The Innocent's Surrender Read Online Free PDF

the tall, crowding shrubs, rustling their leaves and making her shiver as she pulled on her nightgown again.
    She picked up her damp towel, and went swiftly and silently back to her room. The bed received her, and within minutes Natasha was deeply and dreamlessly asleep.
     
    ?I?m sorry,? Neil said. ?I thought a weekend away together might be the next step for us, but I?ve clearly got things terribly wrong.?
    ?No.? Natasha reached across the table and put a placatory hand on his. ?It?s not you?really it?s not. It?s me.?
    ?Oh, God,? he said, wincing. ?Not that excuse, please.? He looked at her broodingly. ?Tasha, you haven?t been the same since you got back from that flying visit to Greece three weeks ago. You?ve been quiet?evasive, even. I haven?t been able to get near you. I thought that maybe some time away together, completely on our own, might get us back on track.?
    ?It could. It will.? She took a deep breath. ?But you must know that I have?family problems. Serious ones.?
    ?Shipping millionaires don?t have problems,? he said. ?They just buy another fleet of tankers.?
    ?Unfortunately,? Natasha said quietly, ?in this case, the fleet being bought happens to be ours.?
    She saw his brows lift, and nodded jerkily. ?I?ve been reading hints in the business news for days now, and praying they weren?t true,? she went on. ?But this morning there was an unconfirmed report from Athens that a refinancing bid by the Papadimos brothers had failed, and both the Arianna line and the cargo ships have been acquired by an outfit called Bucephalus Holdings for some rock-bottom price.?
    She groaned. ?Oh, God, I knew it wouldn?t work. They thought they were being so clever, yet now they?re in a total mess, free-falling to nowhere. Their father must be turning in his grave. And why on earth didn?t they tell me what was happening instead of letting me read it in the papers??
    ?Probably too busy trying to save something from the wreckage,? Neil suggested reasonably, then paused, frowning. ?Bucephalus? Wasn?t that a famous horse??
    ?Yes,? she said. She reached for her glass and took a substantial sip of wine. ?It belonged to Alexander the Great.?
    ?Who?s been dead for several thousand years,? Neil pointed out. ?His horse too. So hardly a threat.?
    ?Unless he has a present-day counterpart,? Natasha said grimly. ?Or someone who thinks he is.?
    ?Even so.? He looked faintly puzzled. ?Why should that affect you? I mean, I?m sorry your family?s suffered this awful loss, but you?ve always given the impression you never really wanted to be that involved in their business affairs anyway.?
    ?I didn?t,? she said shortly. ?And now I won?t be, except, I suppose, for another trip to Athens for more damned paperwork. Although I can?t just turn my back and walk away, even then, because the only one who really concerns me in all this is Thia Theodosia. She?s going to be absolutely devastated. I?ve been trying to call the house today, but there?s no answer.?
    ?Phone unplugged?? Neil suggested. ?Keeping the world at bay? You can hardly blame them.?
    ?Don?t you believe it,? said Natasha bitterly, and sighed. ?Ah, well, there?s nothing that can be done now. It?s over.?
    ?Not quite?if you have to go back to Greece at some point.? He paused, adding gently, ?But when that?s done, maybe we?ll have some time for each other.?
    She realised how considerate he was trying to be, and how aloof she must have seemed recently, and made a conscious effort to shake away the troubling thoughts which had been crowding in on her?oppressing her?for weeks. Some of which she hadn?t dared consider too closely.
    ?You can count on it,? she said softly, and smiled at him.
     
    The e-mail summoning her arrived a week later. It came from a firm of lawyers she?d never heard of, and advised her that her presence was required in Athens in order for the transaction with Bucephalus Holdings to be completed. It added that, on receipt of her flight details, she would be met at the airport.
    Well, that