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long moment. She had grown extremely fond of her employer and it grieved
her to know she was in pain. Lisette turned her head, her pulse increasing the
merest fraction so that she was only just aware of it. Sula came and stood by
the bed. He had sat with his aunt for a couple of hours during the afternoon
after sending Lisette off to have a rest. Later he had expressed slight concern
about his aunt and now, as he stood beside Lisette, looking down into the
pale lined face, his brow creased in a frown. He did not speak, but sent
Lisette an interrogating glance.
'I've given Mrs. Mallory a tablet,' she told him, smiling as the tired eyes
opened. 'Are you feeling better now?'
'Much better, Lisette dear. Sula, have you eaten - without Lisette?'
'No, Aunt Evelyn. It's only half-past seven.'
'Really? I thought it was much later .. .' Her voice faded to silence, but a thin
smile appeared as she turned her head into the pillow. 'I shall be quite all
right. Off you go, both of you. I want to sleep.'
Sula was frowning as he left the room with Lisette.
'I don't like the look of Aunt Evelyn this evening,' he said when they reached
the hall. 'I've a good mind to send for the doctor.'
'She won't like that. I suggested it one day last week and she stated definitely
that she would not have him. She seems to have an aversion to doctors.'
'She always did have. Said she was a do-it-yourself type, and I must admit
that when she was younger she always managed to cure herself of any
ailments that came her way. She maintained that she could sleep herself
better from a cold, for instance. For other things she had all sorts of herbal
remedies.' Sula paused in thought, the frown deepening on his brow. 'This is
different; not only does she suffer from rheumatism, but she has this heart
trouble also. Yes, I think she must have the doctor tomorrow.'
CHAPTER FIVE
ALTHOUGH the doctor's face was rather grave as he examined Mrs. Mallory's
heart, he told Sula afterwards that there was no immediate danger. He would
change the tablets, he said, and he would also give Mrs. Mallory something
to ease the pain of her rheumatism.
'It's a new drug and up till now I've been reluctant to give it to my patients.
However, it has been proved over a long period of time now, so I'm willing
to prescribe it for your aunt.'
'Thank you, doctor. Mrs. Mallory does need something to relieve her pain.' It
was Lisette who spoke, involuntarily and without realizing that it was Sula
who should have replied. Hesitantly she glanced at him, in an apologetic sort
of way, but to her relief he took no exception to her unthinking interruption.
'You seem to have become most attached to my aunt,' Sula observed when
the doctor had made his departure.
'She's such a kind and considerate employer. You can't help liking anyone
who is so appreciative as Mrs. Mallory. After all, it is my job to look after
her, and it would be quite normal if she took what I do for granted.'
'Aunt Evelyn never did take kindness for granted.'
Sula and Lisette were on the patio; across the blue and sunlit Saronic Gulf
islands floated like pearls on the gentle sea, while beyond them, to the west,
the hills of the Argolid were festooned with swathes of chartreuse mist. In
the opposite direction the gentle hills around Athens shone clearly in the
sunshine. The capital seemed so close; Lisette decided she must pay it a visit
at the first opportunity. Perhaps during her week's holiday, she thought,
automatically glancing at Sula as she remembered that he was expecting her
to rest the whole time.
'She always seems to feel she owes me something,' Sula was continuing, his
eyes pensive and strangely softened by his musings. 'But she owes me
nothing. On the contrary, it is I who am in her debt.' He became silent and
thoughtful. Lisette felt she dared not intrude, yet at the same time wondering
if he expected some comment from her. 'She was all the things my mother
was not,' said Sula as if talking to himself. 'Yes, I'm greatly in her debt - if
only for the wisdom of which she gave me the benefit.' He looked at Lisette,
but she felt sure he did not see her. He was back somewhere in the past . ..
with his aunt. 'Values, Lisette, are so important. One must sieve and sort and
be sure to place them in their correct order. I had my values all mixed up;
Aunt Evelyn helped me to get them straightened out.'
Still a long way off, Sula gave a small sigh. It was totally out of character
and Lisette watched his dark face, fascinated all at once by this man she did
not know, this softened person who, within seconds, had become thoroughly
human. Did he realize that he had called her Lisette? She felt sure he was
entirely ignorant of the fact. What was he thinking? Without knowing why,
Lisette was convinced that his thoughts were with a woman. Had he ever
been married? So many people these days were married and separated and
Sula could easily be one of these. Inwardly Lisette frowned, bewildered by
the sudden dart of dejection that passed through her at the idea that he might
be married. He was looking at her again, and seeing her this time because at
the corners of his mouth little humour lines were fanning out. 'Have I been
boring you, Miss Tracy? I'm afraid I was miles away, and speaking my
thoughts aloud.'
Lisette was shy all at once, and she could not have been cool with him no
matter how hard she tried. A soft smile fluttered to her lips and her big,
almond- shaped eyes looked with childish frankness into his. She saw his
own eyes widen, slowly and ... could it be appreciatively! Something stirred
within her and she spoke with breathless haste, impelled to break the silence,
a silence so deep and wide that it extended over the entire garden. Even the
cicadas had ceased their whirring in the olive trees, and on the hillsides the
goat bells were momentarily hushed.
'You weren't boring me, Mr. Condylis. In any case, you weren't talking for
very long.'
'I wasn't?' with faint surprise. 'Then I must have voiced very little of what I
was thinking.' His gaze was still fixed on her face, keenly searching.
'I must go back to Mrs. Mallory,' Lisette said awkwardly, turning as she
spoke.
'The nurse will be here the day after tomorrow, and she'll stay the week.'
Lisette merely nodded. She knew that something more than physical
tiredness accounted for her loss of energy and of colour, but Sula did not
know, and in consequence he had decided she needed a break. His mind was
made up and Lisette admitted to herself that it would be futile for her to
protest; Sula Condylis was used to having his own way.
To Lisette's relief and satisfaction the new tablets proved to be instantly
effective and the palpitation and breathlessness which Mrs. Mallory had
recently been suffering did not recur. And as her pains were also relieved
Lisette began her holiday in a much happier frame of mind than she had at
first anticipated. The nurse, a middle-aged Greek woman called Iphigena,
but which both Sula and his aunt shortened to Gena, was a smiling, pleasant
sort of person and at the same time highly efficient. Lisette wondered why
she had not been employed permanently and mentioned this to Sula on the
evening of her first day, when they were having pre-dinner drinks on the
patio. She had been lying in the sun all day and already she felt different -
had gained a little more energy. Sula had been away in Athens; on his return, [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]