Dark Ransom (21 page)

'Desperate?' he supplied, his face bleak. 'Ready to risk your life in

order to leave here?'

She looked down at the floor. 'I—I suppose so.'

'Obrigado.'

'I had to do it,' she said in a low voice. She was weeping inside. She

couldn't look at him. 'You must see that. You and I—it couldn't

work. It was impossible—for all kinds of reasons. And I was quite

right, you see.' She took a breath. 'Now everything's turned out for

the best—for everyone.'

'You think so?' he asked wearily. 'You and Jorge are more optimistic

than I am. I can see enormous problems ahead.'

'But you'll be happy eventually,' she said. 'Surely that will

compensate for a lot. You'll have what you want—the life you

want.' She found she couldn't actually say Melanie's name. 'Apart

f r o m . . . anything else, you can't have enjoyed being isolated from

your family.'

'No, but I would not have chosen this means of being reconciled to

them either.' He sighed angrily, bitterly. '
Deus
, what a mess it all is.'

'Well, you'll have one less problem when I go.' She tried to sound

matter-of-fact. 'Although I still don't know quite when that will be.

Padre Gaspar isn't returning to Laragosa as soon as I'd hoped.'

'You don't have to wait for him,' he said curtly. 'Pedrinho will take

you down to Mariasanta, and stay with you until you catch your

boat.'

'Obrigada,'
Charlie said with a catch in her voice. 'You're... very

kind.'

'No.' He shook his head. The faint smile curving his lips held no

amusement whatsoever. 'You and I know better than that,
querida.'

He threw his head back. 'I shall curse myself every day of my life

for the way I have treated you. I had hoped, you see, to make

amends, to teach you that I can be gentle—but I see now that was

foolishness.'

The worst kind of foolishness, she thought achingly. She tried to

force an answering smile.

'It—it doesn't matter.'

'It matters to me. Carlotta—I cannot bear for you to go from here

hating me.'

'I don't. I never could.'

He held out a hand. 'Come here to me for a moment,
faz favor.'

She went slowly. I shouldn't be doing this, an inner voice told her,

but, dear God, I can't help myself...

She looked up at him gravely. 'I should be going. Dr Afonza will be

back soon and you still need to rest.'

'I have the remainder of my life to rest in, but not many more hours

to spend with you,
carinha.'
He reached into his pocket. 'I said some

harsh things to you yesterday. I regret them. I want to return this to

you now, without conditions. It is yours to do with as you wish.'

The diamond blazed in the lamplight as he fastened it round her

neck.

'No, Riago.' She tried to pull away. 'I can't take it. Especially now.

You must keep it—give it to... someone else.'

He held her. 'No,' he said. 'The diamond belongs to you, and it

always will.' His fingers traced, briefly, the line of her throat, then

lifted to cup her chin as he studied her bruised mouth.

'That animal did this to you?'

She nodded mutely, silenced, transfixed by his nearness.

He said something swift and savage under his breath. Then, 'Does it

hurt you?'

'Sometimes.'

'As when you kissed me yesterday?'

She'd hoped that he'd forgotten about that, or at least that it wouldn't

be mentioned. Colour rose in her face.

'A little, yes.'

'Poor little one.' His finger traced with infinite gentleness the curve

of her mouth. 'Would it cause you too much pain if I kissed you

goodbye?'

Yes, she thought with anguish. But not because of any bruise.

'Don't—please.' She tried to step back as he bent towards her.

'You said you didn't hate me.'

'I don't, believe me. But that doesn't make it right for you to kiss me.

You—you belong to someone else. Just... let me go, please.'

'I belong to you, only you don't want me,' Riago said bitterly.

'That's not true.' The words were shocked out of her.

'Then what is it? This place? We don't have to live here, not if you

don't want. There are other estates, other properties not so remote,

more civilised. You can choose,
querida,
only don't leave me.'

'What am I supposed to do?' She faced him furiously. 'Share you

with Melanie? I can't. I won't.'

'Melanie?' His brows shot up as he repeated the name incredulously.

'What does that bitch have to do with us?'

'You're in love with her.'

'I was infatuated with her—once. Until she married Jorge. And do

you know why she married him? Because she assumed that, as the

eldest of my parents' children, he would inherit the bulk of my

father's estate.'

'And that's why she threw you over?' Charlie shook her head. 'You

must be wrong. She couldn't have done such a thing.'

'I had it from her own lips,' he said drily. 'She expressed regret, of

course, but, as the eldest, she told me, Jorge had to be the better

catch, even though he wouldn't make as exciting a husband.'

'But if she loved you...'

