by Penny Jordan
'You are not well?' Senor Alvarez had seen her pale face and hurried to her side.
'It's nothing,' she assured him. 'I'm fine now.' She saw the glance he and Sofia exchanged and was puzzled by it, until she murmured discreetly to her,
'I have noticed on a few occasions recently that you have not seemed well. Could it be…?'
It was a few minutes before Jessica realised what she meant. Could she be carrying Sebastian's child? Surely it was too soon to know, and besides, there had only been those two occasions…
One of which would have been more than enough, she reminded herself grimly, panic clawing through her at the implications. She wasn't ready yet for the responsibility of a child. Her relationship with Sebastian was too fraught with difficulties; they had no right to bring a child into such an insecure marriage. Children should be wanted, surrounded with love and care.
She was letting her imagination run away with her, she decided later, as she listened to Senor Alvarez speaking quickly to Sebastian. She probably wasn't pregnant at all.
'Sebastian is returning immediately,' he told them. 'Meanwhile we must do all we can to find her.'
Senor Alvarez quickly took command, much to Jessica's relief. They were each given different sections of the house to search, apart from Luisa, who elected to help Jorge with his.
Jessica walked with them to the top of the stairs, thinking it was a pity that if Sebastian had to arrange a marriage for his brother he didn't do so with pretty little Luisa, who plainly was quite ready to fall in love with him, just as he was with her.
She was halfway through her own part of the hacienda when suddenly a thought struck her. She hurried downstairs and out into the courtyard, ignoring the heavy rain as she dashed across to the stables. She had hoped to find Enrico, who was in charge of the horses there, but he had obviously taken shelter somewhere, because the place was deserted. The first thing Jessica noticed as she approached the building Lisa had shown her was that the roof was dipping badly under a weight of water. Once inside she realised that it was also leaking because the floor was damp, but she didn't waste any time worrying about the dampness, hurrying instead across to the cellar door, wrenching it open and anxiously calling Lisa's name. The light was on, and she thought she heard a faint reply, when suddenly almost overhead there was a terrific clap of thunder. She eyed the steps uncertainly. Moisture trickled down the walls, the light was dull and pale, and she felt an increasing aversion to go down, but Lisa might be down there, hurt or frightened. She hesitated, wondering whether to dash back to the house, acknowledging that she should have gone to Senor Alvarez in the first place and told him of her fears. She was just about to go when she heard a sound. Straining her ears, she caught it again. Lisa! She was down there!
'Don't worry, Lisa,' she called out, 'I'm coming down!'
She had almost reached the bottom when she heard a sound, a dull heavy rumbling which she tried to tell herself was thunder, but which instinct told her was something much worse. The only sound she had ever heard to resemble it was avalanches witnessed on television, and there was certainly no snow on the hacienda. There was water, though, she reflected nervously, remembering the dilapidated roof, bowing under the weight of water. If that roof collapsed! She daren't allow herself to think about it. Terror clawed painfully at her stomach and she crossed her hands protectively over it, knowing in a blinding moment of realisation that she did want Sebastian's child.
Somehow the thought that she might already have conceived it made her feel all the more protective towards Lisa. Half running, half stumbling, she hurried down the steep steps, searching the cavern at the bottom with frantic intensity, until she saw the little girl at the farthest end, her face tear-stained.
'Oh, Lisa!'
'Jessica, I can't get up,' Lisa cried plaintively. 'I fell and hurt my ankle. I thought I was going to be here for ever!'
'Hush, darling, it's all right,' Jessica comforted her, hurrying over and crouching on the floor beside her. 'Let me look,' she said gently, running her fingers over the little girl's leg and ankle-bone. She thought it was more sprained than broken, but she couldn't let Lisa risk putting any weight on it. She would have to carry her out.
