by Hilary Wilde
For a moment Señor del Riego's expressive face looked tired. 'It is sad, so very sad, but on Vallora is much hatred and many feuds and little affection. It is a beautiful island, unique in appearance and with great potentiality, but they live in the past and have no desire to realise that today is very different. In the will, Pedro specifically asked me to insist that the children learn English at once. He had tried to insist, but in the last years he was too weak to succeed. He knew he could leave it to me. He said they must learn to speak English as small children. It is the only way. That is why I have
come to England, yet I have found no one suitable as a governess.' He turned to Penny, who was sitting silently. 'I am ashamed to say it, but while I loved my mother, I had no affection for my father. It is said this is purely biological—is it the same for you? Of course it will be in reverse. It must be your father you adore?'
`I . . . I. . .' Penny was startled by the sudden question. 'Yes, I do adore my father, but .. . but . . .'
`Her mother died only two years ago,' Fiona said quickly.
`I am so sorry.' Señor del Riego looked at Penny. 'Had I known I would not have asked you. I trust that you will forgive me?'
`Of course,' said Penny. 'In any case, I didn't hate my mother. She was very kind . . .'
`A real darling,' Fiona chimed in. 'I was jilted, broken hearted.' She laughed. And your mother helped me so much, Penny.'
`I can imagine,' said Penny. So that was how her father had met Fiona. She had often wondered.
Fiona nodded. 'You were away at the time, staying with your friends at Yarmouth.' She turned to the man. 'I'm sorry we interrupted you. You were telling us . . .'
`Yes, of course. That I have been looking for a suitable governess—a quiet girl, not too young nor too old. Not flamboyant, or aggressive. Life on the island will not be easy.
Pedro's widow is against it, of course. But . . .' His voice changed, became cold and almost brutal as he went on: 'She will have to accept it—I shall see to that. You are the one I have chosen, Miss Trecannon.'
`Me? Chosen? I don't understand . . .' Penny was startled and sat forward, nearly sliding off the chair.
He looked at her. 'I have decided that you are the most suitable. You cannot speak Spanish?'
`Of course not! I've no idea . . .'
`Splendid. The children must find that they have to speak English, and if you cannot speak their language, they will have no choice.' In an odd way, he clipped the words so that she was reminded of a sergeant-major shouting instructions on the parade-ground.
`But . . . you want me?' Penny almost gasped. I'm not a governess. I've had no experience.'
`Good.' He stood up. 'I do not want you to be a governess but a friend. You are not expected to teach them anything except English. This is essential, as I have arranged for those old enough to go to English boarding schools as soon as possible.' As if he remembered something, he sat down and frowned. 'One thing I have forgotten. You have a lover? Yes? I mean, you are not engaged? In love?' He said the words almost scornfully.
`No . . . no, but . . .'
`You seem perfect to me—a quiet girl, fond of children, yet also aware that discipline is sometimes necessary. I have decided . . .'
But you don't know me, or . . .'
He smiled condescendingly. 'You forget, Miss Trecannon, that I am accustomed to dealing with people and I credit myself with the ability to judge character. I think you would be ideal.'
`But . . .'
Fiona leaned forward, her eyes sparkling. 'It sounds wonderful, Señor. Penny is awfully good with children. You know you are, Penny. Remember the time we visited the Robinsons and how the children adored you?'
`Yes, but . . .'
Penny felt confused as she tried to sort out her thoughts. A job on some unknown island where there were feuds and hatred and a mother determined to fight every inch of the way—and three children being forced to learn to speak English—did she want such a job? Yet on the other hand, the happiness on Fiona's face told Penny so much, made her know that her fear was right and that she was being in their way, that their marriage could not be a perfect one so long as she stayed with them. Wasn't it natural for Fiona to want her husband all to herself—without a daughter always there? Whatever happened, though, no one must know the reason for Penny leaving home. All the same, such a job sounded
terrifying.
Señor del Riego stood up. 'That is arranged. You will not become engaged for six months? Married for a year? I do not want the children to be confused by a different face. How soon can you come?'
But I . . .' Penny began, but he was not listening.
`Ten days. That will give you time to hand in your notice and decide what to wear. In winter even the Mediterranean can be cold, so do not bring only thin garments. I would also repeat that jeans, trews, short skirts and bikinis are not accepted on Vallora. As I said, it is many years out of date and I want no danger of you causing scandalous gossip. I am prepared to pay you well . . .'
He mentioned a sum that made both Fiona and Penny gasp and then he went on: 'You will have the use of a carriage, as we have no cars on the island. You have a passport? Good. Then I will arrange for your flight to be booked and the tickets sent to you. You will be met at the small airport on Vallora.' He gave a strange smile. 'That is about the only modern thing on the island—and what a fight Pedro had to have it! Fortunately his ill-health which meant he had to go frequently to the mainland was a good reason.'
He turned to Fiona and bowed. 'It has been a delight to meet you. Perhaps you and your husband would care to come and visit your
stepdaughter some time? You will always be welcome. By the way,' he turned back to Penny, 'a good deal of entertainment takes place on the island when we are talking to one another—' He gave a strange smile, then. 'It is advisable that you bring suitable clothes. A woman should look like a woman—discreet, feminine, attractive but modest . . .'
