*In two hours/ he reminded them, and added the ancient blessing. 'Be happy I'
It was at Alexia's suggestion that she kept on one of her new dresses, but Bethany suspected that the idea might have been Nikolas's. He knew how limited her wardrobe was, and she had left him in little doubt that she did not like the idea of meeting the more wealthy members of the family dressed as she had arrived, in that simple blue cotton dress.
If Nikolas had planned it this way so that she and Takis need not appear looking like poor relations, then she owed him thanks for his thoughtfulness, for she certainly felt more up to the occasion decked out in her new clothes. Alexia, presumably under Nikolas's direction, had encouraged her to buy not only dresses but shoes and the most exquisite silk lingerie as well, and when she saw herself in a dress-shop mirror, Bethany even felt like a different person.
For the moment the question of how much money had been spent caused no more than an occasional niggle at the back of her mind, but sitting in a taxi some time later, the question became more immediate and she hoped Nikolas wasn't going to think she had been too extravagant, and taken advantage of the situation. Whatever other qualities he brought to his role of guardian, he had proved generous, and she was ready to give him his due, but she would have been happier knowing what else he had in store for her.
Alexia had told her that the Meandis home was in New Rodos, but in fact the area proved to be not strictly new at all. The houses were old, but gracious in their age and surrounded by beautiful gardens behind high walls that jealously guarded the privacy of the residents. Quite different from modern Rhodes which sprawled its square box houses all over the hillsides and along the coast; white and dazzling like sugar lumps in the sun.
From Alexia's expression it was clear that she was happy to be coming home, and for a moment Bethany felt curiously out of touch; as she had once or twice lately. If Bethany had been coming in to Apolidus she would have felt much the same as the old lady did, she knew, but somehow, no matter how unreasonable it might be, it hurt that Alexia was so obviously pleased to have left it.
'Isn't it wonderful?' Alexia asked as they drove along a delightfully tree-shaded street between high garden walls, and seeing her bright and eager expression, Bethany could do no other than agree.
It's lovely,' she said, wishing she could face the coming situation with even a little of Alexia's happy anticipation.
*Oh, Bethany my child!' Alexia's light fingers pressed over hers for a moment, seeking to reassure her. *You have nothing to fear, and you look so lovely in that beautiful dress that everyone will love you on sight. That deep turquoise colour suits you so perfectly.' She turned quickly when the taxi drew up, and scarcely gave the driver time to open the door for them. 'Come, child, we're here!'
Like most of the other houses, the Meandis home was built behind a high protective wall, and the garden beyond took Bethany's breath away. There were masses of flowering trees and shrubs, scented and brilliant, shading ornamental paths of coloured pebbles that wound their way towards a large house that sat. almost smugly perfect, behind a screen of blood-red rhododendrons. It was lush, extravagant and staggeringly beautiful.
For a few seconds only the sweet trill of bird-song accompanied their footsteps along the pebble path, but they had taken no more than a step*or two when Theodore Meandis came hurrying along to meet them. His dark eyes gleamed with pleasure at the sis^ht of Bethany in the turquoise dress, and he beamed her a smile that was irresistible.
'Aunt Alex! Bethany!'
His welcome was as enthusiastic as if he had not met them only a couple of hours ago on the quay, and he embraced and kissed them both with the same effusiveness as before. Perhaps with more fervour than before, for his hands rested heavily on Bethany's slim waist while he kissed her. Then with a hand under Alexia's arm he walked between them, his other hand reaching for and holding Bethany's, his firm fingers squeezing lightly-
'Welcome, lovely cousin,' he whispered, and very briefly lowered one eyelid. 'Nikolas believes you are too shy to meet us all at once, but Aunt Helen and Uncle Gregori are here, of course, and Mama, naturally.'
Bethany had no idea why he pulled a face when he mentioned his mother, but it did little to make her feel confident. She knew nothing about them at all, she realised as Theo took them in through a half-open door, and too late she wished she had asked Aunt Alexia. The trip had been sprung on her so unexpectedly that she had had no time to adjust to the idea at all, and she could only hope that some of the Mean-dises at least could be like Theo rather than Nikolas.
