Waves of Fire

by Anne Hampson

  Suddenly she caught her husband’s eye and saw there both admiration and surprise, and ... but it couldn’t possibly be pride!

  Her thoughts went involuntarily to that day in Cos, when the sponge-diver from Kalymos danced so beautifully for them. And she knew instinctively that Andreas too was back in Cos. She almost made a mistake then; Andreas noticed the slip, but even before he had smiled encouragingly she made her recovery. The applause was deafening when they finished. Everyone shouted for more.

  Shani sat down, flushed and happy; all were cheering still - all except Lydia whose face was dark with envy.

  ‘That was marvellous!’ exclaimed Yannis, handing her a drink. ‘Shani’s the best of all the English in Cyprus!’

  Did Andreas dance much? she wondered. He would never dance here though, she was just deciding when to her surprise he and Dr. Charalambedes and the indefatigable Yannis began the dance which was found only in Cyprus, and even there it was fast dying out. It was the Dance of the Sickle, and it struck Shani that the sickles must have been brought in earlier, ready for the performance.

  ‘Has it some special meaning?’ asked Jenny of Chrystalla. The sickles were being moved sometimes as if in harvesting while at other times the movement took the form of a whip encircling the body.

  ‘It’s a kind of symbolic dance,’ explained Chrystalla at length. ‘But its origins are lost. The dance has to do with fertility and was performed at festivities held in honour of the earth goddess.’

  ‘Why is it danced only in Cyprus?’

  ‘I don’t know. It originated in Sparta and the Dorians brought it here. In Sparta Artemis was the Goddess of

  Fertility, and her equivalent here is Aphrodite, so perhaps that’s why it’s lasted longer in Cyprus. You would expect the dance to become strongly rooted here because Aphrodite was born here.’

  ‘But Aphrodite’s the Goddess of Love!’

  ‘And of Fertility - and of Beauty.’ Chrystalla laughed. ‘She has many forms.’

  This dance was also difficult, but it was clearly a man’s dance, and when the sickle was used in the whip movement it represented the scourging at the ancient altar of Artemis where the youths of Sparta entered contests of endurance and hardship.

  ‘It’s so pagan!’ exclaimed Brenda in a whisper. ‘Our Mr. Manou even looks like a pagan!’

  ‘How do you know what a pagan looks like?’ laughed Dr. Gordon. ‘Yannis’s face is just as hard and set as that of Andreas.’

  He even looks like a pagan ... Shani saw, him again crossing the lawn, and she remembered how the sky seemed to darken. But she was only eighteen, and a very young eighteen at that. He had frightened her, sheltered as she was by her father, living very close to him since the death of her mother, never leaving him alone unless it was absolutely necessary. No wonder Andreas had frightened her. But she was not frightened now. His grim exterior was forbidding, but she had known the gentleness beneath, had been given a small sample of the care and concern that could have been hers had she only discovered her own feelings a little sooner ... before her husband had lost interest in her.

  She watched the dancers, fascinated, her eyes often moving to her husband’s face, its expression reminding

  her that the credo of the ancient Hellenes was freedom, pride and noble competition. Dancing, it was said, was a medium through which could be balanced spirit and matter; it expressed the human feelings and emotions, drawing out beauty from the very depths of the soul. It revealed the urge of the subconscious— Abruptly she tried to shake off the idea that her husband’s face was sad behind the mask of set concentration ... sad and desolate. Frowning, Shani tore her eyes away, and looked down at her hands.

  But the change of vision merely brought into focus the picture of Andreas as she had seen him one evening after she had been to his house to discuss the question of an annulment. She had looked back, and he had been sitting there, with his head sunk in his hands.

  The dance ended and once again there were cheers and hand-clapping, and shouts for more. Shani looked up to meet her husband’s gaze. He was not looking in the least desolate or sad, but smiling faintly at something Yannis was saying, and Shani managed to dismiss the impression that Andreas was unhappy.

  Refreshments were served and then a more sedate and much simpler dance was performed with about a dozen people forming the long row. Andreas asked Lydia to join in, but obviously she had never been interested enough to learn even the simple dances and Shani found herself standing next to her husband, his hand on her shoulder and her hand resting lightly on his. And as they danced he bent his head to hers and whispered, in a tone faintly mocking yet unmistakably tinged with praise,

  ‘You’re full of surprises, Shani ... and some are really very pleasant ones." His comment, so unexpected after the indifference he normally adopted, brought no response from Shani and he did not speak again during

  the dance.

