But his shout of triumph, his hand coming to lift her face where he could see into her eyes, and the way he smothered her face in light feathery kisses, told her she had no need to be anxious, before he looked deeply into her eyes and told her:
`Regina Cardenosa, I fell in love with you within the first few minutes of meeting you.'
Holding on tightly, Reggie just looked back at him, her eyes shining. Then she swallowed, and just had to say, `You didn't?'
`I couldn't help myself, querida,' he told her, gently kissing the wing of one eyebrow. 'I had come to Montevideo only to tell the Regina Barrington I knew that her services were no longer required, to tell her to go back to England. And then I met a Regina Barrington with soft, gentle eyes. Within minutes I knew you were the reason I had avoided marriage to anyone else—the reason I had
held out against my grandfather's dearest wish to see me married and raise an heir.'
-Stunned that he had loved her from the beginning, all Reggie was capable of at that moment was of staring at him. And as he saw her wide-eyed incredulity, Severo laughed, exultant to have her in his arms. His head coming down had her lips eager to meet the warm mouth that settled over hers. But the emotion he aroused in her did nothing to help her with clear thought, nor, when he at last pulled back, the long and loving look into her totally bemused face.
`Oh, Severo,' was all she was able to say, then as what else he had said began to penetrate, 'You were really going to send Bella back to England?' and at his quiet nod she remembered his delay in coming to Montevideo had been because his grandfather had died. 'But wouldn't you have brought Bella here for the same reason you brought me—for Abuela's sake, so that Abuela's last month’s should be ..
Amor mio, I brought you here for one reason only, because I fell in love with you and had every intention of marrying you.'
`But—Abuela,' she began, finding it unbelievable. `With your grandmother being so—frail--she must have been part of your reason.'
`Only in so far as I had already discovered a tenderness in you for your own grandparents, querida. It came to me then that if I could arouse some of that tenderness in you for my frail-looking Abuela then I knew I would have a basis to work on in my efforts to keep you by my side forever.'
He delivered his confession without any sign of being abashed at the amount of emotional blackmail he had practised in that quarter, for clearly it had worked. And while Reggie was staring at him in amazement, he
grinned endearingly and went on to tell her, to her further astonishment:
`Abuela is as strong as a horse. Sadness and shock at my grandfather's passing have made her wiry strength seem frail. But once she has made some adjustment to losing her beloved Roberto you will see a different Abuela.'
`It doesn't seem possible,' she gasped.
`Will you believe me if I tell you I had the doctor check her over only a week ago? He told me then that without question she should make her century.'
The news about Abuela had Reggie's full heart overflowing. She just had to cling on to Severo, feeling secure in arms that held her as though they would never let her go. For ageless moments he held her against a heart that beat loudly in her ear, telling of his deeply emotional feelings at that moment too. She would help him with the hurt that was his at having to lose his vast herd. He had told her once that her pain would be his pain. But now his pain would be her pain.
Bringing her head away from his chest, she looked into eyes that showed how deeply he loved her. 'We'll make it, darling,' she said chokily. 'We both have our health. One day the estancia will be the way it is now.' She stopped speaking when his hold on her tightened, seeing her words had aroused some seizing emotion his masculinity was trying to overcome.
`My beautiful woman,' Severo breathed, his voice thick so that he had to pause to clear it, his arms about her threatening to bruise her. 'To think I ever for one moment tormented myself into believing you were interested in my wealth! Instinct told me otherwise, the way it was so easy to work on your heart through Abuela.' He seemed to realise he was crushing her ribs and relaxed his hold slightly, but he just had to place a kiss on her lips
before saying, 'I shall have to confess, much though I am falling more completely in love with you than ever with every misconception you utter.'
`Confess? Misconception?' Her puzzlement was evident.
`My true beloved,' Severo breathed tenderly, 'I'll grant your Spanish has improved. But as good as it is I'm afraid you are still missing the odd word spoken here and there, the inflection that can mean so much.' Seeing he had not helped to clear her puzzlement, he went on, 'Had you stayed eavesdropping a little longer on my conversation with Jorge Gomez . .
`Jorge Gomez?'
