Sally Wentworth - Set the Stars on Fire Read online

  The menu was all in Greek, but Lewis seemed to know what it meant and had no difficulty in ordering. 'Do you like Greek food?' he asked her.

  'I haven't tried very much,' she confessed. 'The food at the hotel is very unexciting, just ordinary dishes, and when I've eaten out the only thing I understand on the menu is moussaka.'

  'Then I'll order for you.' He said something to the waiter who hurried away to return with glasses of ouzo as an aperitif. Lewis added water and then swirled his glass, looking down at it thoughtfully while Lori waited with some trepidation. Then he looked at her directly and said slowly, 'I'm afraid I owe you an apology.' He paused for a moment but when she didn't speak, went on, `Last night I jumped to what seemed to be a very obvious conclusion, especially when Dean said the fight was over a girl. It was only when I talked to him this morning that I discovered the truth. I said some very harsh things to you yesterday; I'm sorry.'

  It was Lori's turn to look down at her glass; she supposed she ought to say it was all right, it didn't matter. But it did matter; his accusations had hurt. She stayed silent for so long that he said questioningly, 'Lori?"

  Slowly she raised her head and looked at him. His grey eyes were regarding her intently. With difficulty she said, `Last .night I told you that you'd been wrong about me from the beginning. I pleaded with you, to believe me, but you wouldn't.’

  'And now you're asking me to believe that because I was wrong last night…

  `No! ' Lori cut in swiftly. `I'm not asking anything more from you-not now or ever again. I've tried to justify myself to you too many times already, but you've always chosen to believe the worst of me.' She shook her head helplessly. `And I don't know why! You have only hearsay and gossip to hold against me, but rumours always fly around about every unknown who lands a good part, it's just a way of expressing professional envy and jealousy. Surely you know that? Okay, so in my case it was aggravated by Tony Rodgers because he was annoyed that I wouldn't have an affair with him, but…'

  `Is that true? He was never your lover?'

  Lori's mouth tightened. `No. And before you ask I'll tell you that I didn't get this part by making myself available on some casting couch either,' she added angrily.

  He looked at her broodingly, his eyes shadowed, while Lori watched him in hopeful expectancy. He must believe her this time, he must! It was suddenly what she wanted more than anything else in the world, chat he should think well of her, though why she didn't even begin to understand.

  His mouth broke into a slow smile. 'Then I'd better wish you a very belated welcome to The Siege, hadn't?' and he raised his glass to clink it against hers and then drink a silent toast.

  Lori sat back, still hardly able to believe that she had convinced him at last, her eyes wide with wonderment and tentative happiness, but then they were interrupted by the waiter bringing their first course.

  'What is it?' Lori asked.

  Lewis shook his head. 'Try it first and see if you like it.'

  She looked at him rather suspiciously and gingerly tried what looked like meat in a white sauce. 'Mm, it's delicious,' she decided, taking another mouthful. 'It's chicken done in a special sauce, isn't it?'

  Lewis's mouth twisted in amusement. 'No, it's not. As a matter of fact it's baby octopus.' And he laughed aloud at the expression on her face.

  Lori smiled back at him. 'I've never seen you laugh before.' It was said almost on a note of wistfulness.

  Instantly his face sobered. 'Have I been such an ogre to you, little one?'

  Calling her that confused her a little and she answered haltingly, 'It's just that you seemed so determined to dislike me. At times you seemed quite inhuman.'

  A flicker of amusement came into his eyes. `Oh, I assure you I'm entirely human.’

  'Yes, I :.. I suppose you are.' In the middle of the sentence recollection of the way he had reacted in an extremely human fashion to her accusation the night before flooded back to her and Hushed her cheeks to a vivid pink.

  It was evident that Lewis knew exactly what she was thinking because the Look of amusement deepened, but he merely said, `Eat your octopus.'

  Lori blinked and then burst out laughing. `That is the most ridiculous expression I've ever heard!' And Lewis, too, joined in her amusement.

