breathed in sharply. ‘My dear girl—are you sure nothing is broken in there?’
‘Quite sure. I cracked a rib playing hockey in school once, so I know what that feels like. This hurts a bit, but I’ll mend.’ Eleanor yawned suddenly. ‘My wrestling match has left me a bit tired, though. You must be, too. And you must surely have a few bruises yourself!’
Talia nodded ruefully. ‘But none as spectacular as yours; the only medication I need is hot tea. I keep a tray in my bedroom, so drink some with me after I see to your hand. I need a talk with Alex before I can think of sleeping.’
‘What will he do with the intruder?’
‘Call the police here tomorrow to deal with him, I imagine.’
There was something infinitely soothing after all the drama to sit in a comfortable blue velvet chair in Talia’s white-painted bedroom, drinking tea from a fine china cup.
‘You are quite a girl, Eleanor Markham.’ Talia laughed at Eleanor’s startled look. ‘I mean it. You were very brave tonight.’
‘It was pure gut instinct rather than bravery.’ Eleanor’s eyes flashed angrily. ‘I was so furious with the man I wanted to kill him, but in the end the wretch tried to drown me instead.’
‘I was in despair until Alex brought you to the surface,’ said Talia with a shudder. ‘My son was most impressed with you.’
‘Only because I attacked the man who tried to kidnap his mother,’ Eleanor said flatly. ‘This afternoon he was rather less pleasant when he threatened to sue the paper I work for.’
Talia sighed. ‘Try to forgive him for that. He is over-protective where I’m concerned. His hostility to the press began when he looked me up online on the computer his father gave him. My ex-husband is a powerful man, but even he failed to stop the speculation about our divorce. Unfortunately, that is the part Alex remembers.’ Talia sighed and fixed Eleanor with her famous violet eyes. ‘Since then he has further cause to hate the press. You must have researched us before you came. What did you discover?’
‘Not that much, except that an ex-girlfriend of your son’s sold a colourful story about him to a gossip-column reporter.’
Talia’s eyes lit with a tigerish gleam. ‘Christina Mavros is a liar, also a fool. She swore she would blacken Alexei’s name if he didn’t marry her, so he followed your famous Wellington’s example and told her to publish and be damned.’ She hesitated. ‘Did you learn anything about me?’
Eleanor nodded. ‘I read that you divorced Milo Drakos—”before the ink was dry on your marriage license”, to quote a popular tabloid of the time.’
Talia wrinkled her nose. ‘A little exaggerated, but not far out. You must surely want to know why?’
‘Of course I do. I’m only human, Ms Kazan.’
‘Please—I am Talia! ’
Eleanor smiled ruefully. ‘I’m wary of appearing familiar. But, just so there’s no misunderstanding, none of this will appear in my article. You have my word on it.’
Talia smiled. ‘I know that. And I must talk to you about this tonight because Alex is going to rush me away tomorrow and I will not have another chance.’
‘For what, exactly?’
‘To make a suggestion. If you do not wish to go home yet, why not stay on Kyrkiros until your flight? You will be safe here.’
Eleanor went cold at the mere thought. ‘I couldn’t possibly.’
‘Why not? Once Alex has seen me off at the airport, he can get the ferry back here. I shall insist that he takes a holiday.’
‘Even if he agrees, he won’t want me around.’
‘My son needs to relax, Eleanor, and also needs some intelligent feminine company to relax with. He would never admit it, but his constant aim in life is to achieve bigger and better things than his father.’ Talia smiled sadly. ‘If you did some research on Milo Drakos, you know that is not easy. It worries me that my son leaves no room in his life for normal relationships. With his looks and money, there have always been women available to him as playmates, but since the affair with Christina Mavros he is wary.’ She sighed. ‘I so much want him to enjoy the companionship of an intelligent woman. What can I do to persuade you to stay here for a few days and provide him with that?’
Eleanor’s first instinct was to assure Talia nothing would persuade her, short of locking her in the Kastro dungeons. But then she had a better idea. ‘If you get me an exclusive interview with your son, I will stay for a day or so. My boss is so desperate for his scoop he even ordered me to wear something sexy to persuade your son to talk to me.’
‘So you were not really here for the festival at all!’
‘Oh yes, I was, to round off my series. But Ross McLean is panting for an in-depth interview with the entrepreneur who never talks to reporters. Your son’s warning killed all hope of that.’ Eleanor looked Talia in the eye. ‘But I swear that securing a scoop wasn’t my motive for beating off the kidnapper. I just couldn’t bear the thought of the man laying hands on someone like you.’
‘Someone like me?’
Someone so charming and delicate that the thought of some bruiser manhandling her had sent Eleanor into battle without a second thought. ‘Someone I liked so much,’ she said, flushing again.
‘The feeling is mutual, Eleanor, as I have already made clear.’ Talia winced at the sound of raised voices outside. ‘What now?’
Alex appeared in the doorway, his face like thunder. ‘I apologise for disturbing you, Mother, but we have another intruder. He insists on speaking with you before he leaves.’ He turned to the man behind him. ‘In deference to our guest, please speak English.’
Talia’s eyes widened as Milo Drakos, a commanding figure in a pale linen suit, strode into the room. He bowed to both women and lifted Talia’s hand and kissed it, his eyes locked with hers. ‘Forgive my intrusion. I was watching when you left the terrace and saw Alexei race after you with some of his men. I could not leave until I knew all was well with you,’ he told her, in a voice exactly like his son’s.
A delicate flush rose in Talia’s face as she freed her hand. ‘This is a surprise, Milo. What are you doing here?’
‘It is our son’s birthday, is it not?’
Alex made a hostile move, but at a look from his mother he backed off.
‘A card would have done, Milo,’ she observed, in a tone so sweet and cold it sent shivers down Eleanor’s spine.
He surveyed her bleakly. ‘Instead I came to mingle with the crowds, hoping to give my wishes myself. To my surprise, I was granted the unexpected privilege of seeing you here, Talia, and so I stayed, even knowing I risked instant ejection from my son’s island if he saw me.’
‘Of course I saw you,’ grated Alex. ‘But throwing you off Kyrkiros would have attracted unwelcome attention to my mother.’
Eleanor got to her feet hastily. ‘If you’ll excuse me, I’ll say goodnight.’
‘Goodnight, my dear.’ Talia smiled at her son. ‘Escort Eleanor to your room, please, Alexei mou.’
In silence so thick it seemed to drain the oxygen from the air, Alex led Eleanor along the hall to his own bedroom, his reluctance to leave his parents alone together coming off him like gamma rays.
‘I hope you’ll be comfortable in here,’ he said stiffly as he ushered her into a starkly masculine bedroom so unlike Talia’s it could have been in a different building.
‘I’m sorry to turn you out of your room,’ she said, equally stiff.
He shrugged. ‘In the circumstances, the least I can do. But I must collect some belongings before I leave