Zoe let go of the wooden door and took a step back as if the wood had exploded into flames. She glanced around her to see why the guards were not coming up, since they obviously knew what was going on. She took another step back and the floorboard creaked, making her shut her eyes tightly and grimace. Fortunately for her, the sound was not going to be heard by the two people inside the room. She took the tray from the chair and hurried down the corridor and down the steps to get as far away from the room as possible.
The two guards heard her coming down the stairs and looked up with matching smirks. As Zoe passed them, she could hear one of the soldiers laugh and make grunting noises. She looked back and stuck out her tongue at them, which only made them laugh harder.
Zoe entered the kitchen and put the tray on the table with a loud bang, causing the vase with the flower to come crashing to the stone floor.
"Argh! I’m going to go deaf or blind or something!" Zoe yelled and shook herself all over. She put her hand over her eyes. "This is going to be the death of me!"
"Zoe! My dear, what is going on in here?" Despina asked as she hurriedly entered the kitchen.
Zoe had now found where Despina kept the vinegar and brought up the bottle to her lips and took a large swallow. The liquid burned her mouth and she grimaced.
"Yuck!"
Despina looked at the tray minus the vase and then back at Zoe, who was shaking her head. "What are you doing?"
"I’m trying to get the mental image of the cripple and her fiancé out of my head, that’s what."
"How are you going to do that? By drinking my vinegar?"
"Yes, but it’s not working. Argh." Zoe sat down heavily in the chair and put her head down on the table. "Yuck."
Despina sat down next to Zoe and put her hand on her shoulder. "What did you see? Did you walk in on them while they were kissing? I have interrupted them a few times like that."
Zoe lifted her head and gazed at Despina. "Don’t they believe in locking the door?"
"That door doesn’t lock."
"Why not?"
"I don’t know, but it doesn’t lock. That’s why there are two security guards at the top of the stairs. They are there to protect Eva."
"Well, those two idiots were at the bottom of the stairs today."
"So, did you find them kissing?"
"No." Zoe shook her head. "I thought she was in pain and I was about to enter to find out and then I stopped. They were having sex."
"Oh," Despina replied, a tiny trace of a smile was trying not to develop into a full-blown laugh at Zoe’s expense.
Zoe looked up with a scowl. "Don’t laugh at me. Just because I’m a virgin doesn’t mean I don’t know what sex is."
"I’m not saying you don’t know but it’s not something that is wrong. They are engaged and I don’t know how Germans go about their business but it may be customary for them to engage in sexual intercourse before they get married."
Zoe shuddered and put her head back down on the table, letting her forehead touch the wooden surface. "If sex sounds like that, I don’t want anything to do with it."
Despina burst out laughing and put her arm around Zoe’s shoulders. "Oh, my dear girl, you make me laugh!"
"It’s true, Aunty. She sounded like she was in pain. Never mind him—I think he was having a great time."
"Most men have a great time."
Zoe clapped her hands over her ears and shook her head to rid herself of the mental image. "That’s just going to make me sick."
"When two people love each other, they make love after they are married, but we are in a war, so you never know."
"She didn’t sound like she was enjoying it."
Despina smiled. "What did she sound like?"
"She sounded like she was in pain; that doesn’t sound good to me. She sounded like my dog Athena just before I put her down. Do you remember my dog Athena? She was in constant pain."
"I don’t think it’s the same sound." Despina cupped Zoe’s cheek and smiled. "You will understand once you find the right boy."
"I have far more important things to worry about than falling in love in the middle of a war."
"Yes, you do, and you can’t kill her."
"I don’t know what you mean," Zoe replied keeping her head down and worrying a sliver of wood from the table with her fingernail.
"Everyone has heard about your hatred for this woman. Even Grandma Alamnos knows and she’s been deaf for years."
"I don’t think I’ve made that a secret, Aunty."
"No, you haven’t. I’m quite sure several villages further south know of your hatred for her as well. You are mistaken to think that Eva laughed when your mama was dying."
"I know what I heard."
