Read Online The Desert Castle by Isobel Chace - Free Book Online Page B

Her father had spoken of it warmly, she remembered, when he recommended that if she was interested in fine mosaics the best place to see the very finest was in the Bardo Museum in Tunis. ‘ Except for the Church of St . Saviour in Chora, in Istanbul. ’ he had added. ‘ But that is something else and not to be compared with what we usually mean by mosaic work. ’
    ‘ Doesn ’ t it depict Old Jerusalem ? ’ she said now.
    H e gave a wry smile. ‘ If you can spare the time, would you like to go and see it this afternoon? We could go on to the Dead Sea afterwards. ’
    ‘ Could we ? ’ she hesitated. ‘ Shouldn ’ t we go tomorrow when the others can come too ? ’
    ‘ And listen to Gaston whispering sweet nothings in Lucasta ’ s ear ? ’
    H er eyes opened wide. ‘ Oh dear, I do hope not. Should I speak to her, do you think ? ’
    ‘ What about ? ’
    M arion stumbled, not knowing how to put it. ‘ Would Mrs. Hartley consider Gaston a suitable friend for Lucasta? She is only seventeen. ’
    ‘ Quit worrying, Marion. You ’ ll only make a fool of yourself if you try to put Lucasta on a leading-rein. Do you want to come with me this afternoon or not ? ’
    ‘ Yes, ’ she said.
    S he had forgotten that he had said he was coming to see the results of her morning ’ s work after lunch and she couldn ’ t think why he followed her down the long corridor that led to her room. A light remark might have relieved the atmosphere, but she couldn ’ t make her brain think of anything except the way he towered over her as he walked beside a nd to wish for the millionth time since she had grown up that she were tall and dignified, and didn ’ t have to skip along beside him, employing three steps for every two of his.
    W hen she opened the door her eyes went straight to the little houri she had treated. Her timidity was as familiar as if it were her own.
    ‘ What made you begin with her ? ’ Gregory asked, moving in close to look at the little figure the better.
    ‘ She appeals to me, ’ Marion confessed. ‘ I felt as though I knew her as soon as I saw her. ’
    G regory looked amused. ‘ That ’ s hardly surprising, ’ he said drily. ‘ She ’ s a favourite of mine too. ’
    M arion picked up a brush and touched the hour i ’ s robe with a loving hand. ‘ None of those soldiers are going to get her! They ’ ll have to make do with a ll the others ! ’
    H e laughed. He was closer to her than she had thought and she could feel his warm breath on her cheek. She put the brush down hastily, self-conscious in a way she had never been before. It was fortunate that he didn ’ t want to watch her work, she thought. She ’ d be too nervous to do a thing!
    ‘ Funny you should say that, ’ he said. ‘ When I first came to see this place I noticed her at once. It ’ s a good thing she ’ s shy, I thought to myself, because that one has to wait for me! Most certainly, those brutish soldiers are not going to have her ! ’
    ‘ You ’ re much less brutish, of course, ’ Marion murmured with a smile. It was quite a thought to think of Gregory Randall making love to anyone as timid as— the little houri, for example. Indeed, she wished the thought had not occurred to her at all, for she had been much better off without it. Yet she couldn ’ t help remembering how warm and firm his lips had been against hers at the airport and she felt a gust of feeling within her that was as real as a body-blow to her solar plexus.
    ‘ P erhaps not in intention, ’ he said with a mocking amusement that made her hope earnestly that he couldn ’ t read her mind. ‘ She looks very kissable to me. ’
    ‘ No better than any other pin-up, in fact, ’ Marion said, disappointed in him. ‘ I think she ’ d be better off with an appreciative soldier, who ’ d see her as a person, not a sex symbol. ’
    ‘ She might like being kissed, ’ he objected. ‘ Don ’ t you? ’
    H er experience was much more limited than she