The Shrouded Web

The man raised his dark eyebrows for a moment, and then shrugged. ‘Just tell her it was St. Clair, mademoiselle. She will know who that is.’ He studied her flushed cheeks with faint amusement. ‘And you, mademoiselle? Do you have a name?’

‘Er—Lindsay—Nurse Lindsay,’ replied Rebecca jerkily.

He regarded her intently for a moment. ‘Nurse Lindsay,’ he repeated slowly. ‘You have been with Adele long?’

‘Two—two years, monsieur,’ responded Rebecca reluctantly, wishing he would go.

He frowned again. ‘Two years. A long time, mademoiselle. I should imagine my sister-in-law is not the most understanding of patients. And working here—in Fiji—do you not find it lonely? Or have you friends?’

Rebecca objected to this intent questioning, but as she had no idea what his involvement with Adele might be she could hardly be rude to him. ‘I—I am quite happy, thank you, monsieur.’

His dark eyes narrowed with mockery. ‘So formal, mademoiselle. I am embarrassing you, I can see it. I am sorry. You must put my curiosity down to a mere male’s insensitivity. I must apologise again.’

‘That’s not necessary, monsieur.’ Rebecca shivered involuntarily.

At once he was contrite. ‘You are cold, mademoiselle. I will go and contain my curiosity until another day. Au revoir.’

Rebecca’s cheeks burned. She could have said she was far from cold. She could have said that the shiver she had experienced was stimulated by entirely different sensations. But she said nothing, and with a faint smile he stepped outside again.

Rebecca waited until he had taken several steps and then she closed the door behind him, thrusting home the bolt with trembling fingers and leaning back against the cool panels. As she pressed herself against the wood she heard the sound of a powerful engine roar to life, and a few moments later the sound died away along the private track that led to the main road. Only then did she allow herself to relax completely, but the legs on which she walked back to her bedroom were uncomfortably unsteady…

Adele St. Cloud was a woman in her late thirties who looked years older. Born with a heart complaint that had crippled her life and to some extent her mind, she had left England more than ten years ago to make her home in the warmer climate of the south Pacific, taking with her an elderly servant who had served her as both nanny and nurse. Adele’s family were wealthy cloth manufacturers of French descent, living in Somerset, but apart from accepting an allowance as her due she had never got on with them. Maybe her congenital weakness was to blame, or maybe she was just naturally averse to her sisters, in any event when her only remaining parent died she lost no time in making a new life for herself in Fiji. Unfortunately her elderly nurse died some eight years later and in consequence Adele had to advertise for a replacement. And that was how Rebecca came to apply. Looking back on it now, Rebecca wondered whether she would ever have had the courage to travel so far alone if she herself had not wanted to escape from an unhappy situation.

The morning following the visit of the stranger, Rebecca was very thoughtful as she went for her early morning swim. This was the time of day she liked best when she could cast herself into the creaming waters of the lagoon and pretend the day ahead of her would not be filled with the constant demands of a fractious, unhappy woman.

As usual the water was still warm from the heat of the previous day but refreshing at this early hour. Rebecca shed her towelling jacket and ran into the water. In a white bikini, her skin tanned an even brown, she looked young and healthy, and she knew she had a lot to be thankful for. She swam strongly out to where the water deepened to dappled green and turning on to her back floated for a while, her hair spread like seaweed around her. Her eyes surveyed the shoreline, the darkness of the palms casting patches of shade in an oasis of gold. This was her particular sanctuary, for no one ever came here. The beach belonged to the villa, and as Adele never used it Rebecca had come to regard it as her own. The only sounds were the cries of the seabirds wheeling overhead and the distant thunder of the breakers over the coral reef.

When she returned to the villa she felt completely relaxed and ready to face the day and after breakfasting in the kitchen with Rosa, the Fijian housekeeper, she collected Adele’s tray and went to wake her.

Adele was already awake when Rebecca went into her room. Lounging back against the silk-covered pillows she looked pale and languid. Her naturally fair colouring was given an artificial brittleness by the coarse brilliance of her hair which she persisted in bleaching and without make-up her skin was unhealthily white. Rebecca, seeing her like this, could not help but feel pity for her even though she knew that Adele would not appreciate such sentiments.

‘Good morning, Miss St. Cloud,’ Rebecca said now, crossing cheerfully to the bed and placing the tray across Adele’s knees. ‘Did you have a good night?’

Adele sniffed, regarding her nurse contemptuously. ‘No, I slept badly,’ she said, lifting the lid of the coffee pot and peering inside. ‘Those new tablets Dr. Manson gave me are not as good as the others. It took me hours to get to sleep and then I tossed and turned—–’

‘You tossed and turned for hours?’ Rebecca frowned rather resignedly. ‘You surprise me, Miss St. Cloud. I thought you must have gone straight to sleep. After all, you didn’t hear the bell, did you?’

‘Bell? What bell? The telephone bell?’

Rebecca shook her head. ‘The door bell.’

Adele’s brows drew together. ‘We had a visitor last evening?’

‘Yes. Just after you had gone to—bed.’

Adele snapped her fingers. ‘Stop baiting me, miss! If I didn’t hear the door bell it must have been because I happened to be dozing at the moment it rang. Go on! Go on! Who was the caller? Dr. Manson? Or old Blackwell?’

