Marriage in Mexico

by Flora Kidd

  'And did that make him change his mind?' she asked. 'About becoming involved in government, I mean?'

  'No, but his illegal liaison with her turned the members of the party against him and he didn't realise his ambition. The people here, as anywhere else in the world, like their representatives to be respectable in their private lives. That is why…' She broke off and again Dawn glanced at her. Raquel was frowning and biting her lip.

  'That is why what?' Dawn prompted.

  'Ah, I talk too much,' said Raquel lightly, and with a few more strokes seemed to finish the sketch, for she held it at arm's length and studied it with half-closed eyes, 'You make a good model and I'm sure you'll make Sebastian a good wife and that the members of the party will be willing to have him as a candidate for the next election when they realise he has married a pretty young woman and is ready to settle down.'

  'Election for what?' asked Dawn cautiously.

  'The state legislative assembly. Sebastian has been a member of it for the past three years. He studied political theory at university and passed his exams brilliantly. A great future is predicted for him. But he must have told you about his ambitions.'

  'I… I'd forgotten,' muttered Dawn.

  'How wonderful to be young like you and so much in love that you don't care what your husband does,' sighed Raquel wistfully. 'Sebastian is lucky to have met you, and I know when his colleagues meet you they are going to forget all those ugly rumours about him.'

  'What ugly rumours? Raquel, you've got to tell me,' Dawn said urgently, leaning forward, and the older woman looked very worried.

  'If I do, you promise you won't let what I've told you come between you and Sebastian?' she pleaded. 'They are, after all, only rumours, no truth in them at all, but if he hasn't told you himself he'll be angry if he finds out you heard about them from me.'

  'I can't promise that they won't come between us until I know what they're about, can I?' argued Dawn.

  'No, I suppose you can't,' agreed Raquel, her face creased into lines of anxiety, and for the first time she showed her age and Dawn saw her for what she was, a rather lonely middle-aged woman who sometimes let her tongue run away with her when she found someone to talk to.

  'And surely it's better for me to learn the story from you than from someone else,' Dawn went on urgently, 'someone who isn't as fond of Sebastian as you are and who doesn't have his interests at heart like you… and I have.'

  'Si, you are right.' Raquel's face cleared and she smiled slightly. 'Then I'll tell you.' She paused and licked her lips and gave Dawn a sidelong wary glance. 'It is difficult for me to know how to put this. Sebastian has never been much interested in the idea of marriage, but that hasn't meant that he has been celibate. Do you understand?'

  Dawn nodded. 'You mean that he has had lovers?' she said, and watched the red colour run up from Raquel's neck to spread across her olive-tinted face.

  'Si, that is what I mean.' Raquel laughed a little self-mockingly. 'I forget that your generation is much more frank about such subjects than mine ever was. Sebastian has had lovers, as you say.'

  'And the rumours you talk of have been about them?' exclaimed Dawn.

  'Si. Not about the girls he used to know before he was elected to the legislature but about his close friendship with the wife of one of the other politicians.'

  'Oh,' said Dawn. 'I see. How very foolish of him!'

  'That is what Mama said to him when she heard about the rumours, and she suggested that the only way he could put a stop to the gossip would be to marry some nice young woman… '

  'Preferably an innocent virgin,' murmured Dawn under her breath, her eyes wide and unseeing as she looked out of the window, beyond Raquel to the mountains. Then realising that Raquel was staring at her in puzzlement she turned and smiled at her, 'It was of course good advice,' she said. 'And I'm glad you've told me. I'll be forearmed now if anyone is so unpleasant as to suggest that Sebastian has married me just to cover up the affair he's been having with the wife of a colleague.'

  'And you won't let it alter your feelings for him?' Raquel said anxiously. 'I can see you're very much in love with him.'

  'Can you?' Dawn was disturbed. 'How?'

  'The way you were looking at him in the courtyard when I opened the door.' Raquel put the sketching block aside and slid off the stool. 'You looked as if you had just had a glimpse of heaven.'

  Because I'd just been kissed very thoroughly by a master at the art, thought Dawn miserably.

