Beware of the Beast (20 page)

Alex glanced at his wife, but Charlotte refused to meet his
eyes, and he looked away again. "Well, I'm
back
now, Maria."
He hesitated. "And
I’m ravenous
. Where are those warm
rolls I've been
tantalising
myself with the thought of ever
since I went away?"

Maria excused herself and went to attend to his breakfast,
but not before she had cast a rather reproving look in Char
lotte's direction which Alex intercepted. Charlotte, however,
only waited for the old woman to disappear before turning and
walking along the corridor towards the patio. She wanted
to put some distance between herself and her husband. But
he followed her.

She walked jerkily across the tiled area at the back of the
villa, where she had spent so many hours while he was away.
As she scuffed her toes, a quick look over her shoulder
assured her that he had stopped by the open doors, supporting
his shoulder against the jamb. In close-fitting denim jeans
that
moulded
the muscles of his thighs, and a sleeveless
denim waistcoat which left most of his chest bare, he was dis
turbingly attractive, the more so because she knew what had put that lazy indolence in his walk. Last night he had been
tired and tense, someone she could feel compassion for. This
morning, after the sensual satisfaction of their lovemaking,
reasserting his male dominance, she told herself she hated
him.

And yet she could feel her skin prickling just to contem
plate the touch of his hands upon her. His hands and lips
had explored every inch of her body, and the pagan delight
he had inspired in her made her yearn for him to do it again.
But he must never know that - this man who had taken her as payment for a wager, whose only intention was to plant
his seed inside her. How easily he had succeeded, she
thought
!
bitterly
, aware that in some despicable way she was wishing
it had taken some considerable time...

Now Alex flexed his shoulders muscles lazily. "You're
brown," he said, surveying her with his head tilted to one
side. "It suits you."

Charlotte did not answer, and he went on: "What have you
been doing with yourself while
I '
ve
been away ? Have you been
bored?"

Charlotte shook her head. No, bored she had not been. Restless, maybe, towards the end of the time he was away.
But she had her own reasons for that.

Alex's expression hardened slightly. "What's wrong?
Have you stopped speaking to me or something?"

Charlotte took a deep breath and turned. "No," she said
shortly.
"Of course not."
           
-

Alex's brows drew together. "Charlotte, don't let us have start all over again. We both know things have gone too
far for that,"

"Was that why you stayed away?" she flared hotly.
He sighed. "No. Well - perhaps partly." He straightened, moving away from the door towards her. Looking down at his bare feet, he went on: "I could say that the merger took
longer than we expected. It did. I only got through there two
weeks ago. But - well, f couldn't come right back."
Charlotte stiffened. "Why? Is there someone else?"
"
Nol
" His retort was angry. "No, there's no one else.
My God, Charlotte, you have some opinion of me, don't
you?"

She flushed. "I only meant-"
           

"I know what you
only
meant.
Anyway, no.
There's no one
else, as I say. But - oh, God I you know as well as I
do
how
you were when I left. Dear heaven," he raked a hand through
his hair, "you certainly know how to make a man feel a
dogl
"

"You hurt
mel
" she defended herself, in a small voice,
and he nodded resignedly.

'!
know
, I know. But there was no way ... Do you think
it didn't hurt me, too?" He halted before her, and she looked up at him with wide curious eyes. "You have a lot
tp
learn
about me, Charlotte. I'm not an automaton, you know."

"Aren't you?" Charlotte held up her head. "What are you
trying to say?"

"I'm trying to say,
I
had - doubts."

Charlotte's courage wavered. "About - coming back?"

"Yes."

She licked her lips. "
Wh
-
why?"

"You ask me that?" His voice was harsh, and he pressed his balled fist against his thigh. "Charlotte, you may not
believe this, but I felt sorry for you, sorry for the things I'd done. Even if your father didn't deserve any better, maybe
you did
- "

"Anyone can make a mistake I" Charlotte burst out
feelingly. "If Daddy really was a compulsive gambler
-
"

"Oh, he was, believe me I" Alex's lips twisted sardonically.

" —
well,
if
he was, you must have driven him to the end of his tether I"

"Charlotte! For God's sake, this
wa'sn't
the first time -
"
He
broke off, turning violently away. "God, how did we get
on to this topic? I wanted to talk
to you.
"

Charlotte felt a quiver of apprehension feather along her
veins. "No, wait. What do you mean? This - wasn't - the -
first - time?"

"Forget it!" Alex took a deep breath, and at that moment
Tina appeared behind him.

"
Parakalo
,
Kyrios
Alexandros
.
To
proyevma
,"
she ventured
shyly, simpering under his gaze. Without a backward glance, Alex went towards her.

"It's good to see you again, Tina," he responded in English,
smiling down at the Greek
girL
"Come on I Show me those
rolls before I die of starvation."

