by Anne Weale
Jack and Roberto dealt with him, while Maria-José and Cassia calmed several girls whom the sight of blood made hysterical. Others took a ghoulish interest, and had to be dissuaded from crowding round.
Cassia knew that head wounds always bled alarmingly, and she also knew that anyone who had lost consciousness, even if not for long, might be seriously concussed. She wasn’t surprised when Roberto insisted on taking the boy back to the nearest village, there to telephone for a taxi to take them to the nearest hospital.
Jack drew her aside. ‘Might be a good idea for you to go with them, Cass…if you don’t mind?’
‘Of course not. I’ll see you later.’
He changed his mind. ‘No, hang on. I think we’ll all start back. It’s a half-hour walk to the village. If that kid should start feeling woozy, he could need to be carried. I can rig up a stretcher. Roberto won’t know what to do. If he’d been doing his job properly, this wouldn’t have happened. Instead of watching the lads, he was chatting up Maria-José.’
‘It’s impossible to keep an eye on them all every second,’ said Cassia.
At the time of the mishap Jack had disappeared for a few minutes. Had he been present when the showing off had started, if he had thought it risky, he would have stopped it. Both he and Simón had the ability to bring the boys to heel very quickly. Roberto was a nice man, but he lacked the steely authority of the other two.
At the village a taxi was sent for, and Jack decided that he and Cassia would escort the boy to hospital while the rest of the party returned to base on foot.
‘We may as well go for a coffee,’ he said about an hour later in the hospital, when the boy had been taken away to be X-rayed.
It was just as well that he had taken over from Roberto. They had arrived to find the casualty department crowded with people suffering from minor injuries. Having been there before, with the Belgian woman, Jack knew the drill. Even so it had taken a fierce altercation with the bureaucrat at the reception desk to get the boy seen immediately, instead of taking his turn.
‘I doubt if Roberto would have put his foot down as forcefully as you did,’ said Cassia, on the way to the hospital’s cafeteria.
‘I’m damn sure he wouldn’t,’ said Jack. ‘But you can’t afford to hang about when there might be internal bleeding.’
‘I wish they had let one of us stay with him. He was rather obnoxious before, but now he looks really scared. I can’t help feeling sorry for him.’
Jack put a hand on her shoulder, the one furthest from him. ‘You’re too soft-hearted, my love. He’s been a bloody nuisance. For all you know, those expensive trainers he’s wearing may have been paid for by mugging little old ladies.’
‘I feel sorry for all of them,’ she said. ‘If my father had died when I was thirteen or fourteen, I might have taken to stealing or worse.’
‘Never! You’re not that kind. You’ve too much sense to get into that sort of trouble. Nobody with a brain in their head needs to go down that road. If these girls we’ve got with us now end up as whores, it won’t be because they have to. Nobody has to make a mess of their lives. Not these days, not with do-good outfits and helplines springing up like mushrooms everywhere you look.’
Privately Cassia thought Jack’s own gritty strength of character made it difficult for him to grasp how much weaker most people were. But she didn’t argue with him.
The cafeteria having no tapas that appealed to them, Jack bought two bags of crisps to eat with their cups of coffee. The place was not full, and he carried the tray to a corner where the tables were unoccupied.
‘It’ll take at least half an hour for them to X-ray him and stitch up that gash on his head. Maybe longer. Suits me all right. It makes a change to have you to myself,’ he said, breaking the seal on both bags and handing one to her.
‘Thank you.’ Cassia’s concern for the injured boy gave place to a different disquiet. Why should Jack want to have her to himself?
‘Do you like the job? D’you think you’ll stay?’ he asked, unwrapping two cubes of sugar and dropping them into his cup.
‘I need the job, Jack,’ she said drily. ‘I liked my last one, but the hotel didn’t have room for staff to live in and my landlord wanted the flat where I’d lived with my father. But yes, I do like this job. Don’t you?’
