by Kay Thorpe
`Why did you lie to me?' he clipped.
I didn't,' she said. `I prevaricated, if you like.'
He made a gesture of contempt. 'That is another
word meaning the same thing. You gave me to understand that you were alone on the beach, and now I find you were not. What am I to think?'
I don't know.' At that moment she didn't particularly care. 'No doubt you'll think what you want to think.'
He caught her none too gently by the wrist as she half turned to go, pulling her round to face him. His mouth was thin, all trace of friendliness gone.
'You do not consider that you owe me some explanation?'
`No,' she said angrily, don't. If there was a situ-
ation I took care of it myself. That's what I'm trained to do. And it's time I was back at the party.'
His grip tightened, hurting her. 'This man, he kissed you?'
'No,' she said again. `He only tried. I told you I was capable of taking care of myself. You don't have to do anything about it.'
'It is not up to you to tell me what I have or have not to do, Miss Brent.' The words were edged with ice. said this would happen, although I did not expect it quite so soon. You have become familiar with the guests in a very short time.'
She said furiously, 'If by that you mean friendly, then that happens to be what my job is about. It's hardly my fault that some men are always ready to take advantage of any opportunity they think they see !'
agree,' he said. 'That is why I do not think it a good idea to place a young woman such as yourself in such a position. Your place . .
'Is in the home behind bars, I suppose !' she broke in recklessly. 'But I'm not Greek, I'm English. And Eng-
lish women have gained the kind of freedom yours can only dream about — poor devils !'
There was a small silence while he looked down at her, eyes glinting dangerously. For two of your English pins,' he said at last, 'I would teach you the kind of lesson you would dream about. You think you have all the answers, and yet you have not a fraction of the understanding our women possess.'
`There are more important things in life than pandering to the male ego,' she came back. 'If you came to England you might learn a thing or two yourself — about women!'
`You make me a challenge?' His smile was a threat in itself. 'You are so convinced that I could not bend you to my will, should I choose to do so?'
`You already tried, and you didn't get very far. If I didn't have a mind of my own I wouldn't have got this job in the first place.'
`It is not the fact that you have a mind of your own to which I object,' he stated, 'but the manner in which you use it. You oppose my advice only because I am a man, and it is considered a point of honour among the bored female population of your country to rebel against any suspicion of male dominance. Our women are content in the knowledge of our regard for them, secure in the strength of our protection, but do not underestimate them. They, too, have minds of their own, and they can use them. It is simply that they are far more subtle in advancing their desires.'
`Why should women have to be devious in order to get what they're entitled to?' she demanded. 'Men have always gone out and openly fought for their rights. Why shouldn't we do the same?'
`Because it is not nature's way.' There was a hint of amusement in his tone. 'Perhaps the simplest way for me to deal with you would be to have you removed from Perata.'
`On what grounds?' she queried tartly. 'Failure to kiss the shoe of the local overlord? Perhaps you . .
`That is quite enough !' The amusement was gone, leaving him cold and tautly angry. 'You will apologize.'
Blue eyes met black defiantly. 'You're right. I let myself down. One should not have to resort to rudeness to make a point.'
`Nor to violence,' he returned in measured tones. `Yet at this moment I find myself extremely close. In future you will speak either to Lee Merril or to myself should any of the guests here at the Xenia bother you this way again. You will give me your word on this.'
It was obviously quite useless continuing the argument. The simplest way was to agree and forget it, thought Nicky resignedly. 'Yes,' she said.
`Good. Are those your sandals I saw on the terrace floor?'
`Yes.'
`Then stay here and I will fetch them for you.'
He was back within seconds and pressing her to a seat on the low stone wail which edged the steps. Kneeling in the sand, he took one of her bare feet in his hands, dusted off the dry sand and deftly slid on the flimsy footwear.
`You have a neat and pretty. foot,' he commented, doing the same with the other. 'Most women have not. You go often without shoes?'
