Authors: Unknown
She lay for a few minutes, not looking forward to the drive to work with Vane. Perhaps if she hurried she might get out of the house before him and catch the railway car down.
Wishful thinking, she decided, when he appeared as she was finishing her coffee. He eyed her appraisingly, and Debra felt her colour rise.
‘You look charmingly refreshed.’ His gaze lingered on her face and he bent to plant a kiss on the tip of her nose. Their sharp words of last night might never have been.
She looked at him crossly. ‘I was just leaving. I won’t wait, if you don’t mind. I fancy the walk.’
‘But I do mind.’ His expression darkened. ‘You’re being childish again. It’s almost as though you’re afraid of me.’
Debra controlled an impatient sigh and sat back in her seat. ‘Very well, I’ll wait.’ Her lips were compressed and she felt far from happy.
As he saw her irritation Vane’s own temper rose and he buttered his toast with quick, violent movements. Between mouthfuls he said, ‘On the Peak last night I gained the impression that you’d begun to accept me. What’s gone wrong?’
‘That was last night,’ she said acidly.
‘And this morning you’ve changed your mind?’ She tilted her chin. ‘So what if I have?’
‘Because it’s madness. You’re the most contrary creature I’ve ever met.’ He chewed savagely and gulped down his coffee.
‘What’s it to do with you?’ questioned Debra defensively. ‘So long as I do my work properly isn’t that all that matters?’
He wiped his mouth on a napkin and scraped back his chair. He was as tense as a coiled spring and Debra hated herself for hurting him, but it was the only defence she had.
One day, one day soon, when she felt she could cope, she would let him get closer, she would put into action her plan of revenge. But not yet, not while her love was so new and vulnerable and she was the one who would get hurt.
Following him out to the car, Debra wondered whether she ought to apologise, but once inside, taking a look at his stem face, she decided against it.
For as long as he made a fuss of Liz she would never feel anything else but jealous hostility. It looked very much as though her whole stay in Hong Kong would be anything but happy.
It was a relief when they arrived, and when Mr Fu told her that the new car had been delivered she felt quite lighthearted, even smiling at Vane as she listened to the news.
When the manager had disappeared he said, ‘You needn’t have made your delight quite so obvious. I know you find it distasteful travelling with me, but quite how much I didn’t realise until this moment. Perhaps it might please you further that I intend returning to London tomorrow.’
He watched her face carefully and Debra knew he expected relief. Contrarily disappointment filled her thoughts, echoing in her eyes.
‘You amaze me,’ he said drily. ‘I thought you would jump for joy. Aren’t you pleased that I’m going?’
‘What do you think?’ she prevaricated. ‘I was considering Liz being left on her own. Does she know of your plans?’
‘You lie glibly,’ he said, a harsh frown creasing his brow. ‘You’ve made no secret of the fact that you disapprove of my friendship with Liz.’
‘I do,’ she said, ‘but being the contrary person I am I also appreciate that you’ve done her good.’
‘You’re asking the best of both worlds,’ he snapped.
‘Is that too much?’ she queried hotly.
‘I think you know the answer to that. Get to your office, Debra, before I lose my temper altogether.’
‘And lose face with your staff?’ she goaded. ‘That would never do, would it?’ Mr Oliver’s a perfect gentleman, Mr Oliver never says a word out of place, Mr O1 ’
His hand against her mouth shut her up. She staggered back, tears gathering in her eyes. ‘You enjoyed doing that!’
‘I did.’ He opened her door and bundled her inside. ‘Cry your eyes out there, just make sure no one sees you.’
He was gone before she could make a suitable reply. Angrily Debra banged her fists on the desk. ‘Roll on tomorrow,’ she said aloud, ‘the sooner he’s gone the better!’
It had come as a surprise, the news that he was leaving. When had he made up his mind? she wondered. Would it come as much as a shock to Liz, or did she already know?
A short while later he sent for her. ‘Bring those designs with you,’ he snapped, before the line went dead.
Debra had become used to his requests and marched along to his office, not bothering to hide her anger, aware that her face still bore the marks of her tears. She flung the sheets down on his desk and then stood back a pace and waited.
Vane said nothing, he did not even look at her, picking up the pages one by one, studying them carefully. He took so long that she began to feel uneasy. Perhaps he did not like them. Perhaps these were not the sort of things he wanted.