The house had looked big from the outside, inside it w^as overwhelming, and Bethany realised that her stepfather's background was far more impressive than she had ever realised. Even j:he hall seemed huge, and before Theo whisked them across it at speed, she had time to notice wide carpeted stairs decorated with brass lamps on the newel posts, and a blue and white tiled floor that ricocheted their combined footsteps like gunfire from the plain cool walls.
A door opened and Theo ushered them into a big airy drawing-room, carpeted and elegantly furnished, but unexpectedly ornate and with a suggestion of the Orient about it—^red Turkish carpet on the floor, and furniture that was old looking and comfortable, deep-seated chairs with enormous cushions, and small tables with inlaid tops or enormous brass trays in lieu of a top.
The ceiling was high and shadowy, and the walls hung with ornately woven rugs and gilt-framed mirrors, while overhead, suspended from chains, were brass lamps ornately decorated and polished to the gleam of mirrors. She was vaguely aware of there being four or five people in the room, but it startled her to realise that she was thankful to see Nikolas come forward to greet them.
His eyes took immediate note of her dress, but it was impossible to judge his reaction to it. Takis, she just had time to notice, looked equally resplendent, though barely recognisable, in a smart blue suit with long trousers, and a white shirt, nothing like the little brother she was used to, running around in the briefest of shorts and a T-shirt.
'You've enjoyed yourself?' Nikolas asked, and Bethany nodded.
Alexia had left them, already being hugged back into the bosom of her family, and Nikolas caught Bethany's eyes as he took charge of the introductions. Theo yielded the task reluctantly, she thought, but he yielded nevertheless, and she once more marvelled at the kind of awe Nikolas Meandis could command, even in his own family.
'Don't look so much as if you're being served to the lions for supper,' Nikolas murmured, bending his head slightly to bring himself nearer. 'They are your family, Bethany, and no one's going to eat you!' Swiftly his eyes swept over her, noting the way the soft material of the dress clung and flattered her figure, then he shook his head. 'Possibly Aunt Alexia did not take into account the fact that you are not boyishly slim when she allowed you to have that dress,' he added, and Bethany felt the colour flood into her face as she prepared to defend her choice.
'I thought it suited me,' she whispered, aware that she was being scrutinised by at least one pair of eves, and just for a second Nikolas's fingers tightened on her arm, as if in warning.
'It suits you perfectly,' he agreed in that disturbingly
quiet voice of his, *but the effect is rather more—sultry than is suitable for a young girl/ Bethany would have protested more vehemently, but he had brought them to a halt where an elderly woman sat in one of the armchairs, watching them with hooded dark eyes. 'Mama,' he went on, still holding Bethany's arm as if he feared she might run away, 'this is Bethany. Bethany, my mother, who you will know as Aunt Nur-mina.'
While she took a long slim hand and shook it, Bethany took note of how much darker Nurmina Meandis was than the rest of her family. The rather bony face gave a first impression of being harsh, but after a second or two Bethany noticed that the eyes were warm and kindly, even though she did not actually smile.
*A beautiful child,' she said, and surprised Bethany by speaking Greek with a faint but definite accent of some kind. Her surprise m
ust have shown, for Kiria Meandis reached out and patted her cheek lightly. 'You are puzzled, little one, eh?' She glanced at Nikolas with her gleaming dark eyes, then shook her head. 'I am Turkish, my child, did Niko not tell you so?' 'No, Kiria—Aunt Nurmina.'
It was not really so surprising, Bethany thought, for mixed marriages were not unknown, and it certainly accounted for that slightly Oriental look she had noticed about Nikolas. It was much less apparent in Theo, but then apart from a basic family likeness, the two brothers were not really very much alike at all.
