“Esteban is the grandson of my brother, Don Francisco Alvarado. You have met him, I’m sure!” Tia Maria sounded pleased with herself; Ginny did not dare turn her head to watch Steve’s expression.
“Ah, yes, of course! Monsieur Alvarado—I wonder if you’ll allow me a dance with your charming fiancée? If she does not object, of course!”
“Nonsense, of course Esteban does not object! And I’m sure dear Genia will enjoy talking of mutual friends. You two will have the whole evening together, you mustn’t be selfish, you know!”
“My aunt has removed all objections, as you see, Colonel!” Steve’s voice held an undercurrent of teasing laughter, nothing else. “Go ahead and enjoy yourself, my love. Tia—” he bowed to his aunt, “you haven’t given me the pleasure of a dance with you all evening. May I have the honor?”
Feeling herself struck dumb, unable to think coherently, Ginny found her hand taken by Colonel Devereaux—he was leading her down the steps to the dance floor that had been erected on the patio. All she could pray for now was that the man Beal would not recognize her, that he and his friends had decided to stroll elsewhere. Certainly, she didn’t dare glance in the direction where she had seen him last.
She found herself hoping that Steve had been sensible enough and cautious enough to take his aunt indoors to dance. In spite of her exasperation with him, a surprising thought had wormed itself into her mind—she did not want Beal to see him—she did not want to see him shot and perhaps killed without a chance to defend himself!
31
Colonel Raoul Devereaux was an excellent dancer, and his mask of polite affability never dropped for an instant, but to Ginny it was one of the most uncomfortable experiences of her life.
“My dear mademoiselle,” were the colonel’s first words, delivered in a playfully scolding tone, “you don’t know how glad it makes me to find you here, safe and happy.” He placed a gentle emphasis on the last word that was unmistakable this time, and continued before Ginny could find an answer, “You know, your father has been quite frantic with worry! And since Captain Remy returned to Mexico City, he has been almost beside himself with anxiety. In fact he even wrote to your uncle—did you know that we now have a telegraph line to Paris?—I received an urgent message from him only a few days ago, we were to try and find you at all costs. It’s fortunate my wife’s family has a hacienda not very far from here—we received an invitation to your wedding, and when I was invited here this evening I hoped I’d find you here too.”
Ginny felt herself going quite pale; she knew her hands had begun to tremble, for Colonel Devereaux grasped her a little more firmly.
“Sir, I didn’t know—that is, everything happened so suddenly I—”
“There, there, mademoiselle!” he said soothingly, “I did not mean to upset you in any way! Let me assure you that everything has been done to suppress even a breath of scandal—no one knows what happened, your father has put it about that you are visiting friends in Mexico, and only Marshal Bazaine, Captain Remy and I, myself, are aware of—forgive me for mentioning such a delicate matter—your abduction by the rebels, led by that American spy.”
“Spy?” Ginny found herself repeating stupidly. To avoid the embarrassment his urbanely delivered statements had caused her she seized on the word as an excuse to clear her muddled mind.
“Did you say spy, monsieur? I thought they were bandits—after the gold—they divided it up among themselves and disappeared into the hills soon enough. But I—I was—”
“I understand, mademoiselle! And it is certainly not my intention to upset you. But I am naturally concerned, you comprehend? It is my suspicion that the men you naturally took for bandits were none other than some of Juarez’ ragtag supporters—and the man who led them—the man you so bravely unmasked, incurring his wrath—I know of him, of course. A mercenary—a travelling gunman. Yes, he’d do a thing like that, for money. But I understand he was supposed to escort the wagon train that brought you to El Paso—he left it suddenly, when you did. And then he turns up, at the head of a band of bandits, to steal the gold. Strange! Yes, he could very well be a spy—your government doesn’t approve of our being here, I’m afraid. Your Mr. Secretary Seward recently made that very clear. A pity. But I would not put it past certain elements to arrange such a thing. And you, mademoiselle, what do you think?”
