Natalie went down to dinner in no good frame of mind, feeling a slight and hidden amount of humiliation, but, to her chagrin, Kip was right back to being the man she had first seen—cool, sardonic and just slightly disapproving. It got her more on edge than ever.
'I've ordered the team out,' she announced as they ate. 'At least, my father will now that I've told him I'm ready. They'll be here in two days.'
'And then?' He glanced up at her and she looked coolly back.
'We work and then go. Having assessed the situation I should say that two days would see us finished, three at the most—all things being equal.'
'You mean—barring accidents?'
'There will be no accidents,' Natalie said firmly, and he looked just a little scathing.
'So long as you're not breaking new ground, perhaps not.' He leaned back and looked at her levelly, his glass in his long fingers. 'You'll want to have a closer look at the dam now and get that part settled.'
'Yes, please. My father doesn't want to dwell on any drawbacks to the dam.'
'Such as?' He looked at her curiously and she faced him head on.
'The drawbacks for animals. The ecology side of things. I had plans for moving further north and seeing just what had happened when the river was diverted for
a while. I also wanted to find out how many animals had been either uprooted or disturbed.'
'But your father put a stop to such plans?'
'Temporarily.'
He smiled derisively, watching the hot colour rise in her face.
'Now why should I imagine that you're saying all this to antagonise me?' he queried softly. 'Naturally, I would be all too pleased to escort you if you decide to come back—providing that I'm still here. A few more weeks and I'll have everyone trained to our methods. After that I return my house to a grateful Madembi government and I'm on my way.'
'Where?' It suddenly seemed to Natalie that the world was a very big place, dams and irrigation schemes needed all over. The chances of seeing Kip ever again were remote and, to her disquiet, the idea dismayed her.
'Who knows? India, perhaps. I know Kane has something going out there, maybe the Middle East. Like you, I never know where I'll be next, although I do stay around for longer than you appear to do.'
'Is it always you? I mean.. .what about Mr Mallory himself or some other engineer?'
'Like you, I'm the hatchet-man. Controlling the team who build a dam is not a job for a softie. Kane wants me there in future. As for going himself, I told you, he married my sister nearly four years ago. They don't like to be out of each other's sight.'
'You don't believe in that sort of love,' Natalie challenged, surprised to see a softly reminiscent look on his face.
'With Andrea and Kane, I have to believe it. The air explodes around them. For ordinary mortals, though, it's a mixture of sex and sentimentality.'
'A very comfortable thought,' Natalie pointed out tartly.
'Anything else would be very uncomfortable, pulling your life apart if you happened to be the only one who felt like that. Still, you wouldn't know anyway, would you? As I recall, you told me you'd never been in love.'
She looked away, her lips tightening. His comment about being the only one who felt like that was too close to home for her liking. Frighteningly, it didn't seem to matter any more. Neil seemed remote and she knew what she had known for days without allowing herself to face it. She could hardly remember Neil's face. When she thought of him, a coolly handsome tanned face superimposed itself over Neil's image, and mocking dark eyes seemed to haunt her dreams.