Hearts of Stone Read Online Free PDF Page A

she reflected, it was more than likely he would recognise her too; there was so little privacy these days, thanks to the internet. But this was hardly a date, she reminded herself. Just a quick meeting with someone who wanted to share some information that might shed a light on her family history. Something interesting. That was all there was to it.
    She found the restaurant a short distance down the street. It had a small entrance with a large window to the side. A pair of printed linen curtains framed a display of baskets containing bread, onions, cheese and hams, with a large green jar of wine set to the side. Beyond the window Anna could see tables stretching back inside the restaurant, most of which had been taken by diners. That was good, she decided. Much less chance of standing out when Dieter arrived. Anna pushed open the door and entered. She was confronted by a bar at the end of a long counter. A dark-shirted woman with blond hair looked up from the till and smiled a greeting.
    ‘Can I help?’
    ‘Yes, I believe a table has been booked by a Mr Muller. I’m joining him for lunch.’
    The waitress glanced down at the sheet beside the till and nodded. ‘Please follow me.’
    She led Anna towards the rear of the restaurant, between two lines of tables, and her heart gave a little skip as she saw a man looking up from a table where he sat alone. Dieter had reached the restaurant first, and had been there some time, judging by the notebooks in front of him and a near empty glass of wine. Hurriedly closing his notebooks and shoving them in a small rucksack beside his chair, the German rose to his feet and offered his hand as Anna approached.
    ‘Thank you for coming, Miss Thesskoudis.’ He spoke her name slowly and carefully, in an accent that sounded vaguely American as much as German.
    ‘That is right? Thesskoudis? I was not certain. Your mother is called Hardy-Thesskoudis, and your grandmother is Mrs Carson, I believe?’
    ‘Yes,’ Anna smiled. ‘When my grandfather died she reverted to her Greek name, as did my mother. Until she married and took my father’s name as well – at least until they divorced. I changed mine to Thesskoudis after he left us.’
    The German blinked. ‘I see . . .’
    Anna laughed as she shook his hand, noting that it was warm to the touch and that he wore three ornate silver rings, the kind of jewellery she associated with art students.
    ‘I think you’d better stick with Anna. Much easier to deal with.’
    ‘Yes, I think so.’ He grinned. ‘And you call me Dieter, please.’
    He gestured to the high-backed chair on the other side of the table and the waitress reached out. ‘Can I take your coat?’
    Anna nodded and slipped it off, and then sat down and made herself comfortable as Dieter resumed his seat. He raised an eyebrow enquiringly. ‘A drink before we start?’
    ‘A glass of dry white wine, thank you.’
    ‘The same for me,’ Dieter added.
    The waitress turned away and there was a brief, awkward silence before Anna smiled. ‘You look a little different to your photo on the university website.’
    ‘Oh? How so?’
    ‘Your hair is a little longer, and there was a stud.’
    He self-consciously reached up to the ying-yang symbol hanging from his right lobe and then shrugged. ‘The university prefers the graduate students to look professional for the public.’
    Anna could not help a chuckle. ‘Same with my school. You’d think from our handbook that every child came to school in a spotless new blazer and was permanently ecstatic at the prospect of another day’s education.’
    He considered this for a moment and pursed his lips. ‘The ecstasy is optional in German educational institutions.’ Then, realising what he had said, he laughed. ‘I mean to say, the happiness, not the drug.’
    ‘I guessed.’ Anna felt herself warm to him and the initial strain of the introduction abated a little. She folded her hands on the table. ‘So, you’re studying for a