`Quite a lot.' Nicky was finding it difficult to hold on
to her normal assurance with him down there in front of her. 'It's supposed to be strengthening.'
'That,' he said with satire, 'is something you do not need.' He stood up straight again, lean, lithe and arrogant. 'You will forgive me if I do not stay to satisfy curiosity any further, Miss Brent. Perhaps another time. Kalinichta.'
He was out of sight around the corner of the terrace before she could think of a thing to say.
CHAPTER THREE
THE new party turned out to be a very much more varied group than the last, ranging from a very young and very obvious honeymoon couple through to an ex-Army type with a large bristling moustache and a small, timid-looking wife who looked as though she would have been far more at home taking the sea air on the promenade at some quiet English resort.
Matching up the names to the faces was always a fascinating part of the job to Nicky. Sometimes it was possible to take a shrewd guess and find one was correct, in other cases her imagination had supplied a totally false picture of the person or persons concerned. The Tolmans, for instance, turned out to be two brothers and their wives instead of the family group she had countenanced, a middle-aged, closely collected set from the Midlands who regarded the rest of the party with the cynically amused eyes of those who had seen it all before.
'Hope they know how to make good coffee at this place,' commented one of the women, tucking a stray lock of bleached hair back into place beneath her floppy straw hat. 'I'm dying for a real cup after that muck we had on the plane. Any chance of rustling one up for us here?'
'There's a self-service through in the departure lounge,' Nicky told her. 'But I'm afraid we don't have very much time before we leave. Your luggage is coming through now.'
`So it is.' She shrugged resignedly. 'I'll just have to suffer in silence for another hour or so.'
`Some hope,' said the man Nicky took to be her husband with caustic tolerance. 'You never suffered anything in silence longer than ten minutes.' He shook his head at Nicky in mock sympathy. 'You're going to have trouble with these two, girl, take fair warning. We've been having it these last twenty years!'
`Then I'm sure I can weather it for a fortnight,' returned Nicky promptly, and then raising her voice to the company in general, 'If you would all like to collect your luggage from the conveyor belt and bring it out to the coach, we can get away. Lunch will be served ten minutes after we reach the hotel, which just gives you all time for a wash and brush up after the journey.'
`A real little organizer, isn't she?' said the other woman in the Tolman party admiringly. 'What did you say we had to call you, dear?'
Nicky grinned. 'Anything you like, providing it isn't rude. Perhaps both you ladies would like to go along and claim your seats while your husbands see to the luggage? Don't take the back, it's inclined to be bumpy.'
Gerry Copeland came swiftly across the stone-tiled floor, his own clipboard tucked securely under his arm, dark glasses pushed up to the top of his head.
`Everything okay?' he asked. 'No problems?' `Not yet,' she said. 'We're almost ready to go.'
`Right.' He glanced round at the assembled passen-
gers. 'Have a good holiday, folks. See you on Monday,
Nicky.'
Nicky was relieved when her
own coachload was
complete and she could climb aboard herself to view the sea of expectant faces. This was where her job really took on some meaning, the moment which could set the pattern for the whole holiday. She took a deep breath, smiled and said:
'In case anyone didn't get my name, I'm Nicky, and I'm entirely at your disposal for the next two weeks. Anything at all you want to know please don't hesitate to ask. I shall be in or around the hotel at all times of the day and evening. You'll find the Xenia pleasantly informal, and ready to cater to your own individual needs. There are no hard and fast rules with regard to dress; if you wish to come in to a meal straight from the beach you are perfectly at liberty to do so. The main concern is that you should all enjoy your holiday to its fullest extent.' She paused, assessed the expressions on the faces of those she could see clearly from where she was standing, went on smoothly, 'Before we start, I'd like to take this opportunity of wishing you all a wonderful fortnight, and inviting you to a welcoming party on the terrace after dinner tonight. The drinks are on me.'
