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“This is splendid,” Adam said. “How I have missed the trees.”
“But surely a plantation is nothing but trees,” Tony said.
“You mistake me. The Indies has magnificent trees. Mahogany, ebony, teak, satinwood, are the things that drew me there in the first place. Then at the plantation we use dadap and eucalypti to shade the delicate tea plants. I meant I missed English trees.”
As they emerged through the other side of the yews a small lake stretched before them with a pair of black swans gliding across the surface. Tony caught her breath at the beauty of it. “Is Ceylon as lovely as this?”
“Every bit as lovely in its own exotic, untamed way.”
Darkness had begun to fall. Everywhere was deeply shadowed. The navy-blue sky and black trees were reflected in the lake and in the hush that had fallen she could hear the frogs and, farther off beyond the densely wooded park, the flowing of the River Thames. Suddenly the call of a night heron came hauntingly across the water and they lifted their heads in unison to see if they could spot it.
Adam’s deep voice stole to her and Antonia thought it sounded like dark velvet. “At Leopard’s Leap at dusk I would stand at the edge of the lake to watch the day transform into night. As the sun sinks the buffalo come up out of the cooling water and swarms of monkeys scold and chatter at them from low-hanging tree branches. Clouds of gnats hover over the water and as the fish jump to feed, they in turn are snapped at by the crocodiles. The little monkeys are so damned cheeky, they get as close as they can to the reptiles, daring the crocs to eat them for dinner. Sometimes they do. The moths are more numerous than butterflies, some of them a foot across. The night scents are heady enough to steal away your senses … jasmine … camphor … pomegranate. The air is, filled with the music of the night—the flutter of a million bat wings, the banshee cry of the jackal, the low growls of jungle cats. If I was patient enough to wait until the moon rose I often caught a glimpse of a leopard come to drink. They have this trick of appearing out of nowhere, then in the blink of an eye they disappear.”
The brilliant picture he painted with his words told Tony that he loved Ceylon.
“You miss it.”
“Yes, but not nearly as much as I missed England.”
It was a moment filled with magic. He had taken her with him to another time and place. It was as if they were alone in the universe. She wanted him to touch her so badly, it made her weak. He stood slightly behind her and she wanted to lean back against him to feel his strength. She imagined him kissing her, very gently, on the nape of her neck. She shuddered involuntarily.
Something swooped past them. “That was a bat!” Tony exclaimed, emerging from her fantasy. “Are the bats in Ceylon the same as ours?”
Savage laughed softly. “No, they are fruit bats. They gorge themselves on kong-tree fruit until they fall down dead drunk. They know no moderation. Perhaps that’s the difference between the two worlds. England is moderate. In Ceylon everything is gloriously immoderate.”
Back inside the house Savage’s words were borne home as Kirinda came forward and asked softly, “Are you ready to be bathed, master?”
“Yes.” He turned to Tony. “Will you join us in the bathing pool?”
Tony had never been quite so shocked in her life and the horror showed on her face.
“You are staring at me like I was the bloody whoremaster of Malabar. It is customary in the East to bathe, not simply to wash. It can be extremely pleasant. I’d like you to experience many things from different lands. Surely, Tony, you are not so narrow minded that you are not open to new experiences?”
“Of course not,” Tony said faintly. “It’s just that I wouldn’t dream of spoiling what must be an intimate ritual between you and Lotus Blossom.”
Ridiculous as it seemed, Savage had begun to doubt the lad had ever been naked with a female. “Has all the stuff we brought from the ship been unpacked yet?” he asked Kirinda. “Give him one of my robes and show him to another bathing room. John Bull simply won’t feed us if we are unclean.”
I wouldn’t dream of spoiling what must be an intimate ritual between you… how in the name of God had she conjured such a phrase? She tried desperately to push away pictures of the “intimate ritual,” but didn’t quite succeed. Tony honestly had not thought about what he would look like beneath his clothes. Now, however, her mind began to undress him. Frantically she tried to block the pictures from her mind, but they only became clearer and more insistent. What must those wide shoulders look like without his shirt? Undoubtedly he would be thick with muscle. Was his chest as deeply tanned as his face and hands? Her mind refused to form a picture of a pale Adam Savage. Somehow she knew he would be bronzed. He would be covered by a devastating pelt of black hair too. She simply knew it. She had already glimpsed the thick saddle muscles of his thighs clad in skintight breeches, so it took only a little imagination to envision his legs bared.
Antonia had never seen a naked man. Of course she knew the male of the species had a sex thing, vastly different from her own private parts, but her imagination did not try to conjure it. She was truly too innocent to picture him below the belt. Her mind’s eye saw him in the bathing pool with the naked Lotus Blossom and her cheeks burned so hotly, she closed her eyes praying for a measure of composure. In the span of one day since she had met Adam Savage she had had more disturbing thoughts regarding men than she had had in her entire life before. What on earth was the matter with her?
It was as if her outwardly male appearance had turned her thoughts and her body ultrafemale. Her breasts and her mons were suddenly sensitive in the extreme. She blushingly admitted to herself that whenever Savage drew close to her, those wicked parts of her body actually tingled. Damn the dark devil to hell and back!
Tony was given a choice of robes by the beautiful young Sinhalese woman. One was black silk embroidered with golden dragons, the other woven from fiber that resembled fine rope in texture and color. Tony chose the latter. It was far too large, but she turned back the wide sleeves until her hands were uncovered. The robe brushed the floor when she walked, but she was quite tall and it didn’t trail enough to make her trip over its hem. She bathed alone, taking as little time over it as possible. She deliberately kept her eyes from her own body and slipped the robe over her nakedness as soon as she was dry.
The meal was delicious. John Bull served them curried lamb on a bed of fragrant saffron rice. There were strange vegetables and fruits served upon the same platters and luscious sweetmeats that tasted like almonds, dates, and coconut rolled in honey. The tea was aromatic and tasted of oranges. Tony did not need to ask if it came from Leopard’s Leap.
“I can’t recall when I’ve enjoyed food so much,” Tony complimented John Bull, who smiled his joy.
“Pour us two brandies,” Savage directed. He was wearing the black silk robe with the dragons. It came only to his knees, revealing his heavily muscled calves and tanned bare feet, which were more disturbing than she had pictured.
John Bull handed Tony a glass that she didn’t hesitate to take. Whether she would actually drink it or not was another matter. When he served Adam he said, “Now we are in England, it is not fitting that you sleep upon the floor, Excellency.”
Savage replied, “You are correct as usual, John Bull, but when I choose my bed a great deal of thought will go into it. A bed must almost be an extension of yourself. Of all the pieces of furniture in a home, a bed is the most personal-and intimate. It is for sleeping and for making love. I will share it with my wife. My children will be conceived in it and perhaps even born in it. It must be pleasing to the eye, comfortable to the body, and large enough for sport. When I go to London I promise you that beds will be the first item on the agenda. In the meantime can I trouble you to roll out a couple of Indian rugs for us in the master bedchamber?”
As John Bull bowed low, a small frisson of panic arose inside Tony. He expected her to sleep in his chamber!
Savage led the way out onto the balustrade and sat down upon the stone rail. Tony copied him, setting her brandy glass down beside her. He pulled his gold case from the pocket of the silk robe and offered her a slim cigar.
