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‘You have rubber plants in Peru?’ Domine was interested.
‘Trees, mostly,’ he amended. ‘They grow wild in all parts of South America, most particularly in the rain forests of the Amazon basin.’
‘That’s in Brazil, isn’t it?’ Domine’s geography was not brilliant, but she knew a few elemental facts. ‘Have you been to Brazil?’
A faint smile touched the corners of his mouth, increasing the disturbing activity of Domine’s nervous system. ‘Oh, yes,’ he replied tolerantly. ‘I have been to Brazil. And to the Amazon basin.’
Domine was fascinated. ‘Have you seen the Angel Falls?’ she asked, resting her elbows on the table and cupping her chin in her hands. ‘It’s the highest waterfall in the world, isn’t it? I saw a programme about it on television. It looked beautiful!’
‘It is,’ he agreed quietly. ‘But the falls are not in Brazil. It’s Venezuela you’re thinking of. Not the Amazon at all, but the Churun river.’
‘Is it?’ Domine pulled a wry face. ‘I’m sorry, I’m afraid geography was not my strong point.’
He shook his head. ‘South America is a long way from Manchester. I doubt, for instance, if I could tell you the source of the river Thames.’
‘I doubt if I could either!’ confessed Domine, with a gurgle of laughter, and for a moment their eyes met without either hostility or antagonism. He smiled, and it was miraculous how much younger he looked, the deeply-etched lines ironed away, his mouth mobile and sensitive. She wanted to go on looking at him, and a crazy impulse made her say: ‘You’re not disliking me so much now, are you, Luis?’ but as soon as the words were uttered she knew she had gone too far.
‘Whether or not I like you, Miss Temple, is not in question,’ he told her severely. ‘I suggest we return to the real reason for this meeting. Have you considered the suggestion I made to you?’
Domine pressed her lips together, irritated by his apparent ability to switch off any human feelings. For a second time she had had a brief glimpse of another side to his character, but he seemed determined not to allow any emotion to colour his judgment.
‘You didn’t answer my question,’ she said now, refusing to be coerced. ‘And my name is Domine, as you know very well. You don’t call Lisel Miss Temple, and yet that’s her name as well.’
He gave her an impatient look, but the arrival of the waiter to clear their plates created a diversion. By the time their chicken casserole had been served, Domine had had time to wish she hadn’t brought Lisel’s name into their conversation, and she applied herself to the meal without expecting any response.
‘I have known—Lisel for a number of years,’ he surprised her by remarking, after the waiter had departed. Filling her glass with the mildly sweet hock he had chosen to go with the meal, he added: ‘I knew her father and her mother, and when they were killed, naturally I did what I could for the child.’
Domine’s eyes were wide. ‘You knew Uncle Edward, then?’
His mouth twisted. ‘As Edward Temple was Lisel’s father, that seems an unnecessary question.’
Domine flushed. ‘I was surprised, that’s all. I shouldn’t have thought Uncle Edward was your type.’ She paused. ‘Mark’s supposed to be very like him.’
‘Really?’ He raised his wine glass to his lips. ‘I find that hard to believe. When I knew Edward Temple, he was not at all like your brother. For one thing, he had abandoned the material world. Money meant nothing to him. He wrote poetry—and he painted; I have two of his water-colours myself. He seemed totally out of touch with your society, as I know it.’
Domine forked a piece of chicken into her mouth before replying. Then, thoughtfully, she said: ‘Perhaps it would be more to the point to say that the material world had abandoned him. My grandfather never forgave him for running away to get married, and I believe he never had a steady job for years. Writing poetry and painting water-colours might be very pleasant, but it seldom pays the bills.’ She produced a smug smile. ‘Grandpa’s words, not mine.’
‘I see.’ A frown drew his dark brows together for a moment, then he seemed to dismiss the thought that had caused it. ‘Well, it is of no matter. Lisel’s parents are dead now, and beyond the reach of any retribution but God’s. However, the problem of your cousin still remains.’
Domine shrugged. ‘Why do you think I might be able to influence her? Aren’t you afraid I might—contaminate her?’
The downward curve of his mouth revealed the irritation he was keeping in check, and pressing on, she exclaimed restlessly: ‘All right, tell me about Peru, then. I know the capital is Lima, but that’s about all. Do you live in Lima? Does Lisel? Is this place—what did you call it?—Puerto Limas?—is that near Lima?’
Helping himself to more wine, he said: ‘Puerto Limas is almost six hundred miles from Lima. I told you, it is a village, in the mountains. With very little civilisation as you know it within easy reach. However, there is an air service between Lima and Arequipa and road links to the outlying villages.’
‘Six hundred miles!’ Domine was amazed. She had not imagined it was so far. It was almost frightening contemplating the implications of its remoteness, and isolation. Then she realised he had still told her nothing about himself, and her lips tightened with impatience.