What if he decided she was not suitable for the job after all? The thought that he might dismiss her caused a flutter of dismay; despite everything, despite their harsh words, she still loved him, and the thought of them parting was more than she could bear.
When she could stand the uncertainty no longer she said loudly, ‘If you don’t like them, Mr Oliver, just say so. I can easily do some more.’
Slowly he raised his head, looking at her from beneath his thick lashes. ‘I do like them,’ he said, ‘You’ve captured the very essence of femininity I was trying to create. Between us I think we’ll make a good team.’
His praise did not please her as much as it might have done had things been different between them. A good working relationship was not what she wanted, not ultimately. But of course he wouldn’t know that. Time and time again she had reminded him that he was nothing other than her employer, it was about time she reminded herself.
‘I’m glad,’ she said dully. ‘I was pleased with them myself. I felt they were exactly right.’
‘You don’t sound very pleased.’ He suddenly pushed himself up and came round the desk. ‘Did you expect me to jump for joy?’
Debra attempted to smile. ‘Knowing you, no.’
‘But you expected more enthusiasm?’
She shrugged. ‘Not really. I don’t know what I expected. I’m relieved that you like them.’
‘Relieved? Were you anticipating that I’d throw them back in your face? Is that what you were expecting, Debra?’ His eyes held hers. ‘Let me tell you one thing, I never let my private feelings get mixed up with business. No matter if we’d just had the biggest row of all time, I would still give you my honest opinion. You might do as well to follow my example.’
In other words, while they were at work he was prepared to forget any enmity between them, but back home? She gave a mental shrug. What did it matter, he was leaving tomorrow anyway.
It suddenly hit her how dull life would be without him. Liz would inevitably miss him too, but she herself would feel bereft, and the days would drag until he came back again.
He studied her intently for a few minutes, not missing the tear marks on her cheek, and she felt herself grow warm and uncomfortable. Then he swung away and opening a drawer in his desk pulled out a sheaf of papers.
‘I’ve done a few rough sketches for my Hong Kong collection. They’re nowhere near finished, but I thought you might like to look through them while I’m away, you might come up with a few ideas for accessories. We’ll get together when I return, see what we can conjure up between us.’
She should have been flattered, so why wasn’t she? Instead she felt on the verge of tears. With an effort she managed a weak smile. ‘I’ll see what I can do.’
With an impatient gesture Vane dismissed her. ‘Go and try out your new car, call on some of the factories on your list. It will do you good to get out.’
Debra went without saying another word. His impending departure made her unhappy and she drove from factory to factory without being truly aware of what she was doing.
When she arrived back at the villa shortly after five Vane still had not returned. Liz looked put out, her pretty blue eyes sparking. ‘Where’s Vane?’ she demanded irritably. ‘Haven’t you come home with him?’
‘I have my own car now,’ shrugged Debra. ‘I haven’t seen him all day. Has he told you about his plans to go to London?’
Liz’s head jerked sharply, her eyes narrowed. ‘Not a word—when’s he going?’
‘Don’t ask me,’ said Debra. ‘He only told me this morning. I thought you knew.’
Unhappiness shadowed Liz’s face, a mild reflection of the grief she had felt when her parents died. It was what Debra had been afraid of, afraid that she might become too involved and when the irrevocable split came find herself desperately unhappy.
One thing was clear in Debra’s mind. If and when Vane returned she would make sure he did not resume his relationship with her friend. While he was away she would do her best to put Liz off him.
'I reckon we’ll be well rid of him,’ she said, trying to console Liz with a warm smile. ‘We haven’t seen much of each other while he’s been around. We’ll be able to do things together, revisit all the places we knew when we were kids, go on shopping expeditions.’
‘When you’re not working,’ complained Liz bitterly. ‘You don’t realise how time drags when I’m on my own. When Vane came home at lunchtime it wasn’t so bad. I’m not looking forward to his going, not one little bit.’
'You’ll soon adjust.’ Debra felt her friend was being unreasonable. ‘Perhaps he’ll bring back that tutor he promised you. It’s about time you began your lessons again.’
‘I’m fed up with schooling,’ snapped Liz.
‘You’ll never be a doctor if you don’t study,’ reproved Debra mildly.