"You think you do but when we are grieving, we tend to hear a lot of things. I remember when my Pericles died—I thought I heard angels calling his name."
"They were calling his name; he was a great man," Zoe said and took Despina’s hand. "He and my papa were the finest men God ever created."
Despina nodded and crossed herself. "Thank you, sweetheart. I still miss my darling Pericles. Zoe, you can’t continue to hate. Yes, we must cleanse our soil of these Germans but the hatred will eat you up."
"It won’t eat me up," Zoe replied quietly. "I am on a mission of vengeance and that is what keeps me going. I wake up in the morning and all I think about is killing her. It’s better than waking up and wanting to be dead."
"You can’t kill Father Haralambos’ daughter."
Zoe lifted her head and gazed at Despina. "You know about that?"
Despina smiled affectionately at Zoe. "Sweetheart, the gray-haired ones in the village remember Eva’s mother, Daphne. Eva is the spitting image of her mother."
"She is?"
"Oh, yes. Daphne was a very beautiful girl and all the boys wanted to marry her. Daphne was a really gentle girl with a good heart. My oldest daughter, Kaliope, and Daphne, along with Alexandra, were best friends."
"So the cri—" Zoe stopped when she saw the disapproving look she was getting from Despina. "So Eva is Greek?"
"No. Not fully. Daphne’s mother was German, and her father was Greek. You have heard of Petros Mitsos?"
"Of course, who hasn’t? He fought during the Liberation and was a hero."
"Petros Mitsos is Eva’s grandfather. Unfortunately for Daphne she fell in love with Father Haralambos, before he was a priest, and they committed fornication. Daphne’s mother Eva Theresa was distraught, as was her father. It brought great shame to the family."
"Poor Father Haralambos."
"Yes. He asked for Daphne’s hand in marriage but Petros was adamant that he would never marry his daughter."
"So she married the German instead? That’s a great choice."
"Well, a father never knows what will happen to his daughter once he gives her away. The poor family is cursed."
Zoe’s scowled at Despina’s words. "Cursed? What do you mean? Are they all crippled?"
"No, they are fine. Eva is not a cripple. She had an accident and her back has been severely damaged."
"If that’s the case, why does her father have her upstairs! I get tired walking up those steps so I don’t think she’s going to find them easy to navigate."
"I don’t know, I didn’t ask him. When you help her bathe you are not to say anything about her scars. She feels very self-conscious about them. You would feel the same way if they were your scars."
"Alright, I won’t mention them." Zoe nodded. "Why do I have to help her bathe? I don’t feel like seeing her naked."
"That’s your job. You are her maid."
"Oh." Zoe sighed. "Why is the family cursed?"
"Oh, that." Despina crossed herself and kissed the crucifix that hung around her neck. "It’s a very long story but Eva Theresa’s aunty Erika was in an asylum; she was totally mad. She could speak to the dead and see the future."
"Isn’t that what Kiria Danallis does?"
Despina smiled. "Kiria
Danallis makes all that up—she’s just a gypsy with nothing better to do. No one can foresee the future. Father Haralambos says that God doesn’t give this gift of prophecy anymore to His chosen. That ability now comes to humans via Satan and the demons. These people are possessed."
"So did this Aunt Erika really speak to the dead?"
"I don’t know, but she was locked up for a long time. Daphne had a younger sister called Theresa. She was a quiet and kind young girl but she was demon possessed, the poor child."
"Wow."
"Eva Theresa didn’t know what to do and in the end they had to send her to Athens because the priests couldn’t cure her. It was the turn of the doctors and they tried everything."
"Did they make her better?"
"Unfortunately young Theresa died in a tragic fire at the asylum so we will never know. Then Daphne fell pregnant and well, their troubles continued."
"That is a very cursed family."
"They are. Now we have young Eva. Her mother was murdered, and then Eva suffered a very bad accident. She was married to a young doctor for two years and he died when he was sent to war. Now she has found happiness with Captain Reinhardt. She deserves some happiness."
