Golden Paradise (Vincente 1) (41 page)

Valentina felt as if she were floating on dark wings of pain. She could hear voices around her, but she could not fully comprehend the meaning of the words they spoke.

"The baby is breech," Doctor Cline's voice floated to her.

"Then turn it!" Salamar demanded. "Either you do it, or I will."

The voices meandered amid searing pain that seemed to rip her stomach apart. Unaware that she was screaming, Valentina at last found herself drifting into a peaceful world where pain could not enter, a tranquil world where cooling waves of water bathed her fevered body.

Tyree stood on the beach, tossing seashells into the foamy ocean. His eyes went often to the cabin, and he feared the worst. Just at sundown, when the tide splashed heavily against the sandy shores, Tyree heard the cry of an infant.

"My God!" he breathed with relief. "A new Vincente has been born into the world. Marquis is a father and doesn't even know it."

Valentina opened her eyes as Salamar laid a tiny bundle in her arms. "Your daughter, Valentina," she said softly, pushing a damp curl off Valentina's forehead.

"It's all over?" Valentina questioned, hoping she would not have to endure more pain.

"It is over," Salamar assured her.

Glancing down at the baby, Valentina felt her heart open to a flood of feelings. Her helpless little daughter was thrusting her fists into the air, already searching for something to eat. Soft, downy black hair covered the perfectly shaped little head. Valentina kissed the child as motherly love flowed through her body. It was difficult to tell what color eyes the child had, but her skin was dark and she had the look of a Vincente.

"She is wonderful," Valentina said, lightly touching the soft, bow-shaped lips. "Oh, Salamar, she is so dear."

A heavy mist rolled off the Pacific Ocean, blocking out most of the sunlight. Valentina and Tyree walked along the beach, just out of reach of the plundering waves.

Tyree glanced up at Valentina, noting the smile that curved her lips. He knew she was thinking about her daughter. The child had brought a new maturity to Valentina. She was more sure of herself, more determined about her future.

"I'm surprised you named your daughter Jordanna. Weren't you afraid some people in San Francisco might connect her name with the dancer?"

"No, I'm not worried, because I will not be staying in San Francisco."

Tyree felt his heart constrict. "I had feared you were thinking in that direction. Have you decided to return to England?"

"Yes. That's what I wanted to talk to you about. I would like to dance one more time at the Crystal Palace. I need the money to buy passage to England."

He took her hand. "You don't have to dance if you don't want to. I would gladly give you whatever money you needed."

She smiled, lacing her fingers through his. "I knew you would say that, but no. I want to earn the money myself."

"I don't suppose you would reconsider telling Marquis about the baby?" he asked for at least the twentieth time. "A man needs to know when he becomes a father."

"No, Tyree. I do not want Marquis to know about Jordanna. As far as I am concerned, I will never see Marquis again. That part of my life is over."

Tyree saw the pain in her silver-blue eyes and knew she still  loved  Marquis.  She had  not  yet  succeeded in forgetting him. "I wish you would at least talk to Marquis. He has searched for you diligently. He is a desperate man, Valentina. He loves you. Give him a chance to tell you how he feels. I told you about his grandfather's death and Rosalia's running off with Felipe Martinez. Marquis has been through hell."

"I am sorry about Don Alonso, and I grieve for him. He was an exceptional man. The world will never know his like again. He is a dying breed." Valentina's eyes narrowed through the mist. "However, I am not sorry about Rosalia. She is married to the man she loves, and I wish her every happiness."

"You don't understand the Vincentes' kind of honor. As far as they are concerned, Rosalia broke her word; she is dead to them. Rosalia can never find true happiness unless her mother and brother forgive her and take her back."

"Oh, how well I understand the Vincentes' misplaced honor and their stubborn pride. I am still reeling from the effects of it," Valentina admitted.

"Marquis is hurting, Valentina. Will you be able to turn your back on him? Can you just block him out of your mind?"