'Love had nothing to do with it. There were two things in Melanie's

life—sex and money. And she was prepared to use one with

complete ruthlessness to obtain the other.' He smiled grimly. 'But

her greed misled her. When Papa died he left everything equally

divided between Jorge, Isabella and myself, as is the custom. It was

a great and unpleasant shock to Melanie—to find she had sacrificed

herself to a man she didn't want for no reason.'

'You didn't warn her it would be like that?'

'Of course not. She was worthless and mercenary. She deserved to

be made a fool of.' He paused. 'Instead I tried to warn Jorge, but he

was crazy about her, and refused to listen. He'd always been shy

with women, not too experienced, and Melanie had gone after him,

taken him by storm.'

Charlie swallowed. 'But she took you by storm as well. You told me

yourself—all that she meant to you.'

He moved his uninjured shoulder wearily. 'Once, yes. I admit it. She

was an exciting woman. But then I saw what she also was, and

excitement was replaced by disgust.'

'But it wasn't that simple. Even though you knew what she was, you

still wanted her. You know you did.'

'What makes you say that?' he asked sharply. 'What stories have you

heard?'

She flushed slightly. 'That, even when she was married to your

brother, you still wanted to be her lover. That he... he found you

together.'

'Ah, yes,' Riago said softly. 'That much is true, but nothing else.

That we should become lovers again was Melanie's idea alone. I had

finished with her completely, but I had to go home to discuss some

legal matter over Papa's will, and she came to my room—offered

herself. She was bored with Jorge, she said.' His face hardened.

'When I refused her she called me a string of foul names, then she

tore her clothes and started screaming. When Jorge came—and my

mother- she said I had tricked her into being alone with me, and

then tried to rape her.'

He groaned softly. 'Jorge was half mad with anger and jealousy. I

tried to reason with him, but it was useless. So, as I was due to come

here and work on the rubber project anyway, I just left. I knew that

one day he would find out the truth about her as I had done. And

now, sure enough, she has left him, gone off with another man—a

Texas oil millionaire, I understand. I wish him luck.'

She drew a desperate breath. 'But, no matter what she's done, you

must still care a little. You told me so yourself in this very room.

You said you'd met the woman you'd love all your life, but that she

didn't want you.'

'I remember it perfectly,' he said. 'Only,
carinha,
I wasn't talking

about Melanie.' He touched the curve of her cheek with his hand. 'I

meant you.'

'No,' she said unevenly. 'That—can't be.'

'Why not?' His face, his voice were stark— sombre. 'You don't think

I'm capable of finding real love at last? Because I made a mistake

with Melanie, must I be condemned to loneliness for ever after?'

'But you don't love me. You can't.' Her heart was hammering so

violently that she felt almost stifled. 'I'm not even pretty,' she added

wildly.

'You are beautiful,' he said. 'You have brought gentleness and grace

to my home, and my life.'

'You hardly know me.' Her voice wavered.

'You think love cannot happen in so short a time.' Riago shook his

head. 'You are wrong,
carinha.
I think I have always known you—

always been waiting for you.' His tone deepened passionately. 'I'd

hoped that you might, one day, come to feel the same about me. But

I suppose it is impossible. Too much has happened too soon for you

to trust me. I don't blame you. After all, you have never pretended to

care for me. And you have a life of your own back in England.'

She looked up at him gravely, her heart in her eyes. 'I have an

existence.'

It was his turn to draw a sharp breath. 'What are you trying to say?'

She tried to smile. "That, with love^ anything is possible—even in a

very short time.'

'You truly love me?' His voice was tender, but it held a note that

sent all her pulses crazy.

'More than any life anywhere.' She flung her head back. 'I want to

stay with you, Riago. I want to be your wife.'

'I've dreamed of this,' he said huskily. 'Of hearing you say those

words, night after night in this cursed bed, alone. Tell me I'm not

dreaming now.' For the first time he sounded diffident, almost

vulnerable, and her heart cracked with answering tenderness and

delight.

She went into the circle of his uninjured arm, and lifted her face to

his. 'Will this convince you?' she asked softly, then their lips

touched, clung in a fusion too deep and too sweet for further words.

When at last they drew apart Riago stroked back her hair, giving an

unsteady laugh. 'My bride,' he murmured. 'My love. How you

fought against me.'

Charlie shook her head. 'I was fighting myself, I think,' she said

softly.

'And now is it peace between us?'

She smiled up at him, lovingly, teasingly. 'Oh, there'll be other

battles, I don't doubt. You can be quite an autocrat.'

'And yet you will still take the risk?'

'I'll risk anything.' She rested her cheek against his chest, knowing

that, for her, all the safety and security the world had to offer lay in

his arms. 'Every day an adventure.'

She reached up to kiss him again, smiling against his lips as she

thought of the baby.

The first wonderful adventure of their lives together had already

begun.

'Darling -' Happiness lilted in her voice.

'I've got something to tell you.'