‘I can’t believe it’s all falling into place, Ella. This is incredible. Coming here was absolutely the right thing for you to do.’
She smiled and hugged him even tighter against her. ‘Trust me, I can’t believe it either.’
The minute they arrived back at the house she intended on googling this family to find out everything there was to know about the Konstantinidis women, and now she was going to have to look up Bernard Goldman too. She had no idea how the two were linked, but she was determined to try to find out.
It turned out that googling wasn’t thefirstthing that Ella did when she got back to the house. She looked up from where she was sitting an hour or so later, in bed with the sheets pooled around her waist, pillows propped up behind her and her phone in her hand. Gabriel was half asleep beside her, his hand over her leg as she scrolled through page after page about the Greek monarchy and its ultimate demise.
‘Anything interesting?’ he asked as he yawned and rolled closer to her.
‘Well, other than the fact that the royal family and those closest to them were forced to leave Greece, and that the monarchy was eventually abolished entirely,’ she said, as Gabriel’s fingers trailed up and down her arm. ‘Oh, this is what I’ve been looking for.’
Gabriel sat up and leaned over her shoulder to see the screen.
‘“The wife of Nicholas Konstantinidis, one of the King’s most trusted aides, was killed in a tragic horse-riding accident yesterday afternoon, and was discovered by her long-time groom when she failed to return. Maria Konstantinidis was once a champion show jumper who defied all odds to beat countless male competitors and famously declared that she wouldn’t give up the sport for anyone, not even her husband, although she did retire from competing after the birth of her first and only child”,’ she read out. ‘“She leaves behind a twelve-year-old daughter, Alexandra, who was not believed to be with her mother at the time of the fatal accident. Previously the pair had been seen at the stables together, but it is thought that Miss Konstantinidis was not a competitive rider”.’
Gabriel pulled away from her for a moment, and when she glanced over she saw that he was reaching for the photograph she’d left beside the bed.
‘Is this her?’ he asked. ‘The older of the two?’
She clicked on the picture on her screen and held it beside the photograph. ‘I think it is,’ she said. ‘I mean, in this one she’s all dressed up, compared to this very relaxed one on holiday, but I think it’s the same woman.’ Ella stared into the eyes of mother and daughter, sad now as she looked at them, knowing the tragedy that had occurred. But if the older of the two women had died, then how was her grandmother related to either of them? It was as if her mystery had deepened—she certainly didn’t feel any closer to solving it, despite their discoveries.
Gabriel leaned forwards and studied them. ‘It’s definitely her. We’d have to search for a photo of the daughter, but—’
Ella clicked on the next photo and showed it to him. It was, without a doubt, mother and daughter.
‘I don’t even know them, yet I feel so sad to know she didn’t live to see her daughter grow up.’ Ella put the photo down and started to scroll through more hits on the Konstantinidis family, wanting to know as much as she could about them. ‘Why don’t you look up this Bernard, the musician, and see what you can discover about him. I want to know everything we can find out about both of them.’
Gabriel knocked her phone from her hand and caught her arms, pinning them above her head as he pushed her down.
‘You know what?’
‘What?’ she asked, biting down on her bottom lip to keep from laughing.
‘I can think of better things to do.’
‘Really?’ she protested, laughing when he dipped his head to kiss her collarbone, trailing kisses up her neck.
His hold on her wrists loosened but she kept them on the pillow, content to be the recipient of his featherlight touch.
‘Did I tell you I’m only here for three nights?’ he murmured. ‘Then I have to get back to London to catch a plane. I think the research can wait.’
Ella sighed as she wrapped her arms around him. She had no intention of resisting, not if she only had him for a few short days. The clues weren’t going anywhere.
* * *
Ella stepped out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around her, her hair wet about her shoulders. Gabriel had disappeared to make them coffee, but rather than bringing a steaming mug upstairs for her, he seemed to have gone missing.
She padded through the house, heading downstairs, but instead of finding him in the kitchen, she discovered that he was outside, looking at her painting.
‘What do you think?’ she asked, surprised by how shy she felt at him seeing her work.
Gabriel turned, his eyes bright. ‘It’s amazing. I can’t tell you how happy this makes me, to know that you’ve been creating something so incredible while you’ve been here.’ He smiled. ‘Does it feel as good as you thought it would, painting again?’
She went to stand beside him, staring at the art she’d created. ‘It was as if I’d held it back for so long, that when I finally picked up a brush again, I couldn’t stop.’
‘It’s beautiful, Ella. Absolutely beautiful.’
‘Thank you.’
