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‘Understandable,’ said Alain tersely. ‘I’ve often thought the same thing about you myself.’
Claire ground her teeth.
‘I can’t do a thing right where you’re concerned, can I?’ she demanded. ‘You’ve simply made up your mind that I’m selfish and that’s that!’
‘If the cap fits…’ murmured Alain.
‘You’re impossible!’ snapped Claire.
As they stood staring at each other in angry confrontation, Marie Rose appeared around the corner of the house. Her gaze darted from Alain’s grimly set jaw to Claire’s flushed cheeks.
‘Whatever’s going on?’ she asked in dismay.
‘Nothing important,’ muttered Claire, tossing her head and turning pointedly away from Alain. ‘Did you want something, Marie Rose?’
‘Yes—Alain. The other men are ready to lift the pig now and they want him to come and help.’
‘I couldn’t find the gloves,’ confessed Alain.
‘No problem,’ replied Marie Rose, brandishing them triumphantly. ‘Papa had left them in the flowerbed under the tulip tree, so we’re all organised now. Don’t you want to come and watch, Claire?’
‘All right,’ agreed Claire in a subdued voice.
She was so angry with Alain that she would gladly have climbed over the boundary wall and marched off along the beach without a backward glance, but such an action was unthinkable. After all, she was the guest of honour and the raising of the pig was the highlight of traditional Tahitian barbecue. So she followed her sister across the garden with no more than a single resentful glance at Alain. And when they stood on the edge of the smoking pit she watched with interest while the huge parcel was lifted carefully out and laid on a metal tray. Once the banana leaves were unwrapped, the smell of succulent barbecued pork filled the air.
‘Try a piece, Claire,’ urged her father.
‘Mmm. Wonderful,’ she approved, licking her fingers. ‘Even better than usual. Did you put something special in the marinade?’
‘Alain did,’ replied Roland. ‘It’s his recipe, so you’ll have to ask him if you want the secret.’
Alain. Always, Alain, thought Claire, with a flash of resentment. Can’t this family do anything without him these days? But she tried not to let any sign of her annoyance show in her face as she watched Alain carving the pork. All the same, she was conscious of Marie Rose watching her with a troubled expression. Forcing herself to smile, Claire looked across at her sister.
‘It’s a wonderful party, Marie Rose,’ she said. ‘I hope you didn’t spend days and days getting it all ready.’
‘I was happy to do it,’ replied Marie Rose. ‘I only hope you’re going to enjoy your stay here.’
There was such a worried note in her voice that Claire could have kicked herself. Poor Marie Rose! How typical of her to spend days preparing a welcome home party for Claire at a time when she was so busy. And how ungrateful it would be if Claire didn’t make any effort to enjoy herself! With that thought firmly in mind, Claire took her laden plate and sat at a table under the big tulip tree. She was soon deep in sparkling conversation with two of her cousins.
The meal was excellent and reflected the rich cultural diversity of Tahiti. Apart from the traditional Polynesian spread of barbecued pork, breadfruit, steamed yams and bland, porridge-like poi, there was a tempting array of other dishes. The Chungs, who lived across the road, had brought Chinese beef in black bean sauce on a bed of rice and crisp, stir-fried vegetables. And there were yards of crusty French bread, various chicken casseroles, salads and huge platters of luscious mangoes, pineapple and bananas. Finally, as a triumphant conclusion to the meal, Eve Beaumont cooked a huge pile of pancakes, doused them in Grand Marnier liqueur and set them alight. When the blue flames had finally died down everybody crowded around to eat the crisp, hot, syrupy crêpes. After that, people lay down under the coconut palms and rested while Roland played the ukulele.
