The Tiger Lily (38 page)

Sighing,
she pushed the unsettling memory away, knowing that it couldn't possibly have
been Brett. If it had been, he would certainly have done more than simply stare
and then ride away, she thought with a twisted smile.

Her
initial rage about the guardianship had abated, even some of her resentment
against Alejandro, but the knowledge that Brett Dangermond would one day ride
back into her life hung over her head like a death sentence. She could only
wait . . . and wonder.

Drawing
her knees up against her chest dispiritedly, she rested her chin on her legs.
Why? What had her father been thinking of when he had written that wicked
codicil? For a second, she remembered the last time she had seen Brett
Dangermond, remembered that inimical glance.
Dios
! And he was now her
guardian!

Some
of her old pride and fiery spirit came rushing up. Well, she certainly wasn't
going to let him find her beaten down! She would show him that Sabrina del
Torres was equal to an3^hing he could send her way.

Suddenly
feeling much better, better and more like her old self than she had in years,
Sabrina stood up. She looked down distastefully at the black silk gown she
wore. It was time, she decided resolutely, to put aside her black and begin to
face the world—Alejandro would have wanted it.

She
arrived back at the hacienda a few moments later and was just crossing the rear
courtyard when Clemente appeared. "Senorita Sabrina," he said with a
faint frown, "there is someone to see you."

"Who?"

He
looked puzzled. "I don't know. A young man. He has asked to see you. He
seems familiar, and yet . . ."

Her
interest sparked, Sabrina swiftly went to the front of the hacienda. A horse
was tied to the wooden hitching rail, a tall, slender young man standing beside
it. The pair of them had obviously come a long distance.

Her
curiosity evident, she walked up to the young man. "Yes?" she said
when she was near enough to speak. "What is it?"

The
young man turned and stared at her, his not-quite-handsome face vaguely
familiar. She had the feeling that she had met him before. Consideringly her
gaze ran over him, taking in his wiry six-foot frame, the dark brown hair, and
the knowing brown eyes.

"Do
I know you?" she asked at last. "You remind me of someone."

"Damn
me for a saint if I don't!" the stranger said. "I told you I'd come
back, didn't I, miss?"

"Ollie?"
Sabrina gasped.

CHAPTER
TWENTY

It
was indeed Ollie! He had grown considerably in stature during the past six
years, and now at twenty-five he stood several inches taller. No longer did his
facial features resemble those of a wise little monkey. His once nubbin nose
was now a quite respectable size and shape; his chin had squared, his jawline
firmed, and his forehead broadened, making him a surprisingly handsome young
man. Only those too-wise, button-bright brown eyes remained unchanged. That and
his cheeky, impudent grin. It spread from ear to ear as he said, "When me
and the guvnor finally arrived home last summer, I told him then and there that
it was time I kept my promise to Lupe. It took me months to talk him
around!" Ollie winked broadly at Sabrina. "And besides, now that he's
decided to cease his wanderings, he'll need me and Lupe to run his household
proper for him."

Astonished
by his unexpected arrival and the change in him, Sabrina could only nod her
head bemusedly. A dozen questions trembled on her lips, but she couldn't think
clearly; she was only aware of a feeling of intense, almost painful excitement
surging up through her. Laughter suddenly springing to her eyes, she said
warmly, "Oh, Ollie, how good it is to see you again!" Teasingly she
murmured, "But I mustn't keep you ... I am sure there is someone else you
would rather speak to right now."

Ollie's
brazen air instantly vanished, and he blushed bright red up to the very roots
of his brown hair. He swallowed and appeared to be attacked by a severe case of
nervousness. Fiddling with the tied reins, he got out uncomfortably, "Um,
is she ...?I mean, did she . . . ?"

"Is
Lupe still here, is that what you are wondering?" Sabrina asked lightly, a
smile lurking at the corners of her mouth. At Ollie's vigorous nod, she added,
''Of course she is! She has become my maid. But I'll not tell you anything
else—you'll have to speak with Lupe yourself."

Taking
the suddenly shy Ollie firmly by his arm, Sabrina urged him across the front
courtyard. Inside the hacienda, to the hovering Clemente she said, "It is
Ollie Fram come back to visit us! But first he has something important to talk
about with Lupe. Please send her to the small
sala
."

Maternally
Sabrina watched Ollie as he prowled nervously about the small room, his hand
going again and again to his neck as if his shirt had suddenly become too
tight. When there was a timid knock on the door a few minutes later, he went
white and threw Sabrina a look of utter terror. "Miss," he hissed
under his breath, "she hasn't married someone else?"

Sabrina
smiled mysteriously. "That is something you'll have to discover for
yourself!"

