Free The Sun and Catriona by Rosemary Pollock Page A

little. His glance rested once again on Catriona, and she realised that for the first time he was noticing the change in her appearance. Absurdly, she began to feel self - conscious, but he didn’t comment. Instead, he looked rather wearily at the papers littering his desk and remarked that he had a good deal of work to do.
    ‘There are various matters that must be attended to this evening. However, the problem of Antoinette is also of serious importance.’ He hesitated, then came to a decision. ‘I would like to show you something,’ he said abruptly, ‘but I am afraid it will be necessary for you to have dinner with me. How soon can you be ready?’
    ‘You mean—go out to dinner with you ? ’ Catriona was aware she must have sounded startled.
    ‘You feel the experience might prove too painful ? ’ he suggested, dryly. ‘Even if you are determined to leave us, however, I think you should allow me this one opportunity to prove my point.’ He looked at her again, and this time his eyes held hers. She felt almost as if she were being hypnotised.
    ‘I’d rather not ... ’ she began.
    ‘You would prefer not to be under any kind of obligation to me?’ He smiled rather oddly. ‘You need not worry about that, I am not promising you a pleasant evening.’
    ‘It isn’t necessary. I—I’ve decided I will stay on. If you want me to.’
    His face betrayed no reaction whatsoever. After a tiny pause he said coolly: ‘Excellent. I’m so glad you have decided to be sensible. I would still be grateful, however, if you would have dinner with me.’
    ‘All right, if you think it’s important. But I’ll have to change.’
    He shook his head. ‘There is no need for that. In any case, if we delay much longer we may not get a table.’ He stood up. ‘I shall expect to see you in five minutes. My car will be outside the door.’
    Catriona didn’t want to co-operate. She wanted to oppose him in every possible way, but something seemed to have happened to her will. She knew he was going to subject her to some bizarre kind of experience, but somehow she couldn’t say ‘no’.
    She went up to her room, and finding that Toni had vanished wondered briefly whether she ought to look for the other girl and tell her what was happening. In the end, having taken a hurried shower and run a comb through her hair, she simply left a message with Carmen, who had come in to turn down her bed. After all, she wouldn’t be very long. Nothing the Maltese Islands had to offer could induce her to linger over dinner with Peter Vilhena.
    When she went down again she found him waiting for her in the street. He was leaning against the bonnet of his car, staring broodingly at the pavement, his fine dark brows drawn together, and when Catriona appeared he stared at her blankly, as if he had difficulty in remembering who she was.
    Without a word, he put her into the car, and she began to feel increasingly angry. Whatever he was seeking to prove, she disliked his method of setting about it, just as she disliked everything about him. In the end she had decided not to leave, but it was only because of Toni, who at the moment needed a friend even more than Catriona herself needed her freedom.
    They drove out of Valletta, taking a road which led them through a series of well-ordered suburbs. The streets were lined with neat, brightly painted houses, and she noticed that the people looked cheerful and prosperous. Black-haired children played noisily on the pavements. Everywhere there were strolling couples, good-looking boys and pretty girls, their arms entwined about each other. Catriona glanced sideways at the Count.
    ‘Some young people,’ she remarked, ‘seem to have a good deal of freedom, even in Malta.’
    He was silent for a moment. ‘Young men and women go out together, yes,’ he acknowledged evenly. ‘Before such a thing is allowed, however, the girl’s parents will usually make extensive enquiries. The boy must be a person they can