Bought: One Island, One Bride

CHAPTER TWO

‘YOU are well-meaning, but misguided, Ms Mendoras.’

‘And you are an arrogant plutocrat who presumes he knows what’s best for everyone…’

OK, this was not going exactly to plan. The atmosphere between them was deteriorating rapidly. It seemed they couldn’t inhabit the same space without passions being roused.

Ellie and Alexander were confronting each other in Alexander’s study on board the Olympus. She was standing stiff and angry on one side of his desk, while Alexander lounged comfortably in a padded leather chair on the other.

As far as he was concerned he alone knew what was best for the island, Ellie fumed. He wasn’t prepared to listen to anyone else’s point of view, least of all hers. Just as she had imagined, the Olympus was more than a floating home; the yacht was Alexander Kosta’s kingdom—a kingdom he ruled without a council.

‘Why don’t you sit down and relax, Ms Mendoras?’

He pointed to the comfortable chair one of his lackeys had drawn up for her.

‘I’m here to make a point, not to make myself comfortable.’

‘Please yourself.’ He shrugged.

Ellie was deeply conscious that, sitting silently some distance away from them, Kiria Theodopulos was a party to everything. The old lady was both her rock and her sticking point. She felt safe, but she couldn’t say half the things she would have liked to. Respect for the old lady’s traditional values meant she had to keep a curb on her tongue. ‘Mr Kosta—’

‘Ms Mendoras? Or may I call you Ellie?’

As Kiria Theodopulos gave an almost imperceptible nod Ellie knew she didn’t have much alternative.

‘Good,’ he said smoothly, ‘and in that case I have no objection to you calling me Alexander…’

‘You’re too kind.’ She could think of plenty more things she’d like to call him, but for now Alexander would have to do.

‘So, tell me what’s on your mind,’ he prompted.

In truth? Very little right now. Ellie’s mind had emptied faster than a sieve. Calling Alexander Kosta by his first name was far too intimate for her liking. But she could handle it, Ellie reassured herself. ‘You can’t expect to throw Lefkis open to all comers, Alexander, and have no consequences…’

He took his time to answer her and rubbed one firm thumb pad across the stubble on his chin before he did.

‘You seem to know a lot about my future plans for the island, Ellie.’

His expression suggested quite the contrary; that she knew nothing.

‘Do you really care for this island, or was your protest today prompted by self-interest?’

‘What?’ Ellie couldn’t believe her ears.

‘It just seems to me to be too much of a coincidence that on the day you learn you are about to lose your berth in the deep-water harbour you launch a campaign against me…’

Kiria Theodopulos stiffened as if she would have liked to intervene. ‘Of course I care about my berth,’ Ellie said quickly, wanting to save the old lady further hurt. ‘It was my father’s, and his father’s before him.’ Her eyes turned to emerald ice as she held Alexander’s gaze, daring him to contradict her.

‘Well, I just can’t understand your concerns. What is wrong with your new berth on the other side of the island?’

‘Exactly my point!’ Ellie blazed. ‘It’s on the other side of the island. Why is that, Alexander? Is the fishing fleet too unsightly for your new visitors? Will everyone who fails to live up to your exacting standards be replaced or relocated where they can’t be seen? What will you do if your wealthy friends complain about the lack of local colour? Will you have us bussed in?’

Kiria Theodopulos nodded.

‘I’ll be sure to give some consideration to what you’ve said,’ Kosta said.

And that’s likely! Ellie thought grimly. How could she expect a man like Alexander Kosta to understand that the very thing that made Lefkis unique was about to be diluted by him, until the culture of the island, as well as the delicate balance of life in the sea, no longer existed? ‘You can’t go ahead without consultation—’

‘I can do what I like, since I own the island,’ he pointed out. ‘I have made the necessary investigations, and I have concluded that the deep-water harbour can’t be wasted. The revenue from visiting yachts alone—’

‘Profit. It all boils down to money with you—’

‘If only I had the luxury of being an idealist—’

‘But you do,’ Ellie protested. ‘Can’t you see? You could have it all—’

‘I think you’ll find that my way, the calm and reasoned way, will work better,’ Alexander insisted, not missing the opportunity to point out that she was losing control. ‘The influx of visitors means every one of those deep-water berths will be required. You should be pleased, Ellie. The shallow harbour I have reserved for you and for the other fishing boats will be ideal for your purpose.’

‘Say you!’

‘I have decided this,’ Alexander confirmed steadily, holding Ellie’s impassioned gaze.

‘Don’t you care that the fishing fleet has considered this harbour to be its home for centuries?’