‘No, it wasn’t the doctor, or Mr. Blackwell,’ replied Rebecca, tempted to tease her employer for just a few moments longer. But then she capitulated, and said: ‘It was a man. His name was Monsieur St. Clair. Does that mean anything to you?’

‘Piers St. Clair?’

‘He didn’t tell me his Christian name, Miss St. Cloud,’ replied Rebecca, suddenly aware of the similarity between the two surnames.

Adele sighed, shaking her head. ‘It will be Piers,’ she said, with definition. ‘I know his business takes him all over the world. It is not beyond the realms of possibility that he has business here in Suva.’ Her gaze grew speculative. ‘Why didn’t you let me know he was here?’

Rebecca sighed. ‘You know Dr. Manson’s instructions are very explicit. You must not be disturbed—–’

‘Rubbish! How dare you send away a friend when he takes the trouble to come out here to see me!’

Rebecca bit her lip. ‘I didn’t exactly send him away, Miss St. Cloud. He went of his own accord. He realised it was an inconvenient hour—–’

Adele moved impatiently, almost upsetting her breakfast tray in the process. ‘Did he say he would come back?’

‘Yes,’ Rebecca nodded. ‘At least—I assumed—–’ She halted abruptly, remembering certain parts of that encounter. ‘I’m—I’m sure he will come back.’

Adele’s face was contorted with anger. ‘Stupid girl! Can’t you do anything right? Haven’t you the sense to realise when a visitor might be admitted and when he might not? Surely it crossed your limited intelligence that Piers St. Clair was no ordinary visitor!’

Rebecca suffered Adele’s rage in silence. Apart from the fact that to argue with her would stimulate her still further, she knew that to do so was useless. It was far better to allow her employer to rid herself of the pent-up emotions which seemed to develop so quickly these days, and afterwards go on as though nothing had happened.

Adele finally lay back on her pillows, spent, and Rebecca came forward and poured her a cup of coffee without saying a word. Adele raised the cup to her lips and after swallowing several mouthsful, she said in quite a different tone: ‘What did you think of him anyway, Rebecca?’

Rebecca straightened, and sighed. She had half-hoped the subject of Piers St. Clair might be put aside for the time being. But knowing Adele she guessed she intended to make the most of the incident.

‘He—he seemed very nice,’ she responded rather inadequately. ‘Would you like me to butter you a roll? Would you like some of this mandarin jelly?’

Adele’s eyes flickered upward, and she studied her nurse’s face rather mockingly. ‘He’s a very rich man, Rebecca. He owns several construction companies in France and Spain.’

‘Indeed!’ Rebecca smiled with what she hoped was a politely interested manner. ‘Are you going to get up this morning? Shall I run your bath?’

Adele uttered an exclamation. ‘For heaven’s sake, Rebecca, stop behaving like an automaton! I asked you what you think of St. Clair. Surely you have some opinion!’

‘I don’t know him well enough to form any opinion, Miss St. Cloud.’ Rebecca folded her hands with resignation.

‘Oh, come now, Rebecca. Surely he has not changed so much over the years. He always was a handsome devil!’

‘The relative attractiveness of your visitors is nothing to do with me, Miss St. Cloud,’ answered Rebecca, rather shortly. ‘Is there anything else you want at the moment, Miss St. Cloud—–’

Adele put down her coffee cup with a clatter. ‘You’re deliberately misunderstanding me, miss! I just thought we might have a friendly chat about a man whom I once knew rather well…’ Her voice trailed away and there was a rather absent look on her face now. Then she seemed to realise she was being a little too confiding, for she thrust the tray aside, and said: ‘Of course I’m getting up this morning. I must look my best. St. Clair will call again. I’m sure of it!’

Later in the morning, Rebecca was wheeling Adele about the spacious garden of the villa when they heard the sound of a car’s engine. Adele looked up at her nurse, and her eyes brightened considerably. ‘That is St. Clair,’ she said. ‘Come! Wheel me round to the drive. Quickly!’

Straightening her shoulders, Rebecca complied, glancing down at her uniform to make sure it was smooth and uncreased. She wore a simple navy blue uniform dress, omitting the white cap and apron on Adele’s instructions. Her employer did not like to be continually reminded that she was an invalid.

A dark blue convertible stood on the drive, and even as they approached a man slid out from behind the driving wheel and looked swiftly up at the windows of the villa. Then, glancing round, he saw them, and began to walk towards them. In close-fitting beige slacks and a dark brown knitted shirt, open at the throat to reveal the brown column of his throat, Piers St. Clair was every bit as arrogantly attractive as Rebecca remembered, and she was annoyed to feel her pulse quicken. He was, after all, not the first attractive man she had known.

Adele’s manner became animated as they neared him, and holding out both hands she exclaimed: ‘Piers! Piers St. Clair! What in heaven’s name brings you to Fiji?’

Piers St. Clair grasped her thin hands within his two strong ones and the smile he gave her was warm and enveloping. ‘It is obvious you do not consider yourself a sufficient reason, Adele,’ he murmured, his accent giving his voice a husky tenor. His eyes flickered for a moment over the slim figure who stood just behind her chair. ‘Did your efficient Nurse Lindsay tell you that I called last evening?’