by Anne Hampson
Vidas's lips twitched. 'No one could miss it, my dear.' His manner, appearing to be indulgent, encouraged Kim to ask about having a vet take up practice on the island.
'We don't have much need for a vet,' he returned, but there was that about him which spelled resignation —or nearly so, and Kim's spirits rose.
'If I am to have an animal sanctuary, then I must be able to call on the services of a vet,' she pointed out. 'Can you arrange to have an advertisement put into the newspapers? We might have to bring one from Athens, mightn't we?'
'What makes you suppose I'm in agreement with your having a vet living on Malindos?'
'One is needed,' she said persuasively. 'We have dogs here, and surely some people have horses?'
'One or two do. The Grivases ride, but George seems to be very capable of looking after his horses himself.'
'I can have a vet, can't I?' Kim slanted him a glance from under incredibly long lashes, saw his eyes glint as if he knew full well she was flirting with him. But for all that, she persevered, giving him a lovely smile which she hoped was reflected in her eyes. 'It's a wonderful hobby, looking after animals,' she said softly. 'You wouldn't want me to be bored, would you, Vidas?'
'I ought to slap you,' he murmured, and yet there was a gleam of amusement in his eyes.
'You must admit that Mitso was desperately unhappy.'
'What a name for a donkey! And what about Rocky? That's not Greek.'
'I called him Rocky because he was so weak he actually rocked on his legs, and at first I thought he was going to collapse altogether.'
'You're too softhearted, Kim. Donkeys are the hardiest animals alive.'
Ignoring this, Kim broached the subject of the vet, and a wave of satisfaction swept through her when Vidas agreed to advertise for one in the Athens newspapers. But he did ask who was going to pay the vet's salary.
'He'll set up an independent practise,' was her confident reply and Vidas's brows shot up.
'It's plain that you do not know what our peasant community is like. This vet will get little or no business from people like Elias. They'd never spend their drachmae that way. As for the more well-to-do residents, there are so few of us that he'd not get much that way either.' He made a gesture with his hand. 'Apart from these donkeys you're bent on befriending, there aren't many animals on the island.'
'There are plenty of dogs.'
'And they're all so hardy that they never require a vet.'
'Oh, dear…' A deep sigh escaped Kim before she said, tilting her lovely face to look up into his, 'Will you pay his salary, Vidas?'
To her surprise he laughed. 'I wondered when you'd get round to what you had in mind right at the start—'
'Oh, no, I really thought he'd be able to build up a practice.'
'I'll pay his salary,' offered Vidas with a sigh, and then, after a pause during which his face changed and a sternness brought a glint to his eye and a rigidity to his mouth, 'If I don't end up beating you, my girl, it'll be a miracle!'
When he had gone, Kim smiled to herself. She was making progress… and the chief thought in her mind at this moment was certainly not the animal sanctuary she meant to have.
Birdie came by the following morning in response to Kim's request over the telephone. 'What's all this about an animal sanctuary?' she asked eagerly, almost before she had sat down on the patio. 'I could hardly wait to get here to learn more about it! As I told you, I'm keenly interested in charity work, and for a long while I've been troubled about the cruelty to animals I have come across here, but the idea of starting a sanctuary never occurred to me! Yes, I am willing to join you, and yes, I agree that we ought to have a body equivalent to the ASPCA. I can get a few helpers and I feel we ought to drag in our husbands, don't you?'
'I'm working on it,' admitted Kim on an impish note. 'Vidas is willing to pay for me to bring a vet to the island.'
Strangely, Bridie was not surprised. She said, in the soft Irish brogue that Kim found so very charming and attractive, 'He's a wonderful man—always willing to give to charity. I don't approach him myself because I'm not the secretary of our organisation, but I do know that he would never refuse to help any charity. And what he's done for the maimed sponge divers is fantastic. He must spend a small fortune every year on helping them and their families.'
A wonderful man… Yes, Kim was fast learning that her original opinion of him was exceedingly false, but then she could be excused, she told herself, because his attitude towards her had been hateful, to say the least.