Liz pulled a face. ‘I’m not sure I want to be a doctor now. I’d rather like to get married instead of pursuing a career.’
And it was perfectly clear what man she had in mind, thought Debra bitterly. ‘Don’t be ridiculous!’ she said sharply. ‘You know it’s what your own parents wanted. Don’t let them down simply because they’re not here.’
‘I wonder how long Vane will be away?’ said Liz, pursuing what was uppermost in her mind.
‘Who knows?’ shrugged Debra. ‘His base is in London. We couldn’t expect him to stay here very long.’
‘But he likes it here,’ insisted Liz. ‘He told me so. He said he wouldn’t mind making it his permanent home.’
This was news to Debra, and she wondered what the attraction was. ‘I shouldn’t attach too much importance to what he says. I can’t really see him settling out here. He has too many interests in England.’
Liz glanced at her friend angrily. ‘You know nothing at all about Vane. We had some long talks together, I feel I’ve known him for years. Why don’t you like him?’
‘I’ve never said I don’t like him,’ said Debra heatedly.
‘Not in so many words, but I’ve seen the way you look at him, almost as though you hate him. I used to think you were jealous, but now I’m not so sure. You have a good job, Deb, you can’t afford not to be nice to him.’
‘Is that why you’re all over him?’ enquired Debra with unusual sarcasm.
Liz had the grace to look ashamed. ‘Shall we get ready for dinner? It doesn’t look as though he’s coming after all.’
But by the time Debra had changed Vane had returned. He and Liz were in the elegant drawing room, talking softly, not hearing her enter.
‘It’s unfortunate I have to go,’ he was saying, ‘but I’ll be back as soon as I can. I shall miss you.’
Liz touched his cheek and was about to answer when she saw Debra. Unselfconsciously she rose. ‘We were waiting for you—dinner’s ready.’
Vane turned and gave her a tight-lipped smile. She grimaced in response, wishing perversely that it was herself he was going to miss. ‘Is your flight fixed, Mr Oliver?’ she asked coldly.
He nodded. ‘Seven in the morning. This will be our last meal together for quite a while.’
‘So we must make sure it’s a pleasant one,’ said Liz, giving Debra a warning look.
But it was difficult trying to be sociable when the man she loved devoted his attention to someone else. She might as well not have been there for all the notice they took of her. It was as though they were in a world of their own, conscious only that parting was imminent, making the most of their last few hours.
Even after dinner they sat together on the couch, talking about everything and nothing. Debra sipped the drink he poured her, growing more and more cross, wondering whether they would notice if she slipped away.
Almost as though he was aware of what was going through her mind Vane said suddenly, ‘You’re very quiet tonight, Debra. Can I attribute it to my impending departure?’
She looked at him steadily. ‘You can, but it wouldn’t be true.’
He smiled wryly. ‘Then what’s wrong, feeling neglected?’
Before she could answer he crossed the room and pulled her to her feet, glancing back over his shoulder. ‘Liz, your poor friend’s upset because I’m paying you too much attention.’
Liz shrugged petulantly, clearly not pleased that he was shifting his favours to her friend. But ignoring her now, Vane held Debra close, moving in rhythm to the soft music which filled the room.
She felt the inevitable weakness in her limbs and caring little that Liz was throwing her murderous looks rested her head against the muscular hardness of his chest.
The music stopped and she opened her eyes. Liz had disappeared. She looked questioningly at Vane. He smiled and changed the record.
‘Another dance, Debra? It’s not often we’re alone, let's make the most of it.’
One half of Debra was delighted, the other puzzled that he should behave like this behind her friend’s back. Heedless of the fact that it was a prime moment to begin to put into effect her plan of revenge Debra pulled away hotly.
‘What sort of a man are you, Vane Oliver, that you can treat Liz like this?’
He smiled strangely. ‘You think she disapproves?’
‘Isn’t it obvious?’ snapped Debra, wide-eyed.
He ignored her question. ‘Let’s not worry about Liz. Dance with me, Debra, let me take back to England the memory of you in my arms.’ Again he caught her close. ‘You’re so delicate I feel that if I squeeze too tightly your bones will break.’
Debra had no doubt they would. He had tremendous strength, his arms were like two iron bands about her body. She felt she ought to struggle, deny this man the chance to embrace her, but somehow her love flooded to the surface and her submission was complete.