***
“For you, Madam, the best room in the house!”
Ephram was trying to make conversation as he led Kate up the narrow, winding staircase. He seemed like a friendly guy, far more natural and less forced than the deckhand's unsubtle attempt to pick her up, but Kate was still struggling to make small-talk. She'd always been a more reserved person, and if she'd secretly hoped that her first holiday in years would bring about a change in her character, she was already realizing that such an improvement was unlikely. Still, she was determined to try her best.
“This is a lovely house,” she said, even as she noticed a large crack running all the way up the wall.
“It's an old house,” Ephram replied as he got to the top of the stairs and stopped for a moment to catch his breath, before leading her to the door at the end of the corridor. “I try to do it up, keep with the times, but mostly I just focus on any essential structural repairs that need doing. As long as the place doesn't collapse on all our heads and kill us, I think we can be happy and sleep well, eh?”
He stopped to slip a key into the door, before turning to her and smiling from behind his glasses.
“That was a joke,” he added. “It's not going to fall down.”
“Of course,” Kate replied. “I realized.” Hearing a noise nearby, she turned and watched in shock as a chicken hurried out of one of the rooms and began to make its way downstairs.
“For the eggs,” Ephram explained. “But don't worry, none of them go into the guest rooms. I have trained them very well!”
Opening the door, he led Kate into the small, rather bare room with blue-painted walls and a bed pushed into the corner. There was a dresser with a small mirror, and a rickety wooden chair next to a chipped sink, but for the most part the room seemed very basic. Still, after traveling for two days, the bed alone was a sight for sore eyes and Kate figured it was probably going to be a good thing that the room wasn't too luxurious. After all, she knew she had a tendency to hide away and spend her days reading, and she was determined to get out and explore the island.
“Is okay?” Ephram asked, placing her bags on the floor.
“Is very okay,” Kate replied. “I mean, it's very okay. It's... lovely.”
“This key works for the front door as well as the room,” he continued, handing the key to her. “It actually works for all the doors in the house, but don't tell anyone that, okay?”
Kate smiled awkwardly.
“My grandmother and I would like to invite you to join us for dinner,” he added. “No pressure, but we always like to bring new guests to our table on the first night, to extend a little local hospitality. I can promise you good food, a little wine, some boring stories from me, lots of boring stories from my mother...”
There was a conspicuous silence for a moment, as he waited for Kate to accept his offer.
“Maybe,” she said, swallowing hard. “Actually, I think I just need to take a nap, and I wouldn't want to put you out. It's a very kind offer, but maybe we could do it another day instead?”
“Of course,” Ephram replied, making his way to the door. “Bathroom is at the top of the stairs, and if you need anything else, I will be downstairs in the shop. I'm there all day every day, from dawn to dusk, so it won't be difficult to find me if you want anything. Other than that, I hope for you to have a very pleasant stay on Thaxos, and again, please don't hesitate to come and ask if there's something you want. My mother and I, we are very friendly.”
Once Ephram had gone back downstairs, Kate stood for a moment in her room, not really knowing where to start. She hadn't been on holiday for almost five years, and even in the old days she only used to go when her ex-fiance organized things. Since becoming single again, she'd thrown herself into her work and had come to think that she didn't need holidays at all. It was only after her friend Annie ribbed her for being a workaholic that she booked this trip in order to prove that she could relax, but now she was starting to think that it had all been a big mistake.
“A week,” she muttered, looking down at a power socket and feeling another pang of regret that she hadn't brought her laptop and a few work files with her.
After finding the cramped bathroom at the other end of the corridor, she stripped off and took a quick shower, although it was hard to relax since she could hear the house's entire water system creaking and bumping as it strained to deliver a dribble of warm water through the rusty shower-head. She dried off, wrapped a towel around herself and hurried back to her room, narrowly avoiding a passing chicken along the way, and then finally she began to fix her hair. Wandering over to the window, she looked out at the sleepy little courtyard, and she realized that anyone else in her situation would be blissfully looking forward to a week of relaxation.
