by Anne Hampson
'You don't wish any longer to share lunch with Marina and me?' Sad the tone, and Kathryn bit her lip. She liked her mother-in-law enormously and felt sorry for her, too, because she could have had such a good life with Demetrius if it hadn't been for her daughter's illness.
'I like to get away from this house,' was all she said when at length she broke the silence. 'I'm so disillusioned, as I know you would be if you were in my position.'
She left the patio, and the woman standing there—a tall and elegant woman looking years younger than her age, which was fifty-five. She took care of her hair and her skin; she dressed with extraordinary taste and chic. It was no wonder Demetrius was in love with her. And how patient and understanding he was! Kathryn felt that all these people were fine and likable, and if only her marriage had been normal, she could have been the happiest girl in the world. As it was… well, she seemed to have a subconscious desire to dislike anyone and everyone who had anything to do with her husband, which, she honestly owned, was not only illogical but also unfair and very mean-minded.
But how did one cope with such emotions? Her feelings towards both Mrs. Coletis and her daughter had become negative—although she would never have done either of them harm. She especially had sympathy for Marina, whose illness—whether caused by the curse or not—was most distressing, and when Kathryn had met Christos one day when he called unexpectedly to see Marina, she had felt inexpressibly sad for them both. It was plain that the young man was madly in love with Marina, but he still had this other friend. Kathryn, finding herself alone with him for a moment, had tentatively asked him about her. He was in no way serious, he had said. She was merely his mistress, and if he could not marry Marina, then he would continue to have this girl, but she knew he would never make her his wife.
She met Jake at a pre-arranged place in the Plaka and they decided to drive to a restaurant at Glifadha which Jake had frequented when he first came to Athens a few years ago on holiday. They sat in a shady garden and looked out over the smooth, aquamarine sea where caiques and graceful yachts and other vessels provided their own special interest.
'What are you having?' Jake's voice was low, familiar, his smile spontaneous, his eyes frank and open. 'I expect you are starting with a meze?'
She nodded, opening up the menu and soon deciding on the souvlaki—lamb roasted on a charcoal grill and flavoured with thyme and other herbs. It was served on a skewer and had as accompaniments crisp fried potatoes and a fresh green salad. The wind which Jake chose was Domestika, product of the Peloponnese, where, in the Middle Ages, the Crusaders from France cultivated vineyards which had produced the wine ever since.
But first came the starter, a meze of aubergines marinated in oil, pistachio nuts, small pieces of anguri —which were the delicious small cucumbers so popular everywhere in Greece—and several kinds of small fish roe topped with caviar.
'That was delicious!' enthused Kathryn, wondering how, in so short a time, she had come to like Jake so much. He was charming, thoughtful, attentive… All a woman could desire in an escort. That he liked her was more than evident; in fact, there was already danger because, aware as he was of the failure of her marriage, he had not put too much restraint on his feelings and it was evident to Kathryn that he would need very little encouragement to speak openly of her attraction for him.
The wine came; it was delicious and a little heady.
'I shall be on air in a moment.' She laughed as she spread a hand above her glass when he would have filled it up. 'You can manage the rest surely?'
'Have a drop more,' he persuaded. 'Just a little drop.'
But she shook her head. 'I have to go home, remember.'
'And it wouldn't do for your husband to see you tipsy.'
'Well, he'd guess I'd not managed to get that way on my own.'
He was serious for a moment, looking at her with the undisguised admiration to which she was fast becoming used. 'Does it really matter if he knows about us?'
There, it was out! Kathryn had not wanted it to be like this. She was happy with Jake, seeing him every day, either for lunch or afternoon tea, and with never a thought for anything beyond the present. She was in limbo, sad at heart and trying this form of escapism in order to assuage both the pain and her pride.
'I don't want a showdown,' she said frankly. 'You see, Jake, I still love my husband—'
'You can't, dear, not after what he did to you,' protested Jake, automatically passing her a menu which had just been handed to him. She accepted it, but said immediately that she did not want a dessert, just coffee—French coffee, not the sticky black concoction called Turkish coffee. 'You can't still love him,' repeated Jake on accepting the menu back again. 'Such a revelation must surely have killed your love.'
But she shook her head, and saw him fix his eyes on the thick halo of her hair as it shone with the movement, catching the sun's slanting rays as they escaped through the branches of the trees.
'You don't let love die so easily, Jake. Much as it hurts here…' She put a quivering hand to her left breast. 'Much as it hurts, you don't let it die.'
'You'd like it to, though?' he asked, and a frown creased her wide, intelligent brow.
'I suppose it would be more comfortable,' she admitted. 'But what a loss.'
'One should cut one's losses and start again, Kathryn.' So solemn and persistent. She said gently, automatically lifting her glass and regarding him from above its rim, 'You have a lot of studying to do, Jake, before you can think of anything else.'
'Marriage?' He sighed, and for a space there was silence between them. 'I want you for my friend— and for always, Kathryn,' he stated when at last he spoke.
'Let us not talk about such things, but take what we have,' she begged. 'I'm happy with you, Jake, but I don't love you. A woman can love only one man at a time,' she added with a feeble little laugh.
