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anxiously as she let them in and sighed. 'I see! Was it very bad?'
'I think I'll go to bed,' Lisa said in a quiet voice. 'Goodnight, Adam. Thanks
for taking me to the party.'
'Tomorrow we'll all go to see a few of the sights,' he said. 'Cherry? You can
get the time off?'
'Why not? It would be fun. We could pretend to be tourists.' They both
looked at Lisa invitingly.
'You're very kind, but I think I ought to go home,' she said wearily.
Adam stepped over and lifted her chin. 'Listen to me, Lisa. You aren't going
to be a rabbit all your life, are you? You're on holiday and you're going to
have a good time. Understand? So we go out tomorrow and tour the
sights?'
She laughed, ashamed of herself. 'Fine. Thanks.'
In bed she lay staring at the dark window, listening to the distant throb of
London traffic. She would never get used to that noise in a million years, she
decided. It was like the echo of the sea. It went on and on--
Where would they go, tomorrow? There were so many places she wanted to
see. Kew Gardens with its Chinese pagoda. Richmond Park and the deer.
The City of London with its dozens of famous churches and buildings like
the Tower of London and the Monument. She thought about all the places
she wanted to visit because it kept her mind from the thought of Matt, but as
she drifted into sleep, her barriers dropping as her body weakened, his face
flashed into her mind's eye, and she was brought violently to life, her whole
body trembling with passion.
Why in God's name had he come to Saintpel? He could have gone anywhere
in the wide world. Why had fate chosen that he should visit her quiet,
peaceful little part of the world, disturbing her life and ruining her
happiness?
CHAPTER EIGHT
FOR the next three days Lisa whirled around London from tourist spot to
tourist spot, her camera clicking, her brain vainly trying to take in everything
she saw, to imprint it on her memory for ever. She did not expect to be
coming back for a long time. These memories would have to last her.
Adam knew his city well. 'I've lived here most of my life,' he shrugged
casually. 'I suppose I know most corners of it.'
'And London has a lot of corners,' Cherry grinned.
'It's vast,' Lisa sighed. 'I had no real conception of how big it was until now.
Somehow when you live in the country you conjure up a picture of Trafalgar
Square or the Tower of London, and there you are! That's London. But it
isn't, is it? London goes on and on ... the little bit of it that the tourists see is
only the centre.'
'The heart,' Adam nodded. 'The city goes out in circles, like the ripples on a
pond... Hampstead, Wimbledon, Richmond... there are villages within the
city, villages as big as towns, yet retaining their own individuality. A
modern miracle. How long they can go on staying the same, who knows?'
Lisa was feeling tired after her sightseeing. Cherry gave her a sympathetic,
careful smile. 'What shall we do tonight?'
They had spent each evening out of the flat without making it too obvious
that they were keeping Lisa out of any possible danger of meeting Matt
Wolfe again. Somehow Adam had procured tickets for the opera, the ballet,
the theatre, in turn.
Lisa was grateful to them but conscious all the time that they were never
given the chance to be alone. A newly engaged couple ought to have some
time with each other. She yawned blatantly. 'Oh, I'm really so sleepy... mind
if I skip tonight? I really think I should be getting back home tomorrow and
I've had so much fun the last few days that I've reached the point of collapse.
I would love an early night. But you two must go out. I'll be fine I'll sleep
like the dead.'
They did not have to have their arms twisted. Adam's eyes lit as he looked at
Cherry, and she had candles in her eyes, too. They went off hand in hand like
children.
Left in the flat alone, Lisa took a long, relaxing bath and went to bed.
Drifting off to sleep, she heard the doorbell begin to ring. On the point of
getting up to answer it, she suddenly guessed it might be Matt, so she sank
down again, pulling the covers over her head.
The ringing went on and on, however. Obviously he had no intention of
going away. But how could he know she was in? She groaned. The hall
porter! He would have seen Adam and Cherry go out alone. He was a
gossiping, curious old man, his main interest in life apparently being that of
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