Island of Mermaids (22 page)

‘
Mammal
’
exclaimed Carla.
‘
Never so smart—and so
pretty.
’
She gave her mother a delicate kiss and embrace.

‘
You look beautiful,
cara matrigna
,
’
said Althea softly. It was the first time she had used the Italian for
‘
stepmother
’
to Emilia; it was a word with a loving sound and Althea meant it.

She caught her father
’
s eye for a moment and when Emilia and Carla were moving towards the door, he said quietly to his daughter,
‘
Thank you, Althea, for being so understanding.
’

‘
With Emilia it
’
s not difficult. Even if I didn
’
t like her, I
’
d still hope you
’
d be happy with her, but she
’
s not only charming but most practical.
’

She smiled at him, realising that every father must feel qualms of trepidation when he marries again and that the slightest tinge of hostility on the part of a son or daughter is enough to crumble the foundations of his new marriage before it has even become established.

After the two brief ceremonies at which only the close relatives of Emilia were present, her brother and one of her sisters, the party drove to the hotel where dozens of guests already awaited them.

Lawrence and Emilia were given a tremendous welcome, then the guests settled to the real business of greeting each other, drinking champagne, nibbling food or ladling out bowls of fruit and ice-cream for themselves. Althea had been introduced to strings of people, some of whom she believed she had met at least once. All of them greeted her enthusiastically, then went off to join other acquaintances.

Now with a glass of champagne in her hand she stood on the fringe of the gesticulating, chattering crowd and wondered if her father realised what kind of gatherings he was plunging himself into or whether, as he had said about the family visits, this was only an occasional high spot in a lifetime.

‘
You are enjoying the wedding?
’
A voice spoke in her ear and she did not need to turn to recognise Cristo at her side.

‘
Thank you. Very much indeed,
’
she said quickly as her gaze roamed about the room. She hoped to find someone she knew slightly, for she did not want to be saddled with Cristo.

‘
You are not used to such noisy Italian weddings, perhaps?
’
he was saying.
‘
But we are all gay for a few hours. Tomorrow the men will be at their office desks or driving their cars along the autostradas. The ladies will be sitting soberly telephoning their friends or at the
millin
er
’
s trying on hats.
’

‘
You sound philosophical, but the same thing happens in England. Weddings are supposed to be gatherings where everyone can be happy for a few hours. Excuse me, Cristo, but I think I can see someone I know.
’

‘
Someone you know is also here.
’
She turned sharply at the sound of Kent
’
s voice.

‘
Kent! I didn
’
t know you were able to come.
’
Since early this morning he had been foremost in her thoughts and when she arrived at the reception, she had looked about eagerly for him. She would not admit to herself the sharp disappointment that lowered her spirits when she saw no sign of him.

‘
Cristo
!’
Kent said crisply.
‘
D
’
you think you might find a girl who
’
d be delighted to talk to you? Out of all this mob, there must be plenty.
’

Cristo showed no signs of moving away.
‘
I
’
d rather talk to Althea,
’
he said stubbornly.

Althea almost admired him for his obstinate honesty.

‘
In that case,
’
snapped Kent,
‘
please excuse us and we
’
ll find another
corner
of this crowded room.
’

With his hand gripping her elbow, he guided her through the crush, picking up a couple of glasses of champagne on the way, until it was possible to stand near an open window.

‘
Cristo has some of the qualities of a limpet,
’
he said testily.

Althea schooled herself to a coolness she was far from feeling.
‘
I
’
m glad you were able to come,
’
she said politely.
‘
My father would have been disappointed if your business affairs had prevented you.
’

She was gazing out of the window, but she knew he was staring at her.
‘
You look quite enchanting in that outfit,
’
he said softly, and colour flooded into her face.

‘
Thank you. My father supplied the material and the village dressmaker ran it up for me.
’
She was determined to keep the conversation on a casual level. He should have no further chance of imagining that she was ready to fall into his arms at the drop of a hat or the hint of a compliment.

‘I
don
’
t believe it. It all looks very Paris to me.
’

Althea smiled under the concealing brim of her hat.
‘
Oh, Barbarina, the dressmaker, once worked in a fashion house in Rome.
’

‘
I—look, Althea, I—there
’
s something I must explain.
’

She looked up at him from under the hat.
‘
Forgive me, but I can see my father signalling to me. He probably wants to be rescued from someone.
’

Without giving time for Kent to make any reply, she threaded her way between knots of people and reached her father.

