The Forbidden Promise

by Helena Rose

  "I’ll miss you," she whispered, moved.

  Lucas who had accompanied Aurora had already said a cordially goodbye to his in-laws and had left straight away. So it was Carmen who escorted Aurora home. Aurora left the Vargas de Coronado home with a certain melancholy, but hastened to dispel any negative feelings. Soon she would restart her married life with Lucas under totally different auspices, as if the last time had just been a dress rehearsal. She felt eager and excited, as though her marriage were to take place soon after. Instead I’m already married to the love of my life without even knowing it ... no one is luckier than me ...

  When she returned home, she saw Lucas already busy giving Santos the last instructions for their departure for the following day.

  “Welcome home, Aurora." Lucas greeted her, brushing her forehead with his lips.

  Santos greeted Aurora.

  "I'll be in the kitchen with Yolanda if you still need me, if you’ll excuse me." He said, taking his leave.

  "I’ve something to ask you, my dear," said Lucas.

  Aurora sat down curious.

  "Santos asked me if we want to have his aunt, Penelope Robles as an assistant housekeeper for our hacienda. "

  "His aunt?" queried Aurora.

  "Yes. More importantly, it was Yolanda who asked this favor of Santos, and Santos asked me."

  "And you’re asking me," Aurora concluded, laughing.

  "It’s fine by me.” She continued, “I don’t have anything against her... you however seem a bit doubtful. "

  "You don’t know the reputation that surrounds Penelope Robles here in Tampico?" Lucas asked.

  Aurora shook her head.

  "You could say that she is the town’s witch who reads tarot cards, prepares love potions, chases away or casts the evil eye as needed and sells herbs and amulets." Explained Lucas.

  Aurora laughed.

  "You don’t believe this nonsense that is without scientific basis!"

  Lucas suddenly hugged her and kissed her passionately.

  " Ah, my little scientist! I forgot your analytical and skeptical mind!"

  " Don’t mock me!" Aurora protested, laughing, "Don’t tell me you believe this nonsense?"

  " I don’t, but Santos isn’t so sure. He hates his aunt and has strictly forbidden Yolanda from using her skills. In addition, from when she was young, Penelope has been my stepmother’s maid ... and she’s not very friendly to me. If it hadn’t been for Amparo’s protection on several occasions, she would have been rather cruel to me."

  "Then I don’t understand why he recommended her to you, and above all why you're thinking of taking her on."

  " Because it seems that on this occasion she has a positive influence on Yolanda. She's helping Yolanda to overcome this silly jealousy that she is suffering from. And I’m no longer a shy child who used to play with colored stones, now I am a man who owns an entire hacienda."

  "In this case I would say that her presence is more than welcomed," said Aurora." But seriously, if it bothers you ... "

  "No, don’t worry, I have no objection to Penelope’s presence."

  Lucas kissed Aurora on the lips again.

  "Yolanda should be very grateful for the kindness that you are showing her." Lucas said, "If she doesn’t understand she is a real fool."

  " Enough about Yolanda." Aurora said, "Now let’s think about us, our hacienda lies ahead. Our life awaits us, forever."

  The next morning Penelope reached Lucas’ house at dawn and presented herself to Aurora with great ceremony. She thanked her several times for having accepted her as a maid, and when she saw Lucas, she threw herself on her knees at his feet and asked forgiveness for the way she had treated him as a child.

  Lucas, embarrassed, grunted that it had all been forgotten and, though he appreciated Penelope’s apology he would have preferred it in a less obsequious way.

  Santos arrived with the carriage and Aurora and Lucas got into the carriage, while the three Robles took their seats on the top.

  The trip to Zacatecas was far different from the previous one. Aurora no longer felt the thrill of the novelty nor the anxiety of the unknown that she was going to be facing, but instead she felt complete and total joy and the certainty of living with the greatest love of her life.

