Apollo's Daughter

by Rebecca Stratton

  She never quite knew why she glanced beyond him to the wide, uncurtained window when she did. But she caught sight of a mere glimpse of movement in the garden beyond, and for a second or two she stared at the gleaming darkness of the glass as if she was mesmerised. There was a wild thud of panic in her heartbeat suddenly, and she realised that Nikolas had turned and was following the direction of her gaze.

  'What is it?' he asked, and his hand on her shoulder was warm and reassuring. 'Bethany?'

  'Nothing—nothing really.' She sounded breathless and she knew it, for a persistent niggle of suspicion had her on edge. 'I saw one of the bushes move, that's all. The wind's getting up, I think; probably the meltemi, and we'll have a storm.'

  Her heart was hammering and she did not know what to say or how to react. It had to be Theo she had glimpsed through the window, and it was unlikely he had seen them in the room, therefore he would probably come closer and try to get in. Nikolas had said he would not let anything stand in his way if he had made up his mind, and somehow she had to turn him away.

  If Nikolas knew he was there he would either revert to his former suspicion, that she had come down to let Theo in, or there would be a terrible quarrel between them, which was equally undesirable. Into a torment of indecision Nikolas's voice intruded, soft and deep and infinitely affecting.

  'You should be in bed and asleep,' he told her, and again his long fingers rippled through her hair.

  But sleep had never been further from her mind, and Bethany still sought desperately for a solution. It's so oppressive,' she said in a small, husky voice, I'm sure it's going to storm, Niko. I'd—I'd love to go outside for a few minutes.' She felt alarmingly breathless as she took the path of deception and prayed she did not become trapped in her own deceit.

  'In your nightgown?' Nikolas asked, and sounded faintly amused rather than shocked, so that she coloured furiously and thanked heaven for the semi-darkness of the studio so that he could not see her too clearly. 'And with nothing on your feet?'

  'Just outside,' she coaxed, stunned by her own deviousness and a little ashamed of it too. 'Or maybe if I could just open a window and sit on the sill for a couple of minutes/

  'You're a strange child!' His tone was indulgent, and she smiled up at him when he leaned past her to open the window wide. Perching himself on the window ledge beside her, he looked up at the moon with a faintly quizzical eye. 'Moon madness,' he teased softly, and a low ripple of laugher sent tiny thrills all along her spine. 'Just a few minutes, and then we will both go back to bed and try to sleep.'

  'Just a few minutes,' Bethany agreed.

  There was a curious sense of peace and contentment sitting there with him in the moonlight, so that she almost forgot for a moment or two the reason for her insistence. If Theo did not see them now in the full light of the moon and leave before he was seen, he would be very stupid, and she did not believe that of him. Her nightgown was white and showed up as clearly as Nikolas's light robe did, so that Theo could not fail to know that she was not there alone.

  Briefly she thought she caught sight of another glimpse of movement off to their left, but she tried not to show anything in her manner, and fortunately it was out of Nikolas's line of vision as he sat sideways on

  the windowsill. A momentary flutter of movement among the shrubs and it was gone. The message, she thought, had been seen and understood and she heaved an inward sigh of relief. She also felt curiously certain suddenly that she was never going to marry Theo; although she did not stop to ask herself at the moment why she had come to a decision so abruptly. Something about this particular situation must have decided her.

  She caught her breath audibly when a few moments later a hand was placed on her arm and strong fingers pressed into her flesh. 'You're getting chilled,' Nikolas said in a tone she knew well. It's time you went back to bed.' He closed the window carefully and quietly, then turned to face her for a moment. *I can't think why I indulged such a crazy, childish notion,' he told her, and sounded almost as if he mused his private thoughts aloud. 'You'll go back to your room, young lady, and into bed and stay there until morning—the idea!'

  Bethany's small trill of laughter was irresistible, for she had not for a moment believed he would indulge her so far or so readily, and the satisfaction it gave her far outweighed the importance of sending Theo scuttling back to the taverna. Stretching her arms above her head, she yawned sleepily. *I think I might sleep now,' she said.

