South of Mandraki

by Anne Hampson

  ‘But Pam couldn’t afford to buy it, Daros. Won’t your mother rent it to her—? Oh, but it’s no use. Pam hasn’t a job and if she works in Rhodes she can’t live here. It would be too far to travel. What can we do?’

  He sighed, and as she looked at him Toni noted his impatience. ‘I was trying to find a solution,’ he commented quietly. ‘If you would just hold your tongue for a few minutes—’

  ‘I’m sorry,’ she cut in contritely. ‘You have an idea?’

  Her rather meek apology brought a strange flicker to his eyes.

  ‘I said I found you puzzling, but you’re more than puzzling — you’re absolutely baffling.’ He regarded her with a frown. ‘You’re not the girl I married.. ’ He paused to let that sink in. ‘Or are you? I’m damned if I know whether the change results from my schooling or whether, basically, there’s been no change at all.’

  A question. Toni was not obtuse, yet she merely said, her cheeks taking on a rosy hue,

  ‘No change?’ Long dark lashes fluttered; her husband was half amused, half impatient even before she added, ‘I don’t understand?’

  ‘No?’ The dark eyes narrowed. ‘Then neither do I, but no matter. I expect you’ll come across in your own good time,’ and on that challenging remark he closed the subject and reverted to the problem of his sister-in-law’s future. The house, he said, could be priced so low that Pam would not feel the least pull regarding the mortgage repayments.

  ‘I’d willingly buy the house from my mother and make Pam a present of it, but that’s not possible, not with your sister.’

  ‘She wouldn’t accept it.’ Was this the man who had so contemptuously derided all English girls? - the man who adamantly refused to pay a mere hundred pounds for his wife’s fare to England? He had paid in the end, of course, but his fury and threats were very much out of character with this concern for Pam and the willingness to lose money on the house so that she could afford to buy it. ‘This is kind of you, Daros,’ she said gratefully. ‘I don’t know why you should concern yourself with my sister’s troubles.’

  He took up his glass, revolving it thoughtfully between finger and thumb.

  ‘For one thing, Toni, I’ve grown exceedingly fond of those kids of hers. They’ve lost a lot; they need stability

  - and they need a man around to keep them in line. They’re exceptionally high-spirited, which is a good thing, but only if there’s discipline at hand. The position would soon revert to what it was before they came here - Pam out working, the children running wild—’ He shook his head emphatically. ‘This mustn’t happen.’ He smiled at her and went on to say that had he been the children’s godfather he would, according to the custom of his country, be obliged to provide for them and look to their welfare generally. He now looked upon himself as their godfather and, therefore, he must concern himself with their well-being. Toni knew just how he felt. In Greece family ties were strong; every member considering himself responsible for the welfare of any other member who encountered misfortune. Also, the position of godfather carried even greater responsibility. A godfather must, as Daros had asserted, provide for his godchildren should the necessity arise. In turn, the godfather in Greece was a man great revered and on one particular religious festival day all godchildren must go to his house and, kneeling before him, take up his hand and kiss it. ‘For another thing,’ continued Daros, ‘I like and admire your sister immensely and feel she must be relieved of the burden which she carries through no fault of her own.’

  He seemed stiff and formal all at once; Toni surmised that he was bound up as much with a sense of duty as with generosity. With a Greek duty was inherent; Daros was half English, yet he followed the pattern of his mother’s people, spoke of Greece as his country. Pam would be helped, Toni was certain of that.

  ‘The job, Daros? You said you had nothing here in Lindos?’ ‘No, I haven’t. It’s a pity—Wait a minute!’ He snapped his fingers and added, ‘Pam’s been doing photographic work, she tells me? and when Toni nodded, ‘Then I’ve found her a job!’

  ‘You have? Here?’

  ‘I’ve a friend who’s a professional photographer. His assistant’s leaving him in a few weeks’ time to get married. He travels, and is in fact away now, but his studio’s in the garden of his house, here in Lindos, and that’s where Pam would be working.’

  It was as if a great weight had been lifted from Toni’s shoulders.