She and Bridie talked over coffee and biscuits, making plans to ensure that every animal on the island would be treated humanely in the future.
'Vidas says that once it's known that I'm buying donkeys, the price will soar.' Kim and Bridie had wandered from the patio to the remote part of the grounds where Mitso and Rocky were contentedly grazing amidst the lush green grass. The animals were in the shade of a huge banyan tree, and close to the hedge was a trough filled with clean water. Not far away, Sula and Kimon were putting stakes in the ground, which the other two gardeners were busy clearing of rough scrub and rotting vegetation.
'And he's right! But you just phone me and I'll come with you when you want to buy. I've lived here longer than you and know how to handle these simple country people. They'll fleece you if they can, yet they'd give you their last drachma if you had nothing. A complex race, the Greeks, especially the island people, who are remote from places like Athens. I'll be able to bargain with them.'
'I did manage very well over both Rocky and Mitso,' Kim had to say. 'I was very stern with Elias, and we shall be able to be sterner still once we've set up this protection society. Vidas says quite logically that every donkey I buy will be replaced by another. However, if we threaten the owners with prosecution, then they're going to take more care, aren't they?'
'Yes, and that means we won't have to buy so many of the animals.'
'We?'
'I'm in on this, Kim—wouldn't miss it for anything!
George will give me some money for a cause such as ours.'
Both girls were excited about the project, and when, a fortnight later, a young Englishman, Denis Studland, took up residence as the veterinary surgeon on the island, they were even more excited because, having lived on another island and been appalled by the cruelty, he was as enthusiastic as they about their plans.
One thing troubled Kim, however. From the moment of meeting her, Denis had been interested in her as a woman. It was something he found impossible to hide and even Bridie had noticed it.
'I hope no complications set in,' she said one day, when she and Kim had been on a visit to Denis, who lived in a pretty little blue and white villa a few hundred yards back from the island's loveliest beach. They had gone to discuss the setting up of the protection society and had stayed rather longer than they had intended because he had persuaded them to have afternoon tea with him. And as they were leaving he actually put his arm around Kim's shoulders and asked if she would come the following morning and join him for a swim. She made the excuse that her husband would expect her to swim with him, as usual, and Denis's disappointment could be felt. Vidas had never asked Kim to swim with him, but on occasion they had met at the pool and spent a few minutes together in the water, so she felt that what she had told Denis was only a white lie.
'I hope so, too,' was her fervent response to her friend's comment. 'He's so nice, and we all get along so well together that it would be a shame if anything went wrong at this stage.'
'Well, he's certainly smitten, Kim.' A pause followed because Kim did not speak. 'I should imagine from what little I know of your husband that he could be violently jealous—but I expect you will have gathered that already?'
'No,' murmured Kim thoughtfully, 'as a matter of fact, I haven't… but there has never been an occasion where he could be jealous.'
'There is now, though.'
'Yes,' agreed Kim in the same quiet tone of voice, 'there is now…'
Was
it fair to use Denis in order to make Vidas jealous? Perhaps Bridie was mistaken and Vidas would not be jealous—Kim stopped the thought, for she knew instinctively that he would be wildly jealous—not because he loved her but simply because she was his property, body and soul, as he had once told her. He would definitely be jealous if he thought another man was interested in her… and she interested in him. And as it was true that there could be no jealousy without love, it was reasonable to assume that Vidas would eventually realise that he did love his wife, that his defences were broken and he might as well accept his fate.
