Illyrian Summer Read Free

much bustle at half-past six as there would be in an English market at eleven.
    She moved around a corner to get a better view of an archway, and suddenly Adam Thorne came through the arch.
    “ Good morning, ” he greeted her.
    Momentarily she was disconcerted. “ Oh, er, good morning. I didn ’ t realize you were ashore. ” She stopped herself in time before she could blunder into some remark about Melanie ’ s absence.
    Adam was armed with a leaflet about the sight-seeing points in Split not to be missed, and together he and Sarah made their hurried tour before returning to the ship.
    On the way he asked her questions as to how long she had been working for the film company and what ambitions she had to be among the actors instead of the staff.
    “ No, ” she told him . “ I ’ ve no hankering after acting. Certainly not filming. On a stage and feeling the atmosphere of a tense audience watching you—that might be different and more exciting. But all these litt l e bits of scenes shot on different days—and then, in the end, half of them not used in the final cutting version — oh, no, that wouldn ’ t please me at all. ”
    His serious, almost stem features relaxed into a smile. “ I ’ ve noticed that you have an adventurous spirit, Miss Catherall, but you must be careful that it doesn ’ t lead you into situations from which you have to be extricated by others. ”
    Her face flamed, but she answered coldly, “ You ’ re referring to my visit to the amphitheater at Pula. I would have been quite safe. I think I usually have enough sense not to rush into dangers from which I have to be rescued. ”
    It was a pleasant relief to meet Daniel again on board. If sometimes she was irritated by his flirtatious attentions, at least he never made her feel the insignificant speck of feminine triviality that Adam did.
    It took all the beauty of the long day ’ s sailing down the coast and between the islands to soothe her ruffled temper of the early morning, and she reflected contentedly that Melanie ’ s arrival would probably divert Adam for the next few days. If he was on holiday from his steel plant in the interior of the country, sooner or later he would have to return, and Sarah would be delighted to wave him goodbye.
    But then Sarah found herself in his company once more. On arrival in Dubrovnik Edmund told her, “ Adam Thorne is taking me and one of the camera team on a preliminary trip round the countryside so that I can choose the best spots. You ’ d better come and take notes. ”
    Adam drove the car, and for a time the road ran parallel with the coast and was reasonably good, but when he turned inland the surface became rougher and more dusty. Frequent stops were made so that Ricardo, the cameraman, could take experimental shots with a small cinecamera, and Sarah noted down details of scenery and lighting for Edmund ’ s benefit. When Adam drove over a particularly rough stretch of road, she wondered how she would eventually decipher some of her shaky shorthand outlines, and prudently she wrote out notes in longhand before she could forget what Edmund had said.
    On the homeward journey Adam stopped at a junction. “ What do you want to do, Edmund? We can go left and across the river and onto a better road that will take us to Trebinje and then down to Dubrovnik. Or we can go right and down a rather rough piece close to the mountain and so back to the road by the coast, the way we came this morning. ”
    Edmund decided on the wilder stretch, since he was interested in main roads only from the point of getting his heavy equipment along them.
    “ I ’ ll drive for a while, ” he offered. “ You ’ ve been at it all day. ”
    Ricardo changed to sit in the back with Sarah, and Adam sat next to Edmund to direct the latter if necessary.
    The road became even rougher, and now the surface seemed to consist of large stones with soft dust in between, so that the car rocked perilously as a wheel sank into