The Stars of San Cecilio (14 page)

‘I’m sure of it,’ Lisa said, feeling herself much more than merely rebuked, while the color on her cheek-bones felt as if it was burning holes in them. ‘I was only venturing an opinion that, at the moment, she has a very well stocked wardrobe. ’ ‘That is for Dona Beatriz to decide! ’

‘Of course. ’

But although her voice was quiet, and almost demure, inside her something was quaking with an uprush of nothing short of anger. Why was it any more Dona Beatriz’s concern than it was hers? Dona Beatriz was merely an invited guest in his house — not, so far as she was aware, his fiancee, and certainly not his wife. Not yet, at any rate. And Lisa, had been employed to take full charge of Gia!

‘Then am I to understand that Dona Beatriz will have Gia to stay with her in Madrid?’ she asked in the same governesslike tone.

‘That is the plan,’ with a motionless back.

‘She will not be — be staying with you?’

‘Hardly — if she is to stay with Dona Beatriz! ’

‘And what do you want me to do?’

He turned in surprise.

‘Why, remain here, of course! Have you any objections to a short holiday from your pupil?’

‘None whatsoever, only — it has occurred to me that Dona Beatriz has never really approved of me as a close companion for Gia, and as you obviously value her opinion you might think this a good opportunity to terminate the arrangement altogether! ’ Her voice and face were perfectly composed, the demure look very deceptive, and the surprise in his eyes grew until she could have sworn, for one instant, there was an ingredient of concern mixed up with it. ‘I shall quite understand if you would like me to look upon this as dismissal, Dr. Fernandez. And from every point of view it might be as well if you employed someone to take charge of Gia, until she does go to school, whom Dona Beatriz can approve! ’

She thought he sent her a long, and distinctly curious, look; but his voice was quiet and emotionless as he asked:

‘And you, Miss Waring? Once again you are referring to points of view—this time ‘every point of view’! Does that mean you would accept dismissal with equanimity?’

She lifted her slender shoulders slightly — a gesture she might have copied from Senora Cortina, who was doing it continually.

‘I think, yes, I could accept it with equanimity. You see, I never really expected that this position with your daughter would last long. ’

‘Why not?’

‘Oh, I don’t know --’ This time it was she who half turned away. ‘Perhaps I was never certain that I could give satisfaction, and you took me on without really knowing anything at all about me. ’

The doctor ignored this.

‘You are fond of Gia?’ he wanted to know.

‘Oh, yes — very fond!’ Suddenly her face softened. ‘Terribly fond! ’ she heard herself adding, because it was no more than the truth.

‘And she, I have reason to believe, is very fond of you, therefore that disposes of any failure on your part to give satisfaction. ’

‘But there is still Dona Beatriz.’ She deliberately avoided meeting his eyes, that were so dark and lustrous and probing. ‘I think it’s quite natural that she should consider a Spanish girl

—    or possibly even some other nationality — would be better suited to Gia than I, in her opinion, will ever be. ’

‘But it is I,’ he reminded her, ‘who employs you! ’

She looked at him — just for a moment she peeped at him

—    and her eyes asked the question, ‘Do you?’, while her lips made use of words that had a meek quiescence about them.

‘Of course,’ she said.

All at once it was impossible to doubt that he was annoyed, and his annoyance caused his black brows to meet above the bridge of his straight nose, and the eyes below them sparkled

frostily. His lips tightened, his square chin seemed suddenly to become very noticeable, and his voice was crisp when he said: ‘Then, unless you have some very strong reason of your own for wishing, as you put it, to terminate our arrangement

— an arrangement arrived at when I did know little or nothing about you! ’ he reminded her, and she wondered dully whether he thought he knew very much more about her now — ‘perhaps you will be good enough to remain with Gia at least until the summer is over, and some other more permanent plans have been made for her. Will you do that, Miss Waring? Or do you seriously wish to be replaced?’

‘No — no, I don’t, ’ she admitted, and some compulsion in his regard forced her to meet it for longer than a bare half second or so, and while the grey eyes and the black eyes met she was in imminent danger of adding to the admission of yielding to a wild impulse and crying out to him. ‘Of course I don’t want to go away! ... I couldn’t bear to go away! It will be bad enough when you return to Madrid, but please don’t send me right away out of your life before it’s absolutely necessary! . . .

