Anything would be fine—anything without alcohol. She needed control—perfect control.
He poured out her drink, adding ice, and handed it to her without expression. Yet there was something moving behind his mask, she knew. Well, she didn’t care. He could think what he liked. It was nothing to do with her—not any more.
She lifted her glass.
‘Yassoo,’ she intoned.
He did not respond, merely lifting his own highball to his mouth and taking a slow, considering sip. His eyes did not leave hers.
Something ran between them. Unspoken. Like a line of wildfire in tinder dry grass.
The world stopped around her. Just stopped.
She heard a silent cry in her head. Fear. Absolute fear.
More than fear…
Worse than fear…
‘Lunch is served.’ The sonorous tones from the doorway to the dining room made the world start again. As her fingers closed more tightly around the chilled column of her glass, she walked into the room beyond. Going through the required rituals of taking her place at the table gave her the chance to regain control of herself.
‘I only ever have a light lunch,’ Theo said, indicating the array of salads on the table. ‘But of course if you would like something more substantial, you have only to say.’
She gave a curt nod of her head. One of the staff was setting out a coffee tray, with a jug of coffee keeping warm on a hotplate. A quick word in Greek to their employer, asking if anything else was required, a brief negative from Theo, and they took their leave. She was left alone with Theo.
She started to reach for the salad bowls, making a selection. She was not hungry. Her stomach was a tight knot. She watched covertly as Theo did likewise, his movements as smooth and economical as always. It came to her that this would be the last time she would set eyes on him…
The world seemed to still again, and then stop completely.
She forced it to keep going again.
Focus—that’s all. Just focus.
Theo lifted his fork to his mouth. ‘What’s this farce all about, Vicky?’ he asked.
His voice was off-hand, indifferent. She felt her back go up. Deliberately she delayed in answering him, making a play of taking a mouthful of salad and eating it.
‘Well?’ There was more curtness in his voice as he prompted her. He did not like to be kept waiting for answers when he wanted them.
Even more deliberately she took a drink from her water glass, forked up some more food.
‘I wanted to thank you for the money, Theo,’ she answered, her voice bland.
His eyes narrowed infinitesimally. Then, gliding in with a knife thrust she did not see coming, he said, ‘It was my pleasure. My very considerable pleasure. Yours, too, of course.’
His eyes unveiled as he spoke, touching her like a caress. A slow, sensual caress. She felt colour flare in her cheeks.
Bastard! He was doing it deliberately. Don’t react—do not react to him!
She blanked him. It was hard, excruciatingly hard, but she did it.
‘I’ve paid the cheque into my bank already. I stopped off on the way here. I’ve kept my personal account going—the one I opened before we married—which of course makes it easier for paying in a euro cheque. I dare say I’ll suffer from the exchange rate when it’s transferred to my London bank, but, given the size of the sum, that won’t be too much of a loss.’
She took some more food and continued, her voice with the same light, bland tone. ‘Mind you, it will need to stretch quite a long way. The house that Jem’s inherited needs a lot of work doing to it to make it habitable again. But it’s a wonderful opportunity, of course, and we’re both so very excited
. A complete new start for us both! We’ll be moving there in the summer, which will be lovely. Did I mention the house is in Devonshire? Very near the coast? It’s an old house—Victorian, I believe. Rather appropriate, given my name, don’t you think?’
She gave a little tinkle of laughter and drank some more water. Her throat was dry with tension. ‘We’re going to have to do huge amounts to the house, of course. Roof, new electrics—all that boring sort of stuff. That’s before we get on to the fun bits like decorating. Still, it will keep us busy! And together, which is even nicer. I always miss Jem when he’s not around—we go back such a long way, and we stick together through everything. Thick and thin.’