Catherine George - The Enigmatic Greek

She nodded. ‘Your festival will make a wonderful finale to my series. Of course, I’ll make it clear that this is an annual event, and stress that Kyrkiros is a private island, not a holiday destination. Was the original bull dance performed as a mid-summer celebration?’

‘According to historians it was probably a regular attraction on Crete.’

‘It is performed here at this time to commemorate the feast of St John, which also happens to be Alex’s birthday,’ said Talia, with a smile for her son.

‘Then I wish you many happy returns, Mr Drakos,’ Eleanor said with formality. ‘As I said earlier, nothing will appear in my article that you could object to.’

‘Earlier?’ said Talia sharply.

Her son shrugged. ‘I had a conversation with Ms Markham on the subject of reprisals. I told her what would happen if she mentioned your name.’

His mother stared at him, appalled. ‘You threatened her?’

‘Yes,’ he said, unmoved. ‘She may write all she wants about the festival and the island. But if there’s a single reference to you personally, I’ll sue the paper she works for.’

Crimson to the roots of her hair, Eleanor stared at her watch, willing the hands to move faster as Talia shook her head in disbelief.

‘Forgive my son, Eleanor. He is absurdly protective about me.’ She frowned at him. ‘After all, even if I was mentioned, who would remember me after all these years?’

‘Don’t be naive, Mother.’ His mouth tightened when Talia very deliberately poured only two cups of coffee.

‘We shall excuse you now, Alexei,’ she informed him sweetly. ‘You must have people to see.’

Eleanor thoroughly enjoyed the sight of Alexei Drakos dismissed with such relentless grace.

He got to his feet, and gave Eleanor a cool nod. ‘I’ll say goodbye then, Miss Markham.’

She inclined her head in cool response. ‘Goodbye.’

‘I’ll come back for you after your guest leaves,’ he informed his mother.

She smiled indulgently. ‘I am perfectly capable of walking indoors on my own, Alexei.’

‘I will come back for you,’ he said with finality.

Talia sighed as she watched him go. ‘My dear, I promise you that Alex will not carry out his threat.’

‘It won’t be necessary. I won’t say a word about you in my article—hugely tempting though it would be,’ admitted Eleanor. ‘But I confess that I’ve taken a couple of photographs of you, Ms Kazan—purely personal shots to show my mother. She was a huge fan of yours.’

Talia smiled radiantly. ‘Really? I fear she will be disappointed to see me as I am now. I would not have been brave enough for cosmetic surgery—not that I had the slightest need to bother, once I left the cameras behind. These days I use so-called miracle creams and try not to eat too many wicked things—like Sofia’s savoury pastries, which are my guilty pleasure. I should have ordered some for you to try, Eleanor.’

‘I’m sure they’re delicious, but I’m not hungry.’

Talia frowned. ‘My son upset you so much?’

Eleanor shrugged, smiling. ‘A thick skin is a basic requirement in my profession.’

Talia Kazan was so easy to talk to, Eleanor had soon described previous assignments and felt guilty when Yannis came to inform them a man was asking for the kyria at the ferry. ‘I’ve been talking so much I forgot the time!’

‘And I have enjoyed listening!’ Talia told Yannis he could go, that she would accompany her guest to the boat herself.

‘Your son won’t like that,’ said Eleanor quickly, and cast a glance along the terrace, where Alexei Drakos was talking to the troupe of dancers, who looked very different out of costume.

‘My dear, Alex can play the autocrat as much as he likes with the rest of the world, but not with me.’ Talia’s smile cleared a way for them through the crowd. ‘Yannis said the south jetty, which is odd, because it’s so much farther away. No matter; a little exercise is good, yes?’

Eleanor disagreed, growing more and more uneasy when she found that the jetty in question was on one of the beaches out of bounds to the public, with no bonfires to guide them. Her misgiving intensified once they’d moved out of range of the Kastro lights. It was hard to make out the path to the jetty and progress was slow.

‘Follow me,’ said Talia. ‘I know the way. Keep close behind—’ She gave a sudden shriek as a dark figure shot out of the shadows and snatched her up in his arms to make a run for the jetty. In knee-jerk reaction, Eleanor tore after him as Talia screamed for her son and struggled so fiercely the man stumbled, cursing, and dropped his flailing burden. Eleanor swung her tote bag at his head while he was still staggering and sent him down hard on the jetty, then jumped on him and got in a few punches before he reared up with a furious roar and kicked her into the sea. She sank like a stone and panicked for endless moments until self-preservation instincts finally kicked in. Lungs bursting, she managed to swim up to the surface, coughing and spluttering, and struggling wildly against powerful arms that restrained her.

‘Stop!’ panted Alexei Drakos. ‘I’m trying to rescue you, woman.’

Limp with relief, Eleanor let him tow her through the water to thrust her up into Stefan’s grasp before heaving himself out of the water onto the jetty.

‘Is your mother safe?’ Eleanor demanded hoarsely, and then wrenched herself away from Stefan to cough up more of the Aegean as Talia pushed him aside to get to her.

‘Tell me exactly what happened, Mother!’ ordered Alexei, thrusting wet hair back from his face.

While Eleanor coughed up more water, Talia explained breathlessly up to the point where the attacker dropped her. ‘Then this brave, brave girl knocked him down with her bag and beat him up.’

‘But not hard enough. The swine kicked me into the water,’ croaked Eleanor hoarsely through chattering teeth. ‘Did he get away?’

Alexei’s smile turned her blood even colder. ‘No, he did not.’

‘Where is he?’

‘On his way to the Kastro, in company with a pair of angry jailers.’

‘Excellent! We should go inside, too,’ said Talia firmly. ‘You two need to get dry.’

Alexei turned as Yannis came hurrying to say that someone else was asking for the kyria. ‘What the devil now?’ he demanded irritably, turning on Eleanor.

‘It must be the real boatman—the one who brought me here earlier,’ she said through chattering teeth.

‘So, how did the other man contact you?’

‘Yannis told us a man was waiting at the jetty,’ explained Talia.

Alexei spoke to the boy sharply and, after listening to his explanation, gave him instructions which sent him running off into the Kastro to fetch his mother. ‘Apparently our prisoner said he was here for the lady. Yannis knew you were about to leave, Miss Markham, so assumed it was you.’

‘Then I’m to blame. I’m so sorry ,’ croaked Eleanor in remorse, but Talia shook her head fiercely.

‘Nonsense, it was not your fault!’

By this time Eleanor was so desperate to get back to the taverna and a hot shower she was past caring whose fault it was. ‘Now my real ferryman has arrived, I’ll take myself off—’

‘Absolutely not, Eleanor,’ Talia said flatly, and beckoned to the woman hurrying towards them with towels. ‘This is Sofia, the housekeeper here. I’ll explain to her and then we’ll soon have you in a hot bath and into bed.’

‘But I can’t do that! I need to pay the boatman and get back to the taverna,’ protested Eleanor hoarsely, turning away to cough.

‘Stefan will see to that—also, send a message to Takis,’ said Alexei. ‘You must stay here until I interrogate the kidnapper. In the meantime, go indoors with my mother—please,’ he added.