'I think you could come to care—'
'Please,' she entreated swiftly. 'Don't spoil what we have, Jake.'
He let the matter drop, much to her relief, but when the meal was over, he asked her if she really had to go back or if she could stay with him a little while longer. Because the temptation to be happy was strong, she consented and they walked on the seafront, Kathryn as always affected deeply by the invigorating air, said to be unique in all the world. It seemed to stimulate one's thoughts and ideas, one's energies, even. And one never craved for food in this climate, which was unusual; Kathryn had once remarked to her husband that the air was a substitute for food.
'Happy?' Jake took her hand, and she did not resist. His glance was slanting, admiring, anxious. 'You sometimes look so sad, dear, and it makes me sad too.'
'I am sad at times,' she admitted. 'I was so optimistic about my marriage, and yet…'
'Yes?'
'I knew so little about Leon. We had three weeks together while on holiday, and then he asked me to marry him.'
'If he lives here, then why was he on holiday for three weeks in Greece? I mean, you'd have supposed he'd go somewhere a bit farther afield than the Peloponnese.'
'He wasn't on holiday originally. He admitted this later. He'd had some business meeting at the hotel and another one somewhere else, so he stayed on for a couple of days or, rather, that was his original intention. But then he saw the ring and decided to try to get it.' She paused, reluctant to discuss her husband, but then she remembered she had told Jake just about everything anyway, so it did not matter if he knew the rest.
'He actually told you all this?' Jake was plainly puzzled at the idea of Leon's making such an admission.
'Not until later. When I asked him how he came to be in the Peloponnese for three weeks, he said at first that he was so attracted to me that he just had to stay. However, it wasn't that at all.'
'This ring seems really to be cursed,' he said after a thoughtful silence.
'It's the whole set of jewellery, not just one piece.'
'You believe in it?'
'I don't know, Jake. It
's a very strange business. I never was one to believe in the supernatural, but undoubtedly there's something a little frightening about this jewellery.'
'Why the dickens didn't Marina sell it?'
'I feel she would have done, but it was a present from her father and she felt sentimental about it. Don't forget, she didn't have the illness until she learned about the curse.'
'Which proves it's psychological.'
'That's what my husband says, but he felt the only way to make Marina better was to get that ring for her.'
'I still think that he ought to have persuaded her to sell it.'
Kathryn shook her head, remembering Leon's saying that Marina had at first been secretive and so neither he nor his mother had even remotely guessed that the illness stemmed from imaginings due to Marina's knowledge of the curse.
'It was too late anyway. She is genuinely ill, Jake.'
'I don't doubt it, but it's a most interesting case from a doctor's point of view. The girl's own doctors can't help her, of course.'
'They can't diagnose the complaint, so they're helpless.'
'I wonder if she'll improve after you've given her the ring.'
'We're all hoping so, especially her young man. He's so nice, Jake, and he's very much in love with her.'
Jake fell silent, and for a while they strolled along in a companionable quietness with only the song of birds and chirping of cicadas to intrude. Palms danced against a clear sapphire sky and the scent of flowers filled the air. The sun was hot, but a faint breeze came in from the sea, bringing a welcome coolness to fan their faces. Kathryn was happy in a certain way even while poignantly aware of memories… lovely memories of walks like this by the sea at Nauplia, walks with the man she loved… She remembered the delightful little cafes strung along the waterfront where you could take afternoon tea and face the clear shining waters of the bay. The cafes were often set under a canopy of vines or beneath shady trees, and flowers seemed to abound everywhere. Happy days, but the memories had now become sad.
After a while she glanced at her watch. 'I really must ask you to drive me back,' she said, but with a sigh which could not possibly escape her companion.
'It isn't so very late,' he began, but she shook her head, repeating that it was time he drove her back.
They drove in silence for most of the way, absorbed in their own thoughts. But as they entered the bustle of the city, he asked if he could drive her home.
'Right home?' she exclaimed. 'No, Jake—'
'I didn't mean right to your very door. But at least I can drop you within walking distance.'
He had never even suggested this before, but in any case, this was the first time they had gone out of the city. Usually they lunched in the Plaka or in one of the hotels.
'All right,' she agreed after another moment's thought. 'You can drop me near the main road. There's a small road off it, and then our drive branches out through the trees.'
In recent years Athens had spread high up into the foothills near the massive amphitheatre on the heights, and wealthy people had settled in these cooler places where the scenery and panoramic views were unparalleled for their beauty. And it was on one of these wooded slopes that Leon's father had built the luxurious villa, set in several lush acres of gardens and woodland. It was an idyllic setting and yet close to the city.
'This is where you can drop me,' Kathryn said when, at length, Jake turned off the main road onto a smaller one lined with palms and jacaranda trees with here and there a crimson hibiscus flaunting its glorious blooms in the sunshine.
'Tomorrow?' Jake asked briefly and with a sideways glance as he stopped the car.
'Where shall we meet?'
'Constitution Square.' He told her exactly where he would be, and then he got out of the car, went to her side and opened the door for her to alight. And as she came close to where he was standing, he brushed her cheek with his lips.
