Untamed Fire (29 page)

“Yes,” she answered and attempted to pull
away.

“Not so fast. I find I need assistance.”

Gaby was reluctant to ask what type of
assistance he required. “I’ll get one of the servants to help
you.”

“But I want
your
help.”

His tone was sickly sweet, and Gaby found
him repulsive.

“I do not serve anyone but Dona Maria,” she
said, pulling away from him, as he edged closer and closer.

“No one?” he asked sarcastically.

“No one!” The powerful voice cut through the
air so sharply that Ignacio instantly released her.

“Don Rafael, I was but seeking help from a
servant.”

Gaby turned and her breath caught. Rafael
looked so handsome, so powerful, and so angry.

“I require assistance,” Ignacio explained,
raising his chin and drawing his shoulders back in an attempt to
intimidate, only to have the fearful tremor in his voice betray
him.

“Gaby is not a servant.”

Ignacio chuckled snidely. “Really then
what—”

Rafael warned him before another word could
leave his foolish mouth. “Be careful, Senor Galvez. It is best to
think before you speak or else you may find yourself in a position
that is detrimental to your well-being.”

Gaby bit at her lower lip to hold back the
giggle that threatened to escape as she watched Ignacio’s hands
shake when he tugged at his vest.

“I think I hear Dona Isabel calling me.”

“I didn’t hear her. Did you, Gaby?” Rafael
asked, further tormenting the man.

Gaby shook her head, afraid to speak, afraid
if she let go of her lip she would erupt with laughter.

“Yes, yes, I’m sure she’s calling. I must
see what she wants,” he said, taking a wide step around Rafael.

Gaby burst into laughter as soon as he was
out of sight. “You put the fear of God into him.”

“And rightfully so, he had no business
having his hands upon you.” Rafael’s expression softened and he
looked at Gaby with a pleasing smile. “You look beautiful.”

Gaby spun slowly around holding her skirt
out. “Your mother had new outfits made for this night.”

“I wasn’t talking about your dress... I
meant you. You shine; your eyes, your lips, your smile, they burst
with the fullness of life.”

She favored his compliment. It soothed her
and made her feel as though he could possibly—really possibly—love
her. “Thank you,” she whispered with a shyness that was unusual for
her.

Her strange response struck an overpowering
protective cord in him. He reached out to draw her to him only to
stop when he heard voices and remembered that they stood in the
hallway for all to see.

He dropped his arm to his side. “Go,” he
ordered reluctantly.

Gaby hesitated a moment as if she thought to
speak, then decided against it, turned and walked away. She stopped
suddenly and returned to his side. She searched the hall to make
certain no one was about, then, without thinking, as if it was the
most natural thing to do, she placed her hand on his chest.

“Rafael, may I come to your room later
tonight?”

He was stunned by her request. His heart
thundered in his chest, and he was certain she could see it
hammering against his shirt and jacket. “Yes. Yes, come to my
room,” he answered quickly.

She dazzled him with her smile and patted
his chest. “Thank you.”

He shook his head as he watched her walk
away. Her hips swayed in a sensual rhythm that belonged to her and
her alone and already her one sandal had broken free of its tie.
She was outrageous, unpredictable, and she belonged to him. His
earlier frown returned. He wanted to strangle Ignacio when he saw
his hands on her. He had been concerned with her condition all day,
but she appeared well enough each time he had seen her. The
scratches didn’t look nearly as bad as they had first appeared. He
wondered about her backside and smiled. He’d find out for himself
tonight.

He walked toward the courtyard and his
waiting guests.

The honored and invited guests were having a
wonderful time. Dona Isabel was the center of attention for the
majority of the evening.

Torches lit the courtyard, music filled the
air, and food was plentiful. Gaby could easily attest to that since
she had spent most of the evening carrying the trays back and
forth, keeping the tables brimming over with Lupe’s delicious
dishes.

At first she had made a point of seeing if
Dona Maria needed her, but after only a short time, she realized
Senor Serra was making certain that Dona Maria had everything she
needed. So Gaby continued helping Lupe.

