Dance-of-the-Snake-Yvonne-Whittal Page 16

  room, which reeked of disinfectant. She did not exist for him at that moment,

  except as someone to carry out his abrupt instructions, and she did so like an

  automaton, grateful for something to do which would prevent her from thinking

  about what had happened.

  Jessica filled a syringe with an antibiotic and injected it into the patient's arm,

  then an awful waiting period followed while they watched over the Chief,

  observing his reaction to the drug with growing relief. It seemed like hours while

  they sat there beside his bed instead of forty- five minutes before Dane rose to his

  feet.

  'I think we can all get some rest now/ he announced, his fingers on the Chief's

  pulse. 'The worst is over.'

  ‘I’ll stay with him a little longer, then I'll arrange for someone to take over from

  me,' Sister Ravele whispered, and Dane nodded his approval.

  Jessica left the hut ahead of Dane, but his long, lithe strides brought him to her

  side before she had gone very far, then he matched his steps to her shorter ones,

  and they walked in silence through the shadows towards her hut. If only he would

  say something," anything to relieve the tension between them, but only the usual

  night sounds of the bush disturbed the silence, and the heavy, tormented beat of

  her own heart.

  At the door of her hut she muttered a stilted 'goodnight', but his hands reached

  for her, and he would have drawn her against him had she not placed her hands

  against his hard chest to hold him off.

  'No, Dane,' she said in a surprisingly cool voice as she strained back against the

  hands that held her. 'What happened earlier was a mistake I don't want to repeat.'

  His hands tightened on her shoulders, his fingers biting into the soft flesh until

  she could have cried out with the agony of it. 'It was no mistake, Jessica. You

  wanted me as much as I wanted you.'

  'I don't deny that,' she bit out the words, her body growing taut with resentment.

  'But it was lust, nothing more, and I'm ashamed.'

  He released her so unexpectedly that she staggered, and the height and breadth

  of him in the darkness was suddenly menacing as he demanded harshly, 'Do you

  mean that?'

  There was something odd about Dane at that moment, a certain urgency which

  her tortured brain could not grasp, and she pushed trembling hands through her

  short, dark curls as she leaned back against the door frame for support.

  'Yes,' she said at last in a tired, husky voice. 'Yes, I mean it.'

  A prolonged, tense silence followed, and she felt his anger wash up against

  her like an energy field before he spoke. 'In that case, Jessica, you need have no

  fear that I shall touch you again.'

  His voice was chilled, the words like icicles piercing her heart and freezing

  the blood in her veins. He walked away from her with purposeful, angry

  strides, and she watched him go with pain-filled eyes.

  Sleep evaded her that night while her agonised mind replayed every incident

  from the moment the exotic rhythm of the domba drums had begun to pulsate

  through her veins. She had been like someone drugged; conscious only of her

  aching need for the love of a man who had no use for a woman except to

  inveigle her into an affair which he could end the moment he became bored

  with her.

  God knew, she had tried right from the start to see him as a doctor, and not as

  a man, but she had found it quite impossible. Dane was not the kind of man one

  could ignore in the physical sense. He was too virile, too masculine, and her

  own words, spoken to her mother before her departure from Johannesburg,

  returned to taunt and mock her.

  ‘When the right man comes along, the examination slab will be the farthest

  thing from my mind.'

  That was the problem. Dane was not merely one of her fellow students, and

  neither was he a man to be observed only from a clinical point of view. His raw,

  virile masculinity had attacked her senses from their very first meeting, and

  although her extensive education had provided her with a first-class knowledge

  of the structure and function of the human body, it had left her ill-equipped to

  deal with the sensual side of it. All too soon she had found herself floundering

  in too deep waters, trying to cope with something which was far too strong for

  her, and loving him came much too easily, and much too swiftly.

  The most dreadful part of it all was that she felt so ashamed. Not once during

  those moments while he had made love to her had he given her the slightest

  indication that he cared for her other than physically. If he had, she might not

  feel so ashamed now of her part in the encounter, but he had remained silent,

  and she could only come to the conclusion that she meant about as much to him

  as any other woman had meant to him before her.

  He had been gentle in his passion, her heart told her, but her cynical mind

  contradicted that statement with. Of course he would be gentle. He's not the kind

  of man to — use violence on a woman to get what he wanted.

  'Oh, God!' Jessica moaned into the darkness. She was confused, and angry

  with herself more than with him, but it was not anger and confusion that

  brought a lump to her throat and tears to her eyes. It was a gnawing pain that

  refused to subside, and for the first time in many years she cried herself to

  sleep, but not even in her sleep did she escape the pain. Dane invaded her

  dreams in the most diabolical way. She was begging like a dog for the crumbs

  of his affection, but he laughed satanically while she squirmed beneath his

  rejection, and she finally awoke with a strangled cry on her lips to hear the

  birds singing in the trees outside the hut, while the early morning sun streamed

  in through the window.

