The Greek's Penniless Cinderella

by Julia James

She snapped her mind away. Xandros’s future children were nothing to do with her. There was no point, was there, in her sudden vision of a pair of toddlers running about in the sun-drenched gardens beyond the dining room windows...?

  She would be gone from his life by then...

  Long gone.

  Her gaze flickered out to the gardens again, and she felt an inexplicable tightening of her throat assail her.

  She longed for the lunch to be over, and finally it was. It was with a real sense of relief that she drove off with Xandros.

  ‘Thank you,’ he said, ‘for coping with my mother.’

  His expression was speaking volumes, and Rosalie was appreciative.

  ‘She’s bound to be concerned by the nature of our marriage,’ she answered generously. ‘She’s protective of you. It’s understandable.’

  He cast her a glance. ‘Thank you for that,’ he said. ‘You see,’ he went on, and Rosalie could hear the constraint in his voice, ‘she is very fond of Ariadne, and she’s worried by her continued silence. I’ve told her your half-sister will surface when she is good and ready to do so.’

  ‘I hope she does.’ Rosalie’s voice was warm. ‘I long to meet her! It would be lovely to do so before I leave Greece!’

  She turned away, looking out over the countryside, at the fields and the ubiquitous olive groves baking in the afternoon sun. It was high summer now. Time was passing. The inevitable date of her departure was that much closer.

  ‘How is the merger coming along?’ she heard herself ask, looking back at Xandros.

  That, after all, was setting the timetable for the duration of their marriage. Like a ticking clock, counting down the hours...the days...the weeks and months...until there was no further need for them to be married.

  No reason for them to be together...

  He changed gear, revving the engine and picking up speed. His expression tightened.

  ‘Not as fast as I’d hoped. Your father isn’t exactly rushing to complete it. He keeps me waiting for essential information and so on.’

  She saw him give a shrug, and was aware, though she knew she shouldn’t be, that there was an upside to any delay. An upside for her, at least...

  It put back, just a little, the ticking clock of their marriage...

  Xandros was still speaking, and she shook the forbidden thought from her head.

  ‘Doubtless it’s all just one of his power plays—he likes to stay in control of things...and people.’ A sympathetic glance came her way. ‘As you know to your cost.’ He changed gear again, speeding up even more. ‘But we’ll get there.’ His expression lightened. ‘Anyway, let’s not waste what’s left of the weekend dwelling on it! We’ll take the scenic route back to the city—I can show you some more sights.’

  They did just that, taking in the ancient sites of Eleusis and Megaris, and Rosalie enjoyed every minute. But then, she thought wryly, she would enjoy going round an industrial estate if it was with Xandros...

  I just like being with him—anywhere, any time...

  But nowhere he had yet taken her, either now or on the previous weekend, however glorious and spectacular in terms of sightseeing, could compare with Kallistris.

  Will we ever get back there?

  Yearning filled her. A yearning that maybe he picked up on telepathically, because when they stopped for coffee, midafternoon, he glanced at her and said, ‘Let’s try and get away to Kallistris before much longer, shall we? Get in a weekend there? Would that be good?’

  Rosalie’s face lit, and she answered enthusiastically.

  * * *

  In the end it was another fortnight before they could get back to Kallistris, but when they did it was every bit as good as she remembered. The island was as beautiful as ever, the little beach was as beautiful as ever, the simple whitewashed villa as beautiful as ever, the sea was as crystal clear as ever, the sun as hot as ever.

  The two days passed in a flash—not nearly long enough—though they did nothing except swim and sail and sun themselves and be fed gargantuan meals by Maria.

  I want more—so much more! And not just of Kallistris. Of Xandros. For much, much longer...

  She knew she shouldn’t feel that way, but she could not stop herself.

  I don’t want this time with Xandros to end! I want it to go on and on!

  But how could she want that when it had been no part of their agreement? When the clock was ticking inexorably towards the time when there would be no purpose to their marriage any more.

  Yet she could not deny the truth of it to herself. And it was a truth that continued to pluck at her on their return to Athens, when she resumed the life she’d got used to there.

  Days passed into weeks, with Xandros again putting in long hours at work, interspersing them with short, intense periods of being with her.

  Sometimes they managed to get to Kallistris at the weekend; more often, though, it was just driving out to explore yet more of Greece with him—up to Delphi, famed for its oracle, and out to the long island of Euboea, across the dramatic Gulf of Corinth bridge to visit the site of the ancient Olympic games.

  Sometimes they stayed in Athens, taking it easy in the apartment, with long lie-ins and vegging in front of the TV, tuned to an English-language channel or watching online movies. Or dining out à deux in beautiful restaurants. Or socialising at a dinner dance, or another grand and glittering affair.

  And, although it was a thrill to dress up so finely, she knew that it was because she was with Xandros that she enjoyed them so much.

  Her days were still solitary, but she didn’t mind. Some of Xandros’s female friends had asked her to lunch, but she’d never gone. She didn’t want to be stand-offish, but she was worried that without Xandros to shelter her she might let it slip that she would not be making her life with him.

