‘Err, yes, why?’
‘There’s a fantastic open-air cinema in the town. Serves snacks and everything. Would you be up for going sometime?’
She’d seen it advertised online. It looked a lot more interesting than your local Odeon.
Now she’d been here a month, and the work side of things was under control, she’d started to feel a little lonely in the evenings. She wasn’t looking for a romantic relationship, and neither, it appeared, was Will, so the pressure was off.
‘Yeah, why not.’
‘OK, let’s swap numbers, and see if we can agree on a film.’
That would probably be a trial in itself. She hoped he wasn’t into high octane action films featuring his army buddy types, or, even worse, horror movies.
‘Have you got your phone handy?’
Will lifted it into the air.
‘I’ll read my number out, and you WhatsApp me later, so I’ve got yours.’
‘Yes, madam.’
When she finally got back to her room, Grace fell asleep as soon as she’d chatted with Flo.
She tried to keep herself awake, as she knew she wouldn’t get through a whole night if she slept now. It reminded her of when the girls were toddlers and she’d been desperate to keep them going during the afternoons, so they wouldn’t be up half the night.
But after all that swimming, eating and walking, her eyelids kept closing. She stopped fighting it.
When she woke, it was just after five in the morning, and she could see a faint glow in the sky. There was no going back to sleep now. She didn’t want to wake the others by wrenching open the shutters. The teachers’ rooms were next to each other in a line, with hers at one end, Rose and Daniel’s in the middle and Anna’s at the far end, next to the stairs. Charlie lived at the back of the town somewhere with his girlfriend. They all had work in the morning, and they deserved to sleep on.
She could slip out and go for a walk, or down to the port for a coffee, to the place she’d been with Will. Grace dressed quickly and opened her door very carefully. A figure at the end of the corridor was doing the same thing. Instinctively, Grace pulled her door almost closed again. She strained her eyes in the gloom, closed them in astonishment and looked again. There was no mistake. It was her boss, Giannis, giving Anna a lingering kiss goodbye in the doorway before he crept down the stairs.
ChapterTwelve
Grace stood on the doorstep of a grand house with the most amazing views out over the bay. To the left of the port and up the hill, it was in the middle of a terrace of similar beauties, painted in rusts, blues and creams. Nothing below but rocks and sea. It was a hard climb, and Grace took a moment to catch her breath before she reached for the impressive brass knocker in the shape of a fish.
She’d tried hard to banish the vision of Giannis coming out of Anna’s room. Combined with what she’d seen at the restaurant, she had no doubt that they were having an affair. She was always surprised when people blamed the woman in these circumstances. Anna was young and single, and maybe behaving unwisely, but it was Giannis who needed to shoulder the burden of responsibility. He was the one who was married with a family. He should know better. She’d been barely able to look at him since finding out, although luckily he’d been away for most of the week, and she hadn’t had to. He definitely hadn’t spotted her the other morning, that was one thing she was sure of.
The situation explained the pain that Grace saw in Elena’s eyes whenever she caught a glimpse of her coming out of her office or driving around town in her open-top Mercedes. Today Grace was having coffee with the woman to talk about teaching her children. A noise behind the door told her that someone was coming. It probably took hours to get to the front door, the house was so big.
The door creaked open to reveal a middle-aged woman in a smart black dress.
‘Mrs Foreman?’
‘Yes.’
‘Mrs Kokkinakis is waiting for you downstairs on the terrace. Can I show you the way?’
So, Elena didn’t even open her own front door. Grace found it hard to believe that language schools made this much money.
She looked about her in wonder as she followed the woman down two flights of stairs. The house was definitely magazine-worthy. The walls were plastered in a pale terracotta, with ornate mirrors and chandeliers every few feet, and soft wool runners in jewelled colours underfoot.
Most of the doors they passed were closed, but one was partly open, and Grace glimpsed an enormous marble fireplace with a spectacular gold mirror above, dark blue walls and deep green velvet sofas and chairs arranged in a semi-circle. What looked like antique furniture, gleaming occasional tables and a bureau were arranged against the wall either side of the fireplace. Presumably she’d hit on the living room, or sitting room as it would be called in more refined circles.
At last they came to the biggest kitchen Grace had ever seen, boasting pale blue wooden units with brass handles, and marble worktops veined in gold. She had to stop herself from stroking the stone as she went past. It must have taken an army to even get it down here, or maybe it came in by sea.
To one side was a dining table, in the same veined marble as the worktop, which could easily seat twelve, and chairs in the same shade as the units. Grace wondered if the children were ever allowed to eat there. It all looked pristine.
Beyond the kitchen was a partly covered terrace at sea level, a vast stone stage littered with more sofas and chairs in pastel linens, as well as small tables with umbrellas and metal chairs in the sun. And beyond that, just the blue of the sea, stretching as far as the horizon.