'Three cheers for Women's Lib !' called out someone from the rear of the coach, and everyone laughed as they got under way, settling themselves down for the coming hour of new sights and impressions in the happy knowledge that fourteen days of blissful idleness stretched before them.
The following hour was a valuable one for Nicky in that it gave her the time to both talk with the guests collectively about the island in general, and to stroll down the aisle among them gathering a basic knowledge of their individual characteristics which might
stand her in good stead later on. The Tolmans, she already knew, would never be a part of the general crowd, but would always stand apart, gaining their own kind of enjoyment from watching and listening and storing up impressions with which. to entertain their own circle of friends back home. A shrewd group, she thought, aware of themselves in a manner which suggested a certain element of patronization, yet not unlikeable providing one did not worry too much about creating a good impression.
Captain Forrest she mentally labelled 'The Professor' on hearing the running discourse he kept up on everything on which his eyes happened to fall. He was, she gathered in passing, a self-styled expert on Greek history and archaeology, knew a great deal more than he had time to impart on the subject of mythology, and was prepared to educate the whole party for no extra charge at the drop of a hat. Nicky had a feeling that within twenty-four hours people would be deliberately avoiding his company rather than suffer the monotony of that droning voice imparting information they had no particular desire to imbibe. A pity for his wife who was stuck with him all of the time, but in a way that was her own fault. No woman should think so little of herself as an individual that she allowed a man to totally eclipse her in the way he did.
By the time the hotel was reached, Nicky felt she had struck up a working relationship with the majority of the people present, and was reasonably confident that none of the four children would present any particular problems.
`Hurdle number one off the list,' she remarked to Lee as the last couple disappeared up the stairs in the
wake of their luggage 'Now the onus descends on you. Do you feed them Greek food from the word go?'
'With some provision for any really awkward palates, yes,' he answered. We usually find that the people who choose to come to these smaller places do so because they want to sample the authentic Greek atmosphere in every sense.' He added casually, had a message from Nikos half an hour ago. He wants the two of us to go up to the villa for a drink this afternoon.'
Nicky said dryly, 'Was it a request or an order, do you think?' and he grinned.
'Does it matter?'
'Not that much. I can't go, anyway, with a new party just in. He should have known that.'
'I daresay he thinks it wouldn't do any harm to leave them to their own devices for an hour around teatime. You realize that most folk would give a great deal for an invitation to the Alexandros villa?'
'I'm not most folk. I have a job to do here which does not include obeying the whims of His Lordship.' 'Is that what you want me to tell him?'
already did that myself.'
His brows rose. 'Was that wise?'
Her shrug was as indifferent as she could make it. 'Wise or not, it's how I feel. It's not even as if he were my employer. They trust me to handle things properly, so he'll just have to do the same. I don't mind conforming to general rules, but not those he dreams up just because I happen to be female. Last night . .
'Last night . . . what?' he prompted as she paused, and then taking a shrewd jab, 'Did Nikos come round here?'
`Yes,' she admitted. 'He was nosing around on the terrace.'
`It does happen to be his place to nose around.' He regarded her thoughtfully. 'That's not all, is it? What happened?'
`Nothing . happened. I went out for some air, met him on the terrace and we talked. That's all.'
`You were missing longer than a few minutes, and you looked a bit flushed when you did come in.' His gaze had sharpened. 'Come to think of it, that Gordon chap was out round about the same time, and when he did come back he'd changed his jacket.. Said something about the heat, and not feeling too good. Was there any trouble?'
Nicky took in an angry breath. Tee, I'm nineteen, not twelve. Don't you start looking after me!'
`I'm not,' he said mildly. For the record, I think you're quite capable of looking after yourself. On the other hand, I also think I have a right to know what goes on round here, don't you?'
Her resentment died as swiftly as it had arisen. He was right, of course. She was taking this thing too far.
