Renegade Love (Rancheros) (4 page)

Dona Valerianna sighed softly with relief and quickly joined her husband to ward off the embarrassing moment. “Come and let us raise our glasses.”

Dolores quickly had servants fill all the glasses and Alejandro didn’t wait, he immediately raised his glass high, offering a toast. “To the young couple, may their marriage be happy and fruitful.”

Rosa’s hand shook so badly that she barely got the glass to her lips without spilling the red wine. She had not thought of their marriage as being fruitful. She had not thought at all on her wifely duties, though the obligation struck her now, and hard. She would lay with this man as his wife and he would have the right to do as he wished. The thought made her ill. She casually made her way to a chair and sat, only half listening to the conversation going on around her.

Esteban watched Rosa’s every movement. It was obvious that she didn’t wish this marriage. She had no desire for him to be her husband, to share their lives together, and she definitely didn’t want to share his bed. Why she paled at the mere mention of fruitfulness. She even feared looking at him. She had a weak nature and not an ounce of strength.

“The meal is ready,” Dolores announced and moved to the side to allow them entrance to the dining room. Esteban didn’t waste a moment, he went directly to his mother and offered her his arm.

Once again Dona Valerianna was shocked by his rudeness in ignoring Rosa, his intended, but his chilling stare warned her to take his arm or else, and she did.

Alejandro rushed to Rosa’s side to escort her, fearing the girl would be upset and rightfully so. But it wasn’t distress he saw on her pale face, but rather relief and that alarmed Alejandro. This meeting was not going as he had hoped it would. He patted Rosa’s hand that rested on his arm as they followed behind Valerianna and Esteban, worrying that this was only the beginning of the many hurts Esteban would inflict upon the poor girl.

Roberto and Lola looked at each other, smiled, hooked arms, and trailed behind Alejandro, their greedy minds busy counting the tidy sum of money that would be turned over to them on Rosa’s wedding day.

The meal was terribly frustrating for all but Roberto and Lola, who ate with gusto. Alejandro and Valerianna attempted to keep up a lively conversation. Rosa remained completely silent, barely touching her food. Esteban drank his wine, ignoring his food and the conversation going on around him. Near the end of the meal his eyes remained steady on Rosa, while hers continued to remain downcast.

“It will be a lovely affair,” Dona Valerianna said. “The wedding will take place out in the garden. The flowers are in their height of bloom and will serve as a beautiful surrounding to such a special occasion.”

“The wedding will not take place in the church?” Roberto asked aware, as was the whole village, that Esteban was not welcomed there since his return and refusal to take confession.

“The church will not hold the amount of guests that have been invited,” Alejandro explained annoyed by the man’s lack of manners.

“Yes, many will attend, won’t they?” Lola asked a sweet, though false smile wide upon her face.

“Of course they will. None would be so rude as to refuse Don Cesare’s invitation to his son’s wedding,” Dona Valerianna said with an air of superiority that warned the woman to tread carefully.

“Naturally,” Lola remarked more thoughtfully after receiving a sharp kick beneath the table from her husband. “It will be the event of the year.”

“No one would dare miss such a splendid celebration,” Roberto said attempting to lighten the tense situation.

Esteban sat disgusted with the whole matter. The Curros were interested in only one thing... the hefty dowry money this union would bring them. And he had no doubt that his father had to pay a large sum to buy his son a wife. At least his father and mother had their son’s best interest at heart or so they thought, and as for Rosalita?

He had been watching her for a while. Her eyes remained focused on her plate where her food sat untouched. She was smaller in size and gentler in appearance than he had first thought. She was certainly no match for him. His wife would require bold strength to defend against the vicious gossip that would surely surround them. Her unwillingness to look him straight in the eyes, clearly showed how easily she could be intimidated.

Her beauty was another matter. It sparked something hot and primal in him that he was having a hell of a time ignoring. At the moment he was sorely tempted to ruffle her delicateness. Why he wasn’t certain, though perhaps it was to catch a glimpse of her eyes.

“I wish to speak with Rosa alone,” he found himself saying, instantly silencing those around him.