His long and rather thoughtful-sounding speech had given Ginny a chance to collect her wits. She was determined that he should not make her stutter like an embarrassed schoolgirl again, and yet, his sudden question took her by surprise.
“What do I think? Surely, monsieur, that can’t be important! I don’t know anything about politics—I’ve been through a terrible experience, being carried across the country as a hostage by a man worse than an animal, and just as dangerous—quite frankly I cannot yet quite believe I’m safe! Thank God I was rescued—I’ve been spending the past weeks trying to forget what I went through!”
Seeing her eyes, wet with the surface shine of tears, look so imploringly at him, even Colonel Devereaux’s stern heart was moved.
Sacre bleu, but she was a little beauty, this Ginny Brandon! He hadn’t realized, until he’d seen her, how attractive she was. It explained a lot of things, he supposed, but not everything—not enough! What was she doing here? How had she met Alvarado’s grandson? Everyone had heard of Don Francisco, of course, who could help it? They said he was the richest man in Mexico. But his grandson, now, was a bit of a mystery, they said he came and went—that he owned a ranch in California. Where had they met? How had the Brandon girl turned up here so suddenly?
“Mademoiselle—how can I resist the pleading look in your eyes? Even a happily married man like myself cannot help being turned as weak as water! Still—”
Ginny said hastily, “I realize you must do your duty, Colonel. But please, try to understand! It’s far too painful for me to talk about yet. I’ve been so ashamed, so unhappy! And then, Don Francisco has been so kind to me! I don’t want to spoil this whole evening by being forced to remember the unpleasant past. Please, can’t we talk later?”
Trapped! He could not tell whether she had done it purposefully or not, but Colonel Devereaux found himself trapped by a pair of sea green eyes, gazing so tragically into his. To persist with his questioning would make him a cad or a boor—or both! Gracefully, he resigned himself to the inevitable—for the moment at least. But he could make inquiries. There were too many puzzling things here, they did not fit together well.
“Very well, mademoiselle! How can I spoil your evening? But later—you promise you will talk to me? It’s important—we want to see this man brought to justice, you see; and we cannot let the Juaristas get away with anything, they must find out that they cannot win, they cannot continue this stupid resistance!”
“I don’t know anything about politics, especially not in this country, Colonel Devereaux! But certainly, I’ll be glad to talk with you later—I suppose I have to face what happened some time!”
“Quite so, but come, do give me a smile, Miss Brandon—your fiance will think I’ve bored you to tears!” Colonel Devereaux himself gave Ginny a benign, rather beguiling smile, and she began to understand how he had managed to obtain such a young bride for himself—the man had undeniable charm, when he wasn’t trying to worm answers out of a person!
She gave him the smile he had asked for, and the Colonel’s hazel eyes began to twinkle.
“That’s better, much better! Tell me, Miss Brandon, what does your father think about your impending marriage? I’m sure he’s pleased, as well as relieved. Such an excellent match, after all—the Alvarados are gachupínes, you know—of pure Spanish descent—although your fiance speaks excellent English, of course! I suppose the Senator will be here for the wedding? I am looking forward to meeting with him again. If only all your American Senators were as sympathetic to our cause here we’d have no difficulty crushing this pointless revolution, you know!”
Again, Ginny felt herself
grow cold with apprehension. What a clever, insidiously cunning man this was! She must never forget that…she did not stop to wonder why she was actually protecting Steve, for that was what she was doing—her evasions were instinctual, she somehow resented the way the colonel kept setting traps for her. How much did he know? What, exactly, did he suspect?
She murmured something noncommittal about having written to her father—“I’m not certain if he’ll arrive here in time, though, I’ve been told the mails are very slow. In any case, I’ll be going back to the United States soon—I find myself growing quite homesick!”
“Oh? But that’s understandable of course. I’m sure your fiancé understands. But if I can be of any help—perhaps in telegraphing your father, you must let me know! Write out your message, mademoiselle, and I’ll pull a few strings for you—it’s unthinkable that your father shouldn’t be here to give his only child away!”
