Doctor at Villa Ronda

by Iris Danbury

  He shrugged and turned his face away. “No conozco a tu.” he muttered.

  Nicola understood that he was refusing to recognise her or admit that they had ever met before. A young man was trying to conduct her out of the office and she gave up her attempts to contact Lisa’s friend. If only she could have been able to ask him something about Lisa’s life here in Barcelona, she might have obtained some sort of clue to work on. Unfortunately Patrick did not appear to be in the office or he could have acted as interpreter.

  Dispirited, she returned to the apartment, prepared herself a light lunch, reminding herself of the fact that she must make her money spin out as far as possible. This afternoon she would buy local newspapers and find out how to get in touch with employment agencies.

  She was just on her way out when the caretaker handed her several letters, all addressed to “Senorita Brettell”. One bore no stamp or postmark and Nicola went flying up the stairs again to her apartment. Something from Lisa after all!

  But instead it was a note from Adrienne. “Will you come on Thursday, day after tomorrow, if you can?” Adrienne had written. “Do not bother with the train. Ignacio, our chauffeur, will come for you at ten o’clock. If you have another engagement, will you telephone us?”

  In a way, Nicola welcomed the diversion, for she realised that after the next few days she would have little time for leisure except at weekends.

  She opened the other letters and gasped in amazement. Nothing but bills! Items for dresses, hats, shoes, a leather handbag, an expensive suitcase. A long bulky envelope contained a further batch of accounts, together with a letter from a firm of lawyers, and even Nicola’s tenuous grasp of Spanish was enough to comprehend the threatening tones.

  What on earth had Lisa been doing, ordering all these articles and then failing to pay for them?

  Nicola searched again among the envelopes. Was there no word at all from Lisa? She knew now that it was hopeless to expect anything. She understood clearly the reason for her sister’s hurried flight

  Nicola stared bleakly out of the window at the azure sea and sky, the beach dotted with people, the sleek cars driving along the road. What was she to do now? Could she be held responsible for Lisa’s debts? She had no idea how Spanish law might work or whether she could be called upon to pay because she happened to be in the country.

  She moved restlessly about the room. Her problems weighed a ton and she wished with all her heart that she had never responded to Lisa’s invitation to come to Spain.

  She could, of course, do exactly what Lisa had done—pack her suitcases, leave the apartment and disappear. There was no proof that she had ever received the bills. She could leave Barcelona and stay somewhere else. But furtively moving from one obscure hotel to another, apprehensive every time she produced her passport, was no sort of holiday. It would be preferable to go back to England at the earliest moment.

  Yet Nicola knew that she could not do that. Lisa’s debts had to be paid somehow.

  A vision of the Montals rose before her—Dr. Sebastian with his eagle-like features and stern mouth, Adrienne’s impulsive gaiety. How would they regard her if they discovered that she had disappeared, leaving behind a mass of unpaid bills in the name of Brettell?

  Patrick telephoned later in the day. “How did you get on with the interview? Sorry I had to be out.”

  “Only vague promises. There’s no vacancy at present,” she answered dully, wondering whether to spill the whole story to him.

  “Pity,” he commented. “I’ll get in touch with one or two other men and firms I know and see what I can do.”

  She decided against unloading all her problems on Patrick. He was doing his best for her. She thanked him and ended the conversation as briefly as she could. She sighed. A job was now a more urgent necessity than ever.

  First, however, she must call on all those shops where Lisa had ran up accounts.

  The managers listened attentively to Nicola’s explanations and were helpful. Only one, a jeweller, seemed suspicious, but she remembered that he probably had to deal with fraudulent customers sometimes, although she would not allow herself to believe that Lisa had acted under false pretences. Her sister was unduly extravagant, that was all.

  “You understand, senor, that my sister may be very ill somewhere and unable to do anything about payment of your bill?”

  “Si, si,” he agreed half-heartedly.

  Finally, she visited the lawyer’s office, where she explained that the shops and stores had agreed to give her time to pay if she could get herself a job.

  “You have no idea where your sister is now?” the elderly lawyer asked.

  “No. I’ve been trying to trace her ever since I arrived here. Dr. Sebastian Montal is also looking for her in the hospitals.” Nicola regretted instantly that she had carelessly used his name.

  “Dr. Montal? He would act as surety for you, perhaps?”

  “Oh, no,” she replied quickly. “I don’t know him well enough for that.”

  The old lawyer gave her a piercing glance over the top of his gold-rimmed spectacles.

  “Is there anyone else you could name as surety?” he asked.

  “No one.” She was not going to involve Patrick either.

  “Then at least you are more honest than your sister,” he snapped drily. “She apparently gave the names of several persons as references, but she did not have their permission.”

  At last it was agreed that as soon as Nicola landed a job, she would tell the lawyers the amount of her salary and they would fix a reasonable monthly sum to pay off Lisa’s debts. The old man impressed on her that he was treating her as leniently as possible because both she and her sister were foreigners.

  Nicola was surprised when she went to the Villa Ronda the following day that Dr. Montal was at home.

