Valaquez Bride (10 page)

By the time they reached the house a few minutes later,
Juliet was wishing Jimena would start speaking Spanish again. If she
was only going to whisper sweet nothings into Raul's ear, Juliet was
not the least bit interested in what she had to say.

Unfortunately, the conversation during dinner was no more
inspiring. Jimena chattered incessantly about the parties recently
given by her obviously innumerable art circle friends. Since Juliet was
unfamiliar with all except a few of the names the older woman
mentioned, she was bored nearly to tears. And by the time the meal
blessedly ended and Rosita served coffee to the three of them in the
sala
,
she had to hide a yawn behind her hand. Looking up rather guiltily, she
found Raul watching her. Warmth gathered in her cheeks as a smile
tugged at the corners of his mouth.

Apparently noticing this exchange, Jimena regained Raul's
complete attention by snuggling closer to him on the sofa. "It is
getting late,
querido
," she murmured too sweetly.
"Perhaps you should tell me everything I will need to know about our
gallery here so I will be prepared tomorrow morning." Then she turned
toward Juliet, thinning her lips into a patently false smile. "You will
not mind if I speak Spanish now, will you, Señorita McKay? I would be
much more comfortable and since we will only be discussing business,
you would be bored anyway."

Nothing could bore me more than the last two hours with
you have, Juliet thought uncharitably but she smiled and nodded and
placed the cup of untasted coffee on the table beside her chair.
"Please do whatever makes you comfortable," she replied as she stood.
"I think I'll go up to my room anyway, if you'll excuse me. I'm feeling
a bit tired."

"Young people do need their sleep," the older woman
agreed, with a coy irritating little laugh. "And we would not want to
keep the señorita up past her bedtime, would we,
querido
?"

Raul was standing also now and as Juliet walked across the
sala
, she was beginning to think he wasn't
going to say anything, though he was watching her intently. Unusually
self-conscious, she fumbled with the ornate handles of the double doors.

"Sleep well," he called softly. "
Buenas noches
,
Juliet."

Surprised there had been no hint of the usual mockery in
his deep voice, Juliet turned and gave him a rather shy smile. "
Buenas
noches
, Raul."

His own slight smile deepened. "Your inflection is
excellent. Perhaps you would like me to help you work on your Spanish?"

"I would like that," she answered, covering her
astonishment at the offer. "But I'm sure you're much too busy to waste
your time teaching me."

Before he could reply, she walked out of the room but as
she pulled the doors closed behind her, Jimena was tugging at Raul's
hand and saying as he sat back down beside her, "Of course you do not
have the time to give the señorita Spanish lessons,
querido
.
That is a job for a professor, not a business entrepreneur."

"That is a job for a professor, not a business
entrepreneur," Juliet mimicked wickedly beneath her breath as she
walked up the stairs. There was something about Jimena she didn't like
at all and it wasn't simply her condescending attitude. And she
certainly wasn't gullible enough to believe that the two of them would
spend much of their time tonight discussing business, the way they were
snuggled up together on the sofa.

As Juliet walked into her bedroom, the sudden memory of
those few minutes she and Raul had shared in the garden that afternoon
came unbidden to her mind. She stretched out across her bed, propped on
her elbows, her chin cupped in her hands, wondering if he would kiss
Jimena the way he had kissed her.

"Why should you care what he does?" she asked herself
impatiently, then turned over onto her back with a sigh, knowing the
answer. Fool that she was, she was jealous and actually loathed the
mere thought of Raul kissing any woman other than herself.

"But, Raul, it's really not necessary," Juliet repeated
stubbornly, absently twirling a strand of hair. "Besides the fact that
Uncle Will and I would be just fine right here, I really don't think
your grandmother would be particularly happy with me staying in her
home. I told you I know she's never cared for me."

"I decide who does and who does not stay at Casa
Valaquez," Raul declared, his jaw taut, his green eyes beginning to
glitter with impatience. "My grandmother accepts that fact."

Juliet laughed humorlessly. "Oh, yes, I'd forgotten. With
your father still in England on diplomatic service, you're master of
the house, aren't you? Sort of like a feudal lord? Does that mean if I
ever disobey you, you'll toss me in your dungeon?"