  She showered and dressed quickly, longing for a change of clothing which

  did not have the odour of wood smoke clinging to it to revive painful

  memories. The face that stared back at her in the mirror was hollow-eyed and

  pale, and she grimaced, adding an extra touch of lipstick to her lips before she

  picked up her medical bag and went along to see Chief Cedric.

  CHAPTER NINE

  DANE was in the hut with Chief Cedric when Jessica arrived, and a cool nod was

  the only recognition she received. Her queries were answered abruptly, but she

  did at least receive welcoming smiles from the Chief himself, and Sister Ravele.

  It eased that awful feeling that she was superfluous, and she remained quietly in

  the room while Dane carried out his examination.

  There was no need for them to remain longer, for the Chief was out of danger,

  and could be left in Sister Ravele's capable hands. Jessica and Dane were

  persuaded to remain for breakfast, but before leaving the settlement they went to

  see Chief Cedric for the last time.

  A great deal of noisy activity in the cattle enclosure near the Chief's hut drew

  their attention. The shouted commands of the herdsmen could be heard above the

  bellowing of the cattle, and a little distance away Patrick stood observing the

  proceedings critically. Jessica wondered what it was all in aid of, but she found

  out soon enough when they entered the Chief's hut.

  'My brother has
herded together a few of our best cattle,' Chief Cedric

  announced imperiously from his bed, and his black eyes were fixed intently on

  Dane. T want you to select ten cattle as payment for what you have done for me,

  and it is my wish that you find yourself a wife.'

  This had amused Jessica the day before, but now it merely stirred up a fresh

  bout of pain. Dane did not seem to find it amusing either, for his tight-lipped

  expression remained unaltered.

  T appreciate your concern for my unmarried state,

  Chief Cedric,' he replied with an edge to his politeness, 'but without sounding

  ungrateful, I know nothing about cattle and, when it comes to payment, I think

  it would be best if you discussed it with my partner, Dr O'Brien.'

  The Chief made no comment, but an odd little smile hovered about his mouth

  before he clapped his hands to summon his head wife, and she came in as if she

  had been waiting outside the door for his signal. She carried in something

  which was wrapped up in a large piece of white tissue paper, and she departed

  swiftly when she had placed it into the Chief's hands. Lying in a reclining

  position did not seem to hamper the Chief at all, and Jessica could not deny her

  curiosity when he unwrapped the loosely folded tissue paper. What emerged

  was the beautifully cured skin of a python, and Jessica stared at it with a baffled

  expression on her face when he held it out towards her.

  'The python is the god of fertility,' he explained when she had graciously

  accepted his gift. 'It will bring you children.'

  Jessica felt her cheeks grow hot, and it was difficult enough maintaining her

  composure without Dane's glance sliding over her. 'I'm not married, Chief

  Cedric.'

  'No matter,' he brushed aside her statement with that odd smile on his lips

  once again. 'A man is like a python when he is ready to seek his mate. His

  hunger is swift and strong when he uncoils, and when he strikes there is no

  escape.'

  Jessica stared back at him in a bewildered fashion, but the only reply she

  received to her silent query was a tolerant smile.

  'Go well, Dr Trafford, and you also, Dr Neal,' the Chief said, raising his right

  hand in an imperious farewell. 'My brother will drive you back to the airfield.'

  'You were honoured,' Dane remarked casually when they were seated in the

  back of Patrick's long black limousine, and he gestured towards the gift she had

  received.

  'A cured python skin isn't something they give away lightly.'

  'I am honoured,' she assured him, fingering the skin lightly, 'But I'm also a little

  baffled by it.'

  'The Venda are strange people with peculiar beliefs. They're also very intuitive

  people.'

  His voice was lowered to exclude Patrick from their conversation, and she shot

  a quick, curious glance at Dane before she whispered, 'Are you trying to tell me

  that the Chief saw something in my future which I'm as yet unaware of?'

  'Perhaps.'

  Steel-grey eyes met hers, and the mockery in their depths made her lower her

  own glance uncomfortably. The memory of what had happened the night before

  was still too fresh, and too painfully humiliating. It would take time to come to

  terms with the fact that she had allowed Dane certain intimacies, and it was the

  memory of those intimacies that filled her with such horrifying shame.

  Their flight back to Louisville was not as smooth as Jessica would have liked it.

  Clouds were gathering in the sky with a swiftness that hampered visibility, and it

  seemed as if the bushveld was going to receive the benefit of an early spring rain;

  'What made you take up flying?' Dane interrupted her concentration on the

  dials before her.

  'My brother took me for a flip once, and ever since then I was hooked.'

  'Are there many more little surprises you have tucked away somewhere?'

  'None that I can think of at the moment,' she smiled, relaxing her concentration

  slightly.

  'You mentioned a brother,' Dane continued his probing queries.

  'Gregory, yes.'

  'Older or younger?'

