Olive island

by Kay Thorpe

  `So you said earlier.' They were coming into the village, slowing because of the people thronging the road ahead. The buildings lining the main street were brightly lit and pulsating with life. Music throbbed on the air. Nicky looked out of the window in fascination. `Is it always like this on a Sunday?'

  `More or less. It's one of the two nights in a week when the folks get out to enjoy themselves.' He turned the car into the deserted courtyard, parked over by the far wall and switched off the engine. 'Seems like everybody might have gone round to join in. Want to take a look for yourself?'

  She shook her head regretfully. 'Not tonight. I'm a bit too tired. It's been a long day.'

  'They all are when you're working for a living.' He got out, came round the bonnet in time to close her door after her, said lightly, 'Independent, aren't you? You might give a man a chance.'

  'You should be faster,' she retorted, and saw his mouth widen suddenly.

  'You know, you're asking for it, you tantalizing little devil ! My good intentions only go so far.'

  Nicky laughed. `It's something to say you've got any, I suppose. Anyway, I'm safe enough. You wouldn't bother wasting your time.'

  'Don't be too sure. Try playing me off against Dino again, and I'll start by dissipating some energy.' He pushed at her chin with his knuckles. think I'll take myself round the corner for a drink. See you in the morning.'

  Nicky went on across the courtyard and into the vestibule, mounted the stairs to her own small room. The window was wide open, but it was still hot inside. Hot and confining. The day had been long, the evening even longer, and her nerves still tingled from the encounter with Nikos in the garden. Standing there she wished suddenly that she had gone with Lee after all. At least with him she knew where she was.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  THE morning was brassy and brooding, the wind hot and sticky from the south-east. Humidity formed a haze which shimmered over sand and sea, and made everything seem suddenly too much of an effort.

  `Sirocco,' said Stamatis at breakfast, looking damp and uncomfortable in the black trousers and long-sleeved white shirt which was standard uniform for all male catering staff on the island, whatever the weather. `Is not good.'

  `How long does it usually last?' asked Nicky, taking a hot roll without enthusiasm. 'Poso kero?

  `One day, two days.' He lifted despondent shoulders, repeated, 'Is not good.'

  It wasn't, but there was nothing very much to be done about it. Nicky finished off a scanty breakfast, and went through to the vestibule to sort out the mail. She was standing there wilting and wondering how best to combat the creeping lethargy when Lee came out from the office to fetch a pen he had left on the desk.

  `Hi,' he said smilingly. 'How does this little lot suit you?'

  `Like toothache,' she acknowledged, and put up a hand to ease away the collar of her dress. 'I could do with just standing under a cold shower for the rest of the day.'

  `Couldn't we all?' He added casually, 'Why don't you bring those into the office? I've got a couple of extra fans going.'

  'One of the advantages of being a boss man. Thanks all the same ; I've almost finished.'

  He grinned, 'Having second thoughts about me?'

  I haven't finished with the first ones yet,' she said. 'If you're that eager to share your perks I'll bring my report sheets down a bit later on, after I've taken these round.'

  'Do that. I'll have a drink waiting.'

  'Fine. About fifteen minutes, then.'

  As things turned out she was more than twice that time. Absentmindedly responding to a comment of Captain Forrest's on the weather, she found herself on the receiving end of a full-scale lecture on climatic variations in and around the Ionian Isles, and was forced to sit there smiling, and, she hoped, looking interested until Mrs. Forrest put in a belated appearance and removed the focus of his attention just long enough for her to make an escape.

  By the time she had collected her things it was going up the hill to eleven, and the thought of a drink was welcome. She tapped lightly on the office door before entering, saw the broad-shouldered figure standing before the window and felt the rueful words of explanation die on her lips as Nikos turned to look at her.

  'Good morning,' he said. hope that you are not finding the heat today too distressing?'

  In the immaculately-cut blue slacks and deeper-hued shirt he looked totally untroubled by it himself. `No,' she answered, and then because the single word sounded bald and uncivil, she tagged on quickly,I was looking for Lee.'

  had thought as much.' There was the faintest edge of satire in his voice. `He will not be more than a moment or two.'

