‘I have some, thank you.’
Katerina fetched her own from one of the shopping bags and poured a few inches into a see-through cup, which she’d clearly brought with her.
She took a few ladylike sips before dabbing her mouth with a clean white handkerchief from her pocket. After that, Stella felt slightly embarrassed swigging straight from the container.
‘Where are you going now? Into Porto Liakáda?’ Katerina asked, replacing her cup in the carrier bag and smoothing some invisible creases on the front of her skirt.
She noticed Stella looking at the two gold rings on Katerina’s left finger, one with three small round diamonds in the centre. Katerina’s knuckles had swollen with age and it was doubtful the rings would ever come off, even if she wanted them to.
‘My husband was a good man,’ she said wistfully, holding up her hand and gazing at the jewels, too. ‘But he died so young – before he even reached his thirtieth birthday. He was a fisherman. The boat capsized in a storm and all were lost.’ She sighed. ‘It was a tragedy for the wives and families, but you have to pick yourself up and keep going.’
Stella swallowed, feeling guilty for moaning on about her own problems.
‘That must have been so hard,’ she said, bending almost double and resting her elbows on her knees. ‘How on earth did you cope?’
Katerina shrugged. ‘I was lucky, really. I had a good job.’ She nodded in the direction of Villa Ariadne. ‘The owners looked after me. They were very kind.’
Stella’s ears pricked. An opening at last! She seized her chance. ‘Who were they? I read something about Leo Skordyles, who was the mayor of Sfakia. Did you work for him and his wife? And who took over the villa after they died?’
Glancing at Katerina out of the corner of an eye, she could tell the old woman was frowning and seemed lost in thought.
‘Come with me!’ Katerina said suddenly, as if inspiration had just struck. She rose and rubbed her creaky lower back. ‘Help me carry my bags home and I’ll explain some things you want to know.’
It was an opportunity not to be missed and perfect timing, as Stella had no other plans. She hadn’t particularly relished the idea of another long walk; she’d just needed to escape from Louise.
‘All right,’ she said, rising as well and picking up one of the bags of shopping. It weighed a lot and she wondered how on earth Katerina had managed to lug the two of them.
The prospect of trudging even further up the mountain wasn’t exactly appealing, but she was intrigued to see where Katerina lived and to hear about her life.
‘I found a black and white photograph of you inside a book in the villa,’ she said tentatively as they set off, with Katerina taking the lead. ‘And there’s a painting of you on the wall.’
There was no dawdling. Katerina set such a cracking pace, Stella had difficulty keeping up.
‘Ah yes,’ the housekeeper replied, pumping her legs and her loose arm. The weight of the bag in the other arm made her stoop, but she wasn’t even breathless. ‘My lady wanted it. I was honoured, but I didn’t like sitting for so long. The artist complained about my fidgeting!’
‘He painted your female employer too, right?’
Katerina nodded. ‘Several times. And her husband.’
‘How long did you work for them?’ Stella asked next.
‘I started as a maid when I was fourteen years old and I’m still there all these years on. I was very ignorant when I arrived, just a silly, naïve little girl. My lady was the one who taught me to read and write, and speak English. She let me borrow all the books in her library and passed on her love of literature. I owe her a great deal.’
‘I read she’d sadly died a while ago, and her husband, too. So who’s taken over?’
The old woman was shrewd, and she must have picked up on Stella’s eagerness to discover the truth. She paused, before turning briefly to look at Stella over her shoulder.
‘They are dead, yes. They’ve been gone some years, as you know. That is all I wish to say on the subject, if you don’t mind.’
She was polite but firm, and Stella felt deflated, knowing there was no point pressing because she wouldn’t get anywhere. She fell into silence while they resumed walking, speculating again on why the villa’s new incumbents were such a secret.
Perhaps they were tycoons or famous actors, anxious to preserve their privacy. Such news usually got out eventually, though, and the fact no one seemed to have any clue as to their identity was a real mystery.
Furthermore, would a very wealthy person or a star really choose to rent the villa out to ordinary people like her? There didn’t seem to be much security round the place, so it was possible they’d bought it as an investment only and had never actually stayed there themselves.
The two women were almost at Villa Ariadne now and Stella’s heart started to pitter-patter. She was concerned about bumping into Louise or Jon, but Katerina seemed to be aware of this and skirted round on the other side of the trees, where they wouldn’t be seen.
Soon, the mountain steepened sharply, and Stella couldn’t have spoken if she’d wanted to because she was so short of breath.