  ‘I don’t know how to thank you,’ she said unsteadily. ‘I never thought you could be so kind.’

  Her husband looked at her long and hard.

  ‘And I never knew you could be so feeling.’ But he was still baffled, and there was no softness about him. In fact, his mouth was set in that familiar harsh line, and the words that had risen involuntarily to Toni’s lips were hastily bitten back. What could a confession gain her? There was a slight change in Daros’s attitude towards her, but no hint of love - or even affection. An admission of deceit on her part could only spark off another violent scene, and this Toni could not face.

  ‘I hope Pam agrees to your plans for her,’ she said, anxious to change the subject. ‘She mustn’t guess that there’s any charity involved.’

  ‘There isn’t any charity involved.’

  ‘You must be making her a gift of part of the money for the house?’

  ‘That’s nothing. And Pam won’t notice because she has no idea of the price of property here. It’s far cheaper, in any case, than it is in England.’

  Toni had no need to have worried. Pam was enthusiastic about living on the island; and the children, who had been a little dejected lately, believing they were soon to return home, demonstrated their delight with such noisy exuberance that they were eventually sent outside by Daros. The fact of their obedience was still a source of amazement to Pam and she murmured gratefully,

  ‘I have such a lot to thank you for, Daros. Words are so inadequate, and—’

  ‘Then don’t try to use them, Pam,’ he interrupted softly. ‘Toni’s happy at the idea of your living close, and so am I. The children love it here and have settled in well at school.’ He gave an expressive shrug of his shoulders. ‘Why waste words when all is running so smoothly?’

  She laughed.

  ‘All right, I won’t try any more to thank you — but,’ she added on a more serious note, ‘I’ll always feel grateful, deep

  down inside.’

  Ignoring that, Daros said, as he got up to leave them, ‘By the way, Toni, Julia’s coming at the weekend. She’ll use the room Grandfather had.’

  ‘Have we taken all the best rooms?’ asked Pam guiltily as the door closed behind her brother-in-law. ‘If I’m in Julia’s room—’

  ‘You’re not; she slept in the Tower room last time she was here.’ The tower had long since disappeared from the end of the house, but the room below it still retained its original name.

  Should she ask Julia about Olivia? Toni wondered as Friday evening approached. Julia would probably be evasive anyway, and most certainly embarrassed; and as Toni herself would be embarrassed she decided against trying to gain information about Olivia in this way.

  No sooner had Julia arrived than Toni guessed she had seen Costas, and immediately she found herself alone with her sister-in-law. Julia confessed everything.

  ‘Then you’re going to be married?’ Although a little shocked, Toni felt also happy on Julia’s behalf. Daros would not be pleased, but as Julia had said, he would think of her happiness before all else.

  ‘No—’ Julia turned away, flushing hotly. ‘I thought when we stayed together that it was because Costas had decided he wanted to marry me, after all, but the holiday ended only in another farewell.’

  ‘He—’ Toni stared, aghast. ‘You mean - he merely used you?’ Not a very delicate way of putting it and the colour rose in Toni’s own cheeks. ‘What exactly happened? Did Costas actually say he wanted to marry you?’

  Julia shook her head.

  ‘I took it for granted. You see, he
rang me to say he was going to Poros for a holiday, and asked me to meet him at a hotel there. I told Mother I was going with a friend, and - and I went to Poros and met Costas. He was so kind and loving, and when he asked me to stay with him I naturally believed he would then marry me.’ A long profound silence followed her words. To Toni, strong-willed and always on her guard, this innocence was incredible. That Julia could put her full trust in this Costas a second time was quite beyond her comprehension.

  ‘What are you going to do?’ she queried at last. ‘You can’t marry Stephanos now.’

  ‘It’s no different from what it was before,’ she pointed out, and Toni looked sharply at her.

  ‘But you don’t love him.’

  ‘I didn’t love him before - when Daros advised me to marry him.’

  ‘Look, Julia, I know it’s none of my business, and I also know these arranged marriages are normal in your country, but if you don’t love Stephanos then don’t marry him. You’ll never be happy.’