She coloured and shied away… and yet she had known, somehow, that he would kiss her today…
'Till tomorrow, then. Noon, as usual.'
She stood for a while watching the car before turning to walk along the smaller road, which was really not a road at all but merely a track wide enough for one car only. It had a couple of passing places which were scarcely necessary, as the only cars to use the track were those belonging to Leon and another property owner who lived some few hundred yards farther along.
She walked slowly, her thoughts flitting from Jake to Leon and back again. She was not conducting her life very well at all, she concluded, feeling the wisest thing she could do would be to break with Jake without any further delay. And yet, if she did, what was there to live for? Bitterly it was borne in upon her that she was in a sorry plight if all she had to live for were these clandestine meetings with a man she did not even love. A deep sigh escaped her as she thought of Jake and the way he was beginning to care for her. It certainly was not fair to him, this rapidly developing affair. Yes, it was an affair, even though there was nothing seriously wrong taking place. She had not been unfaithful to her husband and she never would be. Her ideals were still high and she was thankful that with the changes that were taking place within her, at least she had not damaged her honour. But what of the future? Leon had taught her things about herself which she had never known, or even guessed. He had brought about the discovery that she was a passionate woman with desires which were equal to his. They had been perfectly matched physically, but now she seemed to be facing a future of cold isolation from all that was natural between a man and a woman. A starved life, barren and lonely. Tears gathered; she brushed them away, angry at her weakness of self-pity.
It was the life she herself had chosen, having rejected her husband, so she could do nothing but abide by the decision she had made. But this brought her no nearer the vital decision of whether or not to break with Jake. She decided to leave it for a while, since he would be back at the hospital within a few days, working hard and therefore unable to see her very often. Yes, she would leave it for a white—let things develop in their own way.
The house was warm and welcoming in the golden light of the Grecian sun, and for a moment Kathryn's heart was strangely light. This was her home and could be for as long as she cared to live here. She was fortunate in some ways. But as she drew closer, her heart became heavy again, because she wanted to see her husband come lovingly to meet her, to take her in his arms…
'You've been gone a long time!' he said harshly when, on entering the hall, she came face to face with him. 'What do you do by yourself for several hours every day?'
'Look at the shops,' she answered and, sweeping past him, she went to her room, there to put her face in her hands and weep bitterly into them.
Chapter Seven
The following evening there was a special dinner for Marina's birthday. Kathryn had given her the ring that morning, and she felt she would never ever forget the glowing look on her sister-in-law's face as she held it in her hand for a long moment before slipping it onto her little finger.
'How can I thank you, dearest Kathryn?' Marina's eyes shone up at her from the chair in which she was sitting—not the wheelchair, for she used that only when she wanted to get about the house and garden, but a chair by the window where, on a small table, her breakfast had been placed by one of the maids. Kathryn had gone in to her private little sitting-room and had presented her with the ring. It had been strange, giving it away, and for a while Kathryn had known a tinge of resentment at having to part with it. Yet hadn't she always said she would be glad if she ever found the owner of the rest of the jewellery? 'You have no idea what this means to me,' she heard Marina say eagerly. 'I never thought you would make me this lovely gift. I shall treasure it forever!'
Kathryn stood staring down at her. 'You're going to wear it all the time?'
'Of course—for a while at any rate.' There was a long pause, and Kathryn strongly suspected that Marina came very near to telling her the story of the curse. However, Marina me
rely said, 'I feel so happy, Kathryn! And I am really looking forward to my party this evening!'
'Party?' It was the first Kathryn had heard of a party. 'Are you having one?'
'Well, it's not really a party, but a dinner for six of us.'
'Six? I suppose Demetrius is coming, but who is the other one?'
'Christos,' supplied Marina quietly. 'I feel so happy that he will be with us.'
Christos and Kathryn had sat together in the salon where aperitifs were taken while they waited for the signal that dinner was ready. Kathryn had said curiously, 'If Marina gets better, you'll marry her?'
'But of course.' He was a man of medium height with very dark skin and eyes. He was very English, though, in his looks, in the clean-cut structure of his face, and he spoke with scarcely any accent at all.
'You believe she will get better?'
'I pray for it, Kathryn,' he answered seriously. 'It is a strange illness which came slowly but frightened me as I watched my beloved become morose and sad, as if she had some secret trouble on her mind that was eating into it, and into her body.'
He paused, and Kathryn said with a frown, 'Did you not feel it was a remarkable thing that the doctors— obviously the best obtainable—could not discover what had caused this illness?'
'It baffled everyone because Marina was so full of life. I loved her on sight and would have married her very soon, but I had my studies to finish—I was at Athens University. Well, this malady came…' He broke off, spreading his hands in a little gesture of helplessness and bafflement. 'It is still a mystery and always will be, whether she recovers or not.'
Obviously he knew nothing about the curse, and Kathryn could not help wondering what he would think if he ever did learn of it. He was so practical that she felt he would never believe that such things could be effective… and yet it had been effective. But only because Marina was susceptible to such things, being superstitious.