And then, when she realized suddenly how near she had been to actually uttering those words, panic seized her, and she wrenched her glance away, and looked round wildly as if seeking for something to distract her.

Dr. Fernandez dropped his own glance to the carpet, and staring at it he said quietly:

‘Then that is settled. You will remain with Gia? You will accept it that I am quite satisfied with you? ’

‘Y-yes — if you really are satisfied.’

‘There are no ‘ifs’ about it.’

‘Thank you,’ she murmured, barely audibly, and he reached for a cigarette-box and selected and lighted a cigarette.

‘You may find it a little dull here with only Senora Cortina and her husband, but at least your time will be your own. ’ He looked up at her quickly, as much as to say: ‘ And I suppose you’ll spend it with Peter Hamilton-Tracey! ’

She said quickly, remembering Peter’s aunt’s invitation:

‘I wouldn’t find it at all dull here, but, as it happens, I have received an invitation to Madrid also. Miss Tracey has a flat in Madrid, and she wondered whether perhaps I could get a few days off and stay with her. ’

Once again he frowned.

‘Were you going to ask for those few days?’ ‘I wouldn’t have done so, but now that my services are not

going to be required for a week

at least it does seem an opportunity ------------- ‘

Her voice faded away, and he asked in rather an odd voice

— certainly rather a cold voice:

‘To see Madrid, or to accompany Miss Tracey and her nephew on sight-seeing expeditions?’

‘I am not at all sure that Peter will be there. ’

‘Really?’ rather dryly. ‘But as he appears to be a free agent I feel quite certain he will be there! ’

‘You have no objections to my staying with Miss Tracey?’ He shrugged his elegant shoulders slightly. ‘On the contrary, I suppose I should be grateful that she will prevent your being dull. And, as a matter of fact, although I don’t know Miss Tracey personally, I do know of her. She has established quite a reputation as an artist, I believe, and is a welcome visitor in the homes of many of my friends. It is high time I myself got to know her, and I will ask her to dinner before we leave. Where is she staying in San Cecilio?’ Lisa told him, ‘The Carabela. ’

Once again their eyes met for rather longer than an instant, and a queer little smile slid into his.

‘Do you remember when you stayed there?’ he asked her.

‘I remember perfectly. ’

‘And the night when your shoe caught in the cobbles of the jetty! ’ He looked away deliberately, as if forcing himself to do so. ‘It will be nice for you to stay with Miss Tracey,’ he said, ‘and we must certainly have her to dinner. From what I know of her she is an ideal person to show you Madrid. ’

But Lisa thought sadly, did it really matter who showed her Madrid, when he would not be the one? If he showed her Madrid! . . .

Then her breath caught, and once again she had the terrifying conviction that she was near to betraying herself to him, and she determined from that moment to be extra specially careful.

She was glad when he suddenly nodded and said:

‘Very well, Miss Waring, you may go! ’

And although she knew herself dismissed, she went gladly because it was a relief to escape.

CHAPTER

ELEVEN

Gia wasn’t at all pleased when she learned that she was to spend a week, possibly a fortnight, as the guest of Dona Beatriz in Madrid, without either Lisa or her father to give her some support.

To Lisa it was disturbing that the doctor’s small daughter had such a firmly rooted dislike of Dona Beatriz! That part of her training devoted to the psychology of the child mind had prepared her for the unreasonable attitudes sometimes taken up by the young towards people they encountered, or sets of circumstances; but it hadn’t been a lengthy enough training to give her any real idea how to cope with such unreasonable attitudes When they occurred within her own experience. And most people would have said that Gia’s attitude to Dona Beatriz was unreasonable, for the latter went out of her way to be as nice as she knew how to her, and part of her policy to win her esteem in the past had been to load her with presents.

The box of expensive chocolates on their arrival at the villa, followed by many other things, was evidence of this policy. The many attempts to woo Gia away from her English governess and take her for walks, and talks; the constant supervision of her wardrobe, and the ever-open eye to things relating to her physical well-being, were other pieces of evidence. That Gia persisted in disliking her, that she shrank from being alone with her, and that —

as Lisa knew — she mistrusted her, were sufficient proofs that her policy was failing, and that it looked like being a complete waste of effort.

