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Throwing the housekeeper a final smile, her gaze had once more returned to the view. Sighing with complete contentment her eyes had closed, allowing the sound of the birds and the smell of the salt water which lazily washed against the rocks below to fill her, the sea-breeze a welcome relief from the searing heat of the mid-day sun.
Hearing the door tentatively open, she had turned expecting the housekeeper to have forgotten something, only to see a small girl before her.
“Hello” she had smiled warmly, seeing as the little girl had warily looked back at her, Mina holding back the laugh as the child had battled her desire to run away against her need to know more of the stranger. Finally her curiosity getting the better of her as she had given a shy smile back, “Hello” she had responded as Mina had moved closer.
“My name is Mina, and who are you?” she had asked gently, as the small girl, no more than five or six had looked thoughtfully at her, in the way that children did, her face serious, her head angled slightly.
“Dina” had been her eventual response as she had continued to regard Mina.
“You’re pretty” she had finally stated, Mina holding back the laugh that sprang to her lips.
“Well thank you very much Dina” she had chuckled “And you are very pretty too, exactly like a Disney princess”.
This had pleased the small girl, her long black hair falling around her shoulders, with large brown twinkling eyes, her heart-shaped lips smiling widely.
“Which one?” she had cried out, her initial nervousness disappearing as she had moved forward to Mina, who had looked thoughtfully back at her.
“Well Snow White of course” she had grinned as the small girl had squealed with pleasure “She is my favourite” she had cried excitedly, moving to grab Mina’s hand as she had pulled open the book she was reading, pointing to a picture of Snow White. Trying to look surprised she had nodded “Isn’t that amazing” the child laughing back.
A small knock on the door had seen Yanis peer around, his eyes resting on Dina.
“Dina!” you know you are not to disturb guests. The small girl glancing over at Yanis, her face filled with annoyance and impatience.
“I was just saying hello” she had cried out with irritation on her young voice.
Once more Mina had held back the smile seeing the look Yanis had thrown her way as she had turned to Dina.
“Well that is very welcoming of you Dina, and I appreciated it very much” smiling warmly at the little girl who had grinned back, lifting her book as she moved back to the door.
“See Yanis, Mina didn’t mind”
The man sighing in exasperation, however Mina noticing the way his lips had twitched.
“Go see your grandma, I think she said she is going to make cakes”.
At the mention of baking the small girl had given another squeal and waved quickly to Mina before making her way down to the kitchen.
“I am sorry” he had said softly, his mouth now broken out into a large grin.
“Everybody spoils her…she is wilful because of it”.
Mina her eyes full of warmth had nodded.
“Well she is a lovely child, no need to apologise”.
Before looking at Yanis more carefully “Is she your daughter?”
Seeing as he had shaken his head, a small sad expression entering his features.
“No. She is my niece. My sister and her husband died in a car accident three years ago, and Dina was the only survivor. Nikos insisted that she move in here so that our family could stay together to raise her”.
Mina had given a small smile “That was nice of him” she had said gently, seeing as Yanis had nodded.
“Yes. He has always been good to our family…and I guess we look on him as one of ours”.
Giving another look of discomfort, again not liking to talk of his employer, he had given her a final nod before shutting the door and leaving her once more alone.
After unpacking her clothes, few as they were, Mina had moaned with pleasure on seeing the large high end en suite bathroom, looking forward to taking a long luxurious bath, one thing she had missed from home since coming to the Greek island, the hotel only having a small shower. Unpacked, she had moved back downstairs where the housekeeper had appeared smiling warmly at her. After a small talk, she had asked if it would be OK to explore the grounds, Theresa throwing her arms open.
“You may look anywhere. Nikos said to make you feel at home. So please do not ask again, just enjoy all that this estate has to offer”.
With a grin, she had moved out, her notepad under her arm. For an hour Mina had enjoyed wandering around the grounds, admiring the beautiful flowers and wild bushes that sprang up everywhere, many hiding small nooks in which to rest, shade provided by the foliage. With a smile she had known how difficult it was to create such a natural look.
Reaching the cliff she had stood against the safety rail, once more staring down at the azure sea below, the water so clear that the bottom was visible, Mina knowing that it was deeper than it appeared. Sighing with contentment she had found a small bench perfectly positioned for enjoying the view, pulling her pencils out to start to sketch the vista before her.
As was usual she completely lost herself while drawing, jumping seeing the small movement at the corner of her eye. Turning she had smiled seeing Dina clinging onto her Snow White doll watching her silently, a serious expression on her lovely face.
“Hello Princess” she had grinned at the small girl, who had moved closer to get a better look.
“What are you doing?” she had asked shyly as Mina had motioned for her to join her, letting the girl look at the sketch.
“That’s pretty Mina” had been her sweet response, as giving her a small hug she had asked Dina to sit holding her doll.
Quickly she had then sketched the small child, ensuring to include the doll, her lip curling as she had adding a small crown on her head. Finished she had torn off the sheet giving it to the little girl who had “oooo’d” and “aaa’d”, her reserve and shyness seemingly forgotten as she had demanded to be shown how to draw. Mina had found herself having fun, realising just how much she was missing her students and the teaching job she loved so much. Sitting Dina down to draw a flower she had given her pointers on how to break up the shape of the tiny plant holding back the small laugh seeing the way the little girl’s forehead had creased in concentration. Looking up in surprise she had heard the commotion coming from the house, and rising quickly had told the girl to carry on with her task. Dina had nodded her small tongue visible at the corner of her mouth as she had been completely focussed on her drawing.
Reaching the house she had moved past the sports car in the driveway idly thinking that it had not been there earlier, wondering who owned the powerful sleek vehicle. The loud voice, yelling in Greek was rising the closer she got to the house, the tone one of anger as pushing the door open she had blinked at the scene before her.
Yanis was trying to calm down another man who stood in the middle of the foyer. Tall and good looking, in a petulant way, he was pointing at Theresa demanding something, as the older woman had glared back, her polite demeanour slipping as she had spoken back, her chin raised, her eyes flashing.
As she had stepped into the scene, she could see Yanis’ eyes closing softly, his expression now one of dread and apology as the man had swung around to face her, now his words directed at Mina, as his finger had pointed accusingly.
With a frown and as matronly a look as she could muster, she had held up her hands for him to be quiet.
“What on Earth is going on?” she had demanded, looking both at Yanis and Theresa for help in understanding why a perfect stranger was screaming at her. Hearing her accent, the other man had grown silent, his eyes narrowing as he had looked Mina up and down with no attempt at concealing the contempt in them.
“You are not even Greek!”
He had bitten out in perfect English, Mina feeling her hackles rise at his disrespectful tone.
“Clearly” she had thrown back, her eyes now angry daggers.
“Now perhaps you can answer my question?” seeing as his face had grown redder with fury, as he had sneered at her.
“Are you the imposter trying to pass yourself off as Alexander Mentis’ daughter” he had screamed at her, Mina holding her ground, seeing how uncomfortable the other two had suddenly become. Raising her chin, she had looked levelly at the stranger.
“Yes…and who might you be trying to pass yourself off as, certainly not a gentleman?”
She had seen the confusion on the man’s face at her words, as he had paused for a second, not sure how to respond, before ploughing on.
“I am Alexander’s LEGITIMATE son…and I will see you in jail if you continue with this deception”.
Moving closer she had not allowed his boorish tone or actions to frighten her, as she had bit back.
“You may not like it Alexander, but he was my father also, so I suggest that you learn to live with it”.