‘That’s not strictly true…’

There was triumph, and humour too, on Alexander’s face, and even Kiria Theodopulos flinched a little at that last point. Ellie wasn’t totally sure of her facts; she had only lived on Lefkis for the past eight years, and now, maddeningly, her eyes had filled with tears. The truth was she loved her simple life on the island and she couldn’t bear to see anything change. It hadn’t taken much for a few hotheads amongst the locals to provoke her into action. ‘You can’t sweep generations of tradition away and expect Lefkis to retain its charm,’ she pointed out more calmly, thankful for an agreeing tilt of Kiria Theodopulos’s head.

‘When I require your advice, Ellie, I’ll be sure to ask for it—’

‘Why bother when you’d only ignore it?’

‘Anticipating my actions again, Ellie?’

‘Someone should stand up to you—’

‘And that person’s you?’

‘Why not me?’ Ellie said, firming her jaw as Alexander rose out of his chair.

‘Ellie Mendoras? A one-woman army?’

‘If I must be.’ It was a pity her voice quavered at that point, and an even bigger pity she had to crane her neck in order to hold his gaze.

He moved so fast she gasped out loud as he came towards her.

‘Tea?’ he said, reaching past her to ring a bell.

He asked Kiria Theodopulos the same question and, having received a positive response, flashed Ellie a triumphant glance. Oh, yes, everything appeared to be going Alexander Kosta’s way.

Was she strong enough to stand up to him? Ellie wondered as Alexander took up position in front of one of the picture windows. Only time would tell. So far he seemed totally unconcerned by everything that had happened.

He might have been fresh from the shower. Effortlessly elegant and perfectly groomed, he had made her feel doubly drab. A fact that shouldn’t concern her at all, but for some reason did.

‘May I make one small suggestion?’ he said, indicating that he would whatever she thought.

As they all sat down at the tea table Ellie could only incline her head in agreement and force a smile. But her eyes told Alexander a rather different story.

‘Don’t make threats to me you can’t honour, Ellie.’

He spoke so pleasantly even Kiria Theodopulos smiled.

It was a relief when the steward put the tray of tea in front of them and stopped her relatiating. The man’s whispering presence gave Ellie the chance to look around. She had expected everything on board Alexander’s yacht was of the best, and it was, but everything was restrained to the point of being boring. It was as if in spite of his massive wealth Alexander had no real interest in material objects.

You would look in vain for some sign of frivolity or excess here, Ellie concluded. Everything, including the master of the Olympus, took itself very seriously indeed. The pictures might have been gathered by an expert in classical art, and the colour scheme was muted. There was no relief, from the thick taupe carpet underfoot, to the few ornaments scattered about. They were all in shades of bronze, ivory or pewter-grey. The emphasis on leather and polished wood also added to the sombre atmosphere.

Nothing twinkled.

But that was her style too! In some strange way, Ellie realised, the interior of Alexander’s fabulous yacht mirrored her austere lifestyle on board the simple fishing boat. This was more opulent, obviously, but the environment in which Alexander both lived and worked was contained and controlled to within an inch of its life, just like her own spartan accommodation. It was as if neither of them wanted to draw attention, though for vastly different reasons, of course…

It was quite a shock to recognise these similarities between them. She didn’t enjoy the comparison. Wiping her hands self-consciously on her working clothes, Ellie was forced to admit they were hardly frivolous. The truth was she didn’t possess a single item of clothing, or anything else for that matter, that wasn’t functional.

‘Can I get you anything else?’ Alexander glanced at his wrist-watch as she drained her cup.

The meeting was over, so she had to press for a result. ‘I’m just looking for an assurance that you will take the views of the islanders into consideration before you make any changes that might affect them.’

‘What makes you think that I won’t do that?’

When she didn’t flash back an answer he relaxed. He was over his initial irritation and could see her uses. In fact, Ellie Mendoras had come along at the perfect time. She was the ideal person to win over any remaining dissenters on the island. ‘You have five minutes to tell me where your main concerns lie,’ he said.

Patience didn’t come easily to him, but in this instance it would be worth it. Plus, she was easy on the eye and he was determined to find out everything he could about her. His usual sources had drawn a blank. The locals either knew nothing, or would tell him nothing; the time had come to make his own enquiries.

