Читать книгу The Man Who Loved Lions - Ethel Lina White - Страница 18

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She wished he had not used the words which were spoken in his softest voice. They made her realise that she was deeply distrustful of her guide. She was completely at his mercy as she blundered along blindly, obeying the pressure of his arm.

"I like the dark," he said. "It gives me a sense of power. I feel like the Invisible Man, because I can see others and they cannot see me. But it's a pity you are in partial eclipse, Ann. Of course, you know you've grown beautiful."

His last words were spoken so tenderly that his voice might have been that of a romantic lover. Ann reflected what a shock it would be—after being wooed by Richard in the blackness—when his dark scored face was revealed in a beam of light.

As he went on talking, she made a disturbing discovery. Although they had crossed the flagged courtyard, they were not walking over the beaten earth of the main path. Instead, her feet first crunched gravel and then stumbled over rough grass.

"Where are you taking me?" she asked. "I know this is not the right way."

"It's a short-cut," he replied. "You haven't been here before."

His fingers tightened on her arm and he whispered in her ear.

"Of course you noticed that Isabella was jealous as hell. You have made a great comeback. In future I'm going to see a lot of you. What do you say to that?"

Feeling that some response was expected, Ann spoke without thought.

"I'm thinking about something else, Richard. You were expecting us to meet here to-night. The door was open and the tower-room was lit. You made a register. So what made you change your mind about the reunion?"

"Because, to quote Browning more or less, 'the net hath caught the fish.' I wanted the reunion to pull in one person only. You. Don't you know I've always been crazy about you? Now listen..."

Although his face was touching hers, Ann did not shrink from him. All her attention was gripped by the threat of a new peril.

The path which had been sloping downhill gradually, had become a steep incline. As the gradient grew sharper, she had somewhat the sensation of slipping down a chute. She was forced to quicken her pace to keep her footing, while every fresh step into the darkness seemed to be leading down to the mouth of a shaft. Soon she must run—run faster and ever faster—until her feet shot out into vacancy and she crashed down into blackness. A hideous suspicion flashing across her mind made her scream:

"Stop, stop. You are taking me down to the bear-pit."

"Don't be a little fool," cackled Richard. "I may pay a bear but I do my own hugging." His arm tightened around her as though to illustrate his words. "Now you must trust yourself entirely to me. We are coming to a steep flight of steps. Feel with your feet...That's right. I won't let you fall."

As she was bumped down the treads of an invisible stone stair, Ann began to feel ashamed of herself. Her father's praise—"Not a nerve in her body"—reproached her with cowardice. She felt that even the grizzly was qualified to sneer at her, for allowing herself to be lugged about like a parcel.

"I've made a complete fool of myself," she confessed when they reached level ground. "I felt so helpless, not being able to see."

"I understand," Richard assured her suavely. "Besides, you took a bit of a jolt about Stephen. Too bad missing him...Now we are coming out on the road."

Ann heard the clang of an iron gate closing behind them.

"What luck," remarked Richard. "There's a bus coming in the right direction. Can you see its lights?"

"No, but I can hear it coming."

"Then it's 'Good-bye,'" His voice changed. "We won't kiss, my sweet. You've been putting on an excellent act but you didn't fool me. You made your mistake when you let me make love to you while you are all out for Stephen. Not like you, Ann, and most revealing. It told me all I wanted to know...Here's your Black Maria."

He snapped on his torch for the first time, throwing its light down as he hailed the driver. As he helped Ann into the dim interior of the bus, he spoke in a low voice.

"Don't try to come back. You will find the tower door locked."