‘That disturbs you?’ he enquired now, misunderstanding her expression, and she held up her head, regarding him frustratedly.
‘You disturb me, señor,’ she declared, emphasising the title. ‘What do I know about you? What have you told me about yourself? Nothing! I think that’s rather disturbing. How do I know what you tell me about Lisel is true? She could be dead, for all we know, and you——’
‘I advise you stop there,’ he interrupted her sharply, his eyes glittering coldly, like black ice. ‘Your solicitor, Mr Holland, verified my position long before I came to England, and if you have any doubts about my reputation, I suggest you take them up with him.’
Domine was unrepentant. ‘Well, why are you so reticent? Why don’t you tell me about yourself? Or is there some ghastly skeleton in your family cupboard that you’re afraid is going to come out?’
She did not think he was going to answer her, and she was beginning to wish she had not spoken so recklessly when he said harshly:
‘I am inclined to regret issuing that invitation, Miss Temple. My motives seemed simple enough—that you should get to know your cousin, so that when she comes to England she will have at least one friend. But you seem to think that gives you the right to question me about my private affairs. I assure you, it does not.’
Domine played with the handle of her fork for several moments after his quelling injunction, and then, deciding she might as well damn her chances completely, she replied:
‘You’re a bore, do you know that? And just too conventional to be true! Why shouldn’t I be curious about you? I don’t know what the people are like in that way-out country you come from, but if they’re like you, then believe me, I don’t want to come!’
His features were rigid after this little assertion, and a peculiar shiver of fear ran through her. It was not so much that she was afraid of him, rather that she was afraid she had destroyed for ever her chances of getting to know him better. He would never forgive her for this, and no doubt he was already thinking of ways he could leave the table without arousing any unnecessary comment. She hunched her shoulders, telling herself she had been justified in her outburst, that he had been absurdly reserved and uncommunicative, and that she had no wish to go to Peru anyway. But the feeling of disaster persisted, and she knew she would have given anything to retract what she had said.
‘Is that your final word?’
She lifted her lids to find him looking at her, and immediately a wave of hot colour surged into her cheeks. ‘You mean—I have a choice?’ she gasped.
His expression was not flattering. ‘As I regard your outburst in much the same way as I would any irresponsible statement, the question does not arise,’ he retorted, making her feel ridiculously childish. ‘You are young. You lack self-discipline, as I stated earlier. But you do not dissemble, as I believe your brother does, and I am persuaded that Lisel may teach you as much as you can teach her.’
Domine stared at him indignantly, but she made no attempt to defend herself. The opportunity she had thought lost had been restored to her, and for the moment that was enough.
‘Very well,’ she said, moving her shoulders in an offhand gesture. ‘I will come to Peru—to Puerto Limas. But I won’t promise to behave like one of your Peruvian maidens, all demure and sweetly biddable!’
There was a moment’s pause while he digested this, and then he said, surprisingly: ‘I would not expect you to, Miss Temple.’
To Domine’s surprise, Mark was not enthusiastic.
‘What the hell is the point of travelling all the way to Peru to meet someone who’s eventually going to have to come to England anyway?’ he demanded. ‘Making friends with her! Why do you want to make friends with her? I thought you weren’t interested.’
Domine helped herself to a cup of tea from the tray Mrs Radcliffe had left on the low table on the hearth. It was a grey day outside, with a fine drizzle dampening the tiles around the fountain, but the drawing room was warm and comfortable, an open fire supplementing the heat convected from the radiators. Spooning sugar into her cup, she said: ‘I thought you would approve. After all, you were the one who wished you could get to know her.’
‘Me, yes. You, no.’ Mark was sullen. ‘Why did he ask you, that’s what I’d like to know? Why not me? After all, I’m the man of the family, now that Grandpa’s dead. Surely I’m the one he should have asked.’
Domine sipped her tea reflectively. ‘I expect he thought Lisel would respond more easily to another woman,’ she shrugged. ‘Having lived with these nuns for years, she probably doesn’t know many men.’
‘Huh!’ Mark paced aggressively about the room. ‘All the same, I am her cousin.’
Domine shrugged, deciding it would not be politic at this time to point out that she was, too, and eventually Mark got around to asking her when she planned to leave.
‘I’m not sure,’ she admitted doubtfully. ‘But soon, I suppose. I called at the library on my way home, and apparently it’s summer in Lima at the moment. Summer is the best time to visit. Though where Lisel lives, the temperatures don’t vary too much from winter to summer. They have a rainy season——’
‘Save it!’ interposed Mark impatiently, his lower lip jutting angrily. ‘I don’t want a geographical run-down of the country. I only wanted to know whether you planned to travel back with Aguilar.’
‘No.’ Domine could be certain of this anyway. ‘Mr Holland told me he plans to leave the day after tomorrow. I couldn’t possibly be ready in that time.’