‘Sure. It suits me fine. I could do without Laura, but then she’s not crazy about me,’ he said, with a shrug. ‘I don’t think she’ll stay long anyway. Women like her are more comfortable living in towns…trawling the shops…showing off new outfits at the evening paseo.’ He stirred his coffee. ‘You’ve looked a bit unhappy lately. Not so that most people would notice, but I’ve been watching you.’
This increased her unease. She said, ‘If I looked down in the dumps, I expect I was thinking about my father.’
He stopped stirring his coffee to look intently at her. ‘I don’t think you had him on your mind. You’ve fallen for the jefe, haven’t you?’
His astuteness came as a shock. She had tried so hard not to show her innermost feelings and thought she had succeeded.
Before she could make up her mind whether to admit or deny it, Jack said, ‘You can tell me to mind my own business…but I can’t do that. You’re the first woman I’ve known who mattered to me, Cass. I don’t know if the way I feel about you is what people call being in love.’ He reached across the table and put his hand on her wrist. ‘All I know is I want to take care of you and make life easy for you.’
‘Oh, Jack…’ she murmured in dismay. Instinct had warned her that something like this might be coming, and she wasn’t sure how to handle it.
‘Listen to me,’ he said earnestly. ‘Before you tell me it’s no go, let me tell you the way I see it.’
‘All right—how do you see it?’
Jack looked at his broad-knuckled hand curled over her lightly tanned wrist. His thumb moved in a light caress and then his eyes met hers again. ‘I don’t see any future for you with Simón, and I don’t think you do either. That’s what’s making you miserable. You’re a lovely girl. Intelligent. Educated. A real sweetie. But you’re not Spanish and you don’t have the right connections.’
‘His mother is English,’ she said. It seemed pointless now to deny that she was in love with Simón. Jack wouldn’t believe her if she did.
‘She is? You surprise me. He looks completely Spanish. OK, his mum’s a foreigner. But I bet she had plenty of money behind her…and a title too, I shouldn’t wonder.’
‘I don’t know about that. You could be right.’
‘I’d bet money on it,’ he said. ‘Those people all marry each other. It’s like a private club—non-members not welcome. If you’re dreaming about him making you his marquesa, forget it, Cass. He fancies you, yes. Anyone can see that. But, unless you’re willing to be his amiguita, there’s no future in it.’
‘You don’t need to tell me. I know it. In fact, I think there’s a good chance Toni will be his marquesa. They’re obviously fond of each other. They’ll make a good pair.’
‘She’s OK…too skinny for my taste. Doesn’t hold a candle to you. You’re…’ he searched for the right word ‘…magic. I get a high just looking at you.’ He reached for her other hand. ‘You’re beautiful, Cass…just beautiful.’
It was the first time in her life that she had known herself to be loved. Her mother had deserted her. Her father had never been more than moderately fond of her. Now she saw in Jack’s eyes and heard in his voice the love that she had always longed for. But she couldn’t return it. She could give him affection and respect, but that wouldn’t be enough. He wanted her to feel the way he did. The way she did. But not about him.
She broke the silence. ‘It’s funny…the first time we met, we didn’t take to each other. I could see you weren’t keen on me, and I was wary of you.’
‘I’d had a few bad experiences with girls in the UK. When I was in the Légion, unless you were an officer, nice girls didn’t want to know you. The only
friendly ones were tarts. Then, when I went back to England after ten years away…my God! What a difference.’
‘I’ve never been to England. What had changed?’
‘Women had changed. Suddenly men were in the doghouse. I’m not saying we didn’t deserve some comeuppance. But not that much. I expected you to be like that. Aggressive. Hostile. I’d had enough of it.’
‘I had some misconceptions about you,’ she said, steering him back to the point she had started to make. ‘But now I like you very much, Jack. Only not in the way you want. I’m sorry; I wish I did. We have a lot in common.’
‘Maybe you won’t always feel the way you do now…about him,’ he said. ‘He’s a good-looking guy… He’s a marqués… He has all the polish, the charm…but he isn’t available—not on the basis you want. You’ll get over him, Cass. You’ll have to. You can’t waste your life on a daydream.’
