The Flames of Time (Flames of Time Series Book 1) (25 page)

‘Of course, I’m here to stumble around with my dusty academic fellows, expecting to find only rocks and with luck the suggestion of antiquity. Yet our path crosses that of three beautiful young ladies, possessed of such sophistication and elegance as to suggest their direct descent from that same goddess who first founded this place. In brief I smile because l had no idea archaeology could be so rewarding.’

It was a truly grotesque piece of flattery, worthy of Jean himself, but it was accepted with much good humour, even drawing a delightful smile from the irrepressibly tranquil Selene. It also reduced the conversation to mere light-headed conviviality, with much mock indignation from Harry and Androus at being described as dusty, and many equally barbed enquiries from both my friends and Luke’s accomplices as to what I was drinking, and how much of it I’d already had.

In no time the evening seemed to have passed, and it was time to retire, Thea was the first to excuse herself, closely followed by Miriam and Selene. But it was as they were leaving, saying good night to each of us, that I noticed Marlow and Selene finally coming eye to eye. I’d actually had a few drinks by that point, but as their two gazes finally met long enough to linger upon one another, I could almost feel time slowing. I wasn’t aware of either of them speaking, but for a moment their eyes just seemed to lock upon one another. I don’t think anything could have withstood that combined gaze, even the legendary Gorgon would have had to look away, but finally Marlow kissed the hand Selene had proffered to him, and received her smile again in return.

A few minutes later, after we’d finished our drinks we also decided to retire for the evening, and it was as we were making our way upstairs and I was walking alongside Jean, that I saw him smiling.

‘You are quite the dark horse mon ami,’ he said chuckling quietly. ‘One moment I think you are almost drowning in the conversation, the next you effortlessly gather all the attention to yourself, and deliver the most elegant coup de grâce to the inquisition. It was all I could do not to applaud you.’

With that we’d reached the landing and it was time to bid one another good night. I didn’t explain to Jean just how close he’d come to the truth, or for that matter how close I’d come to being overwhelmed, for that night I was happy to just enjoy the moment.

CHAPTER 17 – DREAMS AND VISIONS

I slept deep and well that night, roused only once by a tumultuous display of thunder and lightning that seemed stuck over the bay in front of the hotel, but after watching the crimson tinged light-show from my bedroom window for a few minutes I returned to bed and once again fell into a deep dreamless sleep.

It was a glorious morning when I next awoke, with clear blue skies as far as the eye could see, and the calm untroubled waters of the bay showing no sign of the previous day and night’s tempestuous weather.

Not only had the weather improved, but somehow I’d got away scot-free from the previous evening’s over indulgence, clear headed, bright-eyed and feeling thoroughly refreshed. Unfortunately with the improved weather also came the suspicion that it was going to be an interesting day if Luke and his accomplices had anything to do with it. But it was too nice a morning to worry about such things before they happened, so putting them out of my head I got ready for the day ahead.

I was washed and dressed in no time, eager to get out and about in the fresh air, and was quite pleased to find everyone else had already headed down to breakfast. I suspected they’d gone down without rousing me because they expected I’d be a little the worse for wear, which just added to my pleasure when I strolled into the dining room full of beans and with a hearty appetite.

There was much good-humoured banter round the table as I settled down to some hot coffee and poached eggs. All censored for Luke’s ears of course, and all to the benefit of my previously non-existent roguish reputation. And then with an ease and simplicity, that proved my suspicions completely unfounded we were setting off once more on our search.

Because we thought the location we sought was going to be close to the sea, we’d decided to start our search using Stephanos’ boat. From there we could travel quickly and comfortably up and down the coast, using the dinghy to land or get a closer look at the cliffs and shallows.

With no sign of Selene and her companions we simply strolled down to the boat and after setting sail in our own time, headed a couple of miles down the coast to the first point we’d identified on the maps.

The Gulf of Corinth was like a giant horse-shoe as far as we were concerned, with the opening between the heels representing the far western end of the gulf, and the toe of the shoe representing the east where the canal and ruins of ancient Corinth were located.