  She said hastily,I can come back later if you're

  going to talk business.'

  'When I have left?' The statement was dry. would be most grateful if you would stay. I have something to ask of you.' He moved away from the sill where he had been leaning to pull forward one of the softer chairs into the flow of cool air from the fans. 'But first you will sit down and be comfortable. I cannot speak with you while you stand so stiffly in the doorway. Please close the door.'

  A bare few hours ago that tone of command would have aroused her to rebellion; now she found herself obeying almost as meekly as one of his own countrywomen. It was the heat, she told herself. It sapped both spirit and energy. She watched him seat himself in the swivel chair behind the desk, met the enigmatic eyes and waited for him to speak.

  'My mother has asked me to convey to you her regret that you did not have longer in which. to talk together,' he said. 'She requests that you come again to the villa after siesta today, when there will be time and to spare for conversation.' As if in afterthought, he added, 'My cousin Marguerite would also be glad of your companionship.'

  And that was open to doubt, thought Nicky, and wondered just for a moment what Nikos himself thought about the invitation. His expression gave nothing at all away.

  `It's very kind of Kyria Alexandros,' she said carefully, 'but I'm afraid I can't accept. Not today, at any rate. I have to go into town this afternoon to see Gerry Copeland at the Castello. It will probably be well after

  five when I get back. Perhaps another day?'

  `Perhaps.' He didn't sound unduly perturbed. 'You will be leaving when?'

  `About two o'clock.'

  `Is it not possible to travel at a more suitable hour when the heat is not so intense?'

  `I'm afraid not. It happens to be the only time we both have readily available.'

  `Then I shall drive you there myself.'

  Nicky was dismayed. 'Oh, but that isn't necessary.

  `It is not only necessary, but convenient,' he put in calmly. 'I must visit the Castello on my own account.' He registered her slight change of expression with a twist of his lips. 'It is not so much of a coincidence as you are thinking. I am there each week to look into my affairs.'

  Her eyes had widened. 'The Castello belongs to you,

  kyrie?'

  `It is the family business. The Xenia was the first of our ventures outside of the restaurant trade, the Castello the most recent. It was opened for the first time this season.'

  Nicky had already known that, only no one had seen fit to metion that both hotels were owned by the same man. The family business, he had called it, but there was only one piper calling the tune, it was certain. She thought of the journey over the mountains in one of the rattling island taxis — which still had to be ordered from the town when she eventually managed to get through on the erratic telephone exchange — and told herself that she would prefer even that to an hour or more

  alone with Nikos Alexandros. However, short of calling

  off her own visit, which she could not do, there seemed no way out of it.

  Behind her the door opened to admit Lee, closely followed by a waiter carrying a loaded tray.

  `Are we all right in here,' asked the former, 'or would you prefer the sitting room?'

  The question could have been addressed to either or both. N
ikos took it upon himself to answer.

  `We will stay where we are, I think. I have only a little time before I must leave.' He waited until the waiter had poured the coffee and left the room before going on, 'You have dealt with this matter we spoke of ?'

  `Yes,' answered his subordinate. 'I don't think you'll have any more trouble. They none of them read either Greek or French, and hadn't realized they were trespassing.'

  `It is not the trespassing with which I am concerned, it is the danger. That part of the cliff is slowly sliding into the sea, and could collapse at any time without warning. The fault, however, is mine in not making certain that my instructions had been carried out. In future you may be assured that the notices will carry warnings in English also.' His gaze swung once more in Nicky's direction. 'You do not care for the way we serve coffee, Miss Brent?'

  `Not the Turkish,' she acknowledged, seeing no call to beat about the bush. 'I suppose one could acquire a taste.'

  `You do not have to apologize,' he came back annoyingly. 'I myself find the brown powder in the small packets equally unpalatable. It will take but a moment to prepare a beverage more to your liking.'

