Master Of Maramba. Margaret Way

me your keys.”

      “You will be careful.” She couldn’t understand why she was trying to provoke him. She closed her eyes as their fingers touched.

      He didn’t bother to answer. Instead he crammed himself into her tiny car, shot back the driver’s seat as far as it would go, then in a matter of moments had the car waiting, ready for her to get into it and drive away.

      “How very nice of you,” she said, unable to get the cool satirical note out of her voice. She stood well back while he extricated himself from her car.

      “A pleasure, Miss Russell. You quite interest me.”

      “Surely I’m not important enough for that?” She slipped into the driver’s seat, aware she was being drawn into a dark whirlpool.

      “I suspect not,” he gave a low laugh, “nevertheless you might tell me why a beautiful girl like yourself, a gifted performer, would want to hide herself away in the wilds. You have an aura of intense excitement swirling all around you yet you want to get away. You must have some idea what station life would be like? You’d be so isolated much of the time.”

      “I know that.” Her eyes looked straight ahead.

      “So what’s the reason?” His voice was like black velvet against her skin. “You’ve split with a boyfriend? You’ve changed your mind about your big career?”

      Some things you couldn’t help. “My career is demolished, Mr. McQuillan,” she gritted, her voice harsh so she could keep it steady. “Thank you for helping me out. Of course if you hadn’t parked so close behind me you wouldn’t have had to worry.”

      The whole attitude of his lean powerful body changed. “Look,” he said.

      “No, you look.” She lifted a hand in farewell and drove off.

      She could still see him in her rear-view mirror. He was standing in the middle of the quiet street looking after her. God! He probably thought she was mad. She didn’t have any appointment at the Conservatorium to keep. She couldn’t bear to go home. Glenda’s manner was so unpleasant these days. She’d thought to get rid of me but my accident changed that. It changed everything.

      Tears sprang to Carrie’s eyes but she blinked them away furiously. No use crying. What’s done was done. Like Jamie said, she had to pick up the pieces and find strategies to propel her through life.