`Sorry,' she said frankly. 'I was just sounding off. For the record, Roland Gordon followed me outside and tried the usual routine. I'd given him the push — literally — and was on my way indoors when I bumped into your boss — also literally. You can guess the rest.'
`Sure. He reacted like any decent man would under the circumstances, and you got stroppy.' His voice was dry. 'If you sounded off at him the same way you just did with me it's a wonder you didn't get the push yourself.'
She said airily, 'Oh, he mentioned the possibility, but I wouldn't worry. Getting me moved would be admitting to failure, and he'd hate it to be known that a mere female had got the better of him.'
'You think you have?'
think I shall,' she answered with a certainty she was a long way from feeling. 'Must go, Lee, or I'm going to be late for lunch.'
All very well to be cocky about things to someone else, she reflected wryly on the way to her room, not so easy to convince oneself. Nikos Alexandros was, above all things, a man of determination. That much he had made clear. There was a certain physical magnetism about a man like that, she had to acknowledge, the kind to which no female could fail to respond in some degree. For the rest, though, she wouldn't give two pence.
The afternoon passed smoothly enough, with most people glad to take advantage of a couple of hours' rest after the exertions of the journey. By evening they had recovered sufficiently to start enjoying their new surroundings, and the feeling of well-being which always accompanies the start of a holiday, and when Nicky appeared on the terrace after dinner she was greeted with smiles and pleasant comment.
Drinks were ordered before the real business of the evening began, and the atmosphere relaxed further under the sparkling influence of clinking glasses. Nicky went swiftly through the minor details of her prepared speech, touching lightly on local custom and providing a few selected words of Greek for those of the guests who had made no provision for making themselves understood in a foreign country.
`It isn't necessary to speak the language fluently,' she said. 'You'll find that even the villagers have managed to pick up enough English to make their meaning fairly clear. They'll love it, however, if you make some attempt to meet them on their own ground, even if it's only to say Good morning — Kalimera — or Good evening — Kalispera — or the general greeting covering practically every occasi
on, "Yassu"!'
`Bless you,' said one of the Tolman men satirically, and drew a burst of laughter. 'What about trips? You are going to talk about those?'
`Naturally,' Nicky answered evenly. 'Solar Tours try to cover all the various aspects of a good holiday, both for those who want to simply laze around on the beach all day and those who want to see more of the country they've come to visit. There's a sightseeing tour of Corfu town on Saturday which I'd advise everyone to take if they want to orientate themselves for future solo trips. Apart from that I can only recommend that all the excursions are well worth while, and leave it open to yourselves to decide which, if any, you want to book.'
She went on then to list the various places, making them attractive without pushing too hard. Glancing round the assembly halfway through, she became suddenly aware of a newcomer to the group, a casually clad figure leaning nonchalantly against a tree just beyond the terrace wall. One of the locals, probably, she thought, carrying on. It must be a source of constant wonder to these people that so many could afford to do nothing for so long. Most of them wouldn't even know what a real holiday was.
The figure was still there in the same position when
she rounded off the evening with another call for drinks some little time later. On impulse she took her own glass of iced lime and wandered casually in his direction, passing the odd remark with people here and there until she eventually arrived opposite to where he stood.
'Hallo,' she said. Do you speak English at all? I'm afraid my Greek isn't all that good.'
'It is not so difficult a language to learn as your own,' he said, and she saw his teeth gleam white through the dappling shadow of the branches above his head. 'In Greek one is simple and direct, while in English it is too easy to offend without intention. I think I would prefer any time to be Greek.'
'That's natural enough.' She was surprised by his command of the language and complete self-confidence. The Perata inhabitants in general were a wonderful people, and friendly to the point of eagerness, but they lacked the polish of this young man — a visitor, she decided. Perhaps from the mainland. Though where in Perata he could be staying apart from the hotel, she couldn't think. From what she could see of him, he did not look the type to make do with anything but the best in accommodation.
