The next morning they docked in Tripoli and Arnold was up early on deck to watch them gliding slowly into Africa. Apart from all the shipping paraphanalia and the cranes, containers and other boats, the place had a different feel and when he started noticing signs in Arabic, he knew he was a long way from home in Wiltshire. There seemed to be a lot more space than in Crete or Athens and the skyline of Tripoli was much lower and vaster than in Heraklion and Volos. He thought he saw a line of camels moving slowly along a distant road.
The boat stopped moving and he leant over the safety rail to watch the walkway being dropped down, and various crewmembers going down to meet with port officials on the quay. Paperwork was exchanged and studied and it seemed as if something was wrong. The Libyan officials were looking at their watches and shaking their heads, and the crew were raising their hands and pointing in the direction of the boat, and then at somewhere beyond the quay. Arnold saw the purser running down the gangplank with what looked like a plastic bag full of cartons of cigarettes and giving this to the port officials. Suddenly everything seemed to be in order and the officials signed various documents, shook hands with the purser and the other crew members and wandered off down the quay looking inside their plastic bag. Almost immediately several coaches drew up and parked next to the ship and inside their windscreens the words LEPTIS MAGNA were scrawled on bits of card. Arnold went downstairs to collect Hermione and Lucy on the way to the Club Lounge for a quick breakfast. They were looking forward to the trip along the coast eastwards to visit the site and the coach ride was a good two hours.
Libya got more desolate the further they got from Tripoli, and they saw more and more camels but fewer and fewer people. It looked to Arnold twice as dusty and dry as Crete and although the weather was beautiful it was obvious water was a priority. Lucy told them Colonel Gaddafi had constructed The Great Manmade River, a vast system of underground pipes that transported fresh water from below the desert to the coastal cities and it had allowed them to adorn their streets with luxurious palm trees.
'What I heard was that a local boy became Emperor of Rome,' Lucy said, 'And made sure the city became mega important. But then it all got silly and overstretched itself, and that was that.'
Arnold noted how succinct Lucy was. She seemed to be able to say exactly what she wanted with the minimum of effort, and he liked that.
He was very impressed with what he saw that day. The market place and theatre were exceptionally preserved and he particularly liked the Septeran Basilica, and sat and looked at it for a good ten minutes, so he had to run to catch up with the rest of his group, who'd moved on to look at something else.
'Arnold dear, I see I'm going to have to keep a close eye, to make sure I don't lose you,' Hermione whispered when he'd caught up. Lucy smiled at him indulgently. It was hard going scrambling around the site in the heat and they were exhausted by the time a break was called at lunchtime. The routine salad, roll and bottle of water were served up in a canteen and they managed to grab a quiet corner at one of the tables.
'I quite like the idea of archaeology,' Lucy said in between mouthfuls, 'Must be very satisfying seeing something just emerge out of the ground, that's been hidden for centuries.'
'Perhaps you might be able to volunteer for a dig next summer, love?' Hermione suggested. 'I assume you won't get paid, but it would be a lovely way to spend the summer. Abroad, somewhere hot.'
'Do you think so, mum? Yes, I suppose you're right. I could always make some enquiries when I get back. It'd be great fun. I may even unearth some ancient relic. Maybe a 3,000 year old empty Marmite jar.'
'Well, at least you'd get a good tan!' Hermione offered back.
Later on the coach Hermione sat by the window and Arnold sat between them. She held his hand and Lucy fell asleep resting her head on his left shoulder. Some of her hair fell on his face and he enjoyed the sensation, feeling its light touch imbued with youth. As he fell asleep he came to the conclusion it smelled like a cross between lemons and almonds.
From Tripoli they sailed overnight along the coast and up to Sousse in Tunisia where they took in El Djem, then on to Tunis to visit Carthage. They sailed through the straits of Sicily and Arnold spent a wonderful day in Catania, where he took time out by himself to visit the many churches in the town, some of which had been buried under the lava from Mount Etna. It reawakened his spiritual beliefs and was like a breath of fresh air for him to sit again in God's spaces, pondering on the world and all its paradoxes. He began to feel he was a paradox, and within him wrestled many conflicting emotions and beliefs. He concluded that, just like the ship, he was proving to be a microcosm of everything that existed. He had enough time to go into San Placido, St. Agatha's Abbey, St. Benedict's of Nursia and the Marian Sanctuary of St. Mary, but he could quite easily have spent a week there, with the clarity he was achieving. He would have liked to visit the grottoes of Ulysses up the coast in Acitrezza and he saw signs for boat trips going there. But as he emerged from St. Mary's he could see the sun had sunk below the roofs of the town behind him and the shadows were lengthening, so he bought an ice cream and jumped in a taxi to hurry back to the ship.
When he'd got onboard Hermione seemed in a strange mood and he asked if she was alright.
'I'm ok,' she sighed, 'Had a bit of a tiff with Lucy earlier. All rather stupid, really. Best forgotten.'
Arnold hoped she would want to share it with him, but after a bit of unsuccessful coaxing he realised she had no desire to talk about what was troubling her. He made her a cup of tea and they lay down on the bed together and had a snooze as the sun went down. Arnold woke up after a while and thought he'd heard some noise, so he carefully got up in the dark and saw something had been slipped under their door. It was a note addressed to 'Mum', and he couldn't help but read it because as he picked it up his fingers slipped between the folds and it opened of its own accord, to reveal the following:
'Mum....sorry about earlier.
