Beware of the Beast (21 page)

"You're telling me you're pregnant?" he said, in a strange,
uneven tone.

"Well, if I'm not, I don't know what's wrong with
mel
"
she retorted, coldly flippant.

Alex's
 
expression
was grim.
 
"Don't make jokes I" he
commanded
harshly. "My God, how long have you known this?”

"Two - maybe three weeks."

"Three weeks! Why wasn't I informed?"

"Oh, sorry, sir, but you weren't here, sir!"

"Stop it!" Alex's fingers suddenly bit into her upper arms.
"Hell, Charlotte, I had a right to be told, didn't I?"

"Well, now you have been. No one else knows. Except
Maria,
and perhaps the girls'."

"And my grandmother?"

"No. I made Maria keep it to herself."

"Why?"

Charlotte shook her head, her momentary surge of provoca
tion leaving her. "I - I didn't want anyone to know," she
admitted in a small voice.

"Why not?"
Alex sighed heavily. Then he shook his head.
"I never dreamt -!
didn't
think ..." He paused. "And you?
How do you feel?"

"Me?" Charlotte's lips twisted. "Oh, I'm fine - fine! I
can't drink coffee, I'm sick every morning unless I eat dry
biscuits before getting up, and I get tired after spending only a couple of hours on my feet I I'm really fit!"

"
Charlotte !"
He shook her gently. "Charlotte, please!"
His eyes were troubled, and she felt a ridiculous urge to
reassure him. But why should she? She hadn't asked to be
made his wife, to be brought here and forced to bear his child I
Everything he did had a purpose behind it, and right now all
he wanted was to assure himself that
his child
was receiving
proper care !

"Leave me
alone !
" she exclaimed, dragging herself away
from him. "How do you expect me to feel? All soft and gooey,
broody like a mother
henl
Well, I don't. I don't -!
don't
want this baby!"

That this wasn't strictly true was something that Charlotte
could not admit, even to herself, but Alex did not know this.
With a sigh, he turned away and went back to his desk.

"You knew the terms of the contract," he told her flatly.

"Yes. Yes, I knew them," she told him angrily. "But I didn't sign anything, did I?" She turned to the door. "I'm
going to see your grandmother. Don't expect me back for lunch."

"Now wait a minute." Alex came after her again. "Why
are you going there? You can't go alone."

"In your absence," she stressed the words, "I've had to do
everything alone. And besides, your grandmother has a right
to know that she's going to be a great-grandmother, doesn't
she?"

"Wait until this afternoon and I'll come with you."

"What? And have you gloating over the way you've proved
your manhood?
No, thanks!"

Alex put his hand against the door, blocking her departure.
"I can prove my manhood with you any time I like!" he bit
out savagely, and she trembled. Then his hand fell away
from the door. "Oh, go on. Get out of here! But don't leave
the villa!"

Charlotte made no reply, but she knew she would not obey
him. His wife she might be, the willing mother of his
child — but his slave she was not.

She saw the helicopter coming in low over the headland as
she walked across the cliffs towards
Eleni's
cottage. The cottage lay some distance beyond the village, but it was easier
circling the centre of the island than clambering over its
rocky formations. Once Alex had taken her to the village and
introduced her to
Vittorio's
wife, Nana, but since he had
been away she had not liked to intrude on the lives of his
employees.

By the time she reached the cottage, Charlotte was exhaus
ted. It was over a week since she had walked here, usually
Ending
it easier to summon
Yanni
and his trap. But this
morning to have done so would have aroused Alex's attention,
and that was the last thing she wanted.

Eleni
was in the garden of the cottage, pulling up some
weeds, her hands protected by a pair of stout rubber gloves.
She looked up in surprise when she saw Charlotte, and ex
claimed: "Did you not see the helicopter? Perhaps
Alexandros
is back!"

Then she noticed Charlotte's pale face, and her expression
changed.
"
Pethi
mou
,
what is the matter? You are ill?"

Charlotte shook her head wearily.
"Oh, no - no.
Not ill.
I —
" She
ran the back of her hand across her damp forehead.
"I seem to be running a slight temperature, that's all."

Eleni
took off her gloves and taking Charlotte's arm guided
her towards the cottage. "Come in, come in. Come inside," she
said, urging the girl before her into the cool dimness of her
overcrowded living room. She settled Charlotte in a chair
and then summoned Bettina.
"
Kafes
,
Bettina," she ordered
the old servant peremptorily, but Charlotte moved her head
slowly from side to side.

"No, not coffee," she managed weakly. "Just -
tea,
or water."

"Water?"
Efeni
turned to look at her in some surprise. Then
she turned back
to
Bettina.
"
Poli
kala
,
tsai
,
Bettina.
Ghrighora
!"