  After that the day changed completely; the tenseness that had always existed between them just melted away and they were able to be at ease with one another, to talk and discuss the film as friends and colleagues. Lewis seemed as if he was trying to make up for all the misconceptions and odium that had gone before and he put himself out to make her laugh, telling her anecdotes about his previous films and some of the hazards he had had to contend with, and drawing her out to talk about herself. And Lori found that she enjoyed talking to him, loved making him laugh as she animatedly told him of a disastrous play she had been in in rep. where part of the scenery had fallen down, and the way he watched her, an amused lift to the corner of his mouth, made her feel good.

  After lunch they left the shade of the taverns and emerged into the solid heat of the afternoon sun. She had no hat, so Lewis insisted on stopping at a tiny shop to buy her a pretty straw one.

  `Haven't you learnt to wear a hat here yet?' he remonstrated as he set it on her head. `I don't want my romantic lead going down with sunstroke. One invalid is enough,' which remark was a little dampening at first, but when she saw the smile that went with it, it didn't matter in the least. Lori had waited a long time for one of those smiles and was basking in them now. When Lewis Brent decided to change his opinion about someone he really did it in a big way!

  The path up through the town to the castle was steep, but near the bottom a line of mules were tethered and several boys came crowding round, offering the services of themselves and their animals.

  Lewis spoke to them and then turned to grin at her. 'It seems there are several hundred very steep steps up to the castle, but if you like you can go up on a mule.

  They'll even take your photograph as a souvenir of the ride for a few drachmas extra.'

  Lori laughed. 'I'd love to try it-but in this dress?' She indicated her slim-line skirt.

  'You could always hitch it up,' Lewis suggested. 'With all these men around? No, thanks, I'd rather walk.'

  'Well, maybe we can fix something else.' He turned to one of the boys and they brought up another mule, a big animal almost the size of a horse. Lewis climbed easily into the saddle and led the animal to a mounting block. 'Come and ride side-saddle in front of me,' he offered. 'That way you won't fall off.'

  Gingerly she did so, settling herself as comfortably as she could on the hard saddle and feeling his arms close securely around her.

  'Okay?'

  'Okay.' She raised her head to answer him and found her face only a few inches away from his. A finger of nervous excitement ran through her and again she remembered the bruising passion of his lips on hers. Hastily she looked away, laughing to try to cover her sudden tension.

  `Then smile for the cameraman. Or shouldn't I tell you to do that on our day off?'

  And Lori looked at him again to find him smiling down at her. So neither of them posed for the camera, after all.

  The path might have been steep, but the mule-track was Hardly less so, and Lori clung to the saddle but still had to lean her weight against Lewis as the animal made its way along swell-worn track through a small plantation of lemon trees, interspersed here and there with irregular patches of planted land, seemingly scratched out of the earth without any uniform size o r shape. It was a far cry from the green fields of England, but Lori drank in the scenery as they made their way slowly up the hillside, her body leaning against Lewis's and his arms strong about her. She turned to make some laughing remark to him just as the mule stumbled a little and she was thrown hard against him.. immediately his grip on her tightened as he steadied her and words she had been about to say died in her throat as their eyes met and held for a moment that seemed to last as long as time itself. All emotions, all
feelings seemed to stand still-and then the moment was past as. the mule-boy Gaited out to Lewis and pointed down at another bay that had appeared below them.

  `What did he say?'

  Lori asked rather breathlessly. 'Mm?' For a second Lewis, too, didn't seem exactly with it. `Oh, he said I should go an d have a Look at that bay Later, alone. He said all the tourists go there to sunbathe in the nude.'

  He stood up in the stirrups have a better look and then grinned as he caught Lori's surprised glance. 'It's all right; that's the bay we're going to use for the scene where you're washed ashore and Dean finds you. I was just checking to see if a road went down to it.'

  Of course,' Lori agreed demurely. 'Why else would you want to look at it?'

  He laughed again, a full masculine laugh of enjoyment and punched her playfully on the jaw. 'If I wasn't on this mule, young lady…'

  Lori's eyes sparkled mischievously up into his; she felt suddenly glad to be here, glad to be alive on such a beautiful day and in such a beautiful place. It was one of those moments of pure happiness in her life which she wanted to go on for ever, but which she could only try to take in and hold in her memory as best she could; the wonderful scenery, the heat of the suit, the sound of the mule clip-clopping its slow way through heavily-scented lemon trees-and the feel of Lewis's hard chest against her shoulder, his strong arms holding her safe.