“You are going to relax, Kate Langley,” she muttered under her breath, “even if it's the last thing you ever do.”
She took a deep breath.
“Relax,” she said again, almost as if it was some kind of mantra. “Relax.”
Sighing, she rolled her eyes at the sheer impossibility of ever getting her mind to switch off.
Just as she was about to head over to the bed, she happened to glance up at the top of the steep hill that rose up from the port toward the interior of the island. Her eyes fell upon the large house, jutting out in splendid isolation. Shielding her eyes from the sun, she was able to make out little more than the building's silhouette, although it certainly looked like an imposing structure and she figured it must be the mansion that the deckhand referred to earlier. She could certainly understand why the locals might feel a little intimidated by the idea of someone living up there, able to survey the entire town from above like some kind of old-time feudal lord.
After a moment, she realized that there was something moving a little way along from the house. Narrowing her eyes a little, she saw that a lone figure was standing on the edge of an outcrop, staring down at the town. For a few seconds, Kate felt transfixed, as if she couldn't tear her gaze away, and somehow she felt convinced that the figure wasn't just looking at the town from all the way up there, but was looking directly at her. She told herself that this idea was impossible, that the figure was too far away, but the feeling lingered.
Finally, she stepped back and pulled the shutters closed.
II
“It's no good!” a man shouted, his voice loud enough to rattle the windows. “Why come back here after all this time, eh? My mother, she's against it too, and she's one of the few people in town who remembers the last time the Le Compte family was here!”
“My grandmother remembers too!” Ephram shouted. “She knew the old baron, remember?”
“We all heard the rumors,” the first voice muttered. “I used to tell them to Alice when she was a child, to scare her!”
“My grandmother is a good woman!” Ephram replied. “At her age, she deserves a little respect!”
“And what does she think?” the first voice continued. “She can't be happy about it! She knows more than anyone that the Le Compte family is bad for this island!”
Having been woken from her nap by the sound of an argument, Kate reached the bottom of the stairs and made her way into the convenience store's main room, only to find that Ephram was having a very loud, very animated discussion with an even older man who was standing by the counter and leaning on a walking stick. A bag of groceries was sitting on the counter.
“It's their house,” Ephram replied. “Just because it stood empty all these years, they don't lose the right to come back and claim it.”
“They should lose that right!” the other man shouted. “It's like the bad old times again, with the lord of the island coming back. If he expects to be anything more than just another resident on Thaxos, he's going to get a shock, that's all I'm saying. No-one's going to bow down and kiss his feet as he walks past!”
“Ah, but -” Suddenly spotting Kate, Ephram broke into a smile. “I'm so sorry, Madam. Did we wake you?”
&n
bsp; “No,” Kate lied, making her way over to the counter. “I was just thinking that I should get out and take a look around the place before evening. I don't want to waste my holiday by sleeping through it, do I?” She forced a smile, even though secretly she actually liked the idea of sleeping her way through the entire holiday. In fact, as a chicken hurried past her feet, she was still idly wondering whether it was too late to turn around, head back to London and admit that a relaxing holiday was simply beyond her. The thought of sinking back into work was perversely tempting.
“You English?” asked the other man.
“Kate Langley,” she replied, holding out a hand for him to shake.
“What do you think?” the man asked, ignoring the hand. “Is it right that a family should treat this whole island as their plaything? A rich family that could have anything they wanted.”
“I really don't know enough about the situation to comment,” Kate replied tactfully, turning to Ephram. “I just -”
“It's the law of the land,” Ephram told the other man. “Some things, they don't change over time. No-one can have seriously believed that the Le Comptes were finished here. They were always going to come back, it was only ever a matter of time. Their blood is tied to this land.”
“You're just looking forward to their business,” the man sniffed with derision. “Typical shopkeeper. You expect to supply goods to the rich man, but I'm warning you, he'll just end up importing everything he wants from the mainland. Edgar Le Compte is not going to come trekking down to your little store to buy things. He can afford the finest food known to man. Caviar! Veal! Anything his heart desires! Why would he come and buy tinned beans and old fruit from you, eh?”