  “Sebastian does not attend the hospital on Thursdays,” Adrienne explained, “unless there is a very urgent case for him. But do not be worried. We can enjoy ourselves and keep out of his way.” She gave a mischievous giggle.

  The significance of being invited to Orsola on a Thursday became clear to Nicola only some time later.

  At lunch she was aware of the doctor’s intent scrutiny, while Adrienne kept up a lively conversation. Curiously, the young girl’s English became fractured and stumbling whenever her uncle was present. Was that due to the nervous effect he had on her?

  Certainly when Adrienne encouraged Nicola to practise speaking in Spanish, Nicola’s few words and phrases completely deserted her if she had to reply to Sebastian.

  After their siesta, the two girls bathed in the pool, sunned themselves on the marble edge and drank long iced drinks.

  “Do you like my Uncle Sebastian?” Adrienne asked without warning.

  “I hardly know him, do I?” countered Nicola. “I think he’s very kind and helpful.”

  “Then you must come here often so that you can get well acquainted.”

  Nicola smiled apologetically. “I’m afraid that’s not going to be possible. I’ve decided to stay for a few months in Spain—”

  “But that is excellent news!”

  “No, listen. I have to work. I must get a job. I have the vague promise of one, but I must find some English firm who will employ me.”

  Adrienne stared, her grey eyes unfathomable, her smooth face immobile. At last she queried, “In Barcelona?”

  “Probably. It’s a large town with a lot of commerce and industry. I hope to find something suitable.”

  “We must tell Sebastian about it,” decided Adrienne, but we will wait until we have the aperitif.”

  Nicola failed to see why Sebastian must be informed, for her plans would not interest him except where the search for Lisa was concerned.

  In the early evening the doctor joined the two girls on the balustraded terrace that gave such a breathtaking view over the harbour and coast.

  Nicola sipped her sherry, then after a few minutes Sebastian said, “Adrienne, would you leave us, please? I
wish to talk with Miss Brettell.”

  Contrary to Nicola’s expectations, Adrienne rose obediently at once, leaned over her uncle and gave him a light kiss on the side of his head. “Of course, cher Sebastian. I promise not to listen and I will go far away.”

  He watched her as she walked away, a slight, youthful girl in a white dress, her long golden hair covering her shoulders. Then he turned towards Nicola and knocked the ash off his cigarette. “Adrienne has told me that you intend to stay here for a time and work.”

  “Yes.” In a vague way, Nicola was disappointed. She had imagined that he had news of Lisa.

  “What prospects have you?”

  “The promise of a suitable vacancy at the firm where my sister worked for a time. But I shan’t rely on that. I can go to agencies or look at the advertisements,” she added hastily.

  “You have definitely left your position in England?” he queried.

  “Oh, yes,” she assured him. “I expected to have a holiday here with Lisa. Then I thought I could decide whether to take over her job at the wine-shippers, if they would allow me, or I could go home to London and easily get another post there.”

  His dark eyes regarded her. “Even with your qualifications and experience, I doubt whether you would secure a post here as easily as you could in England.’

  After a pause, she said, “You’re advising me to go home, then, even abandon my search for Lisa?

  “On the contrary.” He stubbed out his cigarette. “I have a proposition to make. Adrienne, as you know, is my niece. Her mother is dead.” A faint spasm of pain seemed to cross his face. “Her father, my brother Eduardo may be in South America, but we have heard nothing of him for almost two years. So you understand that Adrienne is my responsibility.”

  When he paused Nicola waited, wondering what was in his mind.

  “Adrienne needs companionship. She’s seventeen and sometimes rather wild and impulsive. She has opposed all my previous attempts to provide her with a companion near her own age, preferably slightly older, but it seems that she has become very attracted to you.” He gave Nicola a slightly sardonic smile. “She would accept you. In fact, the suggestion has come from her. She asks me to persuade you to stay here.”

  Nicola was dumbfounded. “But I—I’ve no experience of being anyone’s companion—not in the way you mean for Adrienne.”

  “One moment. I have put the cart before the horse, as I think you say in England. I should be glad to use your secretarial experience. When I have the leisure I work on a medical book concerning heart diseases and I am doing the English translation myself so that it can be published in England and America as well as here.”

  “I’ve no experience of medical terms either,” she objected.

  “We have an adequate supply of dictionaries here,” he answered. “You must, of course, take time to think over what I’ve said. Later, if you accept, we can discuss terms, your salary and so on. You would live here in the house, of course. We have a competent staff and I must warn you that Rosana, our housekeeper, will tolerate no interference, not even from me. There is one important condition which you must consider carefully. I shall expect you to stay here for at least one year. I have strong reasons. Adrienne is still rather too young to marry, but in a year’s time—no doubt she’ll be betrothed. When she marries, then my responsibility is ended, or at least diminished.”

  Nicola finished her sherry. She felt she needed it. Her mind was whirling with the impact of this strange proposition from a man she had met only three times. To keep an eye on his niece and in her spare time type his medical notes—it sounded a fantastic situation.

  The doctor poured her another sherry. “I shall not rush you into a hasty decision, but I would like to know soon. If you stay here, you could still continue to look for your sister.”

