The Mountains of Spring (20 page)

‘
Of course it does not.
’
The Senora seemed obligingly determined to support her.
‘
Take Caroline for a walk, Diego. Show her the Pyramids of the Sun and the Moon, and the Temple of Quetzalcoatl. It is what she came for!
’

Her grandson
’
s lips seemed to tighten.
‘
Naturally, later on, I shall be happy to show Miss Ashley the pyramids, and anything eke she wishes to see. It is what we all came for! But Isabel would prefer to see the ruins later in the day, and you, madame, must by now be feeling in need of a little refreshment
’
—he looked as if he believed only Caroline could have been so unfeeling as to overlook such a point.
‘
That being the case the first thing we should do is drive to a suitable hotel—there is an excellent place not far from here. Later, when we have had lunch, and you have rested—
’

‘
My child, you make me feel one hundred and twenty years old! However,
’
resignedly,
‘
if it will make you happy I suggest that Carlos drives Isabel and myself to your excellent hotel without delay! Caroline can remain here with you, and when she has satisfied her curiosity a little you can bring her to join us—in time for lunch.
’
She looked pleased with herself.
‘
That is an excellent plan, don
’
t you agree?
’

Diego hesitated. His expression was unreadable.
‘
If the arrangement suits Miss Ashley
...’
he began.

Caroline
’
s tongue refused to function. She knew that she ought to say no to the idea, and fall in with her host
’
s obvious desire to postpone all sightseeing until later in the day, but somehow the words wouldn
’
t come. And while she hesitated the matter was settled for her.

‘
Of course the arrangement suits her,
’
said Senora Rivel.
‘
There is no more to be said. It is ideal!
’

But ten minutes later, as she and Diego stood at the edge of the road, watching the Mercedes glide away from them in a cloud of dust, Caroline decided that the situation was anything but ideal. The man beside her was at his coldest and most unapproachable, and even the golden splendour of the scene around her couldn
’
t lighten the dark
cl
oud that once again seemed to have descended on her. She couldn
’
t think of anything to say, so she said nothing, and for some time he guided her forward over the rough ground in complete silence.

Then suddenly they were standing in front of the Temple of Quetzalcoatl itself, and as she gazed upwards at the great mountain of stone a little thrill of fear ran through Caroline. Without knowing quite what she was doing, she clutched at her companion
’
s sleeve.

‘
It
’
s
...
rather uncanny, isn
’
t it?
’
she said.

‘
Uncanny?
’
He looked down at her.
‘
You mean it
’
s strange—frightening?
’

‘
Yes.
’

‘
That is because you have never been here before. If you had been here as often as I have you would
not be afraid
.’

‘
But it
’
s almost as if the stones were alive.
’
Her voice had sunk to little more than a whisper.
‘
A
s if they were alive with vibrations
...
with echoes, somehow. Echoes of all the people who have climbed those steps
...
’
She broke off in confusion, and forced herself to speak more normally.
‘
That sounds very silly, I know.
’

‘
No. It
’
s not silly,
senorita.
The stones are alive with echoes. But they are only the echoes of men and women, of people like ourselves. The Aztecs were a noble people, and if their noble spirits haunt this place why should we be afraid of them?
’

She looked up at him in surprise.
‘
I don
’
t
thin
k
their being noble makes very much difference,
’
she admitted rather shakily.
‘
But—but I see what you mean.
’

‘
You do?
’
He looked at her with a faint smile in his eyes.
‘
Then climb the steps with me, and I will explain the whole city to you.
’

She hesitated, and, quite unexpectedly, he took hold of one of her hands.
‘
Don
’
t be afraid,
’
he urged.
‘
Hang on to me. I
’
m not a ghost!
’

Her heart began to pound as it had done the evening before, in Senora Dominguez
’
salon,
and she made no attempt to withdraw her fingers. Instead she allowed herself to be drawn forward towards the towering bulk of the Temple, and five minutes later they had reached the top of the steps. There was a kind of terrace at the top, and when they had reached it they stood still.

‘
You are afraid?
’
Diego asked, still retaining his hold upon her hand.