It brought the desired reaction from Rosa... her head shot up. He caught her eyes with his before she could look away. Dark and wide with fright, they glared at him and he grew annoyed with himself that her fear should stimulate him even more. But then he craved control, had to have it in every aspect of his life. Never—never—would he allow anyone to control him ever again.

“A walk in the garden,” he announced, as if it had already been decided and allowing no room for her to refuse him. He stood and walked around to stand behind her chair, placing his hands firmly on the back to assist her.

Rosa sat numb. She knew he waited for her to rise so that he could pull the chair back, but she found herself unable to move. She did not wish to be alone with him. He frightened her more than she cared to admit. Though lean, you could tell by the cut of his clothes that his body was taut with muscles, which no doubt gave him strength that she would be hard pressed to defend against. And his sinfully handsome features sent tingles over her entire body every time she looked at him, which she did as little as possible, and then there was his open rudeness. She simply did not know how to deal with it.

The chair was suddenly slid back with her in it, which alarmed her even more since it only served to impress upon her just how strong her future husband was. She stood abruptly, almost toppling to the side if it wasn’t for his hand that reached out and grabbed her.

She winced softly as his hand gripped the spot where Roberto had earlier taken the strap to her. He released her instantly.

“Come,” Esteban ordered sternly and stepped back away from her. He was annoyed at her reaction to his touch. Was she so fragile that his touch had caused her pain or had she been disgusted by his touch?

Rosa walked around the chair and moved quickly past him, not waiting for him to offer his arm in assistance.

Esteban shot his father a look that warned that this was not over yet before following Rosa.

Alejandro could do nothing but say a silent prayer that his decision had been a wise one and that this marriage would be good for both his son and Rosalita. He maintained his smile and returned the conversation to the impending wedding.

Esteban was amazed that for one so small and delicate Rosa could walk with such haste. She was down the garden’s stone path before Esteban entered the garden. She obviously didn’t care to be in his presence, which served to blacken his already dark mood even further, and so he hurried after her.

When he caught up with her, he reached out and grabbed her arm. She winced again, though more dramatically this time and pulled away from him.

“Which is it?” he demanded with a biting fury. “Do you abhor my touch or is my touch too strong for your delicate nature?”

His arrogant assumption irritated her and she opened her mouth to protest and then thought better of it. She quickly shut her mouth and lowered her glance. What good would a retort do? It would only serve to anger him further and perhaps cause him to strike her as Roberto always did when she annoyed him or found the courage to speak her mind. Besides, she had felt the strength Esteban possessed when he had grabbed her.

“Look at me,” he demanded sharply, his tone brooking no disobedience.

Rosa raised her head slowly, biting her bottom lip and wishing she could speak her mind but knowing that she would suffer for it.

“Don’t ever cast your eyes down away from me again,” he ordered, his words a dire warning to be heeded. “I assume this marriage is as much against your wishes as it is mine.”

Rosa nodded, trying to ignore the way the moonlight played off his face, causing his imposing features to standout even more. The women in the village had been right when they had said that his sinfully handsome face stole a woman’s breath, for right now Rosa felt her breath catch at the sight of him in the moonlight.

“I suppose you cannot refuse this marriage contract?” he asked less harshly.

“I haven’t the right.” Rosa’s response was soft and sorrowful since she couldn’t help but think of the beating Roberto would serve on her if she refused to honor the agreement.

Esteban stood silent, her softly gentle voice firing his insides to burning, which irritated him even more. “Go,” he snapped, “return to your guardians and my parents.”

Rosa hesitated, though she would have liked nothing better than to flee his presence, she understood that his absence would be questioned. “You are not returning?”

Esteban took a sharp step toward her and she hastily stumbled back away from him. “Don’t ever question me.”

Rosa was accustomed to apologies and so she gave one quickly. “I meant no disrespect, Senor Cesare.”

“Do not call me that,” he said with a bitterness that caused Rosa to shiver. “You know my name, use it.”

Rosa nodded afraid to speak.

“Use it now!”

“Es—Esteban.”

“Again.”

“Esteban,” she said more clearly.