Nodding, Bettina went to do her bidding, and
Eleni
came to
Charlotte, lifting one of her limp hands and shaking her head
anxiously. "Alex will wonder where you are."

"He won't. I told him I was coming here," replied Charlotte
truthfully.

"You
told
him?"

"Yes. Oh, he got back late last night. That would be George
in the helicopter you saw."

Eleni
allowed Charlotte's hand to resume its languid
position on the arm of her chair. Then she folded her own
hands and regarded her grandson's wife intently. "If Alex
just got back last night, what are you doing here today?"
She frowned. "You have been - arguing,
ohi
?"

Arguing?
Charlotte felt a little sick. "You might say that,"
she agreed tiredly.

Eleni
made an irritated sound with her tongue against her
teeth. "Why? Why have you
be_en
arguing? I'm sure Alex
would be delighted to hear he was to become a father, wasn't
be
? Or haven't you told him that?"

Charlotte's eyes flicked open. "You - know? What has
Maria been telling you?"
      

"Maria has told me nothing. Good heavens, I did not need
to be told. I guessed a week ago when Maria sent for me,
that's all. You were almost convincing, but I have had babies
of my own, Charlotte. And although I may be old, I am not
blind."

Charlotte straightened her back, sitting upright in the chair.
"Well, at least it saves me having to tell you," she said flatly.

Eleni
uttered an impatient ejaculation. "What is the matter,
Charlotte? Have you told Alex? If not, you must."

"I've told him," Charlotte retorted shortly, and looked up as Bettina carried the tray of tea into the room.

Tea on
Lydros
was not the same beverage as Charlotte was
used to drinking in England. It was made from
camomile
and other herbs, and while it was hot and fragrant, it was
infinitely different. Nevertheless, she had grown accustomed
to it, and right now it was very welcome. There were
biscuits,
too, still warm from the oven, and after two of these, Char
lotte's feeling of nausea had left her. She remembered she
had had little breakfast that morning, but Alex's presence had stifled her appetite.

Eleni
presided over the cups, seated beside the small table
where Bettina had placed the tray. She was only a few feet
away from Charlotte, and the girl could sense hex silent disapproval.

"What is it?" Charlotte asked at last, feeling more able to
cope now that she was no longer feeling empty inside. "I
thought you liked me coming here, I hoped you'd ask me to
stay to lunch."

Eleni
looked at her impatiently. "My dear child, you know
how much I enjoy your visits. And as to lunch, what I have is
yours. But -
" She
paused, absently pleating the folds of her
 
apron.
"You have to understand, Charlotte, Alex is my
grandson. I love him dearly. And you are his wife. If you are
unhappy, he must be unhappy, and that I do not like."

Charlotte heaved a sigh. "I didn't say I was unhappy."

"No. But it
is
obvious, isn't it? You would not be here
otherwise,"

"
Yaya
,
Alex has brought work to do. George is here be
cause there is work to do. He - that is, Alex said that George
is
saying,
for several days. My presence at the villa is - is just
a nuisance."

"Ah, I see."
Eleni
looked a little less strained now. "You
are angry because
AJex
brings work to do when your time together has.
been
so limited so far."

Charlotte opened her mouth to protest, and then closed
it again. Why not let
Eleni
think that? What harm could it do,
after
all
?
At last it would stop her from worrying. She would
see only that she wanted to see, and anyway, the facts seemed
to beat it out. Only Charlotte knew the truth.
And Alex him
self, of course.

"Can I stay to lunch, then?" she asked, and
Eleni
nodded her grey head.

"Why not?
Why not? If I know Alex, it will not be long
before he comes looking for you." Her smile reappeared. "You
may not realize this yet,
pethi
,
but Alex can be a very jealous
manl
"

If she had thought to reassure Charlotte by these words,
she was wildly off key. To consider Alex's reactions when he
found her gone made Charlotte's nerves tingle. To imagine him coming here, looking for her, almost made that craven
part of her change her mind about staying.

CHAPTER NINE

Charlotte
and
Eleni
were drinking tea after lunch when Sophia arrived. The girl was hot and breathless, her cheeks
flushed from hurrying in the heat of the day. Bettina brought
her into the
parlour
, and
Eleni
regarded her frowningly.

"
Kala
,
ti
thelete
?
What is it?"

Sophia glanced resentfully towards Charlotte resting com
fortably on the couch, and Charlotte guessed what she was
about to say before she opened her mouth.

"
Kyrios
Alexandros
sent me to find his wife,
Kyria
Eleni
," she replied stiffly. "We have been worried about her.
Kyrios
Alexandros
has had us all searching the villa."

Eleni
turned questioning eyes in Charlotte's direction. "I
thought you told me that
Alexandro
knew where you
were?"