Читать книгу Pale Dawn Dark Sunset - Anne Mather - Страница 7

IT was dawn. Already the sky was lightening in the east and a pale apricot gilding was touching the fleecy clouds that shrouded the horizon. Mist rose ghostlike from the trees down in the valley, and the Angelus bell was ringing in the small chapel below. The air was crisp and cool as Rafael came to the door and he breathed deeply, feeling its coldness against the sweating dampness of his flesh.

But it was over, and behind him he could hear the shrill cries the child was still emitting, audible above the relieved protestations of its father. That its mother was alive, too, was due more to the will of God than the skill of its enforced midwives. Franco Maqueras knew nothing about bringing a child into the world, in spite of the fact that this was the seventh daughter his wife had borne him.

But somehow they had succeeded, and Rafael could feel waves of weariness sweeping over his aching body. Only yesterday he had driven a hundred scorching miles to Sustancia to share in the celebration of Mass being held in the new cathedral and then, on his return, Franco had come knocking at his door in the dead of night, begging his help, panic-stricken that his wife was about to bear his child with the overworked doctor many miles away at Pagueri. Rafael had agreed to come, to use the skills which had lain dormant for many months, but in spite of his success he felt no sense of elation, only one of extreme tiredness. His thin cotton shirt and pants were clinging wetly to his skin, and rivulets of sweat, cooling now, mingled with the fine dark hair on his chest. He desired nothing so much as a shower, a change of clothes and a couple of hours’ sleep.

But these were luxuries he could not, and would not, have. At least, not for the present. There were more important matters to claim his attention. As he sluiced his face and neck from the pump in the yard he reflected that Father Domenico would be expecting him at the chapel, to join in the early morning Sacrament, and afterwards there was the message from Juan which had been awaiting him on his return last night, requesting his presence at the hacienda. He stretched and wondered with a swiftly suppressed feeling of cynicism whether he had done the right thing in temporarily abandoning his studies in Mexico City to come home to attend his uncle’s funeral. His mother had been so appealing, so eager he knew to see her eldest son again after their separation, and he had not refused her. His uncle had worked all his life in the service of the Faith and it was not unreasonable to expect his nephew to attend his burial.

That had been almost two months ago, however, and still he was here in Guadalima. A week, two weeks at the most, he had expected to be away from the seminary, but circumstances had served to detain him. Father Domenico was beginning to rely on his assistance, the people of the villages brought their problems to him, he was becoming involved again…

He thrust long lean fingers through the thick strength of his hair. Soon, he told himself urgently, soon he must return to the seminary, to finish his studies, to accept whatever responsibilities would be placed upon him once he became a member of the priesthood. His life would not be here in this remote fertile valley in the highlands of the Chiapas where his family had lived for generations, but possibly thousands of miles away in some other part of the vast American continent.

He turned back to enter the one-roomed dwelling where the Maqueras and their five surviving children lived and ate and slept, and encountered Franco Maqueras just behind him. The Mexican’s broad features creased into a smile and he spread his thick peasant’s hands extravagantly.

“What can I say, señor?” he demanded. “I am most grateful for all you have done. Without you…” He made an expressive gesture. “I am in your debt, señor.”

Rafael shook his head. “No, my friend, not my debt. You must thank God for your wife’s deliverance. I did nothing more than serve as his instrument.”

“Oh, but yes, señor, of course, señor!” Franco crossed himself piously. “But you understand I am so relieved that Maria is well and that the child is healthy that I do not always make myself clear. If there is anything I can do, any service I can perform for you—”

“I know, I know.” Rafael flexed his aching back muscles and went past him into the room, reaching for the cotton denim jacket he had shed the night before. Maria Maqueras was lying prostrate among the tumbled covers, the baby a squirming bundle in the shawl beside her. A flicker of impatience momentarily darkened his features and then he gave a characteristic shrug of his shoulders. It was not for him to question the burden this extra mouth to feed would place on the family. These people were taught to accept their lot and be thankful. Only occasionally he experienced doubts that life should be built on so precarious a premise, but these he determinedly squashed.

“You’ll call Doctor Rodrigues as soon as he gets back?” he confirmed with Franco, and the other man nodded vigorously.

“But of course, señor. No doubt he will be glad it is over without needing his assistance.” He moved his head philosophically from side to side.