  She rested her head on Lucas’ shoulder and dozed quietly. After they reached the higher elevation of San Luis Portosi, she cuddled up to Lucas and made him warm her up, just as she had dreamed of during her first trip to the hacienda immediately after the wedding. I’m the happiest woman in the world ...

  They arrived at the hacienda at dusk. The magnificent colonial-style house appeared majestic from the driveway.

  Aurora climbed down from the carriage and hurried to enter the house through the main door. Pablo came to welcome them and Aurora greeted him happily.

  "Pablo, how are you? How are your burns?" Asked Aurora

  "Very well, Mistress, thank you. I followed all your instructions to the letter. Ah, welcome back master!"

  Lucas had entered the room and greeted Pablo.

  "Can you carry our luggage to our room," Lucas said, entering the room.

  Pablo nodded, meanwhile he saw Yolanda enter, accompanied by her aunt. Pablo's eyes lit up with joy.

  " Yolanda, how are you? Are you tired?" he asked diligently.

  " A little. Thank you," replied Yolanda a bit annoyed. Then she turned to Penelope.

  " Come, aunt, I’ll show you your room." The two women made their way to the servants' wing.

  Aurora and Lucas, however, climbed the stairs and entered their room. Aurora threw herself wearily on the bed.

  "I just want to sleep!" She yawned and added, "The journey has made me really tired."

  Lucas lay down next to her and began kissing her ear.

  "I can’t believe you just want to sleep, we’ve just got home and we need to celebrate.” Said Lucas.

  “We’ll have dinner at any rate, before ..." She whispered, trying to hold back a shiver of excitement "The cook will have prepared a great meal to welcome us…"

  She was silenced by a passionate kiss that removed all thought of food from her.

  It was not difficult to resume the activities that had been suspended before their departure from Tampico. Lucas went to check on the work at the mine and to see how the extraction was proceeding. Aurora returned to her clinic and began to work immediately, visiting those patients whom she had left with a treatment regime to follow.

  Meanwhile at the hacienda, Penelope began to integrate herself among the domestic servants. She had sworn that she would never be anyone’s servant again, but she was now engaged in a particular mission, and that made her very excited. In a short time Penelope managed to inspire a certain awe among the servants, as well as the laborers in general, and Yolanda basked in the resulting importance that she received. Only Pablo viewed the newcomer suspiciously and did not become friendly with her.

  Stupid highlander! He still hasn’t understood what I'm capable of ...thought Penelope.

  In accordance with the sinister agreement drawn up by Doña Raquel, Penelope was weaving her plot, like an industrious evil spider. She adopted irreproachable behavior in the presences of Lucas and Aurora, so that they trusted her as much as possible, but in the meantime, she had already planned every aspect of the terrible trap that would incriminate Lucas permanently.

  Before leaving for Zacatecas, Penelope hired a wandering actor who was working with a group of traveling acrobats. They had been camping outside Tampico and Penelope had immediately thought of him. On stage, the actor had performed disguised as a clown so no one would recognize him in civilian clothes and he would be perfect to play the fake banker. The evening before Penelope’s departure the actor had received instructions on the role he was to play, the man also had a lot of creativity, so Penelope felt quite confident.

  She had already written the invitation card for Lucas and jealously guarded it, waiting for the right time to come to use it.


  Now the moment had arrived. The trap had to be sprung as soon as possible, Lucas would be imprisoned in its web without even being aware of it.

  Penelope smiled to herself, meanwhile with the excuse of going to the kitchen garden she walked away from the house. When she returned she would begin to help the cook prepare the lunch.

  When mealtime arrived, Aurora returned from the clinic and waited for Lucas, who arrived late. The two immediately sat down at the table, cooing like two lovebirds.

  Enjoy these moments, because they’ll only last for a short while more ... thought Penelope watching them unseen.

  Immediately after the meal, Penelope approached them and waited with a resigned attitude that made Lucas looked at her curiously.

  "Mr. Navarra y Reyes." Penelope addressed him with mock deference, "Today we received this letter addressed to you. I kept it until now because I didn’t want it to end up in curious hands," she added in a conspiratorial tone. Instilling some doubts about the loyalty of his servants can do nothing but benefit me.