  He had pointed out one of the strongest advantages of accepting his offer, but she could not disclose that it was just as important to her to earn sufficient money in the next few months to pay Lisa’s debts.

  She left the Villa Ronda after dinner as soon as she could do with politeness, but as she stepped into the car, Adrienne came to wave goodbye.

  “You will come and live with us, won’t you? Please! Without you, my English will go to pieces, so at least you can make yourself useful.”

  “I’ll think very carefully about it,” Nicola promised.

  “Hasta la vista!” called Adrienne as the car slid away.

  Nicola spent a sleepless night, trying to work out her problem. The offer was attractive in the extreme, but could she bind herself for a year? Yet some immediate employment was an absolute necessity if she was to stay in Spain and unless she could find a well-paid job, she did not know how she could manage to live economically and reserve a monthly sum to pay Lisa’s debts.

  Nicola began to see now that in undertaking her sister’s responsibilities she had committed herself to a course from which she could not turn back.

  CHAPTER II

  Nicola rose at first daylight, for there was no more sleep in her. She wrapped herself in a housecoat and sat by the window jotting figures on a piece of paper.

  Lisa’s debts amounted to over twenty thousand pesetas which sounded worse in Spanish money than sterling, but it was still well over a hundred and twenty pounds. Nicola had put most of her half-share of the proceeds of her father’s house into an account with the bank and withdrawals needed six months’ notice. In any case, she knew there would be difficulty in getting the amount transferred to Spain. The bank would help in transferring the currency, but it would all take time, and Nicola needed money now.

  There was the flat in London to dispose of, but she knew several friends who would jump at the chance to take it over. The rest of her clothes and other possessions—well, she would have to think about those details later.

  She stood up suddenly, gazing out but not seeing the sunlit sea and turquoise sky before her. She realised that her decision had already been made, even forced on her by circumstances. Perhaps, subconsciously, she had made it last night before leaving the Villa Ronda, even at the moment when Dr. Montal had murmured a grave “Goodnight” and there had been just the faintest gleam of warmth in his dark eyes.

  She would inform Patrick at the first opportunity, for she did not want him to waste his time looking for other openings for her.

  First, though, she must write to Dr. Montal, agreeing to accept his offer if he would let her have more details before she made a final decision.

  His reply was prompt, for he suggested a meeting at the Avenida Palace hotel the following evening.

  For the occasion Nicola wore her smartest dress, a pale lemon tricel, and carried a white and silver stole, for she had brought with her from England only one all-purpose lightweight coat.

  The doctor was waiting for her in the hotel foyer and took her to a quiet corner of the bar. When he had ordered drinks, he spoke straight to the point.

  “You will need references about myself. Here are the names of two of my colleagues at the hospital, and the prefect at the City Hall. You can also enquire about me at the British Embassy. Our family is well known to them.”

  She was surprised by his formality. “I’m afraid I can’t offer any references in return,” she said, “except the firm where I worked in England.”

  He waved her apologies aside. ‘The case is not quite the same. You are coming to work in our house and you must be assured that you will be treated correctly.” A hint of a smile crossed his face, lighting his eyes for an instant.

  “Thank you,” was all she could say.

  “You will probably have expenses of one sort or another to settle,” he continued, “both here in Barcelona and where you lived in London, so I am paying you two months’ salary in advance. If you want extra money, then please ask me and I’ll arrange it.”

  She found that her salary was generous in the extreme. With no living expenses of her own to pay for, she would be able to settle Lisa’s debts more promptly t
han she had expected.

  “We can discuss all the other details when you have settled in at the Villa,” the doctor told her. Once again the vestige of a smile lit his sombre face. “I shall try not to work you too hard, but obviously, we shall have to arrange our working hours to suit us both.”

  Adrienne joined her uncle and Nicola for dinner at this de luxe hotel, so different from the modest little place where Nicola had spent the first few days in the city. But although Adrienne maintained an easy flow of conversation and was plainly delighted that Nicola had agreed to accept Sebastian Montal’s offer, the doctor by contrast seemed to relapse into a withdrawn silence, giving only an occasional answer when directly addressed by his niece.

  It was arranged that Nicola should take three or four days to attend to clearing up her tenancy of the flat and when she was ready, the Montals’ chauffeur, Ignacio, would collect her and her belongings for the move to Villa Ronda.

  She telephoned Patrick next day. “I’ve found a very interesting job,” she told him. “Unusual too. If you could meet me somewhere tonight I’ll tell you all about it.” He was waiting for her at a table outside the Cafe Zurich near the Plaza de Cataluna.

  When she told him of her good fortune he frowned and took a sceptical view of the whole venture.

  “Why are you rushing into a strange sort of job like this?” he demanded. “You haven’t given yourself time to look around yet.”

  Nicola hesitated, wondering how much of the truth to disclose to Patrick. At last she said, “I called at the hotel in Santa Ana on my way here. No messages. Nothing about Lisa.”

  “Oh, never mind her,” he said brusquely. “I’m more concerned about you.”