What else?'

They'd been at cross-purposes. He hadn't discovered her secret, after all. She could still tell him in her own way.

And now the suspicion became a reality. He was jealous. 'So, you put two and two together, and came up with-what?'

'I don't know,' he said grumpily. 'You tell me. I mean, look-it's fair enough. I guess there was bound to be someone-and you tried to give me a hint-all that stuff about things being different. That's what you meant, wasn't it? About this Mark guy, and his fast cars and his Adonis looks. What's so damned funny?'

'You are,' she chuckled. 'Making a big deal about Mark.'

'He isn't a big deal?'

'He's no kind of deal. Just a friend. They all are.'

'That wasn't what you were trying to tell me the other night?'

'No, it wasn't. But, Luke, I want to talk to you about something quite different-'

He never heard her. His relief took the form of leaping to his feet, yelling, 'Yahooo!' at the top of his voice, and toppling headfirst into the pool, landing with a splash that soaked her.

'' Yahooo!'' he yelled. 'YAHOOO!''

She knew she should be firm and insist on telling him everything now, but like that other time, the knowledge that he was jealous filled the world. It could do no harm to enjoy her happiness for just a little longer. She would tell him tomorrow.

He swam back to her. 'You're not in love with Mark?' he yelled.

She knelt down to talk to him. 'No, of course I'm not.'

'You're not in love with anyone else?'

'No!'

'YAHOOO!' Pippa covered her ears, laughing. 'Listen-' he yelled. She uncovered them. 'What did you think I meant, then?''

'Pardon?'

'You said I shouldn't blame you. Blame you for what? What did you think I meant?'

Her mind went blank. 'I didn't know what you meant,' she prevaricated. 'I thought you were talking gibberish, the way you usually do. I just played along.'

'But you must have meant something when you said-'

Inspiration came to her. 'What's that?' she called, leaning down to him. 'I can't hear you.'

'I said-aaaaauuurgh!''

The last sound was a yell that became a gurgle as Pippa 'lost her balance'' and toppled into the water, contriving to land neatly on top of him. They both sank into the depths and came up laughing. Pippa turned and swam away from him toward the shallow end where a brief flight of steps led up to the pool deck. She skipped up them, but they were slippery and she missed her footing, falling onto one knee.

'Darling!' He caught her in time to prevent her going down any farther. 'Are you all right?'

'I'm fine-that is-my knee took a bit of a bang. Just help me sit down.'

He did so, tenderly wrapping a towel robe around her, lifting her legs onto the recliner and gently rubbing her knee until she pronounced that it was better. By that time, she was relieved to see, he'd forgotten what he'd been trying to ask her.

She was succumbing to an attack of blissful madness. It might be wrong, and sometime soon there would be a reckoning, but she would seize what life had offered her and count the cost later. Only a short time ago she'd been a sad creature, facing a return to the wilderness where there was no Luke, where she might never see him again. Suddenly all sadness was swept away. Before her stretched blissful days, and when the clock struck twelve, Cinderella wouldn't complain.

'What is it?' he asked quickly.

'What?'

'You sighed.'

'Did I? I didn't know.'

'Let me pour you some more champagne. Then you can tell me what you'd like to do for the rest of the day.'

'Well, first I'll drink the champagne, and then-' she stretched and yawned '-then I'll let you pour me some more champagne.'

'Yes, ma'am.'

'After that I think I'll take a nap. It's been a tiring week, and now that I'm a lady of leisure I'm going to make the most of it. When I wake up I'll have a long, luxurious bath.''

'By which time supper will be ready.'

'Hey, what are you doing?'

'Carrying you, so that you don't have to put too much pressure on that knee.'

'Oh, yes, my knee,' she said vaguely, trying to remember which knee he was talking about.

On the way into the house Luke said something in Spanish to Sonia, who bustled away. As they reached the top of the stairs, she was already in Pippa's room, turning down the bed.

'Shoo,' Luke said, when Sonia showed a disposition to linger.

'And you can shoo, as well,' Pippa said as he set her down. 'I'm going to have a long sleep.'

'Can't I stay?'

'No,' she said firmly.

He smiled and began to help her off with the towel robe. And from nowhere came that little spurt of resentment she'd felt at the airport. He was so assured.

'Goodbye, Luke,' she said.