Читать книгу The Enigmatic Greek - CATHERINE GEORGE, Catherine George - Страница 7

ELEANOR’S relief was so intense she had to wait until her hands were steady enough to do the job she’d come for as she focused her lens on the fantastic figure. She smiled in recognition as a new player leapt into the torchlight to face the beast, the testosterone in every line of the bronzed muscular body in sharp contrast to his painted face and golden love-locks; Theseus, the blond Hellene, come to slay the Minotaur.

Eleanor took several shots then sat, mesmerised, as Theseus and the dancers swooped around the central half-man half-beast figure, taunting him like a flock of mockingbirds as they somersaulted away from his lunging horns. She gasped with the audience as Theseus vaulted from the bent back of one of the male dancers to somersault through the air over the Minotaur’s horns. He landed on his feet with the grace and skill of an Olympic gymnast, an imperious hand raised to hush the applause as the troupe launched into a series of athletic, balance-defying somersaults, spinning around the central figure while the Minotaur lunged at them in graphically conveyed fury. In perfect rhythm the dancers taunted him with their dizzying kaleidoscope of movement as again and again Theseus danced away from the menacing horns. The music grew more and more frenzied until the dance culminated in another breath-taking somersault by Theseus over the great bull’s head, but this time he snatched up a golden double-headed axe of the type Eleanor had seen in photographs of Cretan artefacts.

The Minotaur lunged with such ferocity the audience gave a great, concerted gasp again as Theseus leapt aside to avoid the horns and held the axe aloft for an instant of pure drama, before bringing it down on the Minotaur’s neck. There was an anguished bellow as the man-beast sank slowly to his knees and then fell, sprawled, the great horned head at Theseus’s feet.

To say the crowd went wild again was an understatement. But, even as Eleanor applauded with the rest, her inner cynic warned that the sheer drama of the moment would end when the beast was obliged to get to his all-too-human feet as the performers took their bow. But, though the applause was prolonged, there was no bow. Still blank-faced as figures on a fresco, the dancers formed a line on either side of the fallen figure. With Theseus and the lead dancer at the impressive shoulders, the male members of the troupe bent as one man to pick up the Minotaur and heaved him up in a practised movement to shoulder height. The women went ahead, hands clasped and heads bowed as, still in rhythm with the wailing flutes and now slow, solemn, hypnotic drumbeat, the vanquished man-beast was slowly borne around the torch-lit arena, horned head hanging, then up the steep steps and through the double doors into the Kastro, to tumultuous applause and cheers from the crowd.

‘So what did you think of our famous taurokathapsia, Ms Markham?’ asked Alexei Drakos as the musicians took up their modern instruments again. ‘You seemed nervous before it started. Were you expecting something different?’

‘Yes.’ She exchanged a rueful smile with Talia. ‘I was afraid a real live bull was involved.’

‘I rather fancied you were, but I couldn’t spoil the drama by reassuring you!’ Talia smiled indulgently and exchanged a glance with her son. ‘Was the dance originally done with an actual animal?’

‘According to myth and legend, yes, and the wall paintings on Knossos in Crete seem to bear that out. But not here.’ He looked very deliberately at Eleanor. ‘I assure you that no bulls have danced on Kyrkiros since I acquired the island. Though I can’t answer for what happened back in prehistory, Ms Markham.’ He beckoned to Yannis, who came hurrying to ask what the ‘kyrie’ desired, and Alexei turned to Stefan.

‘Join your friends now, if you like. I shan’t need you anymore tonight,’ he said in English.

‘Thank you, kyrie,’ the young man replied. ‘Kalinychta, ladies. This has been a great pleasure.’

‘Thank you for your company, Stefan.’ Talia gave him her hand. He kissed it formally, bowed to Eleanor and hurried off to the far end of the terrace, where he was absorbed into an exuberant crowd at one of the tables.

‘So, what would you like?’ asked Alexei.

Talia asked for coffee. ‘After all the emotion expended on that performance, I am not hungry. How about you, Eleanor?’

‘Coffee would be wonderful, thank you.’ Eleanor glanced at her watch as Yannis hurried off with the order. ‘I’ll be leaving soon.’

‘How are you getting back?’ asked Talia.

‘The boatman who brought me is coming to pick me up.’ Eleanor smiled at her gratefully. ‘Thank you so much for inviting me to join you.’

