YANNIS (Cretan Saga Book 1)

by Beryl Darby

  ‘You would be welcome.’ The familiar cliché fell from the politician’s lips.

  ‘I would like to think so. It concerns money and many people find that distasteful.’

  ‘You want a donation for the church?’ Yiorgo’s hand went to his pocket.

  ‘No, although, of course, anything given is always welcome. It’s the matter of the pension agreed upon for the islanders.’

  Yiorgo shot him a quick look. ‘It will all be paid through the proper channels. The books will be open for inspection at any time.’

  ‘I’m quite sure they will. Father Minos had an idea regarding the distribution and administration which he asked me to discuss with you.’

  ‘There are a good many details to be worked out before the operation can commence.’

  ‘That is why I wish to speak with you. The idea is simplicity itself.’

  Yiorgo pulled his precious timepiece from his pocket. It was already eleven. ‘I could be free at three thirty if you would care to come to my home.’

  He turned back to look in the jeweller’s window, but the idea had palled. He would return to the taverna and admire his beautiful wife whilst she busied herself, maybe he would find time to play with little Anna. Having decided he strode out quickly.

  Louisa scowled as he opened the door. ‘I thought you were going out?’

  ‘I have been out. I have made an appointment for this afternoon to discuss business.’ Yiorgo sat down at the nearest table, taking his cigarettes from his pocket. ‘Where’s Anna?’

  ‘She’s asleep. Move your feet.’

  ‘Asleep? Why?’

  ‘She had a disturbed night.’ Louisa looked at him scathingly.

  Yiorgo shrugged and sighed. ‘I have so little time to spend with her.’

  ‘Whose fault is that?’

  ‘Louisa, you must understand. I have to be at the beck and call of everyone. A man in my position has to snatch his family pleasures when he can. I would love to spend all day with my family, but what can I do? The moment I step outside the door someone wishes to speak to me.’

  Louisa sniffed derisively. ‘And you love it.’

  Pushing back his hair from his forehead Yiorgo gazed at his wife in concern. He had discovered her sharp tongue within a few weeks of their marriage and excused it as due to her pregnancy. Maybe that was her problem now. He looked at her again. There were no obvious outward signs, but there had not been before until she was just over a month. He had never ceased to marvel that a girl so slight had managed to carry such a large baby that she had been forced to give birth prematurely.

  ‘Louisa,’ his voice was soft. ‘Come here, my dear.’

  Louisa obeyed. Usually when he spoke in that tone of voice he had a present for her. She propped the broom up against the counter and walked over to him smiling. Yiorgo reached out and took her hands, pulling her down onto his knee.

  ‘Is there anything you wish to tell me?’

  ‘Tell you?’ Louisa’s brain raced. What had he heard? Had someone mentioned her name to him? She tried to be discreet, going down to the port or meeting only long standing and trusted acquaintances when she was certain Yiorgo would not return unexpectedly.

  Yiorgo nodded. ‘Do you have a little secret you should share with me?’

  Louisa bit her lip. ‘What makes you think I might have?’ she fenced.

  A broad smile crossed Yiorgo’s face. He ran his hand lightly across her stomach. ‘I remember how shy and hesitant you were to tell me about little Anna. For days you blamed the sea, the sun, the different food, then you realised and once you shared your secret with me you stopped feeling so ill, and I, Louisa, was the proudest man in all Greece.’ He raised her hand to his lips.

  Louisa had an overwhelming desire to laugh. The relief made her feel quite light-headed. She had no reason to believe she might be pregnant, but it would not hurt Yiorgo to think she might be. ‘It’s possible.’

  Yiorgo beamed with pleasure. ‘You see, you cannot keep secrets from me. I know you far too well.’

  Louisa smiled also, this time with genuine amusement. ‘Let me go now. I must finish clearing up before anyone comes in.’

  Reluctantly Yiorgo released her and watched as she finished sweeping the floor, pushing the chairs deftly back into place with her foot. After almost eight years of marriage he could still hardly believe the beautiful girl was his wife.

