The Passionate Greek (12 page)

‘The promises I gave you were made on the
understanding that you would be mine, and mine alone, that you
would be loyal to me, love only me. A promise made to a woman who
did not respect that, who threw my love back in my face, is not a
promise at all.’ He swung the wheel viciously and Melanie was
nearly knocked off balance as the yacht went about. ‘We’ll head
back,’ he said shortly.

‘There was nothing in the world I would have
let jeopardise our happiness,’ he said. ‘But you let another man
come between us. I could never forgive that.’

Nicos’s face was set and stubborn. Melanie
sighed wearily. She would never be able to reach him and every time
she tried she came up against a brick wall. What would it take to
make him listen? Why could he not trust her? Love and trust – they
should go hand in hand.

How I can love such a man, she asked
herself. But for Electra I’d never want to set eyes on him again.
But she knew it wasn’t true. You don’t choose love. It chooses you
and somehow she sensed there was a hurt in him she couldn’t
reach.

She had gone below then and spent the rest
of the voyage mute, hunched on a bunk in silent misery.

The sudden quiet of the engine told her they had
arrived back at port. She would like to have waited until Nicos was
clear of the boat, but she realised the only way she could get
ashore was in the dinghy. To add to her embarrassment she
remembered that her bikini had been left behind in the cave. All
she had to cover her modesty was the patch of material Nicos had
called ‘a sort of sarong’ which revealed much more than it hid.
Another time she and Nicos would have laughed about it but she
didn’t think either of them was in a humorous mood.

Desperately she cast about her for something
else to put on. She emerged wearing a heavy yellow oilskin she had
found beneath one of the bunks. She glared furiously at Nicos,
daring him to smirk. But he just cocked his head on one side and
indicated the boarding ladder. She clambered down in the unwieldy
too large jacket and sat as far away from the helmsman’s seat as
she could.

She hoped against hope that dressed as she
was no one would see them arrive. She was unlucky. A fishing boat
had just come in and the fishermen called out to Nicos in raucous
Greek. Melanie was almost glad she couldn’t understand what they
were saying. But worse was to come. Katerina stood at the top of
the steps, cool and sophisticated in designer shades, white
cut-offs and a curve-enhancing halter necked top.

Eying Melanie’s outfit she drawled, ‘What’s
this; the latest fashion in sailing gear? You must tell me where
you got it, darling. Can’t wait to have one.’ Before Melanie could
think of a rejoinder Nicos cut in. ‘Looks cute, doesn’t it? I
always think girls look very sexy in oversized men’s clothing.’
Katerina looked less than pleased and distressed as she was with
him Melanie couldn’t help liking the way he had jumped to her
defence. He never did like a bitch and he was a fair man, she had
to concede, at least about some things.

She made her escape up to the villa, hot and
clammy in the heavy oilskin. At the nursery door she looked in and
found Maria playing with Electra. Her daughter chirruped excitedly
and held up her arms to be picked up. ‘In a moment, my darling,
when I’ve got out of this nasty coat,’ she smiled. Maria looked at
her curiously but said nothing. What was it Nicos had said of the
girl. She’s not a gossip. Melanie had reason now to be glad of
it.

In her next-door suite she showered quickly,
dressed in a light cotton sundress and went back to the nursery.
Maria was ready to leave, telling her with shy excitement that she
had a date that night with one of the local fishermen. Melanie
watched her go and hoped her evening would turn out to be
everything she expected.

There was nowhere to go on the island. Her
‘date’ would be an evening walk down to the harbor or a stroll
along the beach. Melanie envied her. She remembered her first dates
with Nicos in London, the expensive restaurants, the fawning Maitre
D’s, the fast cars, the fine wines. They hadn’t led to happiness.
She hoped with all her heart that it would be different for
Maria.

Electra gurgled happily in her arms. She was
such a good-tempered baby. ‘Hm, that doesn’t run in the family – at
least not on the male side,’ she said to Electra, but she was
laughing as she said it. Being with her daughter had made her
spirits rise. She resolved to put the day behind her, the good and
the bad, and concentrate on the reason she was on Skiapolos.

‘I’m not here for Nicos Chalambrous,’ she
told herself resolutely. ‘I’m here because of my daughter. And she
is going to get all my attention from now on. I’m going to put her
father out of my mind for now and always.’