“Now go,” he ordered, not offering any excuse as to why he would not be returning with her.

Rosa turned and walked down the stone path, relieved with each step she took that he wasn’t beside her.

“Rosa.”

The voice sounded as though it came from directly behind her. She turned around swiftly and was startled to see Esteban right there in front of her. She had not heard the crunch of the stones beneath his feet to warn of his approach. How had he managed to come up behind her without her hearing a single footfall? The thought of such skill alarmed her.

“You never answered my question,” Esteban said.

Rosa titled her head slightly and frowned trying to recall his question.

Esteban was taken by her obvious confusion and the sheer beauty of her frowning face. The soft wrinkle of her dark eyes, the puzzling pucker of her tempting lips, the warm flush to her high cheekbones, they were all too appealing... much too appealing.

“My touch,” he snapped sharply annoyed with himself for allowing his thoughts to stray where they shouldn’t. “Do you abhor it or are you too delicate for my strength?”

Rosa jumped, startled by his bark and in her nervousness answered honestly before thinking. “Neither.”

“Neither?’ Now he was confused.

Rosa realized too late her error. How was she to explain the bruise on her arm?

She hesitated too long and he demanded, “I’ll have a truthful answer now.”

Rosa had no way out of this. She had confessed to no one except Marinda the abuse she suffered at her guardians’ hands. There was no point in complaining, nothing would be done about it. She unwittingly raised her hand to rub at the welt left by the strap Roberto loved to wield.

Words were not necessary, Esteban clearly understood her actions. He pushed her hand aside, surprising her, then turned her toward the moonlight. He ran his hand slowly up and down her lace-covered arm almost as if he was caressing it, and it sent a tingle rushing through Rosa.

He stopped when he felt the welt, his fingers carefully exploring the width and length of it. “Who took a strap to you?”

Rosa grew fearful. Never had she heard such savagery in a voice before. “It is nothing.”

“Who?” His tone was menacingly low.

“It was my own fault. I did not obey his orders fast enough.”

Esteban heard and felt her quiver of fear. It brought back painful memories. Memories he longed to forget, though he doubted he ever would. Anger boiled inside him and he took hold of Rosa’s hand, and it was all she could do to keep up with his powerful strides.

The dining room was empty when they entered and Esteban went straight for the parlor where his father would be having his best after dinner wine served. He stopped abruptly in the doorway, Rosa ‘s small frame bumping into his side from his sudden halt. His eyes scanned the room and when he spotted Roberto, he dragged Rosa alongside him over to the man.

He swung her to the side and released her hand only to swiftly grab a startled Roberto by the neck and slammed him against the wall, squeezing the breath from him.

Esteban heard his father shout for him to stop, but he paid him no heed. “Listen well,” he said so menacingly that the whole room turned silent. “Raise your hand or a strap to Rosalita again and I will silt you from throat to groin and watch you die like the pig you are. Understood?”

Roberto could barely breathe, but he managed to nod.

Esteban released him and the man choked to regain his breath as he sunk down on a chair. He then turned to Rosa. “Anyone who dares to lay a hand on you or speaks disparagingly to you will die.” Esteban looked to his father and then pointed to Roberto. “Do not dare apologize to that pig for my actions, he got what he deserved.” He then stormed from the room, leaving shocked silence in his wake.

Marinda blessed herself for the third time. “I don’t believe this. I don’t believe this. Didn’t I tell you not to look upon him?”

Rosa couldn’t prevent the yawn or shiver that overtook her simultaneously. Marinda’s words upset her and her lack of sleep last night was fast catching up with her. The Curros had hurriedly made excuses to leave last night after Roberto was nearly choked to death by Esteban. Lola had berated her during the whole trip home for having made Esteban believe she was being abused. Didn’t she understand, stupid girl that she was, that she had deserved every abuse she had suffered at their hands. Lola reminded her again and again what a lazy sot she was and if it wasn’t for their strict discipline she would not be prepared to be wife to such a powerful man. She should be grateful and thank them. Rosa had remained silent, her thoughts lost on how Esteban had immediately and without question defended her. No one had done that since her parents had died.