by Anne Mather
Dallas sighed, and looked back at the temple. ‘What happened to Lexa after that?’
Paula shrugged. ‘There are various legends, too numerous for me to decide which was the truth. In any case, time is pressing. We must get moving again. You can come back here another day and dream to your heart’s content. But for the present ... ’
Dallas smiled. ‘All right. But it’s a pity the story hadn’t a happy ending. I like happy endings.’
‘Like all romantics,’ remarked Paula tolerantly. ‘Come on, let’s go.’
They drove back to the Stavros villa through vineyards which Paula told her had been there for generations. It was growing much hotter now, but the air was still as clear as ever, and every corner produced a view more spectacular than the last.
Paula halted the car near neatly laid-out lawns to one side of the swimming pool. This morning the pool was occupied; Natalia and several of her friends were making full use of it, while Nikos was lying on an air-bed stretched out lazily in the sun. He propped himself up at their arrival, and called:
‘I’ve been looking for you. Where have you been?’
‘I’ve been showing Dallas the island,’ replied Paula, walking across the lawn to the pool, followed rather more reluctantly by Dallas. ‘Where are Alex and Dahlia?’
Nikos shrugged, his eyes on Dallas. ‘Who knows? Actually, I believe they have gone skin-diving. I heard Dahlia suggest it to him last evening.’
‘Oh! And where’s Mother?’
‘I believe she’s gone down to town. She wanted some shellfish for dinner this evening, and naturally she trusts no one else to get it for her. ’
‘Good.’ Paula seemed pleased. ‘Dallas and I are just going to see the house.’
‘Is Dallas interested in the house?’ asked Nikos, lying back lazily. ‘After spending the morning sightseeing with you, I would have thought she might enjoy a swim.’
Paula looked at Dallas. ‘Would you prefer that?’
Dallas struggled to find an answer. Without appearing rude she could hardly give her reasons for not wanting to swim with Natalia.
‘I would like to swim,’ she began cautiously. ‘But I would also like to see the house. As that was our plan, why don’t we follow it?’
Nikos grinned. ‘Now you’re only being diplomatic,’ he remarked. ‘Go and put on your swimsuit. Paula, she’s going swimming! With me!’
Paula shrugged good-naturedly. ‘All right. I guess you can see the house any time. I think I’ll have a shower before lunch.’
Left with Nikos, Dallas wished she had been more firm and insisted on seeing the villa with Paula. But now she was committed, so she might as well make the best of it. The group of young people at the other end of the pool were eyeing her curiously, and she felt sure Natalia would say something.
But she didn’t, and after a moment they continued with their antics as though unaware of her existence.
‘Go and get changed,’ said Nikos, propping himself- up again. ‘You have brought a swimsuit, I suppose?’
‘Of course.’ Dallas glanced around. ‘What time is it, anyway? I’ve left Jane for long enough already really.’
Nikos glanced at his watch. ‘It’s noon,’ he replied. ‘Lunch isn’t for hours yet. And Andrea is with Jane. He’s taken the record-player and the records, so I don’t suppose they’ll be missing you.’
‘Well, anyway, I shall have to go back to the chalet to change.’
‘Don’t be long,’ said Nikos, relaxing again, and shrugging her slim shoulders Dallas walked away.
She walked round the side of the villa where the trees grew thickly and close to the house. She looked down on to the beach
and saw the breakers on the sand, and breathed deeply. She did not see the man coming from the opposite direction until she had practically touched him.
‘Oh!’ she exclaimed in surprise, looking up into Alexander Stavros’s dark features. ‘I’m sorry, I wasn’t thinking what I was doing.’ She noticed he was carrying goggles and flippers, and a pair of oxygen cylinders. Obviously Nikos had been right; he had been skin-diving. With Dahlia? Dallas wondered. It would be very nice, she thought, to explore the undersea world in company with someone who was probably an expert.
‘You were dreaming, perhaps?’ he asked now. ‘Has our island begun to enchant you in spite of yourself?’
