[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
fail to see them.
L amour, Kendall whispered. Vive le sport.
He turned swiftly and took her in his arms, his head
and shoulders above her to keep her face hidden as he
crushed his lips to hers. Her body shifted slightly and the
lips parted under his, while her arms locked about his
neck and he felt himself drowning in an ocean of
blondeness. The footsteps halted just beyond their feet.
Blood pounded in his ears as he waited for the
stammered Gallic apology and the flight.
Instead, a glacial voice said, It must be a revival of
Tobacco Road.
His head jerked around. Framed in the opening in the
willows just beyond the scenic splendor of Kendall
The Wrong Venus 104
Flanagan s left leg was Martine. Beside her was Roberto
Giannini. Roberto smiled admiringly. Always the same
old Colby.
Shut up ! Colby said. He tried to untangle himself
from Kendall s arms and sit up.
He can t resist the bougainvillea and the wine-dark
sea, Martine said to Roberto. Or the music of pigs
rooting for truffles.
Keep your pants on, darling Kendall began. At the
same moment the dark-mustached man in the beret
pushed through the willows from the other direction,
halted abruptly, and turned away. A thousand pardons,
Monsieur! Colby sighed.
Comprehension dawned in Martine s eyes. Oh you
heard us coming?
Of course. He sat up and wearily indicated the man in
the beret. He was the only one I saw getting out of the
truck. And we didn t have time to run.
And you were just doing it for the cause do I feel like
a fink! Martine smiled sweetly at Kendall, and added,
Such wonderful actors, too. You could have fooled
anybody.
You should catch us when we re eating regularly,
Kendall said. She stood up and smoothed down her dress.
Colby had got to his feet. Roberto pushed forward with
a broad smile and grabbed his hand. Good old Colby.
And always kissing the most beautiful girls
Colby clapped him on the back and cut him off with a
hearty greeting of his own. Try to knife me, you gilded
beach-boy, and you ll look like a dart board. It s great to
see you! But where s Sabine Manning?
The mobile Latin face started to freeze, but at the same
instant Martine interrupted Colby. We haven t got much
time if we re going to get this thing off the ground. She
quickly performed the introductions. The man in the
beret was Henri Michel. He owned the truck. Kendall
reached for the paper bag and the bottle of wine he was
carrying.
You, can eat lunch on the way, Martine said. Henri
will drive.
Where? Colby asked.
The Wrong Venus 105
Back to the Manning house.
They ll kill her. They ve got it covered.
No. I ve got it all set up She started to explain,
but Colby caught her arm and led her around the screen
of willows out of sight of the others. It had been a long
night, and for the moment he d had it with Dudley s sex
novel in all its ramifications. When he tried to take her in
his arms, however, he encountered only the thirty-seven
elbows and unyielding square corners of a girl who has
no intention of being kissed.
They re different shades, she pointed out. I m afraid
they might clash.
He scrubbed at his lips with a handkerchief. I tell you,
it was only an act.
Heavens, dear, I know it was. And real heads-up
football, too. But what s that got to do with it?
He shook his head, wondering bitterly how a man
who d been married twice could still regard logic as a
weapon. He must be retarded. There seemed to be only
two courses open. He discarded the first, which was to
apologize for being right and which in the history of man
had never worked yet, and threw everything into the
masterful, or bulldozer, approach. In a minute the
corners began to melt and flow back into pliable curves
and her arms crept up around his neck.
She smiled. It was quite a night back at the ranch.
Especially after we saw the papers.
There was nothing to be afraid of. I had Flanagan to
take care of me.
That could have been one of the things that made it
quite a night back at the ranch.
He was engrossed in the heady business of kissing her
again. Ummmmmhhhhhh?
Knowing that she damn well might . . . Scrape! The
radio s right, you really do need a shave.
The radio?
You re the dangerous-looking thug who speaks French
with a Turkish accent and carries a million francs around
in a briefcase. But listen we ve only got a minute. We ve
taken over the project.
What?
The Wrong Venus 106
Merriman s on the verge of collapse, he can t take any
more. He was going to run for it, so I made him an offer.
For twenty thousand dollars plus expenses we ll finish his
book and get Kendall out of France
Good God! Colby interrupted. How?
Lawrence, please it s not as hard as it sounds. But
there s no time to explain now. She called out to the
others. Everybody, let s go.
They hurried back up the trail, Kendall mincing along
as fast as she could on her bare feet and Colby still
reeling from Martine s bombshell. They came out to the
last screen of willows just below the bridge and peered
out. The road was clear.
Wait till we get set, Martine said. She, Roberto, and
Henri ran up onto the road. They opened the rear doors
of the van, which had Michel Frères, Déménagements,
lettered on its side. They looked both ways along the road
and beckoned. Colby and Kendall broke from cover and
ran. Roberto and Martine had already climbed in, and
they helped Kendall up. Colby followed her. Henri
grinned at them, said, Allons, and closed the door.
Colby heard him run back and get in the cab. The truck
lunged forward and began to gather speed.
There was no light except that seeping in through the
[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]