Not a day had gone by during which thoughts of Marquis had not dominated Valentina's thinking. Nor a night during which she had not ached for his touch. She had to get away from California so she could start putting her life back together. She had to think of her daughter. "I don't want to talk about Marquis anymore, Tyree; my mind is made up. I am going back to England."

Tyree knew by the toss of Valentina's golden head and the tightening of her jaw that her decision was final. "Very well. Let me know when you are ready to dance, and I will arrange everything."

Valentina placed her hand on his cheek. "I wonder if you know how special you are to me? No one has ever had a better friend."

"Always the friend," he said, smiling, certain that was all he would ever be to her.

Valentina would miss this wonderful man who had appointed himself her protector and had never deviated from that path. Tears moistened her eyes, and she knew, she would have to change the subject or risk bursting into tears. "I should be ready to dance in another month. By that time my daughter will be three months old and ready to make the long sea voyage to England."

"San Francisco will welcome back their Jordanna with raving enthusiasm. You can't know how you have been missed. I expect your last performance will be the biggest event to hit this town since the discovery of gold."

30

San Francisco . . . 1851

The Crystal Palace was crowded to overflowing. Men were standing in the street, trying to push their way inside. The word was out that their Jordanna had returned and would be performing tonight. From hundreds of miles away, men came to worship their beautiful dancer.

In the dressing room backstage, Valentina held her breath while Salamar tightly laced her corset. "Your waist will never be as small as it once was, Valentina. You owe this to the birth of your child."

Valentina looked lovingly at the bed where her daughter gurgled and cooed. "I owe many things to my daughter. Most of all, I owe her for helping save my sanity. I don't know how I would have made it through these last months if it hadn't been for Jordanna."

Salamar slipped the frothy white costume over Valentina's head and fastened it up the back. "Are you sure you feel up to dancing tonight?" she inquired with concern. "After all, the baby is only three months old."

"I feel wonderful, but a little nervous. I just hope I don't miss a step. It has been a long time since I danced before an audience."

"From what I can hear, your audience is giving you a rousing welcome back."

Valentina could hear the loud voices that drifted backstage. She slipped into her satin toe shoes and looked at herself in the full-length mirror. Reaching for the white sequined veil, she fastened it across the bottom of her face. A frosty white net covered her golden hair, making her disguise complete.

The music started, and a hush fell over the crowd. They waited with bated breath for their star to appear. When Valentina walked out the door and approached the stage, she could feel the emotional intensity.

The music rose in volume, and she leapt across the stage and landed with a graceful bow. The audience was in a frenzy. Jumping to their feet in a standing ovation, they applauded and yelled their joy that Jordanna had returned to them.

It took a full five minutes for the crowd to finally quiet so Valentina could perform her dance. She was touched by this love that the Californians sent her way. She would dance her best for them tonight. This would be her final and, hopefully, her best performance. After tonight, she would hang up her dancing shoes forever.

Her gestures were poetic and beguiling. The audience was bewitched, completely under her spell, as she whirled and turned, defying gravity.

Valentina displayed a piercing beauty from the tips of her elegant-feet to the top of her delicately poised head. She used every part of her body to communicate with the audience. She dazzled them with daring turns, captivated them with graceful pirouettes. Leaping through the air, she seemed weightless, graceful, magnificent. Without any visible effort, Valentina gave a high leap and appeared to float to the stage.

On one of her turns, she saw dark eyes watching her with notable intensity. She felt her heart skip a beat and almost missed a step. Marquis was in the audience! Dear God, she cried inwardly, not having anticipated that she would ever have to face him again. She should have known that she was risking discovery when she had asked to dance for Tyree this one last time.

Turning in a breathtaking pirouette, she went spinning across the stage while the music slowed. A drum roll filled the room and men held their collective breath in anticipation. Valentina seemed to fly across the stage as a floor-to-ceiling flag of California was unfurled.

Tyree felt his heart melt as he watched Valentina. He knew she had never danced better. Before, she had been beauty in motion; now she brought something deeper to her dance—a sensitivity that touched men's hearts, reaching clear to their souls. He knew anyone watching Valentina dance tonight would never forget her performance.

