In her bath she calmed down. What an idiot she was! There had been nothing in his manner to cause her alarm, but she had raced away from him like a scalded cat.
The bath water was relaxing, causing her to stay luxuriating in its scented vapours longer than she might have normally. But at last she let the water out, gave her teeth a final clean and in cotton housecoat and nightdress she opened the bathroom door.
And then all the fears and alarms she hadn't permitted to surface were there in full number. For there, only a robe covering him if his bare legs and naked throat were anything to go by, stretched full length on top of her bed, lay Severo.
Words came before thought, rocketing from her on a
tide of fear. 'Get out!' she yelled.
`A delightful way to greet your new husband,' he drawled, getting up from the bed and coming to stand at the end of it.
`I—I ... you ...' she spluttered.
`I did knock,' he mocked, and when shock seemed to have her spellbound, he gave her a highly amused look, then took a flat parcel from the bed she had been too blind to see. 'I merely came to give you this.'
Warily she approached, not taking her eyes off him. `What is it?' she asked distrustfully.
`It won't bite, that's for sure.' Thrusting the parcel into her hands, he watched while Reggie slowly undid the wrapping while keeping a weather eye on him.
It was a picture, a painting of her own private place down by the stream, its beauty captured so perfectly she was numbed by it. Her fears, whatever they had been, vanished as she just looked and looked at it.
`Oh, Severo!' was all she was capable of breathing, her voice, soft and weepy, telling him of her emotion. 'Why?' quietly found its way from her.
`Why?' He paused, then said gently. 'Because I wanted
to give you something more personal to you than the car.' `Why?' she asked again, puzzled, and saw him shrug. `Call it my thank-you for the way you have been with
Abuela.'
`I don't need thanks for that—I've grown fond of her,' she said, her voice taking an edge that Severos thought she had to be rewarded for the small comfort she had been able to give Doña Eva.
`I know,' he said quietly, and that made her feel a
whole lot better that for the first time he was showing he
believed without question anything she told him.
`It's beautiful!' Her eyes were again on her picture. `I got Lola to paint it for you.'
`You did?'
Reggie was overcome suddenly that for days now Lola had been busily at work on her picture without her knowing it. Her emotions were haywire that a week or more ago Severo must have gone to Lola and asked her to do the painting, must have taken her to her spot to show her exactly what he wanted, then sworn her to secrecy. That coming on top of a day when she had had to watch every time she looked at him so no one should know there was no love lost between them, was suddenly too much, and her emotion of the moment, the lovely picture in her hand, got out of control.
`Thank you, Severo,' she said, and quite without thought reached up and kissed him.
Then she had cause to wonder what she had done, for Severo's face showed he didn't like her action one little bit. Or so she thought as he looked back at her recently scrubbed face, her brushed and shining blonde hair, for he had taken hold of both her arms and was pushing her away. Already she was regretting her impulse, before he let her know in no uncertain terms that her foolishly given light kiss was in danger of exploding a highly volatile situation.
`Dios!' snarled from him. Then he was demanding harshly, `Do you want this marriage consummated?'
Her sharply voiced, 'No!' was accompanied by the slamming of the communicating door.
Finally, not without shedding a few tears, Reggie at last fell asleep, to wake early the next morning with the memory of Severo slamming out last night waking with her. Then, barely before she had time to rumple the other side of the big double bed, something she had decided for the look of the thing she must do every morning, Juana was there, coming shyly in with her tea.
There was only one cup on the tray, she observed, but
her wonderings of would they expect her to be alone every morning were cut short by Juana saying shyly that Don Severo had said not to disturb her if her mistress was not awake.
Reggie drank her tea, her eyes going to the painting standing on a chest of drawers, quelling any softening towards Severo for the thoughtfulness of his gift that he had known how much would please her. He had known the delight she had taken in that particular spot. She decided not to think about him, and set her mind instead on thinking she must thank Lola for the work and artistry she had put in. Though it would look a little odd if she called on her today—the first day of her honeymoon. She made up her mind to telephone her later. But how to fill in the rest of her day?
That problem was taken care of when Severo found her in the breakfast room. Determined to be civilised to start the day at least, Reggie was the first to speak.
`Good morning.'
His night's sleep didn't seem to have improved his temper at all, she thought, as he grunted a reply. He helped himself to a cup of coffee, giving her a chance of a better look at him without being observed. She thought he looked as though he hadn't slept very much at all. Then abruptly he looked up, and caught her looking at him. Quickly she dropped her eyes and concentrated on spreading marmalade on toast. Severo had something on his mind, she was sure of it.
There had been a brooding look on his face anyway; she hadn't missed that. Well, if he was about to tell her not to go flinging her arms about him and kissing him again, he needn't bother, she was thinking mutinously, when his voice broke into the stillness of the room, and what he had to say had nothing at all to do with her action of last night.
`Since we have done away with a honeymoon, I have decided it will be better if I stay near the estancia this week.'