  ‘I’ll never be happy anyway, not unless I can have Costas.’ ‘He’s a rogue, Julia. You must know that.’

  ‘I wouldn’t be the first girl to fall in love with a rogue,’ she said with a twisted little smile. And she added, ‘I wish you could see him, Toni. You would say he is the most handsome man you’ve ever met.’

  ‘He’s not handsome underneath, though. It’s what’ s hidden that counts, Julia. The surface can be very misleading.’

  ‘It can indeed.’ Daros entered the room and sat down on the couch beside his sister, but his eyes were on his wife’s flushed face. ‘I didn’t hear the first part,’ he told her, his eyes faintly amused. ‘To what, my dear, were you alluding?’

  ‘It wasn’t for your ears!’ What a narrow escape! If Daros had arrived seconds sooner, and heard what was said by Julia.... ‘This is women’s talk.’

  ‘Shall I go?’

  ‘Certainly not,’ interposed Julia. ‘I haven’t seen you for many weeks, and I’m here only for five days. What have you been doing? I saw Grandfather when I went to Crete and he said he’d enjoyed his holiday with you.’

  ‘He had a quiet time, but he didn’t seem very well to me. As for what I’ve been doing - working sometimes, and playing sometimes.’

  ‘You are lucky, Daros, that you can play when you want. I have to work hard, and play only when I have a holiday from my studies.’

  ‘You’ll play a lot when you’re married. Your husband is rich

  enough to provide you with many servants.’

  ‘He is not my husband yet.’

  A narrowed glance was sent in Julia’s direction.

  ‘You’re betrothed, Julia,’ he reminded her softly.

  A quivering sigh broke; Toni looked across at Daros. He had turned and was regarding Julia searchingly.

  ‘Yes, Daros, I’m engaged.’ The words were a mere whisper. Daros could not possibly miss their edge of despair.

  ‘Stephanos is a good man, Julia, and he will be kind to you. He is wealthy and comes of an excellent family—’

  ‘I know—’ Julia threw out her hands in a gesture of resignation. ‘I am not thinking of changing my mind.’

  ‘I sincerely hope not. I’ve arranged the wedding for next June, when you have taken your final examinations.’

  His sister looked down at her hands; Toni’s heart went out to her. So many girls like her walked to the altar, arrayed in finery and heading a merry throng, only to take the partner chosen by parents, or other people who seemed to think they knew what was best for them. The astounding thing to Toni’s mind was that no one ever seemed to learn from experience. Julia and her husband would, when their daughters grew up, act according to custom and marry them off to men whom they had probably never met - or if they had been previously introduced, that would be the beginning and end of the acquaintanceship until the couple became husband and wife.

  ‘I think,’ said Toni to her husband the following day as they sat alone after lunch, ‘that it’s a crime to make a girl many someone she doesn’t love.’

  ‘You’re referring to Julia?’ Daros’s mouth took on a stern inflexible line.

  ‘She doesn’t love this Stephanos you have chosen for her.’

  ‘Apparently she’s been confiding in you. Did she imply that the betrothal was forced on her?’

  ‘No,’ Toni replied swiftly. ‘She told me you advised her to marry Stephanos.’ A slight pause, and then, ‘What’s he like?’ ‘He’s a charming young man; good-living, clever and rich. What more can a girl want?’

  ‘She might just want love,’ came the sharp retort from Toni.

  ‘Women do, you know!’

  He raised his brows.

  ‘You appear to feel strongly about it.’ His attention was arrested for a moment by the children playing on the sands. Pam was with them, and Julia too. ‘You, if I remember rightly,’ he continued in his driest tones, ‘considered all well lost for money.’

  She bit her lip, raising her eyes. Defensively she said,

  ‘My position was different. ’

  ‘I suppose I must grant you that.’ His attention strayed again, this time to the two graceful white yachts sailing towards the Bay of St Paul. Above the bay the sheer rocks took on a sombre aspect as a cloud obscured the sun. The change was dramatic and on the beach the children looked skywards as if expecting rain. ‘Just how much has Julia told you?’ he asked unexpectedly, turning once again to Toni. ‘I imagine you know about Costas?’

