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Penny got to her feet. 'So I have just insulted our nearest neighbour.' She grimaced and caught an unexpected flash of sympathy in Ava's dark eyes.
'I am honoured you came to my defence, Penny, but I wish you hadn't for your sake. Dulcie Costas is a bad lady to cross.'
'She can't harm me.' Penny shrugged with more nonchalance than she actually felt.
'I'm not so sure,' Ava responded, with a worried shake of her grey head. 'Come.' Gesturing with one hand for Penny to follow her, she walked through an open door at one side of the hall, through the splendid dining room and out into the central courtyard.
'I have set lunch in the courtyard, and while you eat I will explain.'
'Explain what?' Penny asked, sinking down on the wrought-iron chair at the beautifully set small table. The selection of attractively displayed cold meats and salads suddenly made her realise how hungry she was. She loaded her plate with chicken, ham and a lot of crisp green salad. 'Do sit down, Ava, instead of hovering; I've told you before I don't need you to wait on me.'
Ava sighed and murmured, 'Perhaps this once.' And, pulling out the opposite chair, she sat down primly on the edge.
'So who is this Dulcie? Why all the mystery and heavy sighs?' Penny demanded, swallowing a mouthful of chicken.
'First, I wish to apologise that when you first arrived with Master Raul I was disapproving. Never had Raul brought a lady to this house to sleep in his bed. I am old; the modern times have passed me by. But very soon I realised he is in love with you, and you with him. I think you will marry and the hacienda will once again echo to the sound of laughter and children's voices.'
'I sincerely hope so,' Penny said, blushing scarlet but delighted that Ava was confirming her own heartfelt belief.
'I have never seen Raul so happy. I have known him all his life—as a baby, a young boy and as a man. I know him better than he knows himself. If he has one fault it is that he is fearful of committing himself to a woman. I do not usually gossip but I think you are en-tided to know what makes him the way he is.'
Penny stopped eating and, picking up the carafe of white wine from the centre of the table, filled her glass, and, lifting it to her mouth, took a sip, her eyes fixed in fascination on Ava.
'Go on,' she prompted eagerly.
'Raul was eight years old when his mother ran off with an American serviceman stationed in Spain. His father was devastated—never really recovered. Poor Raul did not understand what had happened or why his mother never came to see him again. I tried my best to take his mother's place, but by the time he was a teenager he was very bitter. His father didn't help by repeatedly cursing young women, and his mother in particular.'
'How awful.' Penny sighed, her tender heart full of sympathy for Raul as a lonely young boy.
'True, but worse was to follow. You have met Dulcie; you have seen what she is like. Well, with the families being neighbours it was inevitable that Dulcie became Raul's "friend", for want of a better word. Raul went off to university in America, but they corresponded and eventually became betrothed.
'It suited both parents, and Raul was used to looking after the girl. But I had my doubts. Dulcie was totally spoilt by an over-indulgent father, and when Raul was studying Dulcie was off to Paris, Rome—anywhere there were men and money. The rumours were rife and true, but Raul never suspected.'
Penny's mind reeled. Raul had been engaged to the woman she had thrown out of his home. She couldn't believe it. He had once loved that witch of a woman and yet had never mentioned it to her. Did she know him at all? She listened with mounting disquiet as Ava went on.
‘The wedding date had already been fixed when Raul's father died and everything changed. Dulcie discovered that Raul's father had died in debt and that there was no money to support her extravagant lifestyle, and a month before the wedding she took off with a Colombian rattle baron—though some said his business was more chemical than cattle...
'Apparently the Colombian traded her in for a younger, more fertile model, and she returned to Spain two days ago. I am telling you all this, Penny, so you are warned. The master loves you and, given time, he will marry you—of this I am sure. But beware of Dulcie; she is an evil but clever woman. Around the master she was always sweet and innocent, but you have seen how he treats people when he is not around.'
For some reason all Penny could think of was Raul and that horrid woman together. She was eaten alive with jealousy at the thought of Raul making love to Dulcie, touching the other woman as he now touched her. It was ridiculous; it had all been over years ago but she could lot help feeling a certain dread. She tried a smile.
'Don't worry, Ava. Raul is much older and wiser; he would never allow himself to be fooled twice, and—'
'So this is how my two favourite women spend their time when I am not around.' A deep laughing voice cut across Penny's. 'Drinking wine and gossiping.'
Penny spun around in her chair. It was Raul... He was leaning carelessly against the wood frame of the dining-room door, his jacket casually hooked on a long finger and draped over one broad shoulder. A snowy white shirt open at the neck revealed the strong column of his tanned throat, and his eyes glinted with humour and something more. He looked all male and incredibly sexy. Penny jumped to her feet and in seconds had thrown herself at him.
His arms opened to enfold her. 'You never said last night.' She reached up and raked her fingers through his dark hair, cradling his head with her small hands. Her head tilted back to gaze up into his handsome face.
'I decided to surprise you
, querida,' he murmured as his mouth fastened on hers.
CHAPTER THREE
Raul's kiss was so overpowering that Penny was lost in it in seconds; she forgot where they were and that they had an audience; she hungered for him with a desperation she had not thought possible. Once more in his arms, her tongue twining with his, she clawed unconsciously at the fine silk of his shirt, popping his buttons in her haste to feel the satin skin beneath, while Raul's hands roamed freely down her back, cupping her buttocks, hauling her into the hard cradle of his hips, making her intimately aware of his aroused state.
'Dios,' he groaned against her mouth, and when he lifted his head, his dark gaze burned down into the blue depths of her passion-glazed eyes. 'That was some welcome, Penny. Can I take it you missed me, hmm?'
