Apollo's Daughter

by Rebecca Stratton

  *Were you thinking of taking a swimsuit with you?' Nikolas asked in a voice that was scarcely above a whisper, and Bethany felt the colour flooding into her face.

  Theo must have caught the words, however softly spoken, and they obviously intrigued him although he said nothing for the moment. Bethany, however, was shaking with some emotion she could not recognise and trying to understand why he should raise such a matter at this particular moment.

  *You ' She licked her dry lips, finding the words

  hard to come by. *You dare to suggest that I'd '

  *I dare?' Nikolas echoed, and she shivered at the narrowed darkness of his eyes fixed on her so steadily. For in them she seemed to see her own nakedly pale form emerging from the moonlit sea to find him standing there on the beach, waiting for her. *I'm your guardian, but it seems I need to remind you of it, yet again!'

  'Niko!'

  She could have cried, only she wouldn't let him see how much he could affect her. She had no idea what he had been going to say when Theo interrupted him earlier, but quite obviously he disliked not onlv his brother's inopportune arrival, but also her readiness to go swimming with him. Strangely though, his reaction did not anger her, only gave her a curious kind of thrill that mingled confusingly with the hurt she felt.

  'You must know I wouldn't,' she whispered, and

  gazed at him in disbelief when he evaded her eyes suddenly. It was strange how she got the impression that for the first time since she had known him, she had the upper hand, though she had no idea how it had come about. *Niko?'

  'Holy Mother!' Again Theo's impatient voice cut into a curiously intimate moment, proclaiming his annoyance at not getting his own way without opposition. 'Don't you take your eyes off her, even to sleep?' he demanded. *Do you stand guard in the small hours too, ready to repel all comers?' He got to his feet, seemingly unaware of the almost tangible air of tension between them and concerned only with his own ineffable frustration. 'A man could die of boredom on your precious little island, cousin 1' he informed Bethany. 'And it wouldn't take twenty-four hours!'

  Neither Nikolas nor Bethany said anything, and after a moment Theo gave an impatient snort of disgust and turned away, marching off across the terrace the way he had come, his tall figure tense with anger and frustration. The moment he was out of sight, Nikolas got up, and as he stood for a moment with both hands clasped behind him and his back to her, Bethany felt the urgent, anxious beat of her heart drowning out every other sound. Maybe Theo had not intended to make mischief, but there was only one way that Nikolas could interpret his words, and Bethany waited for the storm to break.

  *He was here and you knew it!'

  He spoke without turning round, and Bethany pressed her hands together anxiously. It wasn't easy to explain why she had deceived him last night, and the sight of that broad back turned on her did not help at all. She felt too vulnerable and much too insignificant sitting down, and got to her feet.

  'You did know, didn't you?'

  He swung around so swiftly that she took an involuntary step backwards. It wasn't so much a question as a statement of fact, as if he had no doubt at all he was right, and Bethany wondered what on earth she could

  say that would not make matters worse. After the trouble she had gone to to prevent him finding out about Theo, it was ironic that she should be left to face the music alone.

  1—I don't know how to explain/ she confessed in a small and very unsteady voice.

  'But you knew he was there last night—outside somewhere?'

  *I knew—I thought someone was out there.' She ventured a compromise, but it failed as she had known it would.

  *Damn it, Bethany, you knew it had to be Theo!' His mouth had contracted into a firm hard line, while Bethany's in contrast looked soft and very vulnerable. 'And you contrived that little pantomime at the window to let him know I was with you and that the coast wasn't clear!'

  'Nor

  The harsh bark of laughter he gave sent shivers fluttering along her spine so that she crossed her arms over her breast and shook her head slowly. *And I was readily persuaded, wasn't I, Bethany? So ready to indulge your whim and sit there in the window with you!'

  It was hard to believe, judging on his voice alone, that there was hurt as well as anger in his eyes, and Bethany felt a lump in her throat that refused to be swallowed. If it took all the persuasion she was capable of, she had to convince him that she hadn't known Theo was coming.