  Lucas took the letter and opened it. Immediately a look of surprise crossed his face. Noting, however, that Penelope was still there standing next to him, he dismissed her rather abruptly.

  " If you’ll excuse me," hissed the woman between her teeth.

  " What’s happened, love?" Aurora asked curiously, "bad news?"

  Lucas shook his head.

  "No, that is ... I’m stunned, that's all. This letter is from a member of the Bank of Veracruz where I went to seek a loan to buy this hacienda. He tells me he would be willing to give me a loan despite the first negative response and wants to convince the rest of the directors. He asks me if I am still interested and willing to meet him urgently."

  "We’ve already purchased the hacienda, we no longer need a loan." Aurora objected.

  " Yes, it’s true, but keep in mind that with a single loan we could repay all the small debts that I took out for the improvements to the house and to the mine. Also, I still have to pay the men and they’re becoming impatient ... we still haven’t sufficient silver that we can sell. We might need the cash ..." Lucas looked embarrassed "... and I could also give you back the money from the dowry."

  " Don’t be silly, you know that I don’t care about the money, much less now," said Aurora. "I’ve begun to consider this hacienda as my home ... "

  "It should be, you're my wife."

  "I think it would be better if you tore up that letter. You no longer need a loan." Replied Aurora.

  But Lucas was not convinced. It could be an opportunity and additional resources to take advantage of in case a need should arise. Managing a hacienda entailed the need to evaluate alternative sources of funding for bleak periods.

  Lucas decided to accept the offer. He would have to leave immediately to reach the meeting place in Tampico by the following evening. He would arrive late at night, but he could rest before meeting the banker.

  Aurora did not approve of his decision and she also did not want to be separated from Lucas for even a day.

  "If you’ve decided, then I’d like to accompany you," She offered, kissing him.

  But Lucas shook his head.

  "No, my love, it would be an unnecessary marathon for you. I’ll go and come back, you won’t even notice my absence. I’ll go by horse, so I’ll get there quicker as I won’t be able to catch the last train leaving from Zacatecas."

  Lucas then went directly to Santos to organize finding someone to stand in for him at the mine and afterwards he prepared his horse.

  Penelope, watching his movements, laughed to herself. I’ve done one part of my duty ... now I only have the second mission, to separate that bastard from his beautiful wife permanently. It’ll be a breeze ...

  Lucas’ trip was exhausting, spending so much time in the saddle was certainly not painless. He could have taken the train, but there was a greater risk of missing the appointment. After changing his horse in a post station in San Luis Potosi, he reached Tampico when it was almost dawn and he went straight home to rest. Around noon he went to the Fisherman's Tavern for lunch and to chat with the other customers.

  Later he went to the harbor to see his old associates, and to the church to say hello to Father Julian. Maybe I should also go and extend my greetings to Aurora’s parents, he thought, but the idea of facing his mother-in-law’s unhappy face made him decide against it.

  He therefore waited for the evening and the appointment. He rode out of Tampico to the place chosen by the banker for the meeting. It’s an uninhabited house that belongs to some of my friends, it’s on the road to Ciudad Victoria. You understand that the other bank directors don’t know anything and I would prefer not to be seen in public with you until I submit my proposal to the council. The letter was clear in its instructions and Lucas had no trouble finding the house.

  The banker, a tall man with a bushy black mustache, was waiting for him at the entrance gate, dressed in an elegant gray dress coat, carrying his hat in his hand.

  "You must be Don Lucas Navarra y Reyes, if I'm not mistaken," said the man, holding out his hand.

  Lucas dismounted and shook the banker’s hands. He noticed that he was a bit out of breath.

  "Are you all right?" Lucas asked politely.

  The banker laughed.

  " Oh, yes! I really struggled to find my friends’ house and I was afraid of being late."