‘We were very pleased to have your company.’ Talia fixed her son with an imperious blue gaze. ‘Were we not, Alex?’

‘Delighted.’ He looked directly at Eleanor. ‘Do you have all you require for your article?’

She nodded. ‘Your festival will make a wonderful finale to my series. Of course, I’ll make it clear that this is an annual event, and stress that Kyrkiros is a private island, not a holiday destination. Was the original bull dance performed as a mid-summer celebration?’

‘According to historians it was probably a regular attraction on Crete.’

‘It is performed here at this time to commemorate the feast of St John, which also happens to be Alex’s birthday,’ said Talia, with a smile for her son.

‘Then I wish you many happy returns, Mr Drakos,’ Eleanor said with formality. ‘As I said earlier, nothing will appear in my article that you could object to.’

‘Earlier?’ said Talia sharply.

Her son shrugged. ‘I had a conversation with Ms Markham on the subject of reprisals. I told her what would happen if she mentioned your name.’

His mother stared at him, appalled. ‘You threatened her?’

‘Yes,’ he said, unmoved. ‘She may write all she wants about the festival and the island. But if there’s a single reference to you personally, I’ll sue the paper she works for.’

Crimson to the roots of her hair, Eleanor stared at her watch, willing the hands to move faster as Talia shook her head in disbelief.

‘Forgive my son, Eleanor. He is absurdly protective about me.’ She frowned at him. ‘After all, even if I was mentioned, who would remember me after all these years?’

‘Don’t be naive, Mother.’ His mouth tightened when Talia very deliberately poured only two cups of coffee.

‘We shall excuse you now, Alexei,’ she informed him sweetly. ‘You must have people to see.’

Eleanor thoroughly enjoyed the sight of Alexei Drakos dismissed with such relentless grace.

He got to his feet, and gave Eleanor a cool nod. ‘I’ll say goodbye then, Miss Markham.’

She inclined her head in cool response. ‘Goodbye.’

‘I’ll come back for you after your guest leaves,’ he informed his mother.

She smiled indulgently. ‘I am perfectly capable of walking indoors on my own, Alexei.’

‘I will come back for you,’ he said with finality.

Talia sighed as she watched him go. ‘My dear, I promise you that Alex will not carry out his threat.’

‘It won’t be necessary. I won’t say a word about you in my article—hugely tempting though it would be,’ admitted Eleanor. ‘But I confess that I’ve taken a couple of photographs of you, Ms Kazan—purely personal shots to show my mother. She was a huge fan of yours.’

Talia smiled radiantly. ‘Really? I fear she will be disappointed to see me as I am now. I would not have been brave enough for cosmetic surgery—not that I had the slightest need to bother, once I left the cameras behind. These days I use so-called miracle creams and try not to eat too many wicked things—like Sofia’s savoury pastries, which are my guilty pleasure. I should have ordered some for you to try, Eleanor.’

‘I’m sure they’re delicious, but I’m not hungry.’

Talia frowned. ‘My son upset you so much?’

Eleanor shrugged, smiling. ‘A thick skin is a basic requirement in my profession.’

Talia Kazan was so easy to talk to, Eleanor had soon described previous assignments and felt guilty when Yannis came to inform them a man was asking for the kyria at the ferry. ‘I’ve been talking so much I forgot the time!’

‘And I have enjoyed listening!’ Talia told Yannis he could go, that she would accompany her guest to the boat herself.

‘Your son won’t like that,’ said Eleanor quickly, and cast a glance along the terrace, where Alexei Drakos was talking to the troupe of dancers, who looked very different out of costume.

‘My dear, Alex can play the autocrat as much as he likes with the rest of the world, but not with me.’ Talia’s smile cleared a way for them through the crowd. ‘Yannis said the south jetty, which is odd, because it’s so much farther away. No matter; a little exercise is good, yes?’

Eleanor disagreed, growing more and more uneasy when she found that the jetty in question was on one of the beaches out of bounds to the public, with no bonfires to guide them. Her misgiving intensified once they’d moved out of range of the Kastro lights. It was hard to make out the path to the jetty and progress was slow.