Ginny was beginning to believe that this man was something of a Machiavellian. Under his gentle, urbane exterior he was actually suspicious of her story, and was determined to trip her up in some way! The thought annoyed her, and enabled her to flash him her most brilliant smile.
“But how clever of you to think of it, Colonel Devereaux, and how thoughtful! Why didn’t I think of telegraphing Papa! I don’t have a pen and paper here, of course, but I’m sure I’ll be able to borrow some at the house, after I’ve eaten—you see, I was so excited about the fiesta I couldn’t eat a bite all day, and now I’m absolutely starved! Isn’t that a terrible confession to make?”
She slanted her eyes at him and saw that he was slightly disconcerted, for a change.
“Forgive me, mademoiselle! I’ve been thoughtless. But if you would only tell me…”
A hand clapped the Frenchman on the shoulder and Ginny found herself looking up into the laughing eyes and dazzlingly white smile of Diego Sandoval.
“Excuse me, Colonel! But I claim the privilege! Dona Genia, I’ve been looking everywhere for you, how could you have forgotten that you promised me this dance? I am desolated!”
Deftly, before the colonel could protest he had swept Ginny into his arms, with a murmured apology to the older man.
Taken by surprise, Ginny could say nothing, but she was uncomfortably aware that Colonel Devereaux was looking after them thoughtfully. She was certain that he would make an opportunity to talk to her again—to question her. And what would she tell him?
“Please don’t look so worried! Devereaux is an infernally cunning man, but Esteban was sure you’d fend him off admirably. Did I rescue you in the nick of time? Please say so, it’s always been my ambition to fly to the rescue of a very beautiful woman. Esteban doesn’t deserve such luck!”
Diego Sandoval, who had six sisters, had adopted a lightly teasing, almost cajoling tone which Ginny found impossible to resist. Despite herself she began smiling and saw his appealing, boyish grin flash at her again.
“Good! I have made you smile, and that’s a beginning at least. Tell me, Dona Genia, would you trust me? Please do say ‘yes,’ for I have a favor to ask of you.”
He continued to smile at her, but his tone had grown more serious, and Ginny herself gathered a trifle more closely in his arms as they danced, so that he was speaking with his head bent down to hers.
“If you will follow me—I will dance you to the edge of this platform, there to the left of the musician’s stand—and we’ll slip away into the shadows when no one is watching us. It’s really a shame that you haven’t yet seen my father’s famous ornamental gardens; if anyone asks you can say I’ve been showing them to you—with Esteban’s permission, of course!”
For a moment, Ginny thought she must be dreaming. What was he saying to her? What did he mean?
She threw her head back in order to look up at him, her emerald eyes flashing dangerously.
“Really, Don Diego! I’m sure I mistake your meaning! Why are you asking me to trust you? And where am I supposed to go with you? I can’t believe…”
“Please, Genia!” In his urgency he dropped the formality with which he had previously addressed her, and his hand tightened over hers. “Esteban told me you would argue, but I’d hoped my powers of persuasion would be sufficient! I’m taking you to meet him—I think he’s had sufficient time in which to escape from the watchdogs who have been dogging him so closely. But there’s a man out here, an American, who has scarcely taken his eyes off you since you began dancing with the good colonel. Wouldn’t you like me to rescue you from him?”
Ginny could not help giving a small gasp of apprehension, although she retained enough self-control not to turn her head in order to look for the man. She knew who it was, of course, but while she had been busy stalling her previous partner, she’d completely forgotten about Beal!
“Very well then,” she said between clenched teeth, feeling annoyance at Steve’s high-handed ways boil up in her again, “I’ll come with you. But I must say I’m surprised at your choice of friends! Does Steve imagine he’s playing some kind of silly children’s game of hide and seek? First poor Jaime and Enrico, and now this dangerous man Beal—not to mention Colonel Devereaux, whom you yourself admitted is infernally clever! Will you please tell me what on earth you are all up to?”