  Andreas arrived promptly and Yiorgo poured him a glass of wine. ‘We have some business to discuss, my dear, and you should be resting.’

  Louisa ignored him, moving to the doorway where she could watch Anna playing outside and overhear the conversation. Yiorgo raised his glass to Andreas.

  ‘Well, let’s hear this idea.’

  Andreas sipped cautiously. The wine was cheap and tasted sharp to his palate. ‘The simplest way of keeping account would be to have all the names written in a ledger, entering each amount monthly and deducting the appropriate amount when necessary. The lepers could make a list of the purchases they want, the shop-keepers present their bills to the agent who draws the total sum from the bank and pays each one of them whatever they are owed.’

  Yiorgo looked at the young man. The idea was incredibly simple. Why had he not thought of it? ‘It might be possible.’ Yiorgo emptied his glass. ‘There is one problem. Who would be willing to act for them on the mainland? It would mean dealing with the lepers.’

  ‘Father Minos suggested one of the boatmen, Manolis, should be asked. It doesn’t worry him to go over there and talk to them. He knows most of them anyway, as he takes the doctor as well as supplies.’

  ‘I’ll think about it. I’ll even put it before the council.’

  ‘I’ll let Father Minos know. I must go. I have a service to take. Thank you for your time.’ Andreas rose, leaving his glass half full on the table. ‘I hope the council will agree to the idea.’

  Yiorgo nodded and held out his hand. ‘It might work.’ His attention was caught by his wife; she was shaking her head as she spoke to a thick set, fair young man. He pushed his way past the priest. ‘What is the problem, my dear?’

  ‘There’s no problem. The gentleman was asking if I knew where he could rent some cheap accommodation for a few nights.’

  Yiorgo frowned. The man looked more like a sailor than a tourist. ‘Try the waterfront. There’s usually accommodation to be had there. If you follow the road round…’

  ‘I know my way.’ The stranger cut him short and strode away.

  Yiorgo took hold of Louisa’s arm. ‘You are not to stand in the doorway. It looks improper.’

  Louisa did not answer. She would be able to find the man easily enough the following day.

  Anna contemplated the young man as he sat with his head in his hands across the table from her. It was a month now since he had returned to his home to find his mother lying dead on the kitchen floor. It was time he took himself in hand and thought of the children.

  ‘Babbis,’ she spoke more sharply than she had intended and his head jerked up in surprise. ‘Babbis, I have to talk to you.’

  ‘Yes?’

  ‘What are you planning to do?’

  ‘Do?’ he repeated stupidly after her.

  ‘Babbis, you have two small children. You have to think of them. You have a farm that needs attention. You must pull yourself together. I know the death of your mother was a terrible shock, it was a shock to all of us, but you have to come to terms with it.’

  For a moment Anna thought he was going to cry. ‘What can I do? I can’t look after the children, a house and a farm on my own. I need my mother.’ He turned anguished eyes to her.

  ‘You could get married again.’

  Babbis shook his head. ‘No one could take Maria’s place.’

  ‘If you sold the farm and moved to the town, maybe you would meet someone.’

  Again Babbis shook his head. ‘What would I do if I moved to the town? I’m a farmer.’


  Anna tried again. ‘What about the children?’

  ‘I hoped you could look after them a little longer.’

  ‘Babbis, I’ve had Yannis since he was born. He looks upon me as his mother and he’s far more than a nephew to me. Looking after the children is no burden for me. It’s you I’m concerned about.’

  Babbis shrugged. ‘I’ll manage. I may go up tomorrow.’

  Anna brought her fist down on the table with a force that made her wince. ‘You will go up tomorrow. For days you’ve been saying maybe. If you don’t go up tomorrow you’ll find these doors barred against you.’

  Babbis looked at his sister-in-law. ‘You really mean that?’

  ‘I mean it, Babbis. I’ll go up with you.’

  Anna gazed after him as he left the room. Maybe she had been too hard on him. It was only a month after all.