'Put your arms round my neck,' she instructed, 'and hold on tight. It might hurt a little bit, but just think of how quickly we're going to be back in the house. You gave us all a nasty fright, you know,' she went on, talking quietly as she tried to make Lisa as comfortable as she could. 'Tio Sebastian is coming back from Seville to help us look for you.'
'But you found me,' Lisa protested drowsily, gasping as Jessica tried to lift her. Dear God, what if she had banged her head when she fell? She could have concussion—anything! Should she leave her and go and get help?
'Don't let Tio send me to school, will you?' Lisa begged tearfully.
'Is that why you came down here, so you wouldn't have to go to school?'
Lisa shook her head. 'I just wanted to think,' she said simply, and they both winced as they heard a loud rumbling overhead.
'Only thunder,' Jessica said firmly. She glanced upwards and stared in horror at the crack appearing in the arched ceiling. Dirt and rubble trickled down, spattering on to the floor, the light bulb swinging wildly before the cavern was suddenly plunged into darkness. With the light gone Jessica's ears became attuned to sounds she had not heard before—the steady trickling of moisture on the walls, the ominous rumblings from above them, and the slowly increasing dribble of debris through the now invisible crack in the ceiling.
She couldn't possibly leave Lisa now, Jessica acknowledged. In fact neither of them could stay where they were for a moment longer than they had to.
'We've got to move,' she told the little girl, relieved when Lisa answered in a matter-of-fact if somewhat breathless voice,
'Yes, otherwise the roof might fall in on us, mightn't it?'
'Well, just hold on tight,' Jessica cautioned her.
Surely the best thing to do would be to feel her way along the wall. That way they were more likely to avoid any cave-in. It was a painfully laborious task inching her way along the wall, trying her best not to jar Lisa's ankle. She had no idea how far they had gone when they both heard the sudden crack above, and it was only blind instinct that sent her stumbling for the stairs, her head bent over Lisa's as they were showered with debris and the water that cascaded through the hole in the ceiling.
She could have cried with relief when she felt the first step; she had been terrified that they were going to be trapped by the falling ceiling. Her body was trembling with tiredness and relief when they finally reached the top stair. She fumbled for the catch and pushed, but the door refused to open. She tried again, forcing her whole weight behind it, and still it refused to move.
'Something must have blocked it,' Lisa murmured apprehensively. 'What are we going to do?'
'We're going to sit here and wait for someone to come and unblock it,' Jessica told her, trying to appear calm.
'But no one knows we're here.'
It was all too dreadfully true. What could she say? Taking a deep breath, Jessica lied, 'Oh yes, they do—I told Jorge I thought you might be here, but I didn't say anything before, because I didn't think you'd want me to tell anyone else about your secret place.'
'Now four of us know,' Lisa replied drowsily. 'You, me, Tio Sebastian and Tio Jorge.'
Yes, Sebastian knew, but did he care enough about either of them to think of looking here? Eventually someone was bound to notice that the roof had caved in, but they might not realise that they had been trapped in the cellar.
Dreadful pictures flashed through her mind, stories of walled-up nuns and petrified skeletons tormenting her until she wanted to scream and beat on the door until it gave way, but if she did that it would only upset Lisa. She would perhaps never know whether she had been carrying Sebastian's child, and he would have lost another bride, although this time… She sighed and shivered as the cold sliced through to her bones.
; Lisa's teeth were chattering; the little girl was only wearing a flimsy dress and Jessica pulled off her own knitted jacket, draping it round her shoulders and pulling her into the warmth of her own body.
Time dragged by. Jessica wasn't wearing a watch, and the only sounds to break the silence were their own voices and the ominous cracking sounds as more of the ceiling gave way.
Lisa started to cry. 'We'll be trapped in here for ever,' she sobbed. 'We'll never get out!'
'Of course we will. Look, I'll tell you a story, shall I?'
She did her best, inventing impossible characters and situations, but she only had a tiny portion of Lisa's concentration.
'Stop!' she insisted at one point. 'Jessica, I thought I heard something.'
