Dark Avenger

by Anne Hampson

  "Come, let us go home. Jason - ela!"

  The Labrador came bounding to him, looked up, then ran on in front. Doneus kept hold of one of Julie's hands; she wanted desperately to pull it away, but something far stronger than the firmness of his grip held her.

  Wordlessly they walked on, Doneus's head held high - how magnificent he was! - and Julie trying to collect herself, to dispel the excitement produced in that moment of near surrender. But she failed, and with the remorseless shortening of the distance between her and the tiny cottage her fear increased. Such weakness! It was deplorable. Julie determined to be strong.

  Doneus lit the lamp immediately on entering the house; its amber glow cast soft seductive shadows on to Julie's delicate features.

  "Good night," she said, a catch of desperation in her voice. "I'm - I'm tired."

  A strange smile touched her husband's lips. Julie found herself drawn unresistingly into his arms. He did not kiss her, but stood looking down into her face, shaking his head a little as if slightly impatient with her.

  "You trust me to keep my promise?" he inquired, not without a hint of amusement.

  "Yes, Doneus, I do trust you."

  "In that case it must be yourself you are afraid of." Smooth tones, and confident. Julie trembled in his arms.

  "I am not afraid of myself. Why should you think that?"

  A small sigh and then, "Good night, my dear ... and sleep well."

  "Good night, Doneus," she whispered, and was gone from him.

  But she stood for a long while with her back against the closed door. Could anything be the same again after tonight? No need to ask herself that question, she thought, moving at last to get undressed. Sleep well...: An hour after getting into bed these words came to her as she tossed about, her mind in turmoil. At last she got up and lit the candle. She would make a cup of tea, she decided, but as she passed her husband's door it opened.

  He was in his dressing-gown, his dark hair immaculate. He had not even been to bed!

  "What is it, Julie?"

  "I - I - go away," she whispered fiercely. "I'm making myself a cup of tea."

  His eyes took in the dainty attire. Why hadn't she put something on? she thought frantically. A light laugh escaped him; he took the candle from her trembling fingers and for one brief moment held it aloft, looking deeply into her eyes. She knew what he read there, but made no attempt to escape his scrutiny. Another laugh filtered the silence, muted yet triumphant. Doneus blew out the candle and, reaching for her hand, led her gently back into her bedroom.

  She leant on one elbow and looked at his face as the first thin rays of the sun pierced the shutters. He slept, breathing quietly and evenly, his features softened by repose. His lips moved now and then, almost imperceptibly, as if he were murmuring in. his sleep. Julie knew an almost irrepressible urge to press her lips to his, yet paradoxically she was owning to a feeling of disgust for her own weakness of last night. To what depths had she sunk - she, Julie Veltrovers, to have allowed a Greek peasant to tempt her in that way? There must be no more of it, she decided, sliding out of bed and picking up her clothes. If only she had not been filled with pity for him. He had seen the pity in her eyes and believed it to be desire, she knew it now.

  That was why he had asked her what she was fighting.

  Going into the lean-to, Julie washed at the brown stone sink before putting on her clothes. Automatically she opened the door to let Jason out, and began making the breakfast. Could they now go back to where they were? Would Doneus refuse to return to their former relationship? He would have to do so, otherwise she would threaten to leave him. She still pitied him, but her pride would not allow her to be his slave, and she was sure that this was how he regarded her, for in their most intimate moments the word love had never left his lips.

  Revulsion against herself grew and grew, until, when at length her husband did put in an appearance, she treated him coldly, turning away into the lean-to and staying there a long while before bringing in his breakfast.

  "Where's yours?" he asked, a hint of amusement entering his eyes as she blushed on meeting his gaze.

  "I've had it."

  He looked down at the plate she had put before him. "I'm late, I know. You should have wakened me."

  "I preferred to have mine alone." She glanced at the clock.

  "Aren't you going to work today?"

  His dark eyes glinted at the frigidity of her manner.

