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Mrs Walsh was first through the swing doors.

‘We’ve got so much to tell your mother,’ she declared. ‘She really should have come with us.’

Anna had left the mini-bus outside for Paris to put away for the night and she hurried towards the office to make sure that nothing had gone wrong in her absence.

‘Hullo, there!’ a familiar voice greeted her. ‘I thought you had gone to Paphos.’

‘We did, but we were sightseeing, and that takes time!’ She turned as a small, square figure came towards her with a tennis racquet under his arm. ‘Have you been playing all afternoon, Nikos?’ she asked. ‘You look warm.’

‘I’ve had time to cool off waiting for you for over an hour,’ he answered reproachfully. ‘I thought you would be back before five.’

She glanced at her watch as he followed her across the hall.

‘We stayed longer than we should have done at Michael Parlou’s taverna,’ she admitted. ‘He always makes you feel so welcome.’

‘Why didn’t you go to the hotel?’ he queried. ‘You would have been served more quickly there.’

‘But not nearly so well, and I thought a bit of atmosphere wouldn’t come amiss. Guests expect that sort of thing.’

‘I suppose so. I heard about Helen Stylianu’s sore throat. Did you have to go?’

‘Of course. I couldn’t very well disappoint everybody.’

He regarded her with a hint of impatience in his dark eyes. Nikos Masistas was a young man who had rarely been denied anything by his doting parents and Anna had always been a challenge to him. He had told her more than once that he adored her in his laughing, inconsequential way and she had never quite believed him, but she had found his attentions pleasing enough in some ways. He was a good companion, for one thing, amusing and undeniably kind, but she found it hard to take him seriously for very long.

‘I came to ask you to dinner,’ he said.

‘Like that?’ Her amused glance took in the shorts and white T-shirt he wore.

‘I have a suit with me in my sports bag.’

He had taken her acceptance for granted, as he always did.

‘I’ve been away all day,’ she pointed out. ‘I couldn’t possibly go off again and leave everybody else to do my job.’

‘We needn’t go very far,’ he protested. ‘I had thought about the Crescent Beach.’

‘That’s next door,’ she said. ‘Even so, I’d still feel I was deserting ship. Ask me some other time, Nikos.’

He looked disgruntled, swinging his racquet idly as he considered what he had to say.

‘I have some news for you,’ he told her at last. ‘Andreas Phedonos is back on the island.’

Anna put her handbag down on the reception desk.

‘I know,’ she said quietly. ‘He came to call on us and I met him this morning on our way to Paphos.’

‘You did?’ He looked surprised. ‘Why was he going to Paphos, do you think?’

‘To buy a flat for himself. Evidently he wants a
pied-a-terre
on the island to come back to from time to time and perhaps to call home.’

‘Which means he isn’t going to live with you?’

‘No!’ Her response was sharper than she realised.

‘You know that he is staying next door?’

‘Of course!’

‘With an attractive lady friend.’

Anna flushed. ‘They are friends of long standing, I believe,’ she said quickly. ‘She was with him at Kourion this morning.’

‘He introduced you?’

‘Certainly. There was no reason why he should have kept his friendship with her under wraps, as far as I can see.’

‘That’s true. She’s very beautiful, I believe, and older than he is, but that doesn’t seem to matter very much these days. She’s also extremely rich.’

‘That could be possible.’ Anna took up the afternoon mail which had arrived in her absence. ‘Have you met Andreas?’ she enquired, doing her best to remain indifferent.

‘Not yet, but I’m looking forward to it.’ He sounded less than enthusiastic. ‘After all, we were part of the island at one time before we grew up and decided to go our own ways.’

‘Yes.’

She wanted him to go, not wishing to discuss Andreas with anyone, especially Nikos.

‘So, you won’t have dinner with me,’ he said. ‘Not even here?’

‘Here is different,’ Anna smiled, ‘if you can wait till nine o’clock. The dining-room should be almost empty by then when most of the people have had such a busy day.’

‘I’ll change and have a drink at the Crescent,’ he decided. ‘One thing about the tennis club you can come and go as you please. I may even have a swim,’ he added, ‘since their pools are floodlit.’

She was aware of all the facilities the Crescent Beach had to offer but not envious.

‘It’s a very well-run hotel, but it is not exactly what we had in mind when we opened the villa,’ she pointed out. ‘Once we have our own swimming-pool I’ll be more than satisfied with what we have to offer.’