Everyone had their price, even Ellie Mendoras, Alexander reflected as she talked. She would sail her ramshackle boat to the harbour he had chosen for her, and she would keep her nose out of his business; he was determined on that. So how had this feisty local girl got under his skin? He flashed a glance at Kiria Theodopulos, who had returned to her comfortable seat overlooking the ocean. She was a safeguard, without being an intrusion. Her presence was as much a precaution for him as it was for Ellie. He’d seen too many men in his position trapped by young women who engineered a meeting only to sell their fabricated kiss-and-tell stories some time later. He’d suffered the only deception he intended to at the hands of a woman, and had no intention of repeating that mistake.

Alexander’s gaze returned to Ellie, who was still talking earnestly. He was barely listening to her. Instead he was inwardly celebrating that he had pulled the rug from her feet with such remarkable ease. How had she thought she could confront him, and even shame him in front of a crowd of people, all of whom owed their livelihoods to him? Such naïvety was rare. He put it down to the fact that she had hidden herself away from the world since her father had drowned. Why else had his enquiries about her been met with a wall of silence?

He shifted position restlessly. Naïve or not, she had forgotten the first rule of commerce, which was that he who paid the piper called the tune. He wasn’t going to change his mind about the power-boat races or anything else, including his decision to relocate the fishing fleet…He had been enjoying watching her face growing increasingly animated as she talked, but it was time to wrap this up; she’d had her five minutes. ‘When did you say you intended leaving your mooring?’

‘I didn’t…’ She paled. ‘You haven’t been listening to a word I’ve said, have you, Alexander?’

He got up and walked to the window. He’d been sitting down long enough. Ellie Mendoras was out of her depth trying to stand against him. Someone should have warned her that it wasn’t his way to swat mosquitoes when he could afford to drain a swamp and have a road built through it.

‘I think you care more about the celebrities you can attract to Lefkis than the people who actually live here,’ she accused him.

He’d heard enough and rounded on her, eyes blazing. ‘You’re not qualified to make judgements like that. What do you know about how I feel? I beg your pardon, Kiria Theodopulos,’ he was forced to add as his words split the silence. Fortunately, the old lady kept her face carefully averted.

‘I feel sorry for you, Alexander—’

‘Oh, do you?’ He glared back at Ellie. Didn’t she ever give up? ‘Well, you can spare me your pity.’

He spun on his heel, turning his back on her, and then stood motionless, staring out of the window. Her continued defiance made his spine tingle. He was acutely aware of her as a woman. He wanted to take this passion somewhere else. Fast. Have her up against a wall to ease his tension. ‘This meeting’s over,’ he said coldly. Lucky for him that reason took over.

He was on the point of delivering an ultimatum when his glance clashed with the raisin-black stare of Kiria Theodopulos. OK, for her sake and for her sake alone he would offer one more olive branch. ‘Didn’t my agent explain that together with a peppercorn rent for your new mooring you will be well compensated?’

Whatever he had been expecting in response, it wasn’t this. Balling her hands into fists, Ellie came towards him.

‘One stroke of your pen—that’s all it takes for you to change someone’s life, isn’t it? Well, let me tell you something, Alexander; you won’t get away with this—’

‘It’s a perfectly reasonable offer.’ He looked at Kiria Theodopulos for support, only to find that the old lady seemed to have gone conveniently deaf. ‘You’re taking up a berth—’

‘That could be better used by one of your gas-guzzling, planet-wrecking monstrosities?’ Throwing her head back in disgust, Ellie uttered a heartfelt sound of contempt.

As the sunlight caught her auburn hair it blazed like fire. He could picture it spread out on a pillow in all its gleaming abundance…He quickly blanked the thought. ‘I have to think about the economy of this island and the prosperity that an annual influx of wealthy visitors and their boats can bring—’

‘Boats?’ She cut him off. ‘These things aren’t boats.’ She gestured around in a manner worthy of any Greek. ‘They take no skill to sail with their computerised systems, their radar and autopilot! You’re a Greek, Alexander! How could you support these…?’

‘Monstrosities?’ he supplied evenly. ‘Yachts this size are increasingly a fact of life, and there’s nothing you can do about it.’

She bit down on her lip. Her eyes filled with tears. For the first time in his life he wanted to back off rather than press on to victory.

He quickly got over it. Allowing her a moment to compose herself, he offered her a fresh, neatly pressed handkerchief. ‘Pull yourself together,’ he said brusquely.

Sniffing loudly and indelicately, she refused it. Tilting her head with pride, she informed him, ‘My father used that berth all his life. The people who live around the harbour knew and loved him, and now they know me…’

And would love her, he realised with a blow to his solar plexus. ‘Time moves on, Ellie, and we must move with it…’

‘Time?’ Her brow was wrinkled as she considered this. ‘So the heritage of this island means nothing to you? You bought Lefkis and now it’s yours to do with as you like?’

