The Innocent's Surrender (28 page)

He thought she?d gone to Greece and had an affair. And neither he nor anyone else could ever know the truth.

Even Molly, who?d welcomed her back, unsuccessfully concealing her dismay at Natasha?s white strained face and dazed, shadowed eyes, had only had a strictly edited version.

?I fell in love,? Natasha had told her. ?And had a brief, crazy fling. But it?s over, and I?m sane again.?

?You look like hell,? Molly said, concern making her brutal. Then her eyes widened, and she gasped, ?Oh, God, Nat. He hasn?t?You?re not??

?No,? Natasha said quietly. ?I?m not.?

She?d stayed on Naxos for two nights, shopping for a basic change of clothing and a canvas holdall to stow it in, then hiring a room above a small, cheap taverna while she waited for a flight. On the first night there she?d received irrefutable evidence that she was not having Alex?s baby, and knew that she should be thankful.

And, instead, had curled herself into the foetal position on the hard bed and wept herself to sleep, tears of loss and loneliness soaking the pillow.

Knowing that she?d secretly hoped for a child, because, even though he could never know of its existence, it would still be his. Something of Alex that would belong to her alone, she thought, to love and cherish.

And Molly had read the bleakness in her eyes and said more gently, ?You should have kept to Thia Theodosia?s rules, my love. I don?t think you?re the type for flings.?

She?d made herself smile and say, ?Don?t worry about me. I?ll be back fighting my corner before you know it.? And tried not to be glad that Molly was rushing around making arrangements for the wedding, and had no idea how often Natasha yielded to the despair inside her when she was alone.

When the door buzzer sounded, she flinched.

Neil, she thought. Again. Either to apologise, or to hand out more of the same, and whichever it was, she didn?t want to know. She was tempted not to answer the door, but then the buzzer went again, imperatively, and he might well be prepared to stand there for the duration unless she let him in.

She sighed, tightened the belt of her robe, and trailed down the short passage to the door.

?Kalispera,?
Alex said shortly, and walked past her into the flat.

Gasping, she went after him into the living room. ?What do you think you?re doing? What do you want??

?You,? he said. ?And I have crossed Europe to find you.? He added with steely emphasis, ?It has been an inconvenience.?

?Then you could have saved yourself the trouble,? Natasha retorted. ?Because I came back here to get away from you.? She wrapped her arms defensively round her body. ?So will you go, please??

?Why? Are you expecting your previous visitor to return?? There was a harsh note in his voice, and the dark eyes raked her, as if he?d reached out and dragged the robe from her body. ?If so, I think you will be disappointed,
agapi mou
. He seemed in no mood to do so as he left.?

?Can you blame him?? she queried tautly. She held up the magazine. ?Discovering that his girlfriend had been tagged as your Mystery Mistress??

?But you were never his,
matia mou,
? Alex reminded her softly. ?Only mine.?

?Not any longer.? She took a deep breath. ?As we both know. So why are you here??

?To talk.? He took off the jacket of the dark suit he was wearing, and tossed it across the arm of the sofa, before loosening his tie, and unfastening a couple of shirt buttons. ?May I sit down??

?If you haven?t the decency to leave,? she said. ?How can I stop you??

?Will you sit with me?? He patted the sofa cushion, and she winced inwardly with by mute anguish as she remembered all the evenings in the
saloni
curled up on his lap or beside him, her head on his shoulder.

?No.? The denial emerged more fiercely than she?d intended, and elicited a wry smile.

?Even if I tell you there is nothing to fear,? he asked. ?That I have given my word of honour not to?molest you in any way.?

She answered him with silence, taking the small chair with wooden arms as far from the sofa as the room allowed, and tucking the skirts of her robe around her bare feet and ankles.

The silence lengthened, then he said quietly, ?Why did you run away,
matia mou?
My father?s friends are kind people. They would have welcomed you. I told you so in my letter.?

Natasha bit her lip. ?Not if they?d known what I really was,? she returned. ?I preferred to return to my own friends.?

