The young woman spotted Ryanne. “May I please come inside?” she said in a very slow English.
“No,” Eduardo said flatly.
Ryanne, seeing the dust on the covering of the baby, stepped around her husband, “Please come inside. May I get you some water?”
“That would be most kind,” she said, looking as if she were about to drop. Ryanne noticed blood on her shoe as well as the smell of a sweaty unwashed body. She knew it well after giving birth herself. It was the same young woman she had visited a day ago, whose husband made a rude comment about Ryanne being black. Ryanne, never had a chance to see the child she thought, as she fetched a glass of cold water from the kitchen. She returned with the water and a cool cloth for the woman to wipe away a little of the sweat which saturated all of her clothing. Eduardo had not moved as he eyed the young mother.
She drank the water slowly.
“What is it you need Señora Peña?”
Her dark eyes looked up at his chest, but not in his face at Eduardo’s recognition of who she was.
“Señor y Señora, my husband is a fool,” she said.
“That is an understatement Señora. Had I been present, I would have taken his life for disrespecting my wife and speaking out of turn,” Eduardo said.
“Someone has taken his life Señor,” she said with her eyes on the floor. “I am left alone to care for my little girl who did not receive favor from The Lady of the Lands. Her life will be harsh...working the lower jobs...she will have no value without a father to protect her.”
Eduardo showed her no mercy, but Ryanne had been married to a fool as well. She didn’t want the young woman to suffer because of the mistake of a now dead man. Ryanne placed a hand on Eduardo’s arm, in quiet askance that he hear the young mother out.
“I was going to use the gold coin we would have received to buy items for my Lena, and our home,” she said. “I did not want to marry him but my Aunt wed me to Ferdinand Peña for a goat.”
Tear filled eyes looked at Ryanne. “I do not want my daughter’s life to mean so little that she can be traded to a man for an animal, Señora. My life was given for a week’s worth of meat which they did not need. My aunt wanted to be rid of me. My Lena should have a better chance at life,” she said as she rubbed the dusty fabric which swaddled the child to her body.
“What is your name?” Ryanne asked with Marianna and Eduardo looking on.
“I am Mara,” she said softly. “Mara Lupe Narito Peña.”
“You came with some proposal or offer to obtain my favor for your child?” Ryanne asked the young woman.
“Sí, Señora Delgado. I will work for you, day and night,” Mara said. “I will care for your bambina, nurse her, however I may be of service to you.”
“How do you propose this is going to work in your favor?” Ryanne was curious to know.
“We shall sleep on the floor if we must, but eating the scraps from your table will at least fill my belly enough to feed my child,” she said with her back straight.
Ryanne watched her face. Her dark eyes did not blink nor lower as Ryanne gazed intently upon her. “Mara, have you eaten today?”
“I had una Zapote this morning before I began walking,” she said shyly.
“And your husband’s remains?” Ryanne asked.
“I left him there to rot,” Mara said flatly.
Ryanne’s face remained stoic as she took in the young woman. It was no telling the type of hell her husband had put her through. Without consulting with her own husband she made a decision.
“I need an assistant,” Ryanne said flatly. “But first you must be cleaned and groomed to serve me in this house.”
Ryanne’s eyes went to Marianna. “Are there quarters available for my new assistant?”
“Sí, Señora, there is a room off the kitchen that is unoccupied,” Marianna said.
“What skills do you have Mara?” Ryanne asked.
“I am a very good cook. I can clean. I have practiced my English, and I can read in English and write in Spanish,” she said.
“Excellent,” Ryanne said. “I am expecting a houseful of guests beginning tomorrow. You will assist...” she looked at Marianna.
“Margherit,” she said.
“...Yes, Margherit in the kitchen with the meals for the next five days, then I will personally begin training you to aid me in my day to day appointments, taking care of my personal needs, social calls, and errands I must handle,” Ryanne said. “I will pay you 500,000 pesos per month with room and board.”