At
Sabrina's command, the door opened slowly, and Lupe stood there framed in the
doorway, her dark eyes wide and expectant. Not seeing Ollie immediately, Lupe
asked softly, "Senorita, is it really true, my Ollie has come?"

There
was a strangled sound from Ollie, and Lupe's eyes went instantly in that
direction. "Ollie,
querido
, is that you?" she breathed, taking
in his height and handsome face.

Ollie
nodded dazedly, his eyes traveling hungrily over Lupe's slender form, the
delicate bones of her face, memorizing, assimilating the changes that six years
had wrought on her. She had been a mere child when he had last seen her, and
now here she was a lovely young woman. Great dark eyes clung to his, heavy
black hair framing her features, her full lips half-opened with astonishment as
she, too, took in the change in him.

For
long, timeless seconds the two of them stared across the short distance that
separated them. Sabrina left the room quietly.

They
never even knew when she departed, Lupe moving like a creature in a dream from
the doorway toward Ollie as Sabrina brushed past her. Just before she shut the
door, Sabrina turned, intending to make some encouraging comment, but the sight
of Lupe's small hands tenderly exploring Ollie's besotted features, the soft
glow in Ollie's eyes as he stared down into Lupe's upturned face, brought a
lump to Sabrina's throat, making speech impossible. Quietly she shut the door
behind her, and slowly, thoughtfully, she made her way to the inner courtyard.

The
initial pleasure of Ollie's unexpected appearance was fading slightly, and with
it came a deep sense of uneasiness. Did Ollie carry some message from Brett?
Would there at last be an end to this terrible limbo?

She
hadn't expected Francisca to be happy about Ollie's arrival, but Sabrina hadn't
been prepared for an outburst of hatred and fury. She was seated under the pine
tree at the iron table in the courtyard when Sabrina approached, and the black
eyes murderous with rage, Francisca demanded, ''Is it true? That the gringo's
companion is here? That you allowed him to enter this house?"

"Yes,
it is true," Sabrina replied levelly. "And yes, I did invite him
in—after all, it is my home."

Francisca's
mouth thinned. "Only if that devil-gringo, Dangermond, decrees it is
so!" she spat venomously. It was the last really coherent thing she
said—from there her comments evolved into the usual nearly insane monologue of
rage against Alejandro and Dangermond.

Sabrina
listened wearily for a few minutes, and then, unable to stand it any longer,
she said sharply, "Cease! The situation is unpleasant enough without you
making it more so! And insulting my father's memory does neither of us any
good!"

Francisca's
outburst effectively banished Sabrina's enjoyment of Ollie's arrival, and, her
fists clenched in anger, she strode swiftly away, seeking the solitude of her
room. But in her room she found no peace, her thoughts going immediately to
speculation about what Ollie's presence might mean to her. That Lupe, whom she
held in an affectionate high regard, might be leaving her never even entered
her mind. Nor did it occur to her that Lupe's reluctance to desert a much-loved
mistress might cause trouble between the newly reunited lovers.

But
one look at Lupe's stormy face, half an hour later when the girl marched into
the room, alerted her that something had gone wrong. Very wrong.

Rising
up from the stool on which she had been seated, Sabrina asked with concern,
"Lupe? What is it? Why do you look so unhappy? Your Ollie has returned,
and after listening to you moon over him for years, listening to your worries
that he would find someone else, that he would never come back for you, I would
have thought you would be ecstatic."

Lupe's
big eyes filled with tears. "Oh, Senorita, I was so happy! And he has
grown into such a man that I knew my heart had been right in waiting for
him"—she glanced miserably across at Sabrina's worried face—"but he
wants me to leave you! To come back with him to New Orleans." Her face
crumpled, and sobbing, she ran to fling her arms around Sabrina's waist,
"I love him so much!" Lupe cried. "And I have waited and hoped
so long for his return, but now I am torn in two! I cannot bear to leave you,
my family, my friends, everything I have ever known, and travel so far away
with a man I barely know. I love him," she said earnestly, "but I
don't know him."

Sabrina's
face twisted with pain. So she had loved Brett Dangermond, but she hadn't known
him either. Sighing, she gently disengaged herself from Lupe's embrace. "Don't
cry, my dear. I'm sure that Ollie will understand if you explain everything to
him. Besides," she continued with a slight smile, "nothing has to be
decided immediately, does it? We must plan your wedding, and that will take
time. Don't worry. When you marry your Ollie everything will be just
fine."

Sabrina
wished she were as confident as she sounded, but her words must have convinced
Lupe, because the tears dried instantly. "Oh,
Senorita
! I knew that
you would understand! And that you would have the solution."