  CHAPTER SIX

  THEY 'did' Lindos thoroughly, from the ruins of the temple of Athene on the ancient Acropolis which stood on the edge of a sheer cliff that dropped nearly four hundred feet down to the rock-strewn sea, to the later castle built by the Knights of St John and used by them as an outpost. Lewis pointed out how they would use just the best preserved aspects for the sets and she began to understand a little of all the preparation that went into the making of a film arrived to play in it. It was obvious that he loved his work, talking of it intelligently and well, and giving her even more insight into the depth of feeling he had for this particular film as he told her of his first visit here on a sailing holiday and the fascination out the men who had fought and died for it.

  It was late afternoon before they left the rock on which the castle still stood sentinel and mad back down to the town. By tacit consent they chose the steps this time and found that the mule-boys had far exaggerated their number and they were also less steep than they expected. At both sides of the steps, wherever there was a bank of convenient height, the peasant women had spread their home-made wares to sell to the tourists. Here again were the brightly-coloured rugs, but most prevalent of all were tablecloths and tablemats that the women crocheted from fine silk thread, many of them working on yet more cloths as they sat beside the dusty steps and tried to catch the tourists’ attention. Lori couldn't resist a set of table-mats to take home as a gift for her mother and Lewis conducted the sale for her in Greek, so that the black-shawled peasant woman smilingly gave her some doilies as well.

  She was so pleased with her purchase that she didn't look where she was going and would have tripped if Lewis hadn't caught her by the waist to steady her. Turning to thank him, Lori was slightly taken aback to see that he was looking at her with a rather strange expression in his eyes. But then it was quickly masked as he let her go and turned to walk on down the last of the steps and enter the narrow, cobbled street into the town. They found the photograph taken of them on the mule waiting for them at the bottom and Lewis immediately bought it and gave it to her with some light comment about not to dare to show it to anyone in the crew or his reputation would be ruined, but although be still talked with her, he seemed somehow to have withdrawn within himself, to have lost the free and easy manner he had shown earlier. At first Lori wondered uneasily if she had offended in some way, but Mien decided that he was probably thinking about the film. Not very flattering, but entirely in character.

  On the way back Lewis suggested they stop for a drink and pulled up in a small village where they sat at a table outside the local taverna among the Greek mien who seemed to be there at all times of the day, sitting in the shade and talking politics. Just as men did the world over, Lori thought wryly, only they seemed to have far more time to do it here on this placid island.

  She refused Lewis's offer of ouzo and settled for an orange juice, pressed from oranges taken from a tree alongside the taverna. Lewis seemed disinclined to talk, looking down at his glass rather broodingly, twisting it around as if he was trying to make up his mind about something, so Lori sat back, content to watch the village coining to life again after the afternoon siesta: the shops opening one by one, the children coming out to pay, the women doing their shopping. Glancing up, she found Lewis watching her, a speculative look in his grey eyes.

  Immediately he set down his glass and looked away, then said abruptly, `Lori, I want to ask you to do something for me-for me and for the film, that is.' lie hesitated, and Lori said uncertainly, `I will, if I can, of course. What is it you want me to do?'

  He picked up his glass again, swirling the white liquid in it, not looking at her. `I want you to look after

  Dean for me-keep him out of trouble.'

  Lori gazed at him wordlessly, a feeling of cold disappointment running through her. She realised that he was waiting for some response and tried to gather her wits.

  `How do you mean-keep him out of trouble?

  If the other people he goes around with can't stop him from drinking too much, then I'm sure I couldn't either.'

  Lewis sat forward earnestly. 'But I think you could.

  I think it's an act that he feels obliged to put on more than anything. Don't forget, he was completely un known until he took part in that American serial and then he became famous almost overnight, everybody wanted him and he was suddenly a hot property. It's an he feels he has to live up to-and yet wants to be one of the boys. So he tries with everyone and overdoes it. And he still to be friendly he thinks he can keep up with hardened members of the crew who can drink a bottle of whisky almost before breakfast and think nothing of it.' He paused, searching her face, then said with emphasis, `But I'm sure that if the two of you went out alone together he wouldn't feel the need to act the star, he could just be himself, especially if you let him know that you didn't see anything particularly clever in having to drink to get your kicks. I'm sure it would work, Lori.'