‘I know. But it could take years. I really do love him. It’s not just infatuation. He’s a fine person…worth loving.’
‘Yeah…I know he is, dammit! I like him too. If he hadn’t been who he is, he’d have made a good officer—the kind you know you can depend on when things get tough.’
As he finished speaking there was a tap on the nearby wall of plate glass. Looking towards the sound, they were surprised to see Simón himself standing there. Toni was with him. It was she who had tapped on the glass and now was smiling and waving at them.
‘What the hell are they doing here?’ Jack muttered crossly. But he didn’t show his irritation facially, just made gestures for the others to join them.
When they did, it was Toni who explained their arrival at the hospital.
‘We telephoned Laura to say we would be out for dinner and she told us what had happened. So we thought we’d come to the hospital. How is the boy? Any news?’ she asked in Spanish, her English not being as fluent as Simón’s.
‘Not yet. Can I get you a cup of something?’ Jack offered.
She asked for café solo. Simón said he would have the same. Jack went to the counter, leaving Toni to sit down next to Cassia while Simón took the chair diagonally opposite her.
‘I’m afraid our arrival is inopportune. We’ve intruded on what would appear to be an important tête-à-tête,’ he said, at his most sardonic.
‘Not at all,’ she said awkwardly, wondering what construction he had put on Jack holding her hand and wrist. Gazing into each other’s eyes, they must have looked like lovers. If only they were! If Jack held her heart there would be no problem.
‘If you’ll excuse me, I’ll go back to the desk and ask what’s happening,’ she said.
She thought she had escaped and gained a few moments to collect herself from the double shock of Jack’s declaration and Simón’s arrival. But in the long walkway connecting the cafeteria with the other parts of the hospital she heard footsteps behind her, and glanced over her shoulder.
‘I’ll come with you,’ Simón said, catching her up.
‘What about your coffee?’
He dismissed it with a shrug. ‘Why was Jack holding your hand?’
‘I don’t think that’s your business.’
They were a few metres from a corner. As soon as they turned it, and were out of sight of the cafeteria, he clamped a hand on her shoulder and forced her to a standstill.
‘Is there something between you? How long has this been going on?’
‘Are you crazy?’ Cassia exclaimed. ‘You have no right to interrogate me like this.’
‘You gave me the right,’ he said harshly. ‘On the roof. Last time I was here.’
‘I don’t know what you mean.’
‘I’ll refresh your memory.’
His arms went round her. He jerked her roughly against him. The swoop of his head was as swift and deadly as a kestrel dropping out of the sky to snatch up its frantic prey. None of his previous kisses had prepared her for the merciless onslaught of this kiss.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
‘NOW do you see?’ Simón said thickly, releasing her mouth but keeping her pinioned to his chest. ‘You’re mine. You belong to me. It’s why I brought you to Castell. It’s why you came.’
In her heart, she couldn’t deny it. She was his. She always would be. But pride wouldn’t let her admit it.
Then the fierce light went out of his eyes and he eased his hold on her slightly.
‘My mother, who knows me very well, seems to have guessed what’s been happening. She asked Toni to come down and suss out the situation. Toni also knows me very well. She spotted at once that I’d met my Waterloo, but she couldn’t make out how you felt. I’ve spent most of the day pouring my heart out to her and being told it would be more to the point to confide my feelings to you. But yesterday you made me feel I could have been mistaken—they might not be reciprocated.’
He took one arm from around her to trace, with a gentle finger, the lips he had bruised moments earlier.
‘I’m asking you to marry me, Cassia. I was going to wait…give you more time…but I have to know now. I love you. I need you. I can’t get through life without you.’
‘Oh, Simón…if you only knew! I’ve been in agony too. I love you so much it’s been killing me.’ The joyous relief of hearing him say that he loved her made her burst into tears.
