Page 90 of The Pearl Sister
‘For once will you stop teasing me!’ Kitty drained her wine, already feeling her head spinning. ‘The point is that I . . . that is . . .’
‘For pity’s sake, Kitty, spit it out.’
‘Just like I felt His love, I love you, Drummond. And I believe I have done so since the first moment we met.’
Kitty reached for the bottle of wine but Drummond snatched it away from her. ‘No more of that, missy. It brings back far too many bad memories. And’ – he grasped her wrist – ‘I want to believe you mean what you’re saying.’
‘I mean it. Yes.’ Kitty laughed suddenly. ‘And no, I am not drunk on a thimbleful of wine, but on relief! Have you any idea how exhausting it has been to deny my feelings for the past few weeks? Please, I beg you, Drummond, can we simply celebrate the joy of being alive? In this moment? And not worry about tomorrow, or what’s right or wrong . . .’
After a long silence, he finally spoke. ‘You have no idea how happy your confession makes me feel. However, putting aside the small glass of wine you’ve just drunk, I think that you are perhaps more drunk on life itself, having so recently almost lost it. As much as I am desperate to love you in all possible ways, I suggest that for your sake, a hiatus is required. Some time for you to regain your strength and contemplate what you have said to me tonight. And the ramifications it would have for both of us and our family.’
Kitty stared at him in disbelief. ‘Here I am, wantonly offering you my body and soul, and you choose this moment to be sensible! Time is a luxury that is finite and, my God, I do not want to waste another second of it.’
‘And by taking some of it to think about what you have said, it will not be wasted. If you’re still of the same mind in a few days, well—’
‘NowIam speaking from my heart, you from your head . . . Good grief!’ Kitty wrung her hands. ‘Do you always find a way to be contrary? Or is it perhaps because seeing me so sick, and my body . . . out of control, has changed your mind?’
‘I have seen every inch of your body, I can assure you it is quite beautiful.’ Drummond reached out his hand towards her, but she refused it and stood up on her still weak legs.
‘I am retiring to bed.’ She walked to the door, as straight-backed as she could manage, but an arm grabbed her and pulled her to him.
‘Kat, I . . .’ Then he kissed her roughly and her already giddy head spun even more. When he removed his lips and released his grip, she almost sank to the floor.
‘You are as insubstantial as a ragdoll,’ he said gently as he supported her weight in his arms. ‘Come, I will escort you along the hall and up to your bedroom.’
Outside the door, he paused. ‘Have you the strength to undress yourself or should I help you?’ He gave her a wry smile.
‘I do,’ she managed.
‘I must know you are sure, Kitty, because I cannot come back from this once it has begun. Ever.’
‘I understand. Goodnight, Drummond.’
* * *
The few days he had asked for passed as slowly as watching a large boulder become sand. Luckily the children had their hut in which to play – Kitty had little idea of what they actually did together in there, but a stream of high-pitched giggles emanated from it whenever she went to check on them.
Drummond had announced he had some business to conduct in town for his father and had absented himself from the house for most of the time, leaving Kitty to pace restlessly, mad with the oppressive heat and feverish desire. No matter how many times she told herself to ‘think’, as he had asked her to do, her rational brain seemed to have completely deserted her. And even when a loving telegram from Andrew arrived, she could not muster the necessary guilt to dominate her treacherous thoughts.
TRULY RELIEVED YOU ARE WELL AGAIN STOP GLAD DRUMMOND WAS THERE STOP HOPE TO RETURN WITH GIFT FIT FOR A QUEEN STOP ANDREW STOP
* * *
Two days later, Kitty could stand it no longer. Lying in bed, she heard Drummond’s door close. Since Andrew’s departure, she had taken to lying naked with only a sheet to preserve her modesty. Waiting until the grandfather clock in the entrance hall struck midnight, she stood up and put on her robe. Closing the door gently behind her so as not to disturb Charlie, she tiptoed along the corridor. Without knocking, she entered Drummond’s room. He hadn’t closed the shutters, and in the moonlight glinting through the glass panes, she saw him splayed naked on the bed.
She untied her robe and let it drop to the floor. Walking towards the bed, she reached out her hand to him.
‘Drummond?’
He opened his eyes and stared up at her.
‘I have thought. And I am here.’
18
‘You well now, Missus Kitty,’ Camira commented a week later. ‘You mended good, yes?’
‘I’ve mended good,’ Kitty repeated as she drank a cup of tea on the veranda, looking at her demolished rose bed and wondering whether it was actually worth the effort of planting another. She gazed dreamily at Camira, who was sloshing water onto the caked red mud and scrubbing it off with a hard brush.