  There was no window on the staircase and he took her arm as they went up the stairs, holding her to the comforting warmth of him in the almost total darkness. They were at the top of the stairs, on the narrow landing, when she recalled her firm decision about Theo, and she looked up at Nikolas from the corner of her eye, moving closer so that she need not raise her voice above a whisper.

  'Nikolas, you won't insist on me marrying Theo, will you? You did promise that I needn't marry anyone I didn't love.'

  His brief silence puzzled her rather, so that for a moment she wondered if he was displeased at her decision. Then once more his fingers pressed hard into

  her soft flesh and his breath was warm against her neck when he bent to whisper his reply dose to her ear. *Don*t you want to marry Theo?' he asked, and she shook her head as well as she could for his proximity.

  *No!' she replied with certainty, and again the hand on her arm squeezed hard.

  'Then you shan't, little one,' he assured her in a whisper that nevertheless carried the assurance of authority.

  They came to a halt outside her bedroom door and she instinctively turned towards him, her mouth already soft and yielding, anticipating the kiss she had been thinking about ever since he came into the studio. There was a shivering excitement in the body that seemed to exude its own heat in the narrow passageway and made her tremble, but he did not take her in his arms.

  'Goodnight, Bethany; make sure you go to bed and go to sleep!'

  'Goodnight!'

  It was hard to accept that he meant simply to send her to bed like a naughty little girl, and she looked up at him, trying to determine the expression he wore, but could define only the deep darkness of his eyes. A small window let in a little of the moonlight and in the shadowy haze he looked incredibly tall and vaguely Oriental, that hint of his mother's Turkish blood in the cast of his features and slightly almond eyes. He could have turned and gone, but he hesitated, and a thrill of excitement scuttled along her back like a ripple of cool silk because of it.

  She laughed softly and a little wildly, thinking again of Theo sneaking back to the taverna, and her heart was beating so hard she felt alarmingly breathless. 'Why do I feel so wicked?' she whispered, and saw the white gleam of Nikolas's smile for a moment.

  'Why indeed?' he asked with a hint of irony.

  He bent his head to kiss her lightly beside her mouth, and Bethany was never quite sure why it went further than that. It could surely not have been be-

  cause she lifted her arms and put them around his neck that he pulled her to him suddenly and sought her mouth with a passionate eagerness she could not have resisted even had she been of a mind to.

  He had never kissed her mouth before other than in anger, and the sensation was startlingly different. The hard passionate mouth sought hungrily for her response, and buried itself deep in hers, while his arms pressed her with urgent desire to a masculinity only thinly disguised by the light robe he wore. It was as if she had been cut off from all contact with reality, and she felt the urgent response of her own body as something she had no control over. Her feet seemed not to touch the ground, but it was only when her toes gently touched down on the rough matting again that she realised he had literally swept her off her feet.

  Looking up, she regretted not being able to see his face more clearly, but his big hands slid slowly from her body in a long sweeping caress, then were cupped either side of her face, the thumbs pressing lightly on her lips. He bent closer so that he need not raise his voice and the soft skin of her neck
fluttered with each word.

  'Go back to bed, Bethany, please!' Tipping back her head, she looked up into his face and noted the gleaming darkness of his eyes. Then a sudden wild and inexplicable feeling flooded through her whole body, bringing sensations she found hard to control; exciting but alarming sensations that urged her towards something she did not yet want to recognise, and she stepped away from him, turning quickly to open her bedroom door.

  'Goodnight! ' The words tumbled from her lips and she stepped quickly through and closed the door.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  It had been almost daylight before Bethany went to sleep, for the excitement of those few moments with Nikolas had kept her awake, wide-eyed and glowing, until sheer tiredness closed her eyes. But the feeling was still with her when she woke, a feeling so lighthearted and filled with anticipation that she hummed a tune to herself as she went downstairs to help with breakfast.