‘
I saw you talking to Kent,
’
he said quietly.
‘
I
’
m glad he was able to make it after all. How long is he staying at Capri?
’

‘
I don
’
t know. I didn
’
t ask him.
’

Her father gave her a curious glance. Then he turned to a man close beside him.
‘
Allow me to present my daughter Althea.
’

For a few moments the three chatted, half in Italian, half in English. Then came the speeches, all very short indeed, the good wishes, the cake-cutting. Lawrence and Emilia slipped away quietly, for they were off to Rome for a few days
’
holiday.

There was dancing in an adjacent room, mostly for the younger members of the huge party. Some of the older ones were patently glad to subside on chairs and take the weight off their feet.

Althea danced with numerous partners, including Brian, who was delighted to be here.
‘
How many possible customers you may have lost by shutting your shop today
!’
she said to him as they danced.

‘
No more than if I
’
d shut for a saint
’
s day,
’
he replied.
‘
Besides, I
’
ve met all kinds of people who might be interested in the future. You see, if you can sell to one person who lives here in Italy, he might buy more than one picture. Tourists will rarely buy more than one, and small at that. They have
to think about getting the stuff home in their luggage.
’

‘
I
’
m glad to see that you
’
ve such a good eye for business. When my father opens his emporium we shall have to come to you for advice.
’

She noticed out of the
corner
of her eye that Kent was lounging at the side of the room. Surely he could have found Carla to dance with him, but then a moment later she saw Carla, an ecstatic expression on her face, dancing with a young man called Ermanno. Whether he was yet another cousin or relative or merely a friend of a friend, Althea had no idea, but evidently Carla liked him.

Althea thought it diplomatic to dance at least once with Cristo. While she disliked his importunate attentions, there was no sense in making an enemy of him.

‘
The Englishman again,
’
muttered Cristo in Althea
’
s ear.
‘
Always he has to come and interfere. He should remain in England out of the way.
’

Althea laughed.
‘
You
’
d better tell him that to his face.
’

‘
What is it you should tell me to my face?
’
Kent calmly took Althea out of Cristo
’
s arms into his own.
‘
No, on second thoughts, it can wait.
Ciao
.’

‘
You seem to have a spite against Cristo,
’
she remarked smoothly. Still, she was pleased that he had commandeered her for a partner, although she would not show any gratitude.

‘
I thought you might prefer to be relieved from his company.
’

She did not reply to that and for a few moments they danced in silence. Then the band paused for a breather and Kent, his arm still around Althea
’
s waist, planted a couple of kisses in quick succession on her cheek.

It was the first time he had kissed her and her heart gave a great leap, but now she wished he had not bestowed them on her. Not because it was a fairly public place, but because she was convinced that he meant them for no more than a couple of champagne kisses.

At other times in his company, she would have been ready to melt in his tender embraces, but today she hardened her attitude. Unreasonable it might be, but she would make it plain that she was not a girl to be picked up and set down at will. She had not so far pleaded to be part of his personal life, but at the same time she was not willing to fill in his idle, amorous moments whenever he chose to look her way.

Thus it was that when the reception was at last ended and some of the younger people suggested a trip up Mount Vesuvius, Althea chose Brian as her companion. On the way from Naples to Vesuvius in various cars, up in the chair-lift, at the bar at the top, Althea stayed close to the young artist. Once or twice she experienced a pang of remorse when she saw Kent in the company of some older guests. Even Carla was wholly occupied with her new companion, Ermanno.

I
’
m cutting off my nose to spite my face, Althea reflected, but pride forbade her either to make those easy advances that would have put her on the old casual footing with Kent, or to respond to his efforts to take up where he had left off. It was ridiculous, she told herself, that a small thing like omitting to let her know he was leaving Capri had made this wide gap between them. Something deeper niggled at her consciousness. If her coolness led to his going away from Capri and never seeing her again, then she would accept the position, but if she revealed to him that she was only too grateful for any morsel of affection he might toss in her direction, then she would have no shred of pride or self-respect left. More even than that, she would never know if he loved her or whether she was merely a convenient girl-friend in Capri whenever he put in an appearance there.

Brian insisted on buying her a necklace made of polished, fused volcanic rock.
‘
A genuine piece of Mount Vesuvius itself,
’
he said. It was an inexpensive trifle and she had no scruples in accepting it. All the same, she wished with all her heart that the little stones around her neck had been Kent
’
s gift.

Up here at the top or from the slopes of this volcanic mountain came the sound of the old Neapolitan song,
‘
Funiculi, Funicula
’
sung in chorus or by a single lusty voice, sometimes faintly caught as an echo on the wind. Althea did not know the Italian words, but she could also join in the well-known time.

‘
Don
’
t they know any other song?
’
asked Brian of no one in particular. One of Carla
’
s cousins explained that the song really belonged to Vesuvius and no other place. Once there had been a funicular up the volcano to the crater, but it was destroyed in an eruption about thirty years ago, so it had been replaced by the present chair-lift.