A Spear of Summer Grass - By Deanna Raybourn Page 0,42

inside. I’ll be back tomorrow with the supplies from the duka.”

Before I had a chance to protest his peremptory tone, he was gone. The garden was full of cool green shadows and strange birdcalls. I put out a hand and felt it catch on a thorn. It was Eden before the fall, lush and promising and full of sharp dangers. I made my way through the bushes and out onto the lawn. Dora was snipping some overgrown bougainvillea and humming.

“I was just beginning to worry. We’ll have to hurry if we’re to be ready on time for the Farradays’ party.” She peered at my shirt. “Is that blood?”

“And milk. Apparently it’s Africa’s answer to the cocktail.”

* * *

I dressed in white that evening. Nothing is more luxurious in a hot climate than white, and I had a backless number from Patou that was begging for an outing. I sat stripped to my French silk knickers while Dora applied poudre de riz with a lavish hand and a swansdown puff. When she had powdered me from face to feet, she helped me into the scrap of fragile white silk. With it I wore Shalimar and scarlet lipstick and the black silk ribbon at my wrist. Dora was nicely turned out in one of the watery greens she preferred for evening wear, and we were just putting the finishing touches on our toilettes when Rex Farraday arrived in style. He was driving a butter-coloured Rolls-Royce and the engine purred like a big cat as he left it running. He bounded up the front steps of Fairlight, dashing in his formal black, his arms open wide.

“Delilah Drummond, what a delight to have you here!”

He enfolded me in a careful embrace. Rex was always one to appreciate an ensemble. He drew back and studied me. “I don’t know how you do it, but you don’t look a day older than the last time I saw you and it must be going on seven years.”

“Nearer to ten, but you are sweet. And handsome as ever! I do love the silver at your temples. Very distinguished! Rex, do you know my cousin, Dora?”

He was equally charming to her, but then Rex was a sort of purveyor of goodwill. Everyone felt better around him. Men sat a little straighter and fancied themselves heroes while women touched their hair and toyed with the idea of taking him to bed. He was not the most notorious playboy, but he’d been known to follow an interesting opportunity if it shimmied by in a tight silk dress. He just had a knack for making friends. He was the sort of man who could get himself elected head of the social committee in Hell.

“Would you like a drink, Rex? I’m afraid the wine cellar’s not actually stocked, but we at least have gin and champagne.”

“Tempting, my dear, but Helen is far too excited about seeing you. If I delay even a moment, I’ll never hear the end of it. Shall we?”

He shepherded us out to the car.

“Half an hour’s drive should see us there. We’re just up the valley from you,” he informed us as he slid behind the wheel. The interior was sinfully soft crimson leather, and I sank gratefully into it, happy that Africa could offer some comforts. Rex seemed to intuit my thoughts. He laughed.

“Yes, dear Delilah. Africa is not entirely uncivilized.”

“It’s a fascinating place,” I told him truthfully, “but you have to admit it is a bit rough around the edges.”

“I shouldn’t think that would bother you. Didn’t I hear you were brought up on a ranch in Wyoming or Montana or some such place?”

“Louisiana,” I corrected sharply. “And it wasn’t a cattle ranch. It was a sugar plantation an hour outside New Orleans. We had opera, for God’s sake.”

At that he threw his head back and laughed. “Of course, Fairlight isn’t exactly the best introduction to the comforts we have.” He sobered a little. “It’s a shame, really. Finest piece of property in the valley, and it’s being run right into the ground. Still, I think you’ll find plenty here to amuse you,” he added, opening the throttle. We raced down the road, sending up showers of red dust in our wake.

9

Helen screamed when we arrived, throwing her hands into the air and rushing out to meet us. I wasn’t even fully out of the car before she wrapped her arms around me and crushed me to her. It was a painful experience. Helen always was bony