  `Are you? I'm not.' The disappointment was still there, deeper now, it had been such a happy day, but somehow it was spoilt and she wished fervently that

  Lewis hadn't asked this of her.

  `Why not? You like wean, don't you?'

  `Yes, of course I do. But what makes you think he would listen to me? Or even want to go out with me alone anyway, if it comes to that? He likes going out in a crowd.'

  'And maybe he wants very much to go out with you hut has been too nervous to ask,' Lewis said deliberately.

  Lori's head came up in surprise. 'He told you that?' His grey eyes regarded her steadily. 'Not in so many words, no. But it's quite obvious that he thinks a lot of you.,

  She shrugged her shoulders in a negative gesture. 'It certainly hasn't been obvious to me. I like Dean, but that's as far as it goes. And I don't want to get involved.' 'Who's asking you to get involved? I simply want to try to keep Dean out of trouble, and I think you're the one person who can do it.'

  A flash of indignation lit her green eyes. 'When I first came here you told me to keep away from the men in the crew.'

  Lewis sat back and looked at her, his expression unreadable. 'So I did. But that was when I'd been given the wrong impression about you. Now I'm showing you how much I believe you by entrusting Dean to your care. He needs a woman to give him back his confidence in himself, show him that he doesn't need drink or the admiration of a crowd to maintain his image. The only way he has to prove himself is in his work.' Lori shook her head, still unwilling to do as he asked. 'I couldn't handle him if he got drunk.' The reply came promptly. 'Then don't let him get drunk. If he shows signs of wanting to drink too much then develop a
migraine or something and make him bring you home. I'm sure you have enough ingenuity to be able to take care of that problem, but if you do get stuck, you can always phone me and I'll come to the rescue.'

  She gave a small, unhappy smile. `Just like the U.S. Cavalry!'

  His mouth twisted in amusement. `More like the

  Knights of Rhodes.' He leaned forward and his hand covered hers as it lay on the table. `Will you do it, Lori?'

  Her hand quivered beneath his and then she said jerkily, `All right, I'll try, but I don't guarantee that it will work.'

  His hand tightened on hers and the smile he gave her was almost warm enough to dispel the disappointment. `Thanks, Lori. I'm sure it will. You're just what he needs.'

  Lori sat in the car going back to Rhodes and pondered that last remark. I may be what Dean needs, but what about my needs? she thought rather belligerently, and then was disconcerted to find that she didn't know what her needs were. Before today she had been quite sure that all she wanted was to be on goad and friendly terms with All Lewis and everyone else in the crew, to have her name cleared and to know that people weren't making disparaging remarks about her behind her back.

  Well, now she had that, didn't she? Lewis believed her and everyone, else would follow his example. So why did his proving his belief in her by asking her to help Dean leave her with this strange, inexplicable hollowness inside her? The more she pondered the question the more confused she became, and it was with a distinctly flat feeling that she said goodnight to him outside the hotel and watched him drive away to check on a set that was being put up for tomorrow's filming. It was only after she had given her reluctant agreement to the scheme that she wondered how she was going to implement it; she certainly wasn't going to go and ask Dean outright to take her out. But as it turned out it was much easier than she expected; the stars of the film had been invited to a reception at the Governor's residence, but at the last minute Lewis decided that the time was right to do some night shooting and only she and Dean, who was now completely recovered, were able to go. That Lewis had arranged this deliberately Lori was quite certain, and she was worried that it would be obvious to Dean as well, but he seemed completely unsuspicious as he escorted her to the party, looking extremely handsome in his white tuxedo. Dressed up as they were, they made a stunning-looking couple, drawing everyone's attention, and being the centre of an admiring crowd all evening, so both of them were ready enough to leave when the time came. Dean sat back in the rear of the chauffeur-driven company car and gave a sigh of relief. `Phew, I'm glad that's over l Let's stop at the nearest taverna and have a drink.'