An eagle swooped Page 9

  Tessa dropped her hands. Ignoring his remorseless threat she said through whitened lips, 'You loved me ... then?'

  'I'll not deny that, because you know I did,' He paused in reflection, and his fists clenched and unclenched convulsively. 'I worshipped you, Lucinda; he added in slow deliberate tones. 'I'm telling you this to illustrate the enormity of your loss. From meeting you I never wanted to look at another girl. That's what you've lost and I might just remind you of it now and then; he added with almost evil satisfaction. 'I might on occasions allow you to know a moment's happiness ... just for the pleasure of torturing you.'

  The last words registered with Tessa, but it was not those that made her cry, that released the tears and sent them flowing down her pallid cheeks. He had worshipped Lucinda and had freely admitted it. From meeting her he had never wanted to look at another girl. ... Sobs shook Tessa's body. While she herself had been seeking for a mere glance, cherishing the occasional grudging smile Paul might deign to bestow upon her, he had been worshipping her sister, loving her with all the intensity and passion which only those of the East can experience.

  Lucinda had taken all his love ... and she, Tessa, was receiving all his hate. A terrible bitterness flooded

  over her as, having found a handkerchief, she began to dry her eyes.' But sobs still shook her and a smile of satisfaction touched the clear fine outline of her husband's mouth.

  'Tears will avail you nothing, my beautiful Lucinda, but continue your weeping, for it affords me extreme pleasure to know that you suffer—' He broke off and when he spoke again Tessa actually flinched under the harshness of his tone. 'This is nothing to what you will suffer before I've finished with you.Your love is my weapon, and by God, I'll exploit it to the full! I'll make you writhe; I'll hear you cry out for mercy, and only then will you know the real depth of my hatred for you'

  And it was not long before Tessa did' cry out for mercy; within a fortnight Paul had the satisfaction of hearing her say, her voice husky with unshed tears, 'Don't don't do this to me. Paul, you're crucifying me!'

  A harsh laugh broke .from his lips before he said, triumph edging his tones,

  'Suffer, Lucinda, I like to know of this torture you're going through.' He stopped and his face became an evil mask. 'Crucify! You talk of being crucified? What torture did you. subject me to? Are you suffering as much as I did at that time?'

  Her arms stretched out entreatingly, but then she dropped them to her sides, aware of the futility of the gesture.

  'I suppose one can't compare mental and physical torture, Paul. All I know is that I can't go on.'

  Her words had the effect of bringing him upright on his chair, and it seemed to Tessa that a whiteness touched the veins about his temples.

  'You'd leave me?'

  She hesitated. Were she Lucinda, she could leave him if she desired to do so. But she was Tessa, and had married him under false 'pretences. What right had she to complain? or to put forward the threat of deserting him? What she had received she had asked for. Paul was not to blame in any way whatsoever for the agonies she suffered at his hands.

  'I shall never leave you.' she whispered, and she added, a sudden physical pain twisting her heart, 'Some day, Paul ... some day ... perhaps a long while hence, you'll forgive me, and we might find happiness together.'

  Was it imagination, she wondered breathlessly, or had a flicker of emotion crossed his face? But he said inexorably,

  'We'll never find happiness together, for I'll never forgive you, Lucinda. Never as long as I live.'

  They had come out on to the terrace after tea .. A welcome breeze blew down from the Mountains and in the cool silence they had sat for a while before Paul said something to wring that cry of anguish from the very depths of his wife's soul. For during the past two weeks she had not only seen him as all Greek, but had known him as all Greek. No facade of Western culture in evidence; no gentleness or words of tender concern. He placed Tessa in the position of a woman from the East. She was his possession; she satisfied his desires, waited upon him, obeyed his orders. But had this been the extent 'of his calculated revenge Tessa could have borne it stoically, compensated in some measure by being near to him, and in a position to make his lot easier. But Paul had no intention of limiting his punishment to treating her with indifference. On the contrary, he seized every opportunity for humiliating her, of reminding her of the past, of bringing up the subject of her baseness. Rarely did his voice lose its harshness, seldom was his embrace other than the arrogant hold of the possessor, never was his lovemaking tender.