'You're eighteen, are you not?' Nurmina asked, and Bethany nodded. It seemed that Nikolas got his penchant for asking questions in that curiously interrogative way from his mother, and not merely from his legal training. 'Such a sweet age,' Nurmina went on, and reached out to lift a strand of Bethany's tawny hair, letting it run through her fingers as if its brightness fascinated her. 'And you're so fair, child.*
'I'm English,' Bethany told her, aware that Nikolas was frowning over the claim. *I know Nikolas says I'm
Greek now, but you can't make someone into another nationality just by saying they are/
Nurmina caught her son's eye and her own dark ones gleamed with amusement for a moment. 'Your pupil questions your teaching, Niko,' she told him, not without a certain amount of satisfaction, Bethany felt. 'You cannot have been very convincing.'
Once more Nikolas slid a hand beneath her arm and Bethany felt the squeeze of strong fingers into her flesh for a moment. 'I have a very stubborn pupil,' he told his mother, and drew Bethany aside. 'You'd better come and meet the others; if you will excuse us. Mama.'
It was irresistible, and Bethany turned her head as he led her away, catching once more that deep dark gleam in Nurmina Meandis's eyes. Whoever else she had to contend with, she felt sure she had made a friend and ally in Nikolas's mother, and already she felt better.
Nikolas's Aunt Helen and her husband, Gregori, had proved to be pleasant and kindly people and welcomed her, just as he had promised, with a genuine warmth, so that the meeting had proved far less of an ordeal than Bethany anticipated. It made it easier too, that the conversation that evening buzzed with reminiscences, so that all she had to do was sit and listen to what was going on around her.
They had only just finished breakfast the following morning when a young manservant brought the telephone outside and informed Nikolas that there was a call for him. Bethany was sitting next to him when he took the call and, judging by his expression, he found himself at something of a disadvantage. It seemed to Bethany that whatever the call concerned, he would have preferred to have taken it in private rather than with most of the household overhearing.
Her suspicion was confirmed when he put the receiver down a few minutes later. 'Heracles,' he said briefly, in response to his mother's questioning look, and she nodded. 'He's impatient and would like us to
go over this morning, as soon as possible.'
*It is natural, my son/ Nurmina Meandis said in her soft deep voice, and just for a moment her dark eyes strayed towards Bethany. *You will all go, of course?'
*Of course,' Nikolas agreed, though it was obvious that whatever action the telephone call had precipitated he would have preferred to delay. *I had thought perhaps—tomorrow '
He shook his head, as if his own caution irritated him, and his mother looked at him with her deep dark eyes across the width of the table. 'It isn't possible, Niko,' she insisted. It must be now, if Heracles has asked for it; how could you refuse?'
*I can't, of course.' Nevertheless it was obvious he was disturbed in no small way by whatever the call concerned, and it was so unusual to see Nikolas having to do something he would rather not have done that Bethany watched him with more intensity than she realised—so intently that he was bound to sense it sooner or later, and when he looked up suddenly and caught her eye, he held her slightly uncertain gaze steadily as if he was still trying to determine his course of action. 'Bethany '
He was so long before he said anything else that she looked at him curiously, 'What is it, Nikolas?'
'We're going to visit—other members of the family,' he told her, as if her gentle prompt had given him the spur he needed. 'You, Takis and Aunt Alexia, if she will.' His aunt had been involved in an animated conversation with Helen and Gregori, but she looked up when she heard her name and was obviously unaware of anything untoward until she noticed Niko-las's face. 'That was Heracles on the phone,' Nikolas explained, and it was impossible to miss the way Alexia caught her bottom lip between her teeth suddenly. 'He would like us to drive over there this morning. Aunt; will you come with us?'
Just briefly Alexia's soft dark eyes touched on Bethany, then she nodded. 'Yes, of course I will, Niko.'
The quiet voice was as gentle as ever, but there was
something in her eyes that Bethany thought she had never seen there before, and she found it hard to believe that Alexia viewed the coming visit with consternation. Nevertheless when they set out in Nikolas's car less than half an hour later, the same slightly apprehensive look still lingered in her eyes, and it did nothing to encourage Bethany, who sat beside her in the back.
Unlike the family house in new Rhodes, the one they sought this morning was a large and ultra-modern one, glistening white with that sugar-cube look. It was traditional in as far as it was surrounded by a wall and a garden that overflowed with flowering shrubs and trees, and they had no sooner set foot in it than two small boys came running to meet them, flinging their arms around Nikolas's long legs in welcome.
