Spanish Nights (Harlequin Treasury 1990's)

by Jennifer Taylor

  Suddenly a great roar went up as he scored another goal for his team. He raised his stick in acknowledgement then galloped his pony back across the field, his concentration once more centred on the game. He had a handicap of nine, just one short of the very top players, and was a ruthless competitor in a sport which his family had played for many years. Polo for Luis was not just a game. It was a test of skill and determination and sometimes mind-boggling risk which Laura had never been able to understand the justification for. However, Luis had never seen it her way, laughing off her fears, and now he didn’t care one way or the other what her views were.

  Pain was a hard lump of ice in her chest. It had settled there the previous evening when Luis had walked out of the bedroom and nothing seemed to be able to melt it away. Now, feeling the tears welling in her eyes, Laura stood up and left the crowd, wanting to be by herself to regain her composure. Luis might not care how she felt, but there was no way that she was going to put her emotions on display for onlookers. She’d been painfully aware of the interest her arrival had caused as Luis had escorted her across the field before leaving her to change for the match. If pride was all she had left then she would cling to it like a life-raft rather than sink in that sea of gossip and speculation. Pain as sharp and bitter as she felt now couldn’t last, and she would hold on to that thought to see her through.

  ‘Laura? Are you all right?’

  She stopped when a hand caught her by the arm, forcing a bright smile for the man who was studying her with some concern. ‘Of course. I’m sorry, Domingo. I was miles away just now. I never even noticed you.’

  He laughed, pushing a hand into the pocket of his tight white breeches. ‘What a blow to a man’s ego.’

  Laura laughed at the wryness, stepping aside as two women she recognised as being friends of Mercedes tried to pass them on the narrow path. They murmured a greeting to her then put their heads together as soon as they were past, obviously making some sort of comment about her. Laura sighed heavily, hating to be the butt of gossip, but Luis was so well known in the town that it was only to be expected that people should speculate about her prolonged absence.

  Domingo glanced after the two women then turned back to her. ‘Your presence here seems to be exciting a great deal of comment.’

  ‘I’m sure it is, but there is little I can do about it, so there is no point in my worrying.’

  He didn’t seem deterred by the cool note in her voice. ‘It is rather odd, though.’

  ‘Is it?’ Laura glanced past him, wishing she could find some way to put an end to this conversation.

  ‘You must know it is. You’d been married barely a few months then suddenly you disappeared. It seemed a strange thing for a new bride to do, and a strange thing for Luis to allow you to do.’

  ‘Luis has been...understanding about it all,’ she said quietly, feeling the pain tightening in her chest.

  ‘He has. I must say that I wouldn’t have been happy to let you go back to England and stay for such a long time, Laura, despite your having the most altruistic reason for doing so. I would have wanted you by my side.’

  Domingo’s voice had taken on an intimate note she didn’t feel comfortable with. When he took her arm and started to walk along the path with her, she glanced uncertainly back over her shoulder. ‘Shouldn’t you be getting back to the game?’

  He shrugged lightly. ‘I have played once today. That is enough. I don’t have Luis’s dedication. There is a lot more to life than hurling oneself around the polo field.’

  There was little she could say to argue with that train of thought so Laura walked with him, stopping when they reached a shady patch of trees to beg a respite from the heat. She leant against a thick tree-trunk, hearing the faint sounds of the game continuing in the distance.

  ‘Is there something wrong between you and Luis, Laura?’

  She jumped when Domingo asked the question. ‘Of course not! What makes you think that there is?’

  ‘Mercedes,’ he said bluntly. He leant a shoulder against the tree-trunk beside her, his handsome face filled with curiosity. ‘And she has always been close to Luis. Everyone thought that they would marry before you came along.’

  And perhaps they should have, Laura thought fleetingly. If she had never married Luis then she wouldn’t be going through all this heartache now. However, there was no way she dared let Domingo know her feelings. Luis would be furious if he heard any hint that his plans weren’t working out. She had to find some way to allay the curiosity she could see on Domingo’s handsome face.

