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Winspear, Violet
(2012)
THE AWAKENING OF ALICE
Violet Winspear
against her skin, and for the first time she saw
Stefan Kassandros with clarity. At first after
glancing through her belongings she had panicked
because she had been unable to find her indoor
glasses, then had realised that he hadnt bundled
them in with her other things. They had been left
unnoticed on the bathroom shelf, but fortunately she
possessed a pair of sunglasses, not too deeply
tinted, and these would have to suffice for everyday
use. She was wearing them right now, along with a
slim dark skirt and sedately collared blue blouse.
Her hair was neatly coiled into a bun at the nape of
her neck and she wore not a trace of make-up. Now
she was Alice Sheldon again, the primlooking
sister of the glamorous Alberta, whom men passed
by without a second glance. She braced her spine,
which was actually as straight as an arrow, giving
to her slenderness a look of balance she was
inclined to be unaware of, so that when she walked
along Kensington High Street she had a rather
snooty air. Her tinted spectacles sat firmly on her
nose and she hoped she was going to give her
kidnapper quite a jolt to his masculine libido.
Here I am, Mr Kassandros, she said, in her
primmest tone of voice. Ive dressed and come on
deck, as you ordered. He glanced down lazily at
her and the first thing his eyes settled on was her
bunned hair. Loosen your hair, Alice, and dont
argue with me, he said, and though she had sworn
to control her nerves, his voice still had the same
alarming effect on her silly female knees and she
felt them tremble the instant he opened his mouth.
Go to the devil, she muttered, hating him for his
male assurance and his attitude of being her master.
Its my hair, and I always wear it this way. II
only ever loosen it when I go to bed.
had this lift put in. You dont suffer from a fear of
being enclosed, do you, Alicia? She stared at him,
realising that he had subtly altered the sound of her
name, as if now they were on his island she was
going to be moulded exacdy to his requirements.
Ive never liked lifts very much, she said. I
would prefer to be called Alice in the English way,
if you dont mind? Im not a Greek woman and I
dont intend to bow down to you. Really? He
quirked a black eyebrow. Havent we already
established that I can bend you to my will any time
Im in the mood to do so? Oh yes, youre good at
using brute force, kyrios. She gave him a cold
look. But it might grow a little tedious for you
never to have someone whos willing, or who
wants .to kiss you because she likes you. I utterly
despise you and you arent always going to enjoy
being despisedmen dont, do they? Their mothers
teach them to need affection, from women, and
thats something you cant force me to give you.
My dear girl, his expression was sardonic, if you
fondly imagine that I require affection from you,
then youre mistaken. My sole purpose in bringing
you here should be perfectly clear to you by now.
It is, kyrie, she assured him. So long as you
understand that I hate your arrogance and everything
about you! Of course I understand. He gave a
softly mocking laugh. Ive ruined all your cosy
plans for the future. I expect you were going to sit at
the stricken tyrants knee and read him Gothic
romances in that charming English voice of yours,
all sweet servitude to look at, but secretly
get away with it, then why not try it? It would be a
very cruel ethekissis, wouldnt it? Indeed it
would, Alicia, except that I dont intend to deprive
myself of your company at my kastello. Alice
caught her breath at his meaning, and then she said
desperately: Do you imagine Damaskinos will let
you get away with such outrage? My dear, he had
stroked the hair away from her stricken eyes before
she could prevent him, I wouldnt place too much
reliance on his gallantry. I cant imagine
Damaskinos still wanting you when he finds out that
I have you. Hes far too shrewd not to guess
purpose, and too much a fellow Greek not to realise
that I dont just make threatening noises. Hell
suffer the torments of the impotentand I
understand they are rather acuteand then I regret
to say, Alicia, that hell cast you aside. But dont
look too wounded, little one. I shall ensure that
youre fully compensated before I let you go.