“Oh, Genia!” Diego’s voice was exaggeratedly reproachful, but his eyes had begun to sparkle with mischief again. “Here I was rejoicing at the chance of dancing with you, of being allowed to sneak away romantically with the most beautiful woman here—and you scold me just like one of my sisters. I am crushed!”
“I’m beginning to think that all of Steve’s friends are as bad as he is!” Ginny snapped. Diego made such a woeful face at that that she could not help laughing at him and he brightened immediately.
She resigned herself, merely closing her eyes when he began to twirl her around energetically, all the while carefully threading his way through the crowd of dancers until they were close to the edge of the platform.
“Now!” Diego whispered to her urgently, grabbing her hand. Holding her voluminous skirts up as best she could, Ginny let him drag her along with him.
She felt completely lost and rather nervous in the darkness of the garden, which seemed twice as dark once they had left the lights behind them and were in the shadows of some enormous trees. The moonlight, far above, only filtered through the leaves sufficiently to provide a sinister, streaky kind of luminescence to the path they were following. Ginny gave a cry of dismay when her skirts caught on a branch and she had to pull them free, but Diego seemed quite unconcerned as he begged her to try and keep up with him. “Why is he in such a hurry?” she thought mutinously, and with a slight pang of apprehension wondered again where he was taking her. Was she being abducted again? Had Steve enlisted the aid of his friends to get rid of her?
Soon, she had no more opportunity to think. They had left the path and were threading their way through what appeared to be a dense shrubbery. Panting with exertion, Ginny found herself wishing that Diego would stop and let her rest—she couldn’t run any farther.
Suddenly they came out into a small clearing—the dark outline of a small building loomed up before them. Still without the slightest pause or hesitation Diego gripped her hand more firmly when she would have hung back, and led her straight inside.
There was an indefinable scent of mustiness in here that terrified her, for no reason—and overlaying it, the faintest smell of incense. No lights showed anywhere, but almost as soon as Diego closed the heavy door behind them she felt an arm go around her waist. Only the sound of Steve’s voice prevented her from screaming.
“No shrieks of fear, please, my love. By now I’m sure they’re all looking for us.”
She almost fell against him, her relief mixed with growing anger.
Diego was saying, in a hurried whisper, that he would be back soon, “with the others.” “I’ll prove my tactfulness and give you two a few minutes together,” he said with an undercurrent of laughter in his voice that made Ginny bu
rn with an unexplained fury.
She heard the door open and close again, and then Steve was pulling her down despite her involuntary struggles—she found herself sitting on an exceptionally hard wooden bench with a high backrest, his arm still clamped around her waist despite her resistance.
“Ginny—for God’s sake! I’ve never known any female to blow hot and cold as inexplicably as you do. What did you think I planned to do with you? Rape you?”
“Steve Morgan, there’s nothing, nothing I would put past you!” she declared in a voice shaking with anger. “What did you mean by having your friend bring me here? What kind of dirty work are you planning now?”
“Keep your voice down, vixen! And stop struggling—I only want to talk to you in private. I asked you earlier if we could declare a truce, remember?”
“Yes, I remember! But…”
“Ginny!” A suddenly harsh note in his voice stopped her in mid-sentence and she fell silent, biting her lip rebelliously. “If I had time I’d play the ardent lover again, and kiss you into silence, or cajole you into some semblance of reasonableness. But I don’t have time—do you understand? You had better listen to me before they come back, I have a lot of explaining to do.”
“You’re right! You certainly do have a lot of explaining to do, Steve Morgan! Do you realize the position you’re in? That Colonel Devereaux, for instance—all he wanted to do was ask me questions, I’m sure he knows everything, I had the feeling he was playing with me! And that other man…”
“Can it be you’re concerned for my safety, sweetheart? I must say, the sudden concern you show touches me. At any other time, perhaps I…” He broke off suddenly and she felt him take her hands in both of his. “I’m sorry, Ginny. When I asked Diego to bring you here I was full of good resolutions. Somehow, you have a way of making me forget them all. Will you please listen to what I have to say before you burst into further recriminations?”
Sweet Savage Love Page 39
