Island in the Dawn Read Free

live here any more! ... Not for a whole year, God Bless Ould Ireland! ‘Tis me, and Himself, who live here now! And Himself won’t be receiving pretty young ladies like yourself, Miss, at this hour of the morning — even if he could see them!”
    “I—don’t know what you mean?” Felicity faltered, the heat making her head swim a little, while the news she had just received bewildered her. “Why is Mr. Menzies not here, and — who is ‘Himself’ ... ?”
    For answer a slender figure of a man appeared on the veranda that ran along the whole front of the house, and a huge Alsatian dog that was with him came bounding across the shaven turf to Felicity’s side.
    “Come back, Bruno!” called a voice with a quiet whiplash of command in it, and the dog obeyed. Without even pausing to investigate the newcomer it returned to its master’s side, and that master put out a hand and kept it on the animal’s head. “Who is it, Michael?” The quiet voice wanted to know, and although he appeared to be staring at Felicity the latter knew that he did not see her — not merely because he wore dark glasses, but because the eyes behind the glasses were not functioning as they should.

 
    CHAPTER TWO
    FELICITY was conscious of a distinct sensation of shock as she stood there with the golden sunshine ail about her, the intoxicating scent of roses floating in the air. All this brilliance and loveliness, and a pair of eyes that didn’t function! It was in some way horrifying!
    She moved forward across the lawn, and ascended the steps of the veranda. Stammeringly she explained why and how she came to be there, exactly who she was, and exactly who Cassandra was. She explained about their luggage on the jetty, and about Cassandra feeling the heat so much that she had had to remain where she was. But even as she added that little bit she realized that if Cassandra had been really overcome by the sudden onslaught of a climate to which they were unaccustomed, she would have sought the shade of the trees even if she hadn’t walked all the way to the house.
    But, no Cassandra wanted to be received on the jetty, and she was not prepared to move a step, even for her own comfort, until her arrival was acknowledged in a suitable manner. No arriving in a backstairs fashion for Cassandra!
    While he listened, the slender man in dark glasses kept his hand on the dog’s head. The animal was not the type to be particularly friendly, as Felicity could tell from the way in which its eyes watched her, a hint of malevolence and strong suspicion in the fierce golden gaze. Its master was unable to see who was confronting him, but the dog could see anyone and anything that approached, and as its master’s eyes it was prepared to follow its instincts. And its instincts were to trust no one.
    Felicity made the mistake of putting out a hand to touch its massive head, and instantly the dog growled low in its throat. The man who appeared to have usurped the position of James Ferguson Menzies said at once: “Please don’t attempt to touch Bruno ! He is not accustomed to strangers.”
    “I’m sorry,” Felicity said quickly, on a note of rather breathless apology, and the blind man seemed to consider carefully.
    “You say that you’ve just come off the steamer? That’s the one that touches here about once a fortnight, and unless you made special arrangements you were lucky to get a passage last night. Menzies Island is generally considered quite off the map, and for that reason we see few people.”
    He said ‘see’, although Felicity knew he could not see her — at least she strongly suspected it — and in a fascinated way she gazed at him. The man kept his beautifully formed hand on the dog, and his sleek dark head was inclined a little towards the animal. The faintly stooping attitude made him seem shorter than she afterwards discovered him to be, but she was never mistaken about the slenderness of his build, which was the first thing about him