As the days went by and Kim's plans began to materialise, she found her thoughts straying again to the idea of making her husband jealous. In her attempt to win his love she had flirted with him, had tried to bewilder him by adopting a clinging air of mystery, noting his reaction and silently laughing at his angry bafflement. He now knew, of course, that there was nothing really bad about her, had learnt that all his previous guesses had been wrong. But she suspected that at this stage he would be more willing to find faults in her than otherwise, simply because he could then convince himself that he was right in fighting against falling in love with her. But Kim was determined never to let him see any faults; at present she was on the attack and he on the defensive, and she was striving to keep it that way, even while knowing it was a situation he plainly hated and was endeavouring to combat. In short, she was determined to make him fall in love with her, and he equally determined to fight every move she made. The idea of using Denis in order to make Vidas jealous, however, was not really acceptable to her, because Denis was a nice sort who didn't deserve to be hurt.
Could she use him without hurting him, though? Kim felt she could, and one evening at dinner she looked across at her husband and said, 'Can we have Denis over for a meal one evening, Vidas? He's a little lost here, with no friends yet. And he's such a charming man—but I've no need to tell you that, have I? You've met him several times.'
Vidas looked at her darkly. 'I didn't find him particularly charming,' he said brusquely.
'No?' with raised eyebrows and a surprised look in eyes that became wide and large. 'But, Vidas, everyone thinks he's great!'
'Everyone? I thought he didn't know anybody?'
A slip! She said with a smile, 'He's met the people who are interested in our scheme—they're mainly people Bridie comes into contact with in her charity work.'
Vidas picked up the silver basket containing crispy rolls and held it out to her, his eyes never leaving her face. Unpredictable man! What was he thinking behind those hooded, foreign eyes?
'You have an answer for everything, my dear,' he said smoothly. 'Yes, of course we must ask your friend to dinner. I leave it to you to make the arrangements.' A seconds pause and then, 'To make a foursome we could ask a friend of mine.'
'Of—yours?' Something tightened in the region of Kim's stomach. 'Wh-who is it?'
'A certain Floria Costalos. She's a distant cousin of George Grivas. She and I were rather more than friendly this time last year.'
'You were?'
'Yes. My stepmother almost drove me to marriage.' Another fractional pause ensued. 'Didn't Bridie mention anything about Floria?'
'No… er… yes, I seem to remember something —I wasn't taking much notice at the time.'
'You weren't?' with a sort of mocking scepticism. 'Are you quite sure?'
'Is there any reason why I should lie?' she challenged.
'Shall we change the subject?' he suggested gently. 'Tell me how many donkeys you have now.'
The colour that had risen in her face subsided as her cool composure returned. 'Seven—but two of them were bought by George, Bridie's husband.'
'So Bridie has dragged him in, has she?'
'We have several people interested now. The protection society has been voted a necessity and already we have four people who are willing to give their services free. They'll each have an area to patrol—when they have time, that is,' she added swiftly, on seeing Vidas's brows lift in surprised enquiry. 'They'll report any mishandling of animals, be they horses, donkeys, dogs, or cats.'
'You have a system, then?'
'Of course.'
'And how do you suppose the people here are going to take to this interference in their lives?'
'They'll get used to it, and we're hoping that when Denis has given his series of lectures, the small farmers especially will be better informed as to how their donkeys should be treated.'
Vidas laughed, but when she asked outright for the money to buy a building that could be used as a sort of dispensary, he agreed at once to provide it, rather to her surprise in light of the turn the conversation had taken. 'It's an animal hospital you want, I presume?'
'In a way.' Kim gave him a disarming smile, half-prepared for what was to come.
'So, in effect, you require much more than the building.' Again that quirk of amusement on his lips. 'Why prolong both your own agony and mine by asking for small sums of money? You'd best come out with the whole amount and let me consider it.'
A smile fluttered again, brightening her face, lighting her beautiful eyes. 'You're good and generous,' she said. 'I do appreciate what you are doing for a cause in which you basically have no interest. It's very commendable,' she added finally.
Vidas's face was a mask of unresponsiveness as he murmured softly, 'You're very transparent. Flattery is lost on me, my dear, so you needn't waste your time extending it.'
She coloured delicately, and then the tension was relieved as they both burst into laughter.
'Will you really equip the dispensary?' she asked.
'I might. Depends on how much it's going to cost.'