  ‘... some are really very pleasant ones.’ She mused on this. Among the unpleasant surprises was the discovery that she approved Brian’s action in threatening Andreas. It hurt that he should believe this, that he was still under the impression she would countenance such an unscrupulous method of obtaining her freedom. Her mouth curved bitterly. It was ironical that Brian’s interference had come after she had decided not to marry him, and when she was already considering the possibility of living with her husband. Would things have been different had not Brian chosen to interfere? It seemed so very strange that after forcing her into marriage, and then taking the trouble to search for her, Andreas should lose interest - and that quite suddenly. The change had been sudden, no doubt about that. On the holiday he had been extremely interested in her. Could it be that he had said he had lost interest simply because he was hurt at the idea that she still preferred Brian, after the wonderful holiday they had spent together? - the holiday which, she now knew, had raised her husband’s hopes of a change in her feelings towards him. At her refusal of his suggestion he had seemed defeated ... but could the last of his hopes have died only after Brian’s telephone call? Perhaps, she thought eagerly, she should try again . But no, it was too great a risk. Andreas had been so emphatic in his declaration that he no longer wanted her and were she to confess all she would once again be in his power. For the sake of the child he would offer her a home; either she must accept, living with a man who did not want her, or she must share their child with him. That he would be unrelenting about the question of the child she did not for one moment doubt. Greek men were wonderful fathers; they loved their children, so it was beyond the bounds of possibility that he would cut himself off from the only child he was ever likely to have, being through his own act bound irrevocably to Shani. No, she dared not take so great a risk.

  When the dance came to an end Andreas remained for a while talking to Dr. Gordon, and then automatically walked with him over to where Shani and her little group were sitting. Jenny gave her friend a nudge. Lydia had risen and was coming over to join them.

  ‘She’s a trier,’ said Jenny spitefully. ‘I’ll grant her that.’

  ‘You’re being bitchy,’ laughed Chrystalla. The word had recently been explained to her and she welcomed the opportunity of using it.

  ‘Who’s being bitchy? - and about whom?’ Dr. Gordon sat down facing Shani, but for a moment Andreas remained standing, watching his wife as she in turn watched the languid approach of Lydia Murray. Shani glanced up, and for some inexplicable reason she blushed. ‘Not you, Shani—’ Dr. Gordon broke off abruptly, casting Andreas a swift glance and then looking at Lydia. Through Shani’s mind flashed Matron’s evasive words to the doctor on the day she had fainted in Matron’s room. With an effort Shani laughed, shaking her head, and to her intense relief Dr. Gordon's face cleared.

  But what of Andreas? His expression was most odd indeed, portraying the same enigmatic quality that had settled on his face during the scene in the theatre with Lydia. It was almost as if he suspected his wife of jealousy! Could he possibly b
e thinking that now she had lost Brian she was beginning to resent his association with Lydia? No doubt that would afford him extreme satisfaction, and was probably the reason why he had suddenly become especially nice to Lydia that day, and very condescending to his wife - even suggesting she apologize to the detestable woman! Shani bristled. Jealous? He need harbour no such gratifying ideas. If he wasn’t interested in her, neither was she interested in him - nor in his woman friends!

  Andreas brought up a chair for Lydia and then sat down beside her. But his eyes were on Shani, thoughtfully examining her flushed countenance.

  ‘Andreas,’ said Sister Louzides curiously, ‘you’re a Greek, so how come you to do the sickle dance so expertly? It isn’t even danced in your country, so you couldn’t have learnt it there.’

  ‘I lived in Cyprus for several years, as a boy.’

  ‘Ah, that explains it.’ She took a glass from the tray offered her by one of the cafe proprietor’s young sons. ‘You’ll not be able to unbend like this when you get back to London. The English are so inhibited— With apologies to all my English friends here,’ she added sweetly, and they scowled at her, but only in fun.

  ‘No, indeed. I shall have to be very much on my dignity.’

