Doctor at Villa Ronda (9 page)

“And the houses have stood up all this time?” she queried.

“Oh, yes. They’re solidly built, not just canvas and plaster.”

As they walked through the various squares and up the narrow, twisting streets, he pointed out replicas of typical houses found in Andalusia and Catalonia, Castille and Navarra and all the other provinces of Spain.

“But they haven’t made it a dead showpiece,” Patrick said. “All kinds of crafts go on in the workshops and there are shops to sell the products.”

Nicola was charmed to see leather purses actually being embossed and decorated and could not resist buying a couple. At a small printing shop she bought some Christmas cards illustrating scenes from Don Quixote.

“
Look, Patrick, straight from a hand press. None of my friends in England would be able to match that.” Other shops sold hand-woven textiles and there was even tucked away under an archway a blacksmith’s forge where ironwork was fashioned.

“I could spend days here,” she said happily.

“Why don’t we?” returned Patrick.

She laughed. “Since both of us have to work, that’s not a very sensible question!”

They returned to the miniature Plaza Mayor, which Patrick said was similar to the one in Madrid. One side was a balcony cafe and Nicola was glad of the opportunity to rest her feet and drink coffee.

“We must come here again when they have a fiesta,” Patrick suggested. “Sometimes they dance the Sardana in costume, or they have entertainments on Sundays for children. All kinds of shows go on here.”

“Yes, we must make a date,” she replied. After a pause, she added, “Dr. Montal found a girl in hospital whom he thought might be Lisa. I went to see her this morning. But she wasn’t Lisa.”

“Disappointing,” he said almost curtly.

“
Not really,” Nicola said hastily. “This girl was in a
very unhappy state. Mental breakdown, I think. I hope never to see Lisa like that.”

Patrick was silent, and Nicola had the impression that in some way he was relieved that Lisa had not been traced.

“You didn’t like Lisa, did you?” she questioned.

“If you must know the truth, no, I didn’t.”

“Any particular reason? Or shouldn’t I ask that?”

Patrick sighed. “It doesn’t matter. It’s just that she was the kind of girl I don’t care for. Too mercenary. Too eager to have a good time. You see, Nicola, you’re paying for her good time, and if she knew about it she’d laugh and tell you what a fool you were.”

Nicola smiled. “I think you’re a little hard on her. Anyway, I shall be able to pay off the debts quickly, thanks to Dr. Montal’s generous salary. After that, I shall be able to enjoy my own good time with money to fling about like Spanish gold.”

He gazed across the table at her, his eyes stared with an intensity that slightly disconcerted her. “Your idea of a good time isn’t the same as Lisa’s,” he said at last. “But I’m glad you’ll get a run for your money later on. I may not be here when you polish off the final debts. I’m due home in September.”

“For a holiday?”

“In a way, yes. I’m getting married.” He turned his head away to look across the
plaza.
“My
fiancée
lives in Sussex.”

“
But you’ll come back here to your firm—with your wife?”

“
H’m. I don’t know. I have a contract with the firm, but it’ll expire about that time and I don’t know if we shall renew it. But we’ll let the future take care of itself.”

“Then let me wish you every happiness,” said Nicola quietly with a smile.

He gave her a swift glance. “Thanks, Nicola,” he said, but his tone was cool.

She caught sight of the clock on the opposite side of the square. “Heavens! Is that the time?” she excl
aimed
in dismay. “It’s gone five o’clock and I promised to meet the doctor.”

“What? At this hour?” Patrick queried.

“Yes, at five.” She was gathering her handbag and the small parcels of shopping.

“
If I’d known, we could have had a decent lunch. I thought you had the rest of the evening free and then we could have dinner together. Why didn’t you say so?”

“It didn’t occur to me,” she said lamely. “Anyway, I don’t want to take up all your free time.”

He frowned. “Where are you meeting this all-important boss of yours?”

Nicola bit her
li
p in vexation. “I’m not sure. He didn’t make any definite arrangement as to place—except that he suggested the Spanish village.”

“So therefore if you didn’t accept his suggestion, he’d expect you to let him know by telephone where you’d gone?” Patrick raised his eyebrows mockingly. “He certainly keeps tabs on you. Doesn’t like you roaming around Barcelona on your own.”

Nicola smiled rather nervously. Patrick’s acid comments had solved her problem. “Thank you for such a nice afternoon,” she said hurriedly. “I’ve enjoyed it, but I apologise for leaving you so early. I ought to have explained.”

He smiled, apparently having recovered his normal good humour. “Don’t worry, Nicola. It’s as I said. You’re so different from Lisa. She wouldn’t have cared two hoots about keeping a promise, employer or anyone else. I’ll come out to the exit with you in case his lordship hasn’t arrived.”

B
ut as soon as Nicola reached the exit and walked down to the road through the park she saw Sebastian Montal’s car. She said goodbye to Patrick, thanked him again for a pleasant afternoon, and ran towards the car. Dr. Montal opened the door without a word.

“I’m sorry I’m late, Dr. Montal,” she said contritely.

“Who was the young man you were with?” he asked, ignoring her apology.

“
He’s English. He works at the firm of wine-shippers where my sister worked for a time. He’s been helpful to me.”

“
Oh? In what way?”

“
Well, he had known Lisa for a short time and he was able to give me information about her. He was someone with whom I could discuss the problem. He even offered to find me a job in his firm if he could.”

“
But I gather he was not successful. I believe you said there was no immediate vacancy there.”

“
Yes, that’s so. But it was kind of Patrick to try to help me.”

D
r. Montal had sounded so critical of Patrick that in turn her voice took on a defiant note.

“
Are you in love with this man—Patrick?”

T
he question took her by surprise, but she did not hesitate in her reply. “No, indeed! He’s a good friend. Besides, he’s engaged to a girl in England and later in the year he’s going back to marry her.”

T
hat should settle the doctor’s uncertainties, she thought with satisfaction.

H
e drove for some minutes before he spoke again.

“
I asked if you were in love with him—not he with you,” he said brusquely.

“
The situation doesn’t arise, Dr. Montal,” she answered stiffly. Why must he catechise her like this? What business was it of his if she and Patrick fell in love?

“
Is there someone in England with whom you have —as the English so often say—an understanding?”

“
No one at all,” she snapped.

“
Good. I like to know where we stand in these matters. I apologise for my curiosity.”

H
e gave her a warm smile and began to ask her about her visit to the Spanish village.

S
he thought his change of mood entirely remarkable, but since there was no point in maintaining a hostile relationship with her employer Nicola matched his geniality.

I
t was only when she arrived at the Villa Ronda and went to her room that it now occurred to her why
Patrick might be so hypercritical about her working for the doctor. Possibly he had been disappointed that he had not succeeded in obtaining a job for her with his own firm and therefore annoyed that she had grabbed at the first available chance elsewhere.

It could hardly matter to him now, for he would be returning to England in a few months’ time. It was more important to Nicola that Dr. Montal seemed reasonably content with her secretarial services. How she succeeded in the other half of her dual post, as companion to Adrienne, was another matter. In this direction the doctor was easily displeased, and Nicola knew she must be careful not to make careless blunders.