Annie West - Baby Out of the Blue

Ariadne’s lips parted. ‘Is that serious?’

‘It can be.’ Leo forced a smile for their benefit. ‘Let us hope not, hmm?’

Jane wet her dry lips. ‘Will—will Demetri be expected to take charge?’

‘Not necessarily,’ replied the old man, before Ariadne could tell her it was none of her business. He stared thoughtfully into the middle distance. ‘We have technical staff for that sort of thing.’ He paused. ‘Of course, he may want to.’

‘As you would,’ said Jane understandingly, and Leo smiled a little wistfully.

‘You know me so well, my dear,’ he said, patting her hand. ‘Yes. I would love to be involved.’

Jane smiled and Ariadne huffed her annoyance, but just then Maria came back into the room, adjusting her grave expression when she saw her husband.

‘Well?’ Leo was impatient, and Maria sighed.

‘There’s been an accident,’ she said, sinking down onto her chair again and lifting her cooling cup of coffee. ‘Ugh, where’s Angelena? This is barely palatable—’

‘What kind of accident?’

Leo wasn’t about to be put off, and Maria put her cup down again. ‘Demetri will handle it,’ she said soothingly. ‘Now, does anyone else—?’

‘Maria!’ Leo was glaring at her now, and, with a groan, she gave in.

‘All right, all right. There’s been an explosion. It’s not clear yet how it happened, but the Artemis is holed just above the waterline.’

Leo swore then. ‘Holed?’he echoed. ‘Has anyone been hurt?’

‘Avensis says one man has been reported injured, but other than that there are no casualties.’

‘Thank God!’ Leo was relieved. ‘But the Artemis: is she in danger of sinking?’

‘Possibly.’ Maria leant towards him and rubbed his knee. ‘It’s nothing for you to worry about, Leo. As I said before, Demetri will handle it.’

Leo’s frustration was evident. ‘I assume he’s flying back to Athens tonight?’

‘He’s arranging to have Costas pick him up as we speak,’ agreed Maria reassuringly.

‘Yes.’ Leo nodded. ‘The helicopter will allow him to fly straight out to the stricken vessel.’

‘Oh, I shouldn’t think so.’ Now his wife looked dismayed and Jane felt a stab of anxiety deep inside her.

‘Oh, yes.’ Leo sounded definite. ‘I know Demetri. He’ll want to see for himself what is going on.’

‘But—isn’t that dangerous?’

It was Ariadne who spoke now, and Demetri’s father gave her an impatient look. ‘Life is dangerous,’ he muttered. ‘Haven’t you discovered that yet?’ His lips twisted. ‘Jane has, haven’t you, my dear?’

Jane didn’t know what to say to this, but, as luck would have it, Stefan’s return prevented any need for a reply.

‘Has Mama told you what’s happened, Papa?’ he asked, leaning over the sofa where they were sitting. And at Leo’s nod, ‘I’m going with Demetri.’ He arched mocking brows at Jane. ‘Ain’t that somethin’?’

Jane could only stare at him, and it was left to Maria to say anxiously, ‘You can’t both be going, Stefan. What about— what about your father? What about us? We may need you—’

‘Let him go, Maria,’ Leo interrupted her. ‘Perhaps it’s time I remembered I had three sons and not just two, eh, Stefan?’ He paused. ‘Just be careful, hmm?’

‘I will, Papa.’ Stefan gripped the old man’s shoulder for a moment, and then, after bidding goodbye to the three women, he left the room again.

Maria looked near to tears and Jane herself felt decidedly shaken. The idea of the two men flying out to some oil tanker that had already experienced one explosion was terrifying. She wanted to go and find Demetri and tell him to take care, but she didn’t have that right, and it was Ariadne who, after a moment, sprang to her feet and followed Stefan.

‘Well!’ Maria regarded Jane coldly. ‘I hope you won’t let this interfere with your plans for leaving.’ She paused and ignoring her husband’s obvious dismay, she continued, ‘Leo tells me you want to leave as soon as possible. In the circumstances, I think that’s entirely the right thing to do. Don’t you?’

JANE parked her car outside her mother’s house and then sat for a few moments wondering how she was going to handle this. She had to tell her mother she was going to have a baby. She couldn’t take the risk that Olga might decide to make her suspicions public. Besides, she hadn’t seen Mrs Lang for over a week and her mother deserved to know the truth.

Nevertheless, she wasn’t looking forward to telling her who the baby’s father was. After everything that had happened, the words ‘I told you so’ were bound to make an appearance, and she had had enough of feeling like a pariah.

She’d left Kalithi the previous afternoon. Despite his reluctance to see her leave, Demetri’s father had arranged for a helicopter to take her to Athens instead of Andros, where a first-class air ticket back to London had been waiting for her.

Jane had been very grateful, even if Demetri’s mother hadn’t approved. She’d slept badly the night before she left, not knowing where Demetri was or what he was doing. She couldn’t deny the fears she had for both his and Stefan’s safety, and if Maria hadn’t made her position so impossible she might have stayed for a couple of days longer, just to assure herself that all was well.

In the event, Leo had assured her that he’d had word from Demetri and that the news was good, but that wasn’t the same as hearing it for herself. And Leo was going to be here, at the epicentre of all information, while back home in London, Jane would have to rely on the news channels for any word about the Artemis . And her husband.

Leo had accompanied her to the helicopter pad and said his goodbyes there, far from his wife’s disapproving gaze. He’d thanked her again for coming, had expressed the wish that perhaps they’d meet again, and Jane had told him that, any time he wanted to see her, he had only to let her know.

Which had perhaps not been the wisest thing to say, in the circumstances, she acknowledged. How could she return to Kalithi when in a matter of weeks, possibly less, her condition was going to be obvious?

Still, it was unlikely to happen, she thought, feeling a twinge of despair at the thought of never seeing Demetri’s father again. While they’d waited for the pilot to load her luggage, she’d got the feeling that there’d been so much more he’d wanted to say to her. She guessed he’d wanted to defend his son, but he hadn’t been able to find the words.

Now, however, she had to put those days on Kalithi behind her. Her life was here, in London, and in a matter of days she would have to re-immerse herself in the business of buying and selling art and antiques. She owed it to Olga. She owed it to herself.

Mrs Lang opened the door as Jane walked up the garden path. ‘Well, well!’ she exclaimed, accepting her daughter’s kiss before stepping back to allow her to enter the narrow hall of the townhouse. ‘You didn’t let me know you were back.’

‘I got home last night,’ said Jane, gesturing towards the kitchen at the back of the house. ‘Shall we just sit in here?’

‘No, we’ll go upstairs.’ Apart from the kitchen and a second bathroom, all the living quarters were on the first and second floors. ‘I’ve just made a pot of tea. You go ahead. I’ll get the tray.’

Jane hesitated. ‘Do you need any help?’

‘I’m quite capable of carrying a tray upstairs,’ retorted Mrs Lang tartly. ‘I’ll just be a minute.’

‘OK.’

With a shrug, Jane climbed the stairs and entered her mother’s living room, which overlooked the front of the house. Polished cabinets, occasional tables covered with an assortment of knick-knacks, and a neat three-piece suite. There was patterned broadloom on the floor, and lace curtains at the windows, and Jane couldn’t help comparing it to the almost spartan appearance of her own apartment.