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But worse was to follow. Dulcie sat on Raul's right, Penny on his left, but unfortunately with Senor Costas beside her. The ensuing two hours were agony for Penny. The old man flirted shamelessly with her, along with asking a million questions about her family and future which she found almost impossible to answer. To make matters worse, all the time Dulcie monopolised Raul completely.
Finally, as Ava cleared away the main course and Costas tried to put his hand on Penny's thigh for the third time, she lost her cool and kicked the old goat firmly on the shin under the table. He yelped, and Penny hid her grin with a hand to her mouth and a contrived cough. The dirty old man had only got what he deserved.
Raul turned at the noise, his dark eyes flashing suspiciously to Penny then to Senor Costas. 'Everything all right, Miguel?' he asked solicitously.
'Yes, yes, of course, dear boy. Ava has excelled herself; the meal was excellent.'
'Good. I'm glad you're enjoying it.' Raul's narrowed eyes settled on Penny's flushed face.
'And you, Penny—I trust you are not feeling insulted by our speaking solely in Spanish.'
It was a bit late to ask now, she thought angrily, after ignoring her for almost the whole of the meal. 'Not at all.' She met his hard eyes, her own flashing fire. 'I have a good knowledge of your tongue.' She drawled the last word sensually, leaving no doubt about the double entendre.
'It is so nice you can speak a little Spanish,' Dulcie inserted, and, glancing coyly up at Raul, added, 'But, Raul, you should have told the poor girl that she speaks with a peasant's accent—probably with gossiping so much to Ava.'
'I rather like Penny's accent,' Raul said shortly.
Penny shouted, Hurrah, under her breath; at least he had deigned to support her in something...
'But you are so easygoing, Raul; that is what I have always loved about you,' Dulcie said softly. 'I only wish my ex-husband had had half of your sensitivity, and then maybe I would not have felt compelled to walk out on him. He was a brute,' she murmured, lifting a crystal glass of red wine and taking a small sip. Then, fixing Penny with her spiteful eyes, she added, 'You're lucky to have Raul as your...' she deliberately hesitated '...friend, Penny. I had no one. I had to make my escape from my husband all on my own.'
Penny was livid; she had sat and listened to insult upon insult and she was not about to take any more. 'Oh? As I understood it, I thought he left you for a younger woman.'
'Penelope,' Raul said harshly, 'I don't think Dulcie's marriage is a suitable subject for discussion around the dinner table.'
‘I didn't bring it up. She did,' Penny shot back.
'No, really, Raul, I don't mind,' a simpering Dulcie whispered. 'It is hard to admit one has made a mistake. But when one does—' the small dark head lifted and her narrowed gaze, flashing hatred, settled on Penny '—one should leave immediately, I think.' And with a complete change of expression, her black eyes wide and dewy, she glanced up at Raul. 'Don't you agree, Raul?'
'Yes, of course.' He cast Penny a furious warning look and then smiled down at Dulcie, patting her hand comfortingly.
Penny saw red. She wasn't bitchy by nature but this woman really rubbed her up the wrong way. So, plastering a false smile on her face, she looked straight at Dulcie. 'But wasn't it hard leaving your children behind? I mean, you were married for fourteen years, I believe; they can't be very old.'
She knew damn well that the woman had no family, but she was pig-sick of sitting taking all the flak from Raul, the devious Dulcie and the lecherous old man beside her. If this was an example of Raul's friends she was glad that he hadn't introduced her to any of them before.
Raul's hand stretched out to curl around Penny's wrist, supposedly in a tender gesture, but she could feel the fingers digging into her flesh, and she knew that he was absolutely furious, but she did not care. She deliberately ignored him. Instead she took a long swig of red wine from her glass and concentrated her pseudo-sympathetic gaze upon Dulcie.
‘Thank God I decided to wait before having children,' Dulcie sighed dramatically. 'As it turned out, it was a very wise decision.' She turned enormous dark eyes back up to Raul. 'I know you agree, Raul.'
Penny would have liked to hear Raul's reply, but at that moment Ava entered with a magnificent sweet on a silver serving dish—a perfect pyramid of profiteroles covered with black chocolate and decorated with luscious strawberries.
Senor Costas clapped his hands together in delight, obviously deciding to play the diplomat, so the rest of them followed suit, which meant that Penny got her wrist back from Raul's tenacious grasp. Then Senor Costas took over the conversation with a question to Raul about Dubai, and while all four ate their dessert the talk was all business.
Penny was just beginning to think that she might get through the meal with no further trouble when, with the sweet dishes cleared, Dulcie put her oar in again.
'That was a superb meal, Raul; I can't tell you how pleased I am we are all friends again—especially after that little misunderstanding the other day.' Once more the witch fixed her beady eyes on Penny.
Raul glanced at Penny, an explicit command in his dark eyes. She stared back at him in mute defiance. There was no way she was going to comment on Dulcie's statement.
Raul's lips thinned and, turning to Dulcie, he said, 'Yes, well, Penny had no idea who you were and she was really sorry about that later.' And, slowly turning his black head, he stared at Penny's red face. 'Weren't you, dear?' he prompted smoothly.
For a long, tense moment silence reigned; Penny glanced around the three people all watching her with varying degrees of anticipation. Slowly she rose to her feet, pushing back her chair.
'Please excuse me...' She saw the flash of triumph in Raul and Dulcie's eyes; they actually imagined that she was about to apologise. Well, they were in for a hell of a shock, she thought mutinously, and, forcing a broad smile to her stiff lips, added, 'I'm rather tired. But don't let me spoil your evening; I'm sure you three have plenty to catch up on.' It was a deliberate snub, but she didn't give a damn!
She saw in her peripheral vision Raul beginning to get to his feet, rigid with anger, but she forestalled whatever comment he intended making with, 'No, Raul, don't get up for me. I'll go and tell Ava to serve the coffee.' Shoving the chair back under the table, she added, 'Goodnight, Senor Costas, Dulcie.' And, turning her back on them, she walked out.
Ava turned from the stove as Penny entered the kitchen. 'I didn't hear the bell,' she said with a worried frown.