  'But then I expect to be loved in return by Sebastian would be a little like being in heaven,' added Raquel wistfully. 'I can only guess, of course, because I've never been in love and no man has ever been in love with me. But come, it's time for lunch. Consuelo, our cook, has made Sebastian's favourite food because she knew he was coming today. It will be a quiet way to celebrate your marriage, but with Mama not being well I'm sure you'll forgive us.'

  Although there were only three of them eating in the formal dining room at a shining table set with crisp white lace mats and shining silver cutlery it was a merry party, because Sebastian and Raquel seemed to share the same sense of humour, and for a while Dawn forgot the suspicions Raquel's remarks had roused in laughter.

  Then somehow Raquel was talking about Roberto and she remembered she had married Sebastian because he had said if she did he would help her find her sister.

  'Roberto is filming on location near Durango,' Raquel said.

  'Dios!' groaned Sebastian, his hand to his forehead in mock dismay. 'Not another Western!' And he and Raquel both burst out laughing while Dawn stared at them completely mystified.

  'You must excuse us,' said Raquel in her kindly way, turning to Dawn. 'But Roberto has always had a passion for Western stories and films. As a boy and a young man he always identified with the strong silent gunslinging hero who puts everything right for the poor struggling widow of a rancher and then rides off into the sunset. But since there was never any possibility of him ever acting that part in a film he decided to make such a film, and that was how he started on his career as a movie director. Si, it's another Western with a strong Mexico bias, but with a gringa heroine.'

  'A blonde, of course,' suggested Sebastian smoothly, finishing the last of his wine and then wiping his mouth on a stark white linen serviette.

  'Of course,' said Raquel with a sigh. 'Could there be another other sort of heroine?'

  'Has he fallen in love with her yet?' asked Sebastian dryly.

  'No, I don't think so. He says only that he feels she is very suitable in the part.'

  Across the table Dawn's eyes sought Sebastian's. She longed to ask if Raquel knew the name of the blonde actress. But Sebastian, guessing what she wanted to know, shook his head slowly, almost imperceptibly from side to side. Apparently he thought it wasn't necessary for Raquel to know about Judy. So she said instead:

  'Where is Durango?'

  'North of here. So many films have been made there that it's known as Little Hollywood,' said Raquel enthusiastically. 'There's a great variety of scenery around there—mountains, canyons, plains and plenty of horses and cattle, for it is ranching country. The climate provides the special brilliance of light which makes the shooting of exterior scenes a movie-maker's delight. Many well known films have been shot there, including some of John Wayne's. You should take Dawn there, Sebastian.'

  'Maybe I shall, after we've had our honeymoon,' he said quietly, but there was nothing quiet about the glance he gave Dawn. Then the moment had passed and he was pushing back his chair. 'Please tell Consuelo she surpassed herself today. It was an excellent meal,' he said. 'I'll take Dawn to see Mother now.' He looked at Dawn again. 'It won't take long, querida. She is too short of breath to talk much and can't speak English anyway.'

  The interview lasted only ten minutes. The old lady, although obviously ill, was sitting straight on a chair beside a window in a big bedroom which overlooked the street and she was watching the traffic go by. She wore a plain black dress and a gold cr
ucifix glinted on her narrow chest. Her white hair was cut short and it contrasted starkly with her walnut-coloured skin and deep black eyes.

  She studied Dawn gravely, then raised her thin arms in welcome. Responding to the push in the small of her back which Sebastian gave her Dawn bent forward to put her arms round the slight shoulders and kissed the papery wrinkled cheeks. As she straightened up Teresa touched a strand of the pale blonde hair which lay on her shoulder and whispered something in her asthmatic voice to Sebastian.

  'What is she saying?' asked Dawn. 'Is it about me?'

  'Si.' Amusement rippled through his voice as he translated. 'She says she hopes you'll be a good wife to me and make me always welcome in your bed.' He smiled tauntingly and added softly, 'I hope you will, too.'

  He said a few more words to the old lady, raised her hand to his lips, told Dawn to say goodbye to her in Spanish and then they left the room. Raquel was waiting in the hallway to say goodbye and soon they were in the back seat of Teresa Suarez's limousine being driven along the sunny streets.

  'Where are we going now?' Dawn asked.

  'To the airport, to fly to the coast,' Sebastian replied.