  ‘Well, I’m happy to say that Mercedes is quite wrong in this instance. Luis and I are very happy together.’ She shrugged lightly, forcing a warm little smile. ‘Oh, it isn’t all roses, of course, but which marriage is? And we’ve had to contend not only with this separation but the fact that our two lives have been so different up to now. My background is vastly different from Luis’s, but then they always say that opposites attract.’

  ‘You were a teacher before you married, I believe?’ Some of the avid curiosity had faded from Domingo’s eyes as he relaxed against the tree-trunk, and Laura felt some of the tension ease.

  ‘Mmm, that’s right. I enjoyed it, although it was hard work. I was planning on going back to it once I returned from the trip around Europe but of course I met Luis.’

  ‘Was it something you always wanted to do?’

  She laughed. ‘My mother was a teacher, and my father, so I guess you could call it a family calling. It was always in the back of my mind that I would go in for it as well. Then when my mother died when I was in my teens it decided it for me. I suppose I wanted to follow in her footsteps, and I’ve never regretted the decision.’

  ‘Then maybe your background isn’t that different from Luis’s after all.’ He saw her surprise and smiled. ‘It is a tradition in Spanish families that children follow in their parents’ footsteps. There was never any doubt that Luis would take over from his father and run the business, extremely well by all accounts.’

  ‘And what about you, Domingo? Will you take over from your father?’

  ‘Probably.’ He shrugged carelessly. ‘Unfortunately I do not have Luis’s drive and single-mindedness. He has lived, breathed and dreamed of the bodega for years! I prefer to enjoy life a little more.’ He laughed. ‘In fact, I imagine that Mercedes would be better suited to running the company if our father ever retires but, as the son, it is expected that I shall step into his shoes.’

  Which only served to highlight once again just how suited Mercedes would have been to the role of Luis’s wife. Laura swallowed down the sudden stab of pain and fixed a determined smile to her face.

  ‘Well, pleasant though it has been talking to you, I really must get back. Luis will be wondering where I have got to if the game has finished.’

  ‘Will he?’ Domingo gave a wicked smile. ‘I imagine that my sister will do her best to keep him company.’

  There was little that Laura could say so she ignored the comment and started briskly up the path again, her footsteps slowing as the polo field came into sight. There seemed to be a great deal of activity around the perimeter and then the wail of an ambulance siren cut through the air.

  Without really understanding why, she started to run, her heart thumping in fear as she reached the group Luis had introduced her to earlier. There was no sign of him, nor could she see him among the group of players leading their ponies from the field.

  ‘Where is Luis? Has something happened?’ she demanded, but it wasn’t until Domingo spoke rapidly to them in Spanish that she had her answer.

  He turned to her at once, his face very grave. ‘There has been an accident. Luis and a member of the opposing team crashed into one another and their ponies fell.’

  ‘Is he hurt?’ Shock echoed in the husky sound of her voice.

  ‘Yes, but not too badly from what I’ve been told. The other rider has been taken to hospital but Luis has gone home. Come, Laura, I shall drive you there.�
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  She was glad of Domingo’s help as he led the way to the car, curbing her impatience when several people stopped them along the way. All she wanted was to get back to the house to see for herself how bad Luis was. When the car stopped, she jumped out and rushed inside, pausing when she found Luis’s mother in the hall.

  ‘How is he? Is he badly hurt? Where is he now?’

  ‘He is upstairs with the doctor. We shall have to wait until after he has finished his examination to learn how bad the injuries are.’ Doña Elena’s voice was cold. ‘Mercedes drove him back when you could not be found.’

  Laura barely registered the condemnation in the older woman’s voice. ‘I shall go up and see how he is.’

  She ran up the stairs, feeling herself go weak with relief when she found Luis seated in a chair in their bedroom while the doctor strapped his shoulder with a heavy crêpe bandage. He glanced round as she came into the room but there was little welcome in his eyes.

  ‘How do you feel?’ She waited until the doctor had finished and gone into the bathroom to wash his hands.