‘Follow me,’ said Talia. ‘I know the way. Keep close behind—’ She gave a sudden shriek as a dark figure shot out of the shadows and snatched her up in his arms to make a run for the jetty. In knee-jerk reaction, Eleanor tore after him as Talia screamed for her son and struggled so fiercely the man stumbled, cursing, and dropped his flailing burden. Eleanor swung her tote bag at his head while he was still staggering and sent him down hard on the jetty, then jumped on him and got in a few punches before he reared up with a furious roar and kicked her into the sea. She sank like a stone and panicked for endless moments until self-preservation instincts finally kicked in. Lungs bursting, she managed to swim up to the surface, coughing and spluttering, and struggling wildly against powerful arms that restrained her.

‘Stop!’ panted Alexei Drakos. ‘I’m trying to rescue you, woman.’

Limp with relief, Eleanor let him tow her through the water to thrust her up into Stefan’s grasp before heaving himself out of the water onto the jetty.

‘Is your mother safe?’ Eleanor demanded hoarsely, and then wrenched herself away from Stefan to cough up more of the Aegean as Talia pushed him aside to get to her.

‘Tell me exactly what happened, Mother!’ ordered Alexei, thrusting wet hair back from his face.

While Eleanor coughed up more water, Talia explained breathlessly up to the point where the attacker dropped her. ‘Then this brave, brave girl knocked him down with her bag and beat him up.’

‘But not hard enough. The swine kicked me into the water,’ croaked Eleanor hoarsely through chattering teeth. ‘Did he get away?’

Alexei’s smile turned her blood even colder. ‘No, he did not.’

‘Where is he?’

‘On his way to the Kastro, in company with a pair of angry jailers.’

‘Excellent! We should go inside, too,’ said Talia firmly. ‘You two need to get dry.’

Alexei turned as Yannis came hurrying to say that someone else was asking for the kyria. ‘What the devil now?’ he demanded irritably, turning on Eleanor.

‘It must be the real boatman—the one who brought me here earlier,’ she said through chattering teeth.

‘So, how did the other man contact you?’

‘Yannis told us a man was waiting at the jetty,’ explained Talia.

Alexei spoke to the boy sharply and, after listening to his explanation, gave him instructions which sent him running off into the Kastro to fetch his mother. ‘Apparently our prisoner said he was here for the lady. Yannis knew you were about to leave, Miss Markham, so assumed it was you.’

‘Then I’m to blame. I’m so sorry,’ croaked Eleanor in remorse, but Talia shook her head fiercely.

‘Nonsense, it was not your fault!’

By this time Eleanor was so desperate to get back to the taverna and a hot shower she was past caring whose fault it was. ‘Now my real ferryman has arrived, I’ll take myself off—’

‘Absolutely not, Eleanor,’ Talia said flatly, and beckoned to the woman hurrying towards them with towels. ‘This is Sofia, the housekeeper here. I’ll explain to her and then we’ll soon have you in a hot bath and into bed.’

‘But I can’t do that! I need to pay the boatman and get back to the taverna,’ protested Eleanor hoarsely, turning away to cough.

‘Stefan will see to that—also, send a message to Takis,’ said Alexei. ‘You must stay here until I interrogate the kidnapper. In the meantime, go indoors with my mother—please,’ he added.

‘My bag!’ said Eleanor in sudden alarm.

‘The assault weapon?’ His lips twitched as he handed it over. ‘Stefan rescued it, but I can’t answer for the contents.’

‘I hope your camera is undamaged!’ exclaimed Talia.

‘If not, I shall replace it,’ said Alexei, shrugging.

‘That won’t be necessary, thank you.’ Eleanor breathed more easily as she investigated. ‘My phone took a direct hit, and the glass on a picture I bought for my mother is cracked. But the camera seems all right.’ She was horribly conscious of her bedraggled appearance as Talia bundled her up in a towel. So much for looking sexy! ‘The memory card will have survived, anyway. I won’t lose any of the pictures.’

‘Excellent. Now we must go inside and get something hot into both of you.’ Talia spoke to Sofia, who nodded vigorously and hurried off.

To Eleanor’s surprise the musicians were still playing and singing on the terrace, people were talking at the tops of their voices at the tables and a large crowd was still milling around on the beach, where youngsters were shouting as they took turns in leaping over the traditional St John’s bonfires. ‘Didn’t they hear all the commotion?’

‘Too much noise, and I got there so quickly I doubt that anyone noticed,’ said Alexei, rubbing his hair. ‘I followed when I saw you leave the table with my mother and hurried after you in time to hear her scream for me. But I regret that I arrived too late to stop the intruder kicking you into the water. Stefan and a couple of my security men were behind me as I caught him, and they took charge of him while I went in after you.’