‘I like it, who wouldn’t?’ she said shortly. ‘If that’s what you mean. ’
He smiled, rather sardonically she thought, and then said:
‘I will expect you to be ready at four o’clock for our trip to my brother’s home. I shall not be lunching at home, but I will be back for you then. ’
‘All right,’ Dallas nodded, unable to prevent a surge of excitement start within her at the prospect of the afternoon ahead. Alexander Stavros nodded, and continued on his way, and Dallas made her own way to the chalet.
The door to Jane’s bedroom stood wide, and there was the sound of rhythmic music from the record-player.
Andrea was seated on Jane’s bed and they were examining some colour slides which were in a plastic container. When Dallas looked into the room, Jane looked up and her face had lost its earlier sulkiness.
‘Do you know, Dallas,’ she cried, ‘Andrea has a cinecamera and he’s going to take a film of me as soon as I’m able to get up. Isn’t that marvellous?’
‘Marvellous,’ agreed Dallas, relieved to find Jane in such good spirits. ‘I’m going swimming. Is that all right?’
‘Of course,’ said Andrea, without giving Jane time to reply. ‘We’re perfectly happy here. While you’re out this afternoon, I shall bring some films over I have taken of the family from time to time, and give Jane a film show, yes?’
Jane was enthusiastic, and Dallas felt herself relax even more. She thanked the gods for Andrea, and his understanding. At least he was making things easier for Jane, and indirectly for herself.
The swim with Nikos was uneventful, except that he seemed to find her wholly fascinating, and hardly took his eyes off her. And as Dallas was only dressed in a one-piece lemon bathing suit, she felt rather uncomfortable out of the water. Natalia and her friends had left the pool, and were stretched out on the mosaic tiling at the far side of the pool, drinking tall glasses of aperitifs and laughing and talking among themselves.
Lunch was at two, but Dallas rang the house and asked if she could have lunch at the chalet with Jane. She knew this would cause no annoyance. Mrs. Stavros would be only too glad to have her out of the house.
Later, she showered and changed, ready for her trip with Alexander Stavros. Before Andrea arrived to keep Jane company, Jane said:
‘I notice you seem to have taken my advice about your clothes, anyway.’
Dallas frowned, wondering whether Jane was about to start another argument. ‘How do you mean?’ she asked lightly.
‘Simply that you’re wearing your skirts shorter, and you seem to be acting less like the maternal protector. I’m not sure I really like it!’
Dallas was nonplussed. ‘Honestly, Jane,’ she exclaimed, ‘you seem determined to undermine my confidence, such little as I have, that is. Maybe you imagine this place is going to my head after all.’
Jane shrugged, and reached for a glass of lime juice from her bedside table. ‘Well, I must admit I didn’t expect you to spend our time here going out without me!’ She had resumed her resentful manner, and Dallas sighed.
‘Jane, please, try and be reasonable. If I have a job, surely that’s all to the good! We can’t live here on charity, you know. Even if we are provided with free accommodation there are lots of other small things we’ll have to pay for; like make-up, toilet accessories, not to mention clothes!’
Jane grimaced, screwing up her nose. ‘We aren’t broke.’ ‘Almost,’ retorted Dallas. ‘After the last few weeks of extravagant spending, we aren’t exactly affluent.’
‘You’re always worrying about something,’ said Jane, sniffing. ‘Heavens, if you asked Alexander Stavro
s he would give you any amount of money you cared to name!’
Dallas stared at her sister disbelievingly. ‘You don’t seriously imagine I would ever do that, do you?’ she cried, in amazement.
‘Why not? If the apple’s there-for the taking, why not take it? I’m having enough to put up with, aren’t I?’
Jane in this mood was completely unreasonable, and Dallas turned away, feeling slightly sick. She was beginning to realise that Jane, as a person, was almost unknown to her. She had thought she knew everything about her sister, but it was obvious she had been fooling herself. What was it Alexander Stavros had said? Something about Jane being less ‘naive’ than herself. Had he, with the shrewdness she herself had witnessed, summed Jane up more honestly? Dallas shook her head a little wearily. Every time she thought they were getting a little out of the wood, back they plunged into its depths with Jane’s attitude.