?Leaving poor Zeno distraught,? he commented. ?When you were not at the pharmacy, he called at every shop in town, searching for you. He even went to the hospital in case your headache had become heatstroke. It was only then that he remembered the ferry.

?I had just disembarked from
Selene
with our visitors when he returned and told me you had gone.?

His mouth tightened. ?And there was nothing I could do?not immediately. Having placated my father over our affair and promised my support for his future plans, I could not desert him just when I was most needed.

?I could only pull a few strings and arrange for someone at Naxos Airport to contact me if you tried to get a plane.? He added quietly, ?The next forty-eight hours of silence were the worst of my life. I began to think you had gone for ever.?

?A good thought,? Natasha said stonily. ?Hang on to it.?
Because you have no right to talk to me like this.
?But I didn?t intend to distress Zeno. Please offer him my abject apologies when you see him next.?

?Abject?? Alex?s mouth twisted. ?Not you. But why didn?t you wait until I could come to you? You knew the difficulties.?

?Yes,? she said. ?Those tricky negotiations. I hope they?ve been successfully completed.?

His shrug, his smile were rueful. ?To some extent at least. And that is one of the reasons I am here,
agapi mou
?to invite you to a wedding.?

For a moment, Natasha was stunned into silence. Then she said hoarsely, ?That is?unbearably cruel.?

?Ah,? he said quietly. ?But you should be accustomed to that, according to our last meeting. So, may I have an answer, if you please??

?I already have a wedding to go to,? she said. ?I think one?s enough for the time being. So the answer is?no.?

He gave her a reflective look. ?Kyria Theodosia will be much grieved if you stay away.?

?I hardly think so. She wanted me out of the way while the marriage was being set up.? She glared at him, glad that she could fight her pain with anger. ?She and everyone else. Of course, there were Irini?s feelings to consider,? she added raggedly. ?But if you think she?ll have forgiven and forgotten anything that?s happened if I turn up at the wedding, think again. Because I can guarantee she won?t.?

She lifted her chin. ?And on whose side would I sit? Or do they have a special corner in the church for the groom?s discarded mistresses? If so, I think it will be quite crowded enough without my presence.?

He said harshly, ?You are being unfair, Natasha. My father has loved two women in his life. One was my mother, and the other is Theodosia Papadimos, the lady he intends to marry on Alyssos next month. As you well know.?

He saw her stunned expression, and his eyes narrowed. ?What is wrong? My father gave you my letter, didn?t he??

?Yes.? Her voice was almost inaudible. ?But I didn?t read it. I?I threw it away.?

?In the name of God, why?? His tone was incredulous.

?Because you were going to marry Irini. I heard it from your father, but?I couldn?t bear to see it in black and white.? She was on her feet suddenly, white-faced, her voice raw. ?I needed somehow to pretend it wasn?t happening. Is that what you wanted to hear? Are you satisfied now??

?Natasha
mou
,? he said gently. ?Even you must know that marriage between brother and sister is illegal.?

?Brother and sister.? She pronounced the words slowly and carefully as if she?d never heard them before. ?What are you talking about??

He held out a hand. ?Sit with me,? he invited quietly, ?while I tell you what was in my letter?how the feud began.?

She walked slowly to the sofa, and sat beside him. Careful to keep her distance.

The dark eyes held hers. ?Think of a man and a woman,? he said. ?Already friends. He, a widower, she, a neglected and lonely wife. They fall in love in a place that has become a sanctuary for them both, and wish to spend the rest of their lives together, if her husband, with whom she shares little but a roof, will give her a divorce.

?But he refuses, telling her, among other threats, she will never see her two young sons again if she humiliates him by leaving.

?Instead, he demands that she return to him, even though she is carrying her lover?s child.?

Natasha whispered, ?Oh, God, this can?t be true. It can?t??