Rafael nodded, hesitating a moment as he saw the greyness in Maria’s face. The woman was exhausted. But in a few short days she would be required to take up her duties as wife and mother to her husband and the six children with whom he had now provided her. How would she cope? How could she be expected to wash and clean and prepare food with the baby draining every last ounce of strength from her scrawny breasts? His hands curled into fists. This was not his concern. He could feel sympathy—compassion; but that was all. He could offer no alternative.

After a final word with Franco he crossed the yard where skinny chickens scratched a living and climbed into the dust-smeared Landrover that belonged to the estate. He raised a hand in farewell and started the engine with a flick of his wrist. He drove away from the humble collection of dwellings that clung to the mountainside down a track from which dust spurted liberally, creating a cloud of mud behind him.

The sun was rising and below him he could see the fertile acres of the valley thick with wheat and fruit orchards, exotic with colour and brilliance. This valley had been his home for more than thirty years, it was his heritage, the Cueras estate which his brother Juan now ran had been his inheritance.

But he had not wanted it. From an early age, he had been more interested in feeding the mind than the body, and the people and their problems had always been his primary concern. He and his father had clashed on that. The estate had been in the family’s hands for more than three hundred years, since the days of the conquistadores. His ancestor, Alberto Cueras, had been a rich and influential man in the old country—in Spain—but when he had come upon this fertile valley he had abandoned his ideas of returning to his homeland. He had built a house and put down roots, sent for his wife and children; and in the years that followed expanded his holding until today it was the largest in the district. Eldest son had followed eldest son, always working for the estate, always making more money, exploiting the workers and using the women for their own pleasure. Of course, in recent years, things had changed a little; large estates were no longer so common, although in these remote districts the quality of life had changed little over the centuries.

But Rafael had rebelled. Taught from childhood to take whatever he wanted as his right, he had followed his father’s example until its very selfishness had sickened him. He had been appalled the first time he had discovered his father had mistresses, but under his father’s guidance he had become accustomed to winning the affections of any woman that took his fancy. In truth, he had encountered no opposition. His lean frame and dark good looks had disarmed the most reluctant doncellas and he was always generous to those he pursued.

And then he went to university, and away from his father’s influence his innate decency began to assert itself. He no longer found the satisfaction of the senses an adequate substitute for books and learning and his studies began to occupy more and more of his time. During his vacations, the poverty of the peons or peasant workers, the deplorable housing conditions, the spread of disease—these things began to trouble him, and he no longer felt any identification with the inanimate chunk of land that was his heritage.

He didn’t really know what he would have done had his father still been alive. He knew the decision to abdicate from his responsibilities to the estate would have appalled him. But his father had died from a heart attack while Rafael was taking his degree in medicine, and it had been natural that his younger brother, Juan, who had never shown any intellectual leanings, and who had been there at the hacienda at the time of his father’s death should take over the running of the estate in Rafael’s absence.

After that, for a while at least, he had been content. He was able to practise medicine and things had been good. But restlessness had followed hard on the heels of his mother’s increasingly frequent urgings that it was time he got married, fathered sons to ensure the continuation of the Cueras line. Rafael had had no desire to get married, to have children. His youthful decadence had left its mark on him, and the placid Spanish girls produced for his delectation aroused no sexual interest in him. On the contrary, he had serious doubts that any woman could attract him now. And besides, he wanted to serve the community, not his family. And so, in spite of his mother’s tears and recriminations, he had taken the short step from uncertainty to the seminary…

Now the Landrover was crossing the plain scythed by the rushing, gleaming waters of the Rio Lima. On either side of the river stretched acres of wheat and maize fields. Lush vegetation sprang up the wooded walls of the valley, interspersed here and there by the brown thatched roofs of peasant dwellings.

Far across the valley, on a rise in the lower slopes he could see the rambling walls of a larger, more imposing building. This was the Hacienda Cueras, the place where he had been born, where he had lived until he went to university, where his mother and brother and younger sisters lived. But their demand of his services would have to wait for the present.

He crossed the river by means of a wooden bridge, its patched slats bearing witness to the numerous occasions it had been partially swept away by the rain-swollen waters. He could hear the chapel bells, too, increasing in persistence. Just ahead of him now, set among trees, the Capilla de los Inocentes looked like a bride dressed for her wedding. Its grey walls were hung with purple and white blossoms, tiny star-shaped flowers in the colours of the Eucharist. Already he could see women hurrying up the worn stone steps, drawing black scarves over their heads, and he felt the familiar sense of well-being that always came from this duty. This was what he wanted, he told himself. Everything else came after.

