Flame of Diablo (30 page)

pride. The real shock had come when he

had made it clear that she was not going

to be allowed simply to walk out of his

life.

Rachel sighed, as she gingerly soaped

her shoulders and arms. Fairly or

unfairly, she still felt that she had been

tricked' into his bed, although she

supposed she should have expected little

else. He had always made it plain that he

would expect her to belong to him once

they reached Diablo, nor had he

specified the circumstances under which

their agreement would be fulfilled. On

the other hand, she had been equally if

not more determined to keep out of his

clutches. And for very good reason, as

she now knew to her cost. As she had

feared, she now not only belonged to

him physically, but mentally and

emotionally too. Even while she had

been seething with temper at his

duplicity, she had been totally aware of

him as well.

She lifted one slim leg and began to rub

the dirt from its tender surface with her

fingertips.

At least the events of the last few days

now presented a recognisable pattern,

she thought. For instance, she knew that

Vitas had been with the army during the

day he had left her alone at Maria's, and

that it was then he had learned for the

first time not only that Mark was actually

at Diablo, but that Rodriguez was there

too, and that Mark was in his clutches.

Lopez had been on the point of blasting

his way into the mission, but Vitas had

asked him to hold his hand in order to

protect Mark, who might easily have

been killed in a shoot-out between the

army and the bandits, and for that Rachel

had to be grateful at least.

It was then that Vitas had conceived the

plan of going alone to the mission to

barter for the life of the young
Ingles

—
the brother of his
enamorador,
as

Carlos would testify. He had known

quite well, of course, the price

Rodriguez would demand, and his aim

had been to entice the bandit out of the

mission into the open away from Mark

and towards the waiting guns of the

army. But when Rachel had unwittingly

gone down to the mission herself, then

the plan had to submit to a radical last-

minute change, and it was then Vitas had

decided

to

actually

reveal

the

whereabouts of the Diablo emeralds

and, if possible, destroy them for ever

by burying them along with Rodriguez in

a rock fall which he intended to induce

by one means or another.

Rachel paused in her task and reflected

for a moment. Now that her anger had

cooled, she supposed that his attitude to

her the previous night had been not quite

as hypocritical as she thought. Perhaps

he had been quite genuine in his

uncertainties. Risks were no less risky

for being calculated, she thought. All

sorts of things could have gone wrong,

not the least having his skull cracked

open by a lump of rock—the fate that

had befallen Rodriguez.

And there was another point she had not

considered. When Vitas had walked into

the circle of firelight to offer Rodriguez

his dangerous bargain, he had done so

believing that Mark was her lover. It

was

a

sobering

thought—perhaps

revealing that his actions towards her

were not always guided by selfish

motives, she argued. Yet that wasn't

wholly true either, because the real

motivating force was his desire,

understandable enough, to have his

revenge on Rodriguez. The fact that she

and Mark had become involved was

really only incidental.

Mark, of course, was another problem.

She had relied on being able to leave for

England almost immediately in his

company, but the army doctor who had

set his leg had vetoed any such idea. The

shock of his capture by Rodriguez and

his subsequent ill-treatment had all had

their

effect,

and

bed-rest

was

prescribed. And to her shock Rachel had

heard Vitas calmly telling Captain Lopez

that he was ordering a private

ambulance to take Mark to his house

near Villavicencio, where a nurse would

be waiting to cater to his every need.

While she, no doubt, catered for the

needs of the master of the house, she

thought smoulderingly. And she crushed

the small treacherous thought, deep

inside her, which murmured that that was

not nearly so distasteful a task as she

might want to believe. She even

surprised the beginnings of a small

reminiscent smile curving the corners of

her mouth, and subdued it instantly.

She had held back from giving herself to

Vitas, because she had known that any

such action would mean eventual

heartbreak for her when he grew tired of

her. She had gone to him out of love, and

now she was lost forever.

She got out of the bath and began to dry

herself, winding the towel sarong-style

round her slim body before she opened

the bathroom door. The clothes which

Maria had washed for her were lying

across

Captain

Lopez'

bed.

She

supposed the gallant Captain who had

put his quarters unreservedly at her

disposal would also have loaned her a

bathrobe, if she had asked. The unspoken

implication behind everything he said

and did was that nothing was too good

for the lady whom Vitas de Mendoza

chose to honour with his attentions.

She walked listlessly into the bedroom,

and started violently as a hand gripped

her bare arm.

'A word with you,
chica.'

'You!' she exploded. 'Get out of here!'

'Not so loud,' he said coolly. 'I have no

wish to cause a scandal.'

'You do surprise me,' she said, mustering

all the sarcasm she was capable of. 'If I

fight you, that's a scandal. If I sleep with

you, everyone will discreetly look the

other way. I like a man to. have

standards—even if they're double ones.'

