spite of everything that?s happened, I?m still sure I was right to stick to my guns, and make my own life.?
Thia Theodosia sighed again. ?But if there had been a man?someone you might have loved and who would have offered you his heart, as well as the protection of his name?what then, my little one?? She spread her hands. ?After all, where is this life you speak of now??
?It?s there?waiting for my return.? Natasha tried to sound buoyant.
?This?arrangement is strictly temporary. To the victor the spoils, and all that.? She lifted her chin. ?But Kyrios Mandrakis will soon be looking for new worlds to conquer like his namesake, and then I?ll be free.?
Madame Papadimos looked at her gravely. ?Will you, my child? Can you be so sure that is what you will still want?when the time comes? When you know him better than you do now??
Natasha gasped. ?I can?t believe you?ve just said that.? Her voice was shaky. ?You, of all people, Thia Theodosia. Do you imagine I could ever forgive him for the way he?s treated me? Or that I?d willingly spend an hour longer with him than I have to??
Thia Theodosia shook her head. ?I do not condone what Alexandros Mandrakis has done, whatever provocation he may have received. Never think that, my dear girl.?
She paused. ?I simply suggest that, perhaps, you should not judge him too harshly. This trouble between our families was none of his making.
?He was a child when it began, forced to take sides. And, maybe, a time will arrive when you might find him?kinder than you believe.?
Natasha?s mouth tightened. ?I don?t think so,? she said. ?I?ve already experienced what passes for kindness with Alex Mandrakis, so I know exactly what to expect.?
Nor do you have to be afraid of me ?
But that isn?t true, because I now have something else to fear, she thought with a pang, fighting the memory of her body?s brief, involuntary response to his possession, and the quivering torment of frustration that had succeeded it.
Something which promises to be a thousand times worse.
There was real shock in Theodosia Papadimos?s face. ?My child?are you saying that he was brutal? When he must have known you had never been with a man before??
?No,? Natasha said quietly. ?He didn?t know that. In fact, he had good reason to think I?d be?willing, and more. Even so, he wasn?t?brutal.?
Now, why did I say that? she asked herself with vexation. I sound as if I?m making excuses for him, when there are none. And suppose she asks me, What good reason? What do I say then? That he believed that life in London had turned me into the kind of girl who gets drunk in Greek bars, strips off and has sex with any man who asks?
It will have to be something like that, she thought, because the contents of that gleefully concocted letter were something she?d rather not share with Madame Papadimos. She hurried on, forcing a smile. ?But?hey?nothing lasts forever. He?ll soon get bored and move on. While I?I won?t have suffered any lasting damage, except maybe to my pride.
?And one day I?ll meet a man I can love, and be happy with him, just as you?ve always wanted.?
There was another long silence, then Thia Theodosia said gently, ?Then that, pedhi mou , is what we must work towards, and pray for, once this present sadness ends.?
And, leaning forward, she kissed Natasha on both cheeks.
It had been a strange conversation, Natasha thought later as she sat returning reluctant answers to Mr Stanopoulos?s civil but thorough questions, which seemed to be covering every possible eventuality in the life she led in England. Altogether too wide an area, and too lengthy a timescale, she fretted silently, and possibly revealing that the lawyer believed that his client?s preoccupation with his new pillow friend might last weeks and months rather than hours and days as she?d hoped.
And, looking back, it seemed that Thia Theodosia had almost hinted the same thing.
No, she told herself firmly. That?s ludicrous. The events of the past twenty-four hours
Thia Theodosia sighed again. ?But if there had been a man?someone you might have loved and who would have offered you his heart, as well as the protection of his name?what then, my little one?? She spread her hands. ?After all, where is this life you speak of now??
?It?s there?waiting for my return.? Natasha tried to sound buoyant.
?This?arrangement is strictly temporary. To the victor the spoils, and all that.? She lifted her chin. ?But Kyrios Mandrakis will soon be looking for new worlds to conquer like his namesake, and then I?ll be free.?
Madame Papadimos looked at her gravely. ?Will you, my child? Can you be so sure that is what you will still want?when the time comes? When you know him better than you do now??
Natasha gasped. ?I can?t believe you?ve just said that.? Her voice was shaky. ?You, of all people, Thia Theodosia. Do you imagine I could ever forgive him for the way he?s treated me? Or that I?d willingly spend an hour longer with him than I have to??
Thia Theodosia shook her head. ?I do not condone what Alexandros Mandrakis has done, whatever provocation he may have received. Never think that, my dear girl.?
She paused. ?I simply suggest that, perhaps, you should not judge him too harshly. This trouble between our families was none of his making.
?He was a child when it began, forced to take sides. And, maybe, a time will arrive when you might find him?kinder than you believe.?
Natasha?s mouth tightened. ?I don?t think so,? she said. ?I?ve already experienced what passes for kindness with Alex Mandrakis, so I know exactly what to expect.?
Nor do you have to be afraid of me ?
But that isn?t true, because I now have something else to fear, she thought with a pang, fighting the memory of her body?s brief, involuntary response to his possession, and the quivering torment of frustration that had succeeded it.
Something which promises to be a thousand times worse.
There was real shock in Theodosia Papadimos?s face. ?My child?are you saying that he was brutal? When he must have known you had never been with a man before??
?No,? Natasha said quietly. ?He didn?t know that. In fact, he had good reason to think I?d be?willing, and more. Even so, he wasn?t?brutal.?
Now, why did I say that? she asked herself with vexation. I sound as if I?m making excuses for him, when there are none. And suppose she asks me, What good reason? What do I say then? That he believed that life in London had turned me into the kind of girl who gets drunk in Greek bars, strips off and has sex with any man who asks?
It will have to be something like that, she thought, because the contents of that gleefully concocted letter were something she?d rather not share with Madame Papadimos. She hurried on, forcing a smile. ?But?hey?nothing lasts forever. He?ll soon get bored and move on. While I?I won?t have suffered any lasting damage, except maybe to my pride.
?And one day I?ll meet a man I can love, and be happy with him, just as you?ve always wanted.?
There was another long silence, then Thia Theodosia said gently, ?Then that, pedhi mou , is what we must work towards, and pray for, once this present sadness ends.?
And, leaning forward, she kissed Natasha on both cheeks.
It had been a strange conversation, Natasha thought later as she sat returning reluctant answers to Mr Stanopoulos?s civil but thorough questions, which seemed to be covering every possible eventuality in the life she led in England. Altogether too wide an area, and too lengthy a timescale, she fretted silently, and possibly revealing that the lawyer believed that his client?s preoccupation with his new pillow friend might last weeks and months rather than hours and days as she?d hoped.
And, looking back, it seemed that Thia Theodosia had almost hinted the same thing.
No, she told herself firmly. That?s ludicrous. The events of the past twenty-four hours
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