  'Couldn't we go to Durango?' she said, turning to him impulsively. 'Now, this afternoon, to find your half-brother. Judy could be the blonde actress in his new film and you said you would help me find her if I married you. Well, we're married now… '

  'Si, we're married now,' he interrupted her softly. He touched her throat and his thumb caressed the tender skin beneath her ear. His eyes darkened as he leaned towards her. 'But I would like to consummate the marriage before we go to Durango,' he added, and his lips touched hers in a tantalising feather-like kiss.

  'We… we could do that in Durango,' she suggested shyly, her heart beating wildly.

  'In some hotel?' he queried. 'Ah, no, querida. It will be done in a place where we shall be alone.' His fingers trailed possessively down her throat and slid insinuatingly under the low gathered neckline of her dress. 'Where no one will be worried if we choose to stay upstairs all day in my room or yours. Or if we decided to make love beside the pool or in the salon. Where we'll be free to express what we feel for each other whenever we want to.' He put his head close to hers to whisper in her ear and the musky fragrance of his hair and skin acted like a drug on her mind, making it spin until all thought of resistance vanished. 'I want you, chiquita, and it's getting harder by the minute to have to wait before we can be together, be as one.'

  Oh, it was impossible to resist an appeal like that when all her senses were clamouring to do just as he had suggested, to be united with him in a joyous natural mating, so putting her arms about him she turned her lips to his and once more let his kiss take her close to heaven.

  'From your response I gather that you agree with me, pretty bird, and would like to return to la casa chica, he murmured huskily against her cheek, and too breathless to speak, Dawn nodded, and had no recollection afterwards of the rest of the journey to the airport.

  The flight back to the coast also had a dreamlike quality. Beneath the wings of the little aircraft the sun-baked land shimmered in the afternoon heat and ahead of them the hot blue sky was split by the jagged edges of the biscuit-coloured mountains. Then they were in the cool blue shadows of the gorge with the fast river foaming and twinkling in its rush to the sea. The gorge widened and there before them was the bright glitter of the sun on the blue ocean. The plane turned. A palm-shaded beach edged with white surf tilted skywards and the green cliff-top rushed up to meet the plane. It landed and there sparkling white among drooping fringes of palms were the arches and domes of la casa chica, the gilded cage built for Polly Moore.

  'Glad to be home?' asked Sebastian, sliding an arm about her waist, as they walked towards the house.

  'Home? Is this where we're going to live always?' Dawn asked, and glanced up at him. The clean-cut angle of his jaw above the now opened collar of his cream shirt, the humorous curve to the corner of his mouth, the thrust of strong cheekbone through taut tanned skin, the glint of golden light between thick black lashes as he slanted a glance her way and the lifting of silver-threaded silky black curls away from his temple and brow, all made her weak suddenly with desire and she felt a new thrill pulse through her. This man was hers. In the eyes of the law of the land he was committed to share everything he had with her, to love and cherish her just as she was committed to him to do the same. The feeling of possessiveness was primitive and frightened her a little. She had always considered herself to be above and apart from such feelings. Her generation lived and let live, it didn't demand possession. It didn't take over.

  'I like that always, he murmured. 'It seems to indicate that you hope to live with me always. We shall live here as much as possible, but we'll also spend much time in Guadalajara. I have a large apartment there, but if you would prefer it we could have a house.' He laughed a little. 'Unlike other couples in the same situation we haven't discussed the mundane details associated with marriage, where to live, how many children. We just took a chance, jumped out, hand in hand, to fall free together…' He broke off and came to an abrupt stop as if he had walked into a glass door. They had come round the corner of the house and there on the driveway parked in front of the steps was a car, an elegant silvery-blue vehicle, shimmering in the sunlight.

  Although his arm was still around her it lost its intimate possessive touch, became as stiff as a board. Dawn glanced at his face again. It was drawn into such an expression of bitterness that she could only exclaim urgently.

  'Oh, what is it? What's wrong?'

  His glance flicked down to her and his expression softened. His arms tightened briefly about her and then was gone. Raising his hand, he rubbed the knuckle of his forefinger along her chin in a simple heart-shaking caress.

  'It seems we have visitors,' he said softly. A strange tautness came into his face, his eyes darkened with some barely suppressed emotion and he caught his breath in a short shaky sigh. 'I'm sorry, querida. It means a delay to what we planned to do. I have to ask you to be patient and help me entertain them.' He bent his head and touched her lips with his in a brief passionate kiss which made her sway where she stood and cling to him. Then taking her hand in his he drew her after him up the steps.