  Stelios gazed across the sea towards the island. His heart yearned for his older brother whom he had loved and admired. A slight movement caught his eye and he turned away. He hated lepers, even if his brother was one. It was through him that his mother was confined to a chair, that his sister was dead and his other sister no more than a slave. A surge of unreasonable hatred against all his family made him bite his lip and drained the colour from his face. He could hardly wait to return to Heraklion. One more year, provided he worked hard, and he would gain a scholarship to Athens University and then he would show everyone. He would not contract any incurable disease and end up exiled on an island. He would rather die.

  Die! That was the answer. When he went to Athens and was asked about his family he would say they were dead. No one would question him, they would be sympathetic over his loss and he would say he did not wish to talk about it. No taint would ever spread to him, he would make sure of that. He looked towards the island again. There were people moving around on the quay. Someone was waving. It must be Yannis! Stelios turned his back on the sea. Anna was standing there, the two children by her side.

  ‘Wave to Uncle Yannis,’ she instructed them and they dutifully held up their hands and waved in the direction she indicated.

  ‘You’re sick,’ he commented bitterly as he walked past her.

  ‘I’m taking the children up to see Babbis. Do you want to come?’

  ‘I’ve better things to do with my time.’

  ‘Come along.’ She took the children’s hands firmly in her own and began to walk away. If Stelios was in one of his black moods she did not want to bandy words with him.

  ‘It’s about time Babbis faced up to his responsibilities,’ he called after her. ‘Let him look after his own brats.’

  Father Minos found Yannis was correct in his forecast that people would offer their help when they had thought over all he had said to them upon his arrival. In ones and twos they sought the priest out, others went to Spiro offering their services. His surplice and cassock removed, dressed in an old pair of trousers and ragged shirt, Father Minos worked beside them, digging, moving blocks of stone that tore at his finger nails, hammering bent and rusty nails straight so they could be used again. Each night he lay on his mattress, his muscles aching from the unaccustomed exertion, and fell into a deep sleep.

  Manolis had told Doctor Stavros that the priest was living on the island, but he was totally unprepared for the sight that met his eyes when he made his weekly visit. Struggling with a block of masonry was an unkempt figure; the only thing distinguishing him from the other men on the island was a large cross hanging round his neck. Wiping the sweat from his eyes the priest held out a calloused hand.

  ‘I would never have recognised you!’

  ‘Only practical, besides, I’ll need my robes when I take the church services. No point in ruining them.’

  ‘You really plan to stay indefinitely?’

  ‘I have no choice. The Bishop made it quite clear that I would not be welcome to return.’

  ‘You’re a brave man.’

  ‘Foolish is probably a better word,’ smiled Father Minos. ‘The only difference between us is that I stay the night and you don’t.’

  Father Minos watched as the doctor walked up to the hospital to check on the clean and well cared for patients. From the hospital the doctor moved from house to house, examining ulcers, nodules and eyes, making a note of his findings in his notebook ready to be transferred to the ledger he kept on the mainland. He wanted to speak to Yannis before he left for the day and somehow he seemed to be elusive on this occasion. He finally found him inside the church, scrubbing the floor with vigour.

  ‘What’s this for?’

  Yannis straightened up and grinned. ‘We plan to use the church again. The last of the people have finally been found accommodation, some of it is only temporary, but it means we can clean the church out. Father Minos is getting quite excited. He wants it ready by Sunday for a service.’

  ‘I’m pleased for you. Everyone housed. That’s a fine accomplishment. Where’s Father Minos living?’

  ‘He’s staying with me until there’s another house ready.’

  Doctor Stavros smiled. ‘It’s time you stopped working for others and did something for yourself. I’d rather you didn’t spend another winter in that shelter.’

  ‘So would I! The last time we had a mistral I thought I was going to take off. I lost some of the roof.’ He walked from the dim church into the sunlight and blinked. ‘That’s bright,’ he said as he sat on the ground to take a well-earned rest.

  Father Minos read the letter joyfully and went in search of Yannis. The priest waved the letter at him. ‘Mr Pavlakis has had a bill passed. You’re to get thirty drachmas a month.’

