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.Now.' he sighed.'Perhaps dreams need some physical substance on which to exist.'Her gaze was the steadiest he had ever known, seeming to be penetrating his skull, to be reaching down to his very heart.'And no doubt they will feed upon that which is nearest.''I do not know,' he said.'I.' slowly he extended his hand, touched her cheek, allowed it to rest on her shoulder.'As Robert truly says, I know so little, of these matters.I only know that I have two reasons for wishing to escape this place.'She did not even seem to blink.But she stepped backwards, and he went with her, and the door swung quietly to behind his back.He had only been in here once before.It was the largest of the bedrooms, and contained a great deal of the comfortable, functional furniture which was the mark of this house.But he was aware only of the giant fourposter, close behind her.'But if you do not leave me now,' she said, 'you must stay.Forever, Matt.I am not to satisfy an idle urge.I had not even supposed that I would ever be an adulteress.If you encourage me to such crime, you must share my guilt forever.' She gazed at him, her mouth slightly parted.And then she closed her own fingers round his wrist, lifted his hand from her shoulder, and rested it on her breast.'But I, too, have dreamed.'chapter sevenTHE SLAVEWith a tumultuous roar which sent a cloud of rust scattering across the pale green of the water, the Antelope's anchor plunged to the bottom of the shallow bay; a moment later the ship once more came to rest.After six weeks, Gislanc thought.The stillness seemed uncanny.But immediately a boat was despatched for the shore, to inform the authorities of the cargo.She stood on the poop deck and watched the Negroes being brought up from below.They chattered amongst themselves in sudden high good humour, the horrors of the voyage forgotten at this fresh proof that they were not, after all, doomed to sail across an endless ocean until the last one of them had died of heat and starvation.But indeed their spirits had begun to rise two days ago, when the mountain tops of Dominica had been followed by the cloud of Guadeloupe and then the clustering peaks of the British Leewards.She had gazed at the distant shores of Antigua last evening; there the Hiltons and the Warners had come to greatness, just as the next island on the horizon, visible only as the enormous skyward-pointing lava finger of Mount Misery, had been St.Kitts, site of the original Warner settlement, a century and a half in the past.She had wondered then why she did not throw herself over the side, and swim and swim and swim.And drown and drown and drown, even were she not eaten by sharks.'Well glory be to that,' Runner remarked.‘I feel I can breathe.' For in the last two days they had twice altered course to avoid suspicious-looking sails which might have been French men-of-war or Yankee privateers.'I've a mindto unload the entire cargo here, if I can find a buyer, rather than risk the passage to Jamaica.You'll dress yourself, girl.'Gislane watched the slaves, clustering the deck, guarded by a party of armed sailors.It was simple enough to identify Dinshad, even had he not turned his head to find her.'And why do you not take me with you to Kingston, Runner?' she asked.'I will guarantee you twice as much as you were already paid, as your reward from the Hiltons.'Runner grinned at her.'You're an innocent child, Gislane, and that's a fact.The Hiltons won't be rescuing you, girl.And even if they would, I told you, I must trade in these parts again.So I'll keep my part of the bargain.Now get yourself dressed.'He had already made her stand beneath the hose with the blacks; the drying salt clung to her flesh with constant irritation.Now she abandoned her shift altogether, wore only her petticoat and gown, and felt positively uncomfortable to be restrained by clothes after so many months.And what else did she feel? Why, nothing at all.It was merely a matter of waiting; she had not expected Runner to be persuaded to carry her on to Jamaica.So, there was James Hodge to be anticipated.She remembered him only vaguely, could recall neither his features nor his voice.But he was undoubtedly a man, who would wish exactly the things Runner and Penny had wished.And she knew by now how to accommodate such men; she merely needed to lie on her back with her legs apart.Then he would not hurt her, and then she could prepare her escape.Jamaica might be a long and dangerous two days distant, but Antigua remained hull down on the eastern horizon, and St.Kitts was scarce five miles away.Survival; there was the key.She even combed her hair with her fingers; it remained soaked and stiff from its wash.And regretted the absence of her bonnet.It must have fallen off during that terrible journey from London to Bristol, and she had thought nothing of it, until now.Runner appeared in the companionway.'We're in luck,' he said.'Penny's back, with news that Hodge is in town.And most other planters too.They must have come running when they heard we was dropping anchor.I'll get rid of you now, and advertise my wares a little.'Gislane gave him a curtsey; she was almost light-hearted at the prospect of leaving this hellship.'And will I please my new master, Mr.Runner?'The captain winked at her.'Oh, aye, you'll do that all right, me darling.Come on, now.'She went on deck.Still the blacks waited, a huge mass in the waist of the ship.And still Dinshad stared at her.She wanted to wave, but dared not.She would doubtless not see him again.And they had touched each other but once, her head against his chest.Yet they had communicated more than their names.They had allowed their thoughts to mingle, and if she sought freedom, no less did he.But he was too clearly a slave, and freedom for Dinshad must lie at the end of a rope.There was a disheartening thought [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]