Peter was lying in wait for her at the top of the stairs.
‘I saw you disappear with Father and wondered if you would take the chance to speak to him.’
Lynn frowned at him as they turned along the balcony towards her room. ‘Are you saying you haven’t spoken to anyone about your college?’ she asked.
‘Of course not. I am waiting for you to speak to my father first.’ Lynn stopped by her door and swung round to face Peter.
‘Then I think you should know that I have just been told off for encouraging you in your ambitions to study art. Apparently someone told your grandmother, who lost no time in informing Enrique and your father.’
The look of annoyance on Peter’s face was familiar to Lynn and she didn’t have to look far to know why.
‘How is this possible?’ he asked. ‘We spoke to no-one yet it is gossiped throughout the house. I warn you, Lynn, it is that Ana. She spies for grandmother. Her eyes and ears are everywhere. José, he is a good man, you can trust him, but that Ana,’ and he slammed his fist on the balustrade. ‘What did Father say? Did you plead my case for me?’
Lynn opened the door.
‘I did what I could. Now, if you don’t mind, I would like to rest.’
Not many days after Lynn’s confrontation with Luis over Peter’s future, she was told by Sofia that they were to have guests over the weekend and would she please see to the Senora Medina as both herself and Ana would be busy. Lynn nodded her acceptance and hurried off to the senora’s rooms. She was surprised at the welcome she received and the total turnabout in the old lady’s character.
‘Peter tells me you like our island and are looking forward to seeing more of it,’ she said in perfect English as she allowed Lynn to help her to bed for the siesta.
‘I do indeed, senora,’ Lynn replied as she tidied up the room.
‘My family owned much land at one time, in the mountains. It is very beautiful up there but then, like all tourists, you would prefer the south. So much more sea and sand, I suppose.’
Lynn got the message, so the change in character was only superficial. ‘Not at all, senora. I spent my last half-day in the city and it will take many more before I have seen even half of its wonders.’
A deep silence filled the room and Lynn, without turning back to the woman in the bed, finished her task and left the room. She gave a great sigh of relief to be free of her patient for at least a couple of hours and went off to find out if there was anything she could do to help Sofia and Ana. It was as she was going downstairs that Peter caught up with her, hopping at a terrifying pace with the aid of one crutch.
‘Have you heard the news, Lynn? Some business friends of my father’s are coming for the weekend.’
‘I know, Sofia told me.’
A frown flashed across his face.
‘They do not treat you right, Lynn.’
‘Oh, they’re trying,’ Lynn replied with a slight smile.
‘I do not believe Sofia would tell you that the couple who are coming to stay have a beautiful daughter who will make sheep’s eyes at my father all the time.’
Lynn laughed at his expression.
‘How do you know that?’
‘Because I heard Grandmother and Sofia talking about them in the sala. They were furious. Sofia said they could palm her off on to me. But I would not have anything to do with her. She is nearly thirty years old!’
Lynn did a quick reassessment of her own twenty-eight years. ‘It strikes me there’s more than Ana spying in this house.’
‘Ah, but I am the good guy,’ Peter said as he hobbled off.
The guests arrived the following morning and the daughter was indeed beautiful, not in the same mould as Sofia but a much softer beauty, one that shone from the inside. Because Hella Coenraad was as intelligent as she was beautiful and could speak several languages, one of them being English, she and Lynn were soon on friendly terms.
Often over the next two days Lynn would look up and catch Luis’ eyes upon them while Sofia acted the perfect hostess. It seemed that in her new-found friendship Lynn had also appeased the senora and Sofia by helping to keep their young guest’s attentions away from Luis.
On the Sunday evening, all that changed. The guests were due to leave on Monday morning and as a special treat on the Sunday evening Hella was to sing for them. She had a lovely voice which covered every song with perfection.
Enrique sat by Sofia’s side and gently touched her arm as Hella’s performance came to an end with a rendering of Don’t Cry For Me Argentina.
‘Enrique has a thing for Sofia but she won’t look at him while Father is still available,’ Peter whispered into Lynn’s ear, as Ana entered the room pushing a trolley from which she began to serve coffee.
Hella left the room to refresh herself. When she returned, her face was a great deal paler and her hand shook as she made her way over to her parents and excused them from the family conversation. As Lynn watched, Hella’s mother put a comforting arm around the girl’s shoulders while her father crossed swiftly to Luis’ side and said something that made his host’s jaw clench.
Lynn was on the point of rising and going to see if she could help when Luis snapped out an order that sent Ana hurrying from the room. Lynn crossed to her friend’s side.
‘Is something wrong? Can I be of any help?’
‘My daughter’s pendant is missing. It’s of great sentimental value to her. It was given to her by her great-grandfather on his death bed,’ her mother explained.
‘I’m sure it will be found,’ Lynn said and tried to comfort her friend. ‘It can’t have gone far.’
Several minutes passed before Ana returned. She walked straight up to Maria Medina and handed over a small object.
‘There, you see it’s been found,’ Lynn said to Hella.
‘Most certainly it has been found, Miss Raynor.’
