South of Mandraki Page 8

  ‘Have I got to stay here?’

  What a position to be in! Toni gritted her teeth and said yes, Louise must remain sitting quietly in the chair. Daros stood looking down at Toni for a space, with a gleam of mockery in his eyes, and then he turned and went over to the boys, both of whom expressed noisy delight that he should come and join in

  their game.

  Watching them, Toni was all at once overcome with a feeling of wistfulness. She had never envied Pam her children; life for Toni had been pleasant and she had revelled in her freedom. Marriage had ever been a vague state which, most likely, she would consider when her youth had passed, and with it the urge to wander. But now she experienced a strange sense of emptiness, and of drifting without an anchor. Automatically her eyes moved to the shining white mansion on the hillside, the one that she had felt sure would belong to Daros. Charitos Leonti lived there, with his mother. Toni had met him one day as she was walking down the hill from Lindos, where she had been shopping. He had offered her a lift, introducing himself and inviting her to visit him and his mother the following day. This was before the children’s arrival and, bored by her own company, Toni had accepted the invitation, and had in fact visited the house on several subsequent occasions. Charitos was handsome and rich; he was single ... and he was without doubt attracted to Toni. The fact that she was married did not deter him from flattery, and although Toni knew from experience that this came easy to the Greeks, she knew also that in the case of Charitos it was sincere.

  During her life there had been several proposals of marriage, but Toni had never felt herself moved by any man - not until she met Charitos. Her feelings were puzzling; she liked him immensely, and while he did not exactly excite her he certainly remained in her thoughts for several hours after each visit. With the coming of the children she had had no time to visit Charitos and his mother; he must be wondering what had happened, and

  Toni decided to telephone him.

  Her thoughts suddenly reverting to the short conversation between Daros and his grandfather a few moments ago, Toni fell to wondering just what this Olivia was like, and how long it was since her engagement to Daros had been broken. Obviously she had let him down in some way, hence his condemnation of all English women and his determination to take for a wife only a Greek who would know her woman’s place. As she mused on this eventuality Tony wondered how Daros’s sisters would react to the annulment of his present marriage. Divorce in Greece was rare; an annulment must be rarer still. However, it would not trouble her, thought Toni. All she would feel would be relief.

  ‘Aunt Toni!’ The two boys were racing across the beach. They arrived breathless, and flopped down on the sand at her feet. ‘We’ve finished our game. Uncle Daros says we must have a rest. Will you tell us a story?’

  ‘The story of Rodos,’ put in David eagerly. ‘She was a nymph and she came out of the sea!’

  Daros was approaching at a leisurely pace; Toni took her niece on her lap so that he could have the chair. Thanking her, he sat down, scrutinizing Louise’s face critically as he did so.

  ‘Another few minutes, and then she must go in. This sun is becoming too hot for her.’

  Toni looked away. If only he would curb that domineering manner she might be able to control her temper. Anyone would think they were his children!

  ‘Are you going to tell us the story?’ asked Robbie again. ‘If you know it, that is.’

  ‘How do you know about it?’ ‘We were talking to a funny little man in the village, and he said Rodos was a nymph who came out of the sea and when I said tell us the rest of the story he said he’d forgotten it.’

  Toni eased Louise more comfortably on to her knee, conscious of being watched both by Daros and his grandfather. The two boys sat at her feet, looking up expectantly into her face.

  ‘Once upon a time,’ she began softly, ‘Zeus the king of all the Greek gods of Olympus conquered the Giants and became master of the whole world—’

  ‘Cor! Did he fight the giants all by himself?’

  ‘All by himself.’

  ‘I wish it was now, then I could help him!’

  ‘After he became master of the world he decided to divide it up between all the gods—’

  ‘How many gods were there?’ Louise wanted to know, snuggling against Toni as if ready to fall asleep.

  ‘Twelve. Now when Zeus was distributing all this land—’ ‘What does distributing mean?’

  ‘Sharing. When Zeus was sharing out the portions of land one of the gods was missing—’

  ‘Where had he gone?’ yawned Louise.

  ‘He was away with his radiant chariot, lighting up the world.’

