Free Man Without a Heart by Anne Hampson

carried a bitter note not untinged with censure.
    'I resent that!' she flashed indignantly. 'I'm no more anxious for your mother to die than you are. I've come to like and admire her; we're the best of friends, so why should I want her death?' Her colour fluctuated, the result of the angry emotion spreading over her. 'Gilbert knows how deeply attached I am to your mother, and, like me, he's resigned to our having to wait, In any case,' she added, aware that she was way ahead of the situation as it stood at present, 'we've not known one another long enough yet.'
    'You say he's intending to stay here on Coring for another five weeks?'
    'I said he might. His original intention was to take an island-hopping holiday, and he intended staying here for one week only.'
    'But since meeting you —he's decided to stay longer?' She nodded her head, and because she still resented his attitude, she said, changing the subject. 'Did you enjoy your visit to Athens? Did you see Julia?'
    'It was purely a business trip; I didn't go for enjoyment.'
    'But you saw Julia?' she persisted.
    'I had business with her father; I visited his home, and naturally his daughter was there.' So matter-of-fact! And yet he was talking about the girl whom he would one day marry. 'It seems very strange to me that neither of you wants love in your lives.' It was a statement, but spoken rather breathlessly, because she was vitally aware, at this moment, of her own love for Adam.
    'In Greece, arranged marriages are still common.'
    'You're so coldly unemotional about it,' she said. He looked at her, an odd expression in his eyes. 'You're a romantic, obviously,' he remarked after a pause.
    'I would like to have lo ve in my marriage ...' Her voice trailed off, and she shook her head in a little helpless gesture that caught and held his attention.
    'That sounds as if you're not too sure about your feelings for this man you've met.'
    'As I said, we haven't known each other very long. We're attracted to one another, but obviously we've a long way to go yet before we're absolutely sure we can make a success of marriage.'
    'Let us get back to the question of my mother,' said Adam impatiently. 'I can't have you going about with this man for another five weeks. Mother is bound to hear of it.'
    'I can make sure we keep to the ot her side of the island. Gilbert and I are thinking of renting a car between us, so it'll be easy to travel farther afield than we have been doing.'
    Even as she was speaking, Adam was shaking his head. 'I won't allow it, Jill —'
    'Won't allow —' she exclaimed, staring in disbelief. 'Do you know what you're saying?'
    'You're my wife —' began Adam, when again she interrupted him.
    'In name only!'
    'That,' he returned with quiet emphasis, 'can easily be rectified.'
    Her eyes flew to his. 'You must keep to our bargain,' she cried, 'especially now that I've met Gilbert!' It was a desperate statement; she knew she had to do anything she could to keep Adam from guessing her feelings for him.
    She scarcely knew what to ex pect-anger, mastery, or perhaps even violence. Instead he looked at her with a sudden frown and said, in the same quiet voice, 'We'll talk about it over dinner.'
    'I'm dining with Gilbert. The table's booked.'
    'You're not dining out this evening,' he told her inexorably. 'Phone this Gilbert and tell him that, as your husband is home, you'll have to give him a rain check.'
    'I shan't!' Jill quivered from head to foot with anger. 'What's the idea-going back on the promise you made? I'd never have agreed to marry you if I'd had the slightest suspicion that you'd try to control my freedom!' And on that she left him, to go up to her room to shower and change in readiness for her evening with Gilbert.

 
    Chapter Five
    They sat under a canopy of vines looking out to where the moon-pale sky merged imperceptibly with the smooth, dark sea. They ate mullet roasted with thyme and garnished with crispy fried potatoes and salad, and washed it all down