Free Bond of Fate by Jane Corrie Page B

after their dance, and soon their small party was joined by other friends of theirs. It seemed their policy not to put in an appearance until the party was well advanced, and Melanie was able to relax into some semblance of obscurity in the midst of the celebrations, while old memories of past occasions were recalled. As Julian did not take the floor again in spite of several pleading looks from the wives of the other men in the company, Melanie was spared the embarrassment of having to refuse any offers to partner anyone, should such an offer be made.
    By two o'clock, Melanie was more than ready for bed; she felt distinctly light-headed, and had wisely refused a fourth glass of champagne as she was beginning to realise that it was not quite the innocuous beverage that she had thought it was.
    It seemed to her that the party got louder and the music accompanied by native drums began to beat incessantly on her reeling senses. She was not inebriated in the strict sense of the word, only extremely tired, and longed for the peace and quiet of her room, and while the men's conversation turned inevitably back to business matters, leaving their women folk to chat about this and that, Melanie slipped away from the company and stood just outside the ballroom windows that opened on to a large verandah, drinking in the pure night air.
    It was a moment of perfect peace for her, and her wondering eyes went slowly over the dark blue velvet sky with its myriad lantern stars. She had no other
     
    thought in her mind but the beauty of the Caribbean night.
    `What the devil are you doing mooning out here?' Julian's hard voice cut into her reverie like a crack of lightning in the lull of a storm, and Melanie blinked at the suddenness of his appearance. She had stood near enough the window to be seen if Julian had suddenly wondered where she had got to, for on several occasions many others of the company had done the same thing, only to get a breath of fresh air, and she didn't understand why her following their example should have aroused his annoyance.
    `I was just getting some fresh air,' she began, and would have gone on to ask if he was ready to leave, but his next action prevented any such question for, to her complete amazement, he jerked her into his arms and began kissing her in a very businesslike manner.
    For one wild moment, Melanie thought that he was drunk, and as soon as his lips left her stunned ones, she attempted to free herself from his embrace only to find that he had no intention of releasing her, and looked as if he was moving in for another session after giving her breathing space from the first.
    As she tried to regain some sort of composure, realising that they were in view of some of the guests, she had the sense to work out that this was probably his way of settling all doubts as to their relationship as far as the others were concerned, but she also recalled his promise that she had nothing to fear from him, and felt very angry at his breaking what was for her a very important rule. She knew that she could do nothing about it then and there, but she meant to say plenty when they got back to their suite!
    At this point, however, a woman's husky voice intervened in her indignant musings. 'Darling ! How
     
    wonderful! I didn't know you were here.'
    Melanie felt herself released and found her eyes meeting a pair of dark eyes, incredibly like Celia's, but there the resemblance ended, for this woman was a very lovely brunette, whose white ball gown provided the perfect setting for her dark beauty.
    `Didn't you?' Julian's voice held a definite touch of irony as he surveyed the woman. 'Melanie, this is Zara
    `His ex, dear,' Zara Cridell said in an attempt at levity that didn't quite come off, for her dark eyes were staring hungrily at Julian, and then rested speculatively on Melanie. 'Not quite what I would have said was your style, darling,' she murmured, looking back at Julian, then to Melanie, 'We must get to know one