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restlessly in his arms he reluctantly let her go. For a moment his eyes
looked darkly dangerous and his mouth was grim. But as she looked
back at him uncertainly, he smiled and the moment passed!
Hazel, too, asked if she was going to be a white bride, accepting
Kyla's comment that white didn't suit her with a sceptical shake of
her head. All the same, she approved of the dress Kyla chose, a
graceful, simple style in flowing sheer material with a misty pattern
of autumn leaves over a golden-bronze petticoat lining. A length of
plain fabric in the same bronze shade had been posted to Linda for
their mother to make up for the bridesmaid, and Kyla heaved a sigh
of relief. She would be glad, she thought, when it was all over, and
she quickly quelled the tiny tremor of trepidation that the thought
brought with it.
Linda stayed at the flat with Kyla the night before the wedding. Their
parents had been left at the shop to sleep in the newly decorated
apartment over it, after a dinner in town with Marc. Kyla thought
they were cautiously pleased with her choice, and the evening had
been a gay one. Kyla was a little nervous, but she hid that under a
more lively manner than usual, and Linda had helped. At eighteen,
her sister had grown into a nice, uncomplicated young woman, Kyla
realised. At first they had been a little shy with each other, as always
when they met after a long separation. But Linda had a new poise
that Kyla didn't remember in the gawky teenager she had known, and
soon they were talking easily with an intimacy that Kyla felt they
would not lose again.
'I like Marc,' Linda told her as they prepared for bed that night. 'But
he's deeper than he seems on the surface, isn't he? You can see it in
his face and sometimes in his eyes -'
'What do you mean? Tonight he was more light-hearted than usual
we all were. It was a sort of celebration, after all.'
'Oh, yes. But I meant he gives the impression that he keeps his
feelings under cover, but they'd be pretty devastating if he didn't.
Only sometimes, just for an instant, they show, like when he looks at
you when you're not aware of it.'
Kyla said, 'How does he look at me?'
Linda looked faintly embarrassed. 'Don't you know?' she said. Then,
'No, I suppose not. Whenever you looked at him, he turned it off.
Deliberately.'
'You're imagining things.'
'No, I'm not. Mum saw it too, and it bothered her. You know how
old-fashioned she is. I wasn't even allowed a boy-friend until last
year. No wonder you left home -!'
Kyla coloured faintly, and Linda said with restraint, 'Sorry, that was a
stupid thing to say.'
'You know why I left home, then,' Kyla said quietly.
'Oh, yes. I didn't at the time, not entirely. I was supposed to be too
young to understand, of course, and Mum and Dad have never talked
about it. I don't suppose it occurred to them that I'd find out from
somewhere else ...'
'Oh, God!' Kyla exclaimed. 'Did you -?'
'You know what small towns are like that's why you left, isn't it? Of
course I did. It doesn't matter to me,' she said quickly, seeing Kyla's
stricken face. 'You surely don't think I blame you, do you?'
Kyla said shakily, 'You're far too nice for that, aren't you? Don't ever
do anything as stupid as I did, will you, Linda?'
'As if I'd get the chance!' Linda grinned. 'Don't you think Mum and
Dad make sure of that? Anyway, fancy talking like this the night
before your wedding. It's all over and done with, and I'm so glad for
you. Marc is the understanding type, isn't he? Well, he must be, or
you wouldn't be marrying him.'
'Yes, he is,' said Kyla. He's very understanding.'
'Good. Some men are absolute idiots about it. I suppose you know.'
'Oh, I know,' said Kyla, with soft bitterness.
'Well, don't think about it any more,' Linda said with determined
cheer. 'Did my dress turn out the way you wanted it? Yours is
dreamy -'
Dreamy her wedding day was like that; she got through it in a sort
of half-conscious haze. Nothing seemed real, except for the moment
when Marc put a gold ring on her finger and she realised his hands
were not quite steady. She raised surprised eyes to his face and saw a
deep flame in his eyes as he repeated the words of the marriage
service, and for a moment reality broke in like an icy blast of wind.
I can't do this, she thought with sudden clarity, but she heard her own
voice making the vows that bound her to this tall, grim-mouthed
stranger with the frightening light at the back of his eyes, and there
was no going back any more.
Mrs Bridgeway and Meg had made a buffet meal for all the guests at
Marc's house. Kyla endured the congratulations showered on her and
Marc, drank some champagne and cut her wedding cake obediently.
Once or twice she caught her husband's eyes, and shied away in
panic. She knew now what Linda had meant about the way he looked
at her. But now he wasn't bothering to turn it off when she caught the
lode. She thought of his considerate, cautious treatment of her during
their engagement, and had a clear conviction that now the gloves
were off. In his eyes there was frank sexual hunger, and he was no
longer making any attempt to hide it.
She had a strong desire to escape, but she dared not leave his side.
She was desperately afraid that her father might feel a need to take
Marc aside for a man-to-man talk.
When they separated to change, she hovered outside the spare room
until Marc had closed the door to his own room, and hurried into the
silk blouse and casual skirt laid ready on the bed. Her hair was still
neat, and she freshened her make-up hastily and stepped out of the
room as soon as she heard footsteps in the wide hall.
'I was coming to see if you were ready,' said Marc, his eyes sweeping
over her with obvious appreciation. 'Can we go?'
She would never be ready, but fatalistically she told him that she was.
In fifteen minutes they were on the road, leaving their guests to
continue the party and clear up afterwards. It was a three-hour drive
to Auckland; where they were to spend the night in a hotel before
taking a plane the following day to spend a week in Sydney. When
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