A Darker God (20 page)

He turned to leave.

Letty couldn’t think why he bothered, either. She couldn’t understand and couldn’t control the impulse constantly to annoy and test him. It was a year and a half since they’d met in Cambridge, a year since he’d told her he loved her, but the man was still a mystery in too many ways. She knew that one day he would walk off without a backward glance and she’d be too proud to call after him. Perhaps this was the occasion?

Catching a stifled sob, Gunning turned back, threw caution aside, and hugged her close to him, murmuring regrets and soft endearments.

“I say—I’m sorry to break in on this tender scene.”

Gunning looked up, startled, as someone tapped him on the shoulder. “Great Heavens! What the …?”

“A bad moment. Life’s full of such this evening, don’t you find? I’m really here to have a word with Miss Talbot … That
is
Letty Talbot in your clutches, isn’t it? Ah, yes, there you are, Miss Talbot. Hello again! Unforgivable of me to barge in like this at this time of night but I wonder if I might have a word with you … in private.”

Letty and Gunning stood in silence looking at the trim figure before them in its smart linen suit. A wide smile from under the dipping brim of her hat acknowledged that she understood she had not been recognised. “It’s me, Thetis Templeton.” She gave a formal bow of the head. “Clytemnestra. How do you do? We met earlier this evening at the theatre.”

“Oh, of course. Thetis. Yes,” said Letty. “How nice—but
how surprising to see you again.” She glanced down at the travelling bag the girl had put down at her feet. “Oh—I say—are you off somewhere? Is that a good idea? The inspector told us all we should hold ourselves …”

“I’m not leaving,” interrupted Thetis, and she added, mysteriously, “In fact, I may be arriving!”

With sudden insight into the girl’s situation, Letty turned to Gunning. “William. You were just off, I think? Thetis and I have things to discuss.
Female
things. You would be bored to hear them. Will you come and collect me in the morning?”

Clearly puzzled but murmuring polite phrases of understanding, Gunning detached himself and set off to walk back to his room up the hill at the British School.

“You’ve run away?” Letty suggested.

Thetis nodded.

“I’m only surprised you’ve stuck it out for so long. Sorry-she’s your cousin, I know, but …”

“That’s why I’m here. You know Maud. And knew Andrew. You’re probably the only person between here and London who would understand what I have to say. Something really rather awful’s happened. Do you think we might have a talk? And do you think your Mrs. Rose would have a spare room for a benighted guest?”

Letty sighed. “Oh, dear! I know she hasn’t. The house is full. But look—leave it to me. Come in with me and meet her.”

She rang the bell, and the door was opened by a stately and very English-looking lady. Mrs. Rose looked down her nose and made a show of consulting the watch she kept pinned to the bosom of her black silk dress.

“Two minutes after ten o’clock, Miss Talbot,” she sniffed. Then, breaking into a broad smile: “That’s a full half hour earlier than you managed last night! Weren’t you having a good time?”

“I’ve had a perfectly dreadful day, Mrs. Rose,” Letty said,
ushering Thetis into the hallway. “I shall have to tell you all about it at breakfast. Meanwhile—an emergency! This is my friend Miss Templeton. She’s the cousin of Lady Merriman, whom I believe you’ve met, and she’s staying with her in Kolonaki Square but, on account of circumstances not in the least in her control—and which you will be horrified and fascinated to hear—she’s had to leave in a hurry and seek refuge elsewhere. That is—here.”

Mrs. Rose opened her mouth to speak but Letty rushed on: “I know you have no free rooms but there are two beds in mine—do say Miss Templeton may bunk up with me—at least for the night?”

“Well, of course, Miss Talbot. Your friend is very welcome. You will show her the facilities and—”

“Yes, yes, I’ll do all that, don’t worry.”

“Cocoa? Would the young lady like to join you in your bedtime cocoa?”

Thetis nodded dumbly, then murmured her thanks.

“Let me take your bag,” said Letty. “The room’s just up here on the second floor.”

Letty settled in the one armchair and watched as Thetis kicked off her shoes, tugged off her hat, and slumped down on the bed Letty invited her to use. For an anxious moment Letty thought the young woman had collapsed in exhaustion or fainted. Her blouse was badly buttoned up and one earring was missing. Her face was pallid under streaks of makeup and her dark hair clung damply about her face. And still the wretched girl looked beautiful.

“You all right, Thetis?” Letty asked. “You look as though you’ve just been thrown out of a Roman orgy.”