It was one thing making a resolution, quite
another thing keeping it. As she busied herself making Electra’s
tea, bathing her and getting her ready for bed her thoughts turned
constantly to the day she had spent with Nicos. Being with him made
a roller coaster of her emotions. One minute he was kind and
loving, the next an implacable stranger. How come I’ve spent one of
the most wonderful days of my life with him and also one of the
worst? Will I ever understand him? However much she tried to stop
thinking about him she couldn’t get him out of her thoughts.

Her wristwatch told her it was only eight
o’clock. She was restless, her emotions in a turmoil. She couldn’t’
face dinner. Warm air wafted in through the open nursery window
bringing the scents of the Mediterranean night into the room. She’d
go for a walk in the garden. Pausing only to alert Anna that she
was going out and to listen for the baby alarm she set off.
Pathways wound round the villa’s extensive grounds. She strolled
aimlessly, her hands thrust in the pockets of her sundress.

Without realising it she had come full
circle. Voices from above warned her that she was directly beneath
the terrace. She stopped short. Nicos and Katerina’s voices carried
clearly on the night air. It sounded as if a heated quarrel was in
progress, at least from Katerina's querulous tones. Nicos sounded
more bored than angry.

‘Why did you go sailing without me’ demanded
the girl. ‘Why did you take that nanny person with you?’ Melanie
paused. She ought to turn away, but the temptation to eavesdrop was
too strong. What was Nicos going to tell her? She listened hard.
Nicos gave an audible sigh. ‘You were quite sea sick the last
time,’ he said, none too patiently. ‘The nanny person as you call
her - her name is Melanie, by the way, as you know full well – was
keen to learn to sail so she came with me.’ So he wasn’t going to
reveal that she was a stowaway. Melanie was relieved.

‘Well, I still don’t think you should go
sailing with the staff,’ said Katerina imperiously. Melanie drew in
a quick breath... What on earth would Nicos’s reaction be to that?
She almost, but not quite, felt sorry for the girl. ‘Let’s get one
thing quite clear.’ Nicos’s voice was arctic. ‘I decide everything
on this island, and that includes who I take sailing. If I wish to
be accompanied by a member of staff then that is my decision.
Nobody will presume to tell me otherwise.

‘As it happens I have the highest regard for
Melanie Stafford. I trust her with my daughter’s life. She is more
than a nanny to me.’

‘I bet he’s not going to tell her how much
more,’ Melanie snorted to herself, though in truth she was glad
that Nicos was obviously not going to let Katerina know her true
identity. She could hear Katerina trying to make amends. ‘I only
meant that in my country it is not usual to be so familiar with the
servants.’ Her attempt at mollifying Nicos was not working.

‘You are not in your country, you are in
mine,’ said Nicos sharply. ‘I do not accept criticism of my staff,
especially one that I hold in such high regard.’

In spite of herself Melanie’s heart swelled
at the praise and, about to tiptoe away, she almost missed his next
words.

‘I am going sailing again tomorrow and
Melanie will be coming with me,’ he said firmly.’ She could hardly
believe her ears. After the disastrous end to the day she was quite
certain she would never go sailing with Nicos again, in the
unlikely event of him inviting her. But here he was telling that
girl they were going out tomorrow

‘Understand I will not be dictated to by you
or anyone else’, Nicos said bluntly. So that was it, thought
Melanie. Katerina didn’t want Melanie to go sailing with him, so
Nicos would make sure she did.

She heard the scrape of a chair above. One
or the other of them was getting to their feet. Swiftly she tucked
herself behind a tree, just in time because Nicos had come to the
terrace’s stone balustrade. Luckily, he didn’t look down but was
looking out to sea. From her hiding place Melanie saw Katerina come
and stand next to him. Nicos’s voice was even more audible now that
he was just above her head.

‘Not only will Melanie be coming sailing
with me tomorrow she will also accompany us on the ‘Athena’. I
shall want Electra with us, so naturally Melanie will come, too.’
‘Of course, darling,’ murmured Katerina, and Melanie thought she
sounded as if she had chewed a mouthful of wasps.