  And as the days dragged by Tessa often wished she had kept silent, for hurtful as was that slow torture, it was preferable to this. While there was pretence there was tenderness, even though this did come rather in the form of a ration. But Tessa would be thankful for even that small mercy now.

  Still, Paul's particular method of revenge would have developed gradually, by small and painful degrees until, inevitably, he' must have delivered his final blow, revealing his reason for marrying her. .

  'Never as long as I live.' Paul's words had been turning over in her subconscious and now she dwelt on them, wondering if it were any more possible for him to go on like this than, it was for her. Had he become resigned to a lifetime of wretchedness? Was he content to traverse a path of loneliness, without ever a diversion? 'Never as' long as I live ... .' He meant those words, she knew, but time could mellow him, and her loving care could one day turn him from this chosen way. Perhaps she would have to wait until they were very old ... but always she could hope.

  She glanced up at the sound of a car coming through the avenue of palms which lined the long newly paved drive.

  'It's Stephanos,' she told Paul. He was the President of a neighbouring township and Paul had known him before Tessa came to the island. He had been Paul's one and only visitor.

  The car drew up and Stephanos got out, waving to Paul and Tessa through the trees. He crossed a paved garden where the lovely bending branches of the jacaranda trees sprayed the whole area with a soft purple mist. From the hedge at the other side of the' courtyard came the heady scent of honeysuckle mingling with the more delicate perfume of roses, Tessa waved back and at the same time Paul spoke, in the customary curt tones he invariably used to her now.

  'Remember, we're devoted. Let me down and by heaven you'll suffer!' .

  'I shan't let you down,' she returned quietly. 'I have no more desire than you that people should think we're not happy.'

  He merely sneered at that, offering no comment.

  Stephanos came up the steps two at a time and joined them on the terrace.

  'A very good' evening to you, Paulos. Madam Lucinda, kalispera!'

  'Kalispera.' She smiled and waited for Paul to offer him a drink. He said he would drink ouzo; Paul wanted brandy and Tessa went off to tell Takis.

  Takis appeared within a few minutes with the drinks and the three sat chatting, enjoying the cool breeze after a day of blistering heat.

  'Well, Madam Lucinda, how are you liking our climate? Still loath to shut out the sun?' Humour in his voice and Tessa forced a laugh. At first she had flung open all the shutters, avid for the sun. Stephanos had prophesied a quick change in the procedure, but Tessa had vigorously shaken her head. Never would she become tired of the sun.

  'You were right, Mr. Stephanos,' she owned a little deprecatingly. 'Sometimes you just don't know what to do to get cool.'

  'And you close the shutters, as I said you would?'

  'I'm afraid so, though it grieves me to do it—' She stopped short, frowning. Paul had a hand to his head, shading his eyes. For the past week he had complained of headaches and she said anxiously, 'Is your head hurting, Paul?'

  'Just a little, Lucinda. Perhaps you'd fetch me my glasses; they'll be in the sitting room, I think.'

  She rose at once, and as she passed Stephanos she noticed that he too was frowning in some puzzlement.

  The sunglasses seemed to relieve his discomfort, for the rather drawn expression which had come to Paul's face disappeared and he laughed heartily at one of Stephanos's jokes.

  'There's going to be a wedding in our village.' Stephanos told Tessa presently. 'Perhaps you'd like to come and see it?'

  'I'd love to.' She looked across at her husband. 'Is it all right, Paul? You'd like to see t to go to the v village?' Her heart began to beat far too quickly. Why hadn't she thought before speaking? It was not often she made a slip like this.

  'You can go, Lucinda. I don't think I'd be interested in that kind of entertainment.'

  'Then I won't go.' she said firmly. 'I'm not going without you.'

  A little silence. It was the first time Paul had suggested she should go anywhere alone, and he seemed most surprised that she had not jumped at the chance of a little freedom.

