Annie West - Baby Out of the Blue

‘My mother had no right to give that car to anyone,’ retorted Demetri furiously, and even Stefan looked surprised at his vehemence.

‘It’s not as if it was a new car,’ he ventured, but one look at his brother’s face made him bite his tongue.

‘The car belongs to Jane,’ insisted Demetri harshly, and now even Ariadne looked put out. ‘ Hristo , why wasn’t I consulted about this?’

Maria Souvakis had heard the raised voices and now she turned to look disapprovingly at her eldest son. ‘For heaven’s sake, Demetri, it’s just a car, you know. Not the crown jewels!’

‘And you couldn’t wait to humiliate Jane, could you?’ he snapped angrily. He turned to look at Ariadne. ‘Don’t tell me you went to pick her up from the ferry in the Porsche!’

‘Of course I did.’ It was obvious Ariadne didn’t understand what all the fuss was about. ‘As your mother says, it is only a car, Demetri.’

‘It’s Jane’s car, not yours,’ he returned bleakly, and now Jane knew she had to intervene before he said or did something he would definitely regret after she’d gone.

‘I don’t want it,’ she said, meeting his incensed gaze with cool deliberation. ‘Ariadne’s welcome to it.’ Her lips twisted. ‘It goes with the territory.’

‘If you think—’

Jane had no idea what Demetri might have said then had not his father called a halt to the argument. ‘Dinner is served,’ he told them all severely. ‘Angelena has been trying to attract our attention for the past five minutes.’ He gave Demetri a warning look. ‘Shall we go in?’

The meal itself was something of an anticlimax. Grilled aubergines were followed by a Greek salad with psaria as the main course. The latter was a whole fish, baked with vegetables and served in a tomato, fennel and olive-oil sauce. It was very spicy, and probably delicious, but Jane, whose uncertain constitution hadn’t been improved by the earlier altercation, found it all rather rich for her taste. She was grateful when the plates were removed and the dessert was served. The sweet flaky pastries were much more to her liking.

She didn’t think anyone had noticed her lack of appetite, but when they left the table to go into the adjoining salon for coffee, she found Demetri at her side.

‘Not hungry?’ he asked in an undertone, and she permitted herself an impatient look in his direction.

‘Are you surprised?’

‘You’re blaming me?’

‘Well, I have to wonder what all that excessive outrage was about. You’re going to marry Ariadne. Why shouldn’t she have use of the car?’

Demetri’s nostrils flared. ‘It means that little to you?’

‘Demetri, it’s probably been standing idle for the last five years. Why not?’

‘I’ve had it serviced regularly.’

‘Good for you.’

Jane tried to sound indifferent, but his persistence was telling on her nerves. It was devastating to be this close to him physically, yet be aware of the gulf between them. Her mind was filled with what had happened that afternoon and she hated it that he seemed so totally removed now from that flagrant intimacy.

Demetri scowled. ‘I suppose that’s why you asked Stefan to take you into town,’ he said harshly. ‘I didn’t know you and my brother were such good friends.’

‘There’s a lot of things you don’t know about your brother,’ retorted Jane shortly, and then wished she could control her impulsive tongue. She glanced quickly about the room and saw that the rest of the family were waiting for them to join them. ‘We ought to sit down.’

‘In a second.’

Fortunately the maid chose that moment to appear with the coffee-pot. And, although Jane was sure that both Maria and Ariadne were cursing the screen she created between them, it did allow Demetri the time to demand that she explain what she meant.

‘It’s not important,’ she insisted, wishing she could retract her words. ‘Look, your mother and Ariadne are watching us.’

‘I want to know what you meant.’ Demetri was insistent. ‘What don’t I know about Stefan? Don’t tell me he’s had a sudden epiphany; that he’s decided he prefers women to men, after all?’

‘Don’t be so patronising.’ Jane bitterly resented his attitude. ‘Apparently Stefan and his partner have been together over six years.’

‘I did know that.’ Demetri lifted his shoulders. ‘They have a house in Kalithi. Stefan’s only spending so much time at the villa because of our father’s illness.’

‘That’s right.’ Jane was aware that all eyes were on them now. ‘So there you are, then.’

Demetri’s scowl deepened. ‘You still haven’t explained what you meant about Stefan. What don’t I know that I should?’

‘Oh, Demetri…’ Jane sighed. ‘We can’t discuss it now.’

‘Very well.’ He inclined his head. ‘I’ll come to your room later. You can tell me then.’

Jane couldn’t resist it. ‘Won’t you be with Ariadne?’ she asked innocently, and was glad his family’s presence prevented him from making the kind of response she deserved.

‘After this afternoon?’ he countered. ‘I don’t think so.’

‘Oh, Demetri.’ A sob of hysteria rose inside her and, to disguise her real feelings, she said recklessly, ‘You must be getting old. When we were together, you used to have much more stamina.’

A phone rang somewhere in the house, but Demetri ignored it. He was staring at Jane with undisguised fury in his eyes, and she hastily moved around a sofa to seat herself beside his father. She knew it wasn’t fair to provoke him when he couldn’t answer back, but this time it seemed she’d gone too far, even for him.

‘What the hell is that supposed to mean?’ he demanded, coming to grip the back of the sofa behind her with white-knuckled fingers. ‘Jane, I’m warning you—’

But whatever he’d been about to reveal was arrested by the sudden appearance of his father’s housekeeper. Angelena halted in the doorway, and it was obvious from her flushed face and agitated hands that she had something momentous to report.

‘My apologies, kirie,’ she said, looking at Demetri, ‘but you have a call from Athens.’ She spoke in their own language but Jane could understand most of what she said. ‘I explained that the family was at dinner, but Kirie Avensis insists on speaking to you personally. He says it is a matter of life and death!’

Demetri hesitated only a moment before turning and following the woman out of the room. His departure left an uncom-fortable vacuum, which Leo filled with his usual aptitude.

‘Avensis wouldn’t ring unless it was something serious,’ he averred half rising out of his seat and then sinking weakly back again. ‘Maria, would you go and see what has happened? I would myself, but…’

He spread his hands, his meaning clear, and for once Maria didn’t demur. ‘ Veveha ,’ she said, putting down her coffee and getting to her feet. Of course. ‘If you will all excuse me…’

Jane didn’t know what to say, but Stefan had no such reservations. ‘You could have asked me, Papa,’ he said tersely. ‘I am capable of carrying a message, you know.’

Leo shook his head, for once looking less than self-possessed. ‘I didn’t think, Stefan. I’m sorry. And of course you may go and see if there is anything you can do.’

Stefan shook his head. ‘Is there any point?’

‘There may be.’ His father’s face had resumed its normal composure. ‘If you wouldn’t mind.’

Stefan hesitated, but after a moment, he, too, got to his feet and left the room, leaving Demetri’s father with only Jane and Ariadne for company.

‘What do you think has happened?’

Ariadne voiced what they were all thinking, and Leo shook his head again. ‘Heaven knows,’ he said, his fingers massaging the head of his cane his only sign of agitation. ‘One of the tankers has had a collision, perhaps.’