"What would that matter if I gained my love... which I have. You can't go back on this. You stand betrayed. You have revealed yourself. Admit it."
"Milton ..."
"Well, let me tell you. The plantation is not burning down. Tomorrow all the canes will be cut the easier for the fire. This is what we call a field burning."
"You mean you deliberately set the place on fire?"
He nodded. "It's a periodic exercise. When the time is ripe we put a torch to the green sugar. It burns the cane to clear it so that it will be easier to cut in the morning."
"So it was all planned."
"It needs very careful planning. Waiting for the wind to be in the right direction... watching all the time... cutting firebreaks round the fields. We have to be on the watch all the time. If it got out of hand it could be disastrous. It could even destroy the whole of the island."
I was so relieved I could only laugh.
"And you rode out to save me ... just like that. Oh Annalice, my darling Annalice, this is surely the happiest moment of my life."
"You said that before."
"Well, it is worth repeating. I shall always remember it. The day she came to me ... If you could have seen the fear on your face... and all for me."
I could only cling to him laughing, I think, rather hysterically.
"I was so frightened," I said.
He kissed me. "And now you have no doubts."
I shook my head.
"You are going to stay with me. You let him know."
"I think he knows already."
"I am going to give you a drink and take you back to the hotel."
"They will be wondering what has become of me. I'll go back alone. You have to be here to make sure the fire is kept under control."
"There are men here to do that. They know what has to be done." He looked out. "It's almost over now. The blackened stalks will cut well tomorrow. The operation was a success ... the greatest success I have ever known. Come along. I'm going to take you back in the carriage. I'll send your horse back tomorrow. You can't ride as you are. No saddle. How very indecorous. And all for me. I am so happy tonight. Tell me how very scared you were."
"You know."
"I saw it in your face. There was that other time. Do you remember when I went pearl diving?"
"I remember it well."
"You did not like my going down to the sea bed, did you?"
"I thought of sharks."
"I promise I won't dive for pearls when we are married."
I touched his face lightly. "You are a very forceful man," I said.
"Well, you are no meek Griselda yourself. After all it's you I have fallen in love with and you with me. Just as we are ... warts and all, as they say. I wouldn't have one little bit of you changed and that's the truth."
"Nor I," I said.
"Come, take this. It will do you good. You were very shaken, you know."
"Yes, 1 do know that."
"Riding through the night ..."
I sipped the drink and he sat beside me and put his arm about me. I felt suddenly happy. It was as though this evening everything had been resolved.
He drove me back in the carriage.
They had been wondering what had happened to me.
I explained and Milton went into some detail about the way in which they burned the canes every now and then when it was necessary to make cutting easier.
"Annalice was so worried on my account. She thought I was in my burning plantation and dashed over ... just as she was ... on horseback. I think she was going to plunge in and haul me back to safety."
"I don't know what I was going to do," I said. "I thought the whole place was on fire."
"Won't you stay and dine with us?" asked Raymond.
"Thanks, no. I must get back to make sure everything is all right. It's under control but one never knows. It's a tricky business."
"I can understand that."
"I should retire early if I were you," said Milton to me. "Take a little coconut milk before you go to sleep. It's very soothing. I'll tell Maria to take it up to your room."
He was already assuming a proprietorial air. I wondered if the others noticed it. I did not care if they did. I was experiencing a kind of exultation. Tomorrow I must speak to Raymond. I would explain and I was sure he would understand.
Milton left. "I'll see you tomorrow evening. I'll give you the day to set everything in order," were his parting words.
He meant of course my speaking to Raymond.
I wanted to talk to him. I even thought of doing so that evening. But I could hardly do so with Felicity there; and now that he had arrived she did not go to her room early as she had done before. She wanted to be where he was all the time.
I was glad. I felt everything could work out neatly after all. Raymond would go home and take Felicity with him. And in time... perhaps before very long... they would marry. I saw how suited they were to each other. Raymond needed someone to lean on him, that he might take care of her; and Felicity needed Raymond because he was the only one in the world who could wipe out memories of her terrible experiences.
I was happier than I had ever been, I think, on that night.
I was absent-minded during dinner and I retired early. The first thing I saw when I opened the door was the glass of milk on my table.
I smiled. He had spoken to Maria then. I did not want the milk, but it was his wish that I should take it and just because of that I would, I supposed.
I looked at myself in the mirror. I saw there was a smudge on the bodice of my dress. No one had mentioned it. My hair was a little loose too. My eyes were bright though. I looked slightly dishevelled but very happy.
I undressed, thinking of the next day. I must speak to Raymond as soon as I was alone with him. I would make him see that what had happened was inevitable. He would understand; and there would be Felicity waiting to comfort him. I think he loved Felicity more deeply than he realized. He had been so concerned for her, so eager to look after her.
Yes, it was all working out very satisfactorily indeed.
I undressed and brushed my hair.
I saw the milk by the side of my bed and remembered Milton's face, the brightness of his eyes which shone so blue in his sunburned face, his triumphant pleasure because I had betrayed my true feelings.
I picked up the glass and took a sip.
There was something rather sickly about coconut milk at times. I set it down again. I had no inclination to drink it.
I sat up in bed for a while thinking of the fire and that moment when I had seen him coming towards me.
I took more of the milk. I thought it tasted a little strange. I put it
down and in doing so spilt some on the table. I got out of bed to find a cloth and when I came back to the table I saw that there was some sediment in the milk on the table.
I had never noticed that before.
I wiped the table. I was beginning to feel amazingly sleepy. I got into bed. The room was slipping away from me. I lay down and must almost immediately have fallen into a deep sleep.
THE DISCOVERY
Usually I awoke early, but the next morning it was the sound of Maria in my room which brought me out of a heavy sleep. I felt a twinge of alarm. Something had happened to me. My limbs felt leaden and I found I could arouse myself only with the utmost effort.
Maria was standing by my bed. She was looking at me in some consternation.
"Are you all right?" she asked.
"Yes, I think so. I slept very heavily."
I sat up in bed and put a hand to my head. Memories of yesterday came back to me. The fire... Milton ... my arriving back at the hotel.
"I feel strange," I said.
I remembered Milton's saying that he would tell Maria to take up some milk for me. I turned my head. There was nothing on the table, and it looked as though the wood had been freshly polished.