  'It doesn't matter,' she said swiftly as Lee made a move in response to the unspoken command. `Stamatis was saying earlier that it could be a day or two before the wind changes again. Does the sirocco blow very often, kyrie?'

  `Not as often or as fiercely as in the Mediterranean. The Ionian is a female among seas, soft and warm as a woman should be, yet not always predictable in her moods.' Mouth sardonic, he put down his cup and came lithely to his feet. I shall come for you at two o'clock, and you will bring with you a hat. It is enough that you must venture into the afternoon sun at all without inviting the heat-stroke.'

  Lee went out with him to the car, leaving Nicky to start sorting out her paperwork at the desk. There was a report to do to pass on to Gerry this afternoon, and already it was gone half past eleven. In this atmosphere it was going to take her all her time to think about what she had to say, much less get it down on paper.

  Outside, an engine sprang to life, and a moment later the Citroen went past the window. There was a brief glimpse of a dark head, and a hand raised in farewell, presumably to Lee back by the main doors, then he was gone. It was with some vexation that Nicky realized she was straining her ears to listen to the fading sound.

  Lee came back into the room unhurriedly. `God,' he said, 'it's sticky out there. I'd give a lot to know how Nikos manages to stand up to it.' He crossed behind her to adjust the blind, turned back and stood with his back to the sill as the other had stood a little time ago, looking down at her bent head. thought you had to see Gerry at the Castello this afternoon?'

  I do.' She said it to the paper. `He told me he'd take me in. You didn't think it was my idea, did you?'

  'With you, I couldn't be sure.' He paused. was going to offer to run you over myself, as a matter of fact.'

  wish you had. I'd rather be going with you.'

  His laugh was oddly unamused. 'I'd feel decidedly more flattered if I didn't know just how you feel about Nikos. You'd rather be going with anyone else.'

  She twisted in her chair to look at him, said doubtfully, 'Are you annoyed about something, Lee?'

  'Curious might be a better word.' He eyed her levelly. 'Can you think of any particular reason why he should suddenly take it into his head that I could have designs on your youth and innocence?'

  Colour flooded her cheeks. `Oh, lord,' she said ruefully. 'What did he say?'

  `Not to put too fine an edge on it, that I was to lay off. More to the point, What did you say?'

  'It was just a . . . joke. At least . . .' She stopped and bit her lip, glanced at him uncertainly 'To tell you the truth, I can't even remember what I did say. He was going on about Dino, and I had to keep my end up somehow.'

  'So you used me.' He still wasn't smiling. 'One of these fine days you're going to land yourself in it so deep you're going to get hurt, Nicky. Ever thought about that?'

  'No,' she admitted. 'Sorry, Lee, I didn't think about this either. I don't want to lose your friendship.'

  He was silent for a long moment, his expression suddenly confusing. Then he grinned in his usual easy manner, said lightly, 'The thing you're most likely to

  lose is your dignity, if you don't watch it.' He straightened away from the sill. 'I'm going to take a shower. You can reach me on the house phone if I'm needed.'

  Nicky watched him go wryly, aware that anyone else would probably have been furious over what had happened. It had never for a moment occurred to her that Nikos might go so far as to speak to Lee himself, although it certainly should have done with what she knew of him. Thinking about it now she quivered with anger. How dare he try to interfere in her life! Who did he think he was?

  No one felt very much like eating at lunchtime, or even talking a great deal. The humidity deadened thought as much as it restricted physical action, triggered the nerves to a point where irritability took over from reason. Nicky hoped that the evening would bring some relief, though she doubted it. The heat was in the wind rather than the sun. Only when it veered once more to the north would the atmosphere return to normal.

  The Citrien was already waiting outside the main doors when she went down to the vestibule after changing her dress. Nikos was studying the notices on the board, hands in pockets. He turned at the sound of her heels on the terrazzo, his gaze going immediately to the orange straw hat swinging from her fingers.

  `You are ready?' he asked, and she nodded.

  `Quite.'

  They walked together out to the car, where he saw her comfortably settled into the passenger seat before coming round to slide in beside her.

