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“Lonfranco, I do not trust that man. I have known him since I was a small
girl. He would come to the casa to deliver documents to my father. Mama
hated him! He was always so condescending, so phony. I think I am seeing the
same Señor Bucharo that my mother saw. My father switched lawyers several
years ago, but like many people, I imagine that once his will was signed he just
forgot about it. He should have changed his executors, but he obviously put the
matter out of his mind. I will send for Señor Orlando Houseman, my father’s
lawyer for the past few years, to read the will and advise me of its contents.”
“Yes, that would be a good idea. I have had dealings with Señor Houseman,
and he has impressed me as an honest man. Your father would often seek
his counsel on various business opportunities. He was very involved in the
British railway dealings. You should read the will yourself before you see him,
though.”
“Yes, Lonfranco, I fully intend to read it, but seeing as you have met Señor
Houseman, perhaps you could go to his office right away and persuade him to
see me as soon as he has an opening. Would you do that for me?”
“I will leave this instant. With any luck, you will be able to have an
audience within a day or two.”
Several hours later, Lonfranco returned to Casa San Marco with a portly
man dressed in a vanilla cotton suit and a straw boater. He made the man
comfortable in the library, then went to find Maria.
“May I present Señor Orlando Houseman, Señorita Maria San Marco.”
“Señor Houseman, how good of you to come on such short notice,” Maria
said in a surprised tone. “I had not expected to be able to talk to you for
days.”
“My heartfelt condolences, Señorita San Marco. Your father’s death is a
national tragedy. Señor De Seta explained your predicament to me, and I think
I have some timely information for you. Your father was a good friend of mine,
as well as a client. I asked him every so often about his will, but he found the
subject distasteful and would always change the topic of conversation. I am
certain that the general thought that he would live forever. Do you have the
will ready for me to take a look at?”
“Yes, Señor, it is right here. I have read through it once, but there are
several areas that you could help me with.”
The meeting continued well into the night. Maria arranged for the
evening meal to be served on trays in the library so that the three of them
could continue their studies of the document. Señor Houseman explained each
paragraph in detail and made certain that both Maria and Lonfranco understood
its implications.
Because Señora San Marco perished along with the general, a large section
of the document’s contents were not applicable. What was pertinent was the
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clause dealing with surviving issue under the age of thirty years, should both
parents predecease them.
The will clearly stated that until the surviving beneficiaries attained age
thirty, the estate was under complete control of the appointed executors. These
men, of which Señor Bucharo was the most senior, had absolute control over
business decisions inside the estate, and also the amount of income that flowed
annually to the heirs. It was exactly as Bucharo had stated, Maria was at their
mercy, with one exception.
“Clause twenty-six ‘C’ is your only escape from this arrangement, Maria,”
Señor Houseman explained. “Should any surviving issue marry before attaining
the age of thirty years, then said issue’s entire portion of the estate shall be
deemed vested upon her wedding day.”
“So the only way I can rid myself of Señor Bucharo is to get married?”
“Exactly! Other than that action, you are stuck with your father’s appointed
executors running your affairs for the next six years, approximately. Now I
must tell you about some matters that have come to my attention concerning
the dealings of Señor Bucharo since your father’s death. As Señor De Seta can
confirm, I was working with your father on the expansion of the Pampas rail
lines. The British interests were very high on the project. Thousands of acres
of land were to be acquired to accommodate the railway. General San Marco
insisted that the property owners be made aware of the impending expansion
and be paid a fair price for their land. As a result of the events of that tragic
Sunday, I have had to turn all your father’s business files over to Señor Bucharo
as legal executor of the estate. I have since heard through the legal community
that Bucharo plans to run the owners off their land using vigilantes and paid
henchmen. He would, in turn, purchase the land through one of his shell
companies, and then sell it to the British at a great profit. He is a man of no
moral conscience, and he has done similar contemptible things in the past. That
is why your father dismissed him. I am certain that this is not his only diabolical
plan to benefit from the general’s shrewd business acumen. Be extremely wary
of that man, Señorita San Marco. He has the ethics of a serpent.”
After Señor Houseman had departed, Maria and Lonfranco remained in
the library for over an hour discussing the gloomy situation that confronted
the General’s daughter and her clouded future. It was Maria that shattered the
dismal mood with a profound statement that sent Lonfranco reeling.
“Well, my dear friend, it seems like there is no other solution than for you
and I to be married immediately, before that bastard can ruin my inheritance
and soil my family name! Do you accept my proposal?”
