Unknown by Unknown Page A

word.’
    ‘He did his National Service with my cousin, Demetris Loizides, but after that they lost touch. Demetris said he was very ambitious, even at nineteen, and determined to succeed one way or another. He would learn a lot in England.’
    ‘It seemed he travelled all over the world,’ Anna said. ‘He is quite different from the Andreas we knew and he has great charm. At least, my mother thinks so.’
    ‘Does that mean she has totally forgiven him?’ he demanded.
    ‘I don’t see how she could when she suffered so much at his hand,’ Anna declared firmly.
    ‘He argued so often with your father,’ he reminded her. ‘They could not see eye to eye.’
    ‘That was part of his reason for going away. They were both very strong characters who had different points of view, one older than the other and, maybe, wiser.’ Anna moved towards the sitting-room door. ‘I don’t know,’ she said. ‘It worried my mother very much because she loved them both.’
    ‘He could have returned when your father died. Did he not know?’ Nikos asked.
    She shook her head. ‘Perhaps not, and by that time he would be chasing his own particular rainbow.’
    ‘Success,’ he mused. ‘He was always ambitious.’
    It was a word Nikos hardly understood, nurtured as he was in the lap of luxury with a family fortune to depend upon and a large estate to call home.
    ‘I must go,’ she told him. ‘I’ll see you at dinner about nine o’clock.’
    Disconsolately he turned away. ‘Why do you have to work such uncivilised hours?,’ he grumbled. ‘You should be fair to yourself and take time off—some time, anyway!’
    ‘I’ve been pleasing myself all afternoon,’ she laughed unsteadily. ‘You know how much I like a visit to the past, and I never tire of looking at the mosaics.’
    ‘Or meeting old friends on the way,’ he suggested, not trying to hide his jealousy.
    ‘If you mean Andreas, that was an accident,’ she assured him, ‘and he had his own lady friend with him. We only spoke for a minute or two and we really had nothing to say to each other.’
    ‘I’ll take your word for it!’ He was his old, bright self again, swinging his racquet as he made for the door. ‘See you at nine!’
    Her mother was deep in conversation with Hilary Walsh and her daughter, who had not been on the bus tour because she had preferred to sunbathe on the beach all afternoon, acquiring an angry red colour which she hoped would develop into a flattering tan. She was a lumpy, fair-skinned adolescent who had very little to say for herself in company, outpaced and outshone by her mother who was the talkative kind. Yet, Dorothy seemed to enjoy their company, listening attentively as Mrs Walsh described their successful day.
    Anna waved to them from the doorway and then made her way to reception where she checked the register and glanced through the mail. There were two letters requiring immediate attention and she had started to type her replies when there was a loud commotion at the desk.
    ‘I demand to see the manager—at once, please!
    It was a woman’s voice, loud and angry, someone obviously disgruntled by a fancied lack of attention, she thought, hurrying to the office door.
    A red-faced, angry matron confronted her across the desk.
    ‘Are you in charge?’ she demanded. ‘Actually, I want to see the manager.’
    Evidently one of the guests who had arrived during the afternoon, it wasn’t difficult for Anna to place her from long experience.
    ‘If you can tell me what has gone wrong, Mrs Pope, I’ll do my best to put it right,’ she volunteered.
    The angry lady looked her over with fine contempt.
    ‘I still want to see the manager,’ she insisted.
    ‘I am the manageress,’ Anna told her. ‘My mother is the proprietress, but there is no need to disturb her. I’m sure I can deal with any complaint you wish to make.’
    Mrs Pope, who was travelling with her sister, drew a deep breath.
    ‘Shortly after our arrival some flowers