‘I wish I’d known all that when I was trying not to drown,’ said Eleanor wryly.

‘Alex dived in after you almost at once,’ Talia assured her.

My hero, thought Eleanor, and won herself a sharp look from her dripping rescuer as he escorted them into the cavernous hall of the Kastro and into the anachronism of a modern lift. After a swift, quiet ascent it opened onto the hall of an apartment that could have been part of a modern building. Impressed by the contrast to the ancient Kastro which housed it, Eleanor wrapped her towels around her more tightly to avoid wetting the beautiful floor as Talia led her to a surprisingly feminine bedroom.

‘You must get into my shower, as hot as you can bear it. You’ve lost your lovely glow.’

‘You look pale yourself,’ said Eleanor anxiously. ‘You had a horrible shock, too.’

‘But I wasn’t kicked into the sea, my dear! Use any of my bath stuff you want.’

‘Thank you.’ Eleanor’s teeth began chattering again.

Talia wagged a finger. ‘Be quick; you need something hot to drink. Wrap yourself in the bathrobe behind the door.’

Eleanor bundled her sodden clothes up in the damp towel and put them in the slipper-shaped bath. To her relief her waterproof watch had survived undamaged and, even more miraculously, the crystal bull-charm was still intact on her chain bracelet. Feeling limp as a rag doll as her adrenaline drained away, she turned on hot water in the shower and used some of Talia’s shampoo. After a few warming minutes under the spray to rinse her hair she dried off, wincing as she encountered various aches and pains, the most painful a large welt on her ribcage, courtesy of a male shoe. Swathed in towels, she slumped down suddenly on the edge of the elegant bath. What a day! She brightened suddenly as she rubbed at her hair. Now she’d helped save his mother from kidnap, maybe Alexei Drakos would give her an interview by way of thanks. And maybe the moon would turn blue tonight!

Eleanor ran one of his combs through her hair, eyed her reflection without pleasure and reached for the hooded white bathrobe on the door. She replaced her watch and bracelet and opened the door in answer to a quiet knock.

Talia came in, wrapped in a long navy bathrobe, her wet hair tied back from her beautiful face. ‘You feel better now, Eleanor?’ she asked anxiously as she applied moisturiser.

‘Lots better, thank you. How about you?’

Talia grimaced. ‘I stripped off every stitch after contact with that man. I had a quick shower in Alex’s bathroom and borrowed his bathrobe so, now I have washed away eau de kidnapper, I am fine.’

‘Thank God for that,’ said Eleanor fervently. ‘What shall I do with my wet clothes?’

‘Sofia will deal with them. She has brought food to the tower room, so come and eat something.’

Suddenly so tired she wanted nothing more than to crawl into the nearest bed and sleep, Eleanor followed Talia to a room with a panoramic sweep of windows and a tray with savoury steam rising from it on a low table in front of a huge leather sofa.

‘Sofia’s special lentil soup will get you warm,’ said Talia. ‘After all this drama, you need something nourishing.’ She shuddered. ‘I thought I was done for when that monster grabbed me, but you attacked him like an avenging fury.’

‘He made me so angry,’ agreed Eleanor, and took the bowl Talia handed to her. ‘Something exploded inside me when the brute snatched you.’ She managed a smile. ‘But you were pretty ferocious yourself. Between the two of us, the man must have wondered what hit him.’

‘I wrenched my shoe off in the struggle and stabbed at his face with the stiletto heel.’ Talia laughed unsteadily. ‘What an adventure!’ She turned as Alexei, now in dry clothes, came into the room with Stefan. ‘Did he tell you anything?’

‘Nothing useful,’ Alex thrust his fingers through damp curls. ‘He was insane with fear, certain I intended to kill him for hurting my mother. But eventually he confessed that he was paid to seize the kyria and take her to the man waiting at the jetty in a boat. The “dog” who left him to my mercy without paying him.’

‘And just who was the man in the boat?’

‘A stranger he met on Karpyros today who offered him money to do a job for him, if he can be believed. He swears he doesn’t know any names, but after some persuasion he gave me his.’ Alexei’s look chilled Eleanor to the bone. ‘He calls himself Spiro Baris, and he’s now locked away for the night, moaning about injuries suffered during the struggle.’ He shook his head in contempt. ‘A struggle with two unarmed women!’