Raising her eyes from her plate, Reggie wondered if he woke as a grouch every morning, but kept her face politely interested for whatever else was coming—though she had to agree that for the look of the thing it would be better if he gave the appearance of being unable to drag himself away from her side.
`Yes, I understand that,' she commented quietly. 'Good. I shall take the day off. We will go riding.' `That will be nice.'
Really, she thought, as her agreement to his order—it was hardly a request was received in stony unamused silence a moment before he strode from the room, his coffee untouched as though she had turned the milk sour, though peering into his cup she saw he took it black; really, I can see I'm in for a whale of a fun time!
But contrary to her expectations, over the next few days, when she and Severo went everywhere together, they weren't getting on too badly at all. They were both on their best behaviour, of course; Severo knew as well as she did how quickly they could flare up at each other. But it was three days now and not once had they had a row. Several times, now she came to think of it, he had actually made her laugh, had joined in her laughter and looked for the briefest of moments as though seeing her laugh pleased him.
Well, he wouldn't want her to go around with a long face would he, she thought as she walked to her favourite place, for once alone since someone from the next department, Tacuarembo, who had not heard Severo was on his honeymoon, had called on a business matter.
She stood silently in her beautiful surroundings, never bored with her view, and was lost in silent contemplation
until a scurrying sound had her eyes turning to where an armadillo was hurrying to a place in some bushes.
Seeing the armadillo brought back a memory of a song she had sung at school, the words partly forgotten. Quietly she began to hum the song she thought had been called Rolling down to Rio, then as words began to come back to her, she started to sing, 'I've never seen a jaguar, nor yet an arm-a-a-dillo, billowing,' or was it dillowing? What the heck was dillowing? She laughed unselfconsciously and sang on regardless, `dillowing in his
armour, and I s'pose I ne-e-ever will. Ye-et weekly from Southampton,' her voice took strength, `great steamers white and go-old go-o rolling down to Rio, go-o rolling down to ...'
Her voice came to a sudden stop. Where had Severo come from? She hadn't heard him. Yet there he was, standing stock still and looking at her.
`You sound happy,' he remarked softly, then, 'Are you happy, Reggie?'
She hadn't thought about it. By rights, with things as they stood, she should be downright unhappy. But, to her bewilderment, she wasn't.
`Do you know, I rather think I am,' she replied in wonder.
And her spirits didn't sink down to her boots when Severo put an arm about her, for there was no one to see, and said, For your honesty, I will escort you back to the house and you can have a whole bottle of Coca-Cola to yourself.'
She didn't mind Severo's teasing, she discovered, her embarrassment at having been caught warbling her head off was quickly got over with him in this mood. But she tried for sobriety as they walked back up the hill.
`Has your visitor left?' she asked.
`We don't want any interruptions in this time of getting to know each other, do we?'
It was an answer she hadn't been expecting, and she had no idea how to reply. If it was still part of his teasing then he wouldn't thank her for taking him seriously. But if he was serious, then what on earth did he mean by it?
At the house Juana greeted them with a letter that had come for Reggie while she had been out. Severo took the envelope addressed to Miss R. Barrington from Juana before Reggie could move, studying it as he escorted her to the sala. His look was deadly serious now as he handed it over. Then without a word he went out.
Having given her enough time to read her letter in private, he returned some minutes later, the tray of refreshment he was carrying saying where he had been. But on seeing the shaken expression on her face, instead of offering her a tall glass of refreshing liquid, he deposited the tray, then promptly came to sit beside her on the couch.
`What is wrong? Your sister is ill?'
Reggie blinked, trying to pull herself together. Her letter wasn't from Bella but Clive. And it wasn't so much what was in his letter that had left her shaken, though at one time the contents would have had her overjoyed, but the fact that seeing his name at the end, realising she had barely thought of him recently—difficult though that was to believe—unshakeably she knew she no longer loved him.
At that point, impatient to know what the letter contained since she looked too shocked to answer him, Severo, before she could stop him, had taken it from her and begun to read. Begun to read, one glance at the signature having his mouth going in a tight line, that Clive, distracted to find her flat closed, had gone to see Bella and James. James was off sick with a tummy bug and Bella was out shopping; James had found the letter Reggie had sent Bella and given him her address. He had been flabbergasted to learn she was in 'South America,
but would she come home quickly because he loved her very much, and the greatest news—Irene had agreed to divorce him.
Knowing Severo wouldn't hand over her letter until it was all read, Reggie sat watching, his face far from teasing now as, hard-eyed, he continued down the page to where Clive had written that he would soon be free to marry her.
As he came to the end he stood up, words not needed to tell her the camaraderie they had shared these last three days was over.
`So,' he said, looking down his arrogant nose from his lofty height, his features chissled in unapproachability, `the beloved Clive will soon be free to make an honest woman of you.'
`I. ..' she tried, but Severo just wasn't interested in anything she had to say. Not that she was too sure what she wanted to tell him anyway, other than that she saw no reason why he should be so coldly furious.