  The door opened before he touched it and Carlos stood there.

  'Buenas tardes, seňor y seňora,' he said in his expressionless way. 'Welcome home.'

  'Thank you, Carlos,' said Sebastian, and continued in Spanish, obviously asking about the visitors.

  The hallway was as usual, cool, silvery green, tinkling with the sound of falling water. Her hand still in Sebastian's grasp, Dawn listened to the exchange of question and answer between the two men, wishing she knew more Spanish, vowing that now she was married to a Mexican she was going to learn it. She watched their faces for some clue about the subject of their conversation, but learned nothing. They were both inscrutable.

  'Our visitors are Armando Gonzales and his wife Micaela. He is a colleague of mine,' Sebastian said, turning to her. 'They don't know of our marriage, of course, so I'll go and tell them while you go upstairs to freshen up after your journey.' His voice was crisp and cool, issuing orders, expecting them to be carried out because now she was his wife, committed to helping him in his career to entertaining his guests. She felt again that little surge of rebellion, the natural reaction of a freedom-loving spirit to domination. She lifted her glance to him, opened her mouth to protest, and he smiled down at her a little sardonically, speaking before she was able to form her words.

  'I would like you to look your best, chiquita, and to try and pretend a little that we have known each other longer than five days,' he said softly, then added tauntingly, 'And if you can't bring yourself to do it for me, remember Judy, and do it for her.'

  5

  Armando Gonzalez was a broad-shouldered, thick-set man of about forty-eight years of age. His greying dark hair was cut short and brushed back neatly from a wide, low forehead. He w
ore gilt-rimmed spectacles and their flashing lenses made it difficult to judge both the colour of his eyes and their expression so that his fleshy, flat-nosed face had a bland inscrutable appearance. He was dressed in a well-cut lightweight grey suit, a crisp white shirt and grey tie. He looked and behaved like the politician he was, smooth and polite with just enough geniality in his manner to make him seem approachable and kindly.

  His wife Micaela was beautiful, or at least Dawn thought she was. She was so beautiful and elegantly turned out that for the first few minutes after being introduced Dawn could only stare with wide eyes at the perfection of creamy skin, full passionate red lips, deep brown, heavy-lidded eyes and shining black hair, demurely parted in the middle and smoothed down straight on either side to curve over the ears back into a tight chignon at the nape of the neck. Micaela was wearing an expensively simple afternoon dress of rose pink cotton and the only jewellery she wore was pendant ear-rings so long as to almost touch her shoulders. Dawn guessed her age to be similar to Sebastian's.

  After a quick assessing glance at Dawn from under discreetly shadowed eyelids Micaela smiled, showing perfect teeth, and to Dawn's surprise leaned forward to kiss her on both cheeks.

  'Congratulations, I hope you will be very happy,' she said in an attractive throaty voice, then looking past Dawn she said something to Sebastian in Spanish.

  'You'll have to speak English, Micaela,' he said, looking up from the drink he was pouring for Armando. 'Dawn doesn't understand much Spanish yet.'

  'Ah, forgive me,' said Micaela, turning back to Dawn and smiling again. 'I said only that Sebastian is fortunate to have found someone so pretty and innocent to be his wife. Come, sit beside me,' she added patting the grey velvet covering of the chaise-longue on which she was sitting, behaving as if she were the hostess in that house. 'I hope you and I are going to be good friends. Sebastian and I have known each other since our childhood. My family lived for a long time in the house next door to the house where Raquel Suarez still lives. Sebastian and I played often together when we were small. Didn't we, querido?' she called across to Sebastian, but he didn't seem to hear and was turning away to listen to something Armando was saying. Micaela's face changed suddenly, lost its brightness for a few seconds, showed fine lines of discontent drawn in about the corners of the mouth and a gleam of malice came and went in her velvety eyes. Then she smiled again and the impression was gone. 'Those two,' she said with an expressive gesture in the direction of Sebastian and Armando where they paced slowly beside the pool, taking sips from their glasses as they talked seriously, 'they talk nothing but politics when they meet.' She shrugged. 'Sebastian tells me you are from Canada. What part?'