Sofia’s voice, while remaining low key and discreet, nevertheless carried across the full width of the room so that all eyes followed it to Lynn.
‘It was found in your room, but then I am sure you have a perfectly good explanation for that. In the meanwhile, Hella, I am sure you are happy to have this returned,’ she said crossing to Hella’s side and presenting her with the pendant.
With a frown, Lynn slid away from the group surrounding Hella, congratulating her on the finding of her pendant. She closed the door behind her quietly and made her way down the passage, passed the head of the stairs and along to her own room. She was just about to enter when Luis’ voice halted her.
‘I’ll see you downstairs in my office, now.’
Stiffening her spine, Lynn turned to face him.
‘I’ll save you the trouble of sacking me. I resign. I didn’t steal that pendant no matter where Ana says she found it. If you want to call the police I’ll stay until they come, but I won’t be back. I couldn’t possibly continue to work in such a hostile environment. So if you will excuse me, I shall start my packing.’
‘My office,’ Luis snapped, totally ignoring everything she had said.
Grinding her teeth, Lynn followed him down the stairs and into the office where she paced the floor in front of his desk. With a face like a mask he observed her through narrowed eyes.
‘Where will you go if I sack you?’
‘Sack me? I resigned, remember.’
‘No-one has accused you of stealing. Why should you assume I will want to call the police? I warned you at the beginning that my family were difficult people.’
Lynn stood still, dumbfounded.
‘Difficult! Your relatives have just set me up as a thief and if I’m not to be charged, it is only because the Coenraads are such nice people.’
She was shaking with anger and plonked herself down in the chair opposite the desk. A heavy silence hung in the air as they scowled at one another.
‘I asked you here to question you about the incident, no more. No-one is accusing you of anything. You are being hysterical. I don’t believe fo
r a moment that you stole Hella’s pendant. What I hope to find out is how it was found in your room.’
Exasperated, Lynn sank deeper into the chair.
‘I’m relieved to hear you say that but I am a nurse not a detective and I haven’t the slightest idea how or why Ana found that pendant in my room, or even if she did,’ Lynn added under her breath.
‘You and Hella have been close this weekend. Could she not possibly have lost it, or left it in your room at one time?’
‘No, senor, she could not. She was never in my room.’
He stretched back in the leather chair and, placing his long fingers tip to tip, pointed them beneath his lower lip.
‘Now that matter is cleared up, I want you to come with me tomorrow.’
Lynn scowled at the sheer audacity of the man. How dare he dismiss Sofia’s insinuation like that! He may be able to sweep it aside as of no more importance but she had her reputation to consider. What if she wanted other work on the island and her character was spoiled by these vindictive women?
‘That won’t be possible, I shall leave first thing in the morning.’
‘Tomorrow I must travel to see a valued colleague in the mountains. I would like you to come with me and on the way we will talk in more detail about how you might help me with my difficult family. Good-night, Lynn Raynor.’
Next morning, she had her cases packed and standing by her bedroom door as the clock on her bedside table showed seven o’clock. She was dressed in the same navy slacks with the turquoise top and navy jacket that she had travelled out in less than two months before, though now it seemed like a lifetime ago. Her nerves made her feel queasy or was it perhaps just hunger! She had stood by her bed for some time wondering whether to go down to breakfast or simply phone for a taxi from the hall and hope that no-one interrupted her.
She had sufficient money to stay in a hotel for the few days it would take her to book herself on a flight to England. Cross with herself for dithering like a schoolgirl, she straightened her shoulders and walked out on to the balcony, past the stairs and along the passageway guarded by the dark family portraits of long ago and went into breakfast. There was no-one about but Ana was busy at the table.
‘I’m sorry. Am I too early?’
Lynn’s voice echoed her distrust of Ana.
‘No, no, the senor, he works in his office and my José, he helps Senor Peter. The guests are not yet up.’
Lynn was halfway through her light meal of orange juice and toast when Luis walked into the room. Her knife slid sideways off the plate, as her eyes surveyed his back from beneath her eyelashes as he helped himself from the sideboard.
‘Good morning, Lynn. I hope you have changed your mind about staying with us.’
‘I’m afraid not. I have a taxi calling in fifteen minutes.’
She wiped her lips with her napkin and made to rise as he sat down. ‘Then you have fifteen minutes to spare me.’
His eyes locked with hers as Lynn sat back down in her chair and regarded him across the table. It had been a tremendous relief the previous evening to know that he believed her when she said she had not stolen the pendant, but she was still determined to leave.
It was time for her taxi and the air around the table had thickened to a point where it was difficult for Lynn to breath.
‘Peter’s cast is off. He has no need of me and I don’t believe I can be of any use to either of the senoras.’
Without waiting for a response she stood up and left the room. When she had collected her luggage and made her way down to the courtyard Luis was waiting for her.
‘I have cancelled your taxi. I need you to help me in the office. You need have no more contact with Sofia or Maria Medina than you wish. But I would be grateful if you will help keep Peter occupied until it is time for him to go to college. Meanwhile, meet me downstairs in the morning. If you are to help me, we have an early start.’