After a gurgle of laughter and a few deep breaths, Thetis raised her head and grinned at Letty. “It’s quite like being back in the dorm here! And cocoa on its way! You’re rather spoilt, I think.”

“Mrs. Rose is someone you can quickly get fond of. She and her husband kept house at the Embassy for years and now, in her retirement, she offers an oasis of Englishness and respectability in Athens. It’s known to be a safe place for single travellers and vulnerable young girls—like us. She loves to hear news from home, and scandal from her guests is most welcome—I should prepare a few stories for breakfast tomorrow morning, if I were you! They needn’t all be true so long as they’re entertaining. But—don’t worry—you can tell her anything you like. She is herself the soul of discretion.”

They chatted on, making general conversation until the tray containing cocoa pot, two mugs, and plate of digestive biscuits made its appearance. Thetis, unexpectedly, drained the mug Letty poured for her with relish and reached for a biscuit. “Jolly good cocoa! I haven’t eaten or drunk anything but alcohol since lunchtime,” she confided. “Two rum punches at the Grande Bretagne on the way home and that’s it … Home! Huh! Where
is
home now? I have no home!”

Letty was startled when her guest burst abruptly into racking sobs, hands over her eyes and fighting noisily for breath. She watched as Thetis moved to sit up on the edge of her bed, found a handkerchief, blew her nose, and bent her head, trying to regain some control.

“Here, have my cocoa” was all Letty could think of to say, disturbed as she was by the emotion on display. “No—really … you’re very welcome.”

“Sorry! Self-indulgent nonsense!” said Thetis critically. “How insensitive of me. You must be feeling pretty cut up, too? In the circumstances.” She gave Letty a meaningful stare from under her wet lashes, then apparently decided on bluntness. “A helpful little bird tells me you were very close … to the professor?”

“You know about Andrew and … me?” Letty said tentatively. “About our … affair? Ghastly word! But ‘friendship’
doesn’t stretch quite far enough, perhaps. Whatever it was, it’s long over, you know.”

“Yes!” The reply was instant and delivered with relief. “You obviously caught on faster than I did! Perhaps you heard a warning screech from the same little bird … Huh! Liver-pecking vulture, should I say? I’d no idea until my dear cousin took it upon herself to enlighten me. With considerable pleasure. You can imagine. So. We each know about the other’s exploits. And we’re no doubt intended doubly to suffer thereby. A refinement of cruelty, typical of my cousin. She’s probably calculated that we’ll kill each other on sight in a fit of jealousy. Lord! How Maud would chortle at the thought of the two of us sharing a room. What wouldn’t she give to be that fly on the ceiling!”

Letty went to sit on her own bed, opposite the tear-smudged face. She felt she had some understanding of the girl’s tumbling emotions. But her own enlightenment had, at least, come in the guise of an entertaining story told with compassion by an uncensorious man. She’d had time to deal with the shock and bitterness. She’d even arrived at the prospect of reevaluating Andrew and his place in her life. Thetis was still raw and spinning rudderless. She had no Gunning close by with quiet offers of unconditional love.

Letty took Thetis’s cold hands in hers and spoke quietly. “I see no reason why we shouldn’t grieve together. This is not the moment—and we aren’t the people, I think—for destructive rivalry and jealousy. We both loved him. It might compensate—if anyone up there is taking account—for the meagre amount of concern his widow is able to squeeze out in his memory. Weep for him all night if you want to—I’ll understand.”

She was encouraged to feel a reciprocal squeeze of the hand; then Thetis looked up with a sudden smile. “What? Caterwauling all night? What a dreadful notion! The saintly Mrs. Rose would have to evict us both.” Back in control of her emotions
once more, she changed her tone to one of hesitant intimacy: “I say, Laetitia, that was a pretty steamy scene I interrupted just now. I’m most awfully sorry. Sorry too that I guess we shall all have to cross the heavenly William Gunning off our lists of eligible men about Athens … Does everyone know? It hadn’t reached
my
ears!”

“No. It’s not generally known. And I’m not sure ‘heavenly’ is quite the word for William.”

“Ah. Well, I have to tell you—that little secret is out! At least Maud knows—which means the whole of Athens knows—that your Gunning is … um … professionally speaking, somewhat lapsed. As a priest, I mean. I’m sure he’s in good standing in all other respects! ‘Lost his faith on the battlefield’ is what Maud’s saying. Like a pocket handkerchief! And she’s proposing herself as his spiritual guide to help him retrieve it! You’d better warn the poor chap she intends to make a project of him! Maud likes to surround herself with a retinue of younger men, you know.”

