Moon of Aphrodite by Sara Craven Read Free Book Online Page B

road turned downhil , and she saw another smal er harbour beneath them, where
    sleek motor launches and smal yachts lay at anchor. It looked the last plate in the
    world where a public ferry for a smal place like Phoros would leave from, and she
    leaned forward frowning a little.
    The driver looked back at her, as if aware of her uncertainty, and pointed downwards,
    saying something in his own tongue which dearly intended to be reassuring. She made
    herself smile back, but her tension showed in her smile. She was at the end of one
    journey, perhaps, but at the beginning of another. And at the end of it was a man who,
    although unseen, had seemed to dominate her childhood and adolescence, on whose
    character, whose pride, arrogance and lack of compassion she had speculated so often
    and to so little avail. Yet soon they would meet, and her stomach churned involuntarily
    at the thought. If her grandfather could be judged by the calibre of the men he chose
    to employ, she thought , then resolutely switched her mind to other less disturbing
    ideas. He had sent for her, he wanted to see her, so surely that indicated a softening of
    his earlier implacable attitude. Or at least she had to hope so, or the few weeks she
    was committed to spending in Greece could wel be unendurable.
    She wished she had never al owed herself to be persuaded to come to Greece, if
    persuasion was the word. Emotional blackmail might be more appropriate, she thought
    bitterly, remembering how Damon Leandros had deliberately played on her heightened
    sensibilities. He was to blame. He was to blame for everything.
    The car drove slowly along the waterfront, past open-air cafes whose gay awnings
    fluttered in the slight evening breeze. There were people everywhere, tourists
    tentatively sipping their first tastes of ouzo and retsina, and the usual anonymous
    groups of men talking, the bright strings or worry beads in their hands moving
    incessantly as they gestured to lend emphasis to their remarks. The main waterfront at
    Piraeus had almost been too crowded to assimilate, but here Helen bad time to look
    around her and take in some of the atmosphere.
    It was soon obvious that the driver was no stranger here, and this in itself was a
    reassurance to her. The car was recognised and voices cal ed and hands lifted in
    greeting, to which he responded. He drove slowly along the curve of the quayside
    almost to the far end before stopping. Then he turned to Helen.
    'Boat here, thespinis,' he announced.
    There certainly was a. boat, but not the smal , rather scruffy steamer she had rueful y
    envisaged as the most likely craft to be plying between Piraeus and an unimportant
    island. It was a large, impressive cruiser with cabin accommodation, and what appeared
    to be a sun deck with an awning. And was that a radio mast? she wondered in
    bewilderment.
    The driver had opened her door by this time and was standing patiently waiting for her
    to alight.
    Helen gestured weakly at the cruiser. 'This?' she asked with a shake of her bead.
    Hi; nodded vigorously. 'Phoros boat, thespinis. You hurry. They wait for you.'
    How very obliging of them, Helen thought, sudden amusement rising within her. Her
    suspicions about the timetable were apparently total y justified, and she would bet the
    other passengers were blessing her by now.
    A flight of steps led down from the harbour wal , and at the bottom a man in a white
    uniform was waiting to help her on board. Helen waited while her luggage was speedily
    transferred to the cruiser, and smiled as the driver returned up the steps.
    'Efharisto,' she said shyly, trying out one of the few Greek words she knew.
    'Parakalo.' He removedhis cap. 'Go with God, thespinis.
    The cruiser had indeed been wailing for her, Helen decided, because as soon as her
    feet touched the deck it seemed to become a hive of discreet activity, and she could
    feel the throb of powerful engines springing into life. Her cases had vanished, she
    noticed, and she