  "I'll go when I feel like it, Julie." He reached for a piece of toast.

  "What's the matter with you?"

  She turned on him, her eyes flashing. "You know what's the matter with me -"

  "You came to me willingly," he reminded her.

  "You - tempted me," she began when he again interrupted her, saying impassively,

  "It's the male prerogative to tempt. I should not have admired you had you done the tempting."

  She stared at him in anger. "It wasn't gentlemanly!"

  He laughed harshly then and said, "Have you ever looked upon me as a gentleman?"

  Julie flushed and lowered her head. Why couldn't she retain her anger and resentment?

  "I believed you to be a gentleman."

  "No, Julie, you have never considered me a gentleman. To you, with your exalted ideas of your own superiority, I am merely a peasant." He kept his eyes on her bent head and presently she raised it. "Deny that if you can." Julie moistened her lips, overwhelmed by guilt and by contrition. She wished she had not allowed him to guess at her opinion of him. "You have nothing to say?" A faintly bitter curve of his lips seemed to denote a deep disappointment. "We are back where we were,"

  he said cryptically, but added, in a very soft tone, "Not exactly, of course, because from now on we are really married -"

  "No, I can't! It was a mistake - the - the night, and your persistence. . . ." She allowed her voice to trail away into silence, her colour deepening as he raised his brows in a sort of censorious gesture.

  "I admit I was persistent," he owned freely, but added, "You yourself desired me as much as I desired you, and your dishonesty surprises me, simply because I have always believed you to be above dishonesty. As for its being a mistake - I hope you remember what I said, Julie?"

  Her eyes misted over, all her icy arrogance dissolved.

  "You wouldn't keep me to it, not under the circumstances."

  He smiled at that.

  "The circumstances were not unusual. I am your husband. I tempted you and you responded to temptation ... but only because you did not wish to resist it -"

  "I did! "

  "Then why didn't you?" No answer from Julie and he went on, "What makes you so sure I'll not keep you to it? You were warned, Julie, and I think you know me well enough by now to be sure I mean what I say."

  She stared. "I don't want our marriage to be normal, Doneus."

  He was silent for a while as, spreading the butter sparingly, he then helped himself to marmalade.

  "Our marriage is normal, and it stays that way."

  "I can leave you!"

  He glanced up, the knife idle in his hand.

  "You can, but you won't - no, please do not interrupt. I trust you, Julie. I know I can trust you. Like me, you would never break your word. I told you that once before, if you remember?"

  "I shan't have our marriage put on a normal footing," she declared evasively.

  A sigh of asperity from her husband and then, "let's change the subject, Julie-"

  "Not until we've settled the matter of our future relationship."

  Doneus poured himself a cup of coffee. "What makes you think you can resist me ... when again I tempt you?"

  She swallowed saliva gathering on her tongue. "I shall make sure I'm not in so vulnerable a situation again," she said and Doneus threw back his head and laughed.

  "Very well, my dear. Let us wait and see."

  "I'll be a little late this evening," Doneus said as he slipped on a torn linen jacket in preparation to going out to work. "Do
n't expect me before seven."

  "What time have we to be there?" she asked, wondering what Doneus could be doing till that time. She had assumed that his work at the castle was mainly out of doors, and it was almost dark at seven.

  "Dinner is at eight-thirty, but we shall arrive at eight."

  "It's a long walk, and all uphill," she began, when he interrupted her with, "I'll borrow a car."

  She blinked at him. "While they're away? Won't they mind?"

  Doneus whistled to Jason who was about to go through a hole in the fence. The dog came running to him.

  "Don't you go wandering off. We're going in a moment." To Julie he said, without much expression, "No, they won't mind."

  She stood by the living-room window watching him mount his bicycle, and her eyes followed him until he became lost to sight as he turned into the roadway, Jason trotting along beside him They would not mind.... How very odd for an employee to be able to do exactly as he liked. And yet she supposed that, knowing he would take care of their car, it was not so surprising for them to give him permission to use it. He would be unable to take it far, simply because he had little money to spend on petrol.