He grinned, then explained, 'I should have gone to see him this morning—I had left the house to do that, in fact. But the picture I carried with me—you looking so heartstoppingly innocent, as beautiful asleep as you are awake, your hair tousled adorning your pillow,' he looked rueful, then added, 'hell, who could help but want to stay near to where you are?' Reggie didn't want to interrupt him—this was pure bliss. 'You, you enchantress, had me coming back into the house to see if my business with Jorge could be done over the phone.'
`Oh,' she said, not understanding at all, but unable just then to say anything brighter. Severo was making love to her with his eyes.
`You were right in thinking I was over at the Gomez home last night,' and at the slight stiffening of the pliable girl in his arms, 'You have no cause to be jealous, cara mia. I went only to see Jorge. He has been having problems for some time. Manuela confided in me some weeks ago. I wanted to do all I could, naturally, but he is a proud man, so helping him proved difficult. However, things came to a head yesterday with Manuela coming over in quite a state to say Jorge was positively suicidal.'
`That was why you had your arm around her.'
`I didn't know you had seen,' he said, regretful now that she had been hurt, then he went on, 'I couldn't do any other than go with her. When I got there I could see she hadn't been exaggerating. Jorge was on the verge of collapse with the weight of his worries.'
`Oh, the poor man!' Sympathy came pouring from her soft heart, and earned her a look of undying devotion. `Were you able to help at all?'
`He is a proud man, as I said. All I was able to do to start with was to talk to him for hours on end. But at last he told me of his business problems and agreed I should go through his books to see if I could find anything he had missed. That took until the early hours of the morning.'
Reggie felt awful about the dreadful suspicions she had nursed and offered an instant apology which was accepted with a lingering kiss, before Severo pulled back and looked as though he would much prefer to be doing what he had than continue with what he had been saying.
`By the time I was through, Jorge was under the effects of a sleeping pill Manuela had slipped him—the first night's sleep he'd had in a week, apparently. Manuela had long since gone to bed, so I left a note to say I would be in touch this morning.'
`So you rang him ...'
He nodded. 'While talking to Jorge yesterday I suggested an alternative if things were as black as he seemed to think they were. His night's sleep had helped to put things back into perspective, so that by the time I got through this morning he was already working on my suggestion. The conversation you overheard, cara, was me telling Jorge that though things were bad they weren't as bad as all that. I was agreeing with him that since there is
a greater demand and a higher value being put on wool than cattle lately, his best bet was to get rid of his herd and change over to sheep—a good many ranchers in the same boat have made the change-over successfully.'
Amazed that she had got it all so wrong, Reggie just stared as what he was telling her began to sink in. `Then—then it isn't you who's facing financial ruin, but .
She didn't get to finish. 'Do you mind, querida?' he asked, gently teasing.
`Oh no, I'm glad
,' she whispered happily, then quickly, `Not because you're still wealthy, I mean...' She stopped, his look telling her he knew what she meant. Then, her brain going into action again, 'But if cattle prices have dropped, won't it affect you?'
`My herd is one of the best,' he told her without boasting, and remembering he had said something about his plan of selective breeding one time, she knew it for a fact. `But should prices drop even further I have other interests which can sustain any loss.'
`Oh,' she said, as the full impact of what he was saying reached her. He was as wealthy as she had previously supposed, her help in getting the estancia back on its feet would not be required.
As though he read what was going through her mind and was aware of the slight feeling of disappointment that she had nothing to contribute, Severo brought one hand up to gently touch the side of her face as he told her, sincerity in every word:
`But with all my assets, all my wealth, I would indeed be very poor, my wife, without you here beside me.' Then tenderly he kissed her.
Looking at her adoringly when their kiss ended, he saw her glance jerk to the window when a rumble of thunder was heard. As he read her fear his hand came again to the side of her face.
`I love you, cara esposa,' he said tenderly, a new light kindling his eyes with the words 'dear wife'. 'Shall we again forget the tormenta?'
Shyly Reggie looked back. She felt his hands at the front fastening of her dress while their eyes held, colour coming to her cheeks as her dress fell to the floor. She saw the warmth of his smile break through that she was still shy with him, then he had picked her up in strong arms and was carrying her to the bed. Thunder was forgotten when he lay down with her—all her dark clouds, had rolled away.
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