A Girl Called Tegi (9 page)

Tegi nodded. Colin was the least of her worries. Tony was her main problem. He had the ability to make her feel naive and foolish, and an equal ability to read her sufficiently to be amused by what he saw. She was no match for
him
.

Col
i
n called around eight o’clock. He had planned to spend the day out with her and was disappointed at not being able to get in touch. Tegi told him she had spent the day out and did not enlarge upon it.

They went for a walk until freshening winds and an unexpected shower sent them home. Tegi was in the house just before ten o’clock and she decided to call it a day.

CHAPTER SIX

A
friend
Tegi had made while at the secretarial college telephoned on Sunday morning to invite her to her engagement party to be held at the house. Beryl and her
fiancé
Adam had also been invited and they would call and pick her up that morning before lunch. Tegi was to take her swimming suit as the party was to be held at the open-air swimming pool in the grounds of the house.

Tegi was delighted to accept and set about getting her usual Sunday morning chores done. Dorothy was having a lie in bed as she invariably did on Sunday mornings. She had come in late the previous evening and' Tegi had feigned sleep. She had decided not to mention her day out with Tony unless her sister asked where she had been.

She made her preparati
o
ns for the party with a feeling of pleasurable anticipation, eager to be away before the demands of the day enslaved her. After changing quietly in her room so as not to waken the sleeping Dorothy she was ready when her friends arrived and slipped into the back seat of the car, aware of a smiling Beryl who was sparkling with happiness and ready for gossip.

Adam was driving the car, so Beryl was able to turn sideways in her seat at the front to talk to Tegi. The girl they were going to see was another of Tegi’s age group to become engaged. She had been a secretary at one of the foreign Embassies in London and had met her
fiancé
there.

Beryl said teasingly, ‘It’s your turn next, Tegi. We shall have to look for someone for you if Colin doesn’t wake up soon and propose.’

Tegi smiled. In the face of what was happening to her friends she was indeed on the shelf, but it did not alarm her. Nothing was more certain than that she could never marry Colin. She was in love with Tony Mastroni, but her pride was such that she could never let him know, and she certainly was not going to join the other light affairs he had indulged in through the years.

The house they were going to was on the west
coast of the island overlooking the blue sea, a three-storied Victorian building set in acres of beautiful gardens stretching out to orchards with a swimming pool set in between.

Linda Braidson greeted them on their arrival, a tall good-looking girl with fair hair and brown eyes. She hugged both her friends and congratulated Beryl and Adam on their engagement.

‘
Nice to see you,’ she said warmly. ‘The fact is we wanted to show off, the swimming pool now it’s finished. Dad did it as a surprise, and Don and William helped. It’s a family affair.’

Don and William were their father’s right-hand men on the farm. Katy, their youngest daughter, was a nurse in London. Harold and Jean Braidson came forward to meet them along with Linda’s
fiancé
, a strikingly attractive dark-haired young man of
^;
around twenty-eight or so. His name was Philip Wood.

Linda’s father boomed a welcome. Well over six foot and amazingly fit for his fifty-four years, he was very much like his daughter Linda except for his blue eyes.

‘This is well worth all the work of building the pool,’ he exclaimed. ‘To have it decorated with beautiful girls.’ He held Tegi’s hand. ‘And where’s your
fiancé
?’ he teased. ‘I don’t know what the boys are thinking of today letting someone as delicious as you roam around unattached.’

‘Tegi is being sensible and taking her time about it,’ his wife Jean said, slipping her hand round his arm. ‘Now suppose we all g
o
in to lunch and get acquainted. Then we can all gather around this pool
of yours and enjoy ourselves.’

Jean Braidson was small, dark, plump and jolly. Tegi liked her and all the family. It was a jolly lunch with everybody crowding in around the long table in the farmhouse kitchen. There were cousins of the Braidsons, young people Tegi knew, making a lively gathering.

After lunch the young people made their way to the swimming pool to laze and digest the lunch on the loungers and attractive white wrought iron furniture placed around the kidney-shaped pool. As the afternoon wore on other visitors began to arrive, relations and friends of the Braidsons.

It was a perfect sunny day for spending at the pool and most of the young people had their swimming suits to change into. Tegi changed into her suit and had approached the pool to watch the bathers having a grand time in the blue water. Adam and Beryl were racing along the length of the pool and Linda was having fun with Philip tossing a beach ball around.