?Believe it,? he said. ?She refuses, saying that her lover will fight beside her for the custody of her children. But on his way to her, her man?s car is involved in a serious collision with a hit-and-run driver, and he is badly injured.

?At the same time, the house where she knew happiness is totally destroyed, as if it never existed. Leaving her with little choice but to return to what passed for a home.?

She said in a stifled voice, ?You mean?you?re saying it was Thio Basilis who did?all that? Those terrible things? Oh, no. Please?no. It?it?s too horrible.?

He said levelly, ?If you doubt me,
matia mou
, Madame Papadimos herself will confirm all that I have told you.?

Natasha was silent, staring down at her fists clenched in her lap. At last, she sighed. ?I?I don?t need to do that. Everything you?ve told me explains so much that I didn?t understand. Things that I felt were wrong, but didn?t examine too deeply, because he?Thio Basilis?was so kind to me.?

?You took the place of a daughter he could not love,
pedhi mou.
?

She said bitterly, ?No wonder Irini hates me.?

?She will not always do so.? He took her hands in his, gently stroking her fingers. ?Although the truth has been a great shock to her, and her immediate reaction was everything we had most feared. And that is why, having witnessed her past behaviour to you, I needed to get you away. I told my father I would not allow you to be subjected again to that kind of abuse or worse.?

He added drily, ?Papa now fully understands my caution. At one point she was like a wild thing, threatening violence?to herself and everyone around her. Even her mother. But she is already becoming calmer, as she comes to realise that she now has a father who loves and wants her.?

She said quietly, ?Also a brother who will be kind to her. And your father and Thia Theodosia have found each other again too. Which is?wonderful.? She swallowed. ?Do Stavros and Andonis know the truth?about the feud??

?Kyria Theodosia says her husband spared her that final humiliation, and they still believe it was a business quarrel, as I did myself until a few years ago.?

He paused. ?Irini will keep their family name, and, to the world, Papa will be no more than a caring and affectionate stepfather.?

He smiled a little. ?When Irini has learned to control her temper and her tongue, he will find her a good man to warm her bed and her heart.?

She withdrew her hand from his clasp. ?So her fate is already sealed.? She tried to speak lightly. ?And, unlike me, she has no means of escape.?

?Is that what you want,
pedhi mou
? To escape?? There was an odd note in his voice.

?Of course. That?s why I?m here, back to my own life, and my real world.?

?But not to your boyfriend, it seems,? he said. ?Or your best friend, either. Won?t you find it lonely??

Not as lonely, she wanted to cry out, as loving you, without hope of return.

She shrugged. ?Independence has other advantages.?

?If Iorgos had been driving you,? he said softly, ?you might not have found escape so easy.?

It was not easy now, when he?d moved closer, making her aware of the warm, evocative scent of his skin. When she?d only have to reach out a hand to free the remaining buttons on his shirt.

She hurried back into speech. ?Is he waiting outside for you now??

?No, he is in Athens, with a new job at one of our companies. I have managed at last to persuade my father that I no longer needed a watchdog.?

She looked away. ?Mac said you?d received threats at one time.?

?Yes,? he said. ?It was three years ago, just after I had seen you at an embassy party, and defied my father?s anger by writing to Kyrios Papadimos requesting his permission to call on you formally to court you as my wife.?

She stared at him, her eyes widening. ?You?asked Thio Basilis?for me?? She shook her head. ?But why??

?Because I looked at you,
agapi mou
, and fell in love. It was that incredible?that simple?and I was lost forever.

?I went home after the party in a daze, and told Papa I had found the only girl in the world I would ever want to marry, and he smiled. I told him who you were, and he stopped smiling, and forbade me to think of you again.

?We?quarrelled, but I wrote my letter anyway, and the reply came back the following day. I have it still. Kyrios Papadimos warned me that if I?the womanising scum my father had spawned?ever turned my degraded eyes in the direction of his innocent child again, he, Basilis, would ensure that I would first be beaten unconscious, and then damaged so badly that I would never again be able to satisfy a woman in bed or father children.?