Wife For A Night

by Devine, Angela

  His voice was rich and soft and velvety, and his dark eyes held hers as if he had some hypnotic power over her. For an instant Kate trembled, feeling a crazy impulse to change her mind about the cruise even now. She shivered and picked up her glass, breaking the spell.

  'One discusses business with her,' she said firmly. 'Real business, not dowries. Insurance photos, travel brochures, that sort of thing.'

  Philip's gaze rested hungrily on her features.

  'Is that your last word on the subject?' he demanded.

  'Yes!' said Kate fervently.

  With a great effort of will, she picked up her bag and stared unwaveringly at Philip.

  'The only relationship I'm prepared to have with you is a business one,' she insisted. 'So either we talk business from now on or I'm leaving.'

  'Very well, then,' agreed Philip with a sigh. 'To business. I'm opening a new hotel at Ayios Dimitrios on the east side of the Sithonia peninsula next month. It's called Hotel Ariadne and it's not unlike this place in many ways.

  Oh, not the architecture—I've gone for a cluster of low traditional buildings around a central entertainment centre—but the total package. It's part of a complex of activities designed to provide the local people with year-round employment. Potteries, textiles, olive processing, vineyards. This project represents the dream of a lifetime come true for me. I grew up in Ayios Dimitrios when the villagers had nothing but glorious scenery and abject poverty. What I want to create is not just seasonal employment, but a total economic package for them, so that they will have secure work all year round and a real hope for their children's future. It's costing me a fortune, but it will be worth every drachma. Most of the photographic work for publicity was done earlier in the year, but I'm thinking of setting up some special off-season tours and I want someone to do the brochures for them. I'll also need a few photos taken of my yacht for insurance purposes. I thought you might be interested. There's a fully equipped dark-room at the hotel, or you could send your photos to Thessalomki for processing.'

  Kate's bag slipped unnoticed to the floor and her eyes shone.

  'B-but why me?' she stammered. 'I'm not well known or anything.'

  Philip shrugged.

  'No, but you're talented,' he said. 'If you think I'm doing this because I'm trying to seduce you, then think again. I never do business on that basis. It's only hack work, of course, but it will give you enough money to keep doing

  the sort of photos you really want to do. Like those Windmills of Mykonos prints you showed me at Ayfa Sofia. Now, you'll want to know the terms of our arrangement. I'll need all the photos completed and ready to go four weeks from today. You can stay at one of the villas at the Ariadne while you're working. And I'd pay you...'

  He named a sum that made Kate gasp.

  'I can't believe it,' she said. 'I'll be able to live on that for a year, while I take the kind of photos that I like. Landscapes, people, compositions of light and shade. I'll even be able to afford a decent telephoto lens.'

  Philip looked amused.

  'There speaks an artist,' he murmured. 'Well, will you take the job?'

  'Yes,' she said breathlessly. 'When do you want me to start?'

  'Tomorrow, preferably. Does that suit you?'

  'Yes,' agreed Kate, feeling slightly dazed at the speed with which events were happening. 'I've finished the work I was doing at the dig, so that's no problem. I'll catch the first bus I can get.'

  'There's no need for that,' cut in Philip. 'I'll come and fetch you. But there is one point I wish to emphasise to you.'

  'Yes?' said Kate.

  'It is this: I value my privacy, and under no circumstances do I want it invaded. There are certain people in the media who will pay handsomely for information about the rich and famous. I do not want to find my taste in wine, women, automobiles or anything else a subject for speculation in the gutter Press. Anyone who sells such information about me will suffer for it.

  Do I make myself clear?'

  There was no doubting Philip's sincerity. His dark eyes blazed and his lean, powerful hands were clenched on the tablecloth.

  'I wouldn't think of doing such a thing!' exclaimed Kate indignantly.

  Some of the tension went out of Philip's face. A wry smile lurked suddenly around the corners of his mouth.

  'Good,' he said. 'Then let's finish our meal.'