‘Holland? Oh, yes …’ Mark nodded. ‘You went to see him. What did he have to say?’
Domine put down her cup, choosing her next words with care. ‘Well,’ she began slowly, ‘he suggested that we ought to think carefully before selling Griffons.’
‘Oh, did he?’
‘Yes.’ Domine hesitated. ‘He also suggested that we might consider—offering Lisel a home here, until—until she finds her feet.’
Mark scowled, but she could see the agile brain working. ‘Offer Lisel a home here,’ he echoed broodingly. ‘While we do—what?’
‘You know Mr Villiers would give you a job,’ Domine ventured cautiously, but Mark vetoed that suggestion straight away.
‘What? Me work for old Villiers! You’ve got to be joking!’
‘Why?’ Domine stuck to her guns. ‘Despite Grandpa’s opinion of you, you do know quite a lot about the business. If you went to work for Mr Villiers, you would eventually get his job. And in a few years——’
‘Oh, yes.’ Mark’s tone was ironic. ‘In a few years, I might work myself into the position I occupy now!’
‘No.’ Domine pursed her lips. ‘Mark, you don’t have any position now, and you know it.’
‘Lisel doesn’t.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘You remember what I said last night? Lisel knows nothing about the mills. As you’ve just pointed out, I do. Why shouldn’t I become her managing director? Boss in everything but name.’
‘The board would never agree.’
Mark’s scowl returned. ‘Why not? They won’t be able to stop me, if I have Lisel’s backing.’
Domine shook her head. ‘You’re completely unscrupulous, aren’t you?’
Mark shrugged. ‘Just practical, that’s all. Exactly what you asked me to be.’
Domine made a frustrated gesture. ‘Aren’t you forgetting Señor Aguilar. We still don’t know what his interest is. What if he plans to come back to England with Lisel? To help her——’
Mark’s balled fist smote the palm of his hand. ‘You don’t really believe that, any more than I do. In any case, it’s up to you now, to persuade Lisel that she doesn’t need any outside help. That her—long-lost family are more than willing to do everything they can to make things easy for her.’
‘Me?’ exclaimed Domine in dismay. ‘Up to me? Oh, no, Mark. You can’t expect me to persuade her to put her trust in you. Besides, I don’t suppose she’d believe me. She knows Grandpa left the business to her because he didn’t trust you. She’s not a fool, you know, only shy.’
Mark snorted. ‘I doubt whether the subleties of the situation have even occurred to her,’ he retorted. ‘And your friend Aguilar doesn’t seem the type to spread that kind of rumour.’
‘He’s not my friend,’ said Domine crossly, munching a ginger biscuit with more vehemence than enjoyment.
‘Isn’t he?’ Mark was guessing again. ‘It was you he invited to lunch, not me.’
‘He invited us both for dinner,’ Domine countered shortly, remembering her intention of wearing the black satin cat-suit. That could wait, however, she decided sensibly. She would take it with her to Peru, though. There might be another occasion.
They drove to the hotel that evening in Mark’s Mercedes. His enthusiasm for her trip was increasing by the minute, but Domine’s doubts were just as fertile. It might have been easier if she had felt some emotion towards the girl she was going to meet; resentment or curiosity, or both. But being absolutely honest with herself, she had to admit that without Luis Delgado Aguilar’s intervention, she would never have agreed to such a request.
Her choice of gown that evening mirrored her intention to show him that she was not the tiresome child he so obviously thought her. Like the cat-suit, it was black, but its draped chiffon bodice and flowing skirts were unmistakably feminine. It left most of her slender arms bare, and she wore a broad slave bracelet on her forearm, to complement the slim gold chain about her neck. Her hair was coiled into a swathed knot on top of her head, and even Mark had commented on the elegance of her appearance.
Luis Aguilar was waiting for them in the foyer this evening, suave and immaculate in his dinner jacket, the long powerful legs carrying him swiftly to greet them. If he found Domine’s appearance appealing, he made no show of it, summoning an attendant to take her velvet cape, before leading the way into the dining room.
‘You will forgive me if I do not offer you a drink first, Temple,’ he said, as they approached a table set for four. ‘But my other guest does not drink alcohol, and I do not care to keep her waiting.’
It was then that Domine saw the other woman already seated at the table. She was also dark, like their host, with the same kind of sheen to her cap of dark hair. Domine estimated her age to be around thirty, but she had one of those ageless Spanish faces that could have been any age from thirty to forty. High cheekbones, and a finely-sculpted mouth, a black gown, like Domine’s, only different in the respect that she showed very little of her magnolia pale skin, and a tall slender body as she rose, that dwarfed Domine’s five feet and four inches. Whoever she was, she would curtail Mark’s plans to spend the evening ingratiating himself with Luis Aguilar, Domine thought rather spitefully, angry herself that he should show so much respect to this woman, and so little to her.