‘You could let me help,’ he said. ‘It would be an investment as far as I’m concerned.’

She shook her head.

‘No, Nikos, thanks all the same,’ she said. ‘I want to do this on my own. I’ve borrowed from the bank, but we’ll soon be able to pay the money back. We had a good season last year,’ she added with a certain amount of satisfaction, ‘and I believe in ploughing our profits back into the business.’

‘You talk like my father,’ he laughed. ‘Papa is always ploughing back something or other!’

‘That could be why he remains so successful. How is he, by the way?’ Anna asked. ‘And your mother?’

‘Thriving—both of them. They hope you will come to Stroumbi before long to visit them. They do not come to the coast very often these days,’ he added, ‘because there is much more to do in the mountains.’

‘I don’t blame them,’ Anna agreed, ‘especially with all these spectacular valleys at their back door. I wish I had more time to enjoy them, but perhaps one day I will.’

‘There’s always the estate,’ he assured her, ‘although they will expect you to work.’

‘It wouldn’t be a hardship,’ Anna smiled. ‘The air is so wonderful up there, especially in the summer when we are gasping for breath down here on the coast.’

‘You know the remedy,’ he said, preparing to go. ‘Marry me and come to the mountains permanently.’

‘One day I may take you up on that!’ she laughed. ‘But not till I’ve paid for my swimming-pool!’

‘You think of nothing but the hotel,’ he grumbled. ‘You’re quite heartless, Anna, my love!’

‘I don’t mean to be.' She was more serious now. ‘It’s just that I want to do this thing properly for my mother’s sake. She has been disappointed so often in the past, Nikos.’

‘You know we would take care of her. She would be quite comfortable at Stroumbi as one of our family,’ he pointed out.

It was the traditional Greek way of life, the commitment which the head of a family accepted to an older generation, making sure of their future together, and this time Anna knew that Nikos’ offer was genuine. As the widowed mother of his young wife, Dorothy would be accepted with open arms at Stroumbi and cared for during the years she had left.

‘I know you would be kind to her,’ she said huskily, ‘but this is her home. Being a small hotel hasn't made a lot of difference to her because she still has her own private rooms and can still potter around in her own beloved garden.’

‘But she has to work, and so have you,’ he protested. ‘It can’t be the same.’

‘It’s what we have accepted.’ She put a warm hand on his arm. ‘Don’t try to disillusion me, Nikos, because we have a long way to go.’

‘You are so determined!’ He was half-exasperated by her attitude. ‘Perhaps you have something else in mind.’

She faced him squarely. ‘If you mean
someone
else,’ she said quietly, ‘the answer is “no”.’

‘I was thinking about Andreas Phedonos,’ he admitted honestly. ‘He owes your mother a great deal. I thought perhaps he had returned to repay his debt.’

Anna flushed scarlet. ‘There’s no question of that,’ she declared. ‘There never could be. He caused her too much pain when he went away without a word.’

‘He did his National Service with my cousin, Demetris Loizides, but after that they lost touch. Demetris said he was very ambitious, even at nineteen, and determined to succeed one way or another. He would learn a lot in England.’

‘It seemed he travelled all over the world,’ Anna said. ‘He is quite different from the Andreas we knew and he has great charm. At least, my mother thinks so.’

‘Does that mean she has totally forgiven him?’ he demanded.

‘I don’t see how she could when she suffered so much at his hand,’ Anna declared firmly.

‘He argued so often with your father,’ he reminded her. ‘They could not see eye to eye.’

‘That was part of his reason for going away. They were both very strong characters who had different points of view, one older than the other and, maybe, wiser.’ Anna moved towards the sitting-room door. ‘I don’t know,’ she said. ‘It worried my mother very much because she loved them both.’

‘He could have returned when your father died. Did he not know?’ Nikos asked.

She shook her head. ‘Perhaps not, and by that time he would be chasing his own particular rainbow.’

‘Success,’ he mused. ‘He was always ambitious.’

It was a word Nikos hardly understood, nurtured as he was in the lap of luxury with a family fortune to depend upon and a large estate to call home.

‘I must go,’ she told him. ‘I’ll see you at dinner about nine o’clock.’