Later in the morning, when the sun was climbing steadily to its zenith, Rafael drove through the wide stone gateway that gave access to the grounds of the hacienda. Although it was still early the shutters were thrown wide, and the scent of beeswax which he always associated with its polished floors was in the air. He could remember sliding across them as a child, incurring the wrath of Jezebel, the housekeeper, who always knew who to blame when she found skidding marks of muddy feet marring the shiny surface. Jezebel, Rafael smiled. Whoever had chosen her name had paid little heed to the connotations of her namesake.

He walked into the wide hall and looked about him appreciatively. It was a beautiful old building and it never failed to please him. This hall, the two rooms adjoining, and the gallery above were all that was left of the original building, but successive generations had added to its bulk, strengthening its foundations and rebuilding where necessary so that today it rambled over half an acre, split level, and partially two-storied. The furnishings, much of them antique, had the worn patina of years upon them, but its faded elegance went well with the heavily carved panelling and baroque ironwork.

“Senor Rafael!”

The housekeeper’s voice was filled with warmth and devotion. So far as Jezebel was concerned, Rafael was still master here. She came towards him eagerly from the door at the back of the hall which led to the kitchens and servants’ quarters, taking one of his hands in both of hers.

“Good morning, Jezebel.” Rafael looked kindly on the elderly Indian woman who had served his family for over thirty years and who still ran the household with a rod of iron. “I had a message that Juan wanted to see me. Do you know where he is?”

Jezebel released his hand with reluctance, her fingers indicating the lines of sleeplessness around his eyes. “You do not take care of yourself in that little hut down in the village,” she exclaimed.

Rafael was patient. “It’s hardly a hut, Jezebel,” he protested mildly. “Where is my brother?”

‘señor Juan is breakfasting on the patio, señor. You have had breakfast?”

“As a matter of fact, no.” Rafael shook his head.

Jezebel glared at him disapprovingly. “You see? You do not eat—you do not sleep—”

“Jezebel, I had work to do last night—”

“Ay, ay!” Jezebel nodded her head. “Of course. I am remembering. It was the Maqueras woman, was it not? Her time had come. Her husband—he come here looking for you last night—very late!”

“That’s right.” Rafael moved his shoulders wearily. “Maria had another daughter. And now—I must see Juan.”

“I will bring you coffee and croissants, señor,” insisted Jezebel firmly, and Rafael inclined his head.

“That would be very nice, Jezebel,” he agreed, and with a faint smile he passed her and walked through the arched entrance to the reception lounge which opened out onto the patio at the back of the house.

Juan Cueras was seated in a cane-latticed chair at the glass topped table. He was like Rafael, yet unlike. Rafael was tall, lean and dark, his features clearly defined. Juan was not so tall and thicker set, and yet the similarity was there in the darkness of their skin, the curve of their brows, the thin firmness of their mouths. Juan’s mouth was perhaps a little fuller, a little more sensual, but that was only to be expected in a man who did not share his brother’s desire for asceticism. He looked up now, as Rafael came through the long glass doors to join him, thickly spreading an apricot preserve over the croissant in his hand. He took a mouthful, nodding at his brother in welcome, and then wiping his lips with a napkin he said:

“Good morning, Rafael. I see you got my message.”

“Did you doubt it?” Rafael lounged into the chair opposite his brother, flicking an insect from his sleeve. “But I’d be obliged if you’d be brief. I have a lot to get through today.”

Juan finished the croissant with evident relish, and poured himself more coffee, offering the jug to Rafael.

“Jezebel’s bringing me some more,” said Rafael, shaking his head. “She has this inescapable idea that I’m not looking after myself.”

“You’re not.” Juan was candid. “I simply can’t understand—” He broke off. “But we’ve had that argument before.” He pushed a jug of freshly squeezed orange juice towards the other man. “Go ahead—have some. I don’t enjoy eating alone.”

Rafael took the glass that was proffered and poured himself some of the fresh fruit juice. He tasted it experimentally and then, finding it to his taste, drained the glass.