‘Allow me to present Lisel’s cousins, Inez,’ he was saying now, as the woman’s lips parted in a polite smile. ‘This is my sister, Miss Temple,’ he explained, meeting Domine’s incredulity with sardonic eyes. ‘She is staying in London at the moment, and I invited her to join us this evening.’
Inez Aguilar—Domine could only think of her as unmarried, as she did not mention a husband—had little to say for herself. When she did speak, she addressed herself to Mark, asking him about his likes and dislikes in the way of food and entertainment, emitting little about her own activities. She seemed quite content to sit back and allow her brother to dominate the conversation, and he did so, talking about general things mostly, giving Mark little opportunity to introduce a more personal note.
The meal was excellent. Domine had seafood, and steak, and finished with puree of strawberries, served with ice-cream. She had a good appetite, and seldom had to worry about her figure. Occasionally, if she thought she was gaining an extra inch, she went on a diet of crackers and lemon juice for a couple of days, but she was always glad when she could revert to her normal eating habits.
She was aware of Inez Aguilar watching her from time to time throughout the meal, but it was not until the coffee was served that she addressed herself to her.
Then she said: ‘My brother tells me you are to visit Peru, Miss Temple. To meet with your cousin, no? I am sure Lisel will be delighted to meet one of her own countrywomen.’
Domine felt this was open to discussion, but she nodded, and answered: ‘That’s right. I’m—er—I’m looking forward to it. I’ve never visited South America before.’
Inez wiped her lips with her napkin and then dropped it on the table. ‘You—you will probably find it much different from your expectations,’ she said at last. ‘Not only are we in another hemisphere, we seem also to be in another century.’
‘I think Miss Temple is aware of that, Inez,’ remarked her brother drily. ‘Will you have some cognac, Temple? I can recommend the St Helena. Napoleon’s best, I believe.’
Domine cast a resentful look in his direction, but he was summoning the waiter, and taking the opportunity, she asked: ‘Do you and your brother live in Puerto Limas, señora?’
If he had heard her question there was nothing he could do about it, for the waiter had taken his full attention, and Inez answered without hesitation.
‘My brother’s house is just outside Aguilas, which is some three miles from Puerto Limas, Miss Temple,’ she said. ‘I, of course, live at Puerto Limas.’
Of course? Domine shrugged to herself, and as she did so she saw she now had their host’s undivided attention. However, she pretended not to notice this silent intimidation as she went on: ‘Aguilas? Oh, yes. Er—Luis told me. That’s the nearest town to Puerto Limas, isn’t it?’
It was difficult to decide who was the most annoyed by her deliberately casual reference. Inez was obviously taken aback, and even Mark was regarding her with a mixture of amusement and irritation. The silence around the table was itself intimidating, but above the murmur of conversation around them, Domine could hear the distinct sound of music. It was a lifeline, she thought, looking appealingly to Mark for deliverance, and holding his indifferent gaze she said:
‘There must be a dance going on next door. Shall we have our coffee in there?’
Before Mark could answer however, Luis interposed. ‘Regretfully, my sister does not dance,’ he said, pushing back his chair. ‘But if your brother will be so kind as to keep Inez company, I will show you the ballroom.’
It was the last thing Domine wanted, but her silent signals to Mark produced only the most resigned of apologies. No doubt he was not too overjoyed at the prospect of keeping Inez company, and he probably thought she deserved all she got.
Luis was standing now, waiting for her to get to her feet, and with a determined stiffening of her shoulders she did so. Mark made a perfunctory gesture of rising, and then she was walking swiftly across the floor, trying to keep pace with Luis’s longer strides.
Outside the restaurant he turned sharp right, and now she could see the small ballroom that opened at the end of the corridor. The sound of music was louder now, predominantly violins, with none of the throbbing rhythm of guitars that Domine was used to dancing to.
‘So,’ he said, as they halted in the open doorway to the ballroom, ‘you seek to inquisition my sister with your questions.’
His voice was low and angry, and Domine felt the increasingly familiar feeling of frustration where he was concerned. ‘There’s no such verb as inquisition,’ she declared crossly, glancing up at his taut profile. ‘Inquisition is a noun. One can conduct an inquisition, but one doesn’t inquisition anyone.’ She pursed her lips. ‘You should know that, coming from the race of people who introduced the word.’
His antagonism was palpable, but she knew there was no point in trying to reason with him. Someone, perhaps this sister of his, had given him this inflated opinion he had of himself, and it was time he realised that not all females bowed before his rampant superiority.
‘Thank you for that lesson in English, Miss Temple,’ he said now, his eyes narrowed and hostile. ‘But I beg to correct you, on one point at least. The Spaniards introduced the inquisition, and I consider myself Peruvian, not European!’
