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she admitted. ‘Forgive me for saying so, but you seem quite interested in him?’
    I should be, thought Miranda, he is my husband. But as it was apparent Eleni was another who did not know about his marriage, or pretended not to know, she decided for the time being to say nothing. Whatever game Georgios was playing she needed to sort it out with him first.
    ‘It’s so unusual,’ continued the pretty dark girl. ‘Most women prefer Theo. Don’t you think he’s the more handsome of the two?’
    Miranda pretended to consider. ‘I suppose so, but he’s certainly not my type. He’s too ’ She searched for the right word.
    ‘Overpowering?’ suggested Eleni, laughing. ‘I know what you mean, but isn’t that one of his attractions? I’d like to find myself a husband like Theo. The trouble is they grow thin on the ground. The man I’m supposed to marry ’ She lifted her shoulders deprecatingly. ‘He is—well, not quite such a— man. He’s rich and his family’s in shipping too, so it’s an admirable match, but I don’t know whether I love him.’
    ‘Have you got to marry him?’ asked Miranda, wondering whether some girl hadn’t been lined up for Georgios. Whether that hadn’t been one of the reasons he had left home. ‘I didn’t think they did that sort of thing these days.’
    Eleni smiled ruefully. ‘If you’d met my father you wouldn’t ask such a thing! He stuck by the old rules, and Theo is very much like him.’
    At that moment Mrs Alexidis called from her room. ‘She’s heard us,’ said Eleni. ‘I must go and see what she wants. Please excuse me, I won’t be long.’
    It was seconds only before she returned, a light of mischief dancing in her eyes. ‘She wants to see you, and Theo can’t say anything, since she asked herself, can he?’
    Miranda quickly agreed, feeling a rising tide of excitement as she followed Eleni into the room where blinds were drawn and a faint smell of cologne hung in the air. Perhaps now she would get to the bottom of the mystery.
     

CHAPTER THREE
    It took a few moments for Miranda’s eyes to get used to the half-light. When she did she discovered Mrs Alexidis watching her closely. ‘Come in, come in. I did not realise we had a guest. An English girl, too! I feel quite excited. Come closer so that I can see you more clearly.’
    Contrary to the bedridden old lady Miranda had expected, Mrs Alexidis sat in a high-backed chair. She was dressed entirely in black, and her lined fleshless face and greying hair stood out like an oval of light. Black eyes, which had lost none of their intensity through her illness, were fixed attentively on Miranda.
    ‘Are you a friend of Theodoros? How long are you staying? Why wasn’t I told you were here?’ One question rapidly followed another.
    Miranda smiled hesitantly. ‘I haven’t long arrived.’ Should she carry on with the tale Theo had spun or mention outright her relationship with Georgios? She was saved the decision when Eleni spoke for her.
    ‘Miss Martyn got lost. She came to the wrong island, would you believe?’
    Mrs Alexidis’s eyes widened, as though finding this difficult to accept. ‘A shade unusual, but at least it is giving you the opportunity to experience our Greek hospitality. Have you visited the islands before?’ Miranda shook her head. ‘But I don’t think it will be the last time. Salamyndros is very beautiful. Are all the islands the same?’
    ‘They each have their own personality,’ said Mrs Alexidis. ‘But we like to think that ours is the best.
    Like Corfu we get more rain than other islands, so we are blessed with a rich green landscape such as you get in England. Most of the other islands are bleached and dry—not half so attractive. Exactly where were you supposed to be going? I’ll tell you whether it is as magnificent as Salamyndros or not.’
    Miranda looked at her blankly for a moment, then made up her mind that Mrs Alexidis should be told the truth. ‘As a matter of fact