He sighed impatiently. 'Will you stop

trying to insult me, and listen to what I

have to say. I haven't much time. Pablo

informs me that you have been asking if

he can supply you with transport to

Bogota.'

'That's correct.' It was useless to deny it,

but she would liked to have wrung Pablo

Lopez' neck.

'I have told him that will be unnecessary.

That you are coming with me to

Villavicencio—to my home there.'

'Oh, no, I'm not!'

'You will do as I say, Raquel.' His tone

was

cold,

the
gran senor
to his

fingertips, she thought inconsequentially.

'You don't understand,' she said rapidly.

'I have to get back to England, to see my

grandfather and tell him that Mark's

alive.'

'I have already put arrangements in hand

for your grandfather to be told that you

are both safe and well,' he said. 'Also

that you are both too shocked by your

ordeal to be able to travel, and are

therefore

spending

a.

period

of

recuperation at my home on the Llanos

as the guests of my mother.'

'You take a lot for granted!' she

exclaimed, biting her lip. 'And precisely

how do you propose to introduce me to

your mother? I wouldn't have thought she

was accustomed to entertaining your

mistresses. Or do you intend to introduce

Mark only, and smuggle me in the back

way?'

'No, I do not.' He sounded as if his hold

on his temper was precarious in the

extreme. 'Nor shall I introduce you as my

mistress. I shall say "Madrecita, this is

Raquel who is the soul of my life. Guard

her and love her as if she were your own

child."'

Rachel was stunned, beyond speech for

a minute. Then she looked up at him

wonderingly.

'I don't understand.'

'No? It is quite simple,' he said. 'You go

to Villavicencio as my future wife, my

novia.'

It was fortunate that the edge of the bed

was so near, because her legs suddenly

seemed unable to support her and she

sank down on to it.

'You must be mad!' She was surprised

that her voice sounded so steady. 'Can

you give me one good reason why I

should marry you?'

'I can give you several, but one will

suffice.' He spoke without emotion, as if

they were discussing the weather, die

thought hysterically. 'The possibility we

discussed last night.'

'You mean that we might have—that I

might be ...' She felt the colour invade

her face. 'But wouldn't it be more

sensible to wait and see if it's true first?'

'No, it would not,' he said with a touch

of ice. 'We will be married, and as soon

as possible. My child will be born in

wedlock and without a breath of scandal

attaching to his name.'

'Another of your calculated risks?' she

asked bitterly.

'If you choose to regard it so.'

'But

Vitas,'

she

tried

to

sound

reasonable, 'be honest. It —it's hardly

likely, is it? After one night...'

He gave her an incredulous look. 'Surely

they don't teach you in England that it

can't happen die first time with a man?'

'No, of course not.'

'I'm relieved to hear it,' he said

cynically. 'At least two of my friends

have found themselves with morning-

sick brides before the honeymoon was

over. Besides ...' he paused.

'Besides what?' she probed, in spite of

herself.

'It doesn't matter.' His tone was coolly

dismissive. 'Pablo requests that we dine

with him.'

'I should be delighted.' Her own voice

was equally distant. 'I only hope he

doesn't expect me to dress for the

occasion.'

For the first time a smile touched the

grim contours of his mouth.

'I imagine he would expect you to wear

slightly more than a towel,' he drawled.

'But he understands that skirts are not an

essential part of the luggage for a

horseback journey to Diablo.'

This trip has cost me a fortune in

clothes,' she said without thinking.

'Everything I wore today has had it, not

to mention the stuff Carlos tore.'

'Then it is fortunate that you will be

marrying a man who can afford to

replenish your wardrobe for you.' His

voice was dry.

Rachel stared at him, her eyes bright

with dismay. She wanted to protest that

the remark had been totally casual —

that she hadn't even given the fact that he

was wealthy a second thought. But she

knew it would sound as if she was

simply making excuses, and that it would

be more dignified to remain silent.

Instead she found herself saying, 'You

seem very sure that I will marry you.'

'Is there any real doubt?'

'I suppose not,' she admitted with a tiny

sigh. 'You— always get what you want,

don't you, Vitas?'

Her question seemed to hang in the odd

little silence which followed.

Then he. said softly, 'Do I,
chica
? At

times, I wonder.'

He went out, closing the door behind

him, leaving her staring blankly after

him. That, she thought, must qualify as

one of the strangest proposals of

marriage any girl had received. In fact,

he hadn't really proposed, just told her

what was going to happen as if she had

no say in the matter. Her hand crept to

her cheek. He hadn't even said that he

wanted
to marry her, she thought, or

greeted her rather stunned acceptance of

his plan with any kind of pleasure. He

hadn't even kissed her, and her

realisation filled her with a strange