“That’s better,” remarked Juan with a smile. “Don’t you think you deny yourself enough without including food?”

“I eat enough,” replied Rafael quietly, toying with the empty glass. “It’s perhaps a question of how little one needs. One should not gorge oneself when half the population of the world is dying of starvation.”

“And do you think if I deprived myself of one more croissant—one extra cup of coffee, I would be doing anything to aid those starving peoples?” exclaimed Juan impatiently

“We have had this argument before, Juan, as you pointed out,” observed Rafael, pushing the glass away from him.

Jezebel appeared with a laden tray, setting it down on the table and setting out a second coffee pot, cream and sugar, croissants and curls of butter, and more of the thick apricot conserve.

“Now you make a good meal, señor,” she instructed severely, casting a less than respectful glance in Juan’s direction. “Your brother, for once, can show you a good example!”

Rafael hid a smile as he obediently lifted a croissant on to his plate and spread it thinly with butter. Jezebel waited a moment to satisfy herself that he did indeed intend to eat it and then went away, muttering imprecations against anyone who neglected the common necessities of life.

Juan waited until Rafael was tackling his second croissant and then he said: “I wish you to do something for me, Rafael.”

Rafael looked up. “Yes?”

“Yes.” Juan felt about his person for his case of cheroots. “You remember the child from the mission, do you not?”

Rafael frowned. “The English girl—of course.”

Juan nodded, putting a cheroot between his teeth and making a second search for his lighter. “Yes. Well, it appears that her name may be Lucy Carmichael.”

“Maybe?”

“That is correct. As the child has apparently forgotten who she is, it is impossible to say with any certainty who she might be. But aboard this aircraft which crashed several weeks ago there was a family called Carmichael; mother, father—and daughter of some eight years.”

“I see. And you think this might be the child found by Benito Santos?”

“Well, it may be.”

“But is that possible? Where did this aircraft crash?”

“In the mountains—some eighteen miles from here.”

Rafael wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “It seems a remote possibility.”

“But a possibility nevertheless. And unfortunately the authorities have insisted that I investigate every possibility.”

“Unfortunately?” Rafael was intrigued.

“Yes, unfortunately. You must know that the child has taken a liking to me—that I have had her here several times to visit.”

Rafael lay back in his chair viewing Juan through narrowed eyes and his brother felt a fleeting sense of envy that Rafael could exude such an aura of latent sensuality without any apparent effort. It was not fair in someone who was prepared to deny even his own masculinity. “But what were your intentions towards the child?” he asked curiously.

Juan sighed. “I don’t know. It’s too soon to say. I may have considered adoption—”

“Adoption?” Rafael lifted his shoulders in surprise. “But she may have relatives.”

“She has.” Juan got irritably to his feet. “That is why I need your assistance.”

“My assistance?” Rafael shook his head. “I’m sorry, I seem to repeat everything you say. But I do not see what I can do.”

Juan puffed impatiently at his cheroot. “If you wait a moment, I will explain.” He walked round his brother’s chair and back to the table again. “The authorities have discovered that there is someone—an aunt—the sister of the child’s mother.” He drew a deep breath. “As one would expect, she lives in England.”

“And has she been informed of the possibility that her niece may still be alive?”

Juan nodded. “Yes. Yes, she has. And that is how you can help me.”

Rafael frowned. “Yes?”

“Yes.” Juan licked his lips. “This woman is on her way to Guadalima to see the child—to find out for herself whether indeed she is this Lucy Carmichael.”

“I see.” Rafael inclined his head. “But how can I be of assistance?”

“Wait—wait!” Juan was obviously finding it difficult to put into actual words what he wanted his brother to do. He drew deeply on his cheroot and seated himself opposite Rafael again, resting his elbows rather nervously on the table. “You see, Rafael, it is like this. This woman—her name is Lord, Miss Lord—is arriving from England tomorrow. I—well, I want you to meet her!”

“Me?” Rafael was taken aback. “Why me? Where is she arriving?”

“Mexico City, where else?”

“Juan!” Rafael stared at his brother incredulously. “You cannot be serious! I cannot go to Mexico City to meet this woman. She does not know me. I hardly know the child. If you wish to see her you must meet her yourself.”

Juan flung himself back in his seat. He heaved a heavy sigh and spread his hands expressively. “You ask me this?” He shook his head. “What am I to say to her?”

