The Mountains of Spring (7 page)

She tried to take hold of the back of a chair, but the chair didn
’
t seem to be in its place any more,
and
her hand grasped at empty space. The door opened, and somebody stood on the threshold, staring at her, but she didn
’
t even notice. She had tried to keep control of her senses, but it was no use—a misty blackness enveloped her, and everything else was blotted out.

The man who had been standing in the doorway moved forward with the speed of lightning, and as he prevented her from falling he uttered an exclamation under his breath. It was an exclamation in Spanish, and it was one of pure vexation.

When Caroline came to herself again she was seated in the room
’
s one and only reasonably comfortable chair, and all the windows had been thrown wide, to admit sunlight and fresh air and a delicious aroma which she recognized as the scent of bougainvillea. Diego Rivel was leafing through some of the papers on the desk, as if he were far too busy a
man
to waste time while waiting for her to recover, and
she instantly felt unreasonably resentful. But as soon as she opened her eyes, rather as if he possessed some sort of sixth sense, he moved round to stand in front of her.

‘
You are better,
senorita
?
’

She sat up very straight, and glanced around the; room, a little like a caged animal.
‘
Oh, yes, thank you—I
’
m quite all right. I can
’
t think what happened
...
’

‘
You fainted,
’
he told her.
‘
It was extremely hot in this room.
’

Some of her resentment deserted her, and she flushed.
‘
I
’
m sorry,
’
she said.
‘
I don
’
t usually faint!
’

He smiled.
‘
I don
’
t suppose you do
...
but you have no need to apologize. It was very natural.
’
In a
faintly
amused tone he added:
‘
You have no need to blush, either. But when you do it so charmingly it would be a pity to check you!
’

Instantly her colour grew twice as vivid, and she stood up, avoiding his eyes. This situation was absurd. She couldn
’
t think why Diego Rivel should suddenly be paying her compliments, but she supposed he wanted to embarrass her. In which case he was succeeding, and she was behaving like a schoolgirl.

‘
Why isn
’
t Peter here?
’
she asked abruptly.
‘
You said I should meet him here.
’

‘
Yes, I did,
’
he admitted smoothly.
‘
And I owe you an apology. Your brother left early this morning to accompany one of my horses to the race-track near Mexico City. Unfortunately, the message I sent him in connection with yourself did not reach
him
before he left. But won
’
t you sit down again?
You a
r
e a little pale, and—
’

‘
Thank you, I
’
m perfectly all right.
’
Her eyes sparkled angrily.
‘
You couldn
’
t have sent him a message—I don
’
t believe you even tried to get one to him! At least, I
’
m sure you did your best to see to it that he didn
’
t hear about me until after he had left this morning. You wanted him to take your horse to the races—you didn
’
t want anything to interfere with his work. You
’
re—you
’
re a monster!
’
She really did feel quite herself again, for the sheer concentrated fury which he aroused in her had had an astonishingly restorative effect, and she no longer felt even slightly dizzy. With fingers that hardly trembled at all she gathered up her handbag and her spotless white gloves, which had been placed on a chair, and moved towards the door.

‘
I
’
m very sorry to have put you to so much trouble,
senor,
but I shan
’
t put you to any more! I shall get in touch with my brother, and make my own arrangements with him. We can meet during his spare time—if he has any! And once he and I have had a really good talk I don
’
t
think
he
’
ll be with you very much longer!
’

She stretched out a hand to open the door, but the Mexican was there before her, and he placed his long fingers over the handle, preventing her from escaping
.

‘
Where are you going, Miss Ashley?
’

She put back her head and looked up at him, and her eyes had the cold, brilliant blueness of northern seas on a clear winter
’
s day.

‘
I
’
m going back to my hotel,
senor.
So please let me out
...
or do you intend to keep me here as a prisoner? I
’
ve heard that strange things happen
in Mexico
!’

Firmly retaining his grip on the door-handle, he frowned.
‘
Forgive me,
senorita,
but I think you are a little light-headed. The sun has indeed been too much for you! I shall not allow you to go back to your hotel in such a condition.
’

She stared at him in real alarm, and even backed away a little.
‘
Please
...’
Her expression indicated that she was beginning to think him dangerous.
‘
Let me go!
’

‘
Certainly—when you are recovered. I will drive you to your hotel myself. In the meantime, however, you will if you please come with me to another hotel, a little further away than the Vista de Oro, where we shall have lunch, and you will compose yourself.
’

‘
Thank you very much,
’
she said stiffly.
‘
But I would prefer to go back to the Vista de Oro.
’

‘
I know you would.
’
For the second time that morning, he smiled at her.
‘
And of course I cannot really prevent you. If you are prepared to walk.
’
He paused for a moment to allow this to sink in.
‘
But I shall not place a car at your disposal, and I
’
m afraid I shall not allow you to telephone for a taxi, either.
’

Caroline swallowed.
‘
Then I shall walk.
’

‘
The equivalent of
five good English miles,
senorita
? And in the heat of the day?
’
He shook his head at her.
‘
We have just seen how you react to the heat!
’

She felt as if the violence of her resentment were choking her.

