‘The man on the ferry, that doctor—Nico, you called him.’ Jacob tilted his head to the side and looked questioningly at her. ‘How come you knew his name, Mum? He knew yours too ’cos he called you Amy, so have you met him before?’
‘I...erm... Yes. But it was a long time ago.’ Amy screwed the top back on the bottle, feeling her hands trembling. She had forgotten how observant Jacob was and she should have realised that he would pick up on something like that.
‘Where did you meet him? I thought you said that you hadn’t been to this island before,’ Jacob continued, making it clear that he didn’t intend to let the subject drop.
‘I haven’t.’ Amy picked up her beach bag, making a great production out of checking that she had everything they needed: towels, sunglasses, water...
‘So you met him somewhere else?’ Jacob persisted. ‘Was it at the hospital? Did he used to work in Dalverston?’
‘Not Dalverston, no. We met in London while I was studying to be a nurse,’ Amy explained, hoping that would satisfy him.
‘London? That’s where you met my daddy, wasn’t it? Does he know him?’ Jacob’s voice was filled with excitement. ‘Maybe he has some photos of my daddy or knows where he lives. Can we ask him, Mum? Please!’
‘Jacob, stop it! Nico—I mean that man—doesn’t know anything about your daddy.’ Amy took a deep breath, struggling to stay calm, but it wasn’t easy. Maybe it wasn’t a total lie; after all Nico had no idea that he was Jacob’s father. Nevertheless, it didn’t make her feel good to have to fudge the truth and she hurriedly changed the subject. ‘Now come along. No more questions. Let’s go and have that swim. Last one in the water is a lazy monkey!’
Jacob responded to the challenge as she had hoped he would, racing out to the terrace that led onto the garden. Amy followed more slowly, needing to get herself together so that he wouldn’t suspect anything was amiss. She sighed. Jacob had become increasingly curious about his father since the other children had started teasing him and it was only to be expected when he knew so little about him. Jacob had never seen a photograph of Nico, never been told anything about his father’s background, and it was all her doing too.
She had blanked out that period in her life because it had been too painful to think about it. However, she couldn’t continue blanking it out, certainly couldn’t refuse to answer Jacob’s questions for ever. At some point she would have to tell him about the man who had fathered him, which was why she had decided to bring him to Constantis. Giving Jacob a sense of his true identity was the first step, she had reasoned, and the rest would follow later. However, she was very aware that things might happen sooner than she had anticipated now that Nico was on the scene. Should she get it all over and done with? she wondered suddenly. Tell Nico who Jacob was and then tell Jacob that Nico was his father?
Amy immediately dismissed the idea. She couldn’t tell Jacob that Nico was his father until she was sure of Nico’s reaction and even then she might have to keep the truth from him. After all, there was no reason to believe that Nico would welcome the news that he had a son, was there? The one thing she wouldn’t risk was Jacob getting hurt if Nico rejected him, as he might very well do.
* * *
‘We’ll keep her here overnight. She may need to be transferred to the mainland tomorrow but it’s too risky to move her at the moment. Can you keep an eye on her, please? She may have recovered consciousness but she’s not out of the woods yet.’
Nico smiled his thanks when Sophia nodded. As acting sister on the hospital unit, Sophia Papadopolous had proved her capabilities more than once. He was planning on making her position permanent and only hoped that she would agree. Sophia had returned to Constantis after a long stint of working in Italy. Although she hadn’t said anything to him, he had heard via the clinic’s redoubtable grapevine that she had returned following the break-up of a relationship. Sophia had been disappointed in love and had come home whereas he had come here for the good of his health. Everyone had their reasons for being on the island, it seemed, even Amy. Had she come here simply for a holiday? Or had there been another reason for her visit? From what she had said, she’d had no idea that he was living here so that couldn’t have been a factor and yet it seemed strange that she should have chosen this island rather than one of the more popular tourist destinations.
He tried to dismiss the unsettling thought as he went to his office and put through a call to the Australian Embassy in Athens. He had found Jane’s passport tucked into the pocket of her haversack and now had her full name and address. He spoke to one of the attachés who promised to contact the girl’s parents. According to her passport, Jane Chivers was eighteen years of age and although legally an adult, Nico guessed that her parents would want to know what had happened to her. In their shoes, he would have done.
Nico frowned as he ended the call. It was the kind of thought that would never have occurred to him before and yet it had appeared, fully fledged, in his mind. Why? Had it anything to do with meeting Amy and her son? Had it somehow triggered a reaction to see the boy and wonder what would have happened if she hadn’t lost their baby? He sensed it was true and it alarmed him. He didn’t want to go down that route. It was pointless. Pointless and strangely upsetting too.
Nico left his office and went to check that there was nothing that needed his attention before he went home. There had been an antenatal clinic that afternoon but Elena Delmartes, one of their most experienced doctors, had dealt with it and there had been no problems. Offering a comprehensive health care package to the islanders had been his aim when he had set up the clinic and he knew that the women appreciated not having to travel to the mainland for their antenatal care. Although most still preferred to have their babies delivered at home by the local midwives, they came to the clinic for their check-ups. It was a system that worked extremely well. According to the latest figures, very few women had missed an appointment at the clinic which certainly hadn’t been the case when they had needed to travel to the mainland. It meant that every baby born on the island had an increased chance of being born healthy.
He drove home, taking his time as he travelled along the familiar route. Once his proposal for the clinic had been given the green light, he had set about finding himself a place to live. Although a few luxury villas had sprung up along the coast, he had preferred a more rural location and had opted to search the villages tucked into the foothills of the mountains for somewhere suitable. He had come across the tumbledown old farmhouse at the end of a particularly long day and had fallen instantly in love with it. With views of the mountains to the rear and a sweeping view of the sea from the front, it had been exactly what he had been searching for. He had immediately put in an offer then had to wait months while the various members of the family who owned it were contacted and persuaded to sell him their shares.
He had taken possession twelve months ago and there was still a lot to do, but he had discovered to his surprise how much he enjoyed working on the property. There was something deeply satisfying about crafting and replacing the old worn stone. It was a little like performing cosmetic surgery, he often thought; he was taking something less than perfect and improving its appearance.
Nico parked the car and stood for a moment, drinking in the view. The air was ripe with the heady smell of the vines that grew in the nearby fields and he inhaled appreciatively. There was a good crop of grapes this year so maybe he should think about making his own wine. It would be a treat to sit out here next year, sipping a glass of wine that he had produced himself. He closed his eyes, picturing the scene: the sun turning the sea blood red as it sank below the horizon; the sky darkening before the first stars appeared; the woman seated beside him, raising her glass and smiling at him...
Nico’s eyes flew open. Hurrying inside, he set about his nightly routine—shower, change of clothes, make himself a meal—all the things he did every night when he got home. However, no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t erase that final, disturbing picture, the one of Amy seated beside him, smiling at him with such warmth in her eyes. Maybe it was a long time since he had seen her but it didn’t feel like it, not when he could conjure up her image