by Anne Hampson
She looked unhappily at the marquês who, after telling the children to go out again into the garden, turned to her with a kindly smile and said, much to her surprise, ‘It would seem that Ramos has taken to you, senhorita. Luisa has always been more reserved in her manner, but she will come round eventually.’
‘You mean,’ faltered Hydee, stunned, ‘that you are willing to engage me as nanny to your children?’
A silence followed, unfathomable and profound. And when presently the marquês spoke, her question had been ignored. ‘For the present, Miss Merrill, it will be enough that you become used to the children, and they to you. Tomorrow morning I must leave for London, as I have business to conduct there. I shall return here on Saturday and stay with you and the children over the weekend.’ That was all; his tone had changed, a quality entering it that was final and implacable. The lordly Marquês Carlos de Alva Manrique did not intend to be questioned, even though he must be aware of Hydee’s bewilderment. She bit her lip in vexation, feeling cheated—snubbed, even—and the merest hint of anger rose within her. However, she had no difficulty in hiding it, and for the next few minutes she and the Marquês chatted amicably enough, with Hydee answering several personal questions he asked but avoiding the delicate matter of her broken engagement.
He had expressed what seemed to be sincere regret that she was alone in the world, but Hydee felt he was not really sorry for her loss—on the contrary, she sensed that he was glad she had no one of her own. She naturally allowed her thoughts to stray to what Ellie had said, and to recall vividly her suspicions. Well, it would seem that any explanation of the mystery must wait until the weekend, when the marquês returned to Surrey.
Chapter Four
The next few days passed quickly, and before she quite knew it, Hydee was eagerly looking forward to the following day—Saturday—when the marquês would be returning to the house of his late wife’s friend. During the time she had been staying in Doreen’s home, Hydee had learned a good deal about the marquês, but little about his late wife. For it had been clear right from the start that Doreen was reluctant to talk about her friend and, therefore, Hydee had refrained from putting questions to her. Hydee was not so obliging when it came to the subject of the nannies which the children had had in the past, though. Doreen, being ready to enlighten Hydee, told her about the first one, who was Portuguese.
‘She fell in love with Carlos almost immediately. It was so absurd, as she knew that Eunice had been dead less than a month.’
‘The marquês—he’d be furious, naturally?’
Doreen nodded. ‘He soon sent her packing. The next one was also Portuguese, coming from a well- to-do family who’d come into hard times. But she hadn’t lost any of her arrogance, it seemed. I was over at the Palacio de Manrique—I went for a holiday just after my divorce came through,’ she went on to explain, straying from what she had been going to say. ‘I was feeling low at the time, even though the decision to separate was mutual. We couldn’t get along and so we decided to make the break before we started to hate each other. Sensible, don’t you think?’
‘I suppose so,’ replied Hydee reluctantly.
‘You don’t believe in divorce, obviously?’
‘I do, yes. It’s the only answer when two people can’t get along. But it’s so sad. . . .’ For a moment Hydee thought of Noel, and how he and she used to say that no matter what others did, no matter how many of their friends and acquaintances might part, they would be together until the very end of their lives, for they would live in a realm where no storms came. He was going to become an integral part of her life, and from the time of their engagement Hydee had begun to think in twos. No matter what she considered, the thought that Noel would either like this thing or not was never far from her mind and governed everything she did. When he had come to her to say it was all over between them, Hydee had had no idea of what she was going to do without him. What did others do? she wondered. Let time fill the gaps, wait for memory to lose its sharp outlines and die away? ‘Yes, it’s sad,’ went on Hydee at length. ‘After all, every married couple begins by being in love.’
The older woman nodded, but said with a hint of humour, ‘Except in marriages of convenience. One hears of them but never meets the people involved. Do they really happen, I wonder?’
Hydee shook her head. ‘I shouldn’t think so,’ she said. And, after only a slight pause, ‘You were telling me about the nannies who’ve been employed by the marquês.’
