Free The Man at Mulera by Kathryn Blair

bed, listened to the concerto of the rain and eventually fell into an uneasy sleep. She awoke to a cloudless sunrise, remembered instantly and crept along the corridor to the living-room. Slowly, she turned the key and edged open the door.
    The room was neat and untenanted; he had even emptied and dusted the ashtray. Lou opened a window, breathed in the rain-washed, scented air. This was the day of Ross Gilmore ’ s party.
    Ross came to the bungalow at about ten, walked into the living-room and called lazily, “ Anyone at home? ”
    Lou heard him in her bedroom, hurriedly blotted the letter she had been writing and went through to see him.
    She was wearing a blue sunfrock and a row of white beads, and her hair was brushed into a careless cap of short deep waves. She stopped and looked at him, standing outlined near the window. He was incredibly tall and broad, and a light shone upon the tight skin of his jaw. For some reason Lou ’ s heart skipped a beat that it was never to pick up again.
    “ Did you want me? ” she asked, with a curious huskiness.
    “ Want? ” He savored the word, and let it drop. Negligently, he said. “ You ’ ve been here about ten days and haven ’ t seen the Lake. It ’ s worth the trip after a good rain. How would you like to go down there for a pic ni c? ”
    “ Today? What about your party? ”
    “ That ’ s hours away. I ’ ve stowed a box of food in the car. We can bathe and have lunch, and get back here in time for you to shower and have a rest before dressing. I promised Keith we ’ d do it one day. ”
    “ Just the ... three of us? ”
    “ That ’ s right, little one, ” with a narrow smile. “ Think you can stand it? ”
    “ I ’ ll try. ”
    “ Fine. ” He jingled something in his jacket pocket, pulled it out and showed it in the palm of his hand. “ Know anything about this? ”
    It was a man ’ s stainless steel wristwatch; the worn leather strap had dragged away from its metal anchorage, and was stiff and dark.
    “ No. ” she said with a flutter in her throat. “ Where did you find it? ”
    “ On the path. It must have been out all night in the rain, ” He dropped the watch back into his pocket “ I ’ ll find the owner some time. Run along, Louise, and bring Keith back with you. Don ’ t forget your bathing kit . ”
    She left him, rather hurriedly, paused for a moment before entering Keith ’ s bedroom. The child looked up from playing with a train and said yes, he ’ d like to go down to the Lake. He found his briefs and trotted through to the living-room, and five minutes later Lou joined them. She had a swim-suit rolled in a towel under her arm, and dangled a white cap from her fingers.
    “ Are you sure this is all we ’ ll need? ” she asked.
    “ Quite sure, ” Ross told her. “ Ali knows we ’ re going. ”
    He swung Keith into the back of the car—not the estate wagon but a streamlined saloon—and put Lou into the front seat. He took his place and they were off, crunching down the lane towards the main road.
    Lou ’ s uneasiness wore off. She felt the breeze through her hair, and Keith leaning over the back of the seat between herself and Ross, and she saw that they were turning away from the Chekwe stores and towards the misty blue valley between the hills. They ran between the Mulera coffee trees, and down the edge of the cotton fields, crossed a wooden bridge which spanned a swamp where rice grew.
    “ I ’ ve wanted to come this way, ” she said. “ The views here are so tantalizing that you feel you must investigate them. At least, I do. ”
    “ Plenty of time, ” Ross commented. “ Not getting bored, are you? ”
    “ Of course not, but I would like to be able to get about and see more of the country. Where ’ s the great Shire River? ”
    “ South, from here. Our river is the Kolana, and it runs out into Kolana Bay. Several of us have shacks above the beach and keep canoes. Our tastes, ” with faint mockery, “ are