Up on her toes, extending her leg, Valentina spun around and around while the audience gasped in awe and reverence. Her arms were graceful as she crossed them over her breasts and then lifted them over her head. She was dancing for Marquis. It was her way of telling him good-bye.

Leaping higher than she had ever leapt before, she split her legs wide while still in the air. Silence followed as the lights dimmed and she walked to the end of the stage. Her audience was reaching out to her with love.

The usual tribute of gold dust and flowers fell at her feet. She picked up one white rose, knowing it was from Marquis, and curtsied. Unlike the first time he had thrown her a rose, she did not kiss it. Her eyes rested, for a brief moment, on Marquis. His face was impassive and she could not tell what he was thinking. Throwing the audience a kiss, she waved her hand and hurried off the stage.

For a long moment the audience was stunned, for they sensed they would never again see the lovely, mysterious Jordanna. Strangely the audience remained silent. The feeling in the Crystal Palace was heavy. This time there was not the usual cry for Jordanna to continue—each man knew in his heart that she would never return. Most of the men filed quietly out to the street, still gripped by the beauty of what they had just witnessed.

Valentina ran into her dressing room and shut the door. Salamar laid the baby down and stared at Valentina's stricken face. "It is no great tragedy if you missed a step, Valentina. No one but you would have known."

"He's here, Salamar. I saw him."

"Marquis?"

"Yes. I will not see him alone, Salamar. I have nothing to say to him."

"Just stay calm. If you do not want to see him, then you will ask Tyree to keep him away."

Valentina placed her hands over her face. "I thought if I ever saw him again I would be able to ignore him. I didn't know I would feel so devastated."

"Perhaps you should see him, Valentina. Remember, he thinks of you as Jordanna. He will not know you are his missing wife."

Watching Valentina exit the stage, Marquis stood up. His eyes were expressionless as he pushed several men out of his path, making his way to Tyree's office. Without knocking, he entered the familiar room to find Tyree sitting at his desk.

Tyree looked up from his ledger and tossed down his pen. "I did not know you had returned to San Francisco, Marquis. I would have thought you would be sticking close to Paraiso del Norte with your duties as grandee."

Marquis propped a booted foot on the rung of a chair. "You should have known I would be back," he stated flatly. "Did you think I would give up searching for Valentina?"

Tyree looked at him through a haze of cigar smoke. "How do you judge my dancer? She is better than ever, don't you think?"

"You know damned well she's good, Tyree—she is the best. I want to talk about Valentina. Do not lie to me, Tyree. I know she came to see you."

"Don't push it, Marquis. I believe you and I have said all there is to say on this subject. I wouldn't tell you where Valentina was, even if I knew."

"You know," Marquis stated. His eyes were dark and brooding. Many things had become clear to him tonight. He did not know how much he could trust Tyree. Most probably Tyree would protect Valentina at all cost.

Tyree stood, moving to the window. "I am surprised that you are not interested in Jordanna, even though she had your baby."

All the life seemed to drain out of Marquis. "Have you seen the child?"

"Of course. Jordanna is always proud to show off her daughter."

"You said daughter?"

"Yes, you have a daughter."

Marquis slumped down in a chair and stared at Tyree. "I have begun to believe that the Vincente line will die out with me. Rosalia has run off and married Felipe Martinez. Valentina has vanished. I have been thinking a lot of the child I fathered by Jordanna." Marquis was watching Tyree's face carefully.

"What do you mean by that statement?"

"I would like to see the child. I have been wondering if Jordanna would let me take the child to Paraiso del Norte."

"You bastard," Tyree ground out. "You didn't once think of Jordanna while she had your baby alone. You never considered Valentina's feelings when you drove her away. Why should anyone show any consideration for you?"

Tyree expected Marquis's angry retaliations; he did not expect him to admit total defeat. "You are right, Tyree. Nothing you can say will be as bad as what I have already said to myself. I love Valentina. Life has been meaningless without her. I have searched everywhere but cannot find any trace of her. I have decided she must have returned to England. I had even considered going to England to search for her. If I have to, I will sail to hell and back to find her."