The long, lazy afternoon wore on and at sunset Claire’s cousins brought out their tall wooden drums covered in shark skin and began to beat them, softly at first and then with rising excitement. Soon everybody was dancing the tamure, shaking their hips, clapping their knees and uttering shrill cries of excitement. For the first time Claire felt her tension ebb away from her completely and she kicked off her light sandals and joined the dancers. Conscious only of the compulsive rhythm of the drums, she let herself plunge into the movements of the dance and gave it all she had. Claire had always been an excellent dancer. Slim, lithe and graceful with boundless energy, she was soon vibrating joyously over the trampled sand. One by one the other dancers came to a halt and backed away. Claire was vaguely conscious that they had drifted away, but she did not pause to wonder why. The drums were still thudding urgently and that was enough to keep her hips shimmering at the speed of light and her arms swaying gracefully, while she called the traditional cries. Only when the frenzied drumbeat stopped and she slowed to a halt, gasping and laughing, did she realise that everyone was watching her. For a moment she stood still in confusion, then suddenly her cousin Pierre clapped his hands together sharply. A thunder of applause followed and her friends and neighbours gathered around, patting her on the back and admiring her skill.
‘You should stay and join our dancing troupe for the Bastille Day celebrations,’ said one of her friends. ‘We’d probably win the Heiva I Tahiti competition if we had you in our group.’
There were cries of agreement and other voices took up the plea. Then Alain Charpentier’s voice sounded chill and clear through the warm hubbub of their admiration.
‘Bastille Day is not until the fourteenth of July,’ he pointed out. ‘That’s well over a month away. Claire will have to go home to Australia and her job long before that.’
Claire’s head jerked up and she stared at him. He was standing under a coconut palm with his back to the blazing sunset, so she could not see his features clearly. But the red gleam of the dying sun outlined his taut, muscular body and revealed the tension in his stance. His arms were folded and his chin had an arrogant, challenging tilt to it. An obscure pain stabbed through her at his words. Not only because of the antagonism they revealed, but because of their substance. Alain was right. She would have to be back in Australia long before Bastille Day. Although it would never seem like home to her.
‘Well, we’ll have to see, won’t we?’ she said sweetly, resenting Alain’s obvious desire to be rid of her. ‘Perhaps I could get longer holiday leave from the TV station. Or perhaps I’ll decide to move back to Tahiti permanently. Who knows?’
She saw Alain’s fingers tighten convulsively on his folded arms at that, but he said nothing. And shortly afterwards the party broke up. An hour or so was spent tidying up and chatting to her parents, then the moment Claire had been dreading finally arrived. The moment when she found herself alone with Marie Rose.
Her sister was nothing if not direct. Kicking the door of their shared bedroom shut, Marie Rose flung herself down on one of the beds and fixed Claire with a piercing gaze.
‘Have you and Alain quarrelled already?’ she demanded.
Claire gave a weary sigh, sat down on the other bed and began to undress.
‘Oh, for heaven’s sake!’ she protested. ‘I was flying all night, Marie Rose, first from Australia to New Zealand and then to Tahiti. And I’ve just enjoyed an eight-hour party. I’m tired!’
She flung her clothes down in a heap, pulled on a nightdress and huddled into bed.
‘Not too tired to answer me,’ insisted Marie Rose, sitting on Claire’s bed and snatching the covers with a deft swoop. ‘Come on, big sister. Just answer a few painless questions and I promise you can have your sheets back.’
‘Beast!’ cried Claire, snatching wildly.
There was a sharp, ripping sound and they stared at each other in dismay, like two naughty children.
‘Now look what you’ve made me do!’ said Claire crossly.
Marie Rose gave a sudden, explosive giggle. Claire glared at her for a moment, then her gravity dissolved. The two of them lay hooting helplessly with laughter as if they were ten years old again. Then Claire hauled herself up against her pillows, arranged the mangled sheets around her and stared at her sister. Perhaps it was better to get the ordeal over with.
‘All right, what do you want to know?’ she demanded warily.
Marie Rose’s dancing brown eyes sobered suddenly.
‘Have you and Alain quarrelled?’ she asked.
‘Yes,’ said Claire curtly.
‘But why?’ persisted Marie Rose.
‘Because he hates me!’ flared Claire. ‘And he makes no secret of the fact.’
‘That’s not true,’ replied Marie Rose. ‘I’m sure it’s not! I would never have asked him to meet you at the airport if I’d thought that.’
Claire huddled her legs into a mound and clasped her arms defensively around her knees.
‘Why did you ask him anyway?’ she demanded. ‘That was one of the nastiest shocks I’ve had for a long time, being met by him.’
Marie Rose climbed to her feet and paced across the room with a guilty expression.