  He would always be dignified, thought Shani. During the dance his inborn dignity was revealed in every movement, in the harmony and measure, in the strong yet graceful sweep of the sickle.

  ‘And Shani’s also leaving us,’ sighed Jenny, her regret plainly including Andreas, despite her, repeated grumbles about his severity and arrogance of manner. ‘Wouldn’t it be a coincidence if you met again in London? - if you found yourselves working together in the same hospital?’

  Glancing instinctively at Andreas, Shani realized he was deliberately avoiding her eyes, and she recalled his strongly-expressed hope that on leaving Loutras he would never set eyes on her again. He had not known then that she would be leaving first, and that his hopes would materialize even sooner than he had anticipated.

  ‘It’s possible,’ agreed Brenda, ‘because you’ll be working in London, won’t you, Shani?’

  ‘I—’ About to say there was no likelihood of her working in London, Shani stopped, aware of Lydia’s dark eyes fixed upon her with an almost malevolent expression. ‘I might be working in London - some time,’ she said in cool and even tones, quite forgetful of Dr. Gordon, who tactfully refrained either from looking at Shani or joining in the conversation.

  Andreas glanced up quickly and a hint of colour crept into Shani’s lovely cheeks. Worried, was he? -in case she should intrude into his life again? Little did he know that several years must elapse before she could consider returning to work. But Shani was glad she had given Lydia something to think about. ‘Acting in that proprietorial manner - and with my husband!’ she quivered on seeing Lydia handing her empty glass to Andreas. Lydia was smiling at him, but she kept swallowing thickly, and it was not difficult to see that she was deeply affected by Shani’s rather spiteful little declaration that she might possibly be working in London.

  A ready smile took away Shani’s frown as Yannis joined her little group. He talked and drank and smoked his pipe, then after a while, to Shani’s great consternation, he suggested she and Andreas should dance together.

  She could not dance with Andreas - in any case, he

  would not want to dance with her ---- Lydia was

  scowling at Yannis for making the suggestion, but of

  course he did not notice. To Shani’s surprise Andreas was ready to dance with her, a clear invitation conveyed in the look he gave her. It would be altogether too trying to dance with her husband and Shani began to shake her head. Lydia was still scowling; Andreas’s hand was extended and Shani took it, allowing him to lead her on to the floor. Yannis threw Shani his large handkerchief and she deftly caught it as it fluttered down, almost on to Lydia’s knee. Shani smiled at her enemy in the most satisfied way and Lydia’s mouth compressed. ‘I’m being bitchy tonight,’ declared Shani to herself. “And I’m thoroughly enjoying it!’

  The dance was a variation of the Labyrinth Dance of Knossos, performed by Theseus and the youths and maidens he had rescued from the monstrous bullheaded Minotaur of Crete, the occasion of that dance, at the altar of Apollo, being the first time in Greek history that men and women had danced together.

  For the most part the body movements consisted of labyrinthine evolutions, and the suppleness of both dancers was outstandingly emphasized in the leaping twists and turns as they followed with unerring precision an imaginary maze-pattern on the ground. It was a complicated dance, originally arranged for many people so that Andrews and Shani were compelled to introduce certain variations of their own - caprices and tricks faultlessly executed though differing in form. At times the woman must be meek, her eyes downcast, her movements hesitantly modest, while in sharp contrast the spinnings and leapings of the man were vigorous and strong, as would be expected of the brave slayer of the Minotaur.

  Shani’s handkerchief was employed in a unique and remarkably effective way, depicting the grief of Ariadne on being abandoned by her lover after she had fed him safely out of the Labyrinth by means of a ball of thread. The handkerchief represented a veil, torn in her distress and used by Ariadne to wipe away her tears. In the final sad beat of the dance it was waved in a series of despairing gestures as his ship took Theseus further and further away from the island on which he and Ariadne had spent the night. The end seemed so linked with her own experience that Shani’s eyes became bright with unshed tears, and yet it was an animated little face that looked up into her husband’s eyes as, with the fading of the melancholy strains of the bouzouki music the deafening applause broke out. Her cheeks were flushed, her lips quivering slightly, and parted, for she was a little breathless after her exertions. For a long moment he stared down at her, oblivious of the applause and then, shaking his head in a gesture of mingled impatience and mystification, he led her back to their party.

