The Society Bride

by Fiona Hood-Stewart

  ‘Come back in two weeks and we’ll see how you’re faring. The morning sickness should pass after the first three months, maybe sooner. Dry toast and tea is the best remedy. But then you must eat properly—plenty of vegetables and nourishing food—and lots of exercise, of course. I recommend swimming and walking.’

  ‘What about tennis?’ Nena asked weakly.

  ‘You mentioned slight pain, so I’d say nothing too vigorous just at the moment.’

  ‘Okay.’ Nena nodded.

  Five minutes later she was seated in the back of her grandfather’s Bentley, wondering what to do. She must tell Doña Augusta, but what about Ramon? Would he assume that this simply obliterated the problems they had? Would he see this as a way of sorting things out exactly as he wanted?

  Nena experienced a sudden pang of hunger and knew she simply must eat roast beef. Odd. She’d never been very partial to roast beef, but now the mere thought of it made her mouth water and she could barely think of anything else.

  All at once her mobile phone rang.

  ‘Hello?’

  ‘Hi, it’s me. I’ve been looking for you.’

  ‘Who’s me?’ she asked haughtily, her lips twitching. He was so dreadfully arrogant and presumptuous she couldn’t resist.

  ‘What are you doing for lunch?’

  ‘Eating roast beef.’ The words were out before she could stop herself.

  ‘Eating roast—? Well, all right. Why don’t I join you? Where are you?’

  ‘I’m in the car, coming up to Piccadilly Circus.’

  ‘Then meet me at Wilton’s. I’ll be there in twenty minutes.’

  ‘But—’ Nena was about to say that she didn’t know if she wanted to lunch with him, then gave up. Frankly, the roast beef was more important, and Wilton’s certainly prepared some of the best in town.

  The car drew up in Jermyn Street and she alighted and entered the restaurant.

  ‘I believe my—my husband—’ the word still caught on her lips ‘—phoned to reserve a table,’ she said to the maître d’.

  ‘Why, of course, Mrs Villalba. This way, please.’

  Nena followed him through the restaurant and was shown into one of the booths, where she sat down thankfully. She was about to order a glass of champagne, then hesitated. Alcohol wasn’t good for the baby.

  ‘Some mineral water, please. Still.’

  All at once it wasn’t just her desires and wishes that counted any longer. She had a being inside her whom she must protect and shield from harm. The thought sent a wave of emotion coursing through her. Instinctively she touched her belly and took a deep breath. But she still had no inkling of what she would tell Ramon.

  Then he was standing there, leaning over her, and her heart did a somersault. As he sat down on the opposite banquette she looked over at him, this man whom despite everything she longed for—and the father of her child, she reminded herself unsteadily.

  ‘Ah. Champagne, Nena?’

  ‘No, thanks. I’ll just stick to water for now.’

  Ramon frowned. ‘Are you still feeling unwell?’ he asked, eyes filled with concern.

  ‘No, no. I’m fine, actually. Just rather hungry.’

  ‘I see. Well, that’s a good sign. I suppose we’d better order right away. Is the roast beef still on?’

  ‘Absolutely.’ She laughed, and they smiled at each other, their eyes lingering. ‘With all the trimmings.’

  Ramon ordered, then watched her. She looked tense and he wondered what was troubling her. Surely not just the problems they were facing? She hadn’t mentioned the divorce again, and had seemed quite amenable to having lunch. But he would not repeat pushing matters too fast too soon. It might pay off to retreat a little.

  ‘I’ll be going away for a few days,’ he remarked casually, after the waiter had served him a glass of wine.

  ‘Oh? Where are you going. Back to Buenos Aires?’ He caught the edge in her voice and smothered a smile.

  ‘No. Actually, I’m going to New York. I need to visit your grandfather’s office there, and deal with some personal business of my own as well.’

  ‘I see.’ Nena waited a moment, then experienced a sudden flash of disappointment that he hadn’t asked her to join him. Not that she would have gone, of course, but he could have at least asked.

  ‘No wine?’ Ramon asked.

  ‘No, thanks.’ Nena glanced at the bottle and felt her tummy flip at the mere thought of the stuff.

  ‘Are you sure you’re all right?’ Ramon queried, his brows creasing once more. She’d looked rather green at the mention of the wine and he wondered why.