“What am I to say to her?” remarked Rafael dryly.

“It is different for you,” exclaimed Juan, leaning towards his brother again. “You are used to talking to people—you have—authority. And besides, you have a much better grasp of the English language than I have.”

Rafael poured himself some coffee. “And this is why you sent for me?”

“Yes.”

Rafael drank some of the black coffee reflectively. “I do not understand all of this,” he said at last. “Why are the authorities not arranging for this woman to be brought to Guadalima?”

“Father Esteban at the mission left the matter in my hands.”

“I see. And what do you hope to achieve?”

Juan coloured slightly. “Achieve? That is a curious word to use, Rafael. It smacks of conspiracy.”

Rafael shook his head. “On the contrary, what you wish to do for this child is admirable. I just cannot think that Valentina will welcome a ready-made daughter into your household.”

“Valentina and I are not married yet, Rafael.”

“No.” Rafael conceded that point slowly. “Even so, you know that it is expected.”

Juan scowled. “Will you meet the woman? Madre de Dios, Rafael, what would I find to say to some middle-aged spinster? How could I explain my feelings for the child? If she is this Lucy Carmichael, how can I persuade her that the child might be happier here with us than taken back to that cold and unfeeling country of her birth?”

Rafael half smiled. “I think you are being rather uncharitable, Juan,” he commented mildly. “You really know nothing about England, and the child may be content to return with her aunt—a blood relation. After all, seeing her aunt again may restore her memory.”

“I know, I know. Do you think I have not thought of that?” Juan sounded impatient. “That is why I wish you to speak with this woman—this Miss Lord. I want you to tell her about me—to explain that I am not a villain with designs on her niece. I want you to explain that the child herself likes me, that I find her enchanting. And that for her aunt to take her away without first considering what she might be depriving her of would be—how shall I say?—precipitate?”

“In other words, you want me to extol your praises,” observed Rafael ironically. “You think perhaps she might then look more kindly on the possibilities of leaving the child here?”

Juan tapped his nails irritably against the glass surface of the table. Across the patio a walled rose garden was giving off a fragrant perfume, and humming birds vied with the butterflies for brilliance. He turned back to his brother. “And you, Rafael? Do you not think the child would be happier here, amongst all this?” He spread his hands again. “This woman—this aunt—she cannot possibly give her what I can give her.”

“How do you know that?”

Juan sighed. “It is obvious. The child’s clothes—the pitiful things she was found in were not the garments of a rich child. Her reactions to everything I have done for her have not been the reactions of a child already satiated by luxury.”

“And might she not have forgotten these things also?”

“No. Ordinary every day things, she remembers. It is the personal details she has forgotten.” Juan pressed out the stub of his cheroot in the onyx ashtray. “The doctors are confident that she will recover. It is only a matter of time. I have had Delgado out from Mexico City—”

“Ramon Delgado?”

“Yes. Do you know him?”

“As a matter of fact we were at university together.”

“I see.” Juan’s lips twisted. “Well, as I say, Delgado expresses the opinion that it is only a matter of time before her memory returns completely. Needless to say, this news arouses mixed feelings inside me. Naturally I want her to regain her faculties, but I am afraid if this woman comes here—stimulates the child’s recollective abilities and then takes her away without first giving her a chance to decide for herself—”

“But you say the child is only some eight years old?”

“That’s right.”

“Then how can she decide what would be best for her future? Juan, you have to accept that in this instance you are helpless.”

“No, I will not accept that.” Juan’s face was grim. He turned again to his brother. “Rafael, I ask very little of you—surely it is not too much to ask you to help me in this…”

Rafael sighed now. “I don’t see how anything I can say can make the slightest difference.”

Juan hesitated. Then he said: “Rafael, you have influence. Won’t you use it? The influence of your position?”

Rafael had known this was coming, of course. “Juan,” he said patiently, “Juan, I have no influence, I am nothing yet.”

“But you will be soon. You already assist Father Domenico—”

“In a lay capacity only!” Rafael shook his head and pushed aside his dirty cup and plate. “These people, Juan—the Carmichaels—were they Catholics?”

Juan moved his shoulders awkwardly. “I—no! I believe they belonged to the Church of England.”

Rafael’s hand descended heavily on the table. “And you expect this woman to leave her niece—the only surviving member of her sister’s family—with you, the brother of a man who may ultimately become a priest in the Roman Catholic Church?”