‘Not unarmed, exactly. I had my shoe and Eleanor her useful bag,’ his mother reminded him, eyes sparkling.

Stefan gave a smothered laugh, and Alexei thawed enough to grin.

‘Which of you amazons gave him the black eye?’

‘That would probably be me,’ said Eleanor, contemplating grazed knuckles. ‘I might have got him in the mouth too.’

‘You did, kyria. He has a split lip,’ Stefan said with relish.

‘Do you have any other injuries, Eleanor?’ asked Alexei.

He’d finally brought himself to use her name! She shook her head. ‘A few bruises—the worst one in the ribs from where he kicked me off the jetty.’

‘Oh my dear,’ said Talia, appalled. ‘You must be so sorry you ever set foot on Kyrkiros.’

Alex shot a hard look at Eleanor. ‘Will you mention the incident in your article?’

Oh, for heaven’s sake! She sucked in a calming breath and winced as her ribs protested. ‘And broadcast your breach of security? Of course I won’t.’

‘Thank you.’ He exchanged a glance with Stefan. ‘Go down and have a word with Theo. His crew must make very sure no one’s stayed behind after the last boat leaves the island.’

‘Two of them are guarding the intruder, so I will help him with that,’ Stefan said quickly. He wished them goodnight and hurried from the room.

‘I’d better get down there too,’ said Alexei. He eyed Eleanor with the air of a man with an irritating problem to solve. ‘Tomorrow I’m taking my mother to Crete for her return flight to London. You must go with us—Eleanor. I’ll try to get you on the same flight.’

‘That’s very kind of you, but I’m not due back to work for another week.’ She smiled politely. ‘I’ve paid out of my own pocket for a week’s stay on Karpyros just to lie in the sun and do nothing now I’ve completed my assignment …’ She trailed away at the frowns on both faces.

‘It is not wise to do that, dear,’ said Talia hastily, before her son could start laying down the law. ‘You might get snatched off the beach there.’

Eleanor stared. ‘Why? It wasn’t me the kidnapper wanted.’

‘We can’t force you to leave, of course,’ said Alexei curtly. ‘Think about it while I go down to check with Theo.’ He gave his mother a significant look. ‘Persuade her, please.’

He strode off to the lift, leaving a tense silence behind him.

‘Alex is just trying to do what’s best for you,’ said Talia soothingly. ‘He feels responsible for what happened tonight and wants to keep you safe until you go home. If you go back to Karpyros, he can’t do that.’

Eleanor frowned. ‘But I’m not his responsibility. It’s only natural he’s anxious about you, but I’m a complete stranger.’

‘Who was injured and half-drowned trying to save his mother from heaven knows what fate. Now show me this bruise.’

Eleanor drew the robe aside from her ribs.

Talia breathed in sharply. ‘My dear girl—are you sure nothing is broken in there?’

‘Quite sure. I cracked a rib playing hockey in school once, so I know what that feels like. This hurts a bit, but I’ll mend.’ Eleanor yawned suddenly. ‘My wrestling match has left me a bit tired, though. You must be, too. And you must surely have a few bruises yourself!’

Talia nodded ruefully. ‘But none as spectacular as yours; the only medication I need is hot tea. I keep a tray in my bedroom, so drink some with me after I see to your hand. I need a talk with Alex before I can think of sleeping.’

‘What will he do with the intruder?’

‘Call the police here tomorrow to deal with him, I imagine.’

There was something infinitely soothing after all the drama to sit in a comfortable blue velvet chair in Talia’s white-painted bedroom, drinking tea from a fine china cup.

‘You are quite a girl, Eleanor Markham.’ Talia laughed at Eleanor’s startled look. ‘I mean it. You were very brave tonight.’

‘It was pure gut instinct rather than bravery.’ Eleanor’s eyes flashed angrily. ‘I was so furious with the man I wanted to kill him, but in the end the wretch tried to drown me instead.’

‘I was in despair until Alex brought you to the surface,’ said Talia with a shudder. ‘My son was most impressed with you.’

‘Only because I attacked the man who tried to kidnap his mother,’ Eleanor said flatly. ‘This afternoon he was rather less pleasant when he threatened to sue the paper I work for.’

