‘Can I help you order?’ he asked, in thickly accented English.
‘Thank you,’ she said. ‘I want a glass of wine and some fabulous food. Could you order for me?’
He grinned. ‘I can. I will order you my favourites.’
Ella handed him the menu. ‘Perfect. Oh, but before you go.’
He hesitated and leaned forwards slightly.
‘Could I show you this photograph?’ she asked, taking it from her bag and holding it up to him. ‘I wondered if you might recognise the women in it?’ She’d already shown the woman who owned the art store and stopped a few people in the street, but so far no one had been able to help her.
He gave her a curious look before taking it, but quickly shook his head. ‘No, I don’t recognise them, but it looks like Skopelos.’
She nodded and thanked him, leaving the photo on the table so she could look at it some more, as if she still might somehow untangle the mystery on her own just from staring at it. She agreed with him; it was unmistakably Skopelos, of that she was absolutely certain. But within minutes she felt a gentle tap on her shoulder, and she turned to see the server standing there again, but this time with an older man.
‘This is Tobias, he owns the restaurant,’ the server said. ‘Could he see the photo?’
Ella picked up the photo and passed it to Tobias, who said something in Greek she couldn’t understand. But when he sat down heavily in the chair opposite her and crossed himself, she knew that there was something about the photograph that must have been familiar to him.
He muttered something else, before looking up at her and pointing at the older woman in the picture.
‘What’s he saying?’ she asked the server, who lowered himself beside her.
‘He says that he knows the identity of this woman.’
Ella’s heart skipped a beat. ‘He does?’
They had an exchange in Greek before Tobias passed the photo back to her, pointing at the older of the two females in the photograph.
‘He says that this woman spent many holidays here with her daughter, before the fall of the monarchy. She was known to all the restaurant owners, and they all loved her, even though many of them voted to overthrow the King.’
Ella frowned. ‘I’m sorry, what does this woman have to do with the King being overthrown?’ She recalled reading about the exiled Greek royal family many years ago, something about them residing in London still after all these years, but her knowledge wasn’t expansive.
‘The family was closely connected to the royal family. My grandfather remembered her from when she was a girl, holidaying with the King’s wife, when she was just a girl too, and her husband became a trusted adviser to the monarchy before its demise.’
‘And you’re certain this is her?’ she asked, her heart beginning to race. Surely the woman connected to her family wasn’t linked to royalty; what a scandal it would have been for an upper-class woman like that to give birth to a child who wasn’t her husband’s!
‘He wants to know why you have this photo. Why you are asking questions about her.’
The older man leaned forwards across the table towards her, seeming to search her eyes. She was taken aback for a moment, still shocked that he’d recognised the women.
‘Please, tell him that this photo was left for my grandmother. Tell him that I believe the woman in this photo is my great-grandmother.’ She paused, taking a breath. ‘It’s why I’m here, in Greece. I’m looking for answers.’
Her server slowly stood, as did Tobias, but he leaned forwards, both of his gnarled hands planted on the table.
‘Go down to the market today, it’s only a five-minute walk from here, and I can draw you a map,’ he said. ‘The woman selling fruit may be able to tell you more.’
‘Thank you,’ she said, standing and reaching out to the older man, grasping his hands. ‘Thank you so much.’
He patted her hand affectionately before disappearing back into the kitchen.
‘I think he’s going to send you out some amazing food now. I hope you’re hungry.’
Ella sat back, her gaze drawn once more to the photo. Had she finally found the link to the woman and the girl she’d been staring at for so many weeks? Could this be the start of her journey into her family’s past?
She didn’t have long to study the photograph though before a crisp glass of white wine was placed on her table, followed by the most incredible array of grilled sardines, octopus, stuffed aubergines, olives and bread that she’d ever seen. Ella thanked her server repeatedly, before wondering how on earth she would even roll herself down to the market after such a feast.
Ella walked slowly to the market after lunch, her bag over her shoulder and a stomach so full she thought she might burst. With so many small plates of food being sent out from the kitchen, she’d wondered if it would ever stop, so she was certainly grateful for the walk.