Her heartbeat almost drowning out her ability to say anything else, Jessica listened. There were sounds… faint, but clearly discernible from those of the falling ceiling.
'We must shout,' Lisa urged, 'so that they know we're here.'
'No, we'll tap on the door instead,' Jessica told her, terrified that if they shouted the reverberations might be enough to bring down what was left of the ceiling.
She tapped, and there was no response, and no matter how much she strained her ears she could hear nothing from the other side of the door. Perhaps they had simply imagined those sounds after all, perhaps there wasn't anyone there—or even worse, perhaps someone had been and gone.
'We must keep tapping,' she told Lisa doggedly, not wanting the little girl to lose heart.
Her wrist was aching with the effort of supporting Lisa and trying to tap on the door at the same time, when at last she heard a faint but unmistakable response. Just to be sure she tapped again—Morse code learned when she was a girl and only dimly remembered, the same definite pattern of sounds coming back to her.
Tears of relief poured down her face. Her chest felt tight with pain, and she could scarcely think for relief.
The sounds outside the door became louder and took on definite patterns; at the same time more of the roof came crashing down, bricks and rubble falling sharply on to the steps. It was a race between life and death, Jessica thought, shivering at the knowledge, and they were the prize.
A piece of brick fell on her foot, but she scarcely felt any pain. She was so cold her body was practically numb.
'How long to you think it will be?' Lisa asked huskily. 'I'm so cold, Jessica!'
'Not long now,' she comforted her. There was a splintering sound above them, followed by a high-pitched whine. In the darkness Jessica could see nothing, but she could feel a faint dust settling on her face. They must be cutting through the door. A tiny glimmer of light appeared, followed by a small hole.
'Jessica?' It was Sebastian's voice, crisp and sharp. 'Jessica, where are you?'
'We're here,' she told him tiredly, hugging Lisa. 'At the top of the steps.'
'Listen carefully, then. The roof has collapsed and the door is jammed. We're going to cut the top half away, but whatever you do, don't move from where you are. We think there's been some subsidence underneath and the shift of your weight might cause the steps to collapse.'
'Lisa's hurt her ankle,' she told him, 'but I think it's only sprained.'
There were sounds of further activity beyond the door. The thin beam of light grew and at last she could see Lisa's face. She could also see how precarious their position was. Where the cellar had been there was simply a mound of rubble, and she shuddered to think of their fate had they been trapped beneath it. Several of the lower steps were already cracked, and even as she watched the cracks deepened and spread. At last the buzzing of the saw ceased, and light flooded their prison. She looked up, joy and love flooding her eyes as she saw Sebastian looking down at them.
'Take Lisa first,' she told him, lifting the little girl. His face was smudged with dirt, his hair ruffled and untidy, a curiously bleak expression in his eyes.
'Sebastian, hurry, the whole thing's going to go at any minute!' she heard Jorge call behind him, and she realised that Sebastian was alone in the crumbling shell of the building.
She also realised that she couldn't scramble over the half door without some help and that she would have to stay here alone while he carried Lisa to safety. He seemed to hesitate as though he guessed her fear, but she forced a smile, and lifted Lisa towards him.
His arms closed round her and he turned. Watching his back disappear into the darkness was the most terrifying and lonely feeling Jessica had ever experienced. When he disappeared she wanted to claw and tear at the wood in panic, but no matter how much she stretched she couldn't get over the wooden barrier. Behind her she heard a dull crack, and gasped in horror as half the steps suddenly disappeared, leaving her clinging to the door.
i
'Jessica, Jessica, it's all right, I've got you!' Strong arms clamped round her body, lifting her upwards, as she clung unashamedly to their warm strength.
It was only as he lifted her over the door that Jessica realised the appalling risks Sebastian had run. The building was completely demolished, a yawning chasm gaped beneath them. As Sebastian carried her to safety she heard a dull rumble, and glanced over his shoulder just in time to see the ground sliding away, taking the remnants of the building with it.