`No doubt you will be writing back to your lover explaining that unfortunately you yourself are married. Perhaps you would be good enough to give him this message from me. He may not give a second thought to breaking any of the vows he makes, but Cardenosa will never break his.'
The door closing quietly behind him told her of the mighty control he was exercising. His fury had been tangible almost—but why? Surely he didn't have such a low opinion of her that he thought she would rush to Clive on the first plane out!
He thought she was in love with Clive, though, remember, she pulled herself up, still finding it difficult to believe that that was no longer the case. How could one fall out of love so easily? Hers wasn't a fickle nature. Yet at one time she had been afraid her love for Clive might
have her ending up living with him. Did that mean she had never truly loved him? Perhaps it did, she thought, trying to make sense of her confused thoughts. Had she truly loved him would she have hesitated?
She shook her head as if hoping to clear it, saw the jug of iced orange and, needing a drink, poured herself a glass, sipping as she tried to make some sense of her thoughts. For a long time she sat there, and the ice in the jug had long since melted before she had sorted everything out.
She could never truly have loved Clive, she had realised, not in the way someone should love the person they were going to spend the rest of their life with. She had told Severo only a short time ago that she was happy, and she had, been—proving she didn't love Clive—for how could she be happy so far away froth him had she loved him? And that day she had responded so wildly to Severo's lovemaking—she should have known then that she didn't love Clive, because had she done so everything within her would have fought at having another man's arms around her.
Reggie left the sala to go to sit in her room, instinct telling her Severo wouldn't come looking for her. She hadn't liked his cold fury at all, and she only hoped he had got over it when next she saw him. Why he had been so angry was obvious, since it mattered a great deal to him that his grandmother's remaining days were to be spent as tranquilly as possible. He wouldn't stand for her being upset should his wife leave him before they had been married a week.
That he had coldly told her to tell Clive from him that he would never break his vows—meaning, she supposed, that he would never divorce her—surprisingly didn't distress her. Coldly angry though he had been, she took it it had been said in the heat of the moment. And to her
further surprise, she found a little glow starting inside when it dawned on her, if she had got it right, that Severo might have come to like her a little since the implication that he thought Clive was the sort to jump in and out of marriage willy-nilly could mean that Severo wouldn't want to see her hurt when it came to her turn.
Perhaps I'm being fanciful, she thought later that night, selecting her very best dinner gown to wear. Perhaps Severo didn't like her at all. There had been no liking in his face back there in the sala. But as she showered and dressed that little glow wouldn't disappear, and she had too much else on her mind to wonder why it should please her to think Severo liked her a little.
But the idea that he had any liking for her soon came to grief when she walked into the dining room at the usual time. He was already there, but his terse greeting soon told her she was his least favourite person. Even for Maria's benefit he wouldn't put on an act. But when from behind his shoulder, serving the second course, very much aware that the honeymooners must have had a tiff, Maria looked at her, her face so comical as she gave an expressive shrug of her shoulders as though to say, `What's up with him?' as unhappy as she was now feeling, Reggie just had to grin.
`You find something funny?'
He might have waited until Maria had gone from the room before he rounded on her, Reggie thought, as Maria, reading from his tone that battle stations had been sounded, hurried from the room.
`No, I ...'
`Perhaps now that you have heard from your lover,' his tone was biting, 'now that you think it will be roses all the way, we shall have to suffer you going around with that idiotic expression on your face. Well, allow me to tell you ...'
But Reggie was allowing him nothing. Cut to the qui
ck by his biting sarcasm, stirred to fury herself, she was on her feet. 'You can go to hell, Severo Cardenosa—the sooner the better!'
She would have stormed from the dining room then, but she never got as far as the door. For he was there before her, lifting her almost bodily to push her ungently down into the seat she had so rapidly risen from.
`As my wife you will obey the courtesies befitting you,' he told her harshly. 'You will stay and eat your dinner and not let Maria nor any of the staff know that since the receipt of your lover's letter you cannot bear to be in the same room with me.'
`I....... .' she began, wanting to tell him that nobody but
he could-possibly know what was in her letter, and that Clive had never been her lover, not in the way he thought, anyway. But she stopped, her own fury getting the better of her that just as if she was some recalcitrant schoolgirl he was making her stay to finish her meal. 'Oh, you're impossible!' she snapped instead, picking up her hastily tossed aside napkin.
`And you,' he snarled, 'are bloody impossible!'
And on that sweet note Maria was unwise enough to come in again.
`I'll ring when I want you,' Severo told her shortly.
Reggie ate, simply because it was the quickest way of getting away from the morose man across from her. And when the last crumb was finished, determined not to be cowed by him or any other man, she offered a sweetly sarcastic, 'Please may I leave the table?' and received the blackest of looks for her trouble.
Because it was such a hot-night, she showered again before donning a fresh nightdress and getting into bed. Usually she covered herself up to go to sleep, but it was so close, she lay on top of the bed, her thoughts of Severo
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