Mara grinned brightly at the number.
“However, I will deduct 100,000 pesos from the first month to outfit you with the necessary clothing for you and your child. You will be given Sunday and Thursday’s as days off, however, if I am traveling on those days you will have to travel with me,” Ryanne told her.
Tears ran down the girl’s cheeks as she dabbed at them with the wet cloth. Marianna turned her head so that she would not be seen becoming emotional at Ryanne’s generosity to the young mother. Eduardo, had not moved nor said a word.
“The kitchen is that way, Mara. Please see Margherit for a meal, and the bathroom to tidy yourself and the child. I will be there shortly to take you to your new quarters and you will be prepared to start work this afternoon,” Ryanne said firmly. “Go now, don’t dawdle.”
“Sí Señora Delgado. Gracias, gracias,” she said reaching for Ryanne’s hand but pulling back before touching her. “Thank you Señora, I will work hard for you.”
The young woman scurried to the kitchen. Margherit could be heard swearing loudly in Spanish, bringing Tonda forward, looking about, and ready to strike anything threatening to harm his mother. Eduardo held up his hand to his oversized body guard.
Eduardo spoke softly, “Carina, you do realize she more than likely killed her husband?”
“Yes,” she said softly, waiting for him to chew her out for making a decision without consulting him first. “If her life had the same value to him as the goat, he more than likely treated the goat better.”
He watched his wife as Marianna and Tonda returned to his offices. In a low voice she spoke, “I am sorry Eddie. I should have consulted with you before unilaterally making the decision to bring her into our home, but she walked ten miles in those shoes. It looks like she hasn’t had a meal in days. Her home was clean when I arrived, but I never got to speak with her because of him. She did what she felt she must to protect her child and ensure a better future for that baby.”
The question floated in the air. She knew what he wanted to know and she answered without waiting for him to pose the question.
“All five of them,” she said. “I would kill anyone threatening to harm any of our five children.” Her stare was firm as she spotted Yuńior standing in the far corner listening.
“Let’s us hope it does not come to that,” he said to her. “Mara will need to be taken into town to open a bank account. Two hundred dollars a month is a great deal of money to her Carina. The girl will have to be taught how to manage her new found wealth.”
“Eddie, she is going to save that money to send her daughter off to school,” she told him.
His glanced at her sidewways.
“That is what I would do,” she told him as she handed him the slip of paper in her hand. “This is my layout for the next few days. Do we have enough food to cover all of this?”
“You and your assistant need to go through the pantries and let me know what we need so when I go into Medellín tomorrow to retrieve the Blakemores, I can bring some of it back,” he said looking over the information.
“My assistant...” she chuckled. “I guess I will need an office.” He turned, walking towards a door which, to her knowledge, she had never seen opened. Ryanne had assumed it was a storage room of some sort. Instead he opened it to a mid-sized work space. The furniture was covered with white cloths and years of dust. From what she could tell, the room held a large desk, a couch, book shelves and a second smaller work station.
“Mara’s first job can be to prepare this room for your use. If she is to travel with you, she must be trained in self-defense, martial arts, and basic weaponry,” he told her.
“Yuńior?” She said pulling him from the dark corner where he had been listening patiently, waiting for what was to come next. “Will you do me the honor of teaching Mara the basics of using a knife for protection and defense? If you have time, can you meet with her and set a training schedule so she is prepared for the weekend in case anything should occur.”
“Sí, Señora,” he said as he made his way to the kitchen.
“You know that every girl in the village is going to try and gain favour with you to score themselves a sweet deal like you have given the girl,” he said.
“Yes, but they will have to get through my assistant first, and I don’t think she is going to give anyone an opportunity to replace her,” Ryanne said as she walked into her new office. “Eddie, are there records of the births, the dates of visits, the number of gold coins given...that kind of thing.”
“Sí. I will have Marianna get those for you,” he said.