'It's the rain,' Jorge muttered as Sebastian reached him. Senor Alvarez was with him, holding Lisa, and both men were soaked to the skin, their faces anxious and drawn. Jessica hadn't even realised it was still raining until that moment, and she felt she had never enjoyed anything quite as much as the rain against her skin, and the cold breeze blowing down from the Sierras. 'It eroded away the ground beneath and the sheer weight of the building caused it to collapse.'
'If Sebastian hadn't remembered Lisa's "secret place" we might never have found you,' Senor Alvarez said gravely as they hurried towards the house. 'It is a blessing that he reached you in time.'
It was indeed, Jessica reflected numbly, shivering with the cold that seemed to reach into her bones, despite the warmth of Sebastian's arms.
In the house Tia Sofia was waiting, fear etched deeply into her face until she saw the two burdens Sebastian and Jorge were carrying.
'Lisa has hurt her ankle,' Jorge told her quickly. 'Doctor…'
'I shall telephone him now . . but first we must get them upstairs and out of those wet things.Tia, you help Lisa, I…'
Lisa murmured a protest and begged feverishly for her aunt Jessica. 'Go with Lisa, Tia Sofia,' Sebastian said quietly. 'I can help Jessica.'
Jessica wanted to protest, to tell him that she was too weak now to endure the touch of his hands on her body without betraying her love—a love he did not want. She knew that now. She had seen rejection in his eyes when he turned away from her by the cellar door when she had looked at him with her heart in hers.
He took her to a room she had never seen before, richly furnished in peaches and greens.
'You will want to be alone,' he told her almost curtly. 'This was my mother's room, it is part of the suite she shared with my father. I once said that when I married -my wife would always share my bed, but there are times…' He paused by the door. 'I am sorry about the child. I did not intend that it should happen,' and then he was depositing her on the bed, ignoring the dark smudges she was making on the silk coverlet. The child? Did he mean…? But… He disappeared into the bathroom, re-emerging several seconds later with a sponge and towel.
'Tia Sofia told me,' he said quietly. 'She was concerned for you and wanted me to know.'
'She may be mistaken,' Jessica told him, as a terrible pain tore at her heart. He didn't want her and he didn't want their child. 'Perhaps.' He didn't sound convinced. 'Come,let me sponge your skin, and then I will leave you in peace. You will feel better directly.'
She would never feel better again, Jessica thought numbly as he sponged away the dirt and dust, treating her as though she were a child of Lisa's age. The warmth of the room was making her feel sleepy, soothing away the intense cold that had gripped her in the cellar
.
Sebastian finished his self-imposed task and reached for the towel, and Jessica looked at him. His face seemed almost austere, and for the first time she could see the ascetic in him. 'You had a lucky escape.' He said it almost broodingly, and Jessica wondered bitterly if he had hoped that she wouldn't.
'It was lucky for us that you knew about Lisa's special place,' she told him.
His mouth tightened and he seemed about to say something, but instead he simply dried her body, then pushed back the covers. As he lifted her and slid her beneath the sheets, Jessica had a wild longing to reach up to him and beg him to stay with her, to take her in his arms and heal her aching body with the beneficence of his. But what was the point? He didn't want her; he didn't want their child. He probably wished he had never married her.
She was almost asleep when the doctor came, accompanied to her disappointment by Tia Sofia and not Sebastian. He examined her thoroughly, smiled at her and told her that she was a very brave young lady and that she had had a lucky escape.
'It is fortunate that your pregnancy is so little advanced,' he added calmly, 'otherwise…'
So it was true. She was carrying Sebastian's child. Tears stung her eyes and she longed for things to be different, for him to want their child as much as she did herself.
She thought later that she must have been given something to help her sleep, because she was suddenly aware of feeling oddly lightheaded, with a longing to close her eyes. When she opened them again it was morning, and the sun was dancing on the ceiling of her bedroom.