Disconsolately he turned away. ‘Why do you have to work such uncivilised hours?,’ he grumbled. ‘You should be fair to yourself and take time off—some time, anyway!’

‘I’ve been pleasing myself all afternoon,’ she laughed unsteadily. ‘You know how much I like a visit to the past, and I never tire of looking at the mosaics.’

‘Or meeting old friends on the way,’ he suggested, not trying to hide his jealousy.

‘If you mean Andreas, that was an accident,’ she assured him, ‘and he had his own lady friend with him. We only spoke for a minute or two and we really had nothing to say to each other.’

‘I’ll take your word for it!’ He was his old, bright self again, swinging his racquet as he made for the door. ‘See you at nine!’

Her mother was deep in conversation with Hilary Walsh and her daughter, who had not been on the bus tour because she had preferred to sunbathe on the beach all afternoon, acquiring an angry red colour which she hoped would develop into a flattering tan. She was a lumpy, fair-skinned adolescent who had very little to say for herself in company, outpaced and outshone by her mother who was the talkative kind. Yet, Dorothy seemed to enjoy their company, listening attentively as Mrs Walsh described their successful day.

Anna waved to them from the doorway and then made her way to reception where she checked the register and glanced through the mail. There were two letters requiring immediate attention and she had started to type her replies when there was a loud commotion at the desk.

‘I demand to see the manager—at once, please!

It was a woman’s voice, loud and angry, someone obviously disgruntled by a fancied lack of attention, she thought, hurrying to the office door.

A red-faced, angry matron confronted her across the desk.

‘Are you in charge?’ she demanded. ‘Actually, I want to see the manager.’

Evidently one of the guests who had arrived during the afternoon, it wasn’t difficult for Anna to place her from long experience.

‘If you can tell me what has gone wrong, Mrs Pope, I’ll do my best to put it right,’ she volunteered.

The angry lady looked her over with fine contempt.

‘I still want to see the manager,’ she insisted.

‘I am the manageress,’ Anna told her. ‘My mother is the proprietress, but there is no need to disturb her. I’m sure I can deal with any complaint you wish to make.’

Mrs Pope, who was travelling with her sister, drew a deep breath.

‘Shortly after our arrival some flowers were sent from a Limissol florist for my sister from an old friend of the family,’ she announced. ‘I rang from our room for a vase to put them in and, so far, nothing has happened. I have been waiting for over an hour.’

‘I’m sorry!’ Anna apologised. ‘If you had rung down to reception I’m sure something would have been done. We have a change of staff at four o’clock and your vase could have been forgotten. I’m sorry!’

‘Forgotten?’ Mrs Pope could hardly believe her ears. ‘It is your duty
not
to forget. These flowers will wither quickly in the heat of our room. I demand an explanation!’

Anna hesitated. ‘I can only offer you an apology and accept the blame,’ she said. ‘I will find a vase for you immediately.’ She came round the end of the desk, wishing that the irate lady would lower her voice because there were already several other guests in the hall. ‘How many flowers do you have? I wasn’t here when they arrived.’

‘No,’ Mrs Pope agreed, ‘that’s another thing. We did expect some personal reception, especially since it’s such a small hotel, but apparently you were elsewhere or otherwise engaged.’

‘We had an emergency this morning,’ Anna explained patiently. ‘Our guide on the mini-bus wasn’t able to go on the tour we had arranged so I had to take her place.’

‘I’m not concerned about that,’ Mrs Pope told her, the angry colour still high in her cheeks. ‘I’m pointing out that we take exception to being greeted by a beach employee of some sort in a pair of jeans and minus a shirt.’

Paris! Anna thought in alarm. Where had the others been?

‘I do apologise.’ She was genuinely sorry now. ‘That sort of thing doesn’t happen very often, I can assure you, Mrs Pope.’

‘I should hope not! Quite apart from the indignity of the situation, it shows a marked lack of authority when guests are met in such a haphazard way by a half-naked beach-boy with imperfect English into the bargain.’ Again the angry lady drew a deep breath. ‘If that is an example of management I take a very poor view of it, I must say, and it won’t be long before my sister and I find alternative accommodation.’

Anna kept her temper admirably. ‘I’m sorry,’ she repeated quietly.

‘Apologising isn’t good enough,’ Mrs Pope declared, holding her ground. ‘These flowers were delivered over an hour ago. Was it too much to ask for a vase as well?’