  'Older.' The Cessna bumped and swayed through an air pocket. 'He's an

  engineer.'

  'That must have been a disappointment for your father.'

  Jessica glanced at him quickly, but, to her surprise, there was no sign of

  mockery on his hard face.

  'He was terribly disappointed at the time,' she said at length.

  'But you made up for it.'

  'In a way, yes.' Her lips curved in a reminiscent smile. 'My father had great

  plans for me to specialise in paediatrics.'

  'And you didn't fancy the idea?'

  'Not just yet.' The knife twisted in her heart. 'When my contract with Peter

  expires I might think of returning to my studies.'

  Dane did not remark upon that, and his very silence filled her with intense

  despair. Whether she stayed on, or left, made no difference to him. He did not

  care beyond his immediate physical needs, and the knife jabbed deeper into her

  heart.

  It started raining as they touched down on Mountain View's landing strip, and

  they were soaked to the skin during their dash from the hangar to where they had

  left their cars. The dark sky was ripped open by an electrifying crack of thunder,

  and flashes of lightning curled like tongues of fire through the heavy-laden

  clouds. The rain came down on to the parched earth with a vengeance, filling

  Jessica's nostrils with the fresh smell of damp soil as she leapt into her car, and

  the water was soon running like miniature rivers along every crack and crevice in

  the ground.

  Bernard pulled up alongside them in his four-wheel- drive truck, indicating that

  he would follow them into town, and Jessica found this a comforting thought, for

  both she and Dane came close to needing Bernard's assistance on one occasion

  when their cars slithered across the road and threatened to become bogged down

  in the mud. It was a slow journey, with visibility virtually nil, but Bernard

  remained with them until they reached the outskirts of Louisville. The moment

  they were on the tarred road he saluted them by ramming his large fist on to the

  truck's horn, and returning his greeting in a similar fashion they watched him

  drive back the way they had come.

  Jessica had never appreciated a shower and a change of clothing as much as

  she did that morning, and the storm had fortunately eased off by the time she

  reached the consulting-rooms where Peter O'Brien awaited them for news of

  Chief Cedric.

  The flight to Venda had at last reminded Jessica of the medical she had to

  undergo for the renewal of her pilot's licence and, armed with the necessary

  forms, she approached Peter a few days later when they had a free half hour

  before going home to lunch.

  'This shouldn't take long,' Peter smiled, picking up his pen.

  The labouring engine of an approaching truck disturbed the midday silence,

  but neither of them paid much attention to it until it came to a squealing,

  shuddering halt outside the consulting-rooms. It was carrying a load of

  bellowing cattle, and they seemed intent upon trampling each other in the

  scorching heat of the sun, but the driver jumped down from the
cab, apparently

  unconcerned about the misery of the protesting animals he was conveying.

  'What on earth is all this?' Peter demanded sharply, and they rose

  simultaneously from their chairs to stare out of the window at the spectacle

  parked on their doorstep. 'What the devil is this truck-load of cattle doing here

  in the middle of town?'

  A niggling suspicion was beginning to take shape in Jessica's mind, but she

  dared not voice it as she watched the white-clad figure marching out to

  confront the driver. 'Sister Hansen is sure to get rid of him quickly.'

  'It doesn't look as though she's having much success,' Peter remarked wryly

  some minutes later. 'The driver is indicating to her that he intends remaining

  exactly where he is.'

  'Perhaps we'd better go and find out what's going on,' Jessica suggested with a

  tentative curiosity, and Peter nodded abruptly.

  'Having trouble, Sister Hansen?' he queried moments later when they joined

  her out on the pavement.

  'I think Dr Trafford has a problem,' Emily Hansen replied dryly. 'This man

  implies that he's here with Chief Cedric Kapufu's blessings to deliver the

  promised cattle to Dr Trafford as payment for'saving the Chiefs life, and I've

  practically quoted him verbatim.'

  'Is that so?' Peter murmured, his eyes dancing with mischief. 'Well, then,

  shouldn't we ask Dane to come out here?'

  A smile creased Sister Hansen's round features, 'I'll do so at once, Dr

  O'Brien.'

  Peter stared hard at the frothing, bellowing cattle, then he turned to Jessica.

  'Do you know anything about this?'

  'I'm afraid so, yes,' she replied, unable to restrain the laughter that tripped off

  her lips. 'The Chief wanted Dane to select the cattle personally, but Dane tried

  to evade the issue. Chief Cedric insisted that Dane was to buy himself a wife

  with the cattle.'

  'Did he now?' Peter grinned humorously, but he Sobered instantly when he

  glanced beyond her. 'Here is Dane.'

  Dane, immaculate as always in an expensively tailored beige suit, gave the

  frustrated animals no more than a cursory glance before demanding abruptly,

  'What's the problem?'

  'No problem, Dane,' Peter replied smoothly, and Jessica had great difficulty in

  maintaining a sober expression when he added: 'I believe these cattle belong to