Tyree was in no mood to forgive Marquis. "You made some very unflattering statements concerning myself and Valentina. I don't know if she will ever forgive you, and I don't know if I want to either."

"I know this is no excuse, Tyree, but I was crazy with jealousy. I know now that you would never have betrayed me. I just was not thinking clearly. I hope the time will come when you will forgive and forget."

"I may forget, but I doubt if Valentina ever will. If you were to find her in England, what makes you think she would return to California with you? She knew only unhappiness with you. You bullied her into marrying you, then insulted and ignored her. Your mother was unkind to her, and you treated her like she had the plague."

"I know. No hell is as dark as the one I have dug for myself. I would do anything to get Valentina back—
anything
."

"And her child?"

"I will take the child."

After studying Marquis's face for a time, Tyree walked toward the door. "You wait here. I don't know if I can find Valentina for you, but it just may be that I can talk Jordanna into allowing .you to see your daughter."

Valentina had just removed her veil when the knock came on her door. Moving behind the dressing screen, she could not keep her heart from beating frantically as she waited for Salamar to see who it was. When she heard Tyree's voice, she was overcome with relief.

"You did the Crystal Palace proud tonight, Jordanna," he said, smiling brightly.

"I missed a step," she said dully.

"No one would have noticed," Tyree said, taking her hand and raising it to his lips. "They loved you tonight."

"That is what I told her," Salamar interjected.

Valentina searched Tyree's face. "I saw Marquis in the audience."

"Yes, he is in my office. He has asked to see you."

"I don't want to see him," she said forcefully. "Marquis and I have nothing to say to each other."

"That may very well be, but he wants to see the child. Can you deny him that?"

?"

"He has no right, Tyree. How can you ask me to see

nm

"To be fair, Valentina, Marquis acted no different from any man who loved a woman and believed she was having another man's child."

Valentina caught her breath. "Marquis does not love me. He never did. He loves Isabel."

"No, he does not now, nor did he at any time, love Isabel. He has loved you almost from the first time he saw you. I don't know why he never told you, but he told me many times."

He saw hope fan to life in Valentina's eyes. "If Marquis loved me, how could he have been so cruel?"

"He was striking out at you—trying to hurt you like he was hurt. I can tell you one thing—he never expected you to leave him. You heard how diligently he has searched for you all these months. What you may not know is how doggedly he has searched for Jordanna. He is a proud man, but a loving one. He loves you, but also wanted to make things right for Jordanna and his baby."

Salamar's eyes met Tyree's and she nodded before she spoke. "Valentina, perhaps it is time that you see Marquis. See him as Jordanna, and then you can judge for yourself if you want to see him as Valentina. The two of you have a daughter to consider. Put your personal feelings aside for a moment."

"How can I? I'm frightened of seeing Marquis again. I have just pulled my life back together; he could destroy me again."

"I am going to slip out the back way," Salamar said, blowing out all the candles but one. She then handed Valentina her veil. "Put this on. It is time to face the past. You cannot have a future until you put old hurts to rest.

"Salamar is right," Tyree agreed. "Get ready and I will send Marquis to you."

Before Valentina could object, Salamar disappeared out the back door, while Tyree left through the front. Valentina panicked, wanting to leave herself. How could she face Marquis after all that had passed between them?

Rushing across the room, she scooped up the baby. Undecided, she stood there for a moment, calling herself a coward. Bravely, she tried to face her fears. Perhaps Salamar and Tyree were right—it was time to close the door on that chapter of her life.

Laying down her infant daughter on the bed, she pulled her veil in place. Her stomach felt like thousands of tiny butterflies were beating their wings inside it. Several times she considered picking up Jordanna and fleeing into the night, but she did not.

When the knock came on the door, Valentina almost jumped out of her skin. Her muffled "come in" barely reached Marquis's ears. Calling on all the courage she possessed, Valentina waited for the door to open.