  ‘What with?’

  ‘He was the sun-god - Apollo; so obviously he gave the world sunlight. Well, when Apollo returned he was very upset because no share had been put aside for him—’

  ‘Which god had his share?’ asked David, and Toni gave a

  little sigh.

  ‘If you want to hear the story then stop interrupting,’ said Daros. ‘Had I been telling it to you I’d have given up long ago.’

  Toni turned her head, and gave him a smile of thanks before continuing with her story.

  ‘Zeus was very sorry for his mistake and he struck the ground three times with his staff. Then, by a miracle, a lovely nymph was born from the sea-foam. She was Rodos, whose father was the god of the sea. Now when Apollo saw this lovely nymph he instantly fell in love with her, and he bestowed on her his golden radiance and dressed her up in beautiful flowers whose perfumes floated to all the other islands of Greece. They got married and lived happily ever after.’

  A small silence followed and then Robbie said with a puzzled frown,

  ‘Where is Rodos now?’

  Think about the story,’ put in Daros, and after a moment Robbie’s eyes opened very wide.

  ‘Was this island the nymph?’

  ‘That’s right. This was Apollo’s portion. And so the island took the name of Rodos, which we in Greece still use. The sun shines on it nearly all the year through, and as you have seen already there are flowers everywhere on Rodos - and they really do bloom all the year round.’ He spoke softly, pride in his voice; Toni caught his eye and the most odd sensation swept through her. He was so different, so human, as he spoke to the two eager boys. And Daros’s own face seemed almost boyish -and even animated as if he were thoroughly enjoying himself. Toni decided that although as a husband he would leave much to be desired, he would certainly make a most wonderful father.

  The dinner party was to be a formal affair and a few days prior to it Toni was drawing a picture of her husband, standing there, staring in disbelief as his wife appeared before his wealthy and influential guests arrayed in red velvet, sequins dangling from the collar; her hair, washed but not set, standing out in all directions and her face as shiny as she could make it. Yes, she meant to do the whole thing properly ... and if Daros should make the smallest remark she would look accusingly at him and say, in a voice that could be heard by all,

  ‘But, Daros, this is all I have. You won’t give me any money

  — not even for a hair-do.’

  The dress had belonged to her mother. Handy with the needle, Toni had taken it, intending to make herself a skirt one day. But for over a year it had lain in her trunk, and even had Toni wanted to take out the creases she would have found it quite impossible. However, she did not want to take out the creases, and even though she squirmed at her appearance as she stood there before the mirror, she set her mouth determinedly and thrust from her the idea of changing into one of the dresses that would be eminently suitable for the occasion.

  But once again Daros was to thwart her plan. Half an hour before the guests were due to arrive Toni heard him in his room. He had already dressed and gone down, but obviously he had forgotten something. She waited for him to go again, but he knocked on the door and asked if he could come in.

  ‘I-er-no....’

  ‘You’re not dressed
yet?’ His voice was sharp as he added, ‘Then put something on and come here.’

  ‘What is it?’

  ‘Have you put something on?"

  ‘Just a moment.’ She grabbed a dressing-gown and slipped it over her dress. Then she opened the door. ‘Is something wrong?’

  ‘This blasted cuff-link. Something’s gone wrong with the fastener, I can’t fix it, but you can.’ He held out his hand; Toni realized the fastener was broken, but after a little manipulation she managed to clip it securely together.

  ‘Had you no others?’ she asked curiously, eyeing the stud she had just fastened. It was gold, with a diamond in the centre.

  ‘Not as good as these—’ He stopped, gazing at her in speechless amazement. For the first time he seemed to notice her hair, but it was on her dress that his eyes became fixed as, her dressing-gown having come open, the red velvet dress was revealed. ‘What’s the idea?’ he inquired softly at last. His eyes were narrowed, and dark with the shade of perception,

  With an effort at bravado she shrugged, pulling the two front edges of her dressing-gown together and holding them tightly. ‘I don’t know what you mean.’

  ‘That get-up.’ He stood high over her, immaculately attired from his fine leather shoes to his gleaming white shirt. ‘Explain yourself!’ With a swift wrench he brought the dress into view again. ‘What do you call that?’

