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“Are we expecting some sort of skirmish? Or a battle? Will anyone on the estate be in jeopardy?” she asked.
“I don’t know. And I don’t know because I don’t know what Belgrano has planned. I’ve had some of the new vaqueros scour the valleys and mountain trails in an effort to discover what he is up to, but so far our efforts have been fruitless.” He ran a hand through his hair. “The valley is too large to give up her secrets easily. The obvious answer is to take away his freedom now and store him in one of the basement cellars with the potatoes, but since I got the note, no one has seen him.”
“Quite so,” her father said. “Then we should be prepared for several contingencies.”
“Belgrano can be relied upon for many things, but in one we can be certain: He is up to no good. His lairs are many. That he has return to Las Colinas at all is—”
“His lairs? What about the caves near the lake, on the edge of the property? Have you sent someone up there?”
“Caves? I didn’t know there were caves,” Roman said.
Shelene stood and walked toward them, bracing her hands against the back of her father’s chair. “On the northern side of the estate, near the water’s edge. I could be wrong.” She bit her lip.
“I haven’t been out to those caves in years,” Hightower said.
“What is it, Shelene?” Roman asked.
“I went riding today. I ended up near Arco de la Frontera, then took the path along the lake. Father Etienne was riding too. I wonder… I wonder if I had ridden farther, would I have seen them?”
“When was the last time you saw Belgrano?” Roman asked.
“I don’t know. He comes. He goes,” she said. “Papa, do you know?”
“No.”
“What are we going to do?” she said.
“Would you agree to take Antonio to Cadiz? To safety?”
“I’m safe here. You’re here. Papa’s here. There are over two hundred laborers at Las Colinas. Am I to leave them behind? We’ll need to advise Brahim and Sakina, of course.”
“Nothing will happen tonight. Let’s make plans in the morning. I’ll need to send for Dewey and Rousseau. And Brahim and Sakina’s two oldest sons.”
“We might as well include their wives. They will not be able to keep a secret from them, and frankly, they are more likely to have heard gossip than any of us,” Shelene said. “Roman, what is Uncle doing? He could have lived a peaceful life. Instead, he is only making more enemies.”
“I fear he is planning some grand finale. There are no great wars to fight with Napoleon. Spanish glory is only found in the Americas or its other colonies. He hates the current monarchy. He’s growing old. He has nothing to show for his life. Who knows what his reasons might be?” Roman concluded. He reached toward Shelene and gripped her hand, pulling her close. “Whatever his reasons, I must keep you safe. I won’t allow him to harm us.” He glanced up at her and then at Hightower. “You both know what that means. Come the time, I will have no mercy.”
When they returned to Shelene’s room, Roman said, “You know that if your uncle perceives I have put him in a corner with my professional curiosity regarding his activities, he will strike out in a way that hurts me most. That means you and Antonio are the ones in the gravest danger.”
“Grave? That seems frightening.”
“You remember the stories of what he has done.”
“It tears at me, Roman. As you said, he is an old man now, just like Papa. And he was Mama’s only brother. My inclination is to care for him, be kind to him and ask him to give up his ways. But I don’t want to put my hand into the mouth of a viper.”
She removed her robe and climbed into her bed, settling into the mound of fluffy pillows.
Roman wasn’t going to ask permission to stay. He removed his boots and jacket again.
“You may sleep in a bedroom down the hall,” she said, brows winged.
“I will not. If you wish to do so, feel free.”
“That is very ungentlemanly of you.”
“Oh? Would you like me to carry you to another room? I’m staying, not just because I want my wife, but I need everyone in the valley to know we speak and act as one.” He’d brought enough bad news to Shelene’s doorstep, so he wasn’t going to say anything further about Belgrano’s mischief in her life. Roman’s supposed death, the very convenient marriage of Belgrano’s friend to his niece, who had possession of one of the largest haciendas in Spain.
How was it possible that one man had access to so much information he could use to his advantage? Roman’s mind was trying to put together a series of blocks, of connections, into something that made sense.