  It was safer to keep her own company. Just as she was today, settling down at her favourite pavement café for lunch.

  She was making dogged progress with her self-taught Greek-language lessons, aided by books and podcasts, and she tried it out assiduously as she went around Athens, or even on Xandros himself. Now she unfolded the easy-read tabloid newspaper she’d just bought, a dictionary to hand, to see what she could manage of its articles.

  A shadow fell across her as she pursed her lips, making out an unfamiliar word in the headline. She assumed it was the waiter, coming to take her order, and looked up with a smile.

  It froze on her face.

  It was her father.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  SHOCK AND DISMAY jolted through her. She had not set eyes on him since she had stormed out that hideous morning after he’d ripped all her stupid dreams to pieces.

  Without asking, he sat himself down.

  ‘So,’ he said, his English strong and accented, ‘my dutiful daughter.’

  His voice was as unmelodious as she recalled, and there was a mocking look in his pouched eyes. Rosalie could say nothing, could only feel the mix of shock and dismay possessing her.

  ‘What? No kiss for your devoted father? The father who got you such a rich and handsome husband?’ The mockery came again, along with a jibing twist to his voice. ‘I knew you’d see sense and marry him—I didn’t keep you in poverty so you wouldn’t know what side your bread’s buttered on! You like the luxury life, just like everyone does,’ he sneered.

  ‘What do you want?’ Her voice was terse and tight. She could feel her heart starting to hammer in her chest.

  His heavy eyebrows rose. ‘Want? What do you think I want?’

  His grey-green eyes, so like hers though he himself was nothing like her—nothing—bored into her.

  ‘I want what I have told you I want. I’ve got half of it—my fancy Lakaris son-in-law. Now I want the rest.’

  He leaned forward, his piercing gaze working over her, resting on her abdomen as
sessingly before coming back to her still-frozen expressionless face.

  ‘I want my Lakaris grandson,’ he said. His eyes narrowed. ‘Are you breeding yet? You’ve had long enough for that fine husband of yours to play the ram!’

  Rosalie gasped—not at his crudeness, but at what he’d said.

  He gave a coarse laugh. ‘Did you think I’d be content with him just putting a ring on your finger? He’ll have to put a baby in your belly, too! So,’ he repeated, ‘are you breeding yet? It’s a simple question and a crucial one.’ There was a look of relish in his face now, as if he were enjoying what he was telling her. ‘Crucial for that handsome husband of yours, that is!’

  She swallowed. Her heart was still hammering in her chest. ‘What...what do you mean?’

  ‘Crucial,’ her father answered, ‘if he wants to complete this precious merger he’s after.’ He cocked his head, surveying her with his heavy-lidded gaze as if he were a snake and she a cornered mouse. ‘No baby, no completion,’ he spelt out.

  He got to his feet, looking down at her as icy water pooled in her stomach.

  ‘Tell him that!’ His mouth gave that cruel twist again. ‘And as for you—how long do you think you’ll last as his dressed-up doll of a wife if you can’t bring him the one thing he married you for? Getting his hands on my business! And don’t think to come running to me if he discards you. I won’t lift a finger. You can get back to your London slum and starve again! So,’ he finished, turning away, ‘get yourself pregnant, my girl—if you want to stay in the lap of this luxury you’ve grabbed with both hands.’

  He walked away. Climbed into the tinted-windowed car idling at the kerb, which drove off.

  Leaving Rosalie sick with dismay.

  * * *

  Across the ancient city the floodlit Parthenon blazed on the Acropolis. But Rosalie, standing on the balcony of Xandros’s apartment, her hands clutching the railing, was blind to it. Blind and deaf to everything except the thought pounding in her head like a merciless drum.

  You have to tell him—you have to tell him.

  She had to tell Xandros what her father had said. Threatened. Because it had been a threat—a stark and ruthless threat. No baby—no merger.

  She felt her stomach clench.

  We thought we were outmanoeuvring him...turning the tables on him. Now he’s turned them back on us!

  The feeling of sick dismay that had filled her at her father’s words was there again, and she could not rid herself of it. How could she not dread having to tell Xandros...? Tell him that their marriage had been pointless all along. That the merger he wanted so badly was going to be impossible to achieve.

  I have to tell him! But I can’t—not yet! Not tonight!

  She wanted—craved—a little longer with him before she had to shatter his hopes. Just a little longer...

  With a smothered cry, she wrenched herself away, hurrying indoors. Xandros would be home soon, and she had to change for the dinner dance they were going to tonight. She had another new evening gown to show off to him. She must look as beautiful as she always strove to look for him—had to see his eyes light and glint with admiration and desire...

  Just give me tonight with him! I’ll tell him tomorrow—in the morning...

  As though it might be easier then... When it was going to be the hardest thing in the world.

  * * *

  Xandros was leading her out onto the dance floor, taking her into his arms. Rosalie’s eyes clung to him. He was looking as superb as he always looked in black tie, and she knew by the expression in his eyes as he gazed down at her that she was spectacular, in a sumptuous off-the-shoulder gown in champagne satin, with diamond drops at her ears, her hair upswept into an elaborate style, her make-up full and dramatic.