  Apart from the fact that Nikolas had kissed her goodnight, she kept telling herself that nothing had really happened to make her feel as she did, and yet nothing, it seemed, could touch her with discontent this morning. By now Nikolas must have realised that his confidence regarding Papa's choice of a husband for her had been passed on, and he must be aware of who her informant was too, but such was her mood that Bethany could not believe he would blame his aunt for telling her. He knew how she felt about Theo too, and surely no man who had kissed a woman as Nikolas had kissed her last night could later turn around and insist that she marry someone else, particularly his own brother.

  It occurred to her vaguely that Alexia was perhaps a little less communicative than usual, but it probably meant simply that Alexia had also had a restless night and was feeling a little under par. Together they prepared breakfast and, wrapped as she was in her own sunny mood, Bethany did not mind at all being left with her own thoughts.

  It was more or less routine by now that Nikolas had his breakfast alone in the first place, because he was always first at table, then Alexia and Bethany joined him shortly afterwards and they finished the meal together. Takis invariably appeared late and gobbled down his meal at the very last minute, when it was almost time to leave for school.

  Today as Bethany carried the tray across the terrace to where Nikolas sat at the table under the plane tree, she found herself taking explicit note of every detail. The way he leaned one elbow on the table with his chin resting on the hand as he read through the papers that always arrived on the morning ferry for him, and the way a deep cream shirt pulled taut across broad shoulders showing the shadow of a lean brown back through its texture. The way his hair grew in a slight curl above his ears, sable dark but flecked with a suggestion of silver if you caught it in a certain light; a gentle reminder of his thirty-odd years.

  There was an arrogance about him that she had hated in those first turbulent days when he had represented an intrusion into her comfortable little haven; now it seemed sometimes as if he had always been there. He seemed to fit in, unlike Theo whose lusty and mischievous temperament seemed completely alien to the quiet peace of Apolidus.

  Bringing Theo to mind had an immediate and slightly cooling effect on her glowing good humour, for Theo, she remembered, could do a great deal to spoil things for her if he was of a mind to. He must have known, or at least guessed, the reason for that charade in the studio window last night, and she could only pray that he was discreet enough to say nothing.

  Nikolas must have heard her coming, for he turned when she was less than half way across the stone-paved terrace, and came to relieve her of the tray, as he most often did. Taking stock of her flushed cheeks and bright shining eyes, he smiled, faintly quizzical, as he set the tray down on the table.

  'Did you get some sleep after all?' he asked.

  Having put down the tray, he left pouring out the coffee to her, sitting down again and watching her, still with that slightly sardonic smile, one elbow resting on the table and tapping a light tattoo on its surface. It crossed Bethany's mind to tell him how long she had lain awake, unable to sleep for the excitement he had

  aroused in her, but instead she simply nodded and smiled.

  Tes, thank you, Nikolas, did you?' He nodded as she handed him his coffee, and she went on, *I just,needed some fresh air, that was all.'

  'Don't you have a window in your bedroom?' he asked, amusement lurking deep in his eyes. *Or are you in the habit of prowling around down there in the early hours of the morning?'

  'You'd have discovered it if I was, long before nowl' Bethany retorted, but without malice.

  She felt oddly nervous and there was a tingling sensation at her nerve-ends that made her want to shiver. She wished she had not deceived him last night about seeing someone outside in the garden. Almost certainly it had been Theo, especially since Nikolas himself had been half expecting to find him there when he came downstairs, and she was too unsure of his brother's reaction.

  *Sit down,' Nikolas urged, more serious suddenly. 'There's something I have to say to you before Aunt Alexia joins us.' Bethany's heart lurched sickeningly, but she told herself that Theo could not possibly have seen him yet, and if he had and Nikolas was still in a good humour, then she had nothing to worry about. He looked at the tray, set only for one. 'Didn't you bring yourself a cup?'

  'Well, no, I was going to have mine later, but '

  She was already half turned to go and fetch herself a cup when he stopped her.

  'No, it will take too much time, and I want to say what I have to say before we're interrupted.' Trembling slightly, Bethany sat and watched him while he spread a roll with butter and honev, then handed it to her with a glimmer of a smile. 'That will sustain you for the moment, you can have some coffee later.'

