The Girl Under the Olive Tree Read Online Free PDF Page B

outline of the Alps came in sight. Names on station platforms whizzed by – Strasbourg, Karlsruhe . . . It was fun dining in the restaurant car in their best dresses by evening. These were wonderful days of luxurious living as the picture-book scenes unfolded before them, while the train rattled them across Europe, far away from the restrictions of Stokencourt Place. It was like waking up each morning in some glorious dream in their little bedroom with its wood-panelled walls and beds that folded back to make sofas and a sitting room, knowing that soon they would be changing direction at Niš for the journey to Athens, where another world was awaiting them.
    Diane practised her French and German to great effect and was invaluable as a travelling companion. Penny continued to mug up on her basic Greek from the little Berlitz handbook she had purchased before she left. All the while the excitement kept bubbling up in her chest. Evadne had made it happen for her.
    As they stretched their legs at their final destination, Penny felt the first blast of heat as if someone was blowing a hot-air fan into her face. So this was what Athens felt like! For a moment she was thrown by the noise and bustle, the colour and smells, as her eyes searched for someone familiar. Then she saw Evadne and Walter waving, and then Evadne rushed up to hug them both, kissing their cheeks, taking Penny aback.
    ‘You have to get used to kissing in public.
Everyone
does it here. Oh, it’s so good to see you both. I know it’s the worst time of year. I daren’t tell Mummy how hot it gets or she’d not have sent you. Don’t get brown or she’ll
kill
me. You know how she is about staying pale and interesting.’
    Penny thought Evadne had never looked more sophisticated. She was wearing a white linen dress with three-quarter sleeves and navy braid trim on the cuffs and collar. Her face was hidden by an enormous navy-and-white straw hat with the brim turned down. The outfit all looked very nautical and cool.
    It felt as if they’d never been apart and yet, as she looked more closely, Penny realized her sister looked pale and her cheeks sunken. Walter had stood aside to let them greet each other and now he shook hands formally. He was wearing a crumpled linen suit and a panama hat. He escorted them to an open-topped saloon car waiting at the station entrance as their luggage was strapped to the boot.
    ‘Did you bring the liquorice?’ Evadne turned to ask Penny. ‘You can go back and fetch it if you haven’t! I even dream about it now, I swear! We’re going to have a spiffing time. Can’t wait to show you the sights.’
    ‘Now you watch her,’ Walter warned Penny. ‘Make sure she rests in the afternoons and no going out in the heat of the day.’
    ‘Don’t worry, we’re both first-aiders, now,’ replied Diane. ‘Got our badges, haven’t we?’
    The first few days flew by as Penny and Diane gradually grew accustomed to the heat, strolling in the rosy glow of evening light and dining in the busy nightclubs, where all the foreigners chattered with their own cliques. There was an air of such wealth in these places, in contrast with the poorer quarters glimpsed from the back of the limousine.
    Athens was a small elegant city shimmering white in the sunlight, its wide boulevards punctuated with squares lined with cypresses, orange trees and pink oleander bushes. The cafés opened onto pavements around Constitution Square where they could sit watching the rush and bustle on the streets, or else enjoy the indoor opulence of the Hotel Grande Bretagne, watching the wealthy at their leisure.
    Penny soaked up the dusty heat as sights that had previously been only postcard pictures came to life: the Parthenon, the Acropolis, the noisy disreputable streets of the Plaka district, which they strolled along with Walter’s trusted escorts from the embassy staff. They sat at tables sampling rich dishes, plates of
mezedes
: yogurt flavoured with pungent garlic