She smoothed the skirt of the lime green cotton suit she was wearing, and walked to the door. ‘Andrea will be here soon,’ she said quietly. ‘I’ll see whether the car is waiting for me.’
The chalet door stood wide, and as she approached it a shadow blocked the sunlight and Alexander Stavros came to lean lazily against the doorpost. Dressed in a light grey lounge suit, the narrow trousers accentuating the length and strength of the muscles of his legs, he was dangerously attractive, and Dallas felt her stomach turn right over.
‘Ready?’ he asked, his voice husky, and when she nodded, he said: ‘How is the invalid?’
‘Won’t you come in and see for yourself?’ said Dallas awkwardly, standing aside so that he could do so. Shrugging, he walked through the door, immediately dwarfing the generous proportions of the room. He entered Jane’s bedroom casually, almost as though he was used to entering a woman’s bedroom, Dallas thought, and then squashed the idea, as she recalled that he had indeed been married, and had known what it was like to see a woman in bed frequently. She wondered what Anna Stavros had been like. She wondered whether Alexander Stavros had been terribly upset at the time of her death. It was likely, she supposed. After all, he was a passionate man, his quick temper proved that, and if he loved someone there would be no half measures. Was that why he had told her that there was no woman now who was indispensable to him? Had all his feelings died with Anna?
To her annoyance, the thought disturbed her not a little. She didn’t know why, but the thought of some woman living constantly with Alexander Stavros, sharing his life, his home, his bed, again she had to force her brain to reject these thoughts. She didn’t know what was the matter with her, thinking like that. She had never had ideas about a man like this before. It had got to stop!
‘So? What is troubling you?’ Stavros’s deep voice close to her ear caused her to start guiltily, and a tell-tale flush coloured her cheeks.
‘N... nothing,’ she stammered.
‘I should say that was a lie,’ he remarked casually, walking towards the door. ‘The way you were gnawing at your lip I would guess that your thoughts were disturbing you considerably.’
‘You know nothing about it,’ replied Dallas childishly, and went to say goodbye to Jane. Jane looked at her strangely. She must have overheard their conversation, and her eyes were narrowed frowningly. But she said nothing in particular, and Dallas was almost glad to leave the chalet.
The car Alexander Stavros drove was a white Mercedes tourer, and he helped Dallas in before walking round the bonnet and sliding in beside her.
‘Cheer up,’ he remarked mockingly. ‘You might just enjoy yourself. ’
Dallas had to smile at this, and she relaxed a little.
‘That’s better,’ he said, starting the engine. ‘We have all afternoon together, and I don’t like reluctant passengers.’
As the car turned out of the drive on to the road, Dallas glanced back and saw the Sharefs and their daughter walking along the path near the pool. She wondered whether Dahlia objected to his leaving her for the afternoon, but dared not voice such suggestion at the moment.
The sun was hot, and Dallas slid her dark sunglasses on to her nose. Stavros had put on dark glasses himself when he took the wheel and they successfully disguised what expression she might have perceived in his dark eyes. But for the present she was content just to look at the day, and forget for a while the circumstances of her surroundings. Lunch had been a delicious meal, with prawns, served in oil and lemon sauce, and a sweet confection of Turkish pastries, filled with honey and nuts. Yanni had told them that most of his race observed the continental tradition of the siesta, but although Jane had been resting Dallas had been too excited to relax.
The road to Paul Stavros’s villa took them back through the village of Lexa, nestling on the curve of the bay, its small harbour just beginning to come to life again. There were numerous caiques and small fishing boats drawn up to the quay, while in the bay a white sailed sloop drifted lazily. It was all very picturesque. And Dallas glanced at her companion as he swerved to avoid a mule laden with baskets of fruit.
‘You went out with Paula this morning,’ he observed, the wheel sliding effortlessly through his lean brown hands. ‘Where did she take you?’
‘We drove quite a way round the island, and she showed me the ruined temple of Lexa.’
‘Naturally,’ he remarked lazily. ‘The local landmark, in fact. What did you think of it?’
‘I think it’s beautiful,’ Dallas confessed candidly. ‘I think the fact that it’s overgrown adds to its enchantment.’
