“What do you mean?” Her understanding was rather astounding. He found himself anxious to hear what else she had to say.
“Have you told him straight out you don’t want him to be a monk?”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“Because it’s possible he has a true vocation.”
“But don’t you see—” She broke off talking.
He turned his head toward her. “Go on.”
“I—I’m much too outspoken. It’s none of my business.”
“After what happened in my bedroom, I’d say you’re very much involved. Finish what you were going to tell me.”
She was making more sense than anyone he’d ever known. With every word that came from her mouth, he found himself more enamored of her.
“Maybe he took my remarks to mean that you don’t think he’d make a very good monk, either. Coming from me, it must have been humiliating for him.”
Good heavens. Was it possible she had hit on the truth?
He couldn’t count the number of times Ananke had begged him to take Leon in hand. But all these years he’d shut his mind and heart to her entreaties because she’d been the one doing the pleading.
From the moment Leonides had told him he’d been trapped into a loveless marriage, Ananke had been emotionally dead to Dimitrios.
If Alexandra was even partially correct, then he’d done a terrible disservice to his nephew, who could be floundering. It made sense he’d gone off to lick his wounds.
Dimitrios struggled to contain emotions erupting inside him. To think Alexandra had applied for a job with him four years ago, yet only now was he beginning to understand what a true prize she was.
Without wasting any more time, he reached for the phone to call Leon, but his nephew had turned off his cell phone. The only thing to do was leave a message.
“Leon?” he spoke in Greek. “Wherever you are, I hope you hear this in time. I thought I was recovered enough from my accident to take part in the opening ceremony of the trade fair. But I flew in the helicopter to inspect the silk exhibits and found out I’m still too dizzy to contemplate anything that vigorous.
“I need you home, preferably by tomorrow afternoon. Thank goodness for all the polo you played. You ride like you were born in the saddle. We can also be grateful you inherited your father’s height and build. Besides me, you’re the only other man in the family who could wear that costume Ms. Hamilton went to so much trouble to have made.
“You’ll be leading the parade with a regiment of mounted soldiers. That means giving a speech on horseback while you’re in front of the dignitaries’ stand. You’re the only Pandakis I’d trust to face the media with their cameras.
“After the many talks we’ve had, you know how important this trade fair is. I have every confidence you’ll make all of Greece proud, especially your mother who has raised such a fine son.”
Dimitrios could admit that much about Ananke. She’d been devoted to Leon.
“If you hear this message before I get home tomorrow afternoon, phone me and we’ll talk.”
He clicked off, anxious to find out what kind of response he would get from his nephew, if any. At least he’d taken the first step to rectify a situation he may have unwittingly created years ago. Unfortunately it might be too late if Leon had already shut down. Only time would tell.
Thanks to the wisdom of the woman seated next to him, Dimitrios had been given a fighting chance to make amends.
Right now he felt an urgency to get her strictly alone with him. What better spot than the pristine forest that lay ahead of them.
ALEX didn’t know what Dimitrios had said to his nephew. But the expression on his face revealed a world of love and concern.
After he put the phone back in his pocket he said, “If Leon hears my message, he’ll be under the impression I’m still too dizzy to ride in the parade. I told him he was the only Pandakis I trusted to stand in for me at the opening ceremony. We’ll find out if he takes the bait.”
She looked out the side window so he couldn’t see her blinking back the tears. There were many ways to love a man. At sixteen, he’d been her handsome knight in shining armor who’d come to rescue her.
After she’d gone to work for his company, she’d learned to love him for his generosity to the staff. When she became his private secretary, she fell in love with his little foibles along with his most endearing traits. Above all, she admired that selfless quality about him which was rare in a man so influential.
Right now her heart was swollen with emotion because he hadn’t been too proud to find a way to reach out to his troubled nephew.
The man had no vanity.
Alex loved him with a searing intensity that needed to find expression soon or she’d go mad trying to hold back her feelings.
She continued to stare out the window as the car wound through a small village on its climb to a more forested area. They passed a tiny white church sheltered by dark pines. There were cars all around it and a few people outside the doors in native dress. It had to be some kind of religious celebration.
She was on the verge of asking Dimitrios about it when he announced they’d come to the lodge.
Alex turned her head to the other side of the road in time to see a cluster of white buildings nestled in the trees. It looked deserted.
“After we’ve freshened up and changed, we’ll walk to the top of the peak. From there you’ll be able to see over the entire forest.”
In such a remote place, this was going to be even more intimate than her stay at the villa.
“How long will it take?”
“The rest of the day.” He drove up to the front of one of the buildings, which appeared to house a dining room. After he’d shut off the motor he said, “Is there a reason you’re in such a hurry?”
A wry tone had entered his voice. Whenever he sounded like that, she knew he was probing for something. But what?
“Not at all. I just wondered if it might be too soon for you to exert yourself to that extent.”
Her explanation was part lie, of course. Any time spent alone with him was too long because she kept falling deeper and deeper in love. On the other hand, she was worried that he hadn’t fully recovered yet.
“Nothing relaxes me more than to get out in nature.” He pulled off his sunglasses, revealing those penetrating black eyes to her gaze for the first time that day. “We both need a break from the stress before the fair begins.”
So saying, he levered himself from the car and came around to help her. When they went inside the reception area, the lodge keeper rushed to greet Dimitrios in Greek. He obviously knew him well.
While they conversed at some length, the man’s wife brought them tea and biscuits. The repast tasted good. After they’d finished, she bid Alex to follow her from the office to one of the nearby cottages.
It turned out to be a pleasant room with an ensuite bathroom and three twin beds. Dimitrios came inside with her suitcase. He tipped the woman, then shut the door behind her.
Turning to Alex, he pinned her with his dark, level gaze. “I arranged for two rooms before I left Thessalonica this morning. However, the concierge just informed me that