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His mother entered his office. ‘I have been looking for you.’ She seated herself in one of his armchairs. ‘It is early for brandy, no?’
Demetrios ignored her comment and took another sip of the vintage Courvoisier. ‘Ariana has gone down to the harbour,’ she continued. ‘You can’t keep pushing her in this way. You will lose her forever if you don’t stop.’
Demetrios was in no mood for his mother’s lectures. ‘You are hardly in a position to take the moral high ground, Mama.’
Her tone was conciliatory. ‘Maybe not. I realize that I may have pushed you too far in the past.’
‘May have?’
His mother’s eyes flashed with some of her old fire. ‘Family has always come first, we both know that. But I can see that, if Ariana is pushed any more, she will break or do something stupid.’
‘What do you suggest then? Let her waste a good brain on clothes and baubles?’
‘No, but there is another way.’
Her son narrowed his eyes. ‘What are you planning, Mother?’
She waved her hand at him. ‘Don’t give me that look. What you really want is someone to help you with the business?’
Demetrios made a non-committal noise.
‘Listen, Ariana will never want to join you.’ She paused, weighing up her words. ‘You know she has a strong attraction to Christian, don’t you?’
‘Níko’s son? What are you suggesting?’
‘You are preparing him, are you not, to join you? He already works for you and wants to do well in the company?’
‘He is a good boat builder … and he is keen to learn the shipping side of things.’
‘That’s why you have been teaching him the way your father taught you: sending him out on the yacht, making sure he knows how to handle a boat. And he has a good business brain, you have said so a thousand times.’
He nodded. ‘Yes, he is serious-minded and hard-working. He will be an asset to the company. What are you getting at, Mother?’
‘If Ariana and Christian were to make an “alliance”, then she would have what she wanted, and you would be able to keep the business in the family.’
Demetrios regarded his mother in silence; after a moment, he spoke. ‘An old leopard is a leopard nonetheless and this one has not changed its spots.’
She gave him a cool smile. ‘I will take that as a compliment, my son.’
His face remained stony. ‘It wasn’t meant as one.’
‘Demi, you can’t have it both ways. If you want her to go along with your wishes, she needs a little … motivation, shall we say?’
‘I think when it comes to matters of the heart, a father should leave well alone. Ariana is too young, and—’
‘Nonsense, I was only eighteen when I married your father.’
‘I seem to remember you knew what was best for me once, and look where that ended.’
‘Sofía did not know her duty, she was not a good wife.’
‘And I was not a good husband, Mama.’
‘Demi, you are over-dramatizing this. All we will be doing is helping your daughter with her dreams. You must trust a woman’s intuition …’
Grace had found herself slotting into the rhythm of life on Ithos without even realizing it. She had picked up some Greek and while she wasn’t quite speaking like a local, she could chit-chat with the regular customers who came to the taverna.
Tonight, even though it was a Saturday and the busiest day of the week, the taverna would be closed for business. It was Níko’s birthday, and the staff had all been given the day off and invited to the party. Grace, however, liked helping and didn’t mind spending the morning with Teresa in the kitchen getting the food ready.