With the help of Denis and Bridie, the cost was estimated and presented to Vidas in an envelope, which he took, regarding his wife with a faintly sardonic smile. But he paid up, and as there was no paucity of labour on the island, the building was up and equipped in less than a fortnight. Meanwhile, the dinner party was arranged and Floria, having come to stay with George and Bridie, arrived in George's car. Kim would have liked to have George and Bridie as well, but they had other visitors, and although Kim would have included them, Bridie said it would be nicer to have an intimate dinner later, just the four of them.
Floria turned out to be even more attractive than Kim had imagined from the description given her by Bridie. Tall and dark, with clear golden skin and deep-set eyes that looked green in one light and the deepest grey in another, Floria Costalos was a woman who would attract attention wherever she went. Her movements were smooth and dignified, her manner of speaking that of a woman who was both fascinating and highly intelligent. Her eyes raked Kim's figure in an almost malignant way, but the smile she produced was all charm and good nature, and the words she uttered cleverly designed to dispel any doubts Kim might have had as to her sincerity.
'How nice to meet Vidas's wife at last! I wish you every happiness, Kim. What a charming name! Is it short for anything?'
'No, I was christened Kim.' The hand she held out was steady, cool. 'I'm delighted to meet you.'
Vidas looked on after making the introductions, an enigmatic smile hovering on his face. Denis arrived within five minutes of Floria and almost immediately the four of them were engaged in conversation, sipping aperitifs on the patio, with dusk descending to send shadows, turret-shaped, across the smooth, velvet lawn. Water from a fountain made music to mingle with the whirr of cicadas, and perfumes floated on the air, mingling with the more potent tang of the sea. Kim lifted her head to allow the breeze to caress her face; it tousled her hair, and she saw Denis's eyes become fixed upon this sight for a few unfathomable seconds before moving to her face, when a slow smile broke, to which she responded, profoundly conscious of both Floria and Vidas looking at her with interest.
'I suppose,' said Vidas into the lull in the conversation, 'that Bridie has told you about the activities that are going on regarding the comfort of the animals on this island?'
Floria nodde
d and her mouth made a grimace of amusement. 'I expect it's something that will die a natural death. You can't dictate to a Greek peasant like that. He is not going to take any heed at all.'
Kim and Denis exchanged glances, and noticing this, Floria gave Kim an arch stare.
'It's no temporary thing,' Denis said firmly. 'We intend to establish a certain code of behaviour regarding the treatment of all animals here on Malindos.'
'An idealistic notion,' laughed Floria, eyes on the liquid in her glass. 'But you are dealing with people who live by custom rather than law. To impose law will antagonise them and they'll deliberately flout it—just for their own satisfaction.'
Kim was faintly troubled by these words, but had no intention of allowing Vidas's ex-girl friend to see it. 'If they flout the law they will be fined.'
'But you are not the law,' she pointed out. 'Why should anyone like you, who has only recently come to live here, be so presumptuous as to assume you can inflict your ideas on a people who, as I've said, live by custom?'
'We intend to proceed in the face of any opposition,' put in Denis quietly. 'On another island—Cyprus, in fact—there is a body of young women who have formed an animal protection society and it's most successful— or was, the last time I spoke to one of the women.'
Floria shrugged her elegant shoulders. 'Time alone will tell if you can succeed. Personally, I feel the whole scheme's doomed to failure.' She turned to Vidas. 'What do you think about it?' she asked, her dark eyes flickering over his face, absorbing every impressive feature.
Kim's mouth compressed, for there was something savouring of the possessive in the Greek girl's attitude towards her old flame. Perhaps, mused Kim with a stab of spite, she was a woman who did not easily give up, and this invitation of Vidas's must surely have made her feel he really wanted to see her again. Kim was suddenly angry with her husband, and in her anger she turned all her attention to Denis, whose arm had somehow come to rest across the back of her chair.
'I have nothing to do with the project,' said Vidas, in reply to Floria's question. 'My role in all this seems to be that of financier.'