‘Changing the subject,’ said the girl
artfully. ‘Let’s not go round the Greek Isles. Let’s go back to St
Tropez. That was much more fun,' she cajoled. Melanie suppressed a
giggle. Would the girl never learn?

‘We are going round the Greek Isles,’ Nicos
said firmly. ‘That is what I have chosen and that is what we are
doing. You may come or stay here, as you wish.’

‘But my father is coming,’ Katerina
objected.

‘Which is why we are sailing the Greek
Isles,’ said Nicos. ‘Your father is perfectly familiar with French
Riviera but he doesn’t know the islands here at all. It will be
more interesting for him.’

Melanie wished they would move so she could
make her escape. She didn’t want to hear any more of this
conversation. Who was her father and why was he coming to see
Nicos? A preposterous thought entered her head making her
traitorous heart turn over. Was Nicos going to ask Katerina’s
father for her hand in marriage? Is that why he had been invited?
What other reason could there be? Even though she knew she was
being ridiculous Melanie felt sick. Please, please don’t let that
be true, she begged silently.

‘How can I bear the thought of this
conniving girl as Electra’s step-mother,’ she agonised, her heart
pierced with dread. She was momentarily giddy and held fast to the
tree for support. Nicos, her Nicos, married to someone else. She
couldn’t bear the thought.

In a moment she heard their voices fade as
they had moved away. Thankfully, she slipped out from behind the
tree and hurried back up to sanctity of her room. The thought of
Nicos and Katerina together had so devastated her she had forgotten
the early part of the conversation she had overheard. Lying fully
clothed on her bed and string at the ceiling she remembered. Nicos
had said she was not only going sailing with him the next day, but
was also included on the Greek Isles trip.

Given the acrimonious end to their day she
wondered exactly how Nicos planned to extend this dual invitation.
She was sure when they had parted that afternoon he had no
intention of asking her out again. But perhaps he had always
intended that she should go with him on the “Athena”. Nicos wanted
Electra on board and that meant including Melanie.

Thinking back to the conversation she had
overheard Melanie’s temper rose. How dare he assume she would just
go with him wherever and whenever he chose? The more she thought
about their earlier quarrel the more she seethed.

A surprise tap on the door brought her to
her feet. Smoothing down her dress and running her fingers through
her hair she called out, ‘Come in’, expecting Anna, but it was
Nicos who stood there. ‘May I come in,’ he inquired politely.

‘No,’ she said bluntly.

‘Well, will you come out, then,’ he
said.

‘No. Go away.’

She made to shut the door but he was too
quick. He banged the door against the wall with his arm and pushed
her firmly back into the room. ‘I’m in now,’ he said unnecessarily.
‘Well, you can go right out again,’ she almost snarled.

That’s not nice when I’ve come to issue an
invitation.’ His tone was bantering.

‘I’m turning it down.’

‘Before you’ve even heard what it is?’

‘To go sailing with you tomorrow.’

He looked momentarily taken aback, before
light dawned in his eyes. ‘So as well as stowing away you’ve adding
eavesdropping to your crimes.’ He said lightly. Melanie looked
mutinous, but unapologetic. ‘I suppose you think you’re obliged to
take me sailing with you tomorrow so you don’t look as though
you’re going back on your word in front of your girlfriend.’

‘As I think I’ve said before she’s not my
girlfriend, but you’re not altogether wrong. I admit taking you out
tomorrow was a spur of the moment decision.

‘It’s not a decision that’s yours to take.
I’m not coming.’

He walked to the window and looked down.
‘You can’t hear what’s been said on the terrace from up here.
Either you’re a mind reader or I was right about the eavesdropping.
Where were you? Behind a tree?’

Melanie looked stunned. ‘Ah, hit the
button,’ he said.

‘Why didn’t you say something if you saw
me,’ she said crossly.

‘I didn’t see you.’ He looked at her with an
unfathomable expression. ‘I always know when you’re near. I don’t
know why. I just do. I sense you, like you are the other half of
me.’

Melanie looked away from him shaken.
‘Don’t,’ was all she said. He took a stride towards her. ‘Don’t
what?’

Don’t say things like that to me.’

‘Why? Because it’s true. Perhaps it’s time
you and I were honest more with each other.’