  'You wouldn't go without your husband?' Stephanos eyed her curiously before transferring his gaze to Paul. 'Persuade her, Paul. I'll pick her up if it's all right with you.'

  'It's quite all right with me. You must go, darling.' She stared.' Was this merely for Stephanos's benefit? The 'darling' certainly was but this relaxing of his stringent manner was as unnecessary as It was unexpected. She hesitated as both men waited for her decision but she had no real wish to go anywhere without Paul, Stephanos had made the suggestion, believing she would be interested in the wedding, but although it would not be good manners to refuse, Tessa shook her head, saying, 'It's kind of you, Mr. Stephanos, but if Paul won't go then I'd rather not go either.'

  'Paul then you must,' urged Stephanos, 'for your wife really would like to go.' '

  Paul's head turned slowly. He said, an odd inflection in his voice,

  'Yes, Stephanos, it seems I must go.'

  'So you won't want me to pick you up?'
'No thank you all the same. We'll use our own car,' When is this wedding?'

  'Not for another fortnight. I'll see you again before then.' .

  'Has the bride a nice new house?' asked Tess .

  'As a matter of fact, she hasn't. Her fiance has neither' parents nor sisters, so he owns the house in which he lives. The bride is exceptionally lucky.'

  'It must be a ... love match, then?'

  'I suppose it must be,' Stephanos answered, with a touch of amusement. And he added, 'It seems strange to you the custom of the bride having to bring a house?'

  'Naturally it does, for in England we always marry for love .. .' Her voice trailed off into a whisper. Paul's brow had lifted slightly, a gesture of sardonic amusement. He was plainly reminding her that their marriage was not based on love, on mutual love, that was.

  'Each country has its own particular customs,' Stephanos said. 'This bringing of a house, and furniture, is traditional. And at one time there was also a huge chest which had to be filled with linen, all handworked by the bride's female relatives. Today—' He shrugged and smiled. 'Today the bride brings some machine made things—and so change even takes place in our ancient customs.' He paused as an idea occurred to him. 'Why don't you and Paul pay a visit to the museum on the harbour? There you will see many of these old chests, and the linen that went into them.'

  'I'd like that,' she said eagerly. 'Paul, you'll come?' 'I might,' he returned without much interest. 'We'll see about it some time when we're down on the harbour.'

  The following day they were in the garden, Paul listening to the radio, which was turned down low, and Tessa writing to her father.' She had just finished when Paul asked her what she was doing.

  'I've written a letter to Father,' she replied without thinking. '

  'To your father only your father?'

  A quickening of her pulse. A slip once more. "to my mother as well, of c course.' He half turned and to her amazement she saw him appearing to strain his eyes. 'C can you see?' she blurted out, no pausing to consider her words.

  His lips twisted into an ugly line. 'What sort of a question is that! You know damned

  well I can't see'

  She began to quake, and the pen slipped from her fingers on to her lap.

  'I'm so sorry, Paul. You know what I mean, it was the way you—Oh, I'm so sorry—'

  'Well, for God's sake, don't harp on about it'

  Read me the letter'

  'R read it to you?'

  'That's what I said.'

  She swallowed convulsively. Paul's manner was one of suspicion, and she remembered his asking her recently if she had informed her parents of what he was doing to her. She had said no, which was the truth, but noting his expression now she knew he was most curious to learn what was in the letter she had at present written, There was no means of evasion unless she wanted to feel the lash of her husband's tongue for five minutes or so, and then endure hours of silence while he brooded over her refusal to obey his command.

  'Tve begun by telling him about the places we've been to,' she faltered, as her eyes scanned the page. She had never said one word to her father, about what was happening to her life, or she would not allow him to suffer anxiety on her account". But naturally there were references in all her letters her impersonation of Lucinda. 'Then I've gone on, to say all is well, and we are very happy. It is like being on holiday all the time, and I only wish it were possible for you and Mother to come .. .' She tailed off, her trembling increasing as she realized what she had said.

