Wealth of the Islands (5 page)

She shut the door after Peter had gone and went and stood on the balcony for a long t
ime
before she realised that she would be late if she didn
’
t hurry up and change for dinner. Unpacking
took
her only a few minutes. She hung the dresses on hangers and put
t
he
m away in the built-in wardrobe. The rest of her things she piled into drawers and left them to be sorted at her convenience later.

Miss Corrigan was waiting for her in the foyer when she went downstairs.

“
I
’
ve made Peter serve dinner on the terrace,
”
the old lady said as soon as she saw her.
“
It
’
s prettier than the dining room, and anyway we don
’
t want to eat in lonely state in that enormous place, do we
?”

Helen agreed that they didn
’
t. Besides, the balmy air
of the evening appealed to her. They sat out on locally made cane chairs and sipped a fruit drink that was all the concession that Miss Corrigan was prepared
to
m
ake to the cocktail hour.

“
I disapprove of strong drin
k
s,
”
she told Helen.
“
My father did so from conviction, I from habit. I am afraid you will have to humour me just this evening. Do you mind
?”

Helen didn
’
t mind at all. She accepted the drink that the waiter offered her and delighted in the sheer coolness of its icy contents. From somewhere in the distance, Polynesian songs were being sung, their tuneful quality coming across the still night air.

“
What very pretty music!
”
Helen exclaimed.

Miss Corrigan
’
s nose twitched with sudden and all-consuming interest.
“
Do you like it? It
’
s my greatest passion in life! Unfortunately I can
’
t sing a note myself and I have given up trying, but I go into the villages as often as I can to hear them singing their songs
and telling of their legends. I take them down on tapes. I believe,
”
she added in the humble tones experts are inclined to use when speaking of their own subject,
“
I believe that I have one of the largest collections of Polynesian music in the world. But then, of course, I have been here a long time to be able to acquire all the recordings that I have.
”

“
Always in the Melonga Islands?
”
Helen asked her.

“
Latterly,
”
the old lady agreed.
“
Since before the war. I
’
ve got used to being here now and I don
’
t want to move. The war did that to me. One couldn
’
t move at all then and I got out of the way of wanting to.
”

“
But weren
’
t the Japanese here during the war?
”
Helen put in, fascinated by her hostess.

Miss Corrigan laughed.
“
Oh yes, we were occupied, you know. They sent an officer with about eight men here and they spent the duration of the war with us. I think they were rather sorry when it was all over and they had to go home. We had grown
quite
used to each other by that time. They had even managed to teach me Japanese—I think it made them less lonely to be addressed in their own language. Poor things, they
came as stiff and starchy as you could wish, but life on the Islands soon changed all that!
”
she added with satisfaction.

Helen chuckled. She couldn
’
t imagine even the Japanese getting the better of Miss Corrigan.
“
I believe you enjoyed it all!
”
she accused her.

Miss Corrigan looked thoroughly ashamed of herself.
“
I think I liked the excitement,
”
she confessed.
“
It wasn
’
t exciting for very long, but Japanese legends and customs are absolutely fascinating and the officer in charge of the party, Kitsimu-san, was really very knowledgeable about them. The hard part was at the end of the war when we all had to remember that we had been enemies. It is so out of the way here, we had practically forgotten.
”
She sighed gustily.
“
But I want to hear about you, my dear. To
think
that you are Harold
’
s daughter! Why, it seems just the other day that he married your mother! You
’
re like him in your looks—
”

“
Am I
?”
Helen said lightly.
“
He always hoped I
’
d be like my mother. They were both killed in a car crash. You knew that, didn
’
t you
?”

Miss Corrigan creased up her forehead while she thought about it.
“
Yes,
”
she said,
“
I did know, but I
’
d forgotten. I hope you didn
’
t grieve, child. Harold wouldn
’
t have liked it! And then there was that terrible affair with that young husband of yours!
”
She looked Helen straight in the eyes.
“
I do hope you are not a
sad
person
?”
she said accusingly.

Helen gave a startled gasp.
“
I—I don
’
t think so,
”
she said.

