Anne Mather - Lord Of Zaracus

Surreptitiously Carolyn got to her feet, but the movement attracted Don Carlos’s gaze again, and he said: ‘Ah, Elena, I thought it was you.’ He smiled, and Carolyn stared at him, momentarily hypnotised by the transformation of his lean features. His teeth were white and even, and he was startlingly attractive. Then she forced herself to look away, back at the girl who had now tentatively entered the room, and stood just inside the doorway. She was dressed in a dark-green dress which looked much too old for her, and far too long, and Carolyn thought that in younger, shorter clothes she would be very pretty.

‘This is my sister, Elena,’ said Don Carlos. ‘Elena, this is Professor Madison, and his daughter Señorita Madison.’

‘ Hola ,’ said Elena, smiling. ‘Welcome to the Hacienda Alvarez.’

Carolyn’s eyes widened. ‘You speak English,’ she said, involuntarily.

‘All my family have been educated in the United States,’ said Don Carlos, smoothly. ‘Unfortunately, Elena has been ill and can no longer attend school there. Instead, she has a governess.’

Carolyn looked at Elena with gentle eyes. She did look pale and delicate, but her eyes belied any lack of spirit.

‘Where is Señorita Alfonso?’ asked Don Carlos, now. ‘Surely you should be at lessons.’

Elena laughed irrepressibly. ‘I saw the professor and his daughter arrive through my window,’ she confessed. ‘I wanted to meet Señorita Madison. We so rarely have any young visitors to the hacienda, Carlos.’

Don Carlos relaxed a little. ‘So now you have met the Señorita, you will return to your lessons, yes? Or Señorita Alfonso will be very cross.’

Elena wrinkled her nose. ‘But the señorita cannot be interested in your dull talk, Carlos. Could I not show her the pool, and the lake? And maybe the gardens?’

Carolyn looked at Don Carlos rather sardonically. Now what would he say?

‘I think, Elena, that the señorita will soon be leaving with her father. Besides, I am sure she is not particularly interested in our estate.’

‘Oh, but you are wrong, Señor,’ returned Carolyn, silkily, enjoying the opportunity of getting her own back. ‘I should love to see the pool and the lake and the gardens, and I am sure you and my father are not nearly finished your coffee, yet. I have.’

Don Carlos gave a reluctant nod of his head. ‘Very well, if that is what you wish, Señorita.’ He looked at Carolyn’s father. ‘I trust you have no objections, Professor.’

‘None at all.’ Professor Madison smiled. ‘But before Carolyn leaves, perhaps you could tell me whether her presence here in the valley is to be permitted.’

‘ Permitted? ’ exclaimed Elena. ‘Why should it not be permitted, Carlos?’

Don Carlos compressed his lips for a moment. ‘Elena, you know nothing about this at all. Please refrain from interrupting.’ He looked at the professor thoughtfully. ‘I cannot deny that such a permittance is against my better judgement, particularly as the valley is full of men, and I do not really think an archaeological dig is the correct background for a young person like your daughter. After all, she is little older than Elena, and I would not allow Elena to live with a crowd of older men even were I myself present. However, I must accept that the habits and conventions of your society are not as ours, and therefore if you are prepared to take all responsibility for her remaining here, I cannot raise any further objections.’

Carolyn fumed. ‘I should point out that I am a little older than Elena,’ she exclaimed, unable to prevent herself.

‘Indeed.’ He sounded disinterested.

‘Indeed, yes,’ exploded Carolyn, and then seeing her father’s face, she compressed her own lips, angrily.

Elena had watched this exchange with some amusement, and she said; ‘Can we go now, Carlos?’

He merely nodded his head, and Carolyn shrugged at her father helplessly and followed Elena from the room. Quite honestly she was beginning to feel exactly like a contemporary of the young Elena’s. Whether it was wholly Don Carlos’s attitude, or whether the shedding of her sophisticated clothes was responsible, Carolyn didn’t know, but what she did know was that Don Carlos’s attitude towards her was one of tolerance, mixed with derision, the kind he would reserve for a spoilt and precocious child.

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