  'I caught sight of something—^someone outside,* she told him huskily. *I couldn't be sure it was Theo.' Once more he laughed in that hard, humourless way that made her wince as from a blow. *I wasn't there to meet him, Nikolas, you must believe me! *

  'Did I spoil your plans completely?' He ignored her denials and seemed to get some kind of relief out of berating her so ruthlessly. 'Or did he come back later, after I'd left you?'

  As if she had even given Theo a thought, with her

  mouth still tingling from Nikolas's kiss, and feeling as she never had before, with that curious and frightening sensation surging through her body like a fire that threatened to consume her. She hadn't given anyone a thought except Nikolas, and she had relived those few passionate moments in his arms over and over until she fell asleep.

  'You know he didn't come back, Niko,* she whispered, and there was nothing she could do now about the tears that streamed down her face. 'And if he had you know I wouldn't have seen him. You know I couldn't I '

  She tried with every fibre of her being to remind him of that kiss, but perhaps he was too accustomed to such moments to treasure it as she had since last night. She was more hurt than angry, even now, and she could think only of how thrillingly passionate that angry mouth had been when he kissed her, and how willingly she had responded to it.

  'But I don't expect you to admit that you could be wrong,' she went on when he stood silently with one hand rubbing at the back of his head and the other spanned over his right hip. 'Nor do I expect you to apologise for misjudging me, Nikolas. You always have right on your side as you've often reminded me; not

  only right but might too, it seems! I '

  The need to hurt back had driven her thus far, but she couldn't go on and she swallowed hard, incapable of saying another word. Then she turned swiftly and ran back to the house, almost colliding with Takis on his way to eat breakfast.

  He looked at her in some surprise when she did not even answer his greeting, but went straight on upstairs, and as she flopped down on to her bed she hated Theo with a virulence she had never thought herself capable of. She certainly would not marry him, no matter what anyone said to try and persuade her. How could she when it was Nikolas who could lift her to the heights or dash her to the ground merely with a few words?

  It was only when Theo announced his intention of leaving and going back home to Rhodes that Bethany felt a vague prickle of conscience because she had not made him more welcome. Alexia clearly did not know what to believe, but she had a soft spot for Theo and she would have liked him to stay longer, so would Takis.

  'I'm a fish out of water, dear aunt,' Theo told her with his blandest smile. 'This quiet little island isn't my scene at all, though I'm sure it's a perfect paradise for those who like that sort of thing.'

  *I wouldn't change it for all the islands in the Aegean,' Bethany told him, staunchly partisan as always, and Theo smiled, letting a strand of her hair slip through his fingers.

  'I know you say so now, cousin,' he said, and his eyes had a curiously speculative look as he watched her. 'But suppose some day you have to choose?' She frowned at him. 'Between your island and a man you love,' Theo suggested. 'Who'd win that contest, I wonder, Beth, eh?'

  'Apolidus without doubt,' Bethany assured him. 'I couldn't even begin to love a man who didn't like Apolidus.'

  'Like, cousin,' Theo pointed out very seriously, 'is much different from being prepared to give up everything we've come to think of as civilised and stay here forever. Don't you realise that?'
r />   In some curious way he seemed very like Nikolas at that moment, and Bethany felt an affection for him that she had never even come close to before. 'I still think that if he loved me enough he'd stay,' she told him, and it was strange how certain she was that they were both talking about Nikolas. Not only strange but disconcerting.

  'And you, sweet cousin?' Theo asked softly, rippling her tawny hair through his fing<:rs still. 'Would you give up your island—if you loved him enough?'

  Her heart thudded hard and Bethany krcw the colour was in her cheeks, but she determinedly put the

  idea of their hypothetical lover out of her mind. Aware that Alexia too was watching her, and thanking heaven that Nikolas wasn't there to hear them, she shook her head. *I couldn't,' she said. *I couldn't give up Apolidus for anyone, it's—it's my haven, Theo; my—my security.'

  It seemed odd to be talking to Theo like that, and she jumped up after a brief glance at the mantel clock. Alexia glanced at it too and looked unhappy, taking Theo's hands as he prepared to go. 'It would have been good for you to stay longer, Theo,' she told him. 'Come again, eh?'