  Nena’s brain was working nineteen to the dozen now.

  ‘When are you leaving?’ she asked, torn between telling him her news now or waiting till he got back and she’d made up her mind what she wanted to do.

  ‘I’m flying out tomorrow morning.’

  ‘I see. And how long do you plan to stay in New York?’

  ‘A few days. Not sure exactly how many,’ he added casually. ‘It depends on what’s going on over there. I might take the weekend and pop over to Newport. I have friends who own a beautiful sloop. She’s sailed in the Americas Cup. I thought I might fit in a little sailing.’

  Nena leaned back, trying to control her emotions. Here she was, with the biggest piece of news to hit her young life, and he was going sailing. She might have known it. Well, let him go sailing, and whatever else he planned to do. What did she care? She was damned if she was going to tell him now. Let him wait.

  The roast beef arrived, but for some inexplicable reason she seemed to have lost her appetite.

  ‘I thought you were desperately hungry, querida? What happened?’ Ramon asked innocently, noting the slight glare in her eyes.

  ‘I’m fine. I must have just misjudged my own appetite.’ She sent a bright, brittle smile across the table and began to talk of inconsequential mundane subjects.

  ‘Are you sure you’ll be all right while I’m away?’ he asked, as they finally rose from the table.

  ‘Of course,’ she scoffed. ‘Why shouldn’t I be?’

  ‘I don’t know.’ He shrugged and sent her a rueful smile. ‘No reason.’

  Outside the restaurant Nena’s car was waiting. ‘Do you want a lift to Dover Street?’

  ‘No, thanks, I’ll walk.’

  ‘Fine. Then bon voyage.’

  ‘Thanks. I’ll see you when I get back.’ He dropped a light kiss on her cheek and saw her into the vehicle.

  ‘He’ll see me when he gets back,’ Nena muttered angrily to herself, watching his tall, broad-shouldered figure march off down the street. ‘We’ll see about that.’

  But she had to admit that it was awfully comforting to know he was at the helm of all her grandfather’s affairs, that she was not left high and dry in the hands of those suave, well-spoken lawyers whom she didn’t understand half the time and whom for some reason she didn’t entirely trust.

  Then she remembered Doña Augusta, and sighed. She felt bad about telling anyone of her pregnancy before she told Ramon. But then she’d had her chance and hadn’t taken it. Oh, well. She supposed there was nothing for it but to confide in the older woman and hope she wouldn’t tell him. Somehow she felt that she could trust her mother-in-law. There was something very trustworthy about Doña Augusta. And she had the feeling that what she’d said was true—she had a surprisingly unbiased and realistic opinion of her own son.

  Slowly she picked up the mobile and arranged to pop over to Eaton Square, where a few minutes later Doña Augusta was waiting for her.

  ‘Come in, my dear. Let’s have a cup of tea in the sitting room.’ She gave the order to the butler, then accompanied Nena into a small, intimate room, decorated with flowered cushions and a window seat, that was obviously her own private little enclave.

  ‘How pretty this is!’ Nena exclaimed.

  ‘Well, I have to have somewhere that is feminine in a house full of male energy,’ her mother-in-law replied, laughing. ‘
Now sit down, querida, and tell me what the doctor said.’

  Nena sat obediently on one of the plump sofas and took a deep breath.

  ‘It’s true,’ she said in a rush. ‘I’m pregnant. He says the baby will be born in April.’

  ‘Well, many congratulations, my love. That is wonderful news. When do you plan to tell Ramon?’

  ‘I don’t know. It’s—it’s all so difficult. I thought of telling him at lunch, but—’

  ‘You lunched together?’

  ‘Yes. At Wilton’s. I felt like roast beef.’

  ‘Ah!’

  ‘Oh, I don’t know what to do.’ Suddenly Nena burst into a flood of unbidden tears that she couldn’t control. ‘I d-don’t know what’s the matter with me,’ she hiccupped, feeling for a non-existent hanky. ‘I’m never up and down like this—all undecided. It’s as if my reasoning mind has flown out the window.’

