this afternoon?’ he countered. ‘I don’t think so.’
‘Oh, Demetri.’ A sob of hysteria rose inside her and, to disguise her real feelings, she said recklessly, ‘You must be getting old. When we were together, you used to have much more stamina.’
A phone rang somewhere in the house, but Demetri ignored it. He was staring at Jane with undisguised fury in his eyes, and she hastily moved around a sofa to seat herself beside his father. She knew it wasn’t fair to provoke him when he couldn’t answer back, but this time it seemed she’d gone too far, even for him.
‘What the hell is that supposed to mean?’ he demanded, coming to grip the back of the sofa behind her with white-knuckled fingers. ‘Jane, I’m warning you—’
But whatever he’d been about to reveal was arrested by the sudden appearance of his father’s housekeeper. Angelena halted in the doorway, and it was obvious from her flushed face and agitated hands that she had something momentous to report.
‘My apologies, kirie,’ she said, looking at Demetri, ‘but you have a call from Athens.’ She spoke in their own language but Jane could understand most of what she said. ‘I explained that the family was at dinner, but Kirie Avensis insists on speaking to you personally. He says it is a matter of life and death!’
Demetri hesitated only a moment before turning and following the woman out of the room. His departure left an uncom-fortable vacuum, which Leo filled with his usual aptitude.
‘Avensis wouldn’t ring unless it was something serious,’ he averred half rising out of his seat and then sinking weakly back again. ‘Maria, would you go and see what has happened? I would myself, but…’
He spread his hands, his meaning clear, and for once Maria didn’t demur. ‘Veveha,’ she said, putting down her coffee and getting to her feet. Of course. ‘If you will all excuse me…’
Jane didn’t know what to say, but Stefan had no such reservations. ‘You could have asked me, Papa,’ he said tersely. ‘I am capable of carrying a message, you know.’
Leo shook his head, for once looking less than self-possessed. ‘I didn’t think, Stefan. I’m sorry. And of course you may go and see if there is anything you can do.’
Stefan shook his head. ‘Is there any point?’
‘There may be.’ His father’s face had resumed its normal composure. ‘If you wouldn’t mind.’
Stefan hesitated, but after a moment, he, too, got to his feet and left the room, leaving Demetri’s father with only Jane and Ariadne for company.
‘What do you think has happened?’
Ariadne voiced what they were all thinking, and Leo shook his head again. ‘Heaven knows,’ he said, his fingers massaging the head of his cane his only sign of agitation. ‘One of the tankers has had a collision, perhaps.’
Ariadne’s lips parted. ‘Is that serious?’
‘It can be.’ Leo forced a smile for their benefit. ‘Let us hope not, hmm?’
Jane wet her dry lips. ‘Will—will Demetri be expected to take charge?’
‘Not necessarily,’ replied the old man, before Ariadne could tell her it was none of her business. He stared thoughtfully into the middle distance. ‘We have technical staff for that sort of thing.’ He paused. ‘Of course, he may want to.’
‘As you would,’ said Jane understandingly, and Leo smiled a little wistfully.
‘You know me so well, my dear,’ he said, patting her hand. ‘Yes. I would love to be involved.’
Jane smiled and Ariadne huffed her annoyance, but just then Maria came back into the room, adjusting her grave expression when she saw her husband.
‘Well?’ Leo was impatient, and Maria sighed.
‘There’s been an accident,’ she said, sinking down onto her chair again and lifting her cooling cup of coffee. ‘Ugh, where’s Angelena? This is barely palatable—’
‘What kind of accident?’
Leo wasn’t about to be put off, and Maria put her cup down again. ‘Demetri will handle it,’ she said soothingly. ‘Now, does anyone else—?’
‘Maria!’ Leo was glaring at her now, and, with a groan, she gave in.
‘All right, all right. There’s been an explosion. It’s not clear yet how it happened, but the Artemis is holed just above the waterline.’
Leo swore then. ‘Holed?’he echoed. ‘Has anyone been hurt?’
‘Avensis says one man has been reported injured, but other than that there are no casualties.’
‘Thank God!’ Leo was relieved. ‘But the Artemis: is she in danger of sinking?’
‘Possibly.’ Maria leant towards him and rubbed his knee. ‘It’s nothing for you to worry about, Leo. As I said before, Demetri will handle it.’
Leo’s frustration was evident. ‘I assume he’s flying back to Athens tonight?’
‘He’s arranging to have Costas pick him up as we speak,’ agreed Maria reassuringly.
‘Yes.’ Leo nodded. ‘The helicopter will allow him to fly straight out to the stricken vessel.’
‘Oh, I shouldn’t think so.’ Now his wife looked dismayed and Jane felt a stab of anxiety deep inside her.
‘Oh, yes.’ Leo sounded definite. ‘I know Demetri. He’ll want to see for himself what is going on.’
‘But—isn’t that dangerous?’
It was Ariadne who spoke now, and Demetri’s father gave her an impatient look. ‘Life is dangerous,’ he muttered. ‘Haven’t you discovered that yet?’ His lips twisted. ‘Jane has, haven’t you, my dear?’
Jane didn’t know what to say to this, but, as luck would have it, Stefan’s return prevented any need for a reply.
‘Has Mama told you what’s happened, Papa?’ he asked, leaning over the sofa where they were sitting. And at Leo’s nod, ‘I’m going with Demetri.’ He arched mocking brows at Jane. ‘Ain’t that somethin’?’
Jane could only stare at him, and it was left to Maria to say anxiously, ‘You can’t both be going, Stefan. What about— what about your father? What about us? We may need you—’
‘Let him go, Maria,’ Leo interrupted her. ‘Perhaps it’s time I remembered I had three sons and not just two, eh, Stefan?’ He paused. ‘Just be careful, hmm?’
‘I will, Papa.’ Stefan gripped the old man’s shoulder for a moment, and then, after bidding goodbye to the three women, he left the room again.
Maria looked near to tears and Jane herself felt decidedly shaken. The idea of the two men flying out to some oil tanker that had already experienced one explosion was terrifying. She wanted to go and find Demetri and tell him to take care, but she didn’t have that right, and it was Ariadne who, after a moment, sprang to her feet and followed Stefan.
‘Well!’ Maria regarded Jane coldly. ‘I hope you won’t let this interfere with your plans for leaving.’ She paused and ignoring her husband’s obvious dismay, she continued, ‘Leo tells me you want to leave as soon as possible. In the circumstances, I think that’s entirely the right thing to do. Don’t you?’
CHAPTER TWELVE
JANE parked her car outside her mother’s house and then sat for a few moments wondering how she was going to handle this. She had to tell her mother she was going to have a baby. She couldn’t take the risk that Olga might decide to make her suspicions public. Besides, she hadn’t seen Mrs Lang for over a week