Doctor at Villa Ronda (12 page)

“
Nicola, my darling,” he whispered, “you’ve bewitched me. I can’t think of anything else when you’re with me.”

“
Patrick!” she murmured. “This isn’t you. It’s the wine, the
e
xcitement, the party...”

“It’s nothing of the sort—and you know it. D’you think I haven’t drunk plenty of Spanish wine before now?”

“But you’re engaged to someone else, a girl at home,” she protested.

“I’m supposed to be, and sometimes I wonder if Maureen isn’t enjoying herself with another man. It would be natural.”

“But not very honest for either of you.”

“Nicola dearest, you take these things too seriously.”

She drew away from him, although his arms still held her. “Then I won’t take this incident seriously at all. It’s just a goodnight kiss after a party.”

“Not on your life!” Patrick drew her against him with some violence. “I’m not too sure that I want to go home and marry Maureen.”

“Because of a passing fancy?” she demanded angrily. “Patrick, you can’t make me a party to this. You’ll have to decide for yourself whether you’re going to marry Maureen or not, but I’m telling you very plainly that I’ll have nothing to do with it.”

“But, Nicola, I thought you liked me.”

“So I do. Very much—as a friend.”

“And you can’t possibly imagine that you might fall in love with me—as I have with you?”

“No,” she snapped. “And if I thought that I might fall in love with you, I’d leave this place, leave Spain and never see you again.”

Unconsciously he had relaxed his savage grip on her and his voice became more gentle. “What’s Maureen to you?”

Nicola stared at him, although she could see only the vague outline of his features. “A girl who apparently trusts you. She doesn’t deserve to be let down.”

“Ah!” he murmured. “So that’s it. Someone once let you down?”

“It’s all in the past, over and done with.”

“So because someone—some man hurt you, you’re going to shut out all romance and love for the rest of your life?”

“I didn’t say that. It’s just that I couldn’t bear to take someone else’s
fianc
é
.”

“Doesn’t it occur to you that engagements are made so that if necessary they can be broken before it’s too late? Once the marriage takes place, things become more difficult.”

“You have an easy philosophy, and up to a point I admit you’re right about engagements.”

“You won’t tell me about this past episode in your life? If you’re always going to bottle it up, you’ll end by being bitter.”

She was stung. “All right, you can have the truth. The man I was engaged to did exactly what you say you have in mind. He went on a sue months’ business trip to Australia, and a month before our wedding he wrote that he had met another girl and married her.”

“Nicola, I’m sorry.” Patrick’s tone was tender enough now.

“Now perhaps you can understand how I feel about stealing another girl’s man!” She was near to tears and she broke away from him and walked across the beach, leaving him to follow.

“I shan’t give up hope, Nicola,” Patrick said quietly when he had caught up to her. “Who knows? Maureen might be glad to release me, and then—”

“Don’t bank on anything,” she said. “I can’t encourage you to think that way. Let’s go and find Adrienne if we can.”

“Damn Adrienne,” he muttered softly
under
his breath.

Nicola secretly hoped that she might also find Sebastian Montal, but among the small groups and knots of people, she could find no trace of either. Possibly they were both swimming among the half dozen bathers still amusing themselves tossing a ball to each other.

Patrick decided to leave. “I don’t want to inflict myself on you any longer tonight,” he said, “and I can’t stand seeing that Ramon chap flirting with you, so I’ll go.”

“Did you come by car, or can I get you a lift with
s
omeone back to Barcelona?”

“I borrowed a friend’s car.”

By the time he and Nicola had reached the Villa, many of the other guests were straggling up the path.

“See you soon,” Patrick said casually, as he entered his car. “Ring me some time. In the meantime, don’t fall in love with anyone else, will you? Especially not that doctor boss of yours? He might be a menace.”

In a moment he was gone, leaving Nicola standing there, her hand upraised in mid-wave. Around her a crowd of people were entering their cars, laughing, chattering, thanking someone for a lovely party, but Nicola heard nothing.

She was already overwrought by Patrick’s sudden change from a companionable friend to a man demanding her love, but his last remarks had finally unnerved her
“...
don’t fall in love ... that doctor boss ... he might be a menace.”

Nicola fled through the main entrance of the Villa, raced up the beautiful staircase with its wrought ironwork, its spacious landings decked with flowers, and did not stop until she reached the safety of her own room. Even here she could not face this growing suspicion that of all men, it was Sebastian Montal who attracted and repelled her, rendered her nervous in his presence and overjoyed her with those rare moments when he laid aside his iron reserve.

She fought down these ridiculous fancies, yet she knew that if tonight it had been Sebastian instead of Patrick who showered on her those fierce, savage kisses and held her in his arms as in a vice, she would have yielded to his endearments, returned him kiss for kiss.

CHAPTER V

Nicola
lay awake for what seemed like hours, then had only fallen into a doze when a tap at her door was followed not by Adrienne, as she had expected, but by the girl's maid, Inez.

“Senorita, Adrienne is not here? You have seen her?” the maid asked in Spanish.

“No,” Nicola answered sleepily.

“
Gracias
.”
The maid went out and almost immediately Dona Elena came in.

“When did you see Adrienne last tonight? Where?” she asked urgently.

Nicola sat up in bed, wide awake now and already alerted to fears of some mishap. “Not since about the middle of the evening, I think.”

“We cannot find her.”

“She hasn’t come home?” Nicola queried.

“No. You must please come downstairs.”

Elena hurried out, and Nicola flung a housecoat around herself and followed quickly. The sound of voices coming from Dr. Montal’s study directed her.

