There was a welcome breeze blowing when they stepped onto the sand and Jane kicked off her sandals and carried them by their straps. The sand wasn’t yet hot enough to burn her feet and she walked purposefully towards the water.
‘Eh! Pio arga! Slow down,’ exclaimed Stefan, hurrying after her. ‘We have all morning.’
You may have, thought Jane drily, but she didn’t say it. Nevertheless, she had to wonder why Stefan was content to laze his days away here on the island when it seemed obvious his father was doing very little work at the moment.
The waves curled about her bare feet, their initial coldness giving way to a delicious warmth. This was the best time of the day to swim, she remembered ruefully. Before the sun could burn you even through the water.
‘You have to learn to relax, Jane,’ Stefan said, puffing a little as he came up beside her. ‘You are not in England now.’
‘Do you think I don’t know that?’ Jane kept her eyes on her feet, watching as the sand slid away beneath them. Then she shrugged and looked up at him. ‘What are you doing here, Stefan? Have you been sent to keep an eye on me?’
Stefan gave her a wounded look. ‘Do you think I would agree to that?’
Jane arched a mocking brow. ‘I’ll take that as a yes, shall I?’
‘No!’ He was indignant. ‘I thought you might be glad of some company, is all.’
Jane regarded him intently for a few seconds and then she turned away. ‘OK.’ She started to walk along the sand, her feet in the shallows. ‘So tell me what you’ve been doing. Don’t you work for your father any more?’
Stefan’s mouth compressed. ‘I’m sure you’re not interested in my problems, Jane. But I am intrigued by your relationship with Demetri. Are you aware he’s going to marry Ariadne as soon as his divorce is absolute?’
‘Yes, he told me.’
‘And did he tell you why?’
Jane sighed. ‘Is this relevant, Stefan? Demetri wants a divorce. End of story.’
‘No, it’s not the end of the story,’ retorted Stefan shortly. ‘There was no need for Demetri to get a divorce, not unless he chose to do so, of course.’
Jane frowned. ‘What do you mean?’
‘I mean I was perfectly willing to give our father the grandchild he so desperately craves. But I was not good enough. My relationship with Phillippe is not good enough, despite the fact that we have been together for over six years.’
Jane halted to stare at him in disbelief. ‘You mean, you and Phillippe Martin are—are—’
‘A couple?Yes.’ Stefan raised dark brows. ‘Of course, you met him, did you not? Didn’t Demetri tell you we lived together?’
‘He said you were—friends,’ said Jane, feeling enormously stupid. Even when Demetri had told her Stefan wasn’t interested in women, she still hadn’t put two and two together.
‘Of course, I shouldn’t be surprised.’ Stefan was walking on now, kicking the water into a spray ahead of him. ‘Demetri is our father’s heir. The eldest son. The golden boy! No one else’s child is good enough.’
Jane shook her head. Did Demetri know this? Had he any idea how Stefan felt? Or course, he must do. The situation was too raw not to have been discussed between Demetri and his father at some point.
‘I’m sorry,’ she said, knowing that was inadequate but not knowing what else to say, and Stefan gave her a reluctant smile.
‘Then pirazi,’ he said philosophically. It doesn’t matter. ‘Shall we go a little further?’
They walked about a quarter of a mile along the beach and then turned back. To Jane’s relief, their conversation had shifted to less personal things and she was so busy trying to avoid any controversial topics that she completely forgot how hot it was.
But by the time they left the beach and threaded their way back to the terrace, she could feel her shoulders prickling. A hasty glance informed her that her arms were very red, too, and she could only guess that her face looked like a beetroot.
Which was so galling when she saw both her mother-in-law and Ariadne sitting on the terrace, securely shaded by a fringed striped canopy.
It took a great deal of courage to continue walking towards them, particularly as she was feeling a little faint now and distinctly dizzy. A situation that wasn’t helped when Stefan excused himself and continued on into the villa, leaving Jane to face the two women on her own.
‘Ah, Jane,’ said Maria at once, her shrewd eyes quickly assessing how her daughter-in-law must be feeling. ‘Why don’t you come and join us? We were just having coffee.’
Jane knew Maria had no real desire for her company. It was just her way of making an embarrassing situation worse. She obviously knew that Jane would have preferred to go to her room to put some salve on her arms and shoulders, but she couldn’t resist any opportunity to torment her.
And Jane, desperate not to do anything to worsen the situation, forced a tight smile, and said, ‘Thank you,’ before sinking weakly into the cushioned chair beside Ariadne.
But even the smell of the coffee was sickening, and, when Maria summoned the maid to get another cup, Jane licked her dry lips and said, ‘Would you mind if I just had water?’
‘Water?’ Maria gazed at her impatiently. ‘What’s wrong? Aren’t you well?’
‘I’m hot,’ said Jane quickly, desperate not to arouse suspicion. ‘And very thirsty. If you don’t mind?’
‘She’s not used to our climate,’ remarked Ariadne scornfully. ‘She looks like a cooked lobster, Maria. Perhaps she would prefer to go to her room.’
Jane objected to being spoken about as if she wasn’t there, but she was so grateful to the other girl for saying what she had, she didn’t complain.
‘I think I would prefer to do that, Maria, if you don’t mind,’ she murmured, getting to her feet again on legs that felt distinctly unsteady. ‘Perhaps you could ask the maid to bring the water upstairs?’
Maria’s mouth tightened. ‘Surely you can stay for a few minutes, Jane? We haven’t had an opportunity to talk together yet. Don’t you want to know how my husband is feeling this morning?’
‘Of course I want to know how Leo is,’ protested Jane, sinking obediently back into her chair. ‘I just thought—’
‘I can imagine what you thought. You would prefer not to have this conversation, I have no doubt,’ Maria interrupted her sharply. ‘But let us be clear about something, Jane. I did not approve of Leo inviting you here. No matter what he says, you are not welcome in my home. Now that you’ve seen him, I hope you’ll make your excuses and leave as soon as decently possible, neh?’
Jane expelled a shaken breath. ‘Why did you allow Demetri to contact me?’ she exclaimed. ‘Why didn’t you just pretend that you’d spoken to me and that I’d refused to come?’
‘Because Leo would never have accepted that. And I care too much about Demetri to deliberately lie to him.’
Jane shook her head and then wished she hadn’t. The dizziness she’d felt coming up from the beach had come back and she clutched desperately at the arms of her chair in an effort to steady herself.
Unfortunately, both Ariadne and Maria noticed and her mother-in-law gave an impatient snort. ‘Oh, go to your room, then,’ she said irritably. ‘If you can’t control yourself for five minutes, then you’d better do as Ariadne says. But don’t forget what I’ve told you, will you? Next time I might not be half so understanding.’