  'So the letter is to your father only?' he murmured, slowly turning his head towards her in yet again the same manner as before. 'And why, Lucinda, can't they come over?'

  She floundered.

  'I've read it wrongly, Paul—Oh dear, I really mean that that .. .'

  'Read it wrongly?' he echoed, amazed. 'You can't read your own handwriting?'·

  A shaky little laugh rose to her lips.

  'I'm a dreadful writer, and well, yes, to be honest I am having difficulty in reading my own scrawl—' Terrified now, Tessa drew a quivering hand through her hair. Lucinda's handwriting had always been admired 'I usually write quite w well, as y you know, b but I've the pad on my knee and and I'm afraid it's j just scribble I'm doing.' Nothing could have sounded less convincing, and Tessa was not in the least surprised at the long silence that followed her feeble efforts to extricate herself from this hazardous position into which she had fallen.

  'Read me some more of the letter,' he requested softly, leaning back in his chair.

  With the desperation born of sheer panic Tessa picked out from the letter bits which Lucinda herself could have written, but with the necessity of skipping much her sentences were disjointed; in addition to this her accents were cracked and high pitched, and as she paused to look across at her husband she saw that a heavy frown had settled on his brow. It was as if her tone jarred on him, used as he was to the lovely musical quality of her voice.

  'That's all,' she said at length. 'Except the end, of course.'

  'Read me that.'

  She blinked at him. 'The end?'

  'The end.'

  'I've just sent love from us both, and signed my name.' To her relief he said no more about the letter and she made a mental vow never to be caught like that again. She would write her letters in private, and post them without even mentioning the matter to her husband.

  CHAPTER VI

  IT was two days since the incident of the letter, and Tessa felt able to breathe again. Up till now she had carried a strange little weight of fear, having the impression that her husband was immersed in some form of conjecture over the matter. But as he had said no more about it she at last concluded that her anxiety was groundless.

  'We'll go into Kyrenia,' he said at breakfast. 'I have some shopping to do.'

  'Shall I go for the post first?' she asked. 'I didn't go last night.'

  'Takis will fetch the letters. He'll be going into the village anyway.'

  They were in Kyrenia by nine, having already been up for more than three hours, for the sun shone brilliantly and it was even possible to sunbathe in the garden at seven o'clock in the morning.

  'What have you to get?' Tessa asked, putting her hand in his as they left the car.

  'Take me to the chemist.' His words were curt, his manner abrupt. 'I must get something for this head.'

  'Does it ache very badly?' Tears picked her eyes, and 'she felt a sudden surge of anger against fate, or nature, or some nebulous thing that affected her husband in this way. It was bad enough that he must suffer so terrible an affliction, but recently he had been subjected to this added pain that was now robbing him even of the pleasure of the radio, for during the past week He had either turned it so low he could scarcely hear it, or switched it off altogether. Last evening he had turned it off and then sat for more than two hours with his head in his hands, neither moving nor speaking, and Tessa had sat there too, not daring to break the silence, for when Paul was under the influence of these headaches his temper was unbearable, to say the least.'

  'It isn't aching at present. Are we in the main street?'

  'Not yet. I parked on the front, by that little cafe we went in the other day.'

  'Couldn't you have parked nearer?' he snapped. 'The roads are all up,' she explained patiently. 'There's a great deal of one way traffic and,' she added, not without a trace of amusement, there are many great holes in the road, and nothing round them to stop you running into them.'

  She heard no reflection of her own amusement in his remark on that. 'If the holes are big enough to run into, then they're big enough for you to see and avoid. Find somewhere nearer next time.'

  'Yes ... .' She glanced around. 'I don't know if you're allowed to park on the main—'

  'Then find out! I'm not walking all around the town making an exhibition of myself '

  She recoiled from his harshness, but said in some surprise, 'Why should you think you're making an exhibition

  of yourself?'

  'Holding on to you like this '

  A smile of bitterness curved her lips. 'Many couples are holding hands, Paul,' she informed him gently.