The Thousand Faces of Night - Jack Higgins [49]
An expression of hurt shadowed her eyes. 'Do I have to tell you?' she said. 'Do I really have to tell you?'
He stared into her beautiful, childlike face, and the old warmth moved inside him. He leaned towards her, and she slipped a hand behind his neck and fell backwards against the cushions, pulling him down. He felt the softness of her pressed against him, yielding to him, and he crushed his mouth against hers.
After a while, she pulled away slightly. 'I'm so glad I got through to you before you started for London.'
Marlowe kissed the warm hollow of her neck. 'I'm not going to London.'
'But why not?' she said in surprise. 'I thought it was essential for you to do another trip?'
'It is,' he told her. 'But Mac's gone tonight.'
'Oh, I see.' There was silence for a while and then she said, 'Hugh, what are we going to do?'
He grunted and kissed her shoulder. 'Hell, I don't know,' he said. 'I'll be moving on soon, I suppose.'
She stiffened and said sharply, 'I see.' There was another short silence. 'I believe my uncle called on you this afternoon?'
Marlowe pushed himself up and reached for a cigarette. 'That's right. He had a heart attack, as a matter of fact. I thought at first he was going to peg out on us.'
She played nervously with the collar of her dress. 'Yes, he's had several attacks.' She took a deep breath and went on, 'As a matter of fact I happen to know he's only got six months to live at the most.'
Marlowe paused, his glass half-way to his lips. 'That's interesting,' he said. 'It gives the Magellans some hope, anyway.'
She jumped up angrily. 'Oh, damn the Magellans. Can't you think of anything else?' She paced nervously across the floor and then swung round to face him. 'I'll put it in a nutshell for you. My uncle is going to die. Perhaps tonight or tomorrow, certainly within the next few months, and I'm his sole heir.'
Marlowe swallowed his whisky. 'So what?'
'Can't you see?' she said. 'If only you can persuade the Magellans to sell and we get everything back on an even keel, then it's only a matter of waiting.'
'Waiting for what?' Marlowe said softly.
She sighed impatiently. 'For my uncle to die. Then I'll get the business and you can run it for me. Don't you see, darling? We'll be secure for life.'
Marlowe carefully stubbed out his cigarette and stood up. 'You'll be secure for life, you mean.' He walked past her and went out into the hall.
She ran after him and grabbed at his shoulder as he started to unlock the front door. 'What's wrong?' she demanded. 'What are you doing?'
He pulled away from her and opened the door. 'I'm going,' he said. 'Why shouldn't I? You haven't any claim on me.'
There was an expression of complete shock on her face. She shook her head dumbly. 'I don't understand.'
'I could say it in four-letter words,' Marlow told her, 'but even I have certain standards.' She still looked puzzled, and he sighed. 'Let's put it this way, angel. I've met all sorts, but you take the prize.' He shook his head. 'You don't even know what I'm talking about, do you? People like you never do.'
For a brief moment she continued to stare at him in that dumb, uncomprehending way, and then fury blazed in her eyes and she slashed her hand across his face. 'Get out!' she screamed. 'Go on! Get out!'
He gripped her wrists tightly and held her against him, fury moving inside him. She glared at him for a moment, and spat in his face. And then she called him a certain name.
He stared at her in amazement, and as he released her, he started to laugh. He was still laughing as he crossed the courtyard and went through the dark entry into the street.
He drove back to Litton with the window down, and somehow the cold wind seemed to have a cleansing effect. When he thought of Jenny O'Connor it was with pity. After all, she had to live with herself. That was probably the greatest punishment of all. He deliberately pushed all thoughts of her from his mind and concentrated on examining his own future.
His original idea about going to Ireland still seemed a good one. As he drove into the farmyard he decided