Page 47 of Midnight Rider

Her father met her at the front door, morose and unhappy when he saw her expression.

“Sure and I never should have let you go there in the first place, lass,” he said through his teeth as he helped her down and waited for the servant to bring her bag before he gave the boy a tip and sent him home.

“He should have married Lupe,” she said. “And that’s all I want to say about it. I won’t burden you by staying here any longer than I have to,” she added with frigid pride. “I’ll go to Albert as soon as I can get a ticket on the next train.”

“Oh, lass, no, you’re not a burden,” her father said sadly. “You’re welcome here as long as you want to stay. I’m sorry for the whole miserable mess I’ve caused with my misplaced ambitions. Lass, I wouldn’t have wished that cold lot on you for all the world. I’ve hardly slept thinking about the treatment you’ve had from that old woman and that Lupe.”

Her father’s concern warmed her heart. It was so nice to have a relative care about her well-being for a change, especially this man, who’d never concerned himself very much with her feelings at all.

“Thank you, Father. I must say, I’ve hardly slept myself,” Bernadette added without saying why. “I want to rest. Then I really do want to go see Albert. I think it would do me good to go away for a while.”

“In a few days,” he agreed. “Once you’ve gotten over the ordeal.”

A few days. A few weeks. What did it matter? Nothing was going to change the sad path of her life now. Married and discarded in less than a day, they’d say, and they’d be right. Nobody would blame thecondessaor Lupe, they’d blame Bernadette. It was her lack of breeding, they’d say, that led to such a disastrous end to the marriage. Eduardo would still have his loan, because that had already been settled and paid. Her father was too honorable a man to call back the money now. And if Eduardo was willing to lie, perhaps he could have the marriage annulled. Then he could marry pretty Lupe and stand to inherit his grandmother’s fortune. How wonderful for him!

But Bernadette’s hopes were as dead as her dreams. It was all she could do to keep from bawling her eyes out. Eduardo had been so different before the arrival of his kinfolk. Bernadette mourned the death of the beautiful relationship that had been building between them.

She wondered if he’d even be upset when he returned home and found her gone. She seriously doubted it. Thecondessawould be furious at Bernadette’s treatment of her and was bound to want revenge. So would Lupe. Eduardo would believe anything they told him. And probably he wouldn’t care that she’d left. He hadn’t even spoken to her when he’d left her bed. That had hurt most of all.

She went to her old room and settled down on the comfortable daybed by the window. In minutes, despite her misery and some coughing from the dust on the way home, she was sound asleep.

* * *

ITWASWELLAFTERDARKWHENEduardo dismounted at the stable and walked quickly toward the house. His conscience was flaying him over the way he’d treated Bernadette. Not that he’d hurt her, because he knew he hadn’t. But he’d used her like a woman of the streets, and all because she’d made him angry with her accusations. It was dishonorable behavior at best. He was ashamed to face her.

His grandmother and Lupe were in the parlor when he arrived, both involved in their endless needlework. He remembered that Bernadette was skilled at embroidery, but apparently she hadn’t been asked to join the women tonight.

“Where is Bernadette?” he asked curtly.

“Resting,” his grandmother said, throwing Lupe a speaking glance. “She is resting. She said that she wished not to be disturbed, so we have not disturbed her.”

He relaxed a little. That was good news. At least she hadn’t packed her bags and left, which was what he’d truly expected. Perhaps her pride wasn’t as lacerated as he imagined it was.

“Have you eaten?”

“No.” Thecondessagot gracefully to her feet and put a gentle hand on Eduardo’s arm. “We waited for you, my boy. You must be very tired.”

“I am. And very hungry. What about Bernadette?”

“She had a tray earlier.”

They went in to dinner. His grandmother reminisced; Lupe flirted with him and made him laugh; he allowed himself to be diverted.

He paused at Bernadette’s room on his way to bed, but there was no light peeking from under the door and he heard no sound, so he assumed that she was asleep. It was just as well, he thought, not to have any more words with her now. Tomorrow, when they were both calmer, they could talk about what had happened, and what sort of future they could build on the damaged foundation of their marriage.

He’d put the money her father had loaned him to good use so far. Equipment was being bought, the house was being painted, bad wood was being replaced and livestock was being added. His prospects were better than they’d ever been, and he owed all that to his new father-in-law. He would pay back the loan, he promised himself. And perhaps he could help Bernadette salvage some of her lost pride. He found her incredibly attractive. He wanted her; more than ever, since their sweet, hot night of passion. He could overlook what she’d done and said. He could start again. They could have a good life together. She could keep his books and help him to rebuild Rancho Escondido, and the future would be pleasant.

He said as much to his grandmother at breakfast. She seemed uneasy and Lupe looked as if she’d swallowed a melon whole. The two of them acted guilty.

His suspicions grew by the minute as breakfast finished and still there was no sign of his new bride. He finished his coffee and fixed suspicious eyes on them. “Where is Bernadette?” he demanded.

Lupe actually jumped. Thecondessalifted her head in a regal angle. “She has gone to her father,” she said coolly. “Where she belongs. She was never of a social class to belong in this great house, and she is not fit to be a wife to you. It is better that the marriage be annulled at once. Then, perhaps, you might marry Lupe.” She smiled at her niece. “She has an excellent background and is quite healthy. With her family’s wealth and mine, you could found an empire together in Spain. For certainly, you would inherit when I die, if you married her.”

“And what of Luis?” he asked, his voice barely audible as he controlled it.

“Luis?” She waved her frail hand. “Luis has the vineyards and his wife’s property.”

Eduardo put his napkin down with deliberate care. “Did you not offer him marriage to Lupe before he announced his betrothal to Carisa Morales?”