  ‘But, Nena, mi querida, that is only natural.’ Doña Augusta sat next to her on the sofa and took her hand. ‘When we are expecting a baby all our emotions change. We cry for no reason, see things as black when in fact they’re not, and have all sorts of unexpected feelings. Remember, your body and your mind are acclimatising to being a mother. It is no longer you alone, but the two of you to be taken care of.’

  Nena sniffed and nodded. ‘I know. I thought about that today in the restaurant.’

  ‘So tell me,’ Doña Augusta said soothingly, ‘why didn’t you tell him?’

  ‘Because he said he was going to New York and then going sailing in Newport. Sailing! Can you imagine? I mean, what does he need to go sailing for? Why can’t he just come—?’ Realising suddenly how foolish she must sound, Nena clamped her mouth shut.

  ‘Perhaps you have not shown him that you want him back,’ her mother-in-law murmured softly. ‘Men have a funny way of retiring into their shells. They can be very proud. Did you let Ramon talk to you about what happened in BA?’

  Nena shook her head and stared at her hands. ‘No. I didn’t.’

  ‘You won’t be cross with me if I say that was perhaps a little foolish? He deserved to be punished, I agree. And I’m sure it did him a world of good to know he couldn’t have everything his own way. But I honestly believe he was telling the truth when he said his affair with Luisa was over.’

  ‘Do you?’ Nena turned her big streaming eyes, filled with tears and uncertainty, towards her. ‘But she’s so lovely, so beautiful, so worldly and sophisticated. I can see why he’d want to be with her rather than with me. After all, I’m really just a commitment he took on.’ She swallowed. ‘I didn’t realise that I would—’

  ‘Fall in love?’ her mother-in-law supplied gently, a tender smile curving her lips. ‘Why not? I fell in love with my husband after we were married. And I have good reason to believe he did the same. Has it never occurred to you, Nena, that Ramon might be in love with you?’

  ‘No. Of course not. I mean, why should he be? If you’d seen the way he and Luisa were looking at each other, like a couple—I’m sure he loves her.’

  ‘Rubbish,’ Doña Augusta dismissed briskly. ‘Luisa and he were good companions. They frequented the same crowd, and all that, and I’m sure they had a well-attuned sex-life together while it lasted. But that’s not what I’m referring to. I’m talking about passion, about true love—that feeling that comes once in a lifetime and never lets go.’

  ‘Well, if he loves me why would he go off to New York and stay for the weekend for his wretched sailing when he doesn’t have to?’ she muttered, sniffing, and accepting the hanky Doña Augusta handed her.

  ‘Because you’ve been holding him at arm’s length, querida. What man wouldn’t salvage his pride at some point? Particularly an arrogant, self-confident creature like Ramon. This has probably never happened to him before.’

  ‘I suppose not,’ Nena answered dully.

  ‘Now, my recommendation is that you go home, relax, and take this week to think out very clearly what it is you want to do. Then when he gets back you can decide.’

  ‘You’re probably right,’ Nena murmured dejectedly. ‘And you won’t tell him about the baby, will you?’ she asked, suddenly worried.

  ‘Of course not, querida. It will be our secret until the time you decide to reveal it. That is your privilege,’ Doña Augusta added, smiling and squeezing Nena’s hand. ‘And if you need me—and even if you don’t,’ she added ruefully, ‘I shall be close by, making sure you’re all right.’

  After tea Nena went home, feeling a little calmer but very tired. She was meant to be having dinner with her old schoolfriends, Venetia and Tania, but she felt suddenly too tired, exhausted by the emotions of the day, and ready to make it an early night.

  As the plane took off Ramon nursed a whisky and gazed down through the summer drizzle at the landscape below. There was much to be straightened out, and he had every intention of settling matters as soon as he could. Still, an uneasy feeling accompanied him as he leaned back in the wide, comfortable seat and pondered on all that had occurred over the past few weeks.

  Nena had seemed so up and down yesterday—not her usual self at all. But there was little use worrying about it. He’d be much better served by studying the files he’d brought with him.

  With a sigh Ramon opened his briefcase and settled in for the long flight. At least it would give him time to review all the issues that were worrying him about Carvajal’s, and which he needed to get to the bottom of.