Juan’s jaw moved spasmodically. “So you won’t help me?”

“I don’t see how I can.”

“Then you’re not listening to me, Rafael. What can this woman—this aunt—give the girl? She is not even married! She does not have the support of a husband. She is a secretary or something with some firm in London. She has no money—no influence—no position in society!”

“These things are not so important to some people,” pointed out Rafael quickly. “And I do not speak only for myself. If this woman lives alone, she may be glad of the child’s companionship.”

“But how can she care for her? If she is at work all day, how will she manage? Always supposing she can afford to support her.”

“If you really want to help the child then perhaps you ought to offer to support her in the manner in which you would like to see her.”

Juan stared at Rafael in astonishment. “No! No, I could not do that.”

Rafael shrugged. “It was a suggestion, nothing more.”

Juan looked thoughtful. “Will you not do as I ask and meet this woman at least,?” he appealed. He paused. “It may just be—possible to persuade her to change her mind…”

Rafael’s face darkened. “Juan! You would not—offer her money?”

Juan moved uncomfortably. “Did I say I might?”

“It was implicit in your words.” Rafael’s jaw hardened and he thrust back his chair and got abruptly to his feet. “Very well, I will meet your Miss Lord. But only because I am afraid that if I refuse you will think of some other way to keep the child.” He shook his head. “I have never known you to be so obsessed with another human being.”

Juan could smile now that he had got what he wanted. “I would not call it an obsession, Rafael. I am fond of the child, I admit it. It pleasures me that she treats me like the father she has lost. It is a—satisfying sensation to feel oneself the centre of a child’s world.”

“And when she recovers her memory? What then? The realisation of the loss of her parents must eventually be faced.”

“I know it. But I am hoping that by then the life I have given her here will compensate—”

“And if it does not?”

Juan’s lips tightened. “We will face that contingency if and when it occurs.” Then: “Now, you will go and see our mother, will you not? You know she would be heartbroken if she learned you had visited the hacienda without spending some time with her.”

Rafael nodded, thrusting his hands deeply into his trousers pockets. He would have preferred to leave the hacienda forthwith, to go back to his own house and ponder the disquieting aspects of the situation while he bathed and changed his clothes. But it was not to be. He sighed. He had not realised when he left Mexico City how much more difficult it was to remain detached from the intimacies of one’s own family. The seminary had been a refuge from the everyday problems of living, and he admitted he had enjoyed its isolation. But here, involved as he was, he could feel emotions stirring inside him that had been long suppressed. He must not make judgments, he told himself impatiently. He was the outsider here, it was not really his affair. But his intelligence told him that this was just a whim on Juan’s part which could easily be replaced by another.

His mother was still in bed when he entered her room at the head of the stairs. It was a beautiful room, the floor coolly mosaiced, and strewn with rugs in cinnamon and gold. Wide windows opened on to a balcony, edged with wrought iron, which overhung the patio, and a cool breeze stirred the lemon chiffon draperies. The bed, a magnificent fourposter which was said to date back to the eighteenth century, was wide and comfortable, and Rafael’s mother was ensconced among the soft pillows. A used breakfast tray was pushed to one side and she was reading a newspaper until, at the advent of her son, she thrust it swiftly aside and held out both hands to him.

Rafael greeted her warmly, taking her hands in his and bending to kiss her perfumed cheek. Then he released himself and took up a stance before the open balcony doors.

“So you are going to Mexico City to meet this woman, Rafael,” remarked Doña Isabella softly.

Rafael glanced significantly behind him. “You heard?”

“It would have been impossible to do otherwise. Juan is so vehement.” His mother sighed, plucking at the silk coverlet. “You do not think he should do this.”

Rafael shrugged. “I am only afraid…” He shook his head. “Juan is old enough to make his own decisions.”

Doña Isabella shook her head. “Is he? I wonder?” She stared penetratingly at her eldest son, a troubled expression marring her smooth olive features. “Rafael—Rafael, if you do go to Mexico City, you will come back, won’t you?”

Rafael’s face relaxed. “Of course. How else is this woman to find her way here? But soon—soon I must return to the seminary.”

His mother pressed her lips together. “Not too soon, Rafael, not too soon.”

“I’ve been here two months already,” he protested.

