Island of Mermaids by Iris Danbury

Kent ’ s villa. ’
    ‘ She would not find out—unless you told her. ’
    ‘ So it was a secret visit and that ’ s why Kent brought you back after such a short time. ’
    ‘ If you hadn ’ t been pretending to love Cristo and letting him make love to you, you would not have known about it. ’ Carla ’ s face was mulish.
    ‘ I came to look for you and Cristo followed me. Next time I shall keep out of the way and then your mamma will be very displeased with you. ’
    ‘ No, Althea, ’ pleaded Carla with a sudden change of mood. ‘ Sometimes I might need your help. ’
    ‘ In bolstering up your secret calls on Kent? It seems to me absolutely ludicrous that I ’ m expected to chaperone you in a singing class of nearly twenty people in Naples and yet you creep off in the dark to visit a man alone in his villa. ’
    Carla began to giggle. ‘ You are now angry with me. Poor Cristo! Poor Carla! We cannot do anything right. That means you are jealous of my friendship with Kent. ’
    Althea sighed. What use to argue with this infatuated girl ? ‘ Let ’ s talk of something else. We ’ re both empty-headed if all we can find to discuss is a couple of men. ’
    Carla was uncertain how to take this speech of Althea ’ s. She tried a new tack. ‘ You have a young man at home in England? ’
    ‘ Oh, I know several. ’
    ‘ And there is one you wish to marry? ’
    Althea laughed. ‘ No. Perhaps no one wishes to marry me. ’ Carla frowned and grimaced. ‘ Oh no, that cannot be so. You are quite pretty. ’
    ‘ Thank you. But men usually want more than a pretty face. ’
    Carla was still studying Althea ’ s features. ‘ You are very English and your skin is good. Here there is so much sun that our skins grow coarse and then wrinkled. What colour are your eyes? Green or brown? ’
    ‘ I don ’ t know. I can see them only in a mirror and the colour sometimes depends on what I wear. ’
    ‘ Now they look very green with the reflection from the sea. As green as our Green Grotto. You must go there. ’
    ‘ I haven ’ t been to the Blue Grotto yet, ’ said Althea. ‘ I ’ m told we must go soon before the tourists come. ’
    ‘ It is nice to have tourists in the summer, ’ remarked Carla, ‘ but they see nothing of Capri. Just the Blue Grotto, Marina Grande and perhaps the piazza. ’
    ‘ Well, many of them are only here for the day and can ’ t see everything. ’
    Althea was relieved that Carla had recovered her good humour. She could not really keep pace with Carla ’ s sudden changes of mood, but as long as the flare-ups were short in duration, Althea was more than willing to co-operate in a return to amicable relations.

 
    CHAPTER FOUR
    The present harmony was, however, destined to be brief. On the following day while Althea and her father sat in the Villa Stefano garden in the late afternoon, one of the gardeners handed Mr. Buckland a note.
    ‘ It ’ s from Kent, ’ he told Althea. ‘H e invites us to go with him to the Blue Grotto tomorrow morning if the weather ’ s fine. He says it ’ s best not to leave it much later. What do you say? ’
    ‘ Let ’ s go by all means, ’ she agreed.
    She scribbled a few words of acceptance on her own and her father ’ s behalf and gave the message to the waiting gardener.
    Signora Marchetti and Carla had gone out to dine with friends on the other side of the island, so the two Bucklands were alone.
    ‘ I suppose Kent ’ s invited Carla as well for tomorrow at the Grotto? ’ hazarded Althea.
    ‘ Probably, ’ her father returned. ‘ Although it ’ s more than likely that Carla has been there a few times and wouldn ’ t find anything very novel in the trip. ’
    All the same Althea thought it would be a wise precaution to mention the excursion to Carla, but the Marchettis stayed late with their friends and next morning when the hired car that Kent had promised waited at the gates to take Althea and her father down to Marina Grande, there was no