He didn’t respond to her, but simply said, ‘It wasn’t my intention to bring a child into this world to bring up alone. That’s just the way it has worked out.’ His anger seemed to have dissipates as quickly as it had come. She risked a look at his face and found he looked sad. ‘Together we could have given her everything.
‘I had never considered a child till I met you, you know,’ he said reflectively. ‘I thought together we would create a perfect family. The house in the English countryside, our summers spent here on Skiapolos, perhaps skiing in the winter when the children were old enough.’ He sounded infinitely regretful.
Melanie felt her heart beat. She had fought him for the right to bring up her daughter, but she had never fought for his love. She had accepted it was over. Perhaps she had been wrong? Maybe, just maybe, this was the time to try again to make him love her again, to make him understand.
But where to start? She began tentatively. ‘You loved me then, didn’t you, Nicos?’ He didn’t reply and she went on, ‘You loved me enough to want a child with me. Can’t we find our way back? You can’t deny what’s between us still. We are drawn to each other, we were meant to be. Can’t you understand that?’
‘It’s you who can’t understand,’ he said, and he sounded as implacable as ever. ‘There are qualities that I demand in a life partner. I thought you had those qualities. I was wrong. If I sound harsh then so be it.’
The finality of his tone was clearly meant to close the conversation, but Melanie persisted. ‘You said you dreamed of family life. I had the same dreams. When I found I was carrying your baby I had never been happier. I wanted a family just as much as you did Family is very important to me. It always has been. ’She tried to explain. ‘Losing my mother at such an early age it was always my dream to be part of a unit, to share all the love and loyalty that families….’
‘Loyalty,’ he interrupted her, his face hardening. ‘The most important thing. I give my loyalty without stinting and .I demand it in return. I demand it of those who work for me, I demand it of my dependants and I demand it of those I love and I would certainly demand it of a wife.’
‘I thought you knew me well enough to know that I had that quality.’
‘Oh, yes, I found out how loyal you could be,’ he said bitterly. ‘So loyal you would do anything for a man you love, even go to prison for them.’
Now was the time. She had to tell him, make him see. ‘I went to prison because I lied,’ she began. ‘I did so because I made a promise.’
Again he interrupted. ‘A promise you refused to break, even if it meant ruining our life together.’ His savage tone angered her. ‘When I make a promise I keep it.’ she said heatedly. ‘It’s you who do not.’
‘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.
Chapter Nine
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.’
‘I have never lied to you,’ she protested. He came close to her and looked into her eyes.
‘No, you didn’t lie. You just didn’t tell me the truth.’
Melanie looked away discomforted. He saw his arrow had hit home and pressed his advantage. ‘So my beautiful stowaway, eavesdropping non-truth telling Melanie we will go out again tomorrow. This time no swimming out to the boat. Be at the harbor at 10.’ He put his hands on her shoulders and kissed her lightly on the forehead, then turned on his heel and left. Melanie had never felt so confused. ‘I just won’t go,’ she told herself angrily. ‘He’s arrogant, impossible and we’ll only end up having another fearsome argument. What’s the point?’
She slept badly, tossing this way and that. She woke early and went for a run on the beach before the sun was up. By the time she got back Electra was just waking up. She bathed and dressed her and was giving her breakfast when Maria appeared.
‘There’s no need for you to come today, Maria,’ said Melanie pleasantly. ‘I shall be here all day.’
‘Oh, no Miss Melanie,’ said Maria. ‘Mr Nicos told me to come. He said you’re going out.’ ‘Mr Nicos is wrong,’ said Melanie. ‘I’m not going anywhere today.’
Seeing Maria looked worried Melanie told her to stay and they would all spend the day together. ‘We can take a picnic down to the beach and you can tell me all about your date,’ she said mischievously. Maria blushed and giggled.
By eleven o’clock the picnic was packed, Electra strapped firmly into her buggy and they set off through the villa gardens towards the path that led to the beach. Melanie was bending down to adjust the buggy’s sun canopy when she heard Maria’s startled squeak. She looked up to see Nicos bearing down on them. Maria took one look at his set face and said hurriedly, ‘I take baby,’ Wresting the buggy from Melanie she made off leaving Melanie alone to face Nicos. He strode towards her his face thunderous.
The Passionate Greek Page 9