Would this man ever stop taking her breath away with his imperious bullying? How dare he send her taxi away, and what on earth did he think she knew about office work. She didn’t want to go back to dismal London, of course she didn’t, and now he had cleverly swept all her objections away by offering her a different job.
It would serve him right if she turned out to be hopeless in the office, she decided, as she turned slowly and returned her cases to her room.
CHAPTER EIGHT
The next morning was cloudy as Lynn, dressed in jeans and a warm blue sweater with a white top underneath in case it grew hotter later, made her way down the stairs to meet Luis. The blue Jaguar stood outside in the square as she came across the courtyard and through the cool hall.
Luis was waiting for her, dressed in immaculate linen slacks and a green shirt, the collar of which was open. He picked up a linen jacket from a nearby chair when he saw her enter the hall and swung it over his shoulder as he followed her out to the car.
‘The damage was less than it looked,’ he said, catching her furtive glance at the rear of the car and immediately acknowledging that he had known all along that she was the girl who had run into him outside the airport the day she had arrived on the island.
Lynn bent her head as he held the car door open for her. It was a very luxurious car, she admitted, as she fastened her seatbelt then watched Luis climb into the driving seat and start the engine.
‘Teror is not so far away but it makes an interesting drive. My colleague, Carlos Alvarez, is terminally ill and can no longer work but he likes to be kept up to date with our business affairs. His wife, Bianca, died two years ago of the same disease.’
Lynn frowned.
‘I’m sorry to hear that.’
She felt his quick glance slide across her face and turned to gaze out of the window.
‘Yes, it was a very sad time for him.’
They drove on in silence for several minutes. They had been heading back towards the city centre but now took a left-hand turning that took them away from the built-up area and into the mountains. The road was good but the farther they went, the higher they went and the twistier the road became.
The passing scenery was greener. Shrubs and trees collided across barren tracks of mountain side. White houses with red-tiled roofs clung to hillsides and gathered in green agricultural valleys beneath towering mountains fringed with pine forests.
‘Maria Medina expects a lot from her niece,’ he said suddenly, his voice breaking the silence of their journey. ‘She calls it duty and I have never heard Sofia complain. But Enrique is a friend as well as my partner and I know he is very fond of Sofia. He would like to marry her but she has turned him down on several occasions.’
And we all know why that is, Lynn thought to herself.
‘Sofia’s mother was the sister of Maria Medina’s husband’s first wife so the relationship between them is not strong. Yet they have lived together for ten years, ever since the death of my wife who was Maria Medina’s only child.’
‘How long has Sofia been a widow?’
‘Sofia has been on her own for twelve years. Her husband was killed in a water-skiing accident six months after they were married. I never knew my father-in-law. He died not long after my wife was born. Perhaps what keeps the two women together is that they were both widowed early in their marriages. My wife was spoiled to a ridiculous degree but her way of life was strictly controlled nevertheless and it created a wilful, excitable, extravagant creature, much to her mother’s disappointment. She was almost too beautiful with a fragile yet forged strength that burned the flame of life at an incredible rate. She died in a riding accident ten years ago. She was twenty-seven.’
Lynn watched his face as he talked, expecting to see a softening of his features as he referred to his wife. But his expression didn’t change. If anything, it looked sterner than it had before and she felt a small flutter of fear for whoever loved this man.
‘Sofia and my wife were great friends and it was perfectly natural that she took over the upbringing of my son when Ma
riana died. Peter’s grandmother had already been diagnosed with heart trouble and we considered her not strong enough for the care of a boisterous seven-year-old.’
‘And when Peter goes off to college, what then?’ Lynn asked in a quiet voice.
‘I am the only family they have. They will naturally stay where they are.’
When they entered the small market town of Teror the sun was burning off the remains of the mist that hung around the mountain tops. They left the car on a shady piece of ground on the edge of the old town and entered a neat, stone-flagged piazza with a lovely Moorish fountain in the centre. The home of Senor Alvarez was on the end of a terrace of houses that ran along one side of the square.
They were made welcome by father, daughter and grandson. Lynn, who had offered to sightsee rather than intrude, was made guest of honour as they plied her with polite questions and gave her advice on living here on the island.
It was in the warmth of this small, tragedy-stricken family that Lynn first saw the softer side of Luis Falcon. It was nothing short of a miracle. The taut lines disappeared from his face, flint grey eyes lost their stony indifference. His mouth softened and curved as six-year-old Vicente proudly presented him with a boat he had made. She couldn’t drag her eyes away from this new aspect of her employer.
Later, Lynn was invited into the garden with Vicente and his mother while Luis and Carlos talked business. Then they stayed for a light lunch after which they took their leave, Luis telling his friend that he wished to show Lynn around the town before they went back to Las Palmas.
Lynn was still in a cloud of euphoria as Luis led her back to the car after proving to be a wonderfully-informed and exciting guide. They had walked the streets of the old town with its white stone houses with pretty wooden balconies that had belonged to the nobles of the past. Luis had described the religious importance of the town and taken her to the Basilica De La Virgen Del Pino, the church of the virgin of the pines.
The House in the Pines Page 4