Talia sighed. ‘Try to forgive him for that. He is over-protective where I’m concerned. His hostility to the press began when he looked me up online on the computer his father gave him. My ex-husband is a powerful man, but even he failed to stop the speculation about our divorce. Unfortunately, that is the part Alex remembers.’ Talia sighed and fixed Eleanor with her famous violet eyes. ‘Since then he has further cause to hate the press. You must have researched us before you came. What did you discover?’

‘Not that much, except that an ex-girlfriend of your son’s sold a colourful story about him to a gossip-column reporter.’

Talia’s eyes lit with a tigerish gleam. ‘Christina Mavros is a liar, also a fool. She swore she would blacken Alexei’s name if he didn’t marry her, so he followed your famous Wellington’s example and told her to publish and be damned.’ She hesitated. ‘Did you learn anything about me?’

Eleanor nodded. ‘I read that you divorced Milo Drakos—”before the ink was dry on your marriage license”, to quote a popular tabloid of the time.’

Talia wrinkled her nose. ‘A little exaggerated, but not far out. You must surely want to know why?’

‘Of course I do. I’m only human, Ms Kazan.’

‘Please—I am Talia! ’

Eleanor smiled ruefully. ‘I’m wary of appearing familiar. But, just so there’s no misunderstanding, none of this will appear in my article. You have my word on it.’

Talia smiled. ‘I know that. And I must talk to you about this tonight because Alex is going to rush me away tomorrow and I will not have another chance.’

‘For what, exactly?’

‘To make a suggestion. If you do not wish to go home yet, why not stay on Kyrkiros until your flight? You will be safe here.’

Eleanor went cold at the mere thought. ‘I couldn’t possibly.’

‘Why not? Once Alex has seen me off at the airport, he can get the ferry back here. I shall insist that he takes a holiday.’

‘Even if he agrees, he won’t want me around.’

‘My son needs to relax, Eleanor, and also needs some intelligent feminine company to relax with. He would never admit it, but his constant aim in life is to achieve bigger and better things than his father.’ Talia smiled sadly. ‘If you did some research on Milo Drakos, you know that is not easy. It worries me that my son leaves no room in his life for normal relationships. With his looks and money, there have always been women available to him as playmates, but since the affair with Christina Mavros he is wary.’ She sighed. ‘I so much want him to enjoy the companionship of an intelligent woman. What can I do to persuade you to stay here for a few days and provide him with that?’

Eleanor’s first instinct was to assure Talia nothing would persuade her, short of locking her in the Kastro dungeons. But then she had a better idea. ‘If you get me an exclusive interview with your son, I will stay for a day or so. My boss is so desperate for his scoop he even ordered me to wear something sexy to persuade your son to talk to me.’

‘So you were not really here for the festival at all!’

‘Oh yes, I was, to round off my series. But Ross McLean is panting for an in-depth interview with the entrepreneur who never talks to reporters. Your son’s warning killed all hope of that.’ Eleanor looked Talia in the eye. ‘But I swear that securing a scoop wasn’t my motive for beating off the kidnapper. I just couldn’t bear the thought of the man laying hands on someone like you.’

‘Someone like me?’

Someone so charming and delicate that the thought of some bruiser manhandling her had sent Eleanor into battle without a second thought. ‘Someone I liked so much,’ she said, flushing again.

‘The feeling is mutual, Eleanor, as I have already made clear.’ Talia winced at the sound of raised voices outside. ‘What now?’

Alex appeared in the doorway, his face like thunder. ‘I apologise for disturbing you, Mother, but we have another intruder. He insists on speaking with you before he leaves.’ He turned to the man behind him. ‘In deference to our guest, please speak English.’

Talia’s eyes widened as Milo Drakos, a commanding figure in a pale linen suit, strode into the room. He bowed to both women and lifted Talia’s hand and kissed it, his eyes locked with hers. ‘Forgive my intrusion. I was watching when you left the terrace and saw Alexei race after you with some of his men. I could not leave until I knew all was well with you,’ he told her, in a voice exactly like his son’s.

A delicate flush rose in Talia’s face as she freed her hand. ‘This is a surprise, Milo. What are you doing here?’

‘It is our son’s birthday, is it not?’

Alex made a hostile move, but at a look from his mother he backed off.

‘A card would have done, Milo,’ she observed, in a tone so sweet and cold it sent shivers down Eleanor’s spine.