"So is that why I shouldn’t kill her, because she found happiness with a German?" Zoe asked incredulously.
"No, you shouldn’t kill her because she hasn’t done anything to deserve your wrath."
"She laughed when my mama was dying."
"Sweetheart, you can’t kill Eva. If you do, all the work she is doing with Father Haralambos will be in vain."
Zoe stared at Despina for a long moment. "How do you know about that?"
"Father Haralambos told me. He needed someone to look out for Eva but I couldn’t do it on my own. I need your help. We all need your help."
"I’m thwarted at every turn," Zoe muttered. "I’m not going to like her. Just because I’m helping her doesn’t mean I’m going to stop hating her."
"No one is asking you to like her. You just have to help her and the rest of us to help those poor people escape."
"Alright."
"Good. Why don’t I make you something to eat and also get Eva something else since those eggs are cold by now?"
"She’s going to need her strength," Zoe muttered under her breath.
Despina chuckled as she got up from the table to make breakfast for Zoe and another for Eva. Zoe watched her and then left the kitchen and shook her head at how she was once again thwarted in her attempts to kill Eva.
Chapter Seventeen
Zoe covered the breakfast tray once again with a towel and lifted it off the table. She glanced at Despina, who smiled at her while she was cleaning potatoes in the sink. She left the kitchen and slowly made her way back up the steps. This time the soldiers were standing to attention, one at the foot of the staircase. The guard gave her a cursory glance. Zoe was quite certain he had winked at her, but she made sure to keep her eyes forward and not look back.
At the top of the steps Henry, the guard Zoe had nicknamed Goliath, was standing to attention. He had been missing from this morning’s antics but he was back in his usual post. He nodded briefly as Zoe passed him.
Zoe stopped midway down the corridor and leaned to the right. The door was open. Well, they must have finished. She looked back at Henry, who was staring at her. He was smiling, which surprised Zoe. His features changed and he looked so young that she almost forgot he was the enemy.
Zoe turned her attention back to her task at hand. Her job for the morning was bringing breakfast for Eva, cleaning Eva’s room, and then helping her bathe. She took a moment to will herself to be civil, although she wasn’t sure how she was going to do that.
"I have--" Zoe entered the room and stopped dead.
Captain Reinhardt was fully dressed in his uniform and the two lovers were kissing, but Eva’s robe was open. Reinhardt had a possessive hold of the back of Eva’s head, his fingers entangled in her black hair. His other hand was obstructed from view by Eva’s robe but there was no denying what he was doing to his fiancée. In the seconds Zoe went from entering the room to shutting her eyes and turning around, she saw Eva’s breasts, bare stomach, and one very long leg. Zoe was embarrassed she had caught the two lovers.
The two lovers stopped immediately as soon as they saw Zoe, who had turned her back on them and was staring at the floor and wondering how easy it would be to kill both of them if she had a gun.
"Ah, this is my cue to leave," Reinhardt said with a slight laugh. Zoe heard him kiss his fiancée. To her utter amazement, Reinhardt ruffled her hair in passing her out the door. For a long moment Zoe didn’t move, unsure what to do.
Zoe turned around and scowled. "Ever thought of using a lock on the door?"
"Ever thought of waiting to enter before you enter?" Eva replied and tightened the sash around her robe. "I have my breakfast in the next room, never in my bedroom," she said and walked out, leaving Zoe to stare at her retreating form.
Zoe did a mock Hitler salute at Eva’s retreating back and shook her head. "Stupid bitch," she muttered as she followed her into the drawing room, where she had initially met Eva as her new maid.
The room had more light than the bedroom. Zoe spotted the table nearby and put Eva’s tray on it. Eva paid no attention to her at all. She stood by the window looking out while Zoe arranged the tray. Zoe looked up to see Eva’s reflection in the windowpane. The mid-morning sunshine caressed her black hair, which cascaded down her back. Zoe was transfixed by the colors of dark blue and black.
"Do you have to stare at me?" Eva asked, not bothering to turn around.
