Unknown by Unknown

different,’ Anna smiled, ‘if you can wait till nine o’clock. The dining-room should be almost empty by then when most of the people have had such a busy day.’
    ‘I’ll change and have a drink at the Crescent,’ he decided. ‘One thing about the tennis club you can come and go as you please. I may even have a swim,’ he added, ‘since their pools are floodlit.’
    She was aware of all the facilities the Crescent Beach had to offer but not envious.
    ‘It’s a very well-run hotel, but it is not exactly what we had in mind when we opened the villa,’ she pointed out. ‘Once we have our own swimming-pool I’ll be more than satisfied with what we have to offer.’
    ‘You could let me help,’ he said. ‘It would be an investment as far as I’m concerned.’
    She shook her head.
    ‘No, Nikos, thanks all the same,’ she said. ‘I want to do this on my own. I’ve borrowed from the bank, but we’ll soon be able to pay the money back. We had a good season last year,’ she added with a certain amount of satisfaction, ‘and I believe in ploughing our profits back into the business.’
    ‘You talk like my father,’ he laughed. ‘Papa is always ploughing back something or other!’
    ‘That could be why he remains so successful. How is he, by the way?’ Anna asked. ‘And your mother?’
    ‘Thriving—both of them. They hope you will come to Stroumbi before long to visit them. They do not come to the coast very often these days,’ he added, ‘because there is much more to do in the mountains.’
    ‘I don’t blame them,’ Anna agreed, ‘especially with all these spectacular valleys at their back door. I wish I had more time to enjoy them, but perhaps one day I will.’
    ‘There’s always the estate,’ he assured her, ‘although they will expect you to work.’
    ‘It wouldn’t be a hardship,’ Anna smiled. ‘The air is so wonderful up there, especially in the summer when we are gasping for breath down here on the coast.’
    ‘You know the remedy,’ he said, preparing to go. ‘Marry me and come to the mountains permanently.’
    ‘One day I may take you up on that!’ she laughed. ‘But not till I’ve paid for my swimming-pool!’
    ‘You think of nothing but the hotel,’ he grumbled. ‘You’re quite heartless, Anna, my love!’
    ‘I don’t mean to be.' She was more serious now. ‘It’s just that I want to do this thing properly for my mother’s sake. She has been disappointed so often in the past, Nikos.’
    ‘You know we would take care of her. She would be quite comfortable at Stroumbi as one of our family,’ he pointed out.
    It was the traditional Greek way of life, the commitment which the head of a family accepted to an older generation, making sure of their future together, and this time Anna knew that Nikos’ offer was genuine. As the widowed mother of his young wife, Dorothy would be accepted with open arms at Stroumbi and cared for during the years she had left.
    ‘I know you would be kind to her,’ she said huskily, ‘but this is her home. Being a small hotel hasn't made a lot of difference to her because she still has her own private rooms and can still potter around in her own beloved garden.’
    ‘But she has to work, and so have you,’ he protested. ‘It can’t be the same.’
    ‘It’s what we have accepted.’ She put a warm hand on his arm. ‘Don’t try to disillusion me, Nikos, because we have a long way to go.’
    ‘You are so determined!’ He was half-exasperated by her attitude. ‘Perhaps you have something else in mind.’
    She faced him squarely. ‘If you mean someone else,’ she said quietly, ‘the answer is “no”.’
    ‘I was thinking about Andreas Phedonos,’ he admitted honestly. ‘He owes your mother a great deal. I thought perhaps he had returned to repay his debt.’
    Anna flushed scarlet. ‘There’s no question of that,’ she declared. ‘There never could be. He caused her too much pain when he went away without a