Catching Moonlight (Man Season) (4 page)

Toby laughed off his announcement,
though the serious tone of his voice sent chills up her spine. He was a
beautiful looking man, intelligent, charming, too. But there was an air of
entitlement about him that bothered her. She’d only glimpsed it before but now
it showed
itself
strong and clear. And Toby didn’t
like it. She wondered if that was because of
Dio
. He
had given her such a
beau ideal
– any other man would pale in comparison.

Dinner was slow, and rather painful.
Stephan went on and on about
England
and the snobbery he experienced
there while at university. Toby imagined that his attitude probably caused
whatever miseries he’d had there. Funny how in
Athens
he’d always talked about her, and
avoided relating more than statistics about his own life. And now he couldn’t
seem to stop – giving them every minute detail of his childhood, his teen
years, and onward. It was as if he felt they should know everything about him;
maybe because he had revealed his feelings for Toby. But she realized that the
more she came to know him, the less she wanted to know him. And he thought he
was going to sweep her off her feet? What an ego!

Aella
and Kosmas listened to him politely
but Toby could tell they were as bored as she was. She kept glancing at the
clock on the wall, wishing she could think of a way to send Stephan packing so
she could hurry down to
Dio
.

“I have a lot of plans that I’d like
to discuss with the three of you,” Stephan said as
Aella
poured everyone some coffee and sat out some small slices of
Baklava
.

“What kind of plans?” Toby asked, a
bit wary.

“For
Moonsea
.
It would make a wonderful tourist
retreat, don’t you agree?”

“What?”
Aella
was suddenly livid. “No one will turn
Moonsea
into a
tourist trap!”

“But it’s perfect for it! The house
is large enough for several guests but small enough to keep it exclusive. The
area beyond the hill could be developed to make bungalows, tennis courts, even
swimming pools. And, we could turn the ruin into a museum, unless we gut the
old eyesore completely.”

Toby and the others stared at him in
disbelief.

“I own
Moonsea
now and there will be no development! I can’t imagine where you got the gall to
come here and suggest such a thing but nothing will come of it!”

“It isn’t gall that spurs me. Could
we talk alone?”

“No, anything you need to say you’ll
have to say here.”

“Fine.
I intend to marry you, Toby, and
help you make something of
Moonsea
. It can be a
great, money-making resort. I’ve thought so for years but of course Gregory
wouldn’t hear me. He was already wealthy so had no need to develop the island.
But, you see, since
Greece
began to have its economic troubles,
my firm has lost too many clients. I need some other venture to sustain the
lifestyle I have become accustomed to. We can go in together, be partners in
life and in the business. I am not a chauvinist in that respect. Surely you
have the vision your father lacked?”

“I do not. I love this island as it
is. I see no reason to spoil its beauty just to make more income. I have more
now than I could spend in two lifetimes! And why on Earth would you think I’d
marry you?”

He fidgeted in his seat, turned his
face from her, his eyes flitting from
Aella
to
Kosmas.

“I’ve been watching you all night,
Toby, hoping for a glimmer of attraction. I felt it very strongly back in
Athens
but somehow it seems to have
vanished. It is humiliating to speak of these things in company. Please, could
we go outside?”

“I’d rather not. And if whatever
attraction I had for you is gone it’s because I’ve actually been listening to
you!” Toby huffed. “You are so full of yourself it’s pathetic! I can’t
understand now why I was attracted to you at all!”

He stood, swept crumbs off of his
slacks, and shifted his jacket. “I see I’ve been wasting my time. Well, women
are easily replaced. And I’ll get
Moonsea
somehow
when it’s ready to be sold!”

“I won’t sell it then!” Toby shot
back, infuriated. “I’ll never sell it to you! Or anyone! You see, Stephan, I
have fallen in love … not with you … but with
Moonsea
!”

“Ridiculous! You’ll get tired of it
in two weeks. Remember how bored you were in
Athens
?”

“That was because of the company I
was keeping. I think you better leave now.”

“Yes,” Kosmas added. “Leave.
Now.”

Stephan glanced at the man; saw a
fierce glint in the brown eyes. “No need for histrionics. I’m going. But you
will get tired of
Moonsea
, Toby, and maybe, just
maybe, you’ll come looking for me.”

“When hell freezes over, yeah …
maybe!”

Stephan glanced at her with stinging
wet eyes. Something was not right about the situation. He was pretending to be
suave and uncaring but inside he was in pain. Had he truly fallen in love with
her? And his arrogance couldn’t handle her rejection? He kept staring at her,
making her uncomfortable. She’d never been in a position to reject anybody,
didn’t know what to do.

“Look, I’m sorry if we jumped all
over you but
Moonsea
is a beautiful, unique place, as
you said this morning. I don’t want to ruin that. I can’t understand why you
would, either. And, as for me … well, I enjoyed your company in
Athens
. But you never hinted that you
wanted anything more than friendship.”

“This has all been a terrible
misunderstanding. Chalk it up to a difference in cultures and I’ll hopefully
leave as graciously as I entered.”

“We’ll do that.”

He reached out a hand to each one of
them. When he took Toby’s, he lingered, clasping it tightly. She felt a slight
surge but it petered out miserably. He could tell he’d lost whatever promise
there’d been between them, and it struck him like a fist.