Lonfranco’s ears were ringing so loud he was not certain that he had heard
her correctly. His stomach was full of butterflies. He thought that he was about
to faint.
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“What was that you just said? Are you serious? Please, Maria, do not
trifle with my emotions. The death of your family is more than I can bear. It
devastated me even more than the loss of my own family. I could not stand
being treated in a frivolous manner by you now. Perhaps I should just go.”
The heiress was at his side in an instant. She grasped his face gently with
her two hands and pulled his lips down to meet hers without saying a word.
Her kiss was the tenderest sensation that Lonfranco had ever experienced. It
seemed to last forever, and his brain swam in a sea of conflicting emotions while
his manhood felt the soft pressure of her thigh for the first time.
He was truly speechless when the embrace concluded. He turned from her
to conceal his passion from her eyes.
“We have always been fond of one another, Lonfranco, ever since that first
day we met at the polo match. I have always had a special place in my heart for
you, and I have watched you grow into the fine man that my father thought the
world of. I think loving you will be easy if I let myself do it. Up until now, I
had other goals to achieve before I could allow myself the indulgence of loving
someone. That is why I ha
ve kept our relationship platonic all these years. I
did not want to end up like so many of my girlfriends, married with three
children and dreadfully unhappy by the time they were twenty. Don’t you see,
Lonfranco? This could be the solution to all our problems! Marry me, and we
will be done with Señor Bucharo and his despicable schemes. I promise you that
I will be a good wife and business partner, and bear you many sons.”
“I am sure that your father would have wanted better for you, Maria. I
can offer you nothing. You deserve a brighter future than to be married to a
virtually penniless immigrant. There are men of wealth and social standing
that are far more suited to be your husband.”
“Do you not think that I have had every opportunity to settle down
with scores of suitors? Men that looked attractive on the surface, but in reality
were just looking for a healthy dowry and a prize chattel. I will be no one’s
possession! You know me, Lonfranco. All those young dandies that were always
trying to win Papa’s favor to get close to me, they made me sick! Even on the
continent the men were no different. I want an equal relationship with the man
I marry. Partners in life, in business, and in love. Is that too much to ask? You
are the one man on this planet who understands me, and I know that we can
make things work. Please, Lonfranco . . . will you marry me?”
His mouth was so dry that the answer to her question was little more than
a croak. He looked into her beautiful dark eyes and gently took her hand. It felt
so tiny wrapped inside his.
“Yes, Maria, I will marry you . . . if it is truly what you want in your heart.
I have loved you since the first day I saw you. But please, do not take this action
because of some business arrangement or to spite Señor Bucharo. Please, only
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consider marriage if your love for me is pure and untainted by grief or revenge.
I could not stand to be used as a pawn in a chess game of the heart.”
Maria said nothing. She simply pressed her lips to his again. Her kiss told
him everything that he wanted to know and set his heart at ease.
The wedding caused a great sensation and somewhat of a scandal among
Porteño society. Lonfranco and Maria were quietly wed the next day in the
Basilica de Nuestra Señora del Pilar in Recoleta. Maria had been able to make
the arrangements on short notice with the parish priest, Monsignor Augustin.
He not only had christened her, but also had been a close personal friend and
confessor of General San Marco.
When Maria had walked into the narthex of the basilica, Monsignor
Augustin had assumed that she was there to seek solace because of the great
tragedy that had befallen her. He was shocked to discover the real reason for
her visit, and it was only after intensive questioning of her mental state and
her motives that he was persuaded by this very self-confident lady to give the
marriage his blessing, pending a chat with the perspective groom.
Lonfranco had waited anxiously outside. After what seemed to him an
eternity, Maria bid him into the chapel. The Monsignor asked some very
pointed questions of the Italian, but the two men had met before, both at this
place of worship and at the general’s residence on social occasions. He was aware
of the high regard that the general had for Lonfranco, and of the position of
trust that the former executive assistant had enjoyed.
He gave the couple his divine permission to proceed and told them to
return at nine o’clock that evening. Only Maria’s closest friend, Señorita Avril
Galaria, was present as a witness. A senior monk of the Franciscan order that
founded and ran the basilica would act as Lonfranco’s witness.
The service was concluded without pomp and circumstance in under
thirty minutes. The newlyweds were then ushered back to Casa San Marco,
where the full staff was assembled and told of the news. The couple would be
moving into the General and Señora San Marco’s master suite that evening, and
from that moment on, Maria would be addressed as Señora De Seta.