She flushed.
‘
Not really. It
’
s
...
wonderful up here.
’

‘
It is, isn
’
t it?
’
He guided her along the terrace
-
like walk.
‘
Often, when I was a child, my grandfather used to bring me here. He told me all the legends of the place. He thought it right that I should know it well, for it is said that in our family there is Aztec blood.
’

Her eyes widened as she looked at him.
‘
You mean that some of your ancestors may have lived here?
’

‘
It is possible.
’
His eyes grew quizzical.
‘
You find the idea alarming?
’

‘
Of course not. It
’
s
...
very interesting.
’

‘
I am happy to hear you say so. It means there is, after all, something about me that you do not entirely hate.
’

As he spoke his voice was cool and matter-of-fact, and he didn
’
t even turn to look at her.

Caroline bit her lip.
‘
I don
’
t hate you,
’
she said, as if it
w
ere a point that had to be cleared up.

Now he did turn to look at her, and as she stared out across the sunlit valley of Teotihuacan she felt as if his eyes were boring into the top of her head.

‘
No?
’
he answered softly.
‘
Not even when you think about Peter?
’

She felt as if there were some kind of constriction in her throat.
‘
It
’
s irrational,
’
she said,
‘
to hate anyone. Unless they
’
ve done something—well, terrible.
’

‘
A
nd I am not quite as bad as that?
’
He laughed, but it wasn
’
t a very light-hearted laugh.
‘
Tell me,
’
he said abruptly, after a pause,
‘
what makes you want to stay in Mexico?
’

‘
Why, I
...
Mexico is a beautiful country,
’
she
told him a little lamely.
‘
And of course, Peter is here.
’

‘
Of course. And
Mr.
Weldon, the American—he is here too!
’

She looked up at him in astonishment. As usual his expression was unreadable, but nevertheless she seemed to see a kind of tension in the lines of his face.

‘
Mr.
Weldon is nothing to do with me,
’
she assured him.

‘
Oh, come now,
senorita
.
Only yesterday I saw you together at the races, and this morning Isabel told me—
’

‘
What did Isabel tell you,
senor
?
’
Caroline was standing very still.

‘
She told me she believed that you and the American had fallen in love. In fact,
’
rather slowly,
‘
she seemed to be looking forward with satisfaction to the early announcement of your engagement.
’

‘
But that
’
s nonsense!
’
She coloured brilliantly.
‘
I hardly know
Mr.
Weldon. And in any case
...’
She stopped.

‘
Yes?
’
He was watching her closely.

‘
In any case there isn
’
t the slightest likelihood ... I mean, I wouldn
’
t want to marry him, and I
’
m quite sure he wouldn
’
t want to marry me.
’
She knew there was a strong possibility that the last part of this statement might not be strictly true, but that didn
’
t matter in the least. The important thing, for some reason, was that she had to make the position absolutely clear.

For several seconds Diego was silent, gazing down at her. Then:

‘
Is that
...
absolutely true?
’

‘
Of course it is.
’
She was trembling a little, but she tried to speak normally.
‘
Of course it
’
s true.
’

He took a step towards her.
‘
And there
’
s no one ... no one in the wide world who—interests you?
’

This time her lips moved, but the words wouldn
’
t come. She looked up into his face, and what she saw there startled her. She tried to turn away from him, but she couldn
’
t bring herself to move. And then all at once his arms were round her, and he was holding her so tightly that she had difficulty in breathing.

‘
Oh,
amada
...
’
he whispered.
‘
My little white rose! Is there really no one
...
?
’
And then he kissed her, and as all her doubts and conflicts and bewilderment faded away she knew with complete and shattering certainty that Diego Rivel was the only
man
in the world she would ever love. Quite unash
am
edly, she clung to him, while overhead the sun beat steadily down from a cloudless azure sky, and the living stillness of Aztec Mexico wrapped them about like a mantle.

They didn
’
t hear the warning murmur that should have told them a car was approaching, and it wasn
’
t until a man
’
s voice cut across the silence that Diego lifted his head to listen. But as he listened something in his face changed, and gently but firmly he put Caroline away from him. They both turned round, and to her astonishment Caroline saw the uniformed figure of Carlos the chauffeur
running
across the rock-strewn ground towards them. As he ran he was calling to his employer, and when at last he caught sight of the figures at the top of the Temple steps he was obviously very relieved. He climbed the steps about as fast as it was humanly
possible to climb them, and by the time he came to a halt in front of Diego he was almost totally devoid of breath.

His employer looked at him sharply.
‘
Well?
’

Carlos gave vent to a flood of Spanish, and Caroline, watching Diego closely, saw the chiselled lines of his face become set. She knew that something was very wrong, and when at last he turned back to her her anxiety showed in her eyes.

‘
My grandmother has collapsed at the hotel. They think she has had a heart attack.
’