He was obviously a popular visitor and the two tiny welcomers clung to him tightly, chattering both at once and laughing, arguing over who should tell him something that they were obviously both bursting to impart. His progress impeded, Nikolas hoisted them one under each arm and carried them, wriggling and squealing with laughter, up the path to the house.
Just before they arrived there, a young woman emerged, looking slightly flustered and brushing back long black hair from a flushed face. 'Niko! Welcome! Come in, come in.' She lifted her face for the customary kisses, then shook her head in a vaguely apologetic gesture as she smoothed down her dress and led the way into the house. *I should have been here to stop the boys from swamping you like that. I'm sorry.'
*Oh, please don't be,' Nikolas told her with one of his rare smiles. I'm flattered, Sophie; children don't always extend me such an enthusiastic welcome.' For some reason she could not fathom, he glanced at Bethany when he said that, and she found herself hastily avoiding his eyes. Then he turned to Alexia who still, Bethany noticed, looked vaguely uneasv. *Aunt Alexia, you haven't met Sophie, have you? And these are Heracles' two sons, Dimitri and Pavlos.'
The familiar name brought a responsive tug at Bethany's senses, but almost before she could tell herself that Pavlos was a common enough name in Greece, it was her and Takis's turn to be introduced. Then he caught the young woman's eye and raised an enquiring brow.
The girl nodded. *He—he's very excited—overcome,' she said in a low and rather breathless voice. *You understand, Niko?*
Something about this visit disturbed her, but Bethany could not for the moment think what it could be. The children were delightful, and their mother pleasant and rather shy, but whatever the cause, her heart was hammering hard as they entered the house, and there was nothing she could do about the slightly sick feeling she had in her stomach.
The house was as modern inside as out, and it lacked the Oriental air of the old Meandis home, but for all its modernity it suggested comfort and warmth and was very Greek. They were scarcely inside when a man appeared from a room to thek left, and at the sight ot him Bethany's heart almost stopped beating altogether.
Whether or not Takis had been struck by the same fact, she did not know, for she could not take her eyes off the man as he came across to greet them. In the shadowy coolness of the hall where the light was deceptive, it seemed for a moment that Papa came hurrying towards them, and it was all she could do not to cry out at the fe
eling it gave her.
A younger, slimmer Papa, it was true, and with a full head of black curly hair instead of the familiar balding tonsure, but with the same warm, welcoming smile showing slightly stained teeth from smoking too many strong cigarettes. It was merely an illusion, of course, and the illusion vanished the moment he got into the better light, but for those few moments the effect had been staggering and quite uncanny.
'Welcome, welcome I' The man drew them into a large aky room whose wide windows opened on to a
paved terrace, with a garden beyond. He drew Alexia into a bear-hug and kissed her fondly on both cheeks, then sat her down in an armchair, with almost reverent gentleness. 'It is so good to see you again, my aunt,' he told her, still holding her hands. 'Are you well?'
'I'm well,' Alexia assured him, and studied him with her faded dark eyes for a moment. 'I can see that you thrive, my nephew, and your wife and fine sons too.'
'Yes, yes, yes.' He patted her hands, his head shaking
regretfully. 'I wished so much to be there when '
Broad shoulders shrugged helplessly. 1 was in America for business. Aunt Alex, how could I return in the time? But I shall regret it to my dying day.'
'He would have understood; who better?' Alexia assured him softly, and Bethany had no doubt at all that they spoke of her stepfather. .
'It is to be hoped,' their host agreed, and turned once more to the rest of his guests. His eyes fell at once on Bethany with her tawny hair and grey eyes, red-gold among the olive darkness of the others. 'Aie!* he breathed softly, but turned at once, when Nikolas spoke up.
'This is Takis, Heracles.' He drew Takis round in front of him, and just for a second it seemed he hesitated to go on with the introduction. But the man had no such hesitation, he was extending a hand to Takis almost before the introduction was complete. 'Takis,' Nicolas went on, 'this is Heracles Meandis. His mother was your papa's first wife, and he is therefore your half-brother. Do you understand?'
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