Second-Best Bride

by Margaret Rome

  Angie stirred, closed her eyes, and turned a serene yet haunted face towards the sun. She was not yet enormous, indeed, when seated, with a loose smock billowing around her form, she looked very much as normal. It was not until she rose to her feet that the burden she was carrying became obvious. Nevertheless, she was discovering that she needed to sleep each day, so she had taken to napping in the garden so that her baby could derive as much benefit as possible from clean, sweet, air and hot Greek sunshine before they were forced to leave for England.

  She was just on the verge of dozing off when the crunch of footsteps on a stone-paved path brought an indulgent smile to her lips. From the moment the news of her pregnancy had been made public Nikos had decided that it was his duty to act as her protector in the kirios's absence—a role that set the emotional Greek seesawing between the pride of a crowing cockerel and the anxiety of a mother hen. Angie lifted one drowsy eyelid, won­dering what form of refreshment he had fetched this time, and saw him hovering with a tray containing a glass of milk and a few baclavas, nutty sweetmeats rich and sticky with honey.

  'Sigha . . .!' He pleaded with her to take things easy as he deposited the tray on a table placed close to her hand. He beamed, then subconsciously tensed as he waited for the question that sounded less casual with each passing day.

  'Has any mail arrived for me yet, Nikos?'

  'Not yet,' he admitted gruffly, then attempted to lighten the solemnity of her eyes by observing, 'but there is a boat on the horizon that seems to be heading towards the island, so perhaps...' His shoulders lifted in a shrug, indicating that she might hope—but not too much. When her lashes drooped to hide the sparkle of tears he started towards her and, inwardly condemning the kirios four times to hell, tried to justify his absence.

  'A great deal of work must have accumulated while the kirios was in hospital, so doubtless he has once again become embroiled in affairs of business. He will return soon, I am certain, for never has he absented himself so long from the island.'

  'How long was he in hospital, Nikos?' Angie reached out an unsteady hand for the glass of milk and started to sip it slowly.

  'Many weeks,' he brooded, 'weeks during which the doctors gave him hope but no promises. All the time the surgeons, worked on his eyes he never complained of pain or discomfort because always he was hoping for a miracle. But after many pain­ful corneal grafts had failed to take he seemed to lose hope completely, to resign himself to living the life of a blind man.'

  'He gave up hope?' Her head jerked upright. 'But what about the specialists, what did they have to say?'

  'They wanted to make one last attempt to re­store his sight in a way that had never been tried before, but he would have none of it,' Nikos sighed. 'From the very beginning he showed a marked distaste for the grafting operation, it was as if not only physically but spiritually he was re­jecting spare-part surgery.'

  'Second best,' Angie murmured almost to herself. 'He would want nothing that was not entirely of his own choosing.'

  'And nothing is exactly what he has been left with,' Nikos's quick ears had caught her words. 'Because of his stubborn independence he has been left blind to the unhappiness he has caused, even blind to the fact that the mistress of Karios bears him a child!'

  She ought to have prepared him for the shock of discovering that she was not to be mistress of Karios much longer, but instead she took refuge in cowardice, and intimated that she was tired by leaning back her head and closing her eyes.

  He was quick to take the hint. 'Try to sleep,' he encouraged. 'The boat I saw earlier has almost reached the jetty—if it brings mail, I will fetch it to you immediately.

  'She took his advice and drifted into a doze, but after what could have been minutes or even half an hour she heard once more the sound of approach­ing footsteps and jerked wide awake, expecting to see Nikos bringing a letter. But the figure that was approaching with the sun behind him was too tall, too pantherish in stride, to be mistaken for the stockily-built servant.

  She did not question the confidence, the sureness of step that directed Terzan straight towards her, because her love for him was so great that, had she been a blinkered bird, she knew she could have homed directly to him. With her heart in her eyes she faced the stare of smoky lenses, scoured his face and noted that it was so much paler, so much more strained than it had been when she had last seen him. Giving joy full rein because there was no danger of detection, she whispered, 'Terzan ...!' his name brushing soft as the wing of a butterfly passed her lips.

  An age seemed to pass before he responded, an age of tense uncertainty during which dark lenses bore down upon her face, steady and intently probing.

  'Angelina,' he finally rasped, 'now that I am home, you seem in no hurry to learn the outcome of my journey. Don't you care,' he clamped, 'have you no interest at all in what has been happening?

  'The sharpness of his voice jolted her back to painful reality. Remaining still and cold as a statue, her head a drooping silver bell, she forced the reply.

  ‘I felt there was no need to ask, you always manage to accomplish whatever you set out to do, Terzan, so I'm sure you've managed to get a divorce.'

  'Divorce . . .?' Suddenly he dropped to his knees beside her and whipped dark glasses away from blazing amber eyes. 'What are you saying, An­gelina?'

  'Cilla told me you were leaving the island to seek a divorce so that you and she could marry,' she gasped, terrified by his look of anger.

  'May she go ten times to hell!' he spat, tightening his fists in a spasm of impotent fury. ‘I made it worth your sister's while to leave Karios because I suspected her of plotting mischief, but I had no idea that I had left it too late!'

