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away from some fallen boulders strewn across their path. 'The Greeks
may be poor, my dear, but they have their values right; you have no
need to pity them.'
Yes, they had their values right. Not for them the futile striving, the
greed and soul-destroying lust for something better. They were in fact
to be envied, for they knew the true meaning of contentment.
Despite Nickolas's haste, they were the last to board the launch. As it
moved from the quay, making for the gleaming white ship anchored
just off the island, Marika looked back, a sad and lingering regret in
her heart.
Would they ever return? Nickolas had said they would, and yet....
Something had happened to her during the past few days, and she
suspected Nickolas felt differently, too, but try as she would, Marika
could not visualize a future with him, could not help comparing
herself with Hilary whp was so beautiful, so confident and, perhaps
more important, a clever and efficient businesswoman. No doubt at
all that Nickolas relied on her a good deal, in fact, thought Marika
with a tiny sigh, he would probably be lost without her.
The afternoon was spent on deck, under a blazing sun. Marika had
acquired a beautiful tan - she looked almost like a Greek herself, Niki
had laughingly told her when, after lunch, she joined them for a
while. She had had her hair done during the morning while Nickolas
and Marika were exploring Patmos and, noticing how attractive it
looked, Marika said,
'I think I will have mine cut. Must I make an appointment?'
'Yes; she's rather busy, but I'll see you're fitted in.'
Nicholas, lying in a deck chair, apparently dozing, opened his eyes.
'Your hair suits you very well as it is,' he said quietly, and closed his
eyes again, as if considering the matter settled.
'Oh. ...' Marika appeared faintly surprised. 'Perhaps, but I've decided
to have it short. And I might have it permed a little - just to make it
curl up at the ends.'
Her fiance's eyes opened very wide at that; Niki looked from him to
Marika, and waited. Having known Nickolas a long time, she knew
what that expression portended.
'Perhaps you did not understand me. I said your hair suits you as it is.'
Marika blinked at him, and flushed slightly, conscious of Niki's
amusement.
'You mean you don't want me to have it cut?'
'He means,' laughed Niki, 'that he won't allow you to have it cut,' and,
as a slight frown crossed Marika's brow,
'This is something you will have to get used to. Don't you know that
in Greece, when the bride, during the marriage service, promises to
obey, the bridegroom stamps heavily on her toes to remind her of his
superiority?' She was laughing, and Nickolas himself seemed a good
deal amused as he watched Marika's colour deepen.
'Those antiquated customs exist now only in the remote villages -
Pitsa told me!' she retorted. 'If Nickolas stamped on my toes I'd '
She broke off, in utter confusion.
'You would stamp on mine?' responded Nickolas, laughter in his
eyes. 'In that case, I had better take care, hadn't I?'
Perhaps that was merely for Niki's benefit; perhaps he was teasing her
- or it could have been something of both. But it so added to Marika's
embarrassment that, taking pity on her, Nickolas reluctantly left his
chair and suggested they take a dip in the pool.
There remained to them two more idyllic days. On the first, they
visited Rhodes, the 'island of roses', where they had a meal in one of
the tavernas by the sea, strolled along the famous 'Street of the
Knights', and visited the valley of the butterflies. They stood on one
of the little rustic bridges and looked down into the gorge as the
butterflies, disturbed by the visitors, showered the air with a deep
crimson gold. They wandered into the Turkish town, with its markets
and fountains, its slender minarets and mosque of Suleiman the
Magnificent.
And on their last day they visited Crete, and the Palace of Minos at
Knossos, with its beautiful frescoes, still bright after three thousand
years. Here began Europe's first civilization; here the terrible
monster, the Minotaur, was born to the wife of King Minos, and later
slain by Theseus, legendary Prince of Athens.
'What a lot we've done!' said Marika as, after their last dinner on
board, they left the dancers and strolled on the deck. 'I feel I've been
away from Delphi for weeks!'
'Have you enjoyed it all?' The gentleness in his tone had become
familiar, but Marika caught her breath on hearing it. They paused by
the rail and she turned to him, her eyes wide and soft, her lips parted
in a smile.
'I've had a wonderful time; I'll never, never forget it!'
'Nor shall I.' His voice held a hint of regret, as if he wished their
holiday could have lasted a while longer. 'I hope, my dear, that I have
in some small measure made up for my inexcusable neglect of you.'
Small measure! Fingering the watch on her wrist, thinking of her
luxurious cabin, and the shore trips they had taken, Marika felt
tempted to thank him again, but she refrained.
This holiday was just a more elaborate example of the hospitality
found everywhere in Greece. Already she knew enough about the
Greeks to be sure that Nickolas would not appreciate gratitude on her
part. His regret at what he called his neglect was very sincere; what he
had done for her both assuaged his conscience and gave him that
self-fulfilment which requires no other reward.
Several couples came out on deck, escaping from the excessive heat
of the ballroom, but it was an airless night, with scarcely a ripple on
the sea, and Marika felt that the only comfortable place would be in
the pool. On nights like this the air-conditioning helped, but the
cabins were almost unbearably hot, and Marika knew that if she went
to bed she wouldn't sleep. Nickolas seemed to have the same
conviction, for he suggested they go up on to the top deck, and sit
down for a while.
They sat there a long while, speaking little, but in the softness of the
night the sense of companionship grew steadily. Marika recalled
Elaine's saying that wonderful things happened to you in Greece.
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