Dear Tiberius; (aka Nurse Nolan) (22 page)

“
Then that is good,
”
he responded.
“
If you are looking forward to
‘
everything
’
that the evening has to offer, I have no doubt the evening will have a good deal to offer you!
”
He passed her the basket of bread rolls.
“
I
wouldn
’
t want you to be disappointed!
”

Lucy felt there was something deliberately personal about these remarks of his, and bearing in mind what Miranda had said to her that afternoon,
“
He does—I know he does!
”
when she had suggested that he might not want to marry her, she felt herself being suddenly almost submerged by a wave of embarrassment. So she said quickly, making conversation,
“
I
expect your mother is always delighted when you can snatch the time to pay her a visit?
I
know she was quite excited about your arriving this evening.
”

“
Yes.
”
He crumbled his own roll, but he did not take pity on her and remove his eyes from her face.
“
I
am her only son, and my comings and goings make a little bit of change and variety for her.
”

“
I
’
m sure they do.
”

“
Possibly for the girls as well—although otherwise their lives seem very full and complete.
”

“
But neither of them is married, or seems to be thinking about marriage,
”
Lucy said, somewhat unwisely.
“
Do you think they are not interested in marriage? Or perhaps they don
’
t meet the right sort of men up here in the mountains,
”
she suggested.

“
There are plenty of summer visitors,
”
he murmured.

“
Yes, I expect so.
”
She smiled uncertainly.
“
Then it must be that they are not interested.
”

“
Do you know,
”
he remarked,
“
it is one of my mother
’
s few grievances that she had not so far acquired a grandchild.
”

Lucy dropped her eyes quickly to her plate and she
wished ardently that she had not embarked on such a topic. She could feel his eyes watching her—dark, mysterious, magnetic—but she dared not meet their regard. She said quickly,
“
I can quite understand that.
”

They talked of other things until the meal was ended; then someone rushed in with the information that the dancers were in the kitchen, and the other guests in the hotel rose and pushed back their chairs, and everyone foregathered in the lounge, which was both brilliantly lighted and gay with all sorts of decorations, especially the gallery that ran around it on three sides, and in which the musicians took up their positions.

Later that night, f
eeling hot and a trifle exhausted—although she had done nothing but sit and look on at the unabating enthusiasm of six men and three women, wearing complete Tyrolean costume, dancing time-honored
Schuhplattler
dances, and singing songs that set everyone
’
s blood tingling—Lucy managed to escape into a cooler atmosphere with Dr. Wern. She was not sure how he had managed to persuade her to leave the security of numbers behind her, but it must have been because she was feeling a trifle faint
from the heat—central heating plus the heat engendered by constantly moving bodies and a great many other people all breathing one atmosphere—and by that time the evening was degenerating into a kind of free-for-all. More and more couples were taking the floor, large quantities of Austrian wine were circulating, and the haunting music of the zither followed Lucy and her escort out into a kind of glassed-in veranda where no one else would have dreamed of going with so much excitement afoot.

Lucy had a last glimpse of Lise being whirled around by a giant in leather shorts supported by ornamental braces, with a Tyrolean hat on his blond head and an enormous feather
stuck in the hat. Gretel also was about to take the floor with one of the hotel guests, and Frau Wern was standing looking on with the widest, most satisfied smile on her face Lucy had yet seen on it.

There was no doubt about it, everyone was enjoying themselves immensely, but Lucy felt almost confused by the noise and the shouts and the laughter, and she was glad to sink into the huge basket chair Dr. Wern pulled forward for her. He bent over her as if she was one of his patients who had collapsed, and suggested fetching her something cooling to drink, but she declined to allow him to do anything of the kind.

“
I shall be quite all right if
I
can only sit here for a few minutes and get cool,
”
she said. She smiled at him apologetically.
“
It
was
hot in there, wasn
’
t it?
”

“
Yes,
I
suppose it was.
”

He had not taken a chair himself, but was leaning against one of the carved supporting posts of the veranda. He looked very slender and graceful in the dim light—there was only one very subdued electric bulb lighting the veranda—and very dark and sleek, like so many of his countrymen, unless they happened to favor the blond giant who was dancing with Lise.

Outside, a moon that was approaching its full made a wonder of the snow, and the sky was full of brilliantly blazing stars as well. It was a sky that was deep and dark like velvet, and although they were protected by the thick plate glass that formed one side of the veranda from the freezing cold without, Lucy felt oddly conscious that outside the cold was so fierce that it might crackle and hiss—just as those faraway, diamond-bright stars might also crackle and hiss if only one was near enough to hear them doing so—if one was suddenly exposed to it. A dazzling white light from the snow fell across one side of Rupprecht Wern
’
s face, and let Lucy see that,
despite her assurance that she was absolutely all right, he was still watching her a trifle anxiously.

