Emerald Ecstasy (39 page)

She'd dress and go downstairs, surprise Raoul. Let him wonder what she was up to, let him wonder if she was up to anything.

“Well,
querida
, you are enchanting.” Raoul met her at the foot of the stairs leading into the vestibule. He took her hand and smiled a smile which reached the fathomless depths of his eye.

Lianne heard the sweet straining notes of a violin as they drifted from the open patio where Señor Guerrero's guests were assembled. She suppressed a tremor when Raoul touched her, taking her hand and twining it around his arm. “You are tired?” he commented, noting her still pale complexion.

“A bit.”

“Tomorrow we shall let the Mexican sun paint your face with its warmth.”

Raoul's allusion reminded her of Daniel and she mentally braced herself. Was he sparring with her, trying to get a rise out of her? Well, she wouldn't let him see how much she hated him, and refused to allow him the privilege of reading her thoughts.

“That would be very nice,” she said and gave him a dazzling smile. His eyebrow rose a fraction of an inch. He led her onto the patio where flickering lanterns illumined the bright decorations which hung above their heads like sunbursts. The cream-colored walls and pillars were swathed in garlands of flowers, laced through with red berries.

Couples swayed to the music, but beneath the whining of the violin could be heard the undertone of voices coming from the nearby
sala
where guests played card games. Señor Guerrero spotted them and came forward, and kissed Lianne's hand.

“How beautiful you are, Dona Lianne.” His small, fat jovial face beamed. “I'm so very pleased to have you and your husband as my guests.” He waved a plump hand and gestured about him. “As you see, I have a great many guests. I love people around me. Since my Carlotta passed away, life is very lonely. Perhaps you'd please an old man and sing for my friends later this evening. I heard you sing in Mexico City and was so moved by the beauty of your voice, you brought tears to my eyes.”

“My wife no longer performs,” Raoul interjected before Lianne had a chance to respond.

She gritted her teeth. How dare he determine whether she would sing or not! She liked Señor Guerrero and realized his compliment was given from the heart. She would not disappoint him.

“I would be delighted to sing for you, señor,” she said.

“
Gracias
, Dona Lianne. Gracias.” He kissed her hand anew, then left, seemingly much pleased.

Raoul's mouth tightened. “Elena was an obedient wife. Never would she have disobeyed me, as you have just done.”

“If you were so fond of Elena, Raoul, you should have kept her as your wife.” Lianne fluttered her fan and moved on, aware that his eyes shot daggers, but as a man bedazzled by her beauty, he followed her.

Lianne moved through the seductive swaying of the dancers, drawn to the voices in the
sala
. A mahogany card table had been placed in the center of the room. A crowd of people surrounded it, many of them men, but some women. Their cigar smoke curled and drifted upward to the beamed ceiling, and Lianne felt surprise to observe a large Mexican woman smoking a cigar. When she drew closer she realized the woman was the dealer.

Her fat fingers laid out three cards, face downward, on the table. She spoke to a person on the other side of the table whom Lianne couldn't see.

“Señor, take your pick,” the woman said, her hands fluttering over the cards. “Choose the red queen.”

At that point some people moved away and gave Lianne an unobstructed view of the two people who sat opposite the woman. She stood still, and her mouth fell open. Daniel lounged in a chair, Isabelle Hidalgo sat next to him, or almost on top of him. Their bodies were so close Lianne couldn't determine where the buff-colored jacket he wore began and Isabelle's naked arm ended.

Isabelle's long, thin finger pointed to one of the cards. “Choose that one, Daniel. That is the red queen.”

He smiled at her. “Are you sure? I've bet the bank quite a bit of money.”

“
Sí
, I am sure,” she said and pressed her red silk bodice against his arm.

He nodded at the Mexican woman. “The third card,” he said, indicating the one which Isabelle had pointed out to him.

The woman smiled and turned the card upward. It was the red queen. Isabelle shrieked her delight and threw her arms around Daniel. “I've won for you again!”

Daniel laughed and began to collect his winnings, but he glanced up and saw Lianne with a menacing Raoul behind her.

He inclined his head. “Don Raoul and Dona Lianne. What a pleasant surprise.” Gallantly Daniel stood and surprised both Raoul and Lianne by reaching for her hand and kissing the palm. His lips seared her flesh, and she wanted to throw herself into his arms, to beg him to take her away with him. But she couldn't. Not now. She must be careful, mustn't move too quickly. However, she vowed she'd tell Daniel what had happened at the academy and warn him to be careful.

Though she thought he should pretend indifference, she saw the glow of love in Daniel's eyes and grew fearful when Raoul moved forward and clutched her arm.

“I didn't think you'd be inclined to visit San Augustin de las Cuevas, Daniel. There's nothing here of interest to you.” Raoul scowled and threw Isabelle a black look.

“Raoul, you know I love to gamble, appreciate fine liquor and beautiful women.” Daniel reached for Isabelle but his eyes were on Lianne.

She wished he wouldn't look at her like that. A tremor, mixed with fear and desire, ran through her. She felt Raoul stiffen next to her, then he bowed very formally. “We shall retire for the night. Good evening.”

“I should like to retire, too, Daniel.” Isabelle's hands moved sensuously across the front of Daniel's chest. The woman couldn't have been more obvious in her desire for Daniel, and Lianne silently fumed.

“What an intriguing idea, Isabelle, but we must persuade Don Raoul and his bride to join us in a glass of wine. We must drink to their marriage.”

Lianne interpreted this remark as a way of keeping her from Raoul for as long as possible. He did love her and must have an inkling of what had happened.

“I want no toast of congratulations from you!” Raoul's bitter voice echoed across the
sala
. People stopped chatting and looked curiously at him. When he was aware he had drawn attention to himself, he bowed and managed a tight smile. “Some other time.”