  Theo wrapped his strong young arms around her shoulders and hugged her close, pressing his smooth cheek to hers. 'Better you come to us, dearest aunt/ he told her, and kissed her affectionately, beaming her his most persuasive smile. *Au revoir, dear aunt, come to us soon!'

  To compensate in some way for her lack of welcome Bethany walked with Theo down to the ferry a few minutes later, and did not bother to ask whether Nikolas approved or not. He had said nothing when she announced her intention, but bade his brother an affectionate goodbye, neither of them showing a trace of animosity, and their near-quarrel of that morning apparently forgotten. It was typical of Greek temperament, Bethany thought with a rare essay into her native character, that such fierce anger could so soon be forgotten.

  Theo was quiet as he walked beside her carrying his light overnight bag, and she could not help but admit that she liked him better when he was being less arrogantly demanding. They said little until they were half-way along the path leading to the harbour, then Theo turned his head suddenly and caught her eye.

  He winked solemnly and she had to hastily control an urge to laugh aloud, a control that slipped completely when he pulled a face at her. Reaching for her hand, he squeezed her fingers so hard that she gasped, then raised them to his lips and kissed each one lightly

  while they walked down the stony path together.

  'Forgive me?' he asked, and Bethany had no need to ask that he referred to his betrayal of their secret that morning. He must have realised how angry Nikolas would be, whether or not he had said anything to him about it afterwards. 1 wouldn't have said anything to make trouble between you and Niko if I'd known, you must know that.' He kissed her fingers lightly once more before letting them go. 'But I didn't know, though I suppose I should have.'

  'What didn't you know?' Bethany asked, but in asking the question it seemed she provided the answer, and she was shaking her head to deny the need for confirmation even before he began.

  'That it's Niko you—care about,' said Theo, and smiled faintly when colour flooded into her cheeks. 'I'm sorry, Beth; forget I said that, hmm?'

  Bethany said nothing for the moment, but a gamut of emotions whirled and tangled through her brain until she found it hard to think clearly about anything at all. She had to skip to keep pace with Theo, and the wind tugged at her tawny hair, blowing it out behind her and keeping the warm bright colour alive in her cheeks. There was enough similarity in Theo to bring something of the same reaction from her, although nothing like the depth of emotion that Nikolas aroused.

  She noticed how tall and straight he was, and how his head was carried with a natural arrogance. A profile, more handsome than Nikolas, but with the same suggestion of a figure cast in bronze, strong and very masculine, displayed against a background of sea and hot blue sky.

  'Will we see you again, Theo?'

  He turned his head and the wind lifted thick black hair, tossing it back from a broad brow, and again he pulled a face. 'I'm not very taken with your island, cousin, so I doubt whether I'll ever come back to it.'

  'Oh, but you haven't given it a chancel' Bethany protested. 'It's beautiful. Theo, the most beautiful in

  the Aegean, or anywhere, and I shall never leave it!'

  His hand squeezed hard, and he was very sober suddenly, his eyes heavy-lidded as he regarded her steadily. *Oh, Beth,' he said softly, 1 think you will.'

  'Never!'

  She was so sure, and yet when she remembered their conversation earlier she wondered if he knew something she did not. Nikolas had said during their first visit to Rhodes, that he would be going back there and taking them all with him. Takis would certainly go, to his new school, and Aunt Alexia she knew would readily go back to her own home; Nikolas's feelings could never be in dispute and it would be him, she realised, whom she would have to persuade if she was ever allowed to stay in Apolidus.

  For the moment she thrust the problem from her mind and concentrated on more immediate matters, finding them much less disturbing. Below against the harbour wall, a small shabby caique bounced on the turning tide, having disgorged the cargo from the squat belly of its hold, and the urgency now was for it to be off again. The captain and his crew, fortified with a friendly glass of raki in the taverna, were waiting.