"Don't be flippant," he cautioned, his voice low as his
hand shot out to cover hers on the tabletop, squeezing her slender
fingers between the hardness of his. "Disobeying me won't get you
tossed in a dungeon, Juliet. I can think of much more pleasurable ways
to deal with you." When rose color flooded her cheeks at his blatant
intimation, he smiled sardonically and released her hand. "Now, I'm
saying this one last time— after leaving the clinic, Will is
going directly to the
casa
to recuperate and
you'll go with him. That's my final decision and I'm not going to argue
with you about it."

"Do you realize how pompous you sound when you say
something like that?" Juliet replied recklessly. "Are you so superior
that I have no right to disagree with anything you say?"

For a moment, Raul only surveyed her intently but instead
of glowering angrily at her for such audacity, his dark gaze at last
softened and the slight smile he gave her was almost sheepish. "You're
right and I'm sorry if I sound as if I thought I was superior to you.
Of course you have every right to disagree with me. It's only silly,
trivial arguments that I refuse to participate in but since this is
obviously important to you…"

"It is important."

"Even so, I'm afraid this is one argument you can't
possibly win because I know taking Will to Casa Valaquez will be best
for him."

"That's your opinion. I disagree with it wholeheartedly.
Rosita and I could take very good care of Uncle Will right here."

"I don't doubt that but there will be other people to help
you care for him at the
casa
," Raul explained,
pressing one finger against her lips as she started to protest. "You
can't deny that, Juliet. Nor can you deny that Will would be much more
comfortable out of Granada during the hottest part of the summer. With
that cast on his leg, he'll be particularly susceptible to the heat."

"But we have air conditioning here."

"But at Casa Valaquez, he'll be able to sit outside in the
shade of the cypresses. Here, he would have to stay inside all the
time," Raul persisted, his voice lowering as his fingertip began to
feather slowly, coaxingly across her lips. "There's always a nice cool
breeze from the plain at the
casa
but you have to
admit that the heat in town can be almost unbearable at times, don't
you? Hmm?"

"Yes, but…" With the low seductive tenor of his
voice and his persuasive touch, Juliet felt her resolve begin to weaken
considerably. What he said made sense, at least for her uncle, but if
he went to Casa Valaquez, she would have to go along too, since she'd
promised to stay with him until he was well again. And in his own
domain, Raul would probably be even more domineering than he was now,
which would cause more friction between them. Besides, there was his
grandmother, a very formidable elderly lady with cold obsidian eyes
that had always conveyed disapproval of Juliet. All in all, Juliet
could think of many things she would rather do than spend a few weeks
subjected to Raul's demands and Señora Valaquez's disdainful glare.
Yet, she did owe Uncle Will a great deal and he would be more
comfortable away from the heat of the city…

Obviously, Raul sensed her uncertainty. "You'll go," he
said flatly. "It's all settled."

"But Rosita," Juliet murmured weakly. "She'll be lost in
this house all alone. I don't think I should leave her."

"I never expected you to leave her. She'll go along, of
course, to help care for Will."

Juliet met Raul's penetrating gaze with a slight shrug of
her shoulders. "Well, you've boxed me into a corner, haven't you? You
have an answer for every argument I make so what else can I do besides
agree to go with Uncle Will?"

"Not a thing; I knew I could convince you," Raul said
softly, cupping her small chin in one tan hand. "You'll do what's best
for Will because you care about him."

Juliet's eyes widened with surprise. "Well, what brought
about this change of opinion? Just the other day you called me 'a
selfish unfeeling little brat.'"

"Maybe I understand better now how trapped you felt last
year. If you really did try to discourage Pablo…"

"I did," Juliet interrupted emphatically. "But he wouldn't
listen and Uncle Will wouldn't listen and…"

Raul's hand dropped away from her face while some of the
warmth faded from those mesmerizing green eyes. "Running away was no
answer though," he said icily. "You could have discussed the problem
with me."