‘Yes. I ought to tell you as much as I can, so that you won’t make the same mistakes they did.’ She went on, repeating that she had met the second of the nannies when she was on holiday at the marquês’s home; the girl obviousiy resented the fact that she was forced to work for a living, and she also forgot that she was there in the role of nanny and not as mistress of the establishment. Carlos soon became plagued with complaints from his staff that Rosinha was issuing orders to the servants. And reluctant as he was to dismiss her—having known her brother since they were both at college—Carlos did finally send her the way of the first one. Doreen continued for some minutes; Hydee counted five nannies in all. ‘It’s not good for the children, and they’ve run a little wild lately, although they don’t seem to have lost anything by that.’
‘The marquês seems to favour freedom for his children.’
‘He does to a great extent believe in freedom, but he can be exceptionally stern if either Ramos or Luisa is really naughty.’
‘Why has he suddenly decided to have an English nanny?’ Hydee asked eventually.
‘That’s something I can’t explain,’ admitted Doreen. ‘I haven’t asked Carlos because, good friends though we are, he has never been really confiding. He’s an aloof man and often unfathomable. His pride seems to prevent him from lowering his reserve too much—but perhaps you yourself have noticed how unapproachable he is?’
‘I haven’t seen enough of him to have formed an opinion,’ returned Hydee in a guarded tone. ‘But I agree with you that he’s unfathomable.’ She was thinking of the ‘mystery’ of which she and Ellie had spoken, and hoped that tomorrow would see it solved to her satisfaction. The disappointment would be unbearable if something should prevent her from obtaining the post. Ramos had taken to her from the first, and even though Luisa was still shy and distant, Hydee had noticed a slight change in the little girl during the past few days. She would now join in the games which Hydee played with Ramos, and she listened with interest when Hydee read stories from a book she had bought one afternoon when she and Doreen took the children for a car ride and a picnic in the woods.
Doreen had told Hydee about the Palacio and the splendour of its furnishings; she had also mentioned the marques’s numerous interests: his vineyards, his cork-oak forests, his several estates—quintas—of which the Quinta de Manrique was by far the largest.
‘And now,’ Doreen was saying as she and Hydee dined together on Friday evening, ‘you know just about everything you need to know of your future employer.’
Hydee’s eyes lit up. ‘You really believe I’ll get the post, then?’
‘I’m sure of it. Carlos had a long conversation with me over the telephone, and it was plain that he was satisfied with you and what you had to offer—’
‘I have nothing in the way of experience,’ broke in Hydee, just because she had to. ’I shall always marvel that I even got a hearing!’
‘He’s a strange man.’ Doreen nodded musingly. ‘If he were engaging a butler or a housekeeper, he’d not even look at one who had no qualifications, yet over this nanny business—and with you especially—he seems to attach far more inportance to personality. I was amazed when he said you’d no experience, but of course I made no comment. It wasn’t for me to voice an opinion—which he would have ignored anyway,’ she added with a grimace. Hydee said nothing, as she was concentrating on her food, and after a moment Doreen spoke again. ‘I’ve said you know just about everything you need to know about Carlos, but I feel that perhaps I
ought to warn you of the young woman who has recently come to have designs on him. She’s Portuguese and her name’s Arminda Venancio. She and her mother have taken a rather pretty villa about three miles from the Palacio and Carlos has become friendly with her, from what I can gather. However, I have a friend living fairly close to the Venancio residence and she maintains that Arminda’s a really nasty type beneath the façade she puts on for people like the marquês.’
‘Surely the marquês would be able to see through her?’
‘I’d have thought so myself,’ agreed Doreen, but went on to add that even a man like the marquês was not always strongly enough armoured against women whose attractions and charm were as potent as that of the beautiful Portuguese girl. ‘She’s obviously interested in his title and his wealth,’ continued Doreen casually, ‘and this friend of mine declares that it’ll be a miracle if he remains single much longer.’
Hydee fell silent, a sort of chill settling on her. She could not have found a reason for it no matter how she tried, as it was far from logical to suppose that the existence of a girlfriend in her employer’s life would affect her in any way at all.