  Bethany nibbled the roll absently but did not take her eyes off his face, shadowed and, it seemed, oddly secretive. 'Niko, what's v^ong?'

  There was something, she told herself, or why else

  would he want to say something to her before Alexia came out to join them as she always did? Yet again she rued her inability to sit at the same table with him and think rationally. It was hard to concentrate on what he was going to say when she was so fascinated by the firm sureness of his hands, reminding her of how tenderly they had held her last night.

  *Last night/ Nikolas began, and brought her swiftly back to earth because from the way he hesitated it seemed he might be unsure of what he wanted to say, and that wasn't like Nikolas at all. His uncertainty was shortlived, however, and he pressed on as if impatient with his own reticence. *Aunt Alexia heard you go downstairs last night, Bethany, and she heard me go down shortly afterwards.' Bethany waited. 'She also heard us come back up together/ Nikolas went on, 'and she saw me kiss you.'

  Bethany's heart was rapping urgently because there was something in his voice that set every nerve in her body tingling, and she kept the thick tawny lashes lowered over her eyes. Vaguely she recalled Alexia's quietness earlier on, and realised how shocked the old lady must have been to see Nikolas, to whom she attributed all the traditional virtues, kissing the girl he had hinted himself was intended for his brother's bride. But she was much more concerned to know what Nikolas might have told her by way of an explanation, and prayed desperately that he wasn't going to pass the incident off as merely a lighthearted caress that meant nothing at all. She didn't think she could bear that.

  Nikolas was looking at her steadily and there was something in his eyes that brought all those wild and almost frightening emotions flooding back, just like last night outside her bedroom door. It enveloped her in an indescribable need for him, a physical need that was alarming in its fierceness and made her feel far too emotional to think clearly.

  'Bethany, I had to tell her '

  'Good morning!'

  Bethany gasped aloud when Theo's brightly loud

  voice cut across what Nikolas had been trying to say, and Bethany did not remember ever resenting anyone as much as she did Theo at that moment. He sat down beside her and gave her a wide and
faintly malicious smile, although she could not for the moment account for the malice. Then she remembered, and glanced swiftly at Nikolas.

  'Good morning, Theo.' Nikolas spread another roll, quite unperturbed it seemed, until Bethany noticed how hard he gripped the knife handle. *Was your room comfortable?'

  Theo filched a morsel of roll and honey from Bethany's plate and popped it into his mouth before he answered, and there was a bright gleam in his eyes that she found infinitely disturbing. 'Well enough,' he said, and caught Nikolas's eye, narrowing his own. *Was yours?'

  Briefly Nikolas glanced at Bethany then back again to his brother, while Bethany prayed as she never had in her life before. But he said nothing and after a second or two Theo shrugged with what was obviously assumed carelessness. Even in a situation like this, when he could so easily have had the upper hand, it seemed he was prepared to back down, though Bethany was still on tenterhooks.

  *Have I your permission to take our cousin swimming this morning?' Theo asked, and there was a definite edge of challenge on the question that made Bethany glance at him sharply. 'You like swimming, don't you, cousin?'

  She couldn't deny it, but quite unconsciously she had glanced at Nikolas before she nodded agreement, and her answer was clearly not as eager as Theo expected. *I—I suppose I could go,' she said, 'but later, Theo, when all the chores are done and I have some time to spare.'

  'You may be taking a holiday,' Nikolas told him in a deep and much too quiet voice, 'but no one else is, Theo. Bethany has work to do, she hasn't the time to keep you amused all day long.'

  *Oh, Nikolas!' Her reproach was soft-voiced, but a stirring of the old resentment showed for a moment in her eyes. It wouldn't matter for a little while, surely, when I've finished what I have to do in the house, and I do like swimming. Please—be reasonable!'

  He disliked her pleading with him, she could see it in the way he looked at her, and she could not understand his being so conventional about her going with Theo for a little while when there would be no one about to condemn their being unaccompanied. His response showed her in what direction his mind was working and stunned her with its unexpectedness.