yourself.’
Eleanor felt awkward as she told Takis she was leaving with
kyrie
Drakos to stay on his island. But when Alex explained the kidnap threat to him, slowly and clearly so she could understand, the man’s kindly face darkened and he swore that they could trust him to say nothing. He advisedthem to go down to the boat via the little-used path beyond Eleanor’s apartment, and thus avoid passing any curious eyes at the
taverna
s along the harbour.
There was no lighting on the path. It was both narrow and steep, but Alex kept up a punishing pace in silence on the way down to the harbour. When Eleanor, gasping for breath, was finally sitting amongst her belongings in the stern of a sleek boat, the engine noise was too loud to ask questions. She felt a surge of alarm when she found Alex was taking a much longer route than her trip the day before but eventually calmed down, embarrassed, when she realised he’d merely made a wide detour around the island to a mooring behind the Kastro. When a man appeared from the quayside buildings to secure the boat, Alex jumped up onto the dimly lit jetty and leaned down to take Eleanor’s luggage, before helping her out.
‘This is my private dock, and this is Theo Lazarides, who takes care of security here. Ms Markham will be staying here for a few days, Theo.’
‘Welcome back, Ms Markham,’ he said politely.
She smiled. ‘
Efcharisto, kyrie
Lazarides.’
Alex picked up the luggage and Eleanor took charge of her tote bag and laptop. ‘Let’s get inside.’ He looked at Theo. ‘Has everyone been warned?’
‘Yes,
kyrie.
’
With a brisk nod Alex shifted both bags to one hand, and took hold of Eleanor’s arm with the other. ‘Careful, it’s a rough surface along here and there are no lights. I keep it that way on purpose.’
‘To repel intruders?’
‘More or less, though until now we’ve never had any. The man you had the bad luck to run into last night is the first since I took the place over. But he was just someone’stool, so vigilance is now doubly necessary. Careful,’ he added as she stumbled.
Infected with Alex’s urgency, Eleanor felt safe only when they came in range of the lights from the Kastro and entered the old citadel from the back via a passageway with several more doors opening off it. Alex dumped the bags and locked the outer door behind them, then took her to Sofia in the kitchen.
The woman smiled warmly as she welcomed Eleanor back. ‘I will take you to your room.’
‘I’ll do that, Sofia,’ said Alex quickly, and added a lot more that Eleanor couldn’t understand.
‘What were you telling her?’ she demanded as they went up in the lift.
‘Merely that we would both need time for baths before we eat.’ Alex gave her a sardonic smile as the doors opened. ‘Was that imagination of yours at work again, cooking up something sinister?’
‘No.’ Eleanor shrugged. ‘I just get frustrated when I don’t understand what’s going on, so make allowances, please.’
‘I could give you lessons,’ he offered, surprising her.
‘I won’t be here long enough for that. But thank you,’ she added, and smiled politely as she went into the bedroom ahead of him. ‘In fact, thank you for a lot more than that. I’m very conscious that I’m keeping you from returning to Athens.’
Alex put her bags down on the chaise at the foot of the bed and turned to look at her very directly. ‘I can spare a few days. Stefan is already back there, and I can keep in contact with him and everyone else in the world I need to from my office right here in the
Kastro.’
‘You like to be in control,’ said Eleanor, making mental notes. ‘I did some research on you before I came.’
‘Of course you did,’ he said, lips tightening. ‘And whatdid you learn, Eleanor? Colourful details about my private life?’
She looked at him very directly. ‘You know perfectly well there aren’t many.’
He looked sceptical. ‘You must have found the
Eleanor felt awkward as she told Takis she was leaving with
kyrie
Drakos to stay on his island. But when Alex explained the kidnap threat to him, slowly and clearly so she could understand, the man’s kindly face darkened and he swore that they could trust him to say nothing. He advisedthem to go down to the boat via the little-used path beyond Eleanor’s apartment, and thus avoid passing any curious eyes at the
taverna
s along the harbour.
There was no lighting on the path. It was both narrow and steep, but Alex kept up a punishing pace in silence on the way down to the harbour. When Eleanor, gasping for breath, was finally sitting amongst her belongings in the stern of a sleek boat, the engine noise was too loud to ask questions. She felt a surge of alarm when she found Alex was taking a much longer route than her trip the day before but eventually calmed down, embarrassed, when she realised he’d merely made a wide detour around the island to a mooring behind the Kastro. When a man appeared from the quayside buildings to secure the boat, Alex jumped up onto the dimly lit jetty and leaned down to take Eleanor’s luggage, before helping her out.
‘This is my private dock, and this is Theo Lazarides, who takes care of security here. Ms Markham will be staying here for a few days, Theo.’
‘Welcome back, Ms Markham,’ he said politely.
She smiled. ‘
Efcharisto, kyrie
Lazarides.’
Alex picked up the luggage and Eleanor took charge of her tote bag and laptop. ‘Let’s get inside.’ He looked at Theo. ‘Has everyone been warned?’
‘Yes,
kyrie.
’
With a brisk nod Alex shifted both bags to one hand, and took hold of Eleanor’s arm with the other. ‘Careful, it’s a rough surface along here and there are no lights. I keep it that way on purpose.’
‘To repel intruders?’
‘More or less, though until now we’ve never had any. The man you had the bad luck to run into last night is the first since I took the place over. But he was just someone’stool, so vigilance is now doubly necessary. Careful,’ he added as she stumbled.
Infected with Alex’s urgency, Eleanor felt safe only when they came in range of the lights from the Kastro and entered the old citadel from the back via a passageway with several more doors opening off it. Alex dumped the bags and locked the outer door behind them, then took her to Sofia in the kitchen.
The woman smiled warmly as she welcomed Eleanor back. ‘I will take you to your room.’
‘I’ll do that, Sofia,’ said Alex quickly, and added a lot more that Eleanor couldn’t understand.
‘What were you telling her?’ she demanded as they went up in the lift.
‘Merely that we would both need time for baths before we eat.’ Alex gave her a sardonic smile as the doors opened. ‘Was that imagination of yours at work again, cooking up something sinister?’
‘No.’ Eleanor shrugged. ‘I just get frustrated when I don’t understand what’s going on, so make allowances, please.’
‘I could give you lessons,’ he offered, surprising her.
‘I won’t be here long enough for that. But thank you,’ she added, and smiled politely as she went into the bedroom ahead of him. ‘In fact, thank you for a lot more than that. I’m very conscious that I’m keeping you from returning to Athens.’
Alex put her bags down on the chaise at the foot of the bed and turned to look at her very directly. ‘I can spare a few days. Stefan is already back there, and I can keep in contact with him and everyone else in the world I need to from my office right here in the
Kastro.’
‘You like to be in control,’ said Eleanor, making mental notes. ‘I did some research on you before I came.’
‘Of course you did,’ he said, lips tightening. ‘And whatdid you learn, Eleanor? Colourful details about my private life?’
She looked at him very directly. ‘You know perfectly well there aren’t many.’
He looked sceptical. ‘You must have found the
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