`But that's absurd . . .' Penny began indignantly.
`I agree, but when in Rome we must do as the Romans do. I do not want the relatives to be able to prove that you are unsuitable to take care of the children. They will be eager to find a reason for dismissing you, and this I will not allow.' He glanced at his wrist watch. 'I must go. I will see you in ten days.'
Fiona and Penny stood up. Señor del Riego took their hands, lightly kissing them and giving each one that amazing smile of his.
Once the door was closed, Penny kicked off her sandals and literally collapsed on the couch.
`Am I out of my mind?' she asked Fiona. `Why did I give in? I don't want that sort of job. It was like a whirlwind—he just swept through giving me no chance to refuse. The families sound too ghastly for words . . . I can't wear jeans. I ask you! What right have they to lay down the law . . .' Her voice began to rise with the anger she had not been able to show while Sefior del Riego was there.
Fiona curled up in a chair, laughing. 'Don't be daft, Penny. Imagine a beautiful island in the Mediterranean—think of palm trees, gorgeous sunshine. It'll be super. No real work, just talking to the children, and you know you love children.' She laughed. 'I think he's terribly attractive, don't you? We didn't ask him if he was married, but he did give you a sort of warning.'
`A warning?'
`Sure. Didn't you get it? He kept on about the foolishness of English girls marrying Spaniards, especially the kind on his island. In other words, don't fall in love with him.'
Penny laughed. 'Most unlikely. I admit I can't stop looking at him. He's got such an unusual face, it keeps changing all the time. All the same, I can't imagine falling in love with him . . . if anything he rather frightens me.'
`Frightens you? Are you out of your mind? He's an absolute darling. Look at his concern for his cousin's children. How many men would care? No, I think he's a honey and I think this is a wonderful chance for you, Penny dear. Your father is rather worried because you lead such a quiet life. He'd like you to meet other people of
your age. There must be quite a lot on this island.' She jumped up. `Look at the time, we'd better get to work.'
`Yes, we had,' said Penny, slowly rising. She shook her head so that her long red hair
swung. 'I wonder he gave me the job when I look so awful.'
Fiona laughed, the gaiety alive in it. `Nonsense! Nothing could make you look awful, Penny. You have a strange beauty that isn't, if you know what I mean.'
`He does rather lay down the law.'
`Of course he does. That's how he's become a millionaire.'
CHAPTER TWO
Penny found herself flying high across Spain exactly ten days later, finally landing at Barcelona airport. Everything had gone smoothly, apart from the misery inside her. Oddly enough her father hadn't approved at first about the job.
`As far away as that,' he had said. 'Who is the man? Some foreigner? No, definitely no.'
How Fiona had laughed! 'Jock, Penny is no baby. If she wants to go, let her. Ring up the Favershams and they'll tell you about him.'
He had done so and come back from the phone, smiling.
`You're right as usual, Fiona, and I was wrong. It seems Señor del Riego is a highly respected man and the Favershams have known him for years. This island is not his—he merely owns a lease that has gone on for centuries, and it's all very beautiful. The Favershams have been there and seem to think you'll enjoy yourself. If you really want to go?' he had asked, a faint note of sorrow in his voice, and for a moment Penny had to battle with the desire to throw herself in his arms and hug him tight while she cried—as she had often done in the past—saying she didn't want to leave him. But she knew that would be wrong of her. Her father and Fiona loved one
another—if their marriage was to be a success it must be a happy companionship, and how could it be with a grown-up daughter always around?
`I think it might be fun, Dad,' she said. 'He's invited you and Fiona to visit me.'
Her father's face brightened. 'We'll do that, my darling, we surely will,' he had said, and hugged her close.
So Fiona and she had gone shopping, Fiona joking about it while Penny's misery had grown as the days passed. And then had come that last farewell when her father had driven her to Heathrow and said goodbye. Somehow she had managed not to cry, but she felt terribly alone as she found her place on the plane. It was crowded, mostly with people going in search of the sun for their yearly holiday, but Penny had sat, arms folded, eyes closed, as she thought of her father going home to Fiona...
Home! Anywhere with Dad had been home to Penny. This was really the first time she had ever been away from home for any length of time. Six months, perhaps a year, was a long time.
At the airport she felt bewildered as she looked at the swirling crowd of laughing, chattering tourists and saw them gathering in queues. She looked at the second ticket that would take her to Vallora, and then vaguely around. As usual she felt lost. Her father had always said she wasn't observant and her
mother had joked and said Penny lived in a dream world, but now here she was!
`Excuse me, but have you lost something?' a man asked.
Startled, she turned round. A short lean man was looking at her worriedly.
`No,' she told him. 'Except I don't know where to go.'
He smiled. He had a pleasant long face and his blue eyes were friendly. 'Where are you going?'
She told him and he laughed. An easy solution. I'm going there, too.'
She was so relieved. 'I know it's stupid of me, but I always get lost in places like this. It's so crowded and . . .'