Lots of young people were lounging on the reclining chairs around the pool and suddenly the colour left Tegi’s cheeks. She did not want to look at him and wished it was possible for her to become invisible as she watched him stride to the diving board at the far end of the pool.

In the sunshine, his skin was like bronze satin with rippling muscles very much in evidence, as was the long graceful stride and the dark crisp hair. Looking around, Tegi recognised several of his friends lounging among the colourful crowd of ad
mir
ers.

For Tegi the peace of a lazy Sunday afternoon was shattered. The crowd of people laughing and enjoying themselves at the pool had faded into the background, leaving her in a world containing herself and Tony Mastroni. Her heart was thudding into a deafening roar like an incoming tide of emotion, robbing her of the ability to think straight. It was useless to tell herself that this time next week he would be
gone.

He was here, filling her with the fear that something was going to happen and whatever it was would be against her wish.

‘Come on, Tegi, what are you waiting for. I can’t wait to dive in
!’

Don Braidson, the eldest of the Braidson boys, a fine figure in his swimming trunks, had evidently finished farm work for the day, and was gripping her arm and urging her towards the pool.

They leapt in the water together and came up for air laughing. Tegi thought, if I can keep with Don perhaps Tony won’t approach me. The beach ball came near to her in the water and she joined in the game.

For the next five minutes or so she concentrated on the ball, wishing futilely that Tony would go away. Then as the ball sailed towards her a long brown arm with a punch at the end of it sent the ball careering back along the pool.

Her heart turned over and she caught her breath sharply as Tony loomed up beside her. Before she could gather her senses, he said, ‘Of all the delightful surprises! I never expected to find you here. Are you a friend of the Braidsons?’

Tegi tried to calm herself, but her mind was in a
turmoil and she found herself trembling inwardly,
although the water was warm, the sun hot on her back.

He said mockingly, ‘I seem to have surprised you, Tegi. Aren’t you pleased to see me?’

‘I suppose I should be getting used to it by now,’ she replied lightly, although her heart was hammering. ‘You really do pop up in the most unexpected places.’ He was much too near. She could see the drops of water on his dark eyelashes, the deep wave the water had made in his crisp hair.

He narrowed a half insolent, half curious gaze. ‘You should be getting used to me popping up by now. Does it disturb you in any way?’ he asked audaciously.

‘Why should it?’

He laughed. ‘It would if you knew what your appearance does to
me! Fate seems to be on my side.’

She shot away under water and sped the length of the pool. Tony followed her in long lazy strokes and caught her at the far end of the pool.

She said, ‘Pity you didn’t pop up yesterday to see Dorothy. She got tea ready, thinking you were coming.’

His eyes narrowed at her as she trod water with one slim pearl-tipped hand on the rail along the pool.

‘Nobody owns me, and I do not dance to anyone else who calls the tune,’ he told her with the lazy tones masking an iron will. ‘I made no promise to your sister, so there was none to keep.’ He eyed her for a long moment. ‘Are you trying to pick a quarrel with me?’

‘You aren’t that important.’

He raised a dark brow. ‘No? Your sister seems to think so. Maybe I should have turned up at your home yesterday after all.’

‘Maybe you should,’ she retorted.

‘You would not have liked that at all.’

‘No? You flatter yourself
!’

He laughed again, and said softly, ‘What are you afraid of? Me—my kisses? Have you ever been kissed under water?’

Tegi shot away, swimming for all she was worth, with his mocking laughter in her ears. How dare he jeer at her! But it was her own fault. She was too transparent for someone as experienced as he was.

‘Hello there
!’
Beryl was sitting on the side of the pool when Tegi emerged at the other end. ‘Adam has gone to fetch my beach bag. He could have gone for yours at the same time. Enjoying yourself?’

Tegi pulled herself up beside her friend and shook back her hair.

‘Very much. Are you?’

Beryl eyed her curiously. ‘Wasn’t that Tony Mastroni you were with just now? I believe there are about half a dozen of the riders here. Nice break for them, just before the races. I believe he’s very popular among his friends.’

Tegi heard herself saying, ‘Is he? I would imagine he’s very popular with the girls too.’

She lowered her eyes from Beryl’s questioning gaze. ‘Do I detect a note of censure for a young man who gave you a lift home? Don’t you like him?’

Tegi said defensively, ‘He isn’t that important, is he? Besides, he didn’t go out of his way to give me a lift. He was on his way to Ramsey. He said so.’

Beryl laughed. ‘And you believed him?’

‘You mean to say he might not have been going to Ramsey?’