  In fact, the actor had wandered around trying unsuccessfully to find the house described to him by the witch who had paid him. He had had to ride back to Tampico in a hurry and at the end he had been forced to ask for directions for the road leading to Ciudad Victoria. He was a native of Durango, in a neighboring state and was only in the area for the usual tour with the other artists. He knew he had disobeyed the witch who had told him not to be seen by absolutely anyone once he put on the banker’s outfit. But the risk of not finding the house was too high and he had decided to disregard the instruction. He had stopped a servant in the market and with courteous manners, had asked for directions to the closed up house on the road to Ciudad Victoria. Servants always know everything ...they know every inch of their town, they never leave their area ... also the servant won’t remember me ... it was just some bourgeois’ maid ...

  Distracting his mind from these thoughts, he conducted Lucas towards the house.

  "We'll be comfortable here," he said in a soft voice. "I'm afraid it will be a fairly long chat.”

  Lucas followed him inside.

  "Then let’s get started now," said Lucas "I intend to go directly back to Zacatecas without returning to Tampico."

  " You’re brave to travel such long distances at night. Aren’t you afraid of bandits?" Queried the banker.

  " No, I’m not afraid of them, I've done it before and nothing has ever happened." Replied Lucas.

  " In any case, don’t worry, you'll have time to do everything.” Said the banker.

  Chapter 16

  In the days following Marisol and Federico’s wedding, Doña Viviana behaved distracted and nervous, so much so that Costantino noticing it could not help worrying.

  Several times he asked Viviana what the problem was that was haunting her but received only evasive and cross answers. With his analytical mind he went over again and again every detail that had happened since the day of the wedding, looking for the reason for Viviana’s strange behavior. He excluded Aurora’s departure as the trigger, Aurora had been happily married for months now as they have seen during her recent visit, so Viviana had no reason to be unhappy about this. Then he thought of when Viviana had been separated from him on the day of the wedding, he had seen her talking to a man but she had denied it. Perhaps, he said to himself, that was the real reason.

  He did not have any patients to see that afternoon, so he went into the house to look for Viviana and talk a little with her. Maybe his proximity would help her confide in him. He could not find her and the maid told him that she was out on a short errand. He walked into the bedroom and sat on th
e bed, thinking with dismay that Viviana had not told him she was going out. Not that he wanted to keep her under control, but he always liked knowing what she was doing as it made him feel more involved in her life.

  He picked up the book from the bedside table that Viviana was currently reading and casually flipped through it. He saw a folded sheet of paper fall to the ground, he picked it up and opened it. Normally he would never have read Viviana’s private correspondence, but her recent strange behavior led him to behave as he would have never imagined he could.

  What he read left him stunned. Hector was back and asked to meet with her that evening.

  He jumped up scrunching up the sheet of paper that man has returned to torment my wife again. I remember the state she was in when he left. I’ll not let them see each other!

  Costantino considered the alternatives: he could inform Viviana that he had discovered everything and prevent her from meeting Hector or, he could turn a blind eye and meet him before she had a chance. After a long deliberation, he decided on the second option. He preferred to deal with Hector once and for all rather than let Vivian think that he did not trust her. In fact, it was not the lack of confidence in Viviana that urged him to act, but rather the desire to protect her from anything that would hurt her, he knew very well how much Hector had made her suffer.

  He waited for evening to arrive with trepidation and tried to conceal his agitated state from Viviana.

  At dinner Viviana informed him that she wished to visit her sister in law.

  "You know Costantino, Clara is feeling very alone since Marisol got married and left on her honeymoon. Even though it's only been a few days since Marisol has been gone, Clara has reached a state of rejection, that is greatly bothering me. She asked me to visit her and I didn’t feel I could refuse." Said Viviana. Despite trying to appear calm she betrayed her tension under Costantino’s watchful eye. Costantino had known her for many years now and knew how to read the expression on her face like an open book. He also knew very well that between the two sisters in law, there was bad blood and Viviana would be the last person to whom Clara would have asked for help.