  She became guarded.

  ‘Julia did mention him, yes.’ Toni would not say more.

  ‘Mention?’ He appeared sceptical. ‘She believes she’s in love with him. ’

  ‘I feel sure she is.’

  ‘But he is not in love with her, Toni,’ he returned in a voice grown suddenly grave. ‘If he were serious about Julia he would have approached either Mother or me long ago.’

  ‘Are you perfectly happy about Julia’s forthcoming marriage to Stephanos?’ Toni couldn’t help asking, her gaze fixed searchingly on her husband’s set face.

  ‘Are you condemning me?’ he countered with an arrogant lift of his brow.

  Toni lowered her head. She murmured uncomfortably,

  ‘It isn’t my right to condemn, Daros. But Julia is not happy, and - and I feel she should be given the freedom to break this engagement - if she wishes to do so, of course.’

  ‘So she hasn’t stated definitely that she wants to break the engagement?’

  Toni shook her head. She was becoming involved in something that was not her concern.

  ‘She merely told me she wasn’t in love with her fiance. I don’t believe I’m giving away a confidence,’ she added, searching his face. ‘You knew she didn’t love Stephanos.’

  ‘Greek girls don’t marry for love.’

  ‘That’s why there are so many unhappy marriages.’

  He exclaimed impatiently under his breath.

  ‘I didn’t coerce Julia,’ he snapped.

  ‘Will you consent to her breaking the engagement, if she wishes to?’

  A heavy frown darkened his brow. He appeared to be grappling with a problem.

  ‘I must ask you to keep out of this, Toni,’ he said at length. ‘You see, there is something you don’t know.’

  Her eyes flew to his and her heartbeats quickened. Was he in possession of all the facts? But he couldn’t be, otherwise he would not be so calm about it.

  ‘I’m sorry,’ she murmured. ‘It isn’t really any of my business.’

  ‘It is, in a way, your business. I’ve concerned myself with your sister’s problems, and in ordinary circumstances it would be your duty to concern yourself with my sister’s problems. But these are not ordinary circumstances, Toni.’ He actually gave a deep sigh ... a sigh of regret. He did know, Toni was now convinced of that. Why, then, had he not mentioned it to Julia? ‘It is best that Julia marries Stephanos,’ he commented softly, and he spoke also in tones of confidence, as if he were not really wishing to shut his wife ou
t of this family problem.

  Best that she marries Stephanos.... Toni’s eyes lit with perception and she made an irreparable blunder.

  ‘Stephanos is in love with Julia?’

  He flashed her a glance - and this also held perception.

  ‘What makes you say that?’

  She reddened, and twisted her hands uneasily.

  ‘I d-don’t know. It w-was just an idea.’

  ‘Based on what?’

  Toni shook her head, and looked round wildly, as if seeking escape.

  ‘It would appear that Julia has told you everything.’ A statement Toni could only nod her head, for to lie would be fruitless. ‘She has not told me, of course,’ Daros now continued matter-of-factly. ‘I discovered her - misdemeanour through a friend of mine who has a son at the university in Athens. Naturally I would rather Julia married Costas, and I did hint that I’d let her happiness come before all else - even though Costas is poor and Stephanos rich. However, as this Costas obviously does not want to marry her, and as no other man will marry her, she doesn’t have much choice.’

  ‘You had to tell Stephanos about - about—’ Toni broke off, fumbling for words. ‘I guessed you had, and that’s why I knew he was in love with her - because of course he must have overlooked it.’

  Daros nodded.

  ‘He approached me about marriage to Julia and I was forced to tell him the truth. Naturally he was shocked and disappointed, but still desired to marry her. She’s a very lucky girl, because in this country such an indiscretion utterly ruins a girl’s chances of marriage.’

  ‘Is she lucky, Daros? Will she find happiness with a man she doesn’t love?’

  ‘It’s either Stephanos or spinsterhood.’

  ‘She might prefer spinsterhood.’