`This way,' he said. 'Have you got your luggage? And your ticket? Where have you come from? London? I was there a couple of months ago and . . .'
He was still talking as they settled down in their seats in the small plane. Penny was glad to have his company, for it had removed some of the miserable loneliness she had felt before.
`If I may ask, what are you doing on Vallora?' her new friend asked.
`I've come to teach the children English.' `Phew!' he whistled softly. 'That won't be easy.'
`So Señor Juan del Riego said, but he also said it was his cousin's wish for his children. They seem to mean a lot to him.'
Michael Trent—for that was his name, he had told her—smiled.
`Do they, now? I'm an accountant, engaged by him because he has only recently taken over the island, and he has an idea that something fishy has been going on. My job is to audit everything—not easy when so many members of the family are involved, and they're hostility itself.'
`He said there were many feuds and much hatred.'
`The understatement of the year! They all hate one another and remember things that happened centuries ago. For instance, they hate us—us English, I mean —because in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries they were corsairs or pirates and penetrated into English and Irish waters. These people have centuries-long family trees and several of their ancestors were killed by the English, so they'll always hate us. I ask you!' He laughed. 'Fancy going back so far. It's just plain stupid.'
`He said they were years out of date.'
`And that's true. They're a funny lot.'
The plane had taken off and soon they were high above the blue Mediterranean. The sun was shining, the clouds white and puffy below them and suddenly the plane, with its few passengers, most of them elderly, began to circle as it went down. There below in the water was a strange-looking island. There was a large cluster of mountains in the middle with
a long narrow promontory at either end.
`It's completely out of date as regards economics,' Michael Trent said. 'Where those long strips are, they grow grapes and apples. That lump in the middle is chiefly for sheep, most of the houses are there, too, but parts of the mountains are blackened still from the lava of a volcano some hundred years ago. There are minerals there, but the family won't get out of their houses. They say they've lived there for centuries. They can't realise they don't own the land. Not that Riego does. It's merely leased as it has been for several centuries. One of these days, the Spanish Government will realise that a little fortune is waiting here and then the families will have to get out, like it or not. They're a funny crowd. Some are charming and friendly, others don't even look at you. You won't have an easy time.'
Penny gave a little laugh. 'I'm aware of that.'
They were circling as they went lower and lower and she could see that the island was bigger than it had first looked. As the plane slowed up and slid along the air-strip she could see the enormous mountains towering above the flat land.
As she got out of the plane with Michael Trent by her side, she saw Juan del Riego. He was frowning, but as they joined him, he curtly nodded to Michael Trent and said with a stiff politeness to Penny:
`I trust you had a pleasant journey, Miss
Trecannon. No problems?'
She sensed his disapproval. Was it because she had travelled with Michael Trent? Surely not. Yet it wasn't his fault, she thought, so she said quickly:
`Everything was fine, but I got a bit lost about flying out to your island. I couldn't find where the plane was, but Mr. Trent helped me.'
`How very kind of him,' Sefior del Riego said slowly, his voice hard. 'How did you get on, Trent?'
`I managed to see several of them, but two were away . . .' Michael Trent began, but Señor del Riego lifted his hand.
`No details now. I'll see you in two hours' time in your office.'
`Right, sir.' Michael Trent smiled at Penny. `See you,' he said cheerfully, and before he left them, smiled at Penny: 'Good luck.'
Penny was looking round. How flat this part of the island was—or was it because of the height of the range of mountains that towered above them?
`How long have you known Michael Trent?' the Señor asked, his voice cold. Startled, she looked at him.
`About an hour.'
`You didn't know him before you came?'
`Of course not.' She was suddenly annoyed. Are
you calling me a liar?'
`I merely wondered if that was why you took
the job. To be near him.'
`I told you—I didn't know him.'
`Then why did you take the job? I could see you hesitated, in fact it was obvious that you did not want it, so why did you?'
`That's my business,' she began angrily, then shrugged. 'All right, if you want to know, I. . . I felt my father and Fiona ought to be alone. They haven't been married long and . . . and . . .'
`You felt in the way? You probably were. I see. Thank you.'
`You believe me?' She looked up at him as he stood by her side. His hands were linked behind his back, his neat suit spotlessly clean, his shoes shining in the sunlight, his eyes as full of questions as she had noticed before.
`Why not? I must explain a few things, Miss Trecannon. Here on this island, and indeed in most parts of Spain, girls before they are married are not given the freedom of girls in England. Therefore when an English girl comes out and is allowed to roam alone where she likes or mix with some doubtful characters, it is only natural that she is given a bad name. I do not wish this to happen to you. You will be in charge of the children and your character must be absolutely blameless in every way.'
`Are you suggesting Michael Trent is a doubtful character?' Penny asked, angry again.
Juan del Riego's face changed as he smiled. `No, I am not. But please remember that here
you will have many enemies, looking carefully at you, waiting—and hoping—that you will do something foolish so that they can get rid of you.'
Penny drew herself up, lifting her small pointed chin. 'You would let them?' she asked accusingly.
`Of course not, but it could be unpleasant for you. I would prefer you to keep out of such trouble.'