  The next two hours slipped by in a daze for Kate. Philip was the perfect host, chatting amiably about the sights of the Halkidiki, urging her to try various delicacies from the menu, leading her out on to the dance- floor. And yet the earlier intimacy between them had vanished completely. It was difficult to believe that Philip had ever told her he loved her or made his outrageous proposition to her. There was nothing of the lover about him now. Instead he was every inch the suave and ruthless businessman in total control of the situation.

  Yet, as Philip handed her into the car, he paused for a moment with his hand on her elbow.

  'By the way, Katarina,' he said coolly, 'if you ever change your mind my earlier offer about the cruise still stands.'

  CHAPTER THREE

  KATE woke early the next morning and spent twenty minutes feverishly packing her bags and checking her cameras. Although it was not yet dawn, the house was already full of activity as the archaeological team brewed coffee over a gas stove and loaded the donkeys with sieves and picks and drawing equipment for the day's digging.

  'Now remember, you can always come back here if things don't work out at Ayios Dimitrios,' said Charlotte, folding her in a swift hug. 'We'll be digging here till the end of October, and you know you're always welcome.'

  'Thanks, Charlie,' replied Kate gratefully. 'If anything goes wrong I'll remember that.'

  She watched them all until they vanished out of sight in the thick scrub behind the village. Andrew turned and gave her a final wave, and for a couple of minutes she could hear the sound of their voices and the occasional hoarse bray of a donkey; then even that ceased. She was left alone on the terrace in the pearly grey light, fiddling nervously with the strap on her camera bag and wondering what the future held for her. Then the sun rose blood-red in the east, lighting up the dark blue saw- toothed peaks of Mount Athos across the gulf. A moment later the sound of an expensive car engine came purring up from the village. Kate felt her pulses race tumultuously as she saw the familiar glossy white car rounding the final bend near the villa, sending the hens scattering to each side. Snatching up her bags, she hurried down the path and waited by the roadside, only to stop dead with an unreasonable sense of disappointment. For it was not Philip Andronikos who stepped out of the car, but a chauffeur in a grey uniform.

  'Good morning, ma'am. My name is Yannis Lemnos. Are you Miss Walsh?'

  'Yes,' said Kate.

  'Mr Andronikos sent me to fetch you. He was too busy to come himself.'

  Of course, thought Kate with an irrational twinge of disappointment. I told him I only wanted a business relationship with him and he's obviously accepted that. I probably won't even see him while I'm working at Ayios Dimitrios. Just as well, really.

  She tried to keep her mind on the scenery as they drove up the coast of the Sithonia peninsula. It was certainly a beautiful place with its craggy hills cloaked in drab green holly oak and arbutus scrub, splashed here and there with patches of purple heather. The road swooped and soared like a roller-coaster, opening up new vistas of pine-clad hillsides, gleaming sand and azure sea. Here and there were roadside shrines, and high on the slopes above the road shaggy long-eared goats browsed among the bushes. Once or twice they passed through whitewashed villages, where donkeys laden with firewood trotted hastily out of their way, but most of the time there was nothing but the wild landscape and the blue sea. After about an hour's drive, Yannis turned off the road into a thick pine forest.

  'Here we are,' he said. 'Ayios Dimitrios is just over the next hill. Or at least the hotel complex is. The original village is half a kilometre away.'

  'Oh, how
pretty!' exclaimed Kate, as the car breasted the rise. 'But this must be the original village, surely?'

  'No,' said Yannis, smiling and shaking his head. 'Mr Andronikos likes everything old-fashioned, so he had it built this way, but it's all new really.'

  He brought the car to a halt in the middle of what seemed at first sight to be a traditional Greek village. Except that no Greek village had ever been quite so beautiful. Around a central square were grouped half a dozen two-storey whitewashed buildings. The square itself was paved with terracotta tiles, laid in a herringbone pattern around a central fountain which cascaded musically around the feet of a bronze statue. Shady peppercorn trees rustled softly in the breeze, and white tables and chairs with big striped umbrellas sat invitingly amid urns full of geraniums. Through an archway to one side of the square, Kate caught an inviting glimpse of a tiled swimming-pool. As a backdrop to the whole scene there was the intense dark blue water of the Mediterranean sea, sparkling vividly in the sun.