  She swallowed convulsively, defiant even while she trembled. ‘Is this what you’re objecting to?’ Toni plucked at the front of her dress. Several of the loose sequins came away in her hand. He came close, his eyes blazing.

  ‘Explain yourself,’ he repeated savagely.

  ‘Is there any need? I’ve nothing else to wear.’

  Three great strides took him to her wardrobe door; it was wrenched open, to reveal a row of dresses hanging there.

  ‘Put that on,’ he ordered, flinging a white cocktail dress on to the bed. ‘And do something about that hair. You look like a fishwife!’

  Fury threatened to choke her. The green eyes were dark with hate.

  ‘I’ll neither do my hair nor change my dress!’

  ‘By God you will!’ His lips were drawn back almost in a snarl as he advanced swiftly upon her. With one sweep the dressing-gown was wrenched from her body. ‘Now, do you take that damned rag off or do I?’

  Her trembling increased, and the defiant spirit was quenched. She could have cried with vexation. Why did fate always turn in his favour?

  ‘I don’t want to go down,’ she quivered, white to the lips. ‘You can make my excuses — say I’m ill or something.’ Ignoring that, he indicated the little silver clock on her dressing-table.

  ‘You have about twenty minutes. Make yourself presentable in that time or take the consequences.’

  ‘I c-can’t do anything w—with my hair,’ she began, when he interrupted her.

  ‘Get Maria up here; she’s often done Julia’s hair.’ He strode to the door and then turned. ‘Be downstairs in twenty minutes’

  time - and see that you look as my wife should look.’

  She spread her hands.

  ‘How can I? — in a mere twenty minutes?’

  ‘Fail to obey my order, and it will be to your cost,’ he threatened darkly, and left her standing there, wishing with all her heart that she had thought twice about making this effort to humiliate him.

  Twenty minutes later she was in the hall, being introduced to the first of the guests, wealthy Greeks with their wives, women who like Daros’s mother were lucky enough to have travelled some distance towards emancipation, but who would never reach that state of equality enjoyed by the women of the West.

  ‘Your wife is charming,’ Toni heard one man say in Greek.

  ‘And so beautiful,’ remarked another, his eyes roving over every curve of her body with that sort of arrogant superiority that is a characteristic of all Greek men.

  ‘Thank you, Pavlos.’ Daros’s gracious comment was followed by an intense scrutiny of his wife’s face. She flushed under his gaze, conscious of his inner satisfaction at having mastered her, but he seemed puzzled also, and it suddenly occurred to her that he must naturally be perplexed by her persistent efforts to annoy him. Some day - perhaps when they were ready for the annulment - she would enlighten him. What a shock he would receive when he learned that she understood his language! That must surely embarrass him— But would it? He was so filled with this detestable sense of his own superiority and importance that Toni felt certain nothing could ever embarrass him.

  The guests were drinking, and as she looked round Toni met the concentrated gaze of one beautiful woman. She was Evyania Lambedes, wife of the wealthy hotel owner who was standing by the window, deep in conversation with his host. The woman kept her eyes on Toni, examining her critically from head to foot. Who was she? A very ill-mannered woman, Toni branded her, lowering her eyes at last. A few minutes later Toni found herself standing behind Evyania, who was speaking to Daros — in Greek.

  ‘Olivia’s quite convinced you married her from sheer necessity and nothing else.’

  ‘Indeed? And what, may I ask, has my marriage to do with Olivia anyway?’

  ‘You were engaged to her ... remember?’

  ‘Look, Evyania, shall we drop this subject? It would be wise, seeing that Olivia is one of your best friends.’

  ‘She bitterly regrets what she did to you,’ the woman went on, ignoring her host’s request. ‘Did you marry Toni because you had to?’

  ‘Had to?’ sharply, and although Daros also had his back to her Toni could sense his sudden frown.

  ‘Olivia has heard a strange rumour, Daros. She says your grandfather was going to kill this girl - the vendetta ...?

  ‘Nonsense! I married Toni because I wanted her for my wife.’