Perhaps it was because she looked rather small in the big cane chair, and her eyes looked large and faintly luminous in the pure, pale oval of her face, and everything about her was delicate and sligh
tl
y fragile.

Although she had chosen nursing as a career, she had never had a great deal of stamina, and exhaustion had welled over her many times in the past when she had had to put up with it, and draw upon what little reserves were left to her. Now there was a tiny bead of perspiration on her upper-lip, and she wiped it away with a wisp of lace handkerchief, but the dark shadows under her eyes remained.

Dr.
Wern
suddenly drew up a chair beside her and sat down close to her.

“
If I opened one of these windows you would die of cold,
”
he told her.
“
But I think you
’
ll feel much better in a few moments.
”

“
I
’
m feeling much better already,
”
she assured him, smiling at him.

He leaned a little toward her with his hands clasped between his knees, a grave expression on his handsome dark
face.

“
Tell me,
”
he said, rather urgently,
“
you do like it here, don
’
t you? You are quite happy here?
”

Lucy
’
s smile became more completely natural.

“
Like it?
”
she echoed.
“
Why, I
’
m having an absolutely wonderful time—a more wonderful time than
I’
ve ever had in my life before! Fm not much good as a skier, yet, but I get an enormous thrill out of my abortive efforts to skim the top of the valley! And the air here is so sparkling and pure, everything has a quality of beauty I
’
ve never met with before, and your mother and sisters are so charming and so really kind. They look after Miranda and me in a way I
’
m sure we don
’
t in the least deserve.
”

“
That is good!
”
he exclaimed, his voice as grave as his looks.
“
But as for your deserving my mother
’
s and sisters
’
care—anyone who knew you both would never be able to do enough for either of you!
”

He looked down at his hands—those long-fingered, supple surgeon
’
s hands that had performed such miracles for Miranda, and he flexed them in the moonlight, and gravely inspected his fingertips.

“
When you were in Vienna
I
was so sorry that I was unable to take you around and show you more that
I
would like you to see. It happened to be a ve
r
y busy time, and I
’
m afraid you were often bored while you were at the clinic.
”

This was not really true, because Lucy had insisted after Miranda
’
s operation was over, and everyone knew it was going to be a succe
s
s, that she be permitted to undertake a few light tasks that would at least lessen some of the work of the regular nurses, and in the
e
nd she was
actually
acting
as
a
kind of relief when one of them was off duty or on the sick list.
“
But perhaps someday you will return, and then I will have an opportunity to introduce you properly to our capital.
”

He lifted his dark eyes and met hers fully, and there was a faintly pleading look in his.

“
I
...
perhaps so,
”
Lucy murmured, becoming interested in the design of her lace-edged handkerchief.

“
Miranda will need you out here for a while yet,
”
he told her, leaning even nearer,
“
but when the time comes that you can return to England—will you, do you think, return
t
here?
”

Lucy looked a little confused as the question was put to her.

“
I
...
why, I
...
why, yes, I expect so,
”
she murmured.

“
There are, perhaps, great ties in your country that draw you?
”

Lucy shook her head. In all honesty she had to admit that there were no ties—except Kathleen, her sister, and Kathleen, after all, was married to Clifford, and their interests were not exactly hers. In any case, they could exist without her. But it was a lonely thing to have to admit that there were no real ties in one
’
s own native land that could draw one back to it, and as the picture of Sir John suddenly intruded before her eyes—coming between her and the moonlit world without—her voice took on the merest suspicion of a tremble as she confessed that she was really free to do whatever she liked.

Rupprecht Wern
’
s keen ears did not miss the tremble, and he looked at her with sudden keenness.

“
It is out of my province to say this,
”
he murmured,
“
but it is obvious that you will marry one day, and the ties will be there!
”

“
But not necessarily in England,
”
she said.

“
No!
”
He caught her up quickly.
“
Not necessarily in England!
”

Peals of laughter reached their ears, escaping from the distant lounge, and then the noise of feet approaching them warned them that in a few moments they would no longer be completely alone together. Someone else was feeling the need of a little coolness—probably one or two of the hotel guests—and Dr. Wern bent quickly and held out his hands to assist Lucy to her feet. As he drew her upward out of the basket chair her slender body almost rested against him for a moment, and his arms held her lightly.