  Kate was still standing enraptured when a door opened in the building beside her. She half turned, catching a glimpse of the sign that said

  'Reception' and smiled hesitantly, assuming that it was one of the hotel employees coming to greet her. But the man who came striding across the square to meet her was Philip Andronikos himself.

  Her breath caught in her throat as she saw that lean, powerful figure prowling towards her. He was dressed very simply in navy blue linen shorts, a striped open- necked top and rope-soled shoes, but there was no mistaking the air of assurance that clung to him. Perhaps he was only frowning because of the glare of the sun, but Kate felt that his narrowed eyes were stripping her bare and appraising her. A tremor of alarm went through her as she realised that this scrutiny did not dismay her as it should. In fact, a tiny shudder of pleasure went through her as his gaze rested on her body.

  'So you came, then?' he said softly.

  'As you see.'

  Her eyes met his directly. For a moment they both stood motionless, and Kate saw a hungry longing in his face. All thoughts of Irene Marmara vanished from her head. If they had been alone pure madness might have made her put out her arms to him. She might even have reached up a hesitant finger and touched the muscle that twitched in his cheek. But they were not alone. Yannis was standing by the boot of the car, holding her bags and looking expectantly at Philip.

  'Take those along to Miss Walsh's villa, Yannis,' instructed Philip. 'Have you had breakfast, Miss Walsh?'

  'Yes, thank you.'

  'Then I'll show you around and you can start work as soon as you're ready.'

  They followed Yannis up a pathway of rammed earth that wound between the trees. The air was full of the scent of pine needles, and Kate sniffed delightedly.

  'This is the most amazing place,' she murmured. 'From the road it looks just like an unspoilt wilderness. You'd never guess there was a hotel here.'

  'Well, that was my intention,' said Philip. 'It remains to be seen whether people will like it or not. Now we'll just leave your bags in your villa and then we'll do the grand tour of the place.'

  Kate had a swift impression of red geraniums, pale blue shutters and a luxurious suite of rooms, then Philip had deposited her bags and was ushering her back along the path. The grand tour was Certainly impressive.

  Hotel Ariadne, Ayios Dimitrios had not won its 'luxury class' rating for nothing. In addition to sumptuous accommodation, a ballroom, five swimming-pools, tennis courts, a nine-hole golf course, marina facilities and a children's playground, it boasted magnificent views and beautifully landscaped surroundings. Yet the part that Kate really enjoyed most was the visit to the original village of Ayios Dimitrios, where Philip was greeted like a folk hero and wrinkled old ladies in black dresses offered them coffee and ouzo.

  As they left the village a sudden bend in the path led them out into a clearing on a hillside overlooking the sea. Kate caught her breath at the rugged grandeur of the view that opened out before her. Down below, the cobalt-blue waters of the Kolpos Agiou Orous spreadout in a gleaming panorama right across to the peninsula on the other side.

  'It's magnificent!' exclaimed Kate. 'I can't wait to begin taking photos.'

  Philip gazed down at the bay with a thoughtful expression.

  'Well, if you really mean that you can start right away,' he said. 'I've got a subject for you down there.'

  'Do you mean the view?' asked Kate, shading her eyes against the glare.

  'No. The motor yacht about four hundred metres out. See it? No, more to your left.'

  Suddenly his hands seized her shoulders. For one heart-stopping moment she felt his warm hold through her thin cotton shirt and allowed herself to enjoy the closeness of his body behind her. She was acutely aware of the strength in his lean brown arms, of the faint spicy odour of his cologne, of the overpowering animal magnetism of the man. Then he turned her several degrees to the left, pointed down at the bay and spoke in a brisk, impersonal voice.

  'Over there. See?'

  'Oh, yes! Goodness, it's huge, isn't it?'

  'Forty-six metres of pure luxury,' said Philip with satisfaction. 'It's called th e Eleftheria and I intend to let it out for charters next summer. I've had it extensively refitted, and I need good-quality photos for the insurance company. So the sooner you can get to work, the better.'

  'Whenever you like,' agreed Kate eagerly.