  `I am glad that you did not see fit to defy me over the

  hat,' he remarked when they were moving, and she glanced at him swiftly.

  `The hat is common sense. I would have brought one, anyway.'

  'As you wore one when you visited the Achilleon?' A faint smile touched his lips. 'You English think always that you are immune to the midday sun.'

  'Along with mad dogs, I believe.' She was intensely aware of his nearness within the close confines of the car, of the bare, muscular forearm almost brushing her own when he changed gear. 'If you think so little of the English I'm surprised that you contracted out to a British firm — or did they simply offer most?'

  His hands tautened visibly on the wheel. 'There is a limit to what I will tolerate, even from you,' he said harshly. 'Does it please you so much to anger me?'

  Nicky was already regretting the remark. No matter what the provocation, it really had been appallingly rude. apologize,' she said in low tones. shouldn't have said that.'

  There was a lengthy pause, and when he spoke again his voice was quite different. 'It is the sirocco. It makes one irritable. In Sicily it is said that at one time, if the sirocco had blown for more than ten days, all inexplicable crimes of violence or passion were dismissed. They were said to owe their origin solely to the south wind.'

  'Oh?' She eyed him doubtfully, not at all sure of his mood. 'Do you believe it yourself?'

  'It is possible. Man is ruled by the elements. In winter, when the bora rushes down from the mountains, even the fishermen dare not venture far afield. It was this same wind which drove the ship of St. Paul

  from Crete across the Ionian to Malta, and ran it aground.'

  `How long does the winter last?'

  `About three months. You would feel at home here in January when the ice is on the ground. It is very cold.'

  The perspiration was trickling down her back, her dress clinging to the leather of her seat. Nicky said with feeling, 'I can't imagine ever being cool again, much less cold.'

  `It will be a little better when we reach the mountain pass,' he answered. 'Once among the trees near to the summit we will stop and rest for a while before descending to the highway.'

  `There won't be time, will there? I have to see Gerry at three.'

  `We will
make time,' he returned with characteristic authority. For once you will allow me to know what is best for you.' His glance at her held an unexpected touch of humour. 'I am, as you might say, in the driving seat.'

  He was all of that, and disconcertingly disarming with it all of a sudden. Nicky looked out through the window at the rough but fertile fields, at the mountains ahead, their upper reaches hazed and nebulous against the smoky sky. She felt mixed up, balanced precariously between conflicting emotions — and suddenly a little desperate.

  If it was cooler on the mountain road, it was barely noticeable. The villages through which they passed appeared deserted, the windows closed and shuttered, the geraniums wilting in their boxes. Nikos drew up beside an olive grove where an old and incurious donkey grazed untethered on the sparse dry grass. Taking a rug from the boot of the car, he spread it under the largest and leafiest of the trees and invited Nicky to a seat on it. She took it gingerly, sitting up straight with her back propped against the gnarled bark as he lowered himself at her side. From this angle she would have had to turn her head to see his face, but she could feel him watching her.

  I had thought that the fair-skinned of your race burned in the heat of the sun,' he remarked after a time. 'With you it does not appear to be so.'

  'I'm lucky,' she said. 'Providing I'm fairly careful I can get quite brown.'

  'It is a striking combination, this colouring you have now.' His smile was in his voice. 'Golden hair against a skin of honey.'

  'And eyes like puddles in sand,' she said flatly, and drew an amused laugh.

  'Why is it that English women are embarrassed by the compliment?' he asked lazily. 'Or is it simply that you do not trust me?'

  Nicky reached out and plucked a blade of the coarse grass, ran it through her fingers and registered the quickened beat of her heart. This was not the man she had known this last week . . . or was it?

  'Why should I not trust you, kyrie?' she asked.

  'Because I have you here alone, and at my mercy, and there have been many moments of tolerance on my part for which I could be expected to exact payment.' He hadn't moved an inch, but suddenly he seemed dangerously close. 'You must learn to beware the Greeks, pedhi, and not only when they come bearing