  ‘I notice you don’t say anything about love, Daros.’ He made no comment and Evyania said silkily, ‘You’ll never forget Olivia. She leaves this one far behind both in beauty and

  - er - sex appeal.’

  ‘I hate to be rude to one of my guests, Evyania, but I’m requesting you to let this matter drop!’ He half turned as he spoke; his eyes met those of his wife. She was forced to produce a misleading smile because she knew her face was beginning to burn. So this Olivia leaves me far behind both in beauty and sex appeal, does she? fumed Toni. Her husband responded to her smile, took her empty glass and said graciously,

  ‘A refill, my dear?’

  ‘Thank you.’ The smile became acid. ‘The same again, please.’

  He went off and the woman stared at Toni.

  ‘You don’t speak Greek?’

  ‘I know some words.’

  ‘How to say please and thank you, I expect?’ The disparaging note could not be missed.

  ‘Yes, I know the Greek for those two expressions.’

  ‘It’s not important that you should speak our language. Almost all of us speak English nowadays.’ Toni looked straight at her.

  ‘It is an advantage to know the language, though.’ She paused a moment. ‘One could always be sure, then, that one is not being talked about without knowing what is said.’

  The woman gave a slight start.

  ‘I hope you’re not imagining Daros and I were talking about you just now?’ No apologetic note - just a sort of condescending edge to the rather low and husky voice.

  ‘Why should I, Madam Lambedes?’

  Evyania looked a trifle uncertainly at her, a flush slowly rising. To her relief Daros appeared with Toni’s drink. As he handed it to her he noticed her expression and his gaze moved to her companion.

  ‘Something wrong?’ he queried.

  ‘I believe your wife is under the impression that we were talking about her.’ The words were a challenge; Toni caught her breath, regretting the impulse that had caused her to veer the conversation into such dangerous lines.

  ‘Madam Lambedes imagines things,’ she said lightly, putting her glass to her lips.

  Her husband looked oddly at her.
>
  ‘I’m interested. One of you had better explain,’ he said.

  ‘Your wife was saying what a great disadvantage it is when one does not understand our language. She hinted that one can be talked about without knowing what is said.’

  ‘It was merely a superficial remark.’ Toni’s long lashes came down, hiding her expression from the intent scrutiny of her husband. ‘Madam Lambedes misunderstood, apparently.’

  No more was said, but Toni experienced a certain uneasiness as the evening progressed. Once or twice, when something was said in Greek, she caught her husband’s eyes fixed upon her. She maintained a wooden, uncomprehending front and hoped it would prove effective. But she vowed to take more care in future, for she had gone so far now that there could be no revealing her knowledge of the language without feeling extremely foolish.

  Eventually the guests departed and Toni found herself alone with Daros.

  ‘You were wise to heed my warning,’ he said, stifling a

  yawn. ‘I hope that the lesson has been learned.’

  Her eyes blazed.

  ‘Is there any need for you to remark on my consideration for your feelings?’ she snapped, and his black brows rose.

  ‘Consideration?’ he echoed mockingly. ‘Surrender is the word you want.’

  ‘If it satisfies your ego to call it that,’ she returned with admirable control, ‘then don’t let me destroy your illusions.’

  He laughed.

  ‘If anyone’s under an illusion it’s you. By now you should have learned not to provoke me; instead, you persist in going out of your way to make as great a nuisance of yourself as possible. Why, I fail utterly to comprehend, yet there must be some reason for it.’

  Some reason! He would know one of these days!

  ‘I’m going to bed,’ she said evasively, and stalked from the room.

  She heard him come up a few minutes later, and as her gaze went automatically to the unlocked door between their rooms she thought of Olivia, and wondered what she was like. Beautiful, obviously ... and voluptuous. Toni preferred that word to the expression Evyania had used when she declared that Olivia had more sex-appeal than Toni. What had she done to cause the broken engagement? And in spite of it would Daros never forget the girl, as Evyania maintained? Olivia was sorry for whatever she had done to Daros, so perhaps they would forget their differences once Daros regained his freedom. Frowning heavily without knowing why, Toni at last got into bed, her thoughts still on this unknown beauty who had