"Beware the beast" كيف احيا معك بالانكليزية Anne Mather

CHAPTER SIX

IN spite of her distress, Charlotte must have fallen asleep because she

awakened to the sound of Tina saying her over and over. She opened her eyes

reluctantly, aware if a. curious aching sensation in her lower limbs which at

3nee resolved itself into a bitter remembrance of what had :-:curred. She was also

made aware of her nakedness beneath the thin satin sheet, and a wave of

embarrassment swept over her. The Greek girl was standing beside the bed, and

although it was a futile exercise at this late stage, Charlotte rolled over on to her

stomach, turning her head sideways on the pillow and saying rather resentfully:

"What do you want?"

Tina's sharp eyes had missed nothing of the tumbled state of the bedcovers

and Charlotte's discomfort, but her voice was gentle as she replied: "Maria was

worried, kyria. Is eleven o'clock!"

"Eleven o'clock!" Charlotte echoed her words disbelievingly, but she propped

herself up on her elbows and reaching for her watch from the bedside table saw

in dismay that it i

ras indeed ten minutes past eleven.

"Kyrios Alexandros left very early this morning, didn't he, kyria?" Tina

went on conversationally, in a sympathetic tone. "What a pity, ohi?"

Charlotte hunched her slim shoulders, feeling the sheet slipping away but

hardly caring. Her throat was tightening, and tears were not far away. "It doesn't

matter," she managed in a cold little voice. Then: "Tell Maria I'm sorry she was

worried. I'll get up right away."

"No hurry, kyria," exclaimed Tina at once. "So long as you are not ill ..."

"I'm not ill," retorted Charlotte crossly. "You can go now. Tell Maria I don't

want any breakfast."

"Oh, but kyria-"

"Nothing," Charlotte insisted, meeting the other girl's eyes squarely, and

muttering resignedly to herself, Tina went away.

After she had gone, Charlotte got out of bed. Her reflection in the long mirrors

of the wardrobe caught her attention, and momentarily she halted, staring at her

naked body without pleasure. There ought to be some sign, she thought, some

evidence of what had occurred, but there was none. The slim lines of her body

looked exactly as usual, the flesh turning honey gold in places, contrasting with

the paler skin hidden from the sun by her pants or bikini. Discolorations of her

flesh in places revealed themselves as "bruising, and her lips trembled. Clenching

her fists, she turned away and walked into the bathroom. She took a bath as hot as

she could stand it, a ridiculous affectation in this heat, and scrubbed violently at

her skin as if she could erase the touch of Alex's hard, demanding hands.

She emerged from her room in time for lunch, and although she had no