Smiling
wryly, Sabrina turned away and asked, "Where is Ollie now? You didn't send
him away, did you?"

Lupe
looked horrified. "Oh, no! I could not send him away when he has just
arrived; it would not be kind! Besides, he has said that he will not leave
without me!"

Ollie
repeated that statement some minutes later when Sabrina came downstairs and met
him in the small
sala
where he was waiting for her. "Miss," he
said bluntly, "I'm not leaving here without her." Bewilderedly he
added, "I just don't understand her! Here she is happy as a lark to see
me, promises to marry me, and then when I mention living with the guvnor, she
turns all Friday-face.
Women
!"

Finding
it a bit strange to act as a lovers' peacemaker, Sabrina said soothingly,
"Give her time, Ollie. Your arrival has been a great surprise for all of
us."

"But
I said I'd be back!" he protested. "And she must have believed it,
because she's waited all this time."

Sabrina
nodded her head slowly. "I know. But it's one thing to dream of something,
to long for it with all your heart, and another to have it presented to you. We
Spanish have a proverb—'Be careful what you ask God for . . . He may give it to
you.' Don't you understand, you must give her a little time to get used to you
again—she was a child when you left."

"Not
that much of a child!" Ollie retorted darkly, his resentment at this turn
of events obvious.

Smiling
fondly at him, Sabrina coaxed, "Come now, do not look so surly. Tomorrow,
after you have rested and you and Lupe have had more time to talk, you will
feel much better. You'll see."

Ollie
grumbled something under his breath, but he seemed willing enough to concede
the point. "Very well, miss, ril do as you say." Changing the subject
abruptly, he went on, "Clemente said I was to have the room I used when I
was here before, and if you have no objections, I'd like to start settling
in." His face gloomy, he ended with, "It appears I'm going to be here
longer than I figured."

Amusement
dancing in her eyes, Sabrina asked demurely, "Did you really expect to
arrive one day, after a six-year absence, marry Lupe, and depart by the
next?"

A
sheepish grin curved his long mouth. "Not really," he admitted
reluctantly. "But guvnor said . . ." He stopped, his face almost
comical with dismay.

"What
is it?" Sabrina demanded.

"Afore
God, miss, I plain forgot!" Ollie burst out, embarrassed. Excusingly, he
added, "In the excitement I just fair forgot to give you his letter."

Sabrina's
face paled, but she said calmly enough, "I'm certain that it's
understandable."

"Always
knew you were a bang-up article, miss!" Ollie said admiringly as he
fumbled under his shirt for the letter. Finding it, he handed it to Sabrina, a
troubled expression on his face.

"Miss,"
he began hesitantly, "I don't know what went wrong between you two, but it
hit the guvnor hard. He's never quite been the same since, and these past years
. . . well," he went on more strongly, "these past years have marked
him, changed him. He was always a hard man, but now, except with damn few
people, he's like cold steel. Now I don't know what's in that letter he's
written to you, but I will tell you this: he wasn't best pleased when he found
out about your father's will." Ollie stopped, his face filled with a sort
of reluctant awe. "When he heard about being your guardian and everything,
he swore like nothing I've never heard before. Right off he declared he would
have nothing to do with it. That someone else could be your damned duenna, but
it sure as hell wasn't going to be him!" Ollie shook his head. "But
then, after he thought about it a bit, he said he owed it to your father. Said
for Alejandro's sake he'd do his duty by you." Ollie pulled on his ear,
distinctly uneasy with the situation and Sabrina's increasingly frigid
expression. Aware that he had overstepped himself, he scowled unhappily.
"I just thought you ought to know."

"Thank
you," Sabrina replied with icy politeness. "Now if you will leave me
alone with my letter . . . ?"

"That
I will, miss!" Ollie answered swiftly. But then, as if noticing her black
garb for the first time, he added quietly, "Miss? I'm sorry about your
father—I meant to say something just as soon as I saw you." His brown eyes
full of sympathy, he added, "Don Alejandro was a good man; I'm certain you
miss him badly." He hesitated, as if uncertain whether to continue, but
then, taking a deep breath, he said, "Miss, the guvnor took your father's
death real hard. He was angrier than I've ever seen him, and he swore that
someday he'd find your father's killer. He was damn grim and silent for days
afterward, and then, just all of a sudden, he disappears, left me in New
Orleans with orders to mind my manners and stay put!" Ollie shook his
head. "If I didn't know better, I'd say he'd gone looking for your
father's killer, but then, just as sudden as he went, he shows back up, acting
as if nothing had happened. I figure he had to take himself off somewhere
private-like to work out his grief. He doesn't let much show, but I know he grieved
for your father."