One of the main pieces of evidence we had from the account of Alcathos, was his description of the great white escarpment that lay directly behind the ancient city. It was an impressive curved cliff face of pale limestone visible from miles away to the north west and west. But just to the north, slightly beyond the canal a substantial headland jutted straight into the gulf, hiding the pale cliff face from view for half of the northern shoreline. This when combined with some of the other references in the scroll, conveniently narrowed our search area to the southern coast of the gulf, a little bit of the headland, and a couple of areas on the slightly more distant northern shore.

As soon as we got under sail I could feel my eagerness and enthusiasm returning, something I don’t think I’d really experienced since we’d found out about the betrayal. But I was still on my guard, and when the situation permitted, I took the opportunity to observe Luke for any tell-tale signs of nerves or furtive behaviour.

Now as we made our way along the coast he seemed relaxed and at ease, his normal-self even. But of course that probably meant we were doing what Luke and his accomplices wanted and therefore he felt he could relax.

It was a pleasant, if fruitless day. We made extensive searches of several areas of coastline, either using the dinghy, walking the craggy shoreline or scanning it with binoculars from the boat. All the while, making various positional checks from the boat to confirm lines of sight and directions of light throughout the day. We also scanned the shallows where we could, in case of changing water levels, or other evidence that might have been lost through the constant earthquake activity in the region. Even doing a little diving, which to our credit, resulted in quite a few interesting odds and ends, all far too modern to be of any real value: A few bits of pottery, some engineering parts, a pair of spectacles.

Of course our own diving and swimming was nothing by comparison with that of the local children, as was amply demonstrated by one group of young boys and girls who we encountered hurling themselves off a small cliff into the azure water below. The situation becoming more concerning for us, and more entertaining for them, when one the boys didn’t immediately appear back at the surface. But just as we were getting ready to go in after him, he appeared again smiling and laughing atop the cliff face, having swum underwater and unobserved by us through a natural arch of stone, and then surreptitiously clambering up some back route to his comrades above. It was a neat trick, which they demonstrated to us again with huge smiles on their faces by swimming back and forth under the arch like a playful school of fish.

It was a long day, but we’d got a lot done, and while tired and in need of a hearty meal it seemed like a good start, with some honest progress, even if only to rule out a few places.

The day was getting on a bit by the time we got back, and when we finally made it down for dinner after getting cleaned up the sociable aspect of dining was definitely running a distant second to the need for something to eat. So rather than wait for a table at the hotel we decided to eat out at a nearby restaurant recommended by the concierge. Of course it turned out to be a French restaurant, run by another one of Jean’s irrepressible countrymen, which inevitably lead to all manner of deliberation, exaggeration and enthusiasm from Jean, and it being very nearly midnight by the time we took our leave to make our way back to the hotel and much needed beds.

As a consequence we had neither sight or sound of Selene and her companions, and had inadvertently probably also prevented Luke from being able to contact them too. Not that I had any illusions about things staying that way, but I couldn’t help but wonder what they would be thinking.

The following morning was again warm and bright with barely a cloud in the sky. I was the first one up, so took my turn to rouse the others on my way downstairs, Luke was already moving around and answered his door straight away. While Jean, slightly the worse for the previous evening’s enthusiasm was a little more sluggish than usual. When I’d given them all a call and received an answer of one form or another, I headed on down to the dining room for breakfast.

The swimming and diving of the previous day had given me more than a few aches in my muscles, but it was nothing serious and by the time I got to the ground floor I could already feel my limbs loosening up. I was just beginning to consider what to have for breakfast as I approached the dining room, when I noticed through one of the windows at the front of the hotel, the arrival of the two large motorcars which Selene and her companions had arrived in two days earlier. But there was no sign of the three young women, which meant the cars must just be arriving to pick them up.

I didn’t have much time, and fleetingly considered skulking away to some quiet corner to simply watch their departure. It occurred to me though, that if they were about to leave they could hardly corner me for very long, and even if they did my friends would also soon arrive. So spotting them in the dining room, I picked up a daily newspaper, as though anticipating being by myself, then feigned to notice them as I strolled across the room, and went over to say hello.

