A Garland of Marigolds by Isobel Chace Page B

comfort!
    “ Well, we can all be grateful to you this evening at least, ” he went on. Deftly, he encouraged Julie back into her seat, smoothing down her hair with gentle but efficient fingers. “ Let ’ s get on with dinner, shall we? ”
    We all sat down again, trying not to notice the red, swollen eyes of Julie Burnett. Only Gideon paid her much attention, listening to her weak jokes and urging her on with such blatant flattery that my respect for him zoomed down to zero again.
    “ Is she here often? ” I asked Joseph in an undertone.
    For some reason he colored slightly.
    “ A fair amount. We provide most of the entertainment hereabouts. ” He smiled quickly as if he were afraid of what I was thinking. “ She only has time for Gideon. ”
    Camilla frowned at him across the table and he blushed to the ears, realizing that the whole table had probably heard what he said.
    “ What I mean is that you ’ ll be pretty busy, ” he went on desperately.
    “ And me? ” Camilla asked him coolly.
    “ Ssh! ” said Joseph.
    Julie Burnett became suddenly aware that something was going on. She stopped fussing with her face and hair and glared at Camilla.
    “ Gideon always said you were a spoiled brat, but I don ’ t care what you say. A silly little chit of a girl doesn ’ t bother me! ”
    I glanced sharply at Gideon.
    “ That ’ s enough, ” he snapped. “ This was meant to be a pleasant occasion. I guess the heat is getting the better of us. Camilla, ring the bell and clear the soup plates. Perhaps the heat of Gobal ’ s curry will cool us all down. ”
    The curry was very hot and the meat was tough. I ate slowly, washing it down with some of the buttermilk that was on the table. Unexpectedly, I liked it.
    I was glad when the meal was over and Gideon and Julie went out on the verandah to sit by the oil lamps glowing in the dark and gossip about the days they had spent apart. Joseph excused himself by saying he had to work, and I dragged Camilla off to our own house while the going was good.
    “ I suppose they ’ re all right alone, ” she said wistfully.
    “ They ’ ll manage, ” I agreed heartlessly.
    “ You mean she will! Suki, we ’ ll have to do something about that blue-haired doll. ”
    “ But what? ” I asked.
    Camilla put on a scheming expression and I knew she was beginning to enjoy herself.
    “ We ’ ll think of something, ” she said sweetly.
    Lakshmi had turned down my bed. Apart from the cover there were two natural-colored cotton sheets stretched over the thin khaki mattress. A single unshaded electric bulb hung from the ceiling and buzzed at intervals as the voltage changed. I had been accustomed to some discomfort all the time I had been studying, but this, coupled with my weariness of mind and body, was enough to reduce me to tears.
    I undressed slowly, because I was still unaccustomed to the stuffy heat. The storm had started up again and I could feel its electricity prickling my skin. In a peculiar way it was exciting and I was sure that sleep would be a long time coming even when I had got into that uncomfortable bed. But I had underrated my tiredness. All I could remember was that the bed was not nearly as bad as I expected, and then I was heavily and dreamlessly asleep.
    When I awoke it was pitch black. I lay on my back and listened to the peculiar sounds of the Indian night. The curious scratching noise of some insect on the ceiling, the wild howling of some large cat outside the settlement, and a variety of undertones, all so different from the softer nights I was accustomed to at home. I turned my pillow over, looking for coolness, and was surprised to hear the sound of the jeep going towards the main house. As it passed, the yellow headlights came flooding through the windows onto my bed and passed on again. I glanced briefly at my watch. It was a little after three o ’ clock. I supposed bleakly that it was Gideon returning from seeing his girl-friend home. And a fine