Chapter 10
de Soto had been in the service of Garcia for a year when the staff and their wives were invited to a special luncheon in honour of an important dignitary, who had been born in the area and was on his way to France. Ignacio was discussing the latest report that Lopez had sent him with his colleagues, when he heard Garcia's voice interrupting.
"Gentlemen, may I introduce General Vicente de Alvaro and his wife Doña Carolina de Alvaro, who are on their way to take up an appointment with the Spanish Embassy in Paris."
Ignacio turned in shock as he faced his former commanding officer and his former lover. He carefully masked his face into a respectful expression as Garcia continued with the introductions.
"May I introduce Senora Margarite and Senor Alonso Mendina."
The general shook hands with Mendina and bowed to his wife. "Pleased to meet you Senora, Senor."
"Likewise General and Doña de Alvaro." Mendina said.
"This is Senor Ignacio de Soto."
If General de Alvaro was surprised to find his wife's former lover standing in front of him, he didn't show it. "de Soto, I recall that name from somewhere."
Ignacio nodded respectfully. "I had the honour to serve under your command Sir, some years ago."
de Alvaro smiled pleasantly. "Ah yes. I believe I remember, were you not awarded for bravery against the French, for saving the lives of your comrades?"
Ignacio smiled. "Si, I was sir."
"Good man. Do you know my wife?"
"No sir, we have never met." he confirmed as he gazed at his former lover. He saw how pale she had become. He never believed that he would see her again, at least never imagined to meet in this kind of situation. "Pleased to meet you Doña De Alvaro." he bowed just as she had taught him.
"I am pleased to meet you too Senor de Soto. It is always nice to meet someone from my husband's command." she said softly. She had no idea that her former lover had been assigned to this province. She had known of his politically ambitions and that he had been given a position as a junior advisor but not here. If she had known, she would have urged her husband not to come to this luncheon. She felt nauseous, never before had one of her lovers even come into direct contact with her husband.
They all sat down at the large dinning table for a scrumptious meal but Ignacio did not taste the food, he could have been eating hay for all he knew. His heart was pounding, his palms were sweaty and he wiped his hands on his trousers. He knew just one simple slip-up at the table, would mean the end of his career before it even began.
Vincente played the game as he chatted with his host. If the situation wasn't so dangerous, he would have laughed at the way his wife and her former lover were studiously ignoring each other. There was the potential of exposure but he knew that neither his wife nor de Soto would do anything to jeopardise their positions. It was just damned inconvenient for all three of them.
During the luncheon the conversation was lively, with differing opinions about the state of military readiness, of how taxes had to be raised again in an attempt to fill the coffers, depleted by the wars against France and England. The talk turned to the drought that was once again affecting the northern most provinces of Spain, which turned to discussions to landowners.
"de Soto has just purchased a fairly large piece of land, north east of Cadiz, isn't that so De Soto?"
Ignacio nodded. "Si, that's true but my land has a reliable water supply running through it, which from all accounts, never went dry in the drought of thirty years past, so there should be no concern about the harvest of my crops."
Carolina looked at Ignacio for the first time. "Do you manage the land yourself?" There was surprise in her voice that only he could detect. He felt a thrill that he actually stunned her with the news that he was a landowner. Perhaps she didn't realise just how ambitious he was.
"No Doña de Alvaro, I have a manager to run the estate." he replied as he looked in her direction before he turned away to answer another question.
The luncheon went on for several hours but Ignacio soon apologised to his host, the General and his wife and excused himself with the justification of duties to attend to. When in truth, he could no longer stay with the party, he felt that the longer he stayed, the more chance of making a mistake. Especially since his thoughts began to drift back to how beautiful she had looked the last time they were in bed together, of how utterly satisfying their lovemaking had been, so much so that his body began to betray him. No other woman could stir him like Carolina de Alvaro.
He had not taken a woman to his bed since Carolina. He had made a conscience decision, when he started university that he would not avail himself of the services of the gentlemen's clubs that his fellow students had visited. He didn't want any kind of rumours to ruin his chance of advancement, not that visiting the clubs would necessary bring condemnation but he didn't want to take the risk that it would. To Ignacio, the pleasures of the flesh wasn't even secondary to his ambitions, power was his pleasure.
Carolina watched Ignacio leave from the corner of her eye with a pounding heart. Now that the shock of seeing him again had passed, she noticed how handsome he was, the moustache and goatee suited him and his hair was now white instead of being fair. She too began to remember their intense, passionate lovemaking and to her horror she found herself becoming aroused by the memories. But unlike Ignacio, she could not simply excuse herself from the luncheon in honour of her husband.
Later that evening Ignacio arrived back at the small hacienda that he lived in and found that his housekeeper had left a plate of cold meats and bread, covered over with a cloth, on the table. But he didn't feel hungry and moved towards his bedroom, removing his jacket as he went. As he stepped into the room, he saw a single candle lit and there was a sweet aroma that was somehow familiar to him.
He felt a presence behind him and twirled around. "Carolina." he whispered as she came out of the shadows.
"Ignacio." she said softly as she moved swiftly to him, took his head in her hands and kissed him hungrily. He was stunned for a moment but as he felt her warm tongue slid into his mouth, he pulled her against him and kissed her back, thrusting his tongue against hers in that old battle for dominance, that lasted until they came up for air.
"Carolina?" he queried.
"Shhh, this never happened." her voice husky with desire.
"I understand." he whispered against her warm, soft lips.
They kissed again, urgently as their moist tongues plundered deep, their hands touching everywhere they could reach, creating such a burning need within both of them that it could only end in one way. They separated only long enough to quickly remove their clothes before they fell onto his bed in a tangle of arms and legs.
The following morning Ignacio woke up alone, he rolled over onto his back with a very satisfied smile on his face. He felt as though his life was going accordingly to plan, he was a landowner, his career was agreeable and he had just spent the night making love to a beautiful woman. He yawned, stretched and slowly threw back the covers.
Carolina had left her lover's side just before dawn, to ensure that no-one would see her leave his home. She didn't regret her decision to go to him. She knew it was dangerous for all of them but she wanted him desperately, she had not taken any lovers since him and was hungry with need for physical love. They gave each other what they needed.
Vincente knew from the moment he saw de Soto, his wife would go to him and he allowed it. For he knew that for the next five years they would be in France and there would be no contact with the former soldier. He would make sure of it. Not out of jealousy but out of necessity. His posting as the Spanish Ambassador to France was the most crucial in his entire career and he would not allow any scandals, either involving his wife or himself, to threaten that position. They had both agreed to abstain from any kind of liaisons for the duration of his appointment. He, himself would be leaving his current lover behind in Spain. He understood all too well, the strong, almost uncontrollable pull of desire towards someone else and would not reproach his wife for her actions.