page29 (1/2)
She did not kno she got through the rest of the evening—had no recollection of it, no awareness All her consciousness was focussed on one thing only
She must escape
Where—hohat excuse? What reason?
It was during one of the distracted conversations she had during the course of that endless evening, when she made some remark about how hot and breathless Athens was at the end of Septeested the island Theo owned
‘It will be cooler there Fresher than here You should have a holiday, both of you’ He beao there tomorrow!’
Vicky stiffened automatically, and Theo said, ‘Iet away until the weekend’ He glanced at Vicky ‘You could go, however, and then I could join you on Friday evening’ There was a bland look in his eyes, but Vicky had seen the glint in them
But all she murmured was, ‘Very well’
‘Splendid!’ Aristides exclaiain
Vicky forced a sht But she would not be there, waiting like a tethered goat, when Theo arrived at the weekend to finish off his kill She would be gone by then Where, she didn’t know or care—but agreeing to go to this private island of Theo’s would buy her the precious tiements
So she had gone Like a fool, an idiot Thinking she had found a haven, a refuge from what she fled
But Theo outmanoeuvred her effortlessly She set off after lunch, Theo safe in his offices in Athens When she landed on the island he was already there
The island Fragrant with the scent of thyic and enchantment An enchantment that sapped her will and lulled her senses even as it awakened them
When had thecome? She did not know, but it came all the same—a moment so silent, so imperceptible, that she was not even conscious of it As she walked up to the tiny white-walled villa, fraainvillea, in all its bewitching sihten Beyond the whiteness of the building she could see the cerulean blue of the sea,into the infinite sky above
She felt a strange tranquillity steal over her, a sense of journey’s end and resolution Her pace slowed and she looked about herit in
Then the sound of a door opening made her turn back towards the villa