The following morning dawned bright and sunny, and Hydee was on the lawn with the children when, at half-past eleven, the big limousine turned into the gateway and drew up at the end of the drive. Hydee watched as the children, having abandoned the game as soon as they saw the car, raced across the grass and literally flung themselves at their father. He caught them, one hanging on either arm, and swung them off their feet. Laughing, they asked for more, but the marquês told them to run along and play, as he wished to talk with Miss Merrill. They obeyed at once, and as Doreen was out, having gone to do some shopping, the time was most opportune. Hydee and the marquês went into the living room and sat down. Without any hesitation Dom Carlos admitted that he had asked Doreen to stay in constant touch with him by telephone, keeping him informed as to the relationship developing between Hydee and his two children.
‘It’s obvious to me that you have an excellent rapport with Ramos already, and that Luisa is gradually coming round.’ The marquês spoke formally, but kindly for all that. Yet his thoughts seemed far away, as if what he really wanted to say had to be brought from some remote part of his mind. ‘I take it, senhorita, that you are willing to care for my children?’
Hydee’s heart jerked, then began to beat almost suffocatingly. The post was hers! She had been fairly certain, but only now was she sure.
‘Yes, indeed, senhor,’ she managed, although not in her usual calm and steady tone of voice. ‘It will make me very happy to take up the position of nanny to Ramos and Luisa.’
A silence fell, deep and profound. The marquês stared at her speculatively before he said, slowly and deliberately, ‘I am not looking for a nanny, Miss Merrill.’
‘Not . . . ?’ She blinked at him, uncertain whether she had heard correctly. ‘What did you say, Dom Carlos?’
‘I am not looking for a nanny.’
‘But . . .’ Hydee shook her head in bewilderment. What was wrong with him? He just asked if she were willing to care for his children, and now he was calmly informing her that he didn’t want a nanny! ‘I’m afraid I don’t understand you, senhor.’
The trace of a smile touched the fine outline of his mouth. ‘My children have had five nannies in two years,’ he said. ‘Nannies are obviously unsatisfactory, not the answer in this particular case. Miss Merrill, Ramos and Luisa need a mother.’ His dark eyes, holding hers, seemed to have lost much of their hardness, and a little of their arrogance as well. ‘I am looking for a wife, senhorita, and I feel sure that you, in your present situation, would be better for having a husband—’ He stopped as Hydee gave a smothered exclamation, and then went on. ‘You’d no longer be alone in the world; you’d have the care and company of the children, which is what you want. I believe you will like my home, and be happy in it. Security will be yours—’
‘Senhor!’ broke in Hydee with a feeble lift of her hand. ‘Please don’t go on. This suggestion’s preposterous! We scarcely know one another.’ She was on the point of tears, so great was the disappointment flooding over her. ‘Oh, please, sir,’ she cried in tones of desperate pleading, ‘let me be their nanny! I promise I’ll do everything for them, be like a mother if that is what you want. Please, senhor. . . .’
He shook his head, and she saw the firm, implacable line of his jaw. ‘Think about it, senhorita,’ he advised. ‘The proposition naturally comes as a shock to you, and your reaction is understandable. However, you will think more rationally when you’ve allowed yourself time to take in what I’ve said. I shall be here, with you and the children, for the weekend. I arranged it this way so that we can all be together as a family—’
‘No!’ Hydee broke in again, anger rising as a result of her bitter disappointment. ‘I can’t marry you!’
‘Can you give me one good reason for making so vehement a declaration?’ inquired the marquês in his quiet foreign voice.
Hydee shook her head, unable to think clearly, conscious of the weight of misery pressing down upon-her.
‘It . . . it w-wasn’t f-fair of you to . . . to let me be w-with them like I have. . . .’ Hydee stopped, the words blocked by the sob in her throat. ‘We’ve g-got to like each other—especially Ramos—he’s g-going to m-miss me. . . .’ Again she stopped, aware that her stammered words might be incoherent but caring nothing for that. And she went on before Dom Carlos could insert any comments of his own, ‘Ramos guessed that I was to . . . to be his new n‐nanny, and he was happy about it. Luisa w‐was c‐coming round, as you s‐said, and now it’s all over. . . .’