‘That’s right,’ he said, relieved that she was starting to see sense.

‘Then I dread the consequences,’ she told him gravely.

‘I think you’d better explain yourself,’ he threatened.

‘If Lefkis is the latest toy in your toy box, what happens when you tire of the island, Alexander? Will you just toss it out of the playpen?’

‘I’m not going to dignify that comment with a reply.’

Her response was to jut out her chin in a way that, had she been a man, would have invited him to take a swing at it. But the issues at stake were too serious to allow this meeting to deteriorate into a game of tit for tat.

‘This would never have happened in my father’s time,’ she said, shaking her head as if he was in the wrong.

It was time for a few home truths. ‘In your father’s time there was no clinic on the island. There was no hospital, no secondary school and people died from influenza before a doctor could arrive by sea from another island. In your father’s time Lefkis was a poverty-stricken pile of rocks where people scratched a living the best way they could—’

‘But they stayed,’ she argued passionately. ‘And why do you think that was, Alexander?’

Before he could tell her they had nowhere else to go, she gave him her version of events.

‘They stayed on because Lefkis was their home, their community, their family. They stayed on because they love the island as I do. Are the fiestas a recent custom? No. They’ve been held on Lefkis for hundreds of years. Do the tourists crowd in to witness some stage show contrived to strip them of their money before they leave? Are these people actors, or shallow charlatans?’ As she pointed to Kiria Theodopulos, her mouth worked with emotion. ‘Is that what you believe, Alexander?’ Her eyes blazed into his. ‘Because if you do, you’ll never be worthy to call yourself a son of Lefkis, even if you do own the island—’

‘Have you finished?’ he said coldly. ‘Good; then let me explain something. My success is founded on the solid rock of self-belief. That and sound judgement. This island is going to change. I will bring power-boat racing. I will clear the deep-water harbour in order to accommodate the bigger vessels. And I will not risk the future prosperity of Lefkis in order to humour you and a few local hotheads!’ Or to placate Kiria Theodopulos, whom he noticed now had reached up to clasp Ellie’s hand.

The silence in the room climbed to a new level as they stared at each other. He had let loose more emotion in these last few minutes than he had in years. And emotion had always been his enemy.

CHAPTER THREE

HE RANG a bell discreetly with his foot. It brought the steward hurrying back. ‘You may take the tea tray away now,’ he told him. ‘We’re finished here.’

‘I’m not finished,’ Ellie asserted, glancing at the steward’s retreating back.

‘I am,’ he told her coldly. Striding past her, he opened the door. ‘Accept what you have been told, or you’ll hear from my agent again. I’d like to keep this friendly, but…’

She got the message. He didn’t need to say anything more. Realisation dawned swiftly behind her eyes. This wasn’t just a question of a berth for her fishing boat, or a power-boat race or anything else that might concern her—it had come down to a decision as to whether or not she would be allowed to remain living on the island.

Instead of crumbling into misery she stared at him with an expression of undiluted fury in her eyes. Then, stalking stiff-legged across the room, she came to join him at the door.

He stood back to allow her to pass. As he did so he caught a whiff of her scent: soap, sea and engine oil. It was something he would never forget. Surprisingly, he found it quite a winning combination. Wisely he kept his wandering thoughts to himself and confined himself to a curt nod of dismissal.

‘Goodbye, Kirie Kosta,’ Ellie intoned with matching formality.

She met his gaze fearlessly. Her mouth was compressed in an angry line and her eyes were still blazing fire at him. She stood in front of him long enough for him to notice that her curly hair was sun-streaked to the point of being blonde at the temples, and however hard she tried to flatten those lips they still curved in a perfect Cupid’s bow.

‘Kiria Theodopulos?’ she said, looking past him into the room.

He had forgotten the old lady was even there, and yet he noticed everything about Ellie. There was a smudge of oil on her cheek that drew his attention back to the ugly scar…As she brought her hand up to cover it he wondered at the shame she was feeling—the shame that showed in her eyes. It puzzled him. It even softened him, just a little. ‘Make an appointment if you want to see me again,’ he said gruffly as the two women walked past him.

‘When can I see you?’ Ellie demanded like a shot.

‘My PA keeps my diary.’ He refused to be pressured by a child. She looked so young standing beside Kiria Theodopulos…and, of course, good Greek manners dictated that he should escort the old lady back to the shore. This wasn’t over yet. He offered his arm to Kiria Theodopulos, and when she took it Ellie had no option but to follow on behind.