  ‘How do you imagine I feel? It was a bad fall but I fared better than the other rider. But of course you didn’t see it, did you? You were too busy elsewhere.’

  ‘I had gone for a walk. I didn’t know that it was going to happen. No one could have known!’ She was instantly on the defensive, hating to hear that harsh note in his voice. The trouble was that her nerves were ready to snap, this incident, coming on top of yesterday’s, too much.

  All night long she had brooded about Luis’s cruelty, claiming a headache to avoid having to dine with him and Doña Elena. But the tension had grown as the hours had passed and night had fallen. The thought of having Luis make love to her again after what he’d said was almost more than she could bear as was the stark realisation that she wasn’t confident of resisting his advances. He might have dismissed her love with a chilling disregard but that didn’t mean it changed how she felt about him.

  She started when Luis spoke again, her eyes shadowed as they searched his unforgiving face. ‘Perhaps not, but I did not expect that you would deliberately flout my wishes, not after yesterday. Arranging to meet Domingo was foolish in the extreme.’

  ‘I met him by accident. It wasn’t...’ She broke off as a knock sounded at the door.

  Mercedes came into the room, a bright smile on her full lips. ‘Ahhh, Laura. You managed to get here at last. I did try to find you but you and Domingo must have tucked yourselves away somewhere secluded.’ She shrugged delicately, her meaning more than apparent. She was doing it deliberately, trying to push a wedge between them, and succeeding.

  Laura’s temper rose but before she could say anything the doctor reappeared. He handed Luis a small vial of tablets from his bag with a few murmured instructions then left.

  ‘As you are here now, Laura, I think it is time I left.’ Mercedes walked over to Luis and bent to kiss his cheek. ‘If you need me for anything, Luis, just call.’

  ‘Thank you. You have done enough today, Mercedes, more than enough.’ Luis smiled at the woman in a way which made Laura’s heart almost tear itself to shreds with jealousy. He never looked at her that way any longer, not with that warmth. Something of what she felt must have shown because Mercedes’s eyes reflected satisfaction as the woman glanced at her before turning back to Luis again.

  ‘It was only what any...friend would have done, Luis.’

  Every drop of colour faded from Laura’s face at the deliberate taunt. She stayed silent until Mercedes left then turned to Luis. ‘I will not be humiliated like that, Luis!’

  ‘I have no idea what you mean.’ His voice was cold, his expression one of pure arrogance as he stood up. He seemed to sway for a moment before he caught his balance but Laura could see the effort it cost him from the way his jaw tightened. Forgetting her outrage for a moment, she hurried to him and slid an arm around his lean waist to steady him.

  ‘Decided to play the dutiful wife now, Laura?’ There was mockery in that deep velvet voice but it was overlaid by weariness and echoes of pain, and she bit back the hot retort.

  ‘You’re hurt, Luis. You need help. What did the doctor say? Why is your shoulder bandaged?’

  He smiled faintly at the soft enquiry but answered levelly. ‘A dislocated shoulder. He has put it back in place and the bandage will keep it there until it starts to heal.’

  ‘Why do you take such risks?’ She couldn’t help the question, her grey eyes clouded at the thought of the pain he must have suffered and indeed must still be suffering.

  ‘Life is a risk, Laura. Every thing we do from the cradle to the grave holds some kind of a risk. One makes a choice, chooses a route, then all that is left is to live with the consequences.’

  In a sudden flash of insight she knew that he wasn’t just talking about the risks of playing the sport. He was talking about their marriage and the bitter consequences they must both suffer for the course they had each chosen towards it. Luis must regret ever taking her as his wife, the same as she regretted not telling him about that one episode from her past that lay between them, an obstacle that could never be overcome, it seemed.

  When he moved away from her to go and lie down on the bed she made no attempt to help him. He didn’t want her help or her concern or her love. All she was to him now was the consequence of an act he bitterly regretted.

  * * *

  The moon was a pale patch of luminescence against the ink-dark sky. Laura stepped out on to the terrace, closing the door quietly behind her. A soft breeze was blowing, carrying on it the night-rich scent of the tubs of flowers overlaid by the faint tang of the vines which stretched acre upon acre away from the house. In another few weeks the air would be redolent with the smell of the ripening fruit but for now it was just a faint promise of the harvest to come.