  Half an hour later they were climbing aboard the Eleftheria. Philip brought the speedboat effortlessly up to the gleaming white yacht and cut the motor at exactly the right moment so that they drifted alongside with only the faintest bump. A smiling young steward, dressed in a white uniform with a great deal of gold braid, was waiting at the top of the ladder to help them aboard. As Kate handed him her travel-stained camera bag and leapt lightly on to the deck she felt suddenly conscious of her own shabbiness. Even the pretty lace-trimmed blouse and floral shorts, which she had bought in the street-market at Thessaloniki only a week before, suddenly seemed cheap and shoddy amid the opulence that now surrounded her. But Philip seemed to take the splendour of the vessel entirely for granted.

  'Good morning, Laki,' he remarked pleasantly. 'This is Miss Walsh. She's come to take some photos of the yacht.'

  'How do you do, ma'am?' said Laki, touching his peaked yachting cap.

  'Are any of my guests on board at the moment?' asked Philip.

  'No, sir. Monsieur Sauvignon, Mr Stavros and Miss Irene have all gone spearfishing.'

  Kate felt an unpleasant jolt of shock at this statement. Miss Irene? Did he mean Irene Marmara, Philip's fiancee? She eyed Philip searchingly, half expecting to see his face light up at the mention of the name. But Philip was frowning in a preoccupied fashion.

  'Were they alone?' he asked sharply.

  'No, sir. Giorgos went with them. You gave orders...'

  'Yes, yes. Very well,' replied Philip impatiently, 'we'll see them at lunchtime, then. Come along, Katarina, and I'll show you round the yacht.'

  Kate followed Philip along the shiny, varnished surface of the deck with a strong sense of uneasiness. Her stomach seemed to be fluttering as nervously as if she were standing on the edge of a cliff, and the thought of lunching with the unknown Irene filled her with apprehension. She doesn't need to know that I spent the night with Philip, she told herself fiercely. Or that he kissed me. And, anyway, it's only going to be a business relationship from now on.

  'I'll show you the living quarters first,' said Philip, cutting into her troubled thoughts. 'I've had the saloon redone to my own taste, and I'll need photos of all the fittings.'

  Kate forgot her troubles and gave a little gasp of delight as he flicked a switch, lighting up an interior which would have graced a drawing-room in even the most luxurious of modern apartments. Leather ceilings, lacquered sycamore walls and handwoven Greek carpets combined to produce an atmosphere of understated elegance. Cream leather loungers strewn with autumn- toned scatter cushions lined the walls, a sycamore coffee- table was bolted to the
floor, expensive paintings hung on the walls and an overhead film projector promised the best of entertainment. Philip let her take her time admiring every feature of the place before leading her through a sliding glass door into the dining-room.

  'How do you like it?' he asked with a touch of pride.

  ' I—it's superb!' exclaimed Kate, staring open-mouthed at the back-lit drop-ceiling inset with mirrors, the sycamore and laminate dining table, the cream leather chairs and the huge aquarium, which dominated one wall.

  'We'll just have a quick look at the guest suites and then I'll take you through to my office,' promised Philip. 'Nikos, my private secretary, is on board this morning, and he'll give you all the details of what the insurance company wants. Then you can start work whenever you like.'

  There were five guest suites on the Eleftheria, each with jts own bathroom, built-in wardrobe, complete entertainment system, consisting of television, hi-fi and video, and all the little touches that made life worth living: monogrammed towels and bathrobes, gold-plated taps, modern paintings to match the colour scheme and designer jewellery boxes to hold the rings and tiaras at the end of the day. Kate could not help wondering what might have happened if she had accepted Philip's invitation. She pictured herself cruising out to sea amid all this luxury. Days spent basking in the sun with the clear blue water of the Mediterranean lapping against the hull. Nights spent in Philip Andronikos's arms, shuddering with pleasure at the wanton caress of his strong brown hands on her naked skin...

  'My private state-room is just up here, astern of the wheelhouse,' said Philip, climbing lithely up a companion-way and pausing at the top to offer Kate a hand. 'The bathroom in it can be blacked out fairly easily if you prefer to change your films in the dark, and, of course, you're welcome to leave your bag in here while you work.'