They’d obviously finished their breakfast, and were sat with coffee, clearly waiting for their cars to arrive. I couldn’t help but notice they were in their outdoor attire again, though now after having seen them in their evening gowns, they appeared distinctly less boyish, and much more reminiscent of the elegant and adventurous Amelia Earhart.

‘Why good morning to you too Mr Whitaker,’ was Miriam’s sunny greeting, ‘how nice to see you again, we missed you yesterday.’

‘Ah yes Ms Sabbadini,’ I responded with perhaps a little too much emphasis for the time of the day, ‘I’m afraid my friends rather exacted their revenge upon me yesterday for daring to call them… dusty, and we arrived back a little too late to dine at the hotel.’

‘Such cruelty,’ Selene interjected with an equal measure of mock theatricality. ‘I hope you at least found something worthwhile for all your efforts.’

‘Alas no,’ I responded, ‘though as I predicted, we did seem to discover a great many rocks. And yourselves? Did you have a pleasant days… exploring?’

I was expecting to see one or other of their drivers coming across the room at any moment, and was keeping a weather eye out for him when I spotted Luke enter the dining room and look around. On an impulse I decided to try and cause a bit of trouble, so waved to attract his attention and bring him over to ‘meet’ his accomplices.

‘Ah, how fortunate,’ I said affably, and being careful not to let anything else show in my eyes. ‘Here is the friend we mentioned the other night, a fellow countryman of yours, who was feeling a little run down and not up to joining us for dinner.

‘Here he is. Luke come and meet the three young ladies we told you about yesterday morning, the ones you missed while you were feeling under the weather.

‘Ms Galanis, Ms Sabbadini, Ms Autieri, may in introduce another one of my good friends Mr Luke Cassanelli, not only one of your countrymen, but also from Rome and an intrepid hunter of dusty rocks like myself.’

We exchanged pleasantries for a few minutes during which I watched them all like a good-natured hawk, especially Thea and Luke who I suspected were the two weakest links. But there was very little that gave them away. Luke was a little stiff both physically and conversationally, while Thea looked a little nervous for a moment or two, but Selene and Miriam were completely at their ease, easily picking up and juggling the conversation until the others had a chance to recover.

A moment later and the Maître d appeared to inform the ladies their cars had arrived. This was closely followed by Harry, which put the shoe on the other foot for a few heartbeats, as I waved to bring him over, hoping that he wouldn’t show too much surprise or interest at seeing Luke and his accomplices together.

But my concern proved unfounded as unflappable Harry walked over without batting an eyelid and moved straight into extolling his pleasure at seeing Selene, Miriam and Thea again, especially in the company of Luke, after he’d missed the opportunity to meet them the other night.

A few more moments idle chat and the young women took their leave, crossing paths with Peter on their way out, before finally making it to their cars. I was itching to get rid of Luke so I could talk to Harry and Peter about the effect of bringing them together, but there really wasn’t that much to tell, so I decided not to try and engineer the situation.

Jean was bit slower at coming down than everyone else, which delayed us by a short while, but he didn’t want much to eat, so it wasn’t all that long before we could once more take to the open water and continue our searching. We finished off our search of the southern shoreline before moving on to examine the headland right at the toe of the horseshoe, and then on the following day the more distant northern shore. We even ran into Selene and her group on one occasion, as we were searching the headland, but all was politeness, and we simply waved from the boat and went on our way, as did they.

After another two days of searching, we were beginning to run out of ideas, when the weather turned nasty again, and we were once more confined to the land. There wasn’t a great deal we could do cooped up in the hotel, so I took the opportunity to do a bit of reading and some writing. Eventually getting a bit bored of my room, I thought I’d pop down and see the concierge, to ask if he could recommend anything in the way of wet weather entertainment. Unfortunately just as I got there he was busy dealing with another guest looking for somewhere interesting to go for lunch, so I indicated I would wait and, while he dealt with the issue at hand, I gazed about looking for something to distract me until he was finished. On a whim I moved over to look at a tropical fish tank stood in a corner of the foyer beside a few comfortable chairs.