  Angie sat dazed, wondering if she were dream­ing, if Nikos would suddenly arrive to shake her awake, but when Terzan gripped her shoulders the pain was too real, the tremors that ran through her body too agonisingly familiar.

  'Then why did you leave?' she choked. 'What reason did you have for going away?'

  The flame in his eyes died low. He hesitated to steady his voice before reminding her huskily, 'The surgeon's scalpel, remember, Angelina ...?' He waited for some sign of comprehension, then when she did not speak he spelled out gravely, 'Priscilla knew that it was my intention to return to the hospital for further treatment on my eyes. One last attempt, the surgeons said, might restore my sight, and though I had decided I had had enough of unsuccessful operations, of having my hopes built up and then having them dashed, the chance that you might not shrink from me if I were sighted, that you might even be able to love me, was sufficient incentive to make me change my mind. For four days after the bandages were removed I was convinced the operation had failed, even though the doctors assured me that with eye operations one can never expect immediate results, then gradually I began to get a very misty vision of the world—the first object I was able to identify was the small onyx butterfly that never left my possession, that gave me courage to go through with the operation.'

  She stared transfixed by eyes she had imagined were blind, then when comprehension fully dawned a slow, painful blush began rising in her cheeks.

  'Are you telling me that you can see?' she trembled, lifting her hands up to her face as if compelled to hide.

  ‘I can see perfectly.' He stared deeply at her stricken face, then questioned softly, 'Shall I tell you what I can see? I see a face that is a perfect match for a gentle, lovely voice; I see eyes ten­der and grey as dove-down; I see a blush that re­calls to mind a painfully shy young bride and a mouth—' Suddenly his composure broke. 'Oh, that mouth, Angelina!' he groaned, pulling her into his arms, ‘I have recaptured its sweetness in my dreams, I have ached for its loving generous blessing every waking moment...!'

  Questions, pleas, explanations were all thrust aside by the impatient Greek who could wait no longer. She was crushed, entwined tightly within his arms, and kissed until he had slaked his thirst for sweetness, but when her impassioned responses threatened to stampede his desi
re for more, he stamped a brake upon passion and held her very still.

  ‘I adore you, elika,’ he swore hoarsely. 'All that I am is yours to do with as you will, so why do you hold back, where do I find the key to that secret store of reserve?'

  She did not pretend to misunderstand, ‘I love you very much, Terzan,' she told him shakily, 'but trust takes time—just a short while ago you were in love with Cilla—I saw you kissing her the night before you left the island.'

  He released her to cup her small pointed chin between his palms, ‘I thought I was kissing you,' he told her simply. 'Only moments before I had chided you for your coolness, so when I smelled your perfume and felt the touch of lips against my cheek I imagined it was your way of showing peni­tence. Also,' his voice hardened, ‘I never loved Priscilla—it amused me for a while to pander to her conceit and to play up to the notions of her stupid friends who seemed to think she was a siren who could entice any man she wanted into her net.'

  'But the letters you wrote,' she protested, 'the threats you made when she refused to marry you?'

  'Were a punishment,' he drawled, showing a hint of ruthless Greek, ‘I was appalled by the effect her callous rejection might have had on any man in my position who was genuinely in love. I could have not been more dismayed when I received a message informing me that a Miss Rose was waiting to be picked up at the airport.'

  When, with eyes softly glowing, Angie stood on tiptoe to beg forgiveness with a kiss his hands snapped down to her waist, then suddenly froze.

  There is something different about you,' he frowned, then closed his eyes, using his hands to explore in Braille. The impact of his discovery shocked his eyes wide open to decipher truth from her sweet confusion:

  'My wife shall be as fruitful as the vine. My chil­dren like olive plants around my table?' He phrased the shaken quotation like a question, and when shyly she nodded he drew her into his arms, cradl­ing her closely until she felt cherished. 'Sweet Angel bride,' his lips burrowed into the soft curve of her throat so that his passionate words mingled with the tears that no Greek male is ever ashamed to shed, 'forgive me for the torment I have im­posed upon you. If you will allow me, I swear I will spend the rest of my life trying to make amends.'

  'Please don't, my darling,' her attempt to tease was weakened by a great depth of emotion. 'Why waste time learning repentance when you are so expert at making love?

  'Momentarily, she felt him tense. 'Does that mean that you no longer mind being mauled?’

  Though the words were muffled his pain was unmistakable, and with a distressed cry she tightened her arms around him to assure him vehemently, ‘I lied to you, Terzan!'

  'Twice,' he reminded her sternly, lifting his head to display a glow in his eyes that told her she was forgiven. 'You also implied that your perfect little face was plain. Once, Nikos likened you to a tightly furled rosebud tantalising with hidden pro­mise. Blindness restricted me to knowing only your sweet inner fragrance, but now, elika,' heat rushed to her cheeks as she was bathed in the glow of rapidly-kindling flame, ’I can't wait to lose myself in the scent, sight and touch of an enchant­ing flower, my delightfully blossoming Angelina Rose.'