Miss Corrigan relaxed so violently that her chair creaked an ominous protest beneath her.
“
That
’
s
a relief! I must admit I did wonder when you wrote and said you were co
m
ing out here to take Michael
’
s place with the expedition if you could. I suppose you were tired of teaching?
”

“
Not exactly,
”
Helen tried to explain.
“
It was because of my sister-in-law, Anita. Michael
’
s mother was driving
her
round the bend. I thought if I brought her ou
t
here, she would be far enough
away to live her own life for a bit.
”

“
Ah yes,
”
Miss Corrigan nodded.
“
I had forgotten that she should have been with you. And are you expecting her to dive too
?”
she asked dryly.

Helen shook her head, laughing.
“
No, Anita would die sooner than put her head under water. I
’
m hoping to make enough while we
’
re here to keep the two of us.
”

Miss Corrigan looked less than hopeful.
“
Gregory is so very
u
nmalleable, if you know what I mean,
”
she warned gently.

Helen lifted her chin belligerently.
“
So am I. He can hardly deny me really,
”
she added.
“
He badly needs another diver. He knows it and I know it
.
”

“
But after Michael dying like that, he doesn
’
t want to employ a woman,
”
Miss Corrigan explained earnestly.
“
Supposing you were to be killed too?
”

Helen grinned, suddenly very sure of herself.
“
I
’
m a great deal better diver than Michael ever was! They won
’
t kill me off so easily!
”

Miss Corrigan laughed and then tried to look shocked.
“
Really, my dear,
”
she protested.
“
What a thing to say! Do you think that Michael was deliberately killed?
”

Helen shrugged.
“
I don
’
t know,
”
she said.
“
The only explanation of his
death
that we received was confused to say the least. That was another reason why I wanted to come here—to find out exactly what happened to Michael.
”

“
You were in love with him?
”
Miss Corrigan asked, much as though the whole topic of love made her feel uncomfortable.

Helen said nothing for a long moment.
“
I think so,
”
she said then.

“
But you
’
re not sure?
”
Miss Corrigan pursued her ruthlessly.

“
No,
”
Helen agreed,
“
I
’
m not sure. It seems so very long ago. We only had three weeks together and then he
was gone, it
’
s almost a year now since he died, and when I shut my eyes, I can
’
t even see his face any more. All I can see is his mother—
”

“
And you would prefer not to?
”
Miss Corrigan added shrewdly.

Helen smiled sadly.
“
Yes, I would prefer not to.
”
she agreed.

CHAPTER THREE

IN the morning, Helen was still having breakfast when Gregory de Vaux arrived.

“
Have some coffee?
”
she offered him, hastily finishing the piece of toast she was eating.

“
Okay,
”
he agreed. He poured himself some and heaped several spoonfuls of sugar into the cup.
“
What have you got in that bag?
”
he asked, kicking it with a bare foot.

“
I always carry my own rubber suit,
”
she answered. Didn
’
t he ever wear any shoes, she wondered, or anything else but those torn jeans and a shirt that had seen better days?

“
You won
’
t need it here,
”
he said tersely.
“
A swimming-suit is enough. The water stays pretty warm. The ship is jammed on to the reef, by the way. It isn
’
t at all deep, thank goodness. At least it saves on the lights.
”

“
How deep?
”
she countered, buttering another piece of toast because he didn
’
t seem to be in such a hurry after all.

“
About a hundred feet
.
”

Helen looked puzzled.
“
But how did Michael die, then?
”
she inquired.
“
I was sure in my own mind that he must have gone down too deep. I mean, I don
’
t suppose you have a decompression chamber here?
”
She paused, studying his face.
“
Then it wasn
’
t the bends?
”

“
I thought I
’
d explained in my letter,
”
he said patiently.
“
Didn
’
t you bother to read it
?”

Helen winced away from the tone in his voice. It still hurt when she thought of the way her mother-in-law had whisked the letter away, not even allowing her a sight of it.

“
Unfortunately,
”
she said dryly,
“
it didn
’
t appear to be addressed to me, so I never actually saw it.
”

“
Well, for crying out loud! Who
do
you think it was addressed to?
”