‘I’m sorry,’ she said. ‘I know you took a dislike to him years ago before you left for Australia, but I’ve never understood why. After all, you used to worship the ground he walked on.’
‘More fool me,’ exclaimed Claire tartly.
Marie Rose sighed.
‘But what went wrong between you?’ she demanded. ‘What did he do to offend you?’
Claire’s eyes took on a haunted look.
‘That’s my business and I’m not prepared to discuss it.’
‘Well, there you are!’ exclaimed Marie Rose. ‘I knew you’d probably refuse to come to the wedding if you knew he was the best man. And I couldn’t bear to get married without you, so I didn’t tell you before you left Sydney. Anyway, I hoped that if I sent Alain to meet you somehow you’d smooth things over between you.’
Claire snorted derisively.
‘Some chance!’ she exclaimed. ‘Especially when he loathes the sight of me.’
Marie Rose sank down on her own bed and stared at Claire in dismay.
‘You keep saying that,’ she protested. ‘But I’m sure it’s not true. Whenever Alain comes over here, he always asks if there’s any news of you and his eyes take on a kind of brooding look. I’ve always suspected that he was secretly in love with you.’
‘In love with me?’ echoed Claire. ‘Don’t be ridiculous.’
‘It’s not ridiculous!’ insisted Marie Rose. ‘Don’t you remember six years ago when he first came to Tahiti and Papa had that restaurant down on the beach below Point Cupid? Alain used to come in every day for lunch. I’m sure it’s because you were working as a waitress there.’
‘More likely because he enjoyed Papa’s cooking,’ said Claire sceptically.
‘I don’t think it was only that,’ objected Marie Rose. ‘His face used to light up whenever he saw you.’
Claire’s eyes took on a faraway look as she thought of those long-ago days at her father’s short-lived restaurant. Yes, Alain had come in nearly every day for lunch. But had his face really lit up when he saw her or was that just more of Marie Rose’s imaginative fervour at work? Struggle as she might, Claire found herself unable to remember anything clearly except for the embarassing schoolgirl crush that she had had on Alain. Every time she had gone near him, she had blushed with embarrassment. Yet Alain had certainly not seemed to return her interest. In fact, he had always struck her as rather stern and disapproving of the girlish giggles that sometimes issued from the kitchen. It was true that his brooding blue eyes had sometimes seemed to follow her around the dining area, but only until his meal arrived. And his rare and unexpectedly charming smiles had always been accompanied by some quite trivial remark about the food. Anyway, if he had loved her, wouldn’t he have listened to her version of what had happened with Marcel?
Her thoughts went back to the smooth-talking, handsome Frenchman who had lured her into his embraces six years earlier. Where Alain had seemed like an unattainable dream, Marcel had been all too ready to share Claire’s company. It had begun innocently enough with a chance meeting on Marcel’s yacht in the harbour, progressed through picnics and visits to discos and culminated in that appalling scene in Alain’s house, which she could not remember without a shudder. At the time it had all seemed perfectly harmless. Marcel had announced that his brother-in-law had gone to Paris for two weeks and asked Marcel to look after his house. What could be more natural than for him to invite Claire to lunch? She had gone quite trustingly, never guessing that she would be plied with far more wine than she was used to drinking. Never guessing either that Marcel’s brother-in-law would return home early and discover them together. It had been the final irony to learn that Alain was Marcel’s brother-in-law. And that he was not, as Claire had supposed, Marcel’s sister’s husband, but his wife’s brother. She winced at the memory.
‘Are you all right?’ asked Marie Rose. ‘You look pale.’
‘It’s nothing,’ replied Claire in a strained voice. ‘I was just thinking that you’re wrong about Alain. He doesn’t even like me. We had a quarrel years ago and he’s never forgiven me.’
‘A quarrel?’ prompted Marie Rose. ‘When? What about?’
Claire bit her lip. For a moment she was tempted to blurt out the whole truth to her sister. She knew Marie Rose would not blame her for what had happened, but Claire had never found it easy to confide her deepest feelings to anyone. And she had a strong suspicion that she would simply break down and howl if she talked about it. Anyway, it was a long time ago and best forgotten.