Just telling the truth, as I always have done.
But don't worry about it. You're as safe as houses.
Didn't mean to upset you.
Lots of love Luce x
PS After that massive lunch I won't need any food later, so having an early night.'
Arnold read it a few times and carefully put it back down on the floor by the door. He climbed back into bed and hugged Hermione's back. After a few minutes she stirred and woke up and they melted into each other as naturally as two flavours of ice cream on a hot day.
The next day they were up early as the boat glided into Katakolon harbour on the western coast of the Pelopponese, where they were due to visit the site of ancient Olympia, home of the very first Olympic games. During breakfast Arnold noticed a chill between the two women, and guessed it was connected to their disagreement the day before. He'd seen Hermione read the note from Lucy the previous evening, but she hadn't shown any reaction to it so Arnold had put it to the back of his mind. Now it was obvious they were trying very hard with each other, something he'd never experienced before when he'd seen them together. Conversation was deliberate and strained, and lacked that spontaneity he had grown used to seeing between them. He put it down partly to the fact the cruise was drawing to an end and they would soon be heading back to the grey gloom of the English winter. Lucy was studying the ship's broadsheet, which gave details of all the trips available from the boat on a daily basis.
'You know,' she said, dropping a folded leaflet down on the table in front of Arnold, 'There's a fabulous vineyard called Mercouri on the way to Olympia, and the coach will drop you off on the way. They do a guided tour of the estate, which looks wonderful. Then they give you an open-air buffet and tasting of all the wines. Is anyone interested in that rather than any more traipsing around in the heat? I think I've had my fill of ancient ruins.'
Arnold knew Hermione was particularly looking forward to seeing Olympia as she was passionate about the Olympic Games. She'd told him she always followed the live action on television wherever in the world they were being held and in whatever time zone it was. Arnold could see a possible disagreement coming up but was surprised when he heard her reply:
'Not for me, love. I've just got to see Olympia, it's the highlight of the trip for me. But you go ahead, and take Arnold with you, it'll give me a bit of time on my tod.'
Arnold didn't know what to say and was shocked at her suggestion. He was unsure what it revealed of the current situation between them. He must have looked like a startled rabbit at that moment as Hermione leaned forward and caressed his shoulder and neck at the table, by way of reassurance.
They finished breakfast and headed down towards the exit level as they had everything with them ready for the day out. Hermione got on the coach first and sat by a window with Arnold next to her and Lucy by the aisle. As they headed off down the narrow quay in the packed coach Arnold felt Hermione squeezing his hand very tightly in hers as she looked out of the window. Within twenty minutes they arrived at the gates to the Mercouri winery and the coach stopped to let passengers off. Hermione turned from the window and gave Arnold a long look, and said:
'See you later, love. And take care of my daughter.'
They kissed and Arnold was up and walking down the aisle to the front of the coach behind Lucy. Just before he reached the steps down to the door he turned quickly and thought he saw Hermione gasp, as if she were holding back a tear. He was in half a mind to go back but Lucy was at the bottom of the stairs, yelling up at him:
'C'mon Arnold. Let's go!'
So he got off the coach into the hot, dry air by the side of the road and in a cloud of dust the coach roared off.
About a dozen people had got off and he sensed the tour around the estate would be a relaxed affair. This was the first time he'd ever been anywhere with Lucy alone - apart from their cup of tea on the ship, and briefly by the mere in Corsham - and he felt awkward walking along next to her. The rest of the passengers seemed to be couples and he guessed they all probably thought he was her father. They'd been met by a young man called Dimitri who said he was one of the Mercouri family. He led them through the open metal gates and down the olive tree lined path toward the winery. Arnold heard a familiar bird voice within the groves and was surprised to see a male peacock emerge onto the track displaying his feathers to the visitors. Lucy grabbed his hand and pulled him down to whisper in his ear:
'How funny, it's like being back in Corsham!'
They were shown around the visitors centre and taken around the beautiful Italianate gardens. There was an ivy-clad stone chapel that reminded him of the one in Dyrham Park, and row upon row of vines and olive trees as far as he could see. The place was quite special, he thought, and had lovely views out over the Ichthian peninsula and towards the sea. He had no idea such beautiful places existed in the world. No wonder the guide Dimitri exuded such inner tranquility. They were seated at a long dining table under the shade of some pine trees and eat feta salad and stuffed vine leaves with grilled haloumi cheese and fresh baked bread. Several different wine bottles were passed along the table and Arnold carefully sampled them until he found one he liked which he then accepted a full glass of. Lucy opted for the same and they chinked glasses in the bright sunshine and let the cold crisp wine relax them. As the wine took hold of their senses the rest of the table seemed to disappear from Arnold's immediate vicinity. It reminded him of the technique he'd seen in films sometimes, when a person stays in focus but the rest of the world blurs away into the distance. He started trying to explain this to Lucy but she laughed at him when he was halfway through his meticulous description:
'Arnold, you poor old thing, I do believe you're getting squiffy!'
All he could see were her laughing eyes, which reminded him of her mother's, and her full lips, which were fuller than Hermione's. He guessed she'd inherited them from her father. He began to feel intimidated by her vitality and could sense he was retiring into himself, but she noticed this and tried to help him avoid this by asking:
'Oh, Arnold, isn't this fun? Thank God we didn't have to go and look at another bloody pile of old stones!'