A group of hospital cleaning staff came out of a door further along the corridor but paid little attention to the tall man giving his handkerchief and speaking soothingly in a foreign language to the weeping girl in his arms. Grief and attempts to comfort it were a common sight in the hospital.
By the time the cleaners had turned the corner Cassia was recovering herself, her world transformed by the sudden sure and certain knowledge that Simón loved her.
‘We’d better go and find out what’s happening to poor Paco,’ she said, drying her eyes.
‘After I’ve kissed you.’ This time he held her gently, and kissed her with the tenderness which had undermined her defences on the roof.
‘When I saw Jack holding your hand, I had a terrible feeling that he was telling you he loved you. I felt ready to murder him,’ he said against her cheek. ‘Was that what he was saying to you?’
‘Yes…but he’s guessed how I feel about you. I hate to hurt him. He needs loving so badly.’
‘But not by you, darling girl. Someone will turn up for Jack. Maybe, on a temporary basis, Toni will ease his pain for him.’
‘Toni and Jack? I thought she was marked out for you.’
‘Toni is like a sister to me. She wouldn’t mind a few rolls in the hay with him. She said so this afternoon. She likes macho blue-collar or no-collar guys. But I doubt if she’ll ever attach herself to any man permanently. She earns enough money to keep herself and she values her independence. The only thing that might domesticate her is if, in a few years’ time, she gets the urge to reproduce before it’s too late. But I shouldn’t be surprised if being godmother to our children isn’t enough for her. I’d like to have a large family, if that’s all right with you.’
‘I should love to have a large family. But what if your mother doesn’t approve of me? I’m not the sort of girl she must have hoped you would marry.’
‘My mother will adore you. You’re exactly the sort of girl she hoped I would marry. She’s despaired of my ever finding you,’ he told her, smiling.
In spite of Simón’s repeated assurances that the former Marquesa de Mondragón would accept his choice of bride with enthusiasm, on the day they drove to Madrid to meet her Cassia was extremely nervous.
She knew how crucial it was to make a good first impression on the woman who, up to now, had held first place in Simón’s affections, and who wouldn’t be human if she didn’t feel somewhat wary of the girl who had supplanted her.
If she were only half as nice as her son claimed, she would undoubtedly do her best to hide any reservations she might have inwardly and to welcome her future daughter-in-law with all the warmth she could muster. Nevertheless, it would be a daunti
ng encounter, and one which had given Cassia several restless nights.
She had not been sleeping with Simón in the two weeks since his proposal. She had thought that he would come to her room, or take her to his, as soon as they were unofficially engaged. The official engagement had to wait until she had met his mother, after which it was his intention to marry her without delay. In the meantime he seemed in no hurry to claim the privileges that she was very willing to give him. She was still a little shy of him, and couldn’t bring herself to ask point-blank why, when the embraces they did share quickly brought them both to a high pitch of arousal, he always stopped short of the point of no return.
Now that she knew he loved her, Cassia was impatient to experience every delight that love had to offer. She knew that he wanted her. She wanted him. She didn’t understand why he was postponing the moment when they would be lovers in the fullest sense.
The Palacio de Mondragón in Madrid made the house at Castell de los Torres seem like a cottage. It was in the heart of the city, and as Simón slowed the car to wait for a break in the oncoming traffic, and she saw his family’s coat of arms carved in stone above doors built to admit carriages drawn by four or more horses, she realised for the first time how immensely rich and distinguished he was. It made her even more nervous.
Someone must have been on the watch for them. Before there was a gap in the stream of cars, the great doors were opened by two liveried manservants, revealing the patio within, far larger and grander than any she had glimpsed in Granada.
‘Don’t panic,’ said Simón. ‘A large part of the house is now the administrative centre of my estates as a whole. The grandest rooms are, in effect, a museum, open to art connoisseurs by appointment. My private apartment is at the back, overlooking the garden, which is where, in all probability, we shall find my mother. She’s always disliked Madrid and only comes here to see me.’
