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God that he would not be like his mother in any way. He was
beautiful, Sarah, dark and with black curly hair, and he had
strong limbs and a sunny smile....'
Sarah turned away, an ache in her eyes as a cloud of tears built
up behind them. This was the Carl she had once known, gentle,
idealistic....
'He was a son to be proud of, Sarah, and he was mine. I loved
him with all the love I had in me. He was my life, and she was
nothing. We lived in separate parts of the house, and although I
knew she had pillow-friends, I did not care. But at last I decided
to divorce her.
She was always jealous of my love for Christos, and when I said
I was intending to divorce her, she swore that she would take
my little son. I had advice and was told that Christos would be
given to me, so I began divorce proceedings.' Even yet again
he stopped, and Sarah noticed the beads of perspiration
gleaming on his forehead.
'Christos was given to me, but she could have him for one day
a month. I did not like that, but the law had said it was to be,
and I had to abide by it. Within two months of the divorce she
learned she had an incurable disease, and she told someone
she had no intention of dying slowly. I only learned of this later.
She called for little Christos and took him off in the car. I felt
uneasy, but of course I could not stop her from having him. She
had planned a terrible revenge. She ... she . . .'
A convulsive shudder shook his whole body, and it seemed that
he would be unable to finish the sentence. Sarah, already
ahead of him, was crying unashamedly, the tears wet on her
lashes. `She took him and ... and drove the car over a cliff.
Christos died instantly; she lived for two days... .'
Sarah closed her eyes tightly, unable to bear the agony that
was twisting his face. Her own mind and body seemed to be
numbed by the pain he was enduring, living through it all
again. He looked at her, but she felt he did not see her. And
much as she wanted to go to him, to comfort him with her
body, to kiss away the moisture that had gathered in his eyes,
she was daunted by the total absence of expression in his gaze.
If only there had been a trace of affection, or a silent invitation
for her to go to him, she would have gone eagerly.
But there was nothing, just a glazed look that told her he was
brooding all over again, that his little son was occupying his
thoughts to the exclusion of all else.
She sighed, and was suddenly very tired and drained. `Good
night, Carl,' she said softly. `I think we both need some sleep.'
He nodded, `Good night, Sarah,' he said briefly, and was gone.
Chapter Twelve
Carl was going to Athens. He had mentioned once or twice that
he would have to go, but had never made any firm decision. It
had been a matter of puzzlement to Sarah that he could
manage to run his business from this remote little island, even
though he was in constant touch by telephone with his
manager in Athens. She had assumed that the reason why he
had not been to the capital was his fear that, in his absence,
Sarah might find some way of getting past the strict measures
he had taken to keep her on the island.
Her recent attempt, which had come so close to success,
would, she believed, make him even more reluctant to be away
from her. So it came as a surprise when, only a week after her
attempt to escape, he announced his intention of going to
Athens the following morning.
She just had to say, `Aren't you afraid I'll escape while you're
away?'
There's no way you can leave Comaris,' he stated, `unless you
can again offer a bribe to one of my servants. But you haven't a
bribe large enough, have you?' There was no harshness in his
attitude towards her now-not since he had opened his heart to
her about his son.
In himself he was different, lighter in spirit, as if by talking to
Sarah about his child he had lifted some of the burden from his
shoulders.
`No, Carl,' she answered quietly, `I have no bribe large enough
now that you have taken the bracelet from me.'
`Nor are you likely to have.' They were at the swimming pool,
where for some reason Carl had sought his wife out to tell her
what could quite easily have been told later, at the dinnertable.
It was not the first time he had sought her out like this; the
same thing had happened on the day following her attempted
escape, when he had come to her in the little arbour which she
so often frequented, always finding in it the peace which she
craved. And now, as he sat with her on the pool patio, her mind
was a prey to conflicting emotions, for at times like these she
could actually glimpse hope for their future together. But it was
always a transient hope, because underneath it all, she sensed
that he still blamed her for all that had happened to him.
`How long will you be in Athens?' she inquired, breaking into
the silence that had fallen upon them.
`Only for a couple of days-tomorrow and Friday. I shall be back
about ten o'clock on Friday night.' He paused, regarding her
with an odd expression. `I'd take you with me if it were at all
possible,' he said, staggering her.
`You'd ... enjoy my company?' she asked breathlessly.
`I'd like to show you off to one or two friends of mine. You're
very beautiful, Sarah.'
She coloured delicately, and her husband's eyes flickered with
interest at what he saw.
`It isn't possible, though, is it, Carl?' she said, and she thought
she heard a sigh escape him.
`No, it isn't possible, because you'd run away from me.' His
thick lashes were lowered. What was he hiding? She wondered.
Pain? Regret? Or a mixture of both?
He went off early, Takis driving, him to the harbour, where he
boarded his launch. Sarah stood on the terrace and watched
the sleek little vessel sail away, and it was inevitable that her
thoughts should instant-ly turn to the possibility of escape.
But she could see no way at all, and she began to think she
would be a prisoner on Comaris for the rest of her life. She
glanced around, able as always to appreciate the beauty-the
tapestry of exotic colour in the villa gardens, the timeless
fragrance of orange blossom wafting over from the orchard, the
slender cypress trees rising like sentinels against the sun-
spangled hills.
She could have loved this island if she had come to it in
different circumstances ... if she had come to it seven years
ago as the bride of a tall, dark, handsome Greek who was
madly in love with her....
She turned away as the launch became lost in the shimmering
blue haze that lay over the sea, and wondered what she would
do with herself. For although the days had always been
monotonous, she had at least had Carl's company at meal
times, and from dinner time onwards.
However, the first day passed more quickly than she had
expected; and the next began with a walk along the shore to
look at Maroula's villa. It was still shuttered, but the garden was
obviously being attended to by the person hired by Carl to look
after the villa while its owner was away. However, there were a
few weeds growing here and there, and Sarah spent an hour or
so pulling them up. After lunch she went up to the site of the
tomb and stood for a long while, wondering if the robbers had
dropped anything else in their hurry to get away.
She shrugged off the urge to scrape around, telling herself it
would be expecting the impossible to be so lucky a second
time. Not that the bracelet had brought her any luck, she
thought ruefully. Carl had taken it from her, saying he was
sending it to the museum in Athens.
She asked him about bringing in the archaeologists, and he
said he would see about it later. As the grave had been there
for three thousand years, it would not matter if it was left a
little while longer.
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