The maid Inez was outside the door and motioned to Nicola to enter.
With the only lighting a desk lamp and a couple of wall brackets the grouping resembled a scene from a play. Ramon stood with folded arms by the book-lined wall. Dona Elena sat tensely in an armchair while Sebastian was giving instructions to Ignacio, the chauffeur.

W
hen the man had gone, Sebastian came towards Nicola.

“
Did you see Barto there tonight?” he asked.

S
he shook her head. “No, I didn’t, but there were so many young people there, and a lot of them in costume.”

“
What was Adrienne wearing when you last saw her?”

“
Her
sardana
costume,” replied Nicola.

“
We found those clothes in the
playa casa,
the beach chalet. Her swimsuit is missing.”

N
icola gasped. “You don’t think that—”

“
We know nothing,” snapped Sebastian. “We have sent men to search the sea for her.”

“
But she could be—somewhere else—in the grounds of the Villa?” hazarded Nicola.

“
She is not in the ...Villa or the gardens,” declared Sebastian. “It is possible that she has gone somewhere with Barto.”

“
Then that will be entirely your fault.” Ramon spoke for the first time since Nicola had entered the room.

S
ebastian stared, his cold, arrogant gaze fixed on Ramon.

“
I’ve told you before, Sebastian, that you’ve driven her too hard. You should have had more sense than to interfere in a simple friendship with a fisher-boy. If you hadn’t pulled so tight all the time the affair would have worn itself out by now.”

N
icola glanced at Ramon with quickened interest. His was a logical view to take, but in the circumstances she was surprised, considering that he was expected to marry Adrienne.

“
And will you stand there as calmly if we find that my niece—”

“
Barto would never harm Adrienne’s little finger,” Ramon interrupted before Sebastian could complete his dangerous sentence. “The
boy knows that a Montal girl is not for him. Anyway, we do not know that they are together.”

“
If Adrienne had not been allowed always to do as she pleased,” Dona Elena said, “this might not have happened.” She shot a hostile glance at Nicola. “I understood
that Senorita Brettell was
paid
to act as Adrienne’s companion. Tonight she does not seem to have carried out her duties well.”

Sebastian made an impatient gesture. “Do not let us start blaming each other, Elena. After all, you were also at the beach party and you could have kept a friendly eye on Adrienne.”

Elena jumped to her feet, her eyes blazing. “You forget, Sebastian, that you asked me most definitely not to appear to spy on her. How could I know what thoughts she would have? Or where she would go?”

“I have my responsibility to her father,” Sebastian said in a low tone.

“Adrienne is not only her father’s daughter,” declared Elena indignantly. “She also had a mother.”

Nicola, the unwilling witness of this stormy scene between Sebastian, Ramon and Elena, fidgeted in her chair, praying for a signal of dismissal from Sebastian, but he gave none. Perhaps she could slip out of the room unnoticed. She rose, but instantly Sebastian’s dark eyes glared at her.

“You
—
you don’t need me again?” she queried.

“Please stay, Nicola. I may want to ask further questions.”

S
he felt Elena’s sharp turn of the head, probably at that easy use of “Nicola” instead of “Senorita Brettell.”

Suddenly Ramon exclaimed, “You don’t think that perhaps Adrienne has gone to the
Clorinda?”

“How would she get there without a boat?” demanded Elena.

“Barto would have a boat—or be able to borrow one,” returned Ramon.
“Of course! Stupid of us not to have thought of that before.” He was halfway out of the room when Elena’s voice halted him.

“Why would she go there? To remain on board without a chaperone would be very indiscreet.”

“Well, I’m going down to the harbour to find out,” Ramon said finally. “I’ll telephone you, Sebastian, if there is any news.”

Elena stood staring at Sebastian. Then, recovering her more usual dignity, she said, “I will stay here tonight as it was planned, but tomorrow I shall return to my own house, even though I have let my servants go away for a holiday. I will send Inez now to remain with you and Senorita Brettell, if you have other business to discuss.”

She walked out of the room, leaving the door open, and a pale-faced Inez came timidly into the room. But Sebastian had changed his mind about any further questions, for he waved the maid away and said gently to Nicola, “Go back to bed now. There’s nothing more we can do until I have news of some sort.”

“I hope it’s good news,” Nicola answered.

In her room she noticed that it was now past five o’clock. Soon it would be daylight and there was little sense in trying to sleep. Instead, she took a shower and dressed, then sat on her balcony waiting for a dawn that might bring tragedy to the Montal household. Even then she must have dozed through sheer lack of sleep, for she became aware of full daylight and the pearly colours of sunrise fading into pale green and saffron.

She went through her room and downstairs to the main part of the Villa. The servants were already hurrying about attending to their duties, but their faces were grave instead of smiling and they spoke in anxious whispers. Did they know what had happened to Adrienne?

She found Inez who spoke a little English and good French through her association with Adrienne. “Any news of Senorita Adrienne?” Nicola asked.

The girl shook her head. “No,
senorita
.”

Nicola wondered if Sebastian had remained in his study and with some hesitation she knocked on the door. There was no answer, and she entered. Sebastian was slumped across his desk, his dark head resting on his sprawled arms. The lights were still burning, the curtains drawn, the windows shuttered.

Nicola stood for a moment, uncertain, a great cloud of fear threatening to envelop her. She moved towards Sebastian, noting that he had flung his white
dinner
jacket on the floor. She picked it up, held it for a moment as she watched the rise and fall of his shoulders. Then a sigh of relief escaped her and she put down the jacket, pulled back the curtains, but found she could not manipulate the heavy shutters. Her efforts roused Sebastian, who dragged himself up to a sitting posture, rubbed his eyes, thrust his fingers through his tousled hair and stared dazedly at Nicola as though she were a ghost.