  All around were couples equally resplendent, and chandeliers glittered above them as Xandros swept her away into the dance. Rosalie clung to him as he whirled her around—a former Cinderella at yet another lavish ball, dancing the night away with the most handsome man in the room. Her very own prince... Living the high life. Living the dream...

  But what was the dream? What would it be worth to me, all this lavish luxury, if I wasn’t here with Xandros?

  She heard the question in her head as her gaze drank him in. Her fingers tightened on his sleeve as she leaned into his tall, hard body with unconscious closeness. She knew, without any shadow of a doubt, and with a catch in her heart that tightened the vice that had been squeezing around her ever since that ugly confrontation with her father, that without Xandros none of this glitter and glitz and luxury and wealth would be anything at all!

  It’s Xandros I want—and I would want him even if we were living as simply as Maria and Panos do. It would be paradise enough because I would be with Xandros.

  But what use was it, that searing self-knowledge?

  It was true for her, not him!

  She might want Xandros only for himself—not for the freedom from poverty he promised her, not for the taste of luxury she was enjoying in this time she had with him—but he saw it very differently.

  The vice tightened around her heart again.

  He wants me only as a gateway to his merger with my father’s business.

  And if that gateway slammed shut Xandros would end their marriage. There would be no reason to continue it.

  Unless...

  As she gazed up at Xandros in the whirl of the dance she felt a rush of emotion so intense she could not bear it. Felt a temptation she could hardly dare give thought to. Yet it burned in her head...

  What if I don’t tell Xandros? If I never tell him my father’s impossible demand?

  The thought swirled through her as the music whirled them about—a thought that stung her conscience like a wasp.

  I could do what my father wants—it would be so easy...

  Since their honeymoon she had taken responsibility for contraception by going on the Pill. All she had to do was stop taking it...

  Yearning filled her. Oh, to have Xandros’s baby! To know that she could stay with him for ever! Make a family with him!

  Longing possessed her, fierce and urgent—urging.

  You could do it—it would be easy...so easy...

  And totally unforgivable.

  * * *

  Xandros grinned at the antics of Panos and Maria’s young grandchildren, who were visiting with their mother. It had been an impulsive notion for him and Rosalie to head to Kallistris this morning, after last night’s dinner-dance, but well worth it—as it always was.

  His eyes went to her now, warming as they did so. She, like him, was smiling at the two toddlers, the older one petting Panos’s dogs, the younger stalking a chicken. Xandros made an admiring comment to the doting grandparents, and offered his congratulations on being informed that their daughter was expecting once again.

  His glance went to the children’s mother, now rescuing the chicken from her daughter’s attentions. Her pregnancy didn’t show yet, but then Maria’s daughter had inherited her mother’s fuller figure. His glance travelled on to Rosalie. She was so slender that pregnancy would show immediately...

  He caught his thoughts. The very idea of Rosalie pregnant—

  ‘Shall we head down to the beach for a swim?’ he asked her, to push away a thought that had no business being there.

  They took their leave and padded down the trackway to the villa companionably, hand in hand. He’d half expected Rosalie to make some comment about the cuteness of Maria and Panos’s grandchildren, but she was silent. He glanced at her sideways. Her face was slightly drawn...as if she were lost in thought. Perhaps she wasn’t making any remark about the toddlers for the same reason as he. Because pregnancy, babies, children were absolutely nothing to do with themselves...

  He felt the thought move in his head, found himself squeezing her hand more tightly, as if not to let her go
.

  But I’m going to have to let her go sometime, aren’t I? Once the merger is done.

  A frown formed on his brow and his glance went to her again. From Panos and Maria’s smallholding he could still hear the gleeful laughter of the toddlers. The sound tugged at him. Thoughts came unbidden...

  What if they were ours? Mine and Rosalie’s? What if we were making our lives together, making a family together for ever?

  The questions hung in his head. Motionless. Unanswerable.

  His gaze slipped across to the blue horizon over the sea. Gulls were swooping and hovering, borne aloft on the air currents. Suddenly, one folded its wings and dived, plunging down into the water as if it had seen something it wanted. Something invisible to Xandros but there beneath the surface.

  All he had to do was do as the gull had done and find what he was seeking. The answer to his wondering question...

  * * *

  Rosalie was staring into thin air, her hands clenched in her lap. Tonight—she must tell Xandros what her father had said tonight! She must. Before the unforgivable temptation that had swept over her as she’d danced in his arms and that had kept on coming back over and over again all through the weekend became too overwhelming to resist. A temptation made even more powerful by seeing Maria and Panos’s grandchildren...so adorable, so enviable!

  He has to know! He has to!

  But, oh, she did not want to tell him! She wanted to go on as they were for just a little longer...a little longer...

  One more weekend on Kallistris...and another...and another...

  How can I bear to ruin what we have? To end it so much sooner than it has to end by telling him how impossible it is to complete the merger he’s set his heart on? The merger we married to achieve. The sole purpose of our marriage...

  Unless...

  The word hung in her head again, testing her to the utmost—tempting her to the utmost. She felt anguish fill her, her hands clenching again in her lap.