Juliet stared at him disbelievingly. "And what good would
that have done? Pablo told me you were all for our marriage, so talking
to you about my problem would have been like talking to the moon."

Raul pushed back his chair and stood towering over her,
thrusting his hands into the pockets of his trousers. "Pablo tends to
interpret other people's words and actions the way he wants to. I never
agreed to an arranged marriage between you and him, Juliet. He told me
he had proposed and you had accepted so there was nothing I could do
except offer my congratulations. Contrary to what you think of me, I
don't think I'm an all-powerful lord. Pablo is my younger brother but I
don't control his life. I wouldn't presume to arrange a marriage for
him."

Juliet rose slowly to stand on legs suddenly quite weak
with relief. "You mean you didn't…"

"Nothing changes the fact that you decided running away
was far easier than simply refusing to marry Pablo," Raul interrupted
coldly, buttoning his suit coat over the matching tan vest. "And I'm
still disappointed in you for making such an immature decision. Now, if
you'll excuse me, I have some business at the gallery."

Juliet watched as he strode out of the dining room, then
she sank back down on her chair, knowing she really couldn't defend
herself. What he had said was true. It had been foolish to run away
from her problem last year. She already regretted having done it since
it made him see her as a silly child who chose to evade disagreements
rather than to resolve them. She might have to admit to
herself
that one of the main reasons she had left with Benny last year was her
mistaken idea that Raul approved of her arranged marriage to Pablo but
she could hardly tell Raul that. Such a revelation would only embarrass
him and humiliate her, so she supposed she would simply have to resign
herself to his low opinion of her or try to change it by proving she
was now more mature than she had been last year. No easy
accomplishment, she thought with a sigh as she rested one elbow on the
table and cupped her chin in her palm. Even so, she couldn't feel
totally disheartened. At least she now knew that Raul was not as
unfeeling as she had presumed. He hadn't approved of an arranged
marriage between Pablo and her and that realization somewhat eased the
nagging feeling that she had been betrayed by Raul last year.

Three days later, Juliet turned the Esprit between white
stone gateposts and onto the winding drive that led to Casa Valaquez.
Endless rows of gnarl-trunked olive trees stretched out on each side,
their leaf-laden branches spreading out wide beneath the hot sun. Life
sustaining water from the Sierra Nevadas became silvery ribbons in
irrigation ditches and sparkled in the molten gold sunlight.

Beside Juliet, in the passenger seat, Rosita clasped her
hands together and sighed with sheer happiness as she gazed out her
window. "It is so beautiful,
niña
. It was always
my wish to work in a house in the country like this but…"
She shrugged resignedly. "I became the maid in a house in Granada when
I was fourteen and the city has been where I live always. But coming to
care for Señor Will in a place like this will be like a
vacacion
.
Si?"

"Si," Juliet murmured, smiling at the housekeeper. Then
she turned her attention to the road again, hoping Rosita wouldn't
detect the uncertainty she herself was feeling. Although she could
understand Rosita's excitement, she felt far less confident that this
little visit to Casa Valaquez would be like a vacation. Considering
Raul's unflattering opinion of her and his grandmother's haughty
disapproval, Juliet feared her time here might seem more like a term in
a penitentiary than a holiday. She had made the commitment, however, so
there was no turning back now.

After a sharp bend in the pebbled road, they approached
Casa Valaquez, a white, rambling two-storied stucco structure set in a
circle of shading cypress trees. To the side of the house, toward the
back, were the stables and Juliet smiled as she saw a lanky yellow dog
wriggle beneath the bottom rail of the paddock fence, then lope off
into the distance across the lush green grass. Twice before, she had
visited Raul's home, once with her uncle for dinner and once when Pablo
had dragged her out here one afternoon to go riding. Though the house
was lovely and the grounds exotic, she hadn't felt comfortable here on
those two occasions, mostly because Pablo had been driving her crazy
with his unwanted declarations of undying love and also because of
Señora Valaquez. Though Raul's grandmother had been polite, Juliet had
sensed a certain reservation in her manner and since she expected the
same sort of reception today, she certainly wasn't eager to move in
with a pile of luggage, as if she meant to put down roots here.