  Sitting down on one of the white iron chairs by the table, she rested her head back as she studied the clear, dark sky. It was already quite late but she didn’t feel tired, too keyed up with tension to relax. She had been by herself all evening long since Doña Elena had left to dine at a friend’s house but she hadn’t missed having her company. Luis had asked for a tray to be sent to his room and eaten there, leaving Laura the sole occupant of the huge dining-room with its massive, polished oak table. She had sat in solitary state, doing her best to show her appreciation of the exquisite meal which had been served to her with all the customary formality. What would the servants have said if she’d suddenly announced a desire to eat in the kitchen with them, she mused. They would have probably been just as shocked as Luis and his mother by such bizarre behaviour.

  A faint, almost whimsical smile curved her mouth as she got up and walked over to the edge of the terrace, taking the steps to the path which led around the house. The Casa de Flores was built in traditional Spanish style around a central courtyard but there had been a few additions made over the years. Now, as she came to the walled area that sheltered the swimming pool from any curious eyes, Laura found herself following the path to the side of the pool. She glanced down at the deep azure water, watching the way the breeze curled tiny ripples across its surface, feeling the restlessness increasing. She had to do something to work it off otherwise she would never be able to sleep tonight, and what better way than to swim a few laps of the pool?

  Without another thought, she kicked off her shoes and unzipped the back of her navy silk dress, draping it carefully over a nearby lounge chair. She glanced round uncertainly but there was no one in sight. The pool area was far enough away from the main house to be left in darkness, the moon the only source of light.

  Reassured, she slipped off her bra and panties then slid into the water, gasping as the coldness sluiced over her warm skin. A shiver ran through her and determinedly she ducked fully under the water then set off at a brisk pace to swim several lengths before sheer exhaustion called a halt. She rolled over to float on her back, watching the sky drift past in a hazy mist of silver stars.

 
‘You will catch cold at this time of the year if you stay in there too long.’

  The shock of hearing Luis’s voice was so great that she sank beneath the water and came up spluttering. Rubbing the stinging drops from her eyes, she searched the perimeter of the pool until she finally spotted him seated in a chair on the far side.

  ‘I...I didn’t know you were there,’ she said inanely.

  ‘There seemed little reason to announce my presence and spoil your pleasure, querida.’ His teeth gleamed white as he smiled. ‘And if you had realised that I was here I doubt you would have put on that charming little display.’

  Her face flamed at the thought of exactly what he must have seen as she’d stood naked on the edge of the pool for a moment before diving into the water. ‘It would have been good manners to make me aware of your presence, Luis. That would have been something a true gentleman would have done!’

  He ignored the bite in her tone, his laughter carrying easily to her ears. ‘Mmm. I’m sure you are right. But sometimes being a “gentleman” can be inhibiting. One can miss out on all sorts of delightful pleasures.’

  She wasn’t sure if it was what he said or the way that he said it which disturbed her most, and as he suddenly stood up and walked over to the pool she had no time to decide. She backed away from the edge, sinking deeper into the water, all too conscious of her nakedness. When Luis suddenly dropped down to crouch on the edge, her heart skipped a beat and she searched for something to say to break the sudden tension that seemed to flow between them.

  ‘Don’t you think you should be inside resting your shoulder?’

  He shrugged then grimaced as the movement made his injured shoulder hurt. ‘I am tired of resting. I am not an old man yet, Laura, who needs hours upon hours of rest to recover from an injury. In a few days it will be good as new...if I can survive the boredom such a restriction places upon me.’

  He wasn’t old by any means. Her eyes took a hurried stocktake of his lean torso partly exposed by the shirt he’d drawn on but had to leave unbuttoned over the thick bandages. In the moonlight his skin looked dark against the whiteness of the crêpe, smooth as satin. She wanted to reach out and run her fingers across it just to savour the feel but that was a foolish, crazy idea, of course.