Dark Apollo

She stopped right there. What on earth was she thinking of? She wasn’t there to relax, or make any kind of impression—particularly on someone like Nic Xandreou, she thought with self-disgust. She pulled her hair back severely, securing it almost savagely with the barrette.

She came out on to the gallery, and stood for a moment, looking around her. There were a number of other doors on both sides of her, all inimically closed, and between them alcoves had been carved into the walls to display special ceramics and other precious objects.

Camilla’s eye was caught by one figurine in particular, and she walked down the gallery to take a closer look. It was a bronze, about three feet high, of a young man with a face as proud and beautiful as an eagle’s.

The god Apollo, she wondered, or just the owner of the house, and could anyone tell the difference anyway? But it was a powerful and arresting piece, to say the least.

In fact, the whole villa was quite magnificent, she thought, and maybe that was the trouble—because it was more a showplace than a home, expensive but oddly cold and empty.

She heard the sound of an opening door, and turned to see Arianna and the doctor emerging together from one of the rooms. They walked away from her towards the stairs, too absorbed in conversation to notice her, and disappeared downstairs and out of sight.

So that must be Spiro’s room, she realised, swallowing. Spiro whom she’d never even seen.

Impulsively, she went to the door, and knocked. There was a pause then a weary voice said, ‘Peraste,’ and she went in.

Spiro Xandreou was lying on a couch near tall windows opening on to a balcony. He was a younger, gentler version of his brother, his good looks muted by pain and shock. He was leaning back, his eyes closed, and the snowy cast on his leg, coupled with the greyness beneath his tanned skin, gave him an air of acute vulnerability.

She said quietly, ‘Spiro?’ and he opened dazed dark eyes and stared at her.

‘Pya iste?’ he demanded.

‘I’m Camilla—Katie’s sister.’ She smiled at him. ‘We arrived on Karthos today to look for you.’

He went on staring at her, his brows drawing together. ‘Then sas katalaveno,’ he said. ‘I do not understand,’ he added in English. ‘What do you want?’

‘I’ve come here with Katie,’ she said. ‘She must have mentioned me.’

He shook his head, his anxious look deepening. ‘I do not know you. I do not know any Katie.’

Camilla’s heart sank. ‘Of course you do.’ She tried to sound encouraging. ‘You met her in Athens at Easter, and you were coming to London to see her. Only you had this accident, so we’ve come to you instead.’

‘What are you saying?’ His voice rose. ‘Who are you?’

As Camilla hesitated, uncertain how to proceed, the door behind her was flung open, and Nic Xandreou’s voice, molten with anger, said, ‘This is intolerable, thespinis. My brother must have peace. How dare you intrude on him?’

He took her sound arm, and urged her out of the room, not gently.

Camilla tried to hang back as she was hustled towards the stairs.

‘I’m sorry if I’ve trespassed in some way,’ she said. ‘But it was Spiro, after all, I came here to see in the first place.’

‘In my house you see no one without my permission.’

Camilla lifted her chin. ‘And, if I’d asked for permission, would it have been given?’

‘No,’ he said curtly. ‘I only hope your intervention has done no actual harm.’

‘I fail to see how a few words from me could affect a broken leg,’ she said angrily. ‘I know you’re concerned about him, but I have my sister to think of.’ She paused. ‘I also thought Spiro might appreciate some news of her.’

‘And did he?’

‘Well, no.’ Camilla found herself being escorted swiftly and inexorably out of the house, with no chance of saying goodbye to Arianna or asking the doctor about Spiro’s condition, she realised with vexation. ‘He seemed—confused.’

Nic’s firm mouth tightened as he assisted her without particular finesse into the passenger seat of a serviceable-looking Jeep waiting at the front entrance. Her bag, she saw, was waiting for her on the seat, depriving her of any excuse to return. He seemed to think of everything.

‘Spiro’s recovery will not be assisted by any kind of harassment,’ Nic Xandreou said as he started the engine.

Camilla sighed. ‘I truly didn’t intend that. I just wanted to say—hello.’

‘Well, now you have done so,’ he said dismissively. ‘So let that be an end to it.’

But it couldn’t be the end, Camilla thought as the Jeep swung down the drive. It was only the beginning…

She stiffened as she caught sight of the scooter at the side of the road. ‘Oh, what am I going to do about that?’

‘You will do nothing,’ he said grimly. ‘I have examined the machine, and it was not fit to be on the road even before the accident. Where did you get it?’

‘From someone called Andonis.’ She produced the card from her bag. ‘I got this from the hotel.’

He shot it a frowning glance. ‘Ah, yes, the Dionysius. Of course.’ He hit the steering-wheel with an exasperated fist. ‘I should have known. How many times has he been warned in the past?’ He shook his head. ‘Never again.’

‘I’ll go along with that. No matter what it costs, I’ll rent a car.’

‘You intend to remain on Karthos?’ He shot her an unsmiling look.

‘Of course. Katie will naturally want to spend every moment with Spiro, and I can enjoy a normal holiday.’