He surveyed her bleakly. ‘Instead I came to mingle with the crowds, hoping to give my wishes myself. To my surprise, I was granted the unexpected privilege of seeing you here, Talia, and so I stayed, even knowing I risked instant ejection from my son’s island if he saw me.’

‘Of course I saw you,’ grated Alex. ‘But throwing you off Kyrkiros would have attracted unwelcome attention to my mother.’

Eleanor got to her feet hastily. ‘If you’ll excuse me, I’ll say goodnight.’

‘Goodnight, my dear.’ Talia smiled at her son. ‘Escort Eleanor to your room, please, Alexei mou.’

In silence so thick it seemed to drain the oxygen from the air, Alex led Eleanor along the hall to his own bedroom, his reluctance to leave his parents alone together coming off him like gamma rays.

‘I hope you’ll be comfortable in here,’ he said stiffly as he ushered her into a starkly masculine bedroom so unlike Talia’s it could have been in a different building.

‘I’m sorry to turn you out of your room,’ she said, equally stiff.

He shrugged. ‘In the circumstances, the least I can do. But I must collect some belongings before I leave you to the rest you must be desperate for by now.’ He looked back along the hall, his jaw clenched. ‘I apologise. I should have introduced you back there.’

‘I recognised your father from his photograph.’

‘Of course you did. You’re a reporter.’

‘Yes. I am.’ Eleanor sighed wearily. ‘And, before you ask, I won’t mention Milo Drakis in my article either.’

‘Thank you.’ To her surprise, Alex actually smiled. ‘Keeping the lid on all this drama must be hellish frustrating for you.’

‘True. But to avoid any hurt to your mother I’ll make do with a colourful account of the festival and say nothing about the rest.’

‘Even though someone tried to drown you?’ For the first time his eyes held a touch of warmth. ‘I hope this paper you work for pays you well. You earned danger money today.’

Her lips twitched. ‘According to my editor, I get money for old rope. He calls this kind of assignment a paid holiday.’

‘Not quite the way it went down today!’ He crossed to a wardrobe and looked over his shoulder. ‘Help yourself to a T-shirt, or whatever, to sleep in.’

The intimacy of the situation put Eleanor on edge as Alex went into the bathroom.

‘Tomorrow night,’ he said when he emerged, ‘You can sleep in my mother’s room.’

She stared at him in surprise. ‘I thought you were hustling me back to the UK tomorrow.’

He shrugged irritably. ‘I was, but while you were getting cleaned up earlier my mother pointed out that you should be allowed to enjoy the rest of your holiday as planned. I can’t guarantee your safety on Karpyros, but I can if you stay on here. You’d have Sofia to look after you and give you meals, and Theo Lazarides for security. You can have the run of the place, other than my office, and if you find the Kastro too intimidating to sleep in alone I can ask Sofia to move up here until you leave.’

‘Why are you doing this?’ she asked, astonished.

A flash of respect lit the dark eyes. ‘I owe you, Ms Markham. You risked your own safety, even your life, to help my mother today. I pride myself on paying my debts. Or do you have a different reward in mind?’

She nodded. ‘Actually, I do, but I’ll let your mother fill you in on that. Right now, I’m so tired I can hardly keep my eyes open.’

He hesitated, and then surprised her by shaking her hand briefly. ‘Thank you again, Eleanor Markham. Goodnight.’

‘Goodnight.’ She watched the door close behind him, wishing she could be a fly on the wall when he re-joined his parents.

Instead of doing so immediately, Alexei Drakos went into the tower room to stare out at the night sky, his mind more occupied with Eleanor than his parents who, much as he hated to admit it, were probably both pleased to be left alone together for a while. Besides, they were not his immediate problem—unlike the woman occupying his bedroom tonight.

He shook his head impatiently. He’d obviously gone too long without the pleasure of a woman to warm his bed. Since the degrading business with Christina, he’d avoided all women, which meant that part of Eleanor Markham’s appeal was her appearance in his life at a time of sexual drought. But the bright eyes in that narrow face had caught his eye this afternoon, otherwise he wouldn’t have offered his help. The discovery that she was a journalist had been like a punch to the ribs.

He winced. It was she who had taken that kind of blow tonight, in her fight to save his mother. No getting away from it, damn it. He owed her. He turned away abruptly, squaring his shoulders. Time to knock on his mother’s bedroom door and politely request that his father leave. God, what a night!