CHAPTER VIII THE LIONS OF THE DESERT
Against the blinding brazen glare of the African sky the green tops of the palms of the oasis of Tel-el-kelb waved gratefully and threw their precious shade over the white tents clustered at their feet. It was high noon and the heat, here, away from the magic breeze that is always found on the Nile, was intense.
It was a large encampment altogether, the low brown canvas tents at the back, far in the grove of palms, indicating the servants' quarters, the higher and larger white ones, grouped together more towards the edge of the trees, showed European comfort in the midst of their severe simplicity.
At the door of the largest white tent sat Regina, looking out with her clear blue eyes, gazing from the wavering shadow of the palms far into the sunlit distances of the desert that stretched away in limitless tawny ripples to the far horizon, broken here and there by exquisite shallow lakes of azure surrounded by black rocks and stunted trees which mirrored themselves in the shining water.
Ah, those lakes!—those wonderful lakes of the desert, which, when one walks towards them, vanish utterly, and on the spot where they have been—shining water, rocks and trees—looks up to mock one only the glittering yellow sand. The mirage of the desert, how wonderful it is. It had for Regina a fascination, a magnetic influence upon her that she could neither explain nor resist. It seemed she could never tire of gazing out on those magic shining phantom waters of the waste. She looked very pale as she sat there, her chin leaning on her hand, her elbow on her knee, across which rested the deadly little rifle. She wore a short brown canvas skirt reaching only to her knees; below the beautifully moulded calves and ankles were encased in brown gaiters fitting tightly over the tops of her neat, low-heeled boots. A loose blouse of the same colour was drawn in tightly by the heavy belt full of cartridges that enclosed her waist. She was wearing no hat and the yellow light flung up from the sanded floor turned her hair into soft gold above the pallor of her face.
A month, she was thinking, had gone by since Sybil had joined them, and they had all gone into camp. And how she had suffered in those thirty days! A little at first and then more and more with each day that passed, a long and terrible crescendo, as it were, of suffering.
The girl had come out, as Regina had thought, and as she now knew, with the deliberate intention of taking Everest away from her, and she had pursued this plan with a callousness and an ingenuity that was simply inconceivable. The extreme cleverness of all her tactics seemed to Regina wonderful in a person who, outside this one idea, appeared to have absolutely no brains at all.
The main feature of her scheme was an excessive amiability towards Regina, nothing could exceed her apparent admiration, affection and respect for her. And by this attitude, from the first, she completely disarmed Everest, as Regina recognised with a deep pain in her heart. Clever and keen as he usually was in penetrating most people's masks and shams, and understanding their real motives and feelings, he seemed to be completely deceived by this girl's clever acting. It was so well done, never overdone, but always perfectly even, natural and genuine, that Regina, to a certain extent, understood this. Any man, lacking as he does the keen female intuitive instinct about these things, would have been deceived in the same way. It was always "What would Mrs. Lanark like?" when any expedition was proposed, anything suggested, and a charming turn of the golden head with a world of affectionate inquiry in the blue eyes. "Would you like to go out," or "Are you tired, dear, after yesterday?" and so on, and Regina saw no other way than to accept all this poisonous affection and be gentle and amiable in return.
Everest, who would have resented the least discourtesy towards Regina, began to feel in this way an attraction towards the pretty, fairy-like creature who was so devoted to the woman he loved, and quite lost his suspicions that she would make mischief and disagreement in the camp.
To Everest himself she was submission and flattery personified. She listened devoutly to all he said, never held a contrary opinion to his, was always willing to adapt herself to his or Regina's wishes. She would do this or that which was convenient, either stay in camp or go with them; ride whatever was provided for her, do whatever was desired, and in the evenings sang and played divinely on the guitar which she had brought with her. Her beauty seemed to increase daily, and to Regina the reason for this was perfectly clear. She was playing a most exciting, difficult and successful game, and the excitement and joy of it lent to her that peculiar beauty of intense animation which no other can equal.