Pagan Adversary by Sara Craven

Author:Sara Craven [Craven, Sara]
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Published: 2011-05-28T15:37:18+00:00

CHAPTER SEVEN

BY an almost superhuman effort, Harriet was still managing .to

control her unhappiness when a frankly sulky-looking Androula

came to fetch her a few minutes later.

Hardly had they left Alex's room when the woman began to chatter in

her own language. Harriet couldn't understand what was being said,

but she could recognise recrimination and self-justification when she

heard it. It was. obvious Androula had received a tongue-lashing

from the master of the house over the standard of the accommodation

assigned to his guest, and Harriet guessed wryly that a rough

translation of Androula's remarks would have amounted to the fact

that she was only obeying orders.

The room she was taken to was only slightly smaller than the one she

had just left, and lacking nothing in' luxury. When Androula had

taken her still-aggrieved departure, Harriet discovered that her

clothes had already been brought and unpacked for her. It was such a

contrast to the treatment she had received the previous day that she

could almost have laughed out loud.

That is if she hadn't been feeling so miserable, she amended inwardly.

But she wouldn't have been natural if she hadn't experienced some lift

of the heart brought about by her new surroundings. She took a long,

warm, scented bath, then dressed in cool, simple clothes—a cotton

wrap- round skirt featuring giant poppies on a navy background, and

a navy cotton tee shirt, short-sleeved and scoop-necked.

She was stroking a brush through her hair when there was a knock at

the door, and a beaming Yannina ushered Nicky into the room.'Oh.'

Harriet dropped the brush and held out her arms to him. 'I was just

coming to find you.'

He scrambled on to her lap, burying his face in her shoulder. 'I find

you,' he said in a muffled voice.

'He slept well, thespinis,' Yannina informed her. She shook her head.

'But he would eat no breakfast.'

'Oh, Nicky!' Harriet gently detached his clinging hands. 'You must eat

your meals.'

The small face was mutinous. 'Don't want it,' he muttered. 'Too hot.

Don't like it.'

'Just wait a day or two,' Harriet soothed him. 'It will seem as if you've

been here all your life. We're going to have a wonderful holiday—a

lovely time with Uncle Alex. You'll see.'

She had to resist the impulse to hug him to her fiercely. This was all

part of the letting-go process she was committed to. It had to be. But it

would be so easy to play the traitor—to encourage Nicky in his

quibbles about his new surroundings, to re-establish herself as the

indispensable factor in his life. It would be easy— and balm for the

ache inside her. But in the end, what would she gain?

Yannina was intervening, smiling again. 'Come, little one. Kyrios

Alexandros is waiting to see you. We must not keep him waiting.'

God forbid, Harriet thought savagely, picking up her brush and

attacking her unfortunate hair as if it was a dirty carpet.

She said, 'I'll see you later, Nicky. Perhaps we'll have a swim in the

pool, hm?'

Nicky assented cautiously, and went off hand in hand with, Yannina.

As the door closed behind them, Harriet expelled her breath on a little

sigh as the unnaturally bright smile faded from her lips. Oh God, the

next few weeks were going to be so hard—worse than her most

pessimistic imaginings.

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