  Julie began getting ready long before it was necessary, because she was excited at the idea of dining out. She was eager to meet Tracy and her husband, interested to know what they were like, and to note their attitude towards her husband. To people like them he must seem inferior, and therefore it was most odd that they were his friends.

  Julie was ready when Doneus came in just after seven, and he stood a moment, deep admiration in his eyes. The car, a different one from that in which he had driven her to the quay, was big and shining and immaculate - a car one would expect the owner of the castle to have. Julie's excitement grew when she saw it. Luxury again, if only for one short evening.

  "I feel like Cinderella!" she cried impulsively, and then searched her husband's face anxiously, aware of her mistake.

  "Thank you, Julie," he returned crisply. "I'm sorry that I cannot provide you with a car like that - nor will I ever be able to do so." Without waiting to see if she would proffer an apology he left her, going into the lean-to to get washed and shaved.

  Julie felt flat all at once. During the day her thoughts had inevitably kept reverting to their conversation of the morning, and she had been troubled by the prospect of an argument

  later that night, but as the time for getting ready drew near she put her troubles aside and with growing anticipation had thought only of the evening, and the people she was to meet.

  Now she had spoiled everything, she decided dejectedly. As Doneus emerged from the back he said, noting her expression, "What's wrong? Aren't you happy at the idea of dining out?"

  She nodded, but unhappily; Doneus tilted her head back with a finger under her chin.

  "I always seem to say the wrong thing." Her eyes were a trifle misty; his face softened as he bent his head and kissed her on the mouth.

  "Perhaps it is I who react wrongly. Forget it, Julie."

  His lips found hers again before he released her. "You look charming, my dear, and I'm going to be very proud of you."

  Half an hour later they were in the car, driving along a road overhung with trees, the air heady and perfumed by the flowers in the gardens of the villas they passed. Now and then Julie's eyes strayed to the man at the wheel. So confident he was, and he might have been the owner had not the poor quality and cut of his suit branded him one of the lower class. She watched him in profile, noting the rigid outline, clear-cut even in the dimness of the car.

  "Here's where we begin to climb." Doneus turned the car into the tortuous mountain road and slackened his speed. In the full glare of the headlights Julie was conscious of trees and bushes and the giant cactus which she now knew as prickly pear. The drive was pleasant. The windows were open, letting in the breeze, sharp now from the aroma of mountain herbs which she always associated with the extreme northern end of the island.

  After about ten minutes Doneus turned into a long drive bordered by tall cypresses and drew up on the floodlit semi-circular forecourt of the villa.

  A maid opened the door and took Julie's wrap before showing her and Doneus into the drawing-room where Tracy and Michalis were waiting to receive them.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  THE room was delightful. Large and airy, with wide white arches flanking the stone fireplace, it instantly gave the impression of luxury and good taste. Curtains and carpet were of soft silver-grey, furniture upholstered in coral pink. A limed-oak cocktail cabinet stood along one wall, an antique escritoire against another. Cut glass wall lights under white lacy shades provided a muted illumination and in the long low grate pine logs burned, filling the room with their fragrant aroma.

  The couple rose and as the introductions were being made by her husband Julie was acutely aware of an element of hidden mirth beneath the smiles of both Tracy and Michalis. Julie's mind switched momentarily to the attitude of the villagers on first meeting her.

  It would seem as if all the community was in possession of some knowledge concerning her from which they derived a considerable degree of amusement. And as she stood there, listening to Michalis congratulate Doneus on his wife's beauty, Julie knew instinctively that if only she could discover the reason for this amusement all the mystery surrounding her marriage to Doneus would be solved.

  She glanced at Doneus from under her lashes, watching his reaction. Never had she seen such pride on a man's face! At one time she might have put it down to gloating, gloating on his success in marrying a member of the English aristocracy, but not now. It was not the pride of victory she saw on Doneus's handsome face, but the pride of sheer pleasure that these friends of his liked his wife.