He started to drag Lianne away, but she caught the eye of Señor Guerrero. Seeing that Raoul was leaving, the man waddled over to them.

“Please, señora, a song to warm my old heart.”

Lianne felt Raoul's hand tighten on her arm, but she wasn't going to disappoint Señor Guerrero, no matter what Raoul threatened later.

“I would be most happy to sing, señor,” she said and managed to disengage herself from her husband. As she walked toward a small stage in the courtyard, Daniel winked at her.

The violins began to play and she sang a folk song in Spanish. It was a song about a hopeless love, but a love which would endure throughout eternity. However, as she sang it, her eyes lighting upon Daniel, she didn't feel hopeless. Love surged through her and she sang for him. It didn't matter that Isabelle hung on to him tighter than a leech. Daniel loved her, and she loved him. Somehow this bond of love, of trust, would bring them together forever.

When she finished, the applause deafened her. Shouts of “La Flamenca” filled the courtyard and the people wouldn't let her leave. She noticed the hardness of Raoul's face but didn't care if he was aggravated. She wanted to sing and realized she had missed this aspect of her life. The only person who mattered at the moment was Daniel, and time seemed suspended as she lifted her voice again in a haunting melody. She imagined she sang only for him, that they were alone. But too quickly the song ended, and she was thrust back to reality.

No sooner had she finished and accepted a small bouquet of roses from Señor Guerrero, than Raoul pressed an iron grip around her wrist and practically pulled her through the crowd, but Daniel halted them.

“Leaving so soon?”

“
Sí
, you slimy snake,” Raoul hissed. “I'm taking my wife to our room, our bed. You cannot best me, Daniel, so do not try.”

“If that is the case, then why are you so upset?” Daniel asked calmly. “You were the one who took her from my room. You're her husband. Why do you fear me so, Raoul, if you know I can't best you.”

“Are you challenging me?”

“Yes. You decide the sport.”

“Ah, you think to duel with me, Daniel, and make Lianne a widow. No, that isn't what I have in mind.”

“Raoul, please…” Lianne broke in, not liking the way Raoul's glance viciously raked across Daniel.

“Quiet!” he ordered, then turned his full attention upon Daniel, not noticing Isabelle beside him. “Tomorrow there is a cockfight. I've entered my prize cock, El Diablo, against El Tigre, who belongs to Señor Guerrero. Let the outcome decide which one of us is the winner.”

“What is the stake?” Daniel asked.

Raoul smirked. “My wife, of course.”

With that comment, he turned and dragged Lianne from the patio and up the stairs to their room.

“How could you do such an unspeakable thing to me?” she demanded when he released her and slammed the door shut. She massaged her sore wrist.

Raoul looked surprised. “I thought you wanted Daniel, desired him,
querida
. You should be pleased. Perhaps he will win.” He went to the sideboard and poured himself a glass of tequila. He raised it to her in a toast. “To you, Lianne. A woman who inflames a man's senses, but a woman who'll never attain her heart's desire.”

“What do you intend to do to Daniel?”

“Why nothing,
querida
. The cockfight will determine the outcome, but El Tigre won't win. I shall make certain that Señor Guerrero sees to it that his prize cock will lose. Remember how awful you felt after the miscarriage, how nasty your juice tasted. Well, the cock will also be unwell.”

“You filthy bastard!” Lianne leapt from her place in the center of the room and clawed at Raoul's face.

He grabbed her hand, wrenching it back. A thin streak of blood ran down his cheek. “How well I remember the hellcat! Madrid should have taught me something about you, Lianne, but I love you, whether you know it or not. Daniel won't win tomorrow even if El Tigre doesn't lose. I own you, body and soul. If you love Daniel, don't force me to take drastic measures against him, because I could have done so by now. Only because you love him, because he is your child's father, have I resisted.”

He dropped her arm then went to the door and called for Josephine who stayed in the next room. “See that the señora is put to bed,” he instructed her. “Also, she is not to leave the room tonight or tomorrow, not until the cockfight.”

“I won't stay locked in here!” she protested. “I'll get away somehow.”

Raoul shrugged. “Suit yourself. Only Diego will wait in the garden below. I don't think you'd like to come up against Diego. He can be very nasty.”

He left the room with that ominous threat.

“What have you done now?” Josephine asked.

“Be quiet!” Lianne cried and flung herself on the bed.

Daniel wasn't the least surprised to notice Raoul as he left Señor Guerrero's library. It was as he suspected. Raoul had paid the man a visit, probably to discuss the cockfight the next afternoon. And knowing the working of Raoul's mind as he did by now, this nocturnal visit wasn't unexpected.

Daniel waited in the
sala
, ignored by the servants. He sat in the shadows of the room, his large frame lounging lazily in a highbacked chair until he heard Raoul's confident voice bidding Señor Guerrero a good night. When Raoul's footsteps grew faint, he got up and tapped on the library door.

Señor Guerrero bade him to enter. He closed the door silently behind him as the older man looked up.

“Ah, Señor Flanders. Not an unexpected visit.”

“Well?” Daniel asked.

Guerrero nodded and offered Daniel a cigar. “It was as you said, señor. De Lovis has just left. He requested at first that I sell him El Tigre. When I refused, he demanded I bow to his wishes and give the bird a drop of this powder.” He picked up a yellow vial and handed it to Daniel.

“What was your answer to him?” Daniel lit and puffed on the cigar.

Guerrero grinned. “I told him I would, but I didn't tell him that I had already sold El Tigre to you. You're quite an astute young man. Not many people are able to decipher de Lovis' moves.”

Daniel grinned in reply. “I'm indebted to you for selling me the bird. I know how fond you are of El Tigre. But I promise you that when the fight is over, I shall return him to you.”