“Thetis—I’d prefer you to keep this thing to yourself.”

“Of course. Whatever ‘this thing’ may be …” Her bright eyes invited a confidence.

Letty smiled. “It’s very simple. I love him. He says he loves me. My father’s threatened him with dire consequences involving horsewhips and steps of London clubs if he rejects me, but he’s turned me down.”

“You’ve
asked
him
to marry you? Have I got that right? Well! There’s a novelty! And he’s turned you down, you say?”

“Three times.”

“Great heavens! A catch like
you
, Letty? The man’s mad!”

“You may be right. I sometimes think he is—a little bit mad. The war, you know. He suffered mentally as well as physically. Not neurasthenia but something more subtle … He’s still fighting some monstrous fallen angel of his own invention. It’s not a battle I’m invited to join or even witness.” She
gave a rueful smile. “Sadly. Because I love him very much and I’d stride through Hell and confront Satan on his behalf if he asked me to.”

“Have you thought …? Have you wondered …? I mean-he may well be struggling with dark angels in Hades and all that, but is there a possibility that his reticence might have a much more earthy cause? I’m trying to say—do you suppose he’s found out about
Andrew?
Could that be the reason? ‘Damaged goods’ and all that rot? You know how even the nicest men can entertain such medieval notions …”

“He does know. Andrew told him himself at a crucial moment in our relationship. A piece of meddling for which I haven’t forgiven him and now never will be able to. Nor will I be able to thank him for his subsequent change of heart. But that’s not the reason. William isn’t an example of your narrow-minded, prejudiced English gentleman. In his way, he’s a man of the world …” She paused for a moment. “Though don’t ask me what world … it’s not a place into which he’s invited me yet. And he was fond of Andrew. He actually stayed with him and Maud for some months in London last year. It was Andrew who slotted him into a position where he could use his talents—in Crete. We’ve been working there together for seven months. We were to spend a week or two here in Athens reporting back to Andrew on the success of the dig he set up for us.”

Letty stopped talking. She had resisted all Montacute’s attempts to draw her out into a declaration of her circumstances and here she was, blurting out her deepest concerns to this stranger. But the stranger’s eyes were sympathetic and knowing and they were not judging her.

Thetis seemed to accept that Letty had said as much as she was prepared to say, and decided not to pursue the conversation. She got to her feet, and began to fish about in her bag, unpacking a small toilet bag and a white cotton nightgown.

“You haven’t brought much with you. Here—let me hang up that dress … Will you have to return tomorrow to Kolonaki for the rest? Face Maud again? I’ll come with you if you like,” offered Letty. “And did you tell anyone where you were coming?”

“No, I didn’t. I had no idea myself where I was going when I left. I made an exit! I just swept out in a marked manner. Very marked. Wish I hadn’t lost my temper, but you know what she’s like!”

“Drives you mad! What did you say to her?”

“It wasn’t so much what I said as what I
did!
Pushed to the very limit, you understand—I paused in the doorway, turned, and hurled my Parthian shot! All too literally! I threw my sword at her!”

“Your sword?” said Letty faintly, recalling the determined and righteous face of Judith the Beheader.

“I was still wearing my stage gear with the sword stuck in my belt. ‘Like Boadicea,’ my cousin remarked.” Thetis grinned.

“Another sword-wielding lady! History’s full of them.”

“Well, the image was a good one, I thought! Now, there’s a woman who would have stood no nonsense! ‘Right, Maud!’ I said to myself. ‘You’ve conjured her up, now you can have a taste of the Warrior Queen’s wrath!’ The snarl and the screech, the jangling bangles, the whole business—I really turned it on! Played it for terror! And then I shied my weapon at her head! Drew blood! Regret that. Stupid thing to do …”

“Remind me, Thetis,” said Letty carefully. “It was made of wood, wasn’t it? You couldn’t possibly have harmed anyone with that?”

“Of course not! Wood? Yes, I think so. It was very light. Well, you would know—you frisked me, I think the word is among the criminal fraternity. You handled it yourself. But a jolly convincing piece of stage stuff, whatever it was! Jewelled hilt, silver-painted blade, but you couldn’t have cut into a
blancmange with it, don’t you agree? I was surprised to see it had drawn blood. On her right cheek.” Thetis demonstrated. “Nothing serious—I think it might have been a sharp bit on the hilt, one of the glass gems, perhaps, that cut her. She didn’t even squeal. Still—a disgraceful scene. Andrew would have been horrified. He hated scenes.”