  Plus, a week away from Nena might not do either of them any harm. As long as she was more amenable by the time he got back…

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  THREE nights later Nena woke in the middle of the night conscious of a stabbing pain in her lower abdomen. At first she turned over and tried to find a more comfortable position in the bed and go back to sleep. But when it persisted—got stronger—she became worried.

  Switching the bedside lamp on, she tried to sit up, but simply doubled over. Then as she removed the bedcovers and tried to lower her feet to the ground she suddenly realised she was bleeding.

  ‘Oh, no,’ she uttered, horrified. What could be happening to her? Surely she couldn’t be losing the baby?

  Cold fear gripped her as she sat on the edge of the bed, perfectly still, as though by doing so she could somehow stop the upheaval occurring inside her body. Then another twinge had her gasping. Instinctively she reached as best she could for the phone, while falling back against the pillows.

  After several deep breaths she rang the Villalba number and waited anxiously for someone to answer the phone.

  ‘Hello?’

  Don Pedro’s voice reached her down the line and she squirmed, wishing it had been Doña Augusta who’d answered. This was so embarrassing—phoning in the middle of the night. What would her father-in-law think? Though frankly she was past caring.

  ‘It’s Nena,’ she answered, her voice tremulous. ‘I’m so sorry to disturb you so late,’ she said breathlessly. ‘Is—is Doña Augusta there?’

  ‘Of course she’s here—but, Nena,’ he said, suddenly coming fully awake, ‘is something the matter?’

  ‘Yes—well, could I speak to her?’

  ‘Of course, my dear, at once.’ She heard him murmuring something to his wife as he passed the phone.

  ‘Nena, tell me what is wrong?’ Doña Augusta asked anxiously.

  ‘I—well, I woke up with this awful pain, and it’s not getting better. And then when I sat up I realised I was—well, that I was bleeding,’ she said in a rush.

  ‘Oh, my goodness. Stay right where you are and I shall be there in a few minutes. In the meantime don’t move. I shall call an ambulance immediately.’

  ‘Ambulance?’ Nena said hoarsely.

  ‘Yes. You must be taken to hospital at once, my love, or you may lose the baby.’

  ‘Oh, no.’ Nena felt tears surfacing once more. ‘Oh, please God, no. I want this baby so much. I—’

  ‘Calm down, Nena, it will be all right. We’ll be there as soon as we can.
’

  Nena hung up and stayed motionless against the pillows, tears coursing down her cheeks. How could she have been so idiotic? Why hadn’t she told Ramon about the baby? Now maybe it would be too late. Nena closed her eyes and tried to stay calm. For the baby’s sake, she kept repeating to herself. For that tiny, crucial wisp of life growing inside her that she was determined to preserve whatever the cost.

  Several minutes later she heard footsteps on the landing and a knock on the door.

  ‘Come in.’

  ‘Ah, Nena.’ Doña Augusta came hurrying across the room, having been let in by Worthing, who was now waiting for the ambulance. ‘My poor child. Now stay quiet. We will go with you to the hospital.’

  ‘We?’ Nena asked in a small voice.

  ‘I had to tell Pedro, I’m afraid.’

  ‘Oh, never mind.’ Nena smiled as best she could and closed her eyes as another pain loomed. ‘It doesn’t matter any longer.’

  ‘There, that’s better,’ Doña Augusta soothed. ‘We’ll be at the hospital very shortly, and all will be well, I’m certain. But in the future we must take better care of you.’

  Ramon felt his cellphone vibrating and excused himself to Grant Connelly, the high-flying New York attorney he was dining with at Cipriani’s restaurant on Fifth Avenue. The place was noisy and he could hardly hear. In desperation he got up and went outside.

  ‘Father, I can hear you now. Why are you phoning me at two-thirty in the morning your time? Nothing’s wrong, is it?’

  ‘I’m afraid it is, Ramon.’

  ‘What? What is wrong?’ he asked hoarsely, fear clutching him.

  ‘It is Nena.’

  ‘What’s happened to her?’ He nearly shouted, pacing the pavement impatiently.

  ‘She’s being driven to hospital as we speak. I’m afraid she may lose the baby.’

  ‘The baby? What baby?’ he asked, mystified. Then all at once he grasped his father’s meaning. ‘You mean she’s pregnant?’ he exclaimed, a new and unprecedented emotion taking hold.