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were immersed in some thoughts which she had no intention of
making known to her daughter.
'I know, but if my hunch does happen to be right we might be able to
prevent Darius from buying the land at Clearwater Cove.'
She left the villa a few minutes later, making for the marina. There
were several yachts there which weren't there yesterday and she stood
and frowned; her eyes wandering from one to the other. Impossible to
say which one it might be, and in any case her idea was only a hunch,
as she had said to her mother.
'So we meet again.' A smooth expressionless voice made her turn
swiftly. The colour rose to her cheeks and tinglings ran along her
spine.
'Darius ... you're out early.' She was flustered, unsure of herself.
Where, she wondered, was her cool composure, the self-possession
she had acquired during the past few years?
'Early?' with a slight lift of his straight black brows.
'It's almost nine o'clock.'
'People are usually having breakfast at this time.'
'You aren't having breakfast.'
'No ... well, I had something to do.' Automatically her eyes wandered
to one of the yachts, then moved to another.
'Such as?'
Alida gave a shrug of her shoulders. 'Just something,' she replied. 'It
wouldn't interest you,' she added, lowering her eyes in case she should
give away the fact that she was lying.
'I'm meeting a friend, but he hasn't arrived yet---'
Darius stopped abruptly, as if vexed that he should have spoken in a
confiding way. Alida said quietly, 'Is your friend the owner of
Clearwater Cove?'
He gave a slight start but recovered immediately. 'What made you
refer to Clearwater Cove?' he asked, watching her closely.--'
'I've heard that you're thinking of buying some land there.' A dryness
caught her throat and affected her voice so that there was a distinct
catch in it. Darius was still intently watching her face, the most odd
expression in his eyes.
'You have some special reason why you don't want a house at
Clearwater Cove?' Smooth the tone and yet something in it that was
unfathomable ... and significantly profound.
She looked up into his nobly-chiselled face and thought it possessed
all the arrogance of a Greek god. How different he was I Alida could
not help but remember him as he was the inexperienced youth with a
vision so narrowed that he had not for one moment imagined that she
would be anything other than filled with gratitude that he had offered
for her he, the, son of one of Cyprus's wealthiest men, saving her
from spinsterhood. His arrogance at that time was bumptious,
impudent; he was clumsy, trying to appear polished and failing
miserably. But now--His whole demeanour and appearance was the
embodiment of refinement and cultivated taste. He seemed far, far
above her, and the idea brought two bright spots of angry colour to
Alida's cheeks. Yet when she spoke in answer to his question there
was about her a sort of warm simplicity and calmness that affected him
profoundly.
'Yes, Parius,' she said quietly, 'I do have some special reason for not
wanting a house to be built on Clearwater Cove. You see, it's my
favourite place; it's where I go when I want to be quite alone, with my
thoughts She broke off because of the lump in her throat and
because of the cloud of tears that had gathered behind her eyes. Darius
seemed deeply affected, but he frowned presently and told her that he
had already acquired the land at Clearwater Cove and that his friend
was coming over merely to finalise the deal.
'He is the man whom I mentioned last night,' admitted Darius. 'You
had obviously guessed.'
Her lip quivered and she turned away. He stood looking down at the
top of her head for a long moment before speaking.
'I'm building a house there for myself.' Alida swung around.
'For yourself?' She shook her head in sheer dismay. 'You're intending
to live here, on Coral Cay it'
'Yes, Alida, I am.'
'You can't!' she cried fiercely. 'What do you want to live here for?
You're miles away from home!'
'So are you,' he reminded her suavely. And, when she found no answer
to that, 'There's room and enough on this island for both of us, Alida.'
'No! No, there isn't! I don't want you here, so close! Why, I'd see you
every single day!'
Faintly he smiled ... and seemed all at once to become inordinately
attractive. She frowned inwardly; she was uneasy because of the fact
that she could find him attractive. She ought to be hating him, not only
for what he had done in the past but for what he intended doing to her
now.
'I'm sorry if the sight of me offends you,' he said urbanely. 'But I can't
change my plans because of that. I intend to live here permanently, and
if it doesn't suit you you know what you can do.' And with that he '
fumed and strode away, his tall lithe figure soon lost to view as he
reached the wooded area which backed on to the waterfront. There
were tears in her eyes when she walked into the villa to find her mother
having a light breakfast of toast and coffee.
'What's wrong?' Margaret seemed edgy, strung up. 'You look ready to
weep!'
'I am ready to weep.'
Margaret frowned heavily.
'Well, for goodness' sake tell me why!'
Alida swallowed.
'Darius is building himself a house at Clearwater Cove.'
Silence. Margaret's hand shook visibly.
'No--It isn't true! He can't live here!'
Alida's eyes narrowed slightly as they fixed themselves on her
mother's trembling hand.
'Is something wrong? I mean you look terrified.'
Margaret pulled herself together.
'Terrified?' she repeated, her eyes opening to their full extent. 'Why on
earth should I be terrified?'
'I don't know, but you did seem afraid.' She was thoughtful,
remembering last night and the way her mother had received the news
of Darius's arrival on Coral Cay. There was fear in her eyes yes,
Alida was sure of it. And yet what could frighten her? Darius could not
possibly harm her, not any more than he could harm Alida herself.
'I wonder if Roger'll manage to get here.' Margaret buttered herself
another piece of toast and took a bite out of it. She looked at Alida,
noting the gleaming dark hair which contrasted with the pale golden
skin of her face, the thickly-fringed eyes of brown beneath
delicately-arched brows, the rosy lips that had parted in a smile at the
mention of Roger's name. The girl adored him, thought Margaret, and
for a fleeting moment she knew a tinge of pique. But it passed and was
forgotten; she was glad that her husband and her daughter got on so
well together.
'I expect he'll get here,' said Alida with confidence, 'but of course he
can't do anything about the land. It's too late it was too late when I
phoned him, because Darius had already acquired the land.'
'It's disastrous, Alida. We can't live here once he takes up residence.'
'No, I agree. Roger will be so grieved; he'd set his heart on living here
when he retired.'
Alida was still puzzled by her mother's attitude, for although she was
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