The last request that the couple made before retiring was for a coachman to
be at Señor Lopez Bucharo’s office at eight a.m. sharp the following morning and
to await his arrival. Señor Bucharo’s presence was requested at Casa San Marco
at his earliest convenience, and the coachman would provide transportation
should he wish it.
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The only thing that made cutting short their private wedding celebrations
with an anticipated early morning meeting palatable was the chance to rid
themselves of the arrogant Bucharo once and for all.
Whether it was their unbridled passion or the excitement of their newfound
freedom that the morrow would bring, neither of the lovers slept that night.
Both were dressed and waiting when the maid announced Bucharo’s arrival
shortly after ten o’clock.
“Señor Bucharo, how good of you to see us on such short notice. Would
you like a beverage or some fresh pastries?” Maria asked in her sweetest voice.
“No, thank you, Señorita, I have a very full agenda today, and I must be
on my way as soon as these documents are signed. I trust that you have come
to your senses and will now allow me to carry out the duties that your father
bestowed upon me as his executor.”
Bucharo shot a contemptuous glance at Lonfranco as he stood by Maria’s
side.
“Most assuredly, Señor. I have never been so clearheaded and certain of the
tasks that lay before me. I have reviewed the will in detail with the assistance
of Señor Orlando Houseman, whom I have retained as my personal attorney. I
believe you have made Señor Houseman’s acquaintance, have you not? In any
event, it would seem that you were correct. The estate is to be administered by
yourself and the other executors, and I have almost no alternative but to sign
the papers as requested.”
The color had left Bucharo’s face when Maria mentioned Houseman’s
name, and he began to tremble slightly. He was able to regain his composure as
he perceived Maria’s compliance with the terms of the will.
“It is a wise decision, Señorita San Marco. These were your beloved father’s
wishes. I promise you that I will be at your service, to assist you in any way
I can. Now, please have a seat and let us get the documents signed.” Bucharo
turned the chair behind the large desk invitingly toward Maria.
“That will not be necessary, Señor. When I said that I had almost no
alternative but to sign the papers, that is exactly what I meant. Señor Houseman
went into great detail over the ramifications of clause twenty-six ‘C,’ I believe
it is. Would you mind reading that clause to me, Señor?”
Lonfranco could hardly keep his amusement from becoming evident.
Maria was playing the game to the fullest, taking great pleasure in baiting
this lowlife before she reeled him in for the catch. Bucharo’s voice was a meek
stammer when he finally retrieved the document and turned to the appropriate
page.
“Señorita, I . . . I don’t see how
this is of any relevance to the matters that
are before us. Can we kindly proceed with the signatures?”
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JAMES McCREATH
“Read the clause, Señor!” There was a coldness in Maria’s voice that
Lonfranco had never heard before. There was also fire in her dark eyes, and
Bucharo sensed for the first time that something was amiss. He quickly read
the clause, then closed the document and returned it to his briefcase.
“Now may we proceed. Señorita? That clause is of no importance at this
time. When, in the future, you choose a husband and marry, it is true, the
estate will vest in you personally. But we cannot concern ourselves with this
provision of the will until such time as you do get married.”
The lawyer was trying hard to maintain his composure, but his stomach
was turning and a general uneasiness filled his whole being.
“Señor, would you be so kind as to take a look at this scroll. Take your
time to digest its contents.” Maria handed Bucharo a rolled piece of parchment
bound by a purple ribbon. The lawyer’s hand began to shake uncontrollably as
he looked aghast at marriage certificate.
“No! This cannot be true. This . . . this is some sick joke you are playing.
Your father is barely in his grave and this is how you sully his memory? You
married this immigrant? Are you mad? I will have you committed! I will have
this annulled! You cheap little whore. I will…”
Suddenly Bucharo could no longer breathe, the force of Lonfranco’s
powerful grip around his throat making him gasp and sputter for air. He felt
his feet lift off the carpeted floor, and he was held aloft as he clutched at the
Italian’s arm in an effort to break the hold.
“Listen to me now, you slimy piece of filth,” Lonfranco’s voice was barely
audible speaking between tightly clenched teeth. “This is the last time I ever
want to see your disgusting little act. Señor Houseman will be at your office
this afternoon to verify that document. The marriage is legal, and under the
terms of the will, it is you who have no recourse. If you do not cooperate to
the fullest, there are certain business dealings relating to the Pampas railway
lands that will be made public. I don’t think your career or your social standing
could withstand such a blemish. Now take your lecherous schemes and leave
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