  It was doubtful if there had been any passengers, for there seldom were passengers to Apolidus, only occasionally someone coming to visit relatives, as Theo had. Walking along the cobbled quay, Theo let go her hand again, as if he guessed that news of Pavlos Mean-dis's daughter walking hand in hand with the xenos would cheerfully be handed round the taverna that evening with the raki. Neither of them doubted that Theo's identity was known to every man, woman and child on the island, no matter how short his stay had been, and such intimacy would be grounds for speculation.

  *I wonder if there's any post,* said Bethany. 'Nikolas has most of it, of course, but occasionally Aunt Alex has a letter from her sister or a friend.'

  'Don't you ever get any?' Theo asked, and she shook her head.

  i

  'Who'd write to me?' she asked, seeing nothing extraordinary in the situation, and Theo shook his head slowly, as if he found it hard to believe.

  'How do you survive such complete isolation?' he asked, and when she smiled. 'Even your ferry is ancient and almost falling to pieces.'

  *Oh, nonsense!' Bethany denied, laughing at what she considered an exaggeration. 'You'd better not let Captain Spiros hear you say that, either 1'

  She laughed gleefully at the very idea of little inoffensive Captain Spiros challenging someone like Theo on any matter at all, and Theo moved a little closer, taking hold of her fingers again, though very discreetly. 'You look beautiful when you laugh,' he told her, and his dark eyes moved in rapt and frank admiration over her slightly flushed face. 'What a glorious bride you'll make, little cousin.'

  As Bethany turned her head to look at him, her heart was clamouring so hard it almost deafened her, and she stared at Theo with a glimmer of wariness in her eyes. 'A—a bride?'

  Theo's dark brows winged upward, as if her question surprised him. 'But of course; you don't plan to remain single all your life, do you?' His glowing eyes once more traversed her features in a way that made her colour rise. 'You don't imagine any red-blooded man will allow such a thing to happen, do you? Least of all Nikol'

  'But ' Bethany swallowed hard, because it was

  suddenly very hard to think clearly. 'Nikolas promised that he wouldn't insist on me marrying someone I didn't love,' she reminded him.

  'And nor will he, sweet cousin,' Theo assured her with a smile.

  'And I've told him that I won't—I don't want to—I mean—I can't marry you, Theo.' She felt horribly anxious suddenly and her tongue flicked nervously across dry lips as she watched his darkly handsome features for some sign of what he was getting at.

  But he merely looked at her from the corner
of his

  eyes and half smiled. *I never imagined you would, Beth,' he told her.

  Quite confused, she frowned at him uncertainly. 'You didn't?'

  Tou don't love me, do you?' he asked, but it was clearly not a serious question, and she shook her head automatically. Then he smiled and there was a warmth in his eyes that reminded her of Nikolas in his gentler moments. *And fortunately, I don't love you, my sweet little cousin, so I'm not likely to raise any objections. There was never any question of you marrying me,'

  *But ' She shook her head in confusion. *Aunt

  Alex said '

  Theo merely smiled, as if he knew a great deal more about the subject they were discussing than she did herself, but there was no time for her to say anything more, for a small wizened man in a peak cap was hurrying along the quay towards them and holding an envelope in one hand which he waved like a flag as he came.

  'Thespinis! Thespinis MeandisI A letter for you from Athens! See the postmark!'

  He was blowing hard and his brown wrinkled face was shiny with perspiration, and as he came to a halt in front of her, Bethany looked at him in disbelief. The man's broken teeth beamed in a satisfied smile, for who better than he to know that the daughter of Pavlos Meandis had never before received any mail? Placing the precious missive in her hands, along with one for Nikolas, he beamed at her.

  'There, thespinisl And one also for Kirios Meandis.'

  Bethany could scarcely believe it until she saw her own name scrawled in large bold script on a plain white envelope, and Theo was watching her with a faintly quizzical smile. *Who'd write to you?' he reminded her, and Bethany shrugged, still hardly convinced. *Who do you know in Athens, Bethany?'

  It occurred to her vaguely that he sounded rather like Nikolas when he used that interrogative tone, and she shook her head. *No one; I mean—I can't think of anyone.'