She was standing behind the table, clearing
the empty dishes, making room for the full ones when she caught Don
Felipe’s eyes. They were staring at her and it wasn’t her face they
were focused on. They were riveted to her chest. She tried to
ignore him, moving this way and that, but every time she did he
would move so he could focus on her chest.

It was most unnerving, and Gaby became even
more upset as he approached the table.

“May I help you?” she asked, hoping to force
his eyes off her chest.

He didn’t answer. He just stared, his eyes
growing wider and wider.

“Can I get you something?” she tried
again.

“Where did you get that?” he asked
softly.

Gaby followed his eyes and realized he had
not been staring at her chest. It was the cross he was interested
in.

“A gift,” was all she could think of to
say.

“Where? From whom?” His voice grew
louder.

“It was a long time ago,” she lied,
remembering her promise to the padre.

“Where did you get it?” he shouted.

The courtyard grew quiet. Dona Isabel walked
over to her husband. Rafael joined her.

“Felipe, whateve—” Dona Isabel never
finished. Her eyes followed her husband’s pointing finger and she
gasped, grabbing her chest. “My God!”

“Where?” Don Felipe repeated more
calmly.

“What seems to be the problem, Don Felipe?”
Rafael asked, worried over the couple’s pale complexions.

“Instruct your servant to tell me where she
obtained that cross,” Don Felipe said sternly.

Gaby grabbed hold of the cross, fearful that
they meant to take it away from her.

“Is how she came by the cross that
important?” Rafael asked.

“Very important,” Don Felipe said.

Rafael turned his attention on Gaby as did
everyone else. “Gaby, where did you get that cross?”

Gaby couldn’t and wouldn’t betray her
promise to the padre. “I cannot say. I promised Padre Manuel.”

“Padre Manuel gave it to you?” Rafael asked
confused as to why a priest would give such an obviously expensive
gold cross to a peasant girl.

“Rafael,” Dona Isabel said softly. “That is
the Galvez family cross. It disappeared the night Annabelle and
Calida were kidnapped.”

Rafael felt a chill crawl up his spine.
“Gaby, this is important. You must tell me.”

“I promised.”

Rafael realized a promise to a padre was
unbreakable, but there had to be a way. “Gaby,” he began slowly,
hoping he was making the right decision. “Padre Manuel told you
about how you were left at the mission gates when you were only a
baby, didn’t he?”

“How did you know?” she asked,
surprised.

“Padre Jose explained it to me. Was the
cross left in the basket with you?”

“Yes, that is what Padre Manuel told me,”
she said, relieved Rafael had known the secret and that she had not
betrayed the padre’s trust.

“Did he remark that the cross belonged to
your real parents?” Rafael questioned, thinking that this couldn’t
be happening, not after all these years.

She nodded. “I’m not sure if he was certain,
or he hadn’t wanted me to know, but he implied that the cross was
part of my heritage.”

Dona Isabel moaned and leaned against her
husband for support.

Rafael called out for Padre Jose, and the
priest hurried forward. “Padre, have you ever seen this cross
before?”

Padre Jose looked at it and shook his head.
“No, I have never seen it, but I was told of its existence. It is
as beautiful as Padre Manuel told me it was.”

“What did he tell you about it?” Rafael
asked, wanting, yet almost fearing, to hear the answer.

“Padre Manuel told me that the cross was in
the basket with the twin girls when they were found. It belonged to
their parents. How he knew, I don’t know, but he insisted the cross
was the only part of their heritage they would receive.”

Gaby was confused. The padre spoke of twin
girls, but Padre Manuel had never told her of this. He had spoken
as if she was the only babe in the basket.

“The other baby girl that was in the basket,
what happened to her?” Don Felipe demanded.

“As I told Don Rafael, she moved with her
family to the San Jose Mission years ago,” Padre Jose
explained.

“
Santos Dios
,” Dona Isabel cried and
buried her face in her husband’s shirt.

Don Felipe wrapped his arm around his
distraught wife and offered words of comfort before directing his
next remark to Rafael. “It is obvious who the twin girls are.”

“The matter must be investigated further
before any conclusions can be made,” Rafael said, trying to remain
calm and in control while realizing what the revelation could mean.
Gaby could actually be the twin he had been betrothed to, or her
sister.