‘
I could get a lift—
’
she began.

‘
In rural Mexico?
’
His eyes gleamed.
‘
You are a very pretty young woman, Miss Ashley. I would not advise it.
’

Despite all her efforts to prevent it, her lower lip began to tremble slightly.
‘
This is barbarous
...
’
She bit into the offending lip ferociously.
‘
I could complain to the police.
’

‘
But you will not do so.
’
Once again, he smiled irritatingly.
‘
After all, what I am doing is for your own good.
’
He opened the door at last, and stood back to let her leave the room ahead of him.
‘
Incidentally,
’
he added,
‘
if it is the thought of lunching alone with me that alarms you, you have no need to worry. We shall not be alone.
’

She paused and glanced at him, uncertain whether to feel relieved or otherwise.
‘
Your
...
wife will be there?
’
she suggested. Somehow it had not occurred to her before that he might be married.

But he promptly shook his head, and disabused her of the idea.
‘
No,
senorita,
I am an unhappy man,
’
whimsically.
‘
I have no wife
...
yet. But it is true that one of the two ladies with whom we shall be lunching today is of the greatest importance to me.
’

His white sports car was waiting outside the entrance to the patio, and in silence she allowed herself to be helped into it. She was feeling tired now, and a little limp, and she couldn
’
t summon the energy to argue or protest any further.

They drove for about half an hour, climbing steadily into the mountains, and at the end of that time they swung into the car-park of what was evidently a lux
ur
y-class hotel. It looked as if it had been quite recently built, and had obviously been positioned in such a way as to command the most breathtaking view possible of both the lavender-blue mountains and the burning, red-gold dust of the plain far below them. But at the moment all its shutters were tightly closed, for it was past midday, and although there seemed to be quite a number of smart vehicles parked outside there wasn
’
t a single human figure in sight.

Senor Rivel brought the car to rest in the scented shadow of an acacia tree, and they climbed out. The air was alive and quivering with heat, and the light blinding. Caroline was glad that she had a pair of dark glasses with her, and as they turned to walk across the scorching expanse of the car-park, towards the hotel itself, she put them on.

But the interior of the Hotel Cordillera was deliciously cool, and the blinds and shutters that at this hour of the day covered most of the windows made it also refreshingly dim. Caroline felt more than a little nervous and apprehensive as they entered the wide foyer, for apart from the fact that she was not looking forward to lunching in the company of Diego Rivel she had not forgotten that they were to meet two Mexican ladies, one of whom was a very particular friend of her companion, and she had little doubt that both women would turn out to be
ala
rming
ly
elegant. Her own presence would probably surprise them a good deal, and it was even possible that they might resent it. She didn
’
t feel in the least like such a confrontation, and as she cautiously preceded her host into a huge circular cocktail lounge, where the whirring of the electric
fans
mingled harmoniously with the murmur of dozens of subdued voices, she felt for the second time in one day like a gauche, overgrown schoolgirl.

But the two ladies—who were driving, apparently, all the way from Mexico City—had not yet arrived, and few people glanced up as they made their way to a quiet
corner
near one of the shaded windows. By the time she had been installed in a deep, comfortable armchair, and Senor Rivel had insisted that she accept a glass of sherry—in the normal way she rarely drank anything stronger than tomato juice or bitter lemon—some of her self-confidence was beginning to return to her, and as she had an opportunity to attend to her appearance in the powder-room, and she knew perfectly well that nothing could have suited her better than the crisp simplicity of her pink linen suit, she gradually began to hope that perhaps the lunch ahead of her might not be such a humiliating ordeal, after all. It was very restful in the cocktail lounge, for all the furnishings were in attractive shades of green, and the dense pile of the carpet seemed to cushion everything, absorbing all discordant sound.

She still felt bitterly resentful of the man beside her, but he didn
’
t say a great deal—although once or twice she caught him looking at her—and after a time she began to relax. When he wasn
’
t watching her she found herself studying him ... his arrogant Spanish profile and his satin-smooth black hair were, she reluctantly admitted to herself, extraordinarily striking, and if it hadn
’
t been for the fact that she disliked him so intensely she might even have found him attractive.

It was well after one o
’
clock when the ladies from Mexico City finally made their appearance. Most of the other people in the cocktail lounge had removed themselves to the dining-room, and everything was
very quiet when Diego Rivel suddenly got to his feet and started to move towards the door. At first Caroline didn
’
t realize what was happening. And then, automatically, she turned her head to follow the movement of her host, and she received a slight shock.