“Thank you,” she said. “Mara and I will go over those in the next few weeks to see where we stand and to make me a schedule. Are there other social functions I need to prepare for us to attend mi esposo?”
It had been so long since there were guests in his home. The small social itinerary he once held, came to stop after his brother Andres died. His wife never wanted to be in the home let alone entertain in it. Ryanne did. She wanted to use the office he’d set up for his children’s mother, that she had only walked into once, turned up her nose, never returning to the space. He spoke quietly, trying to shield the emotion in his voice. “There have been a few, but I wanted to wait until you felt comfortable in your role as the Lady of the Lands,” he told her.
“I am ready for whatever comes my way,” she said. “How can I order some social cards? I mean if I go to an online site, will they deliver here? What am I thinking, I have sent items here for you before!” She was grinning as she kissed his cheek. “So much to do, so little time.” Ryanne checked her watch, “Ooh! Isabella will be waking soon. I can’t be late.”
He watched her walk up the stairs after handing him the list of items she removed from his hand, scribbled more notes on, then handed it back.
“Hmmph,” Eduardo said as he took the list and returned to his office. Ryanne’s words felt almost prolific as his thoughts centered on the same idea of being prepared for what was to come. The meeting with Aduviri had not gone as well as he’d hoped. The nasty little man was up to something. He too needed to be prepared for what was to come.
Tuesday – Busy B Ranch
Belva Blakemore was a blessing. Odessa felt a sudden pang of guilt that in almost three years of marriage to the woman’s brother, she didn’t know her as well as she should. It occurred to her that her sister-in-law could also be her friend, since she didn’t have any in Houston. It would be nice to get into to town and meet for lunch every now and then.
Connard had remained at the ranch as the guests left, just as he stood at the door to greet them coming in, he said farewell as they departed. Saxton too had returned, standing at her side, as the women shook her hand, thanking Odessa for a lively lunch. A basket was placed on a small table by the door as women dropped in social cards for to her to call upon them for meetings or lunches.
Thank God for Belva who had ordered Odessa social cards as well with her name, address, email and a Houston phone number. The women helped themselves to the cards from a second basket. It worked perfectly so there was no awkward moment of her attempting to hand a card to a woman who didn’t want one.
”What happened to you, Odessa? You have...is that dessert stuck around your nose?” Saxton asked.
“Shut up,” she mumbled to him as the last guest left. Suddenly she felt tired and in need of a nap. “Belva, thank you for everything. Connard, thank you for taking time out of your busy day. I appreciate you both.” Hugs and kisses bestowed upon her brother and sister by marriage, she left the downstairs clean-up to the staff as she headed to her bedroom to get out of the dress, the heels, the hose, and the itchy feeling of being blind-sided.
“Odessa, are you feeling okay?” Saxton asked, entering their bedroom, as he began to remove his tie.
“Did you know about this...me being indoctrinated into the Daughters of the Alamo as the great-great something of Sam McCulloch? I don’t even know who that is!” she exclaimed.
“Sam McCulloch Jr, was the translator for Sam Houston with the Indians. He also owned a lot of land in Jackson County down near Edna, which I think was named after his son, Lewis Clark McCulloch’s wife,” Saxton said.
He sat on the bed removing his shoes. “He was quite the interesting man as a free black soldier during the Texas Revolution. If I am not mistaken, his second wife, was a white woman, I can’t remember her name, but he was wounded in San Jacinto. The constitution of Texas was changed which took his land, but he found a provision where wounded veterans from the Alamo could buy property, so he petitioned the government and they could not deny him the purchase as a disabled vet. He wrote a lot of petitions, one in particular which prevented him and his sisters from being sold back into slavery after the independence of Texas,” Saxton said.
“How do you know all of this? Where you in on this with Belva?” she asked.
“Honestly, I never made the connection with your mother’s maiden name that you could be related,” he said.
“Yeah, but how do you know so much about him and his life,” Odessa asked.
