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By this time Jenny was hot with embarrassment and furious with Sylvia.
She wanted to get up and walk away from the table.
Darns, his eyes implacable, ignored her heated request to Sylvia as he
said, still in that same soft tone of voice, `I asked you, Miss Northway, if
you understand my order that you take no risks. You haven't answered
me.'
`Order!' ejaculated Jenny, outraged and hearing this one word above all
the others. `Mr. Kyrou, I do not let anyone give me orders!'
A white-coated waiter was hovering close by, ready to serve the dessert, a
compote of spiced fruit with fresh whipped cream and walnuts. He was
interested in all that was going on and had no intention of missing
anything. Darns lifted an imperious hand and waved him away, then
looked at Jenny, waiting for her answer. She remained stubbornly silent,
hating Daros with a black venom for goading her into causing a scene like
this at the dinner table. She heard him repeat, in tones even quieter than
before but carrying a warning that she was quite unable to ignore, `Do
you understand, Miss Northway?'
Jenny gulped to release the ball of anger that was blocking her throat.
`Yes, Mr. Kyrou,' she answered almost inaudibly, `I understand.'
Without another word Darns beckoned to the waiter, who served the
sweet course while an-other waiter poured the Asti Spumante to go with
it. Glavcos glanced at Jenny in a sympathetic way that served as balm to
her wounded pride. And a short while later, when Darns had taken Sylvia
onto the floor, he asked her to dance. She rose at once, swinging into his
arms, her eyes seeking the couple who were attracting all the attention
not only by their appearance but by the superb manner in which they
danced together.
`They make a most attractive couple, don't they?' Glavcos had followed
the direction of Jenny's gaze and he spoke without rancour. `My son is a
remarkably handsome man, don't you think?'
Jenny, in no mood for agreeing with Glavcos but heeding her manners-
somewhat belatedly!-said yes and changed the subject. Glavcos laughed,
looking at her and shaking his head.
`He's riled you, Jenny. He always riles women sooner or later, and no
wonder, with that high-
handed manner he adopts towards them.' His eyes slid to Daros, who was
holding Sylvia rather more closely than was necessary. `I expect he'll
change his ways when he finds the one he wants to make his wife.' So
emotionless the voice. Not a sign of anger or pique that his son was, quite
openly, taking over his girlfriend!
`I don't think I could ever get used to the way your people treat their
women,' said jenny. `In England we have equality of the sexes.'
`It sounds very well on the surface,' he mused, `but tell me, Jenny, do
women really want to be the bosses?
'They're not the bosses,' she protested. `They're equals.'
`Greek girls like to be mastered by their hus-bands.'
`Would you master Sylvia?' inquired jenny curiously. She was recalling
what her stepmother had said on this subject.
Glavcos smiled faintly before producing an answer. `I'd never want to
master Sylvia, no.'
The music stopped and the four returned to their table to sit chatting for a
while over their wine. When the band struck up again, playing a waltz,
Daros surprised Jenny by inviting her to get up. She would have refused
had it been at all possible; instead, she rose stiffly and slipped into his
arms.
He danced superbly; Jenny was also a good dancer and as they
progressed around the un-crowded floor she gained confidence, feeling
she was not as inferior to Sylvia as she had always believed. She
supposed her feeling of inferiority had stemmed from the fact that Sylvia's
danc-
ing had been repeatedly praised in Jenny's hear-ing.
As the silence stretched between them Jenny became uncomfortable. Why
didn't Daros speak to her? He seemed totally indifferent and she
supposed that his gesture in asking her to dance had been no more than a
punctilious observance of duty. The idea angered her out of all proportion;
she would have liked nothing better than to have left him in the middle of
the floor, just to give his intolerable pride a crushing jolt!
The moments ticked away and still he maintained his silence. Jenny
believed he would have maintained it throughout the entire dance had he
not been hailed by someone he knew who was sitting at a table in a
secluded corner, well away from the lights. The man spoke in Greek and
as Daros answered in the same language Jenny had no idea what was
being said. However, Daros introduced her to the man and his wife,
speaking, naturally, in English. The couple, in their early thirties, were
Costa and Maria Diakos, who were on holiday, having come from Athens,
where they lived. Costa was in shipping and jenny soon gathered that he
and Daros were business acquaintances.
`Sit down a moment,' invited Costa, smiling to reveal some very
impressive gold fillings. He had a fat cigar in one hand and worry beads in
the other. His wife, very dark and slim, was smoking a cigarette from a
long, gold-embellished holder. `I was intending to try to see you
tomorrow, Daros, on some business matter. Shall you be at liberty in the
afternoon?'
Daros nodded. `Yes, of course.'
`How is your father? He was looking fine when I saw him in Athens a few
months ago.'
`He's in excellent health, Costa, and will be around for a long time yet.'
Daros's glance flickered to Jenny, its significance causing her to colour
guiltily. `I'll tell him you were asking about him. He's here tonight, as a
matter of fact.'
`He is?
'Yes.' A small pause and then; `He's with a lady friend of his. Miss
Northway's her stepdaughter. They've come from England.'
A swift, amused glance passed between Costa and his wife; it went
unnoticed by Daros, who, rising, said something in Greek before moving
away with Jenny as she too rose and said a brief goodbye to the couple.
More dancers were on the floor by this time and, owing to the lack of
space, her partner several times had to bring Jenny close to him in order
to avoid collisions with other couples. She could feel his strong, muscled
strength against her own soft and supple frame. Their bodies seemed to
meld together as if it were both her intention and his that they should.
Angered by the thought, Jenny strained away from him. He looked down
at her in amusement as the colour rose to tint her cheeks. `We're
becoming a bit hemmed in,' he said, the faint accent carrying a satirical
note. `Perhaps you'd rather we gave up?'
She averted her head, aware that her cheeks were burning. It was
incredible that he could be so undiplomatic, but she knew for sure that he
was enjoying her discomfort. Hateful man!
`Yes,' she returned without hesitation, `I would.'
`A pity,' he said unexpectedly. `I was enjoying our dance.'
`You amaze me,' she snapped, furious that he was mocking her.
His straight black brows shot up in surprise at the sharp, unfriendly tone
of her voice. `You don't believe me?'
She decided to be frank and say what she thought. `You danced with me
simply because you considered it your duty.'
They were walking off the floor and had come to the edge, the space
between the dancers and the diningtables. He stopped, compelling Jenny
to do the same.
`You take a great deal for granted,' he returned shortly.
Jenny hated the idea of voicing an apology, but felt obliged to do so. `I'm
sorry if I made a mistake,' she murmured, wanting to walk away, back to
their table, but Daros remained where he was and she could hardly brush
past him.
`Tell me,' he said, `what have you got against me?'
She shot him a glance, eyes kindling. `Plenty! Have you forgotten what
happened a short while ago? You deliberately humiliated me!' [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]