‘Nothing important,’ she lied. ‘It was just before I left for Aunt Susan’s. That’s what made me bring the trip forward a month, actually.’
‘Was it about another man?’ demanded Marie Rose shrewdly.
Claire squirmed.
‘Sort of,’ she admitted.
Marie Rose smiled triumphantly.
‘Then Alain was probably jealous!’ she exclaimed.
‘Jealous?’ snorted Claire.
‘Yes. You shouldn’t be fooled by that cool exterior, you know. Alain’s a lot like you really, Claire. He bottles things up and smoulders over them and, when he finally does explode, watch out! I’ve worked for him and I should know. Most of the time he’s completely charming and very considerate, but there’s no denying he’s got a hell of a temper. All the same, he’s incredibly sexy, isn’t he? If I were you, I’d really make a play for him.’
‘Don’t be ridiculous!’ protested Claire. ‘He doesn’t even like me.’
‘Then why did he take you to his place instead of bringing you straight home this morning?’ asked Marie Rose.
‘To pick up your china that Aunt Someone or Other had sent you from France,’ replied Claire irritably. ‘Didn’t he give it to you?’
‘Yes, he did. But that was just an excuse, any fool could see it. He took you there because he wanted to talk to you. Obviously.’
‘Oh. Obviously,’ agreed Claire with heavy sarcasm. ‘Or quarrel with me, as the case may be. After all, he could hardly shout at me in the airport, could he? Or kiss me,’ she added unwisely.
Marie Rose’s eyes widened.
‘Wow!’ she said, leaning forward with the sort of absorbed expression she usually reserved for her favourite soap operas. ‘He must really have it bad, Claire! What happened then? Did he tell you he loved you or anything?’
‘Oh, stop it!’ cried Claire impatiently. ‘He wasn’t kissing me as if he loved me, Marie Rose, but as if he hated me. Almost as if he were doing it against his will.’
Marie Rose lay back on her bed, hugging her pillow, and sighed ecstatically.
‘I think that’s the most romantic thing I’ve ever heard of,’ she murmured. ‘I’ll bet it was earth-shaking when he kissed you, wasn’t it?’
‘Oh, do shut up and go to sleep!’ begged Claire, instantly regretting her impulsive admission.
‘All right,’ yawned Marie Rose, dropping the subject with surprising readiness. ‘Listen, one more thing. Are you really thinking of chucking in your TV job and staying in Tahiti or did you only say that to annoy Alain?’
‘I don’t know,’ replied Claire wearily. ‘I’m tempted, Rosie. I didn’t realise just how homesick I was until now. But I couldn’t stay here if I felt Alain was going to keep up this feud with me. Now go to sleep, will you?’
Marie Rose smirked.
‘All right. On one condition.’
‘What’s that?’ asked Claire.
‘That you come across to Moorea with me tomorrow. I’ve promised to take Paul’s parents over and show them the hotel, but I’m really dreading it. His father’s nice enough, but his mother seems to think they’re doing me a tremendous honour by allowing me to marry into the family. And they’ve got this dreadful woman staying with them who’ll be coming to the wedding. Nadine Hugo. I’ll need a bit of moral support to cope with her, I can tell you.’
Claire grinned as she turned out the light.
‘OK,’ she agreed. ‘What are bridesmaids for, after all? I’ll entertain the ogress for you.’
In spite of Marie Rose’s dire warnings, Claire was in high spirits as she prepared breakfast the following morning. She couldn’t wait to visit the island of Moorea again and surely the mysterious Nadine couldn’t be as bad as all that? Well, at least Marie Rose hadn’t asked her to entertain Alain Charpentier for the day! That would really be stretching loyalty too far. Humming, she popped a plate of croissants into the microwave oven and waited for the timer to ring. As she did so, she heard her father’s heavy footsteps behind her.
‘Hello, chérie,’ he rumbled cheerfully, kissing her cheek. ‘Any plans for today?’
‘Yes. Marie Rose and I are going to Moorea so that I can meet Paul and see where she’s going to live after the wedding.’
‘Good idea,’ said Roland, sinking into a chair. ‘I’ll give you both a ride to the ferry. I have to pick up a party of tourists from a hotel near the wharf at nine o’clock anyway.’