“My undergrad degree is in cultural anthropology,” he said with a frown.
“Oh my gheerrrrd, you are a nerd! I am married to a closet nerd,” she said. “How did I not know this? I assumed since you had an MBA that your undergrad was in business.”
“No Connard’s degrees are all in business, he also has a law degree,” Saxton said.
“Uhn-uhnnn,” she said frowning like a small kid not believing her friend could spit far enough to hit the mark on the sidewalk.
“Yep, he also passed the Texas Bar. He just finished his JD, I think,” Saxton said to her.
“Wow, that is impressive,” she said.
Saxton responded, “Nope, impressive is Belva. She has a PhD in history, which is why she is head of the membership committee for the DOA, among other things. Have you considered reaching out to her to help determine which social charities you will champion?”
“I am planning to discuss those things with her when we get to Eduardo’s,” she said.
“Speaking of that, we need to get packed to head over to your parents tomorrow,” he said. “I hope you are ready to travel with two small children.”
“I am ready for anything that comes my way,” she told him.
“Good to know Mrs. Blakemore. Seeing as how Donna is taking care of the babies, how do you feel about some breakfast in the late afternoon,” he asked with wink.
“I could use a snack,” she said, but froze at the look on Saxton’s face. “Baby, is everything okay?”
“No, Odessa, it’s not,” he said frowning.
“Did I say something...,” she started.
“A snack is what my Daddy calls sex with my mother,” he said with a frown. “Dammit! Now my appetite is ruined!”
Odessa fell back on the bed in laughter. There were so many fine details to get down between now and in the morning. Her husband’s appetite would return, in the meantime, she needed to prepare four people to head to Dallas then out of the country. These Blakemore’s were also going on vacation.
“Saxton, you have spoken with your parents since they arrived in South America,” she inquired.
“Yep, Daddy is snacking away, they have barely left the hotel,” he said with a frown. “Eduardo is picking them up in the morning.”
“That should be an interesting day,” she mumbled.
“Bobby Ray Blakemore is spending the entire
day with Eduardo Delgado,” Saxton said. “Interesting is going to be the least of it.”
Chapter Ten – You know who she is...
Tuesday – Las Tierras
He did not want to get out of bed.
For the third time in his life, he awoke, rolled to his back while contemplating staying in bed all day. He truly wanted to pull the covers over his head, close his eyes, pretending nothing in the world existed but him, his children and Ryanne. Modestly hairy, bare legs moved silently across the cotton sheets as he struggled to find a reason to leave the bed, versus lying there all day, making slow delicious love to his wife.
“Eddie,” she whispered.
“Sí?”
Ryanne’s hand went to his chest, rubbing the fangs of the viper tattooed into his skin.
“You once told me that the only people who work closely with or for you are either indebted or related,” she said. “Which one is Mara to you?”
Eduardo turned to his side facing his wife. A calloused fingertip touched her nose, sliding down the bridge to the tip. He replaced his fingertip with his lips, as he gently kissed the end of her nose.
“Is she one of your nieces, from one of your brothers?”
“Yes,” he said softly. “She too knows this, which is why she came.”
“It has taken her a long time to make her way to this house,” she said.
“It seems my wife, that you gave her courage and a burgeoning desire to be more than what life gave to her,” he said. His hand moved to her hip, caressing the skin through her night gown.
“Courage. That is a funny word,” she said aloud. If there were others in the village, why hadn’t they too come forward like Mara. He would send them away.
“It is a hard decision, Carina. I do not know for certain which children are Andres’ or which ones were the results of Hugo. As a single male in a home full of boys, it would not be appropriate for me to take them in. The gold coins were also to help with the children’s care without me showing favor or acknowledging any birth rights. Mara, was given to her aunt to be raised since Mara’s mother was promised to another young man outside of Caldas. The wedding was postponed for a year until after the delivery of Mara.”
A Weekend with the Blakemores (The Blakemore Files Book 8) Page 8