‘Of course. You should have heard the excuses Adam came out with each time we happened to bump into each other after our first meeting
!’
Beryl chuckled. ‘I think Tony Mastroni is more than interested in you
.
’

Tegi said thoughtfully, ‘Maybe I didn’t fall into his arms soon enough for him to tire of me.’

Beryl nodded wisely. ‘There could be something in what you say, but you’re very sweet, Tegi. I don’t suppose he could help liking you.’ She hugged the slim shoulders. ‘Adam says he could go for you in a big way if he hadn’t met me.’

‘What’s that about Adam?’

Adam was there, swinging the beach bag, and Beryl reached up for it.

‘Listeners never hear anything good of themselves,’ she teased. ‘I was just telling Tegi that you have a soft spot for her.’

‘Women
!’
he scoffed. ‘You can’t keep a secret, can you?’

‘Was it a secret you liking Tegi?’ Beryl demanded.

Adam laughed. ‘I thought we all liked Tegi.’

‘So we do.’ Linda came to join them, slipping on a wrap over her swimsuit
.
Her smile included all three. ‘Philip has gone to fetch a cool drink for us. Enjoying yourselves?’

‘It’s super,’ Beryl exclaimed. ‘Thanks for inviting us.’

‘Glad you’re enjoying yourselves. We’re having a barn dance this evening after dinner, so we don’t have to dress up. All right?’

Linda looked at their faces for confirmation as they all agreed that it would be fine. Philip came with a trolley of cans of Coke and everyone gathered around.

In the mel
e
e for drinks Tegi decided to fetch her beach bag from the house, and she bumped into Tony on the way. He stood directly in her path and raised a provocative brow as, tongue in cheek, he allowed his dark gaze to slide slowly over the sylphlike figure with its enchanting curves and small firm pointed bust.

Tegi had never felt self
-
conscious in a bathing suit before, but those mocking eyes of his made her want to dash away and hide under cover of a wrap.

‘Not going yet, I hope
?’
he drawled.

T
egi lifted her chin militantly. ‘I’d hardly tell you if I was,’ she told him firmly. ‘I’m sure there are plenty of girls around for you to amuse yourself with.’

He shook his head with a pained expression on his face.

‘Do you object to me going with other girls?’ he asked sardonically.

‘Object?’ she cried scornfully. ‘Why should I? It’s none of my business what you do.’

‘Then why are you so angry with me? I take it that you do object to my way of life?’

‘I’m not interested enough to object to anything you do. I don’t like motorbikes and all that they entail, that’s all.’

‘Yet you enjoyed that lift home I gave you on mine. Your eyes were sparkling and your cheeks were flushed. You came alive again.’

Her eyes widened with anger. ‘Alive? What do you mean, alive?’

Tony shrugged. ‘You are too inhibited. You will not let yourself go. You can be fun, and this is not the real you. I happened to see you when your brother Gary was playing in that football match. You were quite different then.’

‘You mean you were spying on me during that match? Of all the nerve
!’

Her eyes sparkled and her cheeks were the colour of a rose. Her voice was icy, her tones full of contempt.

‘Pity you have nothing else to do than to spy on people for your own amusement! Kindly
let me pass.’

‘Certainly—only be careful. You are holding your nose so high that you could trip over it.’

His chuckle followed her into the house, but not before she heard Beryl calling:

‘A cool drink, Tony! Come and join us
!’

Tegi’s lips tightened. Even Beryl was bowled over by his charm. Well, she could drool all over him if she wanted, she said fiercely to herself. She wasn’t, that was for sure. All the same, there were tears in her eyes as she ran the rest of the way indoors.

The dinner that evening to celebrate Linda’s engagement to Philip was a lively one. Everyone had a paper hat and there were two sittings at the long table in the big comfortable farmhouse kitchen.

Tegi helped with the first one and was relieved to see that Tony was there with
most of
his friends. She kept well away from his part of the table and began to relax. The bubbling champagne helped when it was her turn to sit down along with others for the second
sitting, and she was soon in a party mood.

She sat between Linda’s two brothers, who looked after her teasingly, treating her as a special guest. When the engagement cake was cut every one of the guests gathered around with a piece and a glass of champagne to toast the happy couple.

Seeing all their happy faces and especially Linda’s and Philip’s, Tegi wished with all her heart that people could look so happy all the time. Tears were in her eyes as she joined the others in wishing the couple every happiness in the future. In the midst of the crowd of happy people she felt terribly alone.