Which alarmed Lisa when she thought of the child’s future, and wondered how she would get through life with a stepmother for whom she had so little time, even if her father, apparently, had a great deal. At the moment Dona Beatriz could not do much in the way of displaying that she was hurt, and perhaps puzzled, by the plain little girl’s dislike. But later on, when she was Dr. Feranandez’ second wife, and secure in her position as mistress of his home and his household, then the situation would be different. Then it might be very different!

It was the thought of how soon things might change, and get out of hand for Gia, that frightened Lisa, and she wondered whether it should be part of her policy to reorientate the child’s mind where her future stepmother was concerned. But, even if it was, she wouldn’t know how to go about it, not being a strictly impartial governess. And she was confirmed in her own secret unhappiness because Gia herself was so certain that Dona Beatriz would one day become her stepmother.

‘Everybody says so,’ she said more than once to Lisa, and the English girl wondered how many servants had been talking in the child’s hearing, or whether being Spanish she was precocious where such matters were concerned. Or whether it was purely instinct.

Another reason why Gia viewed the prospect of returning to Madrid with Dona Beatriz with something like dismay was because she didn’t want to leave the coast. Madrid, as she was probably aware, would be sizzling with heat at that season of the year, and Lisa was surprised that her father should consent to her leaving behind her the more bracing airs of the Costa Brava for a reason that seemed inadequate, particularly in view of the fact that she had so recently been seriously ill. A dental appointment was no doubt important, but if it was only a check-up it might surely have been postponed for a while longer, when Gia would have benefited still more from her sojourn on the coast. And the fact that it was not being postponed was a very clear indication of the hold Dona Beatriz had managed to secure over the doctor’s domestic affairs, and possibly over his own more reasonable instincts.

‘You will be here when I come back, won’t you?’ Gia said anxiously, while Lisa packed for her. ‘Promise me you’ll be here when I come back?’ reaching out and grasping at Lisa as if she was suddenly afraid.

Lisa folded a little silk suit, and smiled at her. ‘I’ll be here,’ she promised. ‘At least, I’ll be here when you come back.’

‘You’re not going to stay here?’

‘I might see something of you in Madrid,’ Lisa half promised, perhaps unwisely. ‘Your father has given me permission to spend a few days with a friend, and as she also lives in Madrid we might possibly meet. ’

But Gia looked at her with uncannily shrewd eyes for a child.

‘I don’t think Dona Beatriz would like that,’ she said.

Lisa glanced at her quickly, and then away. ‘You don’t think Dona Beatriz approves of our association?’

‘ I think she will be happy when — when I go away to school, and you go away too! ’

Lisa made certain that the locks of the suitcase were secure, and then she rose from her knees and went and sat beside Gia in the window-seat. It was a wide window-seat, padded, and made comfortable with cushions, and Gia often curled up there. Today Lisa thought she looked almost painfully thin and undersized for her years, and in spite of the light coating of tan she had acquired in recent weeks her naturally sallow complexion showed up, and it made her one beautiful feature, her heavily-lashed eyes, look large and shadow-haunted.

‘How do you feel about going away to school?’ Lisa asked, certain in her own mind that the child was too young, and too badly prepared, for a boarding-school, especially in a country where she would feel utterly strange.

Gia clutched at her again, and this time Lisa drew her close to her, and the dark head dropped upon her shoulder.

‘I don’t want to go away to school,’ was the whispered confession. ‘At least-------------‘

‘Yes?’

‘It wouldn’t be so bad in England if you were there! Will you be there?’

Lisa stroked the ragged elf-locks mechanically. ‘I don’t really know. That is, I’m not quite sure what my future

plans will be. ’

‘But if you’re there will you come and see me?’

‘Of course! Oh, of course!’

For several seconds they sat silent, and Lisa knew an acutely despairing sensation, because Gia’s future was no affair of hers.

‘Do you know what I wish?’ Gia asked, in a dreamy voice, at last, as she stared out through the window at the blue of the sea.