comfortably ensconced on a cushioned lounger at the poolside, applauded languidly.
'You swim well, Joanna,' he called. 'We must have a race some time.'
'I'd beat you,' Joanna laughed at him. 'Honestly, Nick, do you never take any exercise?'
'I play squash a little,' he admitted. 'I see little point,
cara
, in exercising and so developing muscles which I can only use to do more exercises.'
She pulled herself out of the water and sat on the edge, dangling her legs in the water and looking at the glitter of the sun on the rippled surface with half-closed eyes. The air was heavy with scent from the formal gardens nearby, and heavy clumps of blossom in purple, white and pink grew over the high stone walls which gave the pool area its privacy. It was the nearest thing she had been to absolute contentment since she had gone to sleep on that little beach over a week before.
These hours at the poolside had become very much part of the pattern of her day since Nick's arrival on the island. Her prison walls had now extended to include not only the
palazzo
, but also most of its grounds, but Nick made an excellent warder, she thought wryly, and her freedom was still strictly limited.
She knew no more now than she had done when she first arrived. Helicopters still came and went at odd hours of the day or night, but she had not been able to discover whom they carried or even where they landed. The
palazzo's
hidden life went on undisturbed, in spite of her presence, she thought, while she was in grave danger of abandoning herself to the life of a lotus-eater,,
Usually she breakfasted in her room, before joining Nick on the terrace. Then they swam together, or lay in the sun beside the pool and talked or walked in the enormous grounds. She had discovered an immaculately marked tennis court, but so far she had been unable to persuade Nick to give her a game.
Sometimes she dined downstairs with the cousins, but she avoided this situation whenever possible. There were times when Nick's amusing companionship made her forget that she was really under his close supervision, and she could imagine instead that she was simply a guest at the
palazzo
. But one ironic glance from Leo Vargas was all that it took to remind her of her real position in the household.
She had been very loth to meet him again after what had happened in her room, but the next encounter was accompanied by less embarrassment than she had feared, thanks largely to Nick's presence. It was almost impossible to feel awkward in the face of Nick's exuberant charm, and she had to admit that Leo Vargas himself had given no hint that anything but the merest courtesy a host would extend to any guest had passed between them.
He was civil but aloof, so much so that Joanna began to wonder if she had dreamed the moments she had spent in his arms. But at the same time, her body's involuntary reaction to his presence told her clearly that what had passed between them had been far from imaginary. It was oddly disconcerting to find that he could apparently shrug off her appeal to him as a woman with such ease. And she had appealed to him. She knew enough of men to know that his desire for her had been quite genuine. She wondered sometimes if their relationship had been continued to the final consummation that night whether he would have treated her afterwards in exactly the same way, showing her quite clearly that whatever his schemes were, she could have no in them.
Once and only once had she felt that her first night on the island held any place in his memory. One evening after dinner, Nick had suggested some music from the impressive array of hi-fi equipment housed in the elegant cabinets along one wall of the
salotto
. He had played some Beethoven and Brahms, following this up with works by some of the more modern Russian composers like Prokofiev and Shostakovich. Joanna had only had a nodding acquaintance with their music before and she found it a revelation, containing a beauty
'You swim well, Joanna,' he called. 'We must have a race some time.'
'I'd beat you,' Joanna laughed at him. 'Honestly, Nick, do you never take any exercise?'
'I play squash a little,' he admitted. 'I see little point,
cara
, in exercising and so developing muscles which I can only use to do more exercises.'
She pulled herself out of the water and sat on the edge, dangling her legs in the water and looking at the glitter of the sun on the rippled surface with half-closed eyes. The air was heavy with scent from the formal gardens nearby, and heavy clumps of blossom in purple, white and pink grew over the high stone walls which gave the pool area its privacy. It was the nearest thing she had been to absolute contentment since she had gone to sleep on that little beach over a week before.
These hours at the poolside had become very much part of the pattern of her day since Nick's arrival on the island. Her prison walls had now extended to include not only the
palazzo
, but also most of its grounds, but Nick made an excellent warder, she thought wryly, and her freedom was still strictly limited.
She knew no more now than she had done when she first arrived. Helicopters still came and went at odd hours of the day or night, but she had not been able to discover whom they carried or even where they landed. The
palazzo's
hidden life went on undisturbed, in spite of her presence, she thought, while she was in grave danger of abandoning herself to the life of a lotus-eater,,
Usually she breakfasted in her room, before joining Nick on the terrace. Then they swam together, or lay in the sun beside the pool and talked or walked in the enormous grounds. She had discovered an immaculately marked tennis court, but so far she had been unable to persuade Nick to give her a game.
Sometimes she dined downstairs with the cousins, but she avoided this situation whenever possible. There were times when Nick's amusing companionship made her forget that she was really under his close supervision, and she could imagine instead that she was simply a guest at the
palazzo
. But one ironic glance from Leo Vargas was all that it took to remind her of her real position in the household.
She had been very loth to meet him again after what had happened in her room, but the next encounter was accompanied by less embarrassment than she had feared, thanks largely to Nick's presence. It was almost impossible to feel awkward in the face of Nick's exuberant charm, and she had to admit that Leo Vargas himself had given no hint that anything but the merest courtesy a host would extend to any guest had passed between them.
He was civil but aloof, so much so that Joanna began to wonder if she had dreamed the moments she had spent in his arms. But at the same time, her body's involuntary reaction to his presence told her clearly that what had passed between them had been far from imaginary. It was oddly disconcerting to find that he could apparently shrug off her appeal to him as a woman with such ease. And she had appealed to him. She knew enough of men to know that his desire for her had been quite genuine. She wondered sometimes if their relationship had been continued to the final consummation that night whether he would have treated her afterwards in exactly the same way, showing her quite clearly that whatever his schemes were, she could have no in them.
Once and only once had she felt that her first night on the island held any place in his memory. One evening after dinner, Nick had suggested some music from the impressive array of hi-fi equipment housed in the elegant cabinets along one wall of the
salotto
. He had played some Beethoven and Brahms, following this up with works by some of the more modern Russian composers like Prokofiev and Shostakovich. Joanna had only had a nodding acquaintance with their music before and she found it a revelation, containing a beauty
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