  Yannis’s face lit up. ‘You mean he’s really done it without us having to give him all that stupid information he asked us for originally?’

  ‘Read the letter.’

  Yannis brushed his hands down his trousers. ‘Let me see.’ He scanned the words eagerly, then read the letter again more slowly. ‘They’ve given it to us in theory, but there’s still a problem. If we have the money over here no one from the mainland will accept it as payment for anything and if we keep the money on the mainland how are we going to pay anyone? We’ll be no better off.’

  Father Minos smiled. ‘I hope by now Andreas has seen Mr Pavlakis and laid a simple solution before him. Your names are entered into a book and the amount you are paid. Whenever you wish to purchase something from the mainland the cost is deducted. All the deductions are added together, an amount withdrawn from the bank and the individual vendors are each paid whatever is due to them. That way the money doesn’t leave the mainland, yet you can buy whatever you wish.’

  Yannis considered the idea. ‘That’s fine, but who does all this buying and paying and keeping the books.’

  ‘Manolis.’

  ‘Manolis! He’s just a fisherman. He’s never done any book-keeping.’

  ‘We have two on the island who can show him how to do it, besides, it will give him a good excuse to be over here most of the day.’

  ‘You approve of him and Flora, then?’

  Father Minos shrugged. ‘Who am I to judge? I feel desperately sorry for both of them. I pray for a solution.’

  ‘Doctor Stavros doesn’t approve.’

  ‘How could he? He’s a doctor. Doctors say lepers shouldn’t marry because it speeds up the disease.’

  ‘But you’ve married couples since you’ve been here.’

  ‘Of course! If they’re living together a blessing on their union isn’t going to affect their illness, but it can give them an easy mind.’

  Yiorgo Pavlakis cleared his throat, pushed back his hair and looked around the council chamber.

  ‘I hoped that today we might be able to finalise the details about the pension for the lepers who live on Spinalonga.’ He paused, hoping no one would start to ask questions. ‘I have worked out the book keeping for the project and it should be quite simple to instigate and run. A large ledger, maybe two, will have the name of ea
ch person on a separate page. The date and the sum given entered. When anyone wishes to purchase goods from the mainland the bill is given to the bookkeeper. He will deduct the amount from the balance. The total expenditure is added up and the amount withdrawn from the bank to pay the bills.’

  ‘Who would be responsible for keeping the ledgers?’

  ‘I have been told that there are two trained book-keepers on the island.’

  ‘Who would make the purchases and pay the bills?’

  ‘I understand that the young boatman who ferries the doctor across would be willing to undertake both purchases and payment. May I have your approval for the suggestion?’

  Hands were raised and Yiorgo sat back well satisfied. Thanks to Father Andreas this had been simple. ‘Motion passed,’ he announced to the clerk. ‘Now,’ Yiorgo shuffled his papers. ‘We must discuss the real purpose of our meeting. I have received a communication…’ His voice droned on and the council members settled into their customary positions with their eyes open whilst mentally they allowed their thoughts to wander.

  Yannis looked across the bay towards his home, fighting down the surge of longing that was threatening to overwhelm him.

  ‘What is it, Yannis?’ Phaedra was at his side.

  ‘Just homesick; how far do you think it is from here to the mainland?’

  ‘I’ve no idea. A long way.’ Suddenly she became fearful. ‘No, Yannis, you mustn’t try to swim that far.’

  ‘I don’t intend to, but I could probably float that distance quite easily.’

  ‘Please, Yannis, you’ll be drowned.’

  ‘When I first came here I would have drowned myself with pleasure, but not now. I’ll get there safely, but it may take a little time for me to get back.’

  He explained to her his idea of using one of the wooden bathtubs that the doctor had procured for them. The current should take him near enough to the opposite shore for him to swim to land. Once there it was just a question of walking into the village and waiting until his family rose at dawn.

  ‘How will you get back?’

  ‘I’m sure I’ll find a way. You don’t need to worry about me.’