‘Indeed?’ He sounded amused now, and she wished she had not sounded so enthralled.
‘Tell me,’ she said, changing the subject. ‘You rarely speak any Greek to me. Does it not trouble you to speak English all the time?’
Alexander Stavros smiled. ‘Not particularly. I was educated in England when I was old enough. I attended Cambridge University and gained a degree in economics. But if you would like me to speak Greek to you, I am quite prepared to do so. The question is, will you understand me?’
Dallas flushed. ‘ I don’t speak Greek at all,’ she said stiffly.
‘Well, don’t get upset about it,’ he murmured softly. ‘I’ll teach you a little.’ He glanced at her thoughtfully. ‘Now, what would be a useful thing for you to be able to say?’ He seemed preoccupied for a moment, and then he said: ‘Of course: Chero poli. Onomazo me Dallas.’
‘What does that mean?’ Dallas was curious in spite of herself. ‘Something very simple. “How do you do, or pleased to meet you, my name is Dallas.” Right?’
Dallas repeated it slowly, and then looked questioningly at him. ‘How do I know you’re telling me the truth? You might be making me say something terrible.’
He laughed, and Dallas bent her head to avoid his mocking eyes. As usual she seemed to find herself at a disadvantage.
‘I wouldn’t do that,’ he replied easily. ‘You seem to have the knack of doing that for yourself. ’
Dallas compressed her lips and looked away from him, determinedly taking an intensive interest in the scenery again.
Paul Stavros’s villa was similar to the family house except that it was smaller, and more compact, and had no pool. Alexander brought the car to a smooth halt at the foot of shallow steps leading up to the main entrance, and Dallas slid out before he had time to walk round to assist her. The sound of the car had aroused someone, for two little girls came running towards them from the direction of the garden, their chubby faces streaked with dirt.
They flung themselves unreservedly on Alexander, and Dallas noticed that he didn’t seem to care that their hands were dirty and might mark the immaculate grey suit. Instead, he went down on his haunches beside them and listened intently as they chattered to him in their own language, obviously telling him everything they had been doing since they had seen him last. Dallas had never seen him with children, and she realised with a strange pang that the little girls adored him, and he was completely at his ease with them. Eventually he stood up, and said:
‘Come, El
oise, Estelle, we are neglecting your visitor, Miss Collins. She has come to meet you, and if you get along together, she will come back and teach you some useful English lessons. But she does not speak Greek, so we must always speak English in her presence, yes?’
‘Chero poli, Eloise, Estelle,’ said Dallas cautiously, allowing the words to slide slowly and carefully off her tongue.
The little girls laughed. They were very pretty, and very dark, but very chubby. Puppy fat, thought Dallas, thinking them adorable.
‘But Miss Collins does speak our language,’ one of them exclaimed, and Alexander smiled, and shook his head.
‘Only a few words. What I said before still stands. We will speak English. Now, is your mother at home?’
‘Yes, but Papa is away,’ said the other little girl.
‘I know. I saw him this morning,’ replied Alexander, taking Dallas’s arm quite naturally, but causing an electric shock to run up her veins like wildfire. ‘Come, we will find your mama.’ Minerva Stavros was nothing at all like Dallas’s nervous expectations. After her experiences with the other members of the Stavros family, except Paula, that is, she had half expected a second Madame Stavros, but she couldn’t have been more wrong. Minerva was small, much smaller than Dallas, with curly brown hair, blue eyes, and a piquantly attractive face. She was plump, like her daughters, and in shorts and a sleeveless sweater, fresh from gardening like her children, she was relaxed and approachable and very human. She greeted Dallas warmly and announced that they would have English tea in her honour, and went away to get changed, taking the girls with her.
‘Well,’ said Alexander Stavros, looking at Dallas questioningly, ‘do you feel less tense now?’
They were in the low light lounge of the villa; Dallas was sitting comfortably on a low chair, while Alexander Stavros
leaned lazily against the screened-fire mantelpiece.
‘Yes, I do,’ she said, accepting a cigarette which he leaned forward to offer her, lighting himself the usual cheroot. ‘She’s nice, and somehow ordinary, if that won’t be taken amiss.’