What do you meancompensated? She had
retreated from him as far as the walls of the lift
would allow, but still his height and his width of
shoulder made him seem overpoweringly close to
her, reminding her too vividly of a physical contact
she ached to forget. Money, my dear. He rubbed
his thumb and forefinger together. Isnt that what
you wanted most of all from Damaskinos? It was
what Alberta had wanted, and Alice felt as if she
fell deeper all the time into a trap she had half laid
herself in a jungle she should never have dared to
enter. IIm not mercenary, she said. That
wasnt why I came to Greece Then fate must
have brought you, he drawled. You chose to book
in at one of my hotels and the reception clerk
happened to mention to
Twenty-four.
s
But all the same, Alicia, if you asked her to lie for
you, then she would do so, eh? What do you mean
lie for me? Affirm something untrue for the
sake of helping you out of what you consider a
contretemps. No, it wouldnt occur to Alberta,
said Alice, with a touch of irony. Shes inclined to
be a person who puts her own self-interests first.
She was engaged to that man and shell admit it
without bothering to wonder if it lets me off the
hook. The hook being my hold on you, eh? He
spoke dryly, but his eyes were hard and unreadable
as they flicked from her face to his grip on her
wrist. May I send the cable? Alice asked. I shall
send it, he said decisively. You will give me your
sisters address in Ceylon and I shall do the
enquiring. In a few simple words I shall ask for the
truth, and that truth, my dear, will settle things
between us without further argument. Agreed? Oh
yes. Alice visibly relaxed. How long do you think
it will take before we receive an answer?
Perhaps a week. He shrugged. Perhaps more.
Ceylon is halfway across the world and the
plantation, I imagine, is somewhat in the wilds.
A-and in the meantime -? Alice couldnt put
into words what was in her mind, and when he
smiled at the edge of his mouth she knew that he
had read her mind.
Why not? Her eyes lit up. She had been told to
behave like a guest, and swimming was one of the
skills at which she had always been better than
Alberta, who preferred to model a bikini rather
than to get it wet. But it wasnt a bikini that Alice
Wore down to the beach, going by way of the
cliffside steps because the lift in its shaft of rock
was something that unnerved her. She carried a
bright towel over the shoulder of a white one-piece
swimsuit, and wore a pair of multicoloured
sandals. The suit showed off the firm curves of her
body and the tapering slimness of her legs, whose
pallor she hoped would soon be tanned by the
strong Greek sun. From here as she paused on one
of the rough ledges she could see that the beach was
shaped like the curving blade of a dagger.
Overhead flew the seabirds and out there the ocean
had a breathless beauty and invitation, with giant
rocks profiled against the turquoise swell of the
water. Alice gazed down at the unfathomable
depths of the sea at the bottom of the cliffs where
the spray leapt. She hadnt forgotten what Stefan
had said about the danger of sharks off-shore; that a
wary eye had to be kept alert for the steely-blue
killers with their white underbelly. But she wanted
to swim and she had seen Stefan making for the
water, and with a little toss of her head in its white
bathing cap she continued on her way down the
steps. Wasnt it Oscar Wilde who had said that the
basis of optimism was pure terror, and wasnt that
why life was more exciting when a hint of terror
was in the air? Ocean sharks and a tall, dark Greek
combined to quicken the blood in Alices veins and
when she reached the sands she flung her towel
over the henna-hued branches of a tamarisk and ran
among the rocks to the tideless Greek sea, tossing
her sandals back over her shoulder so they fell
somewhere in the vicinity of the tree. , The sea
ripples curled around her toes as she waded into
the water until it was breast high and she could
strike out, a good swimmer
All that day, and for the next few days, everyone
was busy at the house putting things in order. As
much of the masonry as possible was cleared from
the more severely damaged rooms, and tarpaulin
was placed over the great gap left by the collapsed
gable. A builder and his team would have to come
from Athens to start the work of restoration, and in
the meantime the once lovely bedroom was like a
gaping wound halfway along the gallery. Stefan
didnt choose to speak about it, and Alice kept busy
along with the staff, immensely glad of something to
occupy her body and her mind. Several of the
farmhouses had also suffered damage, and some of
the livestock had been killed, but the only human
casualties had been a couple of children and their
mother who at Stefans orders had been flown in
the amphibian to a hospital in Athens. Alex had
gone with them, and Alice felt no sense of regret
when she had watched the seaplane lift into the air
and leave her once more alone with Stefan. Her
choice had been made the night of the earthquake
and he seemed to realise it, though they didnt
speak of it. One evening she found his emeralds on
her dressing-table and knew that he was asking for
a visual sign that she commit herself to him.