“I know, I know. But we see so little of you, my darling. You so rarely come to the hacienda…”

Rafael made an apologetic gesture. “There is so much for me to do—” he was beginning, when his mother interrupted him bitterly.

“I know. Everyone demands your time, your advice, your medical knowledge, while I—your mother—am spared only a few minutes every week!”

Rafael approached the bed helplessly, sitting down beside her and taking her hands in his again. “Madre mia, I am sorry,” he muttered huskily, guilt at his neglect of her overwhelming him. He raised her fingers to his lips and kissed them gently. “But you must understand that I cannot deny Rodrigues my help.”

Doña Isabella laid a hand on his dark head, smoothing the unruly vitality of his hair. Then she sighed. “I am sorry, too, Rafael. I am a selfish old woman. But knowing you are in the valley and not living here at the hacienda… Could you not come and stay with us?”

Rafael released her hands and spread his own expressively. “You know that the hacienda is too far from the village. The house I have is easily accessible, and besides, I can be alone there.”

“And this is important to you, isn’t it?” His mother’s voice had a note of acceptance in it now. “Very well, Rafael, I won’t insist that you come and stay here. But surely—after this trip to Mexico City—you could spend a little more time with us? After all, when you leave the valley, Rodrigues will have to manage, will he not?”

Rafael got to his feet. “Very well, Madrecita. I will come as often as I can. But now—” He glanced at the plain gold watch on his wrist, “now I must go. I am hot and dirty and I need a shower. Besides, I must tell Father Domenico that I shall be leaving for Mexico City first thing in the morning.”

“You will take the helicopter to Puebla?”

Rafael nodded. “Yes. I presume there is a car there I can use.”

“A Mustang.” His mother inclined her head. “As I recall it, Juan bought two.” She bit her lip. “But you will drive carefully, won’t you, Rafael? The roads can be so dangerous.”

Rafael smiled, revealing his even white teeth. “You worry too much, Madrecita.“ He kissed her once more and then moved towards the door. “I will see you tomorrow evening. When I deliver Miss Lord.”

“Very well, Rafael. Take care!”

Rafael bade her goodbye and went down the stairs slowly. Now that he was free to go he was curiously loath to do so. This house had been his home for so many years and he knew a fleeting temptation to go to his old room and use the bathroom there. He knew his room remained as it was when he had left it. His mother insisted on it always being ready and available to him. But such temptations were never overwhelming and he walked across the wide hall and out onto the steps above the forecourt.

Two girls were dismounting from their horses in the shadow of the Landrover, assisted by a dark-skinned Mexican stableboy, and Rafael recognised his two younger sisters, Carla and Constancia. They were eighteen-year-old twins, the last children his father had sired before his fatal illness. When they saw Rafael they came exuberantly towards him, hugging him enthusiastically and protesting that he could not leave yet.

“I must,” insisted Rafael, disentangling himself from their clinging hands. “I have things to do.”

“I expect Juan has been asking you to go and meet this woman—this aunt of the little one’s—for him, hasn’t he?” suggested Carla perceptively. “Are you going?”

Rafael’s expression was wry. “As a matter of fact, I am.”

“I don’t think you should.” That was Constancia, the quieter, more introspective of the two. “Let Juan meet her himself!”

“I agree,” chimed in Carla. “Why should you have to waste your time going to meet some stuffy old maid?”

“That will do, Carla.” Rafael’s mouth turned down at the corners. “You know absolutely nothing about Miss Lord, and I do not think we should make wild statements about someone who is totally anonymous to us.”

Carla pouted. “Can I come with you?”

Rafael shook his head. “I don’t think that would be a very good idea.”

“Why not? At least you wouldn’t be bored—”

“I am never bored, Carla,” returned Rafael grimly, and climbed determinedly into the Landrover. “I’ll see you both tomorrow evening. When I get back.”

Constancia came to the door of the vehicle and touched his arm. “I wish I could come with you, Rafael,” she murmured wistfully, and for a moment he was tempted. But then he caught sight of Carla’s indignant face and realised he could not possibly take one without the other.

“There wouldn’t be room in the helicopter,” he replied, touching her cheek with a lean finger. “I’ll see you tomorrow, hmm?”

Constancia stepped back reluctantly and Rafael put the Landrover into gear. Then he drove swiftly down the drive and out on to the track to the village.