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’ But what if she really did not know about Georgios’s marriage? Hadn’t she a heart condition? Mightn’t it cause her distress, maybe bring on another of those attacks that had brought Georgios home? ‘I—I can’t remember,’ she finished lamely. ‘They all sound so similar.’
    ‘It’s probably Salamis,’ said Eleni, ‘except that that’s in the Agean. Was it definitely over this side?’
    ‘I thought so.’ Miranda felt her cheeks redden and was glad of the dim light which spared her embarrassment. ‘But I could be mistaken.’ Damn Theo for making her lie!
    ‘We do get people on Salamyndros,’ said Mrs Alexidis, ‘who come simply to have a look at us. We try to preserve our privacy—in fact this island is not on any map. But unfortunately we’re somewhat in the public eye—as you probably know?’
    It was a probing question, designed to discover whether their visitor was telling the truth. Perhaps she had seen her blushes? Miranda felt even more uncomfortable and wished Eleni had not gone against Theo’s wishes.
    To deny all knowledge of their family would be to deny Georgios. Could she do that? Wouldn’t it be the very thing Theo wanted her to do? She would be playing right into his hands. Once she had said that, how could she insist that Georgios was her husband? She desperately needed to talk to Georgios. Once that was accomplished and she discovered exactly why he professed not to know her, then she would be able to speak more easily. Now she had to be extremely careful what she said.
    ‘I must admit that I’ve never read anything about you.’ That at least was the truth. She smiled tentatively. ‘Perhaps you’re not so well-known as you thought?’
    Mrs Alexidis appreciated her joke, her face creasing with genuine pleasure. ‘If we weren’t we would not be so successful. Theodoros has his father’s talent for making money. He is very much like my dear Alexandras. I am proud to have such a wonderful son.’
    And how about Georgios? Miranda wanted to ask. Aren’t you proud of him? She could not believe that he was the sort of character Eleni had painted. Yet he had been reticent about his background, and certainly he had done no work in all the time she had known him.
    She had once asked how he got all his money, for he seemed to have an endless supply, and he had vaguely mentioned the shipping line. She had presumed, as he was family, that he reaped the rewards but had to do little of the actual work himself, and she had not questioned him further. It had been sheer bliss married to a man who was able to spend every minute of his time with her.
    Thinking about it now she supposed she had taken a lot for granted. It had been wonderful, though, to have someone of her own after all the years when she had been pushed from one place to another. She had accepted Georgios’s love blindly and completely, not questioning him deeply, merely accepting him for what he appeared on the surface.
    In good time she would find out about his family, his work, she had thought. When the first flush of enthusiasm had worn off their marriage, when he had decided it was time to patch things up between himself and his family, then he would take her to meet her Greek in-laws.
    She had never imagined anything like this would happen. Even when he disappeared without warning, she had been confident that all would turn out well. On the surface it looked as though Sallianne had been right, but still she clung to the hope that there was a perfectly logical explanation. There had to be, for the baby’s sake. She did not want to bring a child into the world without a father.
    ‘Are you on holiday, Miss Martyn?’ Mrs Alexidis’s voice broke into her thoughts. ‘Salamis does not have much to offer. It is a somewhat bare island with an unhealthy climate. It is well known because of the sea battle that took place in the straits between Salamis and the mainland in which the Athenians defeated the Persian fleet in 480