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Their studied relaxation was only interrupted by intermittent enquirie

s fro

He asked for lass of iced coffee, and both of them picked idly at a heaped plate of freshly cut fruit

Eventually, with sun lowering and the heat of the day easing as the afternoon wore on, he tossed his reading aside

‘OK,’ he announced, ‘time for some exercise’ He threw a smile at her and limbered to his feet ‘Fancy a dip?’ he asked

‘I’d better, I think,’ Diana agreed ‘Otherwise I’ to snooze offit’s so restful here And that will screw upin’

He held out his hand and she took it, because to do otherould look pointed in a way she did not wish it to He drew her up as though she weighed only a feather, and then loosed his grip as they walked towards the pool

The sun, starting to lower behind the hotel to the west, shed a deep golden light over the water, which was shi in the heat The e of the deep end, executing a perfect dive into the azure water, sending up a shower of diamond drops

Diana couldn’t help but watch hih the water, deth in seconds, only to double under in a tumble turn and head back towards her

He surfaced, dark hair sleek around his face ‘Come on!’ he instructed ‘It’s warm as milk’

To her relief, he didn’t wait to watch her slip her sarong fro under the surface to get her head and hair wet It was glorious—refreshing and cooling despite the ambient temperature of the pool

She began a rhyth the feeling of her long hair streahing up and down only fro, rapid freestyle Having done the number of laps she was content with, she came to a halt at the far end and realised Nikos had also paused

‘Call it a day?’ he asked ‘Shall we head back up and think about dinner?’

They got out of the water, put on the towelling gowns their butler had laid out for them, and headed back into the hotel Diana was very conscious of her dripping hair, norapped in a turban It would take a while to get ready

It did, but Nikos left her to it, using the bathroom in the ancillary bedroom, obviously set aside for a child or a personal servant, leaving Diana in possession of the bridal bedroorateful for the unspoken tact hich Nikos had appropriated the other bedroom for himself