Passionate Choice

Chapter 7.3

As soon as the ship had docked, Selena was off it and hurrying along the He. She went straight to her room to shower and change into a shift-like dress of coarse white cotton that had a design of fishes painted on it. While she was showering, she noticed the bracelet and ring Keith had given her. She was going to take them off when the idea occurred suddenly to her. Tarnished though they were, she would wear them in front of Ben and see whether he will question her about them. Determined to make the most of her appearance, she tied her hair at the back of her neck, making it smith and tight, then hung dangling gold earrings in her ears. The style made her look a little older and more sophisticated than usual and with the white dress, gave her an elegance she didn't usually aim for. With high heeled sandals on her feet, she left the room and walked through the plantation, up the steps of the terrace and into the lounge. It was empty.

Hearing noises coming from the kitchen, she pushed open the swing door and looked in. Veronica, the cook, was baking, singing some calypso, as she worked, in a deep sonorous voice.

"Looking for Heather?" she asked Selena.

"Yes"

"She's in her room with the professor."

"Which room? Her office, you mean?"

"No, her private sitting-room. Go through the door on the right of the bar. You'll come to it."

The door to the right of the bar opened to reveal a short flight of stairs. Selena went up then to the top and entered a pleasant, airy room, furnished comfortably with wall-to-wall-carpeting, scattered armchairs and sofas. Through two sliding patio doors, she could see a balcony. Reclining on a comfortable lounger was Ben. Opposite him, in a cushioned wrought-iron chair sat Heather. Between them was a round, glass-topped table in which there were two tall glasses, one empty, the other half full.

Selena approached the open patio doorway, her footsteps silenced by the thick carpet. Neither Ben nor Heather noticed her. Heather was leaning forward and was talking in a low but insistent voice.

"What are you going to do about Selena?" the woman said.

"What do you mean by 'do' about her?" demanded Ben irritably.

"Now that you know what she's like, that she's nothing but a tramp..."

"A tramp?" Ben was obviously mystified by the word and did not know the American meaning of it.

"A woman who sleeps around, has affairs with men," said Heather impatiently. "How did you get to be so old without knowing anything about the real world, Ben?"

"As far as I'm concerned, a tramp is someone who goes about in shabby clothing living on what he or she can pick up out of someone else's dustbin or by begging; someone without a home, always on the move." he retorted.

"You mean a hobo."

"No, you mean a hobo. Anyway, Selena isn't what you said she is. She's had one affair..."

"One that she had admitted to," Heather interrupted fiercely. "What about any she hasn't told you about?"

"I don't want to know about any others," Ben picked up the half-full glass and emptied it at a gulp.

"No, of course you don't," said Heather sweetly. "No man likes to hear that he's been taken for a ride by a woman, made to believe she is innocent and wholesome and, oh, so fresh."

Deciding she had heard enough of this conversation which had made her ears burn, Selena strokes back into the room then advancing more noisily, she tapped on the glass if the patio door.

"So this is where you two are hiding," she called through the mesh screen that covers the opening. "Mind if I join you?"

"No, of course not. Come right through, Selena," said Heather at her brightest and breeziest. "Here, take my chair, I was just going down to mix another drink for Ben. Can I get you one?"

"Please. One of your Planter's Punches would be fine," said Selena. "No, don't get up, Ben. How is your ankle? Is the swelling up or down?"

"It's up and really painful," said Heather before Ben could speak. "I'm so sorry, Selena, that I was forced to leave you this morning. Those two pirates had weighed anchor abs were steering out of the cove before I knew what they were at. Nothing I said would make them turn back. They were under orders from the Walker, apparently, to bring me back here. I'd like to know why. Do you know why?"

Only just able to prevent herself from gasping at what seemed to be a bare-faced lie on Heather's part, then wondering suddenly whether it was the crew of the dive-ship, Keith, Gary and Max, who had been lying and had arranged between themselves that Heather should be removed from the scene of the diving operations while Keith and herself were underwater, Selena four only stare at the woman in stupefied silence.

*A/N: I would like to take this opportunity to thank all my readers. Votes and comments are really inspiring.

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