“You understand nothing,” Ephram replied, turning to Kate. “How can I help you, Madam? Please, ignore the rambling old fool standing next to you. That's what the rest of us usually do. Otherwise, you will end up with a terrible headache if you try to wrap your head around the nonsense he comes out with.”
“I was just wondering if you had a map of the island,” Kate replied, feeling intensely embarrassed by being drawn into the argument. “I thought I'd packed one, but I can't find it in my bags. I was hoping to go out to the north and look at the old stones I've been reading about.”
Reaching under the counter, Ephram quickly produced a crudely photocopied drawing of the island, complete with handwritten place-names and annotations.
“You don't need his stinking map,” the other man grumbled. “It's an island. How can you get lost on an island? If in doubt, just head downhill until you reach the shore and then pick a direction. Sooner or later, even an idiot can get back to the main town. No offense intended, obviously.”
“Quiet, you!” Ephram snapped, before grinning at Kate. “I'm sorry, you'll have to ignore some of the older, more stuck-in-the-past people around this place. They think that just because some of the Le Compte family were a little difficult in the old days, that history has to repeat itself. I say, we should judge this new Le Compte on his own terms, rather than assuming that he'll be just like his grandfather.”
“What was wrong with his grandfather?” Kate asked.
“He was a -” the other man started to say.
“Quiet!” Ephram hissed, as creaking floorboards on the other side of the room signaled the arrival of an elderly woman, breathing heavily as she made her way over to the counter and then eased herself into a chair. Her presence in the room seemed to have had an immediate effect, changing the tone entirely.
The man next to Kate said something in Greek, and the elderly woman replied, sounding distinctly unimpressed.
“My grandmother,” Ephram said to Kate, his voice notably softer and calmer now, as if the old woman's presence had brought about some kind of deep change in his character. “She is very pleased to have you staying in our home, and she wishes you an enjoyable visit to the island.”
The old woman said something else in Greek, and the other man glanced briefly at Kate as he let out a short laugh.
“She is not quite herself today,” Ephram continued, clearly straining to maintain his smile, “otherwise she would converse with you in English. My grandmother is an educated woman, but as she approaches her one hundred and first year, her moods can be a little like the weather.”
“One hundred and...” Shocked, Kate turned to the old lady, who seemed content to merely stare down at the floor and watch as a chicken pecked at the floorboards. “I'm sorry,” she added, turning back to Ephram. “I've just never...”
“The Mediterranean lifestyle,” Ephram replied with a smile. “It has its good points and its bad, but longevity is certainly common. When my grandmother was born, Europe was only just entering the Great War, computers had not been invented, and the Le Compte mansion was still occupied by the grandfather of the man who now returns to Thaxos. When she's in the right mood, my grandmother can tell stories that will make you think you've been transported back to an earlier time. Sadly, with her arthritis and her bad hip, she's not so much in a good mood these days.”
“I'm going to go and look around,” Kate told him, “but I was wondering if I could grab a few supplies first. Do you take credit cards?”
“Are you kidding?” Ephram continued with a grin. “It's the twenty-first century, Madam. We take everything. You can even pay in bitcoin if you prefer.” He grabbed a hand-held credit card reader and placed it on the counter. “I like to keep up with the modern world. It's like I keep saying. There's no need to either be stuck in the past, or embrace everything about the future. A smart man, he picks the best of both and makes his own world out of them. After all, the present is molded out of memories and expectations.”
Kate smiled, but she was becoming increasingly aware that the other man was getting into a conversation with Ephram's mother, and although everything they said was in Greek, they seemed to glance at her more often than she'd like.
“What are they saying about me?” she asked Ephram eventually.
“Them?” He paused, with a hint of discomfort in his expression. “They're saying that it's rare for such a beautiful English woman to visit Thaxos, and that they think you'll have a wonderful time.”
As he spoke, his grandmother scowled at Kate with an expression that suggested Ephram wasn't being entirely honest with his translation.