“What more evidence could there be?” Felipe
argued. “Twin girls were left at the mission along with the Galvez
family cross. Look at Gaby, how she smiles. It is a mirror image of
my smile. I wondered when I first saw her why she seemed so
familiar. It’s obvious now, she’s my daughter.”

Gaby took a step back and stared wide-eyed
at the crazy man.

Rafael shook his head and ran his hand over
his mouth and chin in exasperation. “Don Felipe, that isn’t proof
enough.”

“I’ve sent for Padre Pablo as you asked, Don
Rafael,” Padre Jose said. “He would know more about this. He was
here at the mission with Padre Manuel when the twin girls were
left.”

“When is he expected?” Felipe demanded.

“Within the next week or two,” the padre
assured him.

“Good, and since I firmly believe Gaby to
one of my long-lost daughters, I feel she should be treated as
such,” Felipe said, looking directly at Rafael.

“If you feel strongly about this, I will bow
to your wishes,” Rafael said. “Gaby shall be treated with the
respect due your daughter.”

“I am not his daughter,” Gaby shouted. “I am
an Alvardo, a companion to your mother.”

“Not any longer,” Rafael said as calmly as
possible. “A room will be prepared for you and you shall be treated
as the Galvezes’ daughter until it can be proven otherwise.”

Rafael knew he was headed for trouble as
soon as Gaby smiled.

“Aren’t you forgetting something, Don
Rafael?” she asked sweetly.

He was afraid to ask, but he had no choice.
He couldn’t stop himself from adding fuel to an already raging
fire. “What is that, Senorita Galvez?”

Gaby’s dark eyes widened at the name, but
her smile remained constant. “I’m a thief!”

Dona Isabel moaned. Don Felipe laughed.
Padre Jose crossed himself... twice. And Rafael rolled his eyes to
the heavens.

“Now I know why you always cross yourself
around her and pray to God,” Rafael said to the padre.

“Has a will of her own, does she?” Felipe
said.

“An iron will,” Rafael conceded.

“Just like her father,” Felipe boasted
proudly. “But tell me, is she really a thief?”

“A pure misunderstanding,” Rafael assured
him.

“No, it isn’t,” Gaby insisted. “That is why
I am Dona Maria’s companion. I’m serving my punishment for stealing
his horse.”

“Rafael!”

Rafael winced when he heard the disbelief in
his mother’s voice. He shot Gaby an angry look that warned her to
behave. She ignored it.

“Yes, it is true, Dona Maria,” Gaby said,
“but then you can’t be too sure what I say since a thief lies and a
liar th—”

“Enough, Gaby!” Rafael shouted, not wanting
to hear his own words tossed back at him.

“Rafael, watch how you speak to my
daughter,” Felipe demanded.

“I am not your daughter!” Gaby yelled. “I am
not, and I don’t want to be.” She ran from the courtyard, refusing
to obey the shouts ordering her to stop.

The courtyard turned to chaos. Everyone
spoke at once: his mother demanding, Felipe yelling, Dona Isabel
crying, Louisa insisting on an explanation. He stared at them for
several seconds, then turned and went after the one person he was
worried about the most—Gaby.

Rafael never expected to find Gaby in his
room. It was the last place he would have thought she’d be, yet he
went there first. Why, he had no idea, although he had hoped she
would seek her comfort from him... and she did.

Gaby lay on the bed crying hard tears.
Rafael was beside himself. He had never seen her so distraught. She
was always so strong and so determined in her opinions and nature.
But this news had devastated her, punctured her armor and left her
vulnerable and his heart went out to her.

“Gaby,” he said, anguish and worry clear in
his voice as he sat down on the bed next to her.

She turned, sat up, flung herself into his
arms, buried her heavy sobs in his shirt and threw her arms around
his waist as she continued crying.

Rafael’s arms coiled around her and he
hugged her close. He wasn’t certain how to handle this situation.
She had never broken down in front of him and her pain tore at his
heart.

“We will soon float away on your tears,” he
said teasingly, hoping to ignite her stubborn streak.

“Will we,” she took a deep sigh, “float far
away?”

“Do you wish to?”

She drew another heavy sigh. “Yes— far
away—just you and me.”