Hydee’s voice failed completely; she turned from the marquês, put her face in her hands and wept bitterly into them. For a long moment she was allowed the slight relief of her tears, and then, before she was aware of what was happening, she felt a strong arm about her shoulders, knew the comfort of a gentle hand on her hot forehead, heard the marquês’s soft and understanding voice declaring that it was not all over, that she must calm herself and, having done so, she must sit quietly on her own and consider the advantages of accepting his proposal of marriage.
For a space she looked up at him through her tears, and then, much to her amazement, she heard herself say, ‘Very well, Dom Carlos, I’ll do as you advise.’
Ellie, her face pale with concern, looked at her friend and said, for what seemed the fiftieth time, ‘You can’t do it! The man’s a stranger to you! In addition he’s a foreigner, with a totally different temperament from yours. His way of life would soon become irksome, what with its restrictions, its narrow confines, which preclude the freedom you’ve been used to! And what of his position? You’d be like a fish out of water in this Palacio you’ve mentioned! I’m not being critical, Hydee, just honest; I want to make you see reason.’ She stopped at last and Hydee gave a small sigh of relief. She and Ellie had been through this many times during the last two days, but Hydee had retained her patience, fully appreciative of the fact that her friend’s attempts to dissuade her from marrying the marquês were made with the very best of intentions. Ellie truly believed that Hydee was making a mistake, that in no time at all she would be regretting what, in Ellie’s words, was ‘an impulsive, idiotic action inspired by your obsession to be with children.’
‘I want to marry him,’ murmured Hydee at last, speaking over her shoulder, for she had moved to the window and was looking out to the garden, where a group of small children played on the grass. They were from the adjoining flats, and the mother of one of them was watching to make sure they came to no harm. ‘I’ve been given the opportunity of becoming a wife and a mother, and I’d be a fool to turn it down—No, please don’t interrupt,’ she said quickly on hearing Ellie’s impatient exclamation. ‘I want to make you understand. Carlos is a good man who’ll keep to his promise. It will be a marriage of convenience, no matter what you’ve said to the contrary. You seem convinced that he’ll . . . he’ll . . .’ Hydee bro
ke off, colouring with embarrassment.
Her friend said, uncaring for her feelings on the matter, ‘He’ll take you when the urge gets him, and don’t you kid yourself that he won’t! Man of honour or not he’s got the same primitive instincts as any other healthy male, and he isn’t going to have qualms about asserting his rights—’
‘Don’t, Ellie, please! I hate this kind of talk!’
‘Inhibitions, because of your determination not to be a proper wife—because of what you still feel for Noel, Hydee, for heaven’s sake put the silly notion of marrying this foreign marquês out of your head!’
‘I can’t. I’ve made a promise and I’m going to keep it. As I’ve told you, Ramos likes me and his sister won’t be long in accepting me. In fact, she’s not nearly so shy and reserved now as she was at first.’
‘By “now” I take it that you mean last weekend. You haven’t seen these children for two days, and I’d not be in the least surprised if they’ve forgotten you already.’
‘Well, they’ll soon get used to me again. After Saturday I shall be with them all the time.’
‘Saturday . . .’ A heavy frown settled on Ellie’s forehead. ‘He didn’t give you much time, did he?’
‘He gave me what I asked for. I’d rather get it over and done with, and settle into my new way of life.’
‘ “Get it over and done with,” ’ seethed Ellie, still trying to convince her friend of the error she was making. ‘What a way to talk about one’s wedding day!’
Hydee coloured, cursing herself for that slip of the tongue. She ought to have known Ellie would seize on it and deliver some disparaging remark.
‘The wedding’s a mere formality,’ she reminded her. ‘I shall be in the position of nanny, really.’
‘Wife in name only, with the position of nanny! You must be out of your mind!’ Ellie looked at her squarely and went on in tones of dark foreboding, ‘You’ll regret this madness before you’re a month older!’