  ‘Shani, you were marvellous!’

  ‘You danced beautifully together!’

  ‘Anyone would think you’d practised beforehand,’ said Jenny as Shani sat down beside her, and then, in a whisper, ‘Lydia’s seething. You know something? She’s jealous of you.’

  ‘Then she can’t be very sure of Andreas,’ returned Shani, throwing Lydia a superior look and deciding it was extraordinarily pleasant to be a cat for a change. She was unaware that her husband had noticed her action, and that it had brought a very thoughtful frown to his face.

  ‘I’m fast changing my opinion of Andreas Manou,’ whispered Jenny. ‘He’s not bad at all — when he’s off duty,’ she added as if finding it necessary to modify her statement. ‘I’ll bet you never thought he could unbend to this extent.’

  A reflective smile touched Shani’s lips. If only Jenny could have seen him riding round Cos on a bicycle, or sunning his brown body clad in the briefest of trunks. If she could have seen him digging away with his hands to uncover a mosaic ... seen him eating in a wayside taverna ... heard him talking to the sponge-diver of Kalymnos.

  ‘I think most doctors give the wrong impression,’ she said at length. ‘At work they’re nearly always aloof and - well, rather stiff.’

  ‘You sound as if you’re making excuses for Andreas.’ Jenny eyed her curiously. Shani was still flushed, still a little breathless.

  ‘I was speaking generally.’ She stopped, listening to the music. The record player was being used while the folk musicians took a rest. Petros had put on an English dance tune and one or two couples were getting up.

  ‘Now, Yannis, this is where we score.’ Dr. Gordon stood up and held out a hand to Jenny. ‘You can now see how we do it!’

  ‘What does he mean - this is where we score?’ asked Yannis of Shani. ‘Does he think I can’t do your dances, after living in England for five years?’

  ‘Did you live there as long as that?’

  ‘Five years - and it rained all the time.’

  ‘
No, it didn’t.’

  ‘You’re right. It was snowing part of the time -when it wasn’t foggy or frosty or blowing a gale.’ His brown face was wrinkled with suppressed laughter. ‘You think that’s not true?’

  ‘I know it’s not.’ She looked up and her heartbeats quickened. Andreas was going to ask her to dance.

  He gave her an indifferent stare and smilingly extended a hand to Lydia. ‘Where in England did you live?’ she asked, turning to Yannis as if she had not noticed that Andreas had gone to Lydia.

  ‘Manchester.’

  ‘Oh, well, you chose the very worst place. It does rain there, I admit.’

  ‘I suppose you have compensations,’ remarked Yannis with a surprising hint of nostalgia. ‘You have the greenness. That was something I missed on first returning to Cyprus. But of the two - the greenness and the sun,’ he added, ‘I prefer to have the sun.’ He watched the dancers for a while and then, ‘Come, Shani, I can’t have Dr. Gordon hinting that I can’t do your dances.’

  They came close to Lydia and her partner. Over Lydia’s head Andreas’s eyes met those of his wife and again she noticed that odd expression. He bent his head and whispered something to his partner. Her laugh rang out and several glances were sent in her direction. Stupid woman, thought Shani. Couldn’t she see that her efforts were providing everyone with considerable amusement! But after this little

  episode the evening fell flat for Shani. She had scoffed at the idea, now formed, she felt sure, in her husband’s mind, that she could be jealous of Lydia, but there was no doubt that the sight of the girl in Andreas’s arms filled Shani with an emotion that in all honesty she had to admit was jealousy. He could never marry the girl, and it was obvious that he did not love her, but he paid her more attention than did any of the other doctors for whom she worked, especially lately, reflected Shani with a frown. Could it be that after becoming resigned to the idea that Shani could never be his he had decided to satisfy his innate desires by indulging in an affair with another woman? A light affair of this kind was usual with Greek men, and they invariably chose foreign women because they would never tarnish the chastity of their own women. Recollections of that night at the villa intruded and the thought of Lydia in Andreas’s embrace was unbearable. She cast it off. ‘He wouldn’t, not after taking that oath’ ... but the next moment her common sense reminded her he was only human. And he was a Greek, with the inherited