Zoe was not embarrassed at being caught. She merely shrugged off Eva’s terse question and was about to answer when Nurse Edith walked in. She glanced at Zoe for a moment.
"Do I know you?" Edith asked.
"No," Zoe replied in German.
"This is my new maid. Her name is Zoe Lambros," Eva said as she came away from the window and took a seat on the sofa.
"Ah, yes, Major Muller did mention you. I’m Nurse Ratsger. I am Fraulein Eva’s nurse. Do you understand what I am saying?"
Zoe gazed at Edith’s severe face and then looked at Eva, who had slightly turned away, but Zoe could see her grim look. She turned back to Edith and nodded.
"Good." Edith turned away from Zoe and took Eva’s arm. "I leave for one day and I come back to some happy news!"
Eva nodded and brought up her hand to reveal the ring Reinhardt had given her. "He proposed last night."
"He is a wonderful man," Edith said as she gazed at the ring.
"He is," Eva replied as another nurse entered the room. She was in her early twenties and appeared to be friendly. She was a tall woman with blond hair that was tucked under her nurse’s hat. She stood respectfully next to Edith, who was removing some items from her bag. Eva looked briefly at the nurse without acknowledging her presence.
"Eva, this is Nurse Alana Langstein," Edith said without being asked. She glanced up at Eva, who was staring at Alana. "Nurse Langstein, excuse Fraulein Muller’s rudeness. She dislikes all nurses."
Alana’s dark blue eyes crinkled and she smiled at Eva. "Well, I hope we can change that." Zoe watched the interaction completely fascinated by Edith’s behavior and her lack of respect for her employer.
"I have seen you around," Eva said as she looked up at Alana.
Who is she? I’ve never seen you around. Zoe was eager to find out. She had sat down at a nearby chair and watched. She was mesmerized by the tone in Eva’s voice and her eyes. Her mama used to say that an artist can see into a person’s soul by looking into their eyes. Eva’s eyes betrayed her true feelings, and Zoe wasn’t sure why Edith couldn’t see Eva’s contempt for her. Zoe could clearly see it. You are in a lot of pain and you definitely don’t like this new nurse. She was intrigued by the way Eva was standing. It was obvious to her untrained eye that Eva’s back was giving her a great deal of problems.
"Did you forget to take your pain medication?
"
Eva sighed and shook her head. "No, I didn’t forget."
Edith turned to Alana. "Eva is not an easy patient to treat. She will, at times, not take her medication."
The two nurses exchanged glances, which made Zoe lean forward in her chair, eager to decipher the latest mystery.
"Did you run out of your medication?" Alana asked Eva as if she was talking to a child.
"No."
"You just didn’t want to take it?" Alana took Eva’s hand and held it.
Zoe’s eyebrows lifted at Alana’s actions. Edith was either oblivious to Alana’s behavior or it was premeditated. There was something very wrong in the whole interaction but Zoe wasn’t sure what it was.
"I don’t like how they make me feel."
"We’ve had this conversation before. Her injuries won’t get better if she doesn’t follow medical advice. She’s been a rather stubborn patient even in Aiden, although now that I think about it." Edith stopped for a moment before she turned to Eva and smiled. "You were never a good patient—you couldn’t stand to stay in bed."
Alana made a clucking noise and Zoe immediately hated the way it sounded. "Medications always made me feel ill as well, but I think we can fix that little problem."
What happened in Aiden? Where is Aiden? Zoe kept a running commentary on the conversation going on around her. She wasn’t even sure why she was in the room. Curiosity won over the need to stay silent.
"What happened to you?" Zoe asked, which got all three women to turn to her.
"Eva suffered a severe injury to her back several years ago in Berlin which took her a great deal of time to recover from. She was treated by her uncle, Dr. Muller. Whilst we were in France with her father, the house they were living in was bombed by the French Resistance. Major Muller suffered some minor bruises but Fraulein Muller’s room was destroyed and she was caught up in the blast."
In The Blood Of The Greeks (Intertwined Souls Series Book 1) Page 14