Giggling, Tina led the way into the villa, and left to herself, Charlotte turned away and walked towards the lounger
Maria always set out for her. But she was too restless to sit
down. She felt upset and frustrated, not altogether sure what Alex had been trying to tell her. One thing did seem certain.
His visit to her room the night before had not been intended to pick up where he left off before he went away. When he
had fallen asleep, she should have woken him up and sent
him back to his own room. Then this morning's - incident -would not have occurred.

But what good would that have done?
she
argued with
herself. It was already too late to have doubts, although Alex
was not aware of it. She frowned. It was possible, she sup
posed, to have an abortion. It was not yet too late.
But...
She pressed protective hands over her abdomen. No I
What
ever
happened, she could not permit that. Not when there
was no reason why she should not produce a perfectly healthy
baby. This thing, this
foetus
which was growing inside her, was already a living being, and she could not contemplate taking its life for any reason.

But what should she
do ?
Sooner or later, Alex would have
to know about the baby. Perhaps though she should wait and
discover exactly what his intentions might be. Tugging the
darkening leaves from a hanging clump of
bougainviilea
, she
stared unseeingly towards the lemon grove, unaware of the
island's beauty beneath the cooling autumn skies. What had
Alex meant about her father? Why couldn't he tell her the truth? He must know that whatever her father had done had been only weakness, not criminal irresponsibility.

Eventually she sought the relaxation of the lounger,
stretching her length comfortably. She expected Alex to come
looking for her when he had finished his breakfast, and she
intended to continue their conversation. But he did not
return, and she lay there resentfully, feeling the cool breeze
bringing goose pimples to her arms. With an exclamation, she
got up and went into the villa, refusing to admit that she was
curious about Alex's whereabouts.

Tina was clearing the table, humming happily to herself,
but Charlotte regarded her dourly. "Where is my husband?"
she demanded, ignoring the dictates of reason, and Tina
pointed towards the closed library door.

"
Eki
kyria
"
she answered politely, but Charlotte suspected
she had her own reasons for the small smile which accompan
ied this information.

Descending the steps into the hall again, Charlotte approached the library door rather tentatively. She wondered
why Alex should choose to spend his first day at home indoors,
and whether she ought to mind her own business.

But it was her business, she argued impatiently. He knew
she would be waiting for him to come and finish their con
versation. Was he deliberately being awkward?

Collecting all her courage, she flung open the library door.
Alex was seated at the square oak table which occupied a
central position, a briefcase open beside him,
its
contents strewn across the table's surface. He was obviously
working, and he looked up rather impatiently at her
entrance.

Charlotte halted uncertainly in the doorway, and then
deciding she could not retreat gracefully after that entrance
said: "What are you doing?"

Alex pushed back his chair and rose to his feet. "What does
it look as if I'm doing?
" .-

Charlotte rubbed her nose with her finger. "Working, I
suppose."

"Right first time I" Alex was sarcastic. "What do you want?
Is something wrong?"

Charlotte's breathing quickened. "Is it too much to expect
a little of your company on your first day home?"

Alex stared at her mockingly.
"You
want
my
company? That was not my impression earlier on."

Charlotte flushed. "Oh, what's the use?"

She turned and would have marched out of the room, but
he covered the space between them, caught her arm and
drawing her back inside the room, closed the door.

""Now," he said quietly, without mockery, "I’m working
because George is due in about an hour, and I want to have
these figures ready for him. I intended to do them last night,
but -
" he
broke off, "as you know, I didn't."

"So that was why you came
back !
" stormed Charlotte
angrily. "To get some
figures !"

"Among other things," he conceded. "Charlotte, I tried to
tell you-"

"And George is coming to collect these figures?"

"No." Alex hesitated. "No. He'll be staying a few days."

"Staying?"

"Yes. There's some
organising
to be arranged. We can
work just as well here."

Charlotte gasped. "I gather from that you didn't intend to
do so. What changed your mind?"

"Oh,
Charlotte!”
Her name was a remonstrance on his lips.
'"'Charlotte, for God's sake -
" He
raked a hand through his
hair. "Look - okay, so I didn't intend staying. I told you about that. But now I am."

"Why?" Charlotte's lips had begun to tremble so she
damped them tightly together* between words.
"Because you
changed your mind again after this morning?"
She clenched
her small fists. "Well, you don't need to bother about me.
You don't have to stay here, or assert yourself ever again!" She pulled up her smock to reveal the button of her jeans
which she had had to unfasten. "I'm putting on weight, Alex.
Can you guess why?"

Alex stared at her as though he didn't believe her, his
eyes dropping the length of her body with disturbing in
tensity. Then he came towards her, staring down at the place which was now hidden beneath her smock again. "