  "We were so surprised to discover Doneus was married," Tracy was saying while Michalis went over to the cabinet to mix the drinks. "There he was, a lone bachelor when we left for our holiday - and on our return he's married! "

  Julie smiled and enchanting colour brushed her cheeks. She looked up at Michalis as he handed her the drink; his eyes twinkled. She had the impression that he would dearly have liked to laugh outright!

  "It was rather sudden," submitted Doneus, relaxing in his chair and meeting his wife's curious gaze. "I had seen Julie before, though, many years ago."

  Julie shifted her gaze to Tracy. The girl was about twenty-five years of age, with wide hazel eyes, frank and clear. She was immaculately dressed and wore a huge diamond above her wedding ring, which was on-the third finger of her right hand - as a Greek woman's ring would be. Neither she nor her husband evinced the surprise which was appropriate to the situation; in all modesty Julie could not but be aware of her own distinctive appearance, her air of confidence. That she was no ordinary working class girl must be evident, yet these people found nothing extraordinary in Doneus's being married to her, so obviously they had been well prepared beforehand, by Doneus. How much had he told them? she wondered, frustrated by all the secrecy.

  Dinner was served by the dark Greek maid, Eleni, who had admitted them to the house. She was the wife of their gardener, Julie soon learned, and the couple lived, with Eleni's mother, in a cosy little bungalow hidden from the main grounds of the villa by a lovely oleander hedge of white and pink blossoms.

  "She has one child and is expecting another - but not for six months," Tracy told Julie. "That's the only snag here; the girls are inordinately fecund."

  Julie glanced at Doneus; his expression was impassive. But she knew her thoughts had been revealed in that quick glance. To have his child.... She could even now be having his child. Julie glanced swiftly away, dismissing the thought. Surely the one slip, that one brief hour of weakness would not have such dire results for her. Never again, she told herself fiercely. She would not run such risks as that!

  With the mention of Eleni and her children the conversation seemed to lead naturally to the subject of the future of the island. Young risen were leaving by their hundreds, finding an easier and safer living in t
he lands across the sea. Many had gone to Australia, the land which seemed to hold so much promise for the youth of Kalymnos.

  "If this depopulation continues at the present rapid rate Kalymnos will soon be doomed," Michalis's voice held deep regret. "The sponge fleet is already doomed - from the introduction of synthetics, which are much cheaper to buy than the real thing, and equally good, from the users' point of view."

  Again Julie glanced at her husband. He was deep in thought.

  "I'm sure you are right, Michalis. Young men shirk the risks, and you cannot blame them. I thalassa is a cruel task-master from which it is the object of the young men of the island to escape -" He broke off on noticing the puzzled expression of his wife. "I thalassa is the sea, my dear , . , the cruel, cruel sea!"

  She went pale and something like a sword-blade twisted in her heart. She averted her head, aware of the interest of all the others.

  Tracy said, with what appeared to be swift understanding, while at the same time the concern in her voice was strangely insufficient for conviction,

  "Hundreds go out and of those only a few are maimed."

  "Every year some fifteen or twenty return maimed," put in Doneus, and although Julie did not glance at him this time she knew his eyes were fixed on her, almost willing her to look at him. But she would not ... for she remembered that he could read in her eyes what she held in her heart.

  She spoke at last, saying huskily, "How many of these men are there in Kalymnos ?"

  "The figure is unknown. I should say about a thousand -"

  "A thousand! " Escaping words, born of a terrible fear. She looked at Doneus then, not caring what he saw, "A thousand?"

  He nodded, and it was only then that Julie was struck by the strangeness of such a conversation. The danger to which her husband was subjected in his work should have been the last topic of conversation.

  After dinner they returned to the sitting-room, where Eleni served them with coffee and liqueurs. Doneus was sitting close to Michalis and Julie found herself with Tracy on the settee.