I repeated it obediently.
‘Bien. Árbol de Navidad –Christmas tree.Regalo– present.’
After twenty minutes or so, I was feeling quite pleased with myself, especially as Pilar was an extremely encouraging teacher, praising my pronunciation and rewarding me with scraps of delicious marzipan if I remembered a word correctly a few minutes after first learning it. I was trying to get to grips with the Spanish word for ‘twins’ –gemelos– which required a guttural ‘g’ that made me sound like a cat bringing up a hairball when Xander came in.
‘I say, I rather like you speaking Spanish, Penny, very exotic.’
I reddened and returned to my marzipan.
‘Please, don’t stop on my account, but I wondered if you’d like me to give you a lift to pick up thegemelos?’
Of course,hispronunciation was as smooth as silk.
‘Oh, no, thank you, but—’
‘It really would be my pleasure,’ he interrupted. ‘We could get to know each other better on the journey over; maybe I could help you get your tongue around some more Spanish.’
I glanced up at him and he winked. I was determined not to get flustered by this sudden and not particularly welcome flirtation, but he had taken me by surprise, and I certainly didn’t want to be rude to Bunny’s brother.
‘It’s all right, really. The father of the friend they’re staying with has offered to pick me up and then drop us home again. Thanks, though.’
‘Giles? Oh God, you don’t want to get stuck in the car with him, he’ll regale you with stories of the latest exciting events in his estate office. Last time I saw him, he cornered me for what felt like about four days with an account of the new pig feed he’d got in. I promise you, lovely Penny, you’ll have much more fun with me.’
I looked into his handsome face and for a second was tempted. He was fun, no doubt about it, and couldn’t be more different from Timothy; maybe a dalliance with him would be a tonic. But then his grin started to look more like a leer, and I wondered how long it would take for his easy persuasiveness to turn into pushiness. I shook my head and opened my mouth to speak, only for him to interrupt me again.
‘Don’t say no, Penny darling, come on. I’ll ring Giles and sort it out.’
I felt irritated now and was about to speak up when a voice came from behind him.
‘I think Penny has made it clear what her plans are. Let it go.’
Xander turned.
‘Oh, it’s you, Lando, trying to spoil my fun again. Penny was about to say yes, weren’t you?’
I spoke quickly this time, before any other man could talk over me.
‘No, I wasn’t. Thank you, but it’s all arranged with Giles. In fact, he’ll be here shortly, so I’d better go and get dressed.Gracias, Pilar.’
I dusted my hands off and went up to Xander, who only moved fractionally, forcing me to squeeze past him.
‘Such a shame,’ he whispered in my ear, loud enough for everyone to hear but close enough to feel creepingly intimate. ‘Maybe another time.’
I gave a tight smile and passed Lando, who stepped smartly backwards and gave me a curt nod. It was with some relief that I ran upstairs to the sanctuary of my room.
Giles pulled up outside twenty minutes later in a dusty, green, open-backed Land Rover, and I rushed to grab my coat and get out before I had to have any more awkward conversations. No such luck. Here came Lando, a frown on his face. I thought I’d better say something.
‘Hi, er, thanks for stepping in earlier.’
‘What?’
‘With Xander?’
‘Oh, right. You didn’t seem too pleased at the time. I wasn’t trying to be a knight in shining armour, I’m sure you’re perfectly capable of looking after yourself. But I know what a nag Xander can be – he doesn’t give you the option of saying no.’
I remembered the party the night before.
‘You’ve had a fair amount of practice, turning him down.’
