`I can,' he responded with the suggestion of a quick grin, `but maybe later.'
`About that we'll see,' she said, with mock primness, as they walked towards the hotel entrance. `I have not yet forgiven you for deserting me for so long. Although I suppose I'll have to, as you spent most of the time in prison.' They then agreed to meet in an hour.
Up in her room Manon collapsed upon her bed and lay for a while staring at the ceiling. Her heart beat a little faster as she thought of the narrow escape she had had. It was quite a long time now since she had reluctantly come to the conclusion that, having had his fun with her, Gregory had found some other woman who appealed to him, so she had lost him for good. Her hopes of getting him to marry her having come to an end, no reason remained why she should endeavour to put a check on Pierre Lacost's activities. More than ever in need of money, she had become desperately anxious that he should secure the Maria Amalia's gold, and to help him she had even connived at murder.
He had told her about the partnership that he had entered into with de Carvalho, then that he meant to get rid of him and how. She had agreed to lend her island for the deed, and only over lunch that day Pierre had told her that it had been satisfactorily carried out. Earlier he had wanted her to play hostess to de Carvalho, but, just in case some question about the way in which he had met his end should later be raised, she had refused, and had left her island before the Colons arrived so that, whatever happened, she could never be associated with de Carvalho's death. Now, she had good reason to, thank the gods for that cautious streak in her nature; for, had she remained while the Colons were there, Joe Joe would have told Gregory of it. Then she could not possibly have concealed from him her association with Pierre.
That Gregory had swallowed her story about lending her home to Andre Gougon without the least idea that he had become a crook she had no doubt. And here was this immensely wealthy potential husband back again, within her grasp. He had not met and gone off with some other woman, after all, but had spent the greater part of the time they had been separated immured in prison. He had made it obvious, too, that he was as mad about her as ever. What stupendous luck.
But she was very far from out of the wood yet. Along with his other activities, Pierre had continued as her lover and now, having returned to Suva that morning, he had taken a room at the Grand Pacific. Only her patron saint could have intervened to prevent Gregory from finding them lunching together, and over lunch Pierre had declared with gusto his intention of sleeping with her that night. Gregory obviously meant to also. Somehow a clash must be avoided, but it was going to tax all her ingenuity.
Jumping off the bed, she hastily began to dress, then made up her face. As soon as she had finished, she phoned down to the office and got the number of Pierre 's room. Hurrying along to it, she knocked on the door. To her consternation, there was no reply. Half running, she returned to her own room and swiftly wrote a note:
Sallust is here. You know my intentions towards him. Remember all you owe me. For God's sake keep out of the way and leave this hotel as soon as possible. In no circumstances come to my room tonight.
Putting the note in an envelope she again hastened to Pierre 's room and slipped it under the door. Then, endeavouring to still her agitation, she went downstairs to meet Gregory.
He, in the meantime, while washing and shaving, had been considering what he should do about Manon. Highly conscious that to sleep with she was a woman in a thousand, he was greatly looking forward to the night to come. But what then? He was expecting to leave Fiji for Tujoa in four or five days. That seemed all too short a time in which to enjoy to the full a resumption of their liaison. Should he take her with him? That was the question. After all, why not? Through her connection with the Colons she could be dangerous. But he credited himself with the ability to keep an eye on that.
If he did take her he would have, to some extent, to let her in on what was going on. But how much? Obviously that Olinda now held the licence, so that should Lacost and his pals attempt to salvage the gold they could be legally branded as pirates. Yet they must know that already. So, if he kept her in the dark about his day to day plans, what harm could she do?
When they met in the lounge for drinks it was overtly as old friends lover and mistress who were happy with one another and had not a care in the world. Unaware that Manon already knew that de Carvalho was dead, Gregory related quite casually how, during his visit to her island, he had learned that the Brazilian had accompanied Lacost to it and had been hit on the head by a falling coconut.
Later, over dinner, he referred airily to de Carvalho's death being a stroke of good luck for James, as the handsome young Ratu had for some time been in love with the dead man's widow. He went on to say how well everything was panning out, as Olinda now held the licence and, as she reciprocated James' love, they would in future work together.
Having given Manon this handout of information, he felt that he had put her in the picture as far as was necessary. Then he laid himself out to charm her. While doing so, in fact during the whole of dinner, he had sensed that she was having difficulty in concealing nervous tension. That, he suspected, might well be accounted for by the possibility that, in spite of her having said that she had not got a beau, she was in fact having an affaire with someone in the hotel, or anyway in Suva, and feared that at any moment her new lover might put in an appearance.
It was not until they were having coffee and liqueurs in the lounge that she gave a reason for the nervy state in which she had been all the evening. Hesitantly, she said
`Cheri, you must not come to my room tonight. I could not be sorrier. It is appalling luck when, after all this time, we have just met again. But there is no controlling nature. Fortunately, I am over the worst, so tomorrow I'll be all right. We'll just have to be patient and make up for lost time as soon as I'm well enough to have you love me.'
Naturally, Gregory was disappointed and, while her excuse might have been valid, it tended to deepen his suspicion that she was expecting another lover. To test the situation further, he said:
`Of course I understand. But never mind. It's so long since we have seen each other that we still have lots to talk about, so I'll come to your room anyhow. I'll bring along a bottle of champagne and we'll have a cosy chat. At least I'll be able to enjoy some of your luscious kisses.'
`No!' she protested hastily. `No, please! When I am like this I can't bear to be touched. And I'm feeling rotten. I meant to go to bed early and take a sleeping pill. I promise you that tomorrow I'll make it up to you a hundred fold.'
`That settles it,' he thought, and for a moment his sense of mischief led him to contemplate walking in on her a little after midnight. But he quickly dismissed the idea. Not only could it lead to a most unpleasant scene, as a result of which he might lose her altogether, but it would be a dirty trick to play. She had every right to take another lover. In fact, believing that he had deserted her, it would have been surprising if she hadn't. After all, what really mattered was that she had shown real delight at his return; and if she had another lover she obviously meant to get rid of him as soon as possible.
When they had finished their liqueurs she went up to her room and shortly afterwards he also went up to read in bed; so he did not see Lacost when the Colon passed through the lounge soon after ten o'clock on his way upstairs.
On reading the note Manon had left for him, Lacost gave vent to a string of unprintable oaths. He had believed that, having made away with de Carvalho, the treasure was now as good as his. On reaching Tujoa, he had meant to tell Elboeuf that he was acting on behalf of the dead man's widow, hoping that if Elboeuf called on her for verification, she would reply in the affirmative. Then, by the time she arrived in Tujoa, he would have got up the gold and have devised some means of swindling her out of her share of it. Now the accursed Sallust and the young Ratu, of whom he had heard nothing for months, had suddenly appeared on the scene again and threatened to ruin all his plans.