“Goodnight, Toby. I’ll see you soon,
I hope.”

“Oh, I suppose you will. You live on
the far island, and I’ll go there at some point for shopping or whatever, I’m
sure.”

“Of course.
Goodnight.” He nodded to
Aella
and Kosmas; they acknowledged him coolly.

“Well, that was embarrassing!”
Aella
sighed as she cleared away the dishes.

Kosmas lit a pipe, sat by the hearth.
“He must be crazy, thinking he had you in his pocket.”

“I didn’t realize … I mean, he seemed
so distant, I never thought he could be serious about me.”

“Don’t worry, child. He’ll get over
it and move on.
Greece
is full of pretty girls.”

“
Aella
, you
belittle our Toby when you say that. She’s very special. Stephan will have a
hard time finding anyone like her!”

“You’re sweet, Kosmas,” Toby smiled.
“It’s been a long day! I think I’ll go up and read for awhile. Do you two
retire early?”

“We watch the TV in bed for a few
hours every night. The satellite has good reception but we don’t care much for
these modern programs. We mostly watch DVDs. Kosmas loves his American movies!”

“So do
I
!”
Toby laughed. “We’ll have to watch some together one night.”

“It’s a date!”

She hurried upstairs, stared out the
window. Clouds had smothered the moon. The temple was dark. Toby realized she’d
have to wait until the couple went to their room on the other side of the house
before she could slip out. It was agonizing to think she still couldn’t go to
Dio
. He’d been on her mind all through dinner. Had he seen
Stephan, and wondered about him? Was he lying in a warm, cozy bed, bare and
pale, waiting for her to arrive? That thought sent tiny shockwaves through her
– the anticipation was a sweet form of hell.

She removed her blue dress and heels,
placed them gently into the armoire. Then she slid on a pair of jeans and a red
T shirt and curled up on the bed to read.

After she saw the light go out
underneath
Aella
and Kosmas’ bedroom door she flew
like a silent bird down the stairs and out into the chilly, September night.
The temple seemed miles away; she slowed down, not wanting to drain her energy
on the trek. The goats complained as she passed their enclosure. She stood
still for a moment, eyeing the house. It was still dark.

The wind whipped up, threw the olive
trees about, creating hissing sounds in the leaves. She thought she heard feet
walking behind her but when she stopped they did, too.

“Damned imagination,” she sighed.
“I’ve been reading too many mystery novels!”

She stepped towards the temple,
anxious to see
Dio
again, her skin prickling at the
memory of his touch. A hand reached out of the darkness, clasped her mouth. She
thought
Dio
must be playing – she took the hand in
hers, was about to kiss it when she realized it was not his! It belonged to
Stephan
Cristos
. Toby flung his hand away, drew back
so she could get a clear view of him in the moonlight. His eyes were glazed
with a strange fear.

“What are you doing here?” she cried.

“I … was exploring the island,” he
said in a hushed voice. “I come here quite often at night.”

“Why? What are you looking for?”

“Nothing in particular.
I thought I might find some small
artifact worth selling. I’ve done it before.”

“You stole treasures from the
island?”

“I wouldn’t call it stealing. Gregory
knew I came here.”

“How can you prove that, since he’s
dead?”

“I guess you’ll have to take my word
for it.”

“What if I don’t? What if I call the
police?”

“I don’t think you want the police to
come here.”

“Oh no?”
She pulled a cell phone from her
pocket. “Let’s see …
Aella
told me the number to call
… it’s …”

“Please don’t, Toby. I love you,
doesn’t that count for something?”

“It might, if you told me the truth
about why you’re here.”

“I can’t.”

“Then I have no choice but to call
the police …”

He panicked, jumped for her. They
wrestled over the phone, Stephan twisting her wrist until it felt like it would
snap. She let go the phone. Then a flash of moonlight barred their sight. A
hand shoved her out of harm’s way. Toby fell backwards, peered through the
wind-tossed hedges surrounding the ruined temple –
Dio
was on Stephan with a vengeance, pummeling his ribs and kicking him. He slugged
Stephan on the jaw; caught him as he dropped and set him on the ground.

Toby ran to him with clutching arms.

“Where were you? I was so afraid you
wouldn’t come!”

“I was asleep. I drifted off, waiting
for you. But then I heard voices … who is he, Toby? He said he loved you.”

“He’s Gregory’s attorney. I had no
idea until tonight that he cared for me. Did you know he’d been coming here?”

“I have seen him before, yes. He was
a friend of your father’s.”

“He said he’s been taking things from
the island.”

“Yes, small things, nothing worth
making a fuss about. Why was he attacking you?”

“I threatened to call the police. I
wouldn’t have, really. I’m afraid they might find you if I did. I was trying to
scare him off. He seems desperate. I suppose people reach a breaking point and
then nothing matters anymore.”

“I know that feeling very well. What
do we do with him?”

“I guess he has a boat round here.”
She searched the grey shadows below the cliff. “There it is, on that small
beach. It’s a bit far. You probably can’t reach it. Maybe I could drag him down
there. I’m fairly strong.”

“I can send him to the boat,”
Dio
whispered, “if he doesn’t wake and see how I do it.”