Chapter 1 [Rancho Montoya—Immediately Following "Surveys"]
Lupe tapped her fingers on the polished oak table's surface. Impatience stole Appetite's sting. She glared about the dining room. A small pitcher and a bowl of sugar cubes rested just in front of herself. The white-clad servants hustled table settings onto the table. They brought out a plate of grapes and sliced apples.
Sebastian, however, had not joined her.
Where is he? Her teeth bit into an apple slice's crisp. Sweet juice did little to improve Mood's souring. She'd endured the long dusty ride from Tucson to there. Expectation prompted the guest's benefits at a Rancho such as this one.
Pepe ambled over. He set a fine China coffee cup in front of her. "Might I offer some coffee, Donna Lupe?"
"Si." She nodded.
He said nothing. He poured the coffee into its cup. "The milk is in the small pitcher. Sugar cubes are in the bowl.
"Gracias. That will be all, Pepe," she dismissed. She fixed her coffee. A mouthful warmed her mouth and throat. Night's chills and the remnant shivers lessened. Her eyes fixed on the empty seats where Ricardo and Mercedes should have been. Resentment stewed. She sipped again on the hot drink.
"Ah! You will forgive me, Donna Lupe! I had details to attend to." Sebastian entered the room. A smile sought to ease Tension's crackle about the area. "I do appreciate your visit. It is a surprise." He turned to Pepe. "We are ready for breakfast. Bring it in."
"Si, Padron." Pepe poured Sebastian's coffee. He bowed. Then he made his way toward the kitchen.
"I thought you were in Tucson. And where is Don Ricardo? You traveled by yourself?" He fixed his coffee.
"My vaqueros accompanied me. I'd rather be on the road than in that hotel or at the Cannons' shack." She shuddered. "How you let Victoria live like that is beyond me! And now, Mercedes wants to be like that? NO! ¡NUNCA!"
He sighed. His head shook at her notion. "We tell our children that marriages are to suit our families and lineage. Do we not?" He washed the notion down with a swig of coffee. "Necessity drives such things, Donna Lupe. I had a problem on my northern border. I did not want some unruly Gringo to cause issues. I had a daughter who needed a marriage. Said Gringo had just lost his wife in an Apache raid. I arranged a political alliance. Victoria's marriage to John Cannon sealed that."
"So you sacrificed your daughter like a cow?" She frowned. Her lips curled as if they'd endured a sour apple.
"I did not sacrifice her. ¡Ay! Donna Lupe, do not judge Rancho Cannon simply by that squat house he calls a hacienda." He coughed. "He controls a great deal of land and cattle. He built that rancho up from nothing. I do not like how he does business sometimes. But he and I need each other." He grimaced. "And Victoria needs him. She loves John Cannon. Why I do not know. But she does."
"That much is obvious. She is out of her mind. She labors like a servant for that Americano! Has she forgotten everything?" She shuddered. "I will not have mia Mercedes toiling like some slave!"
"I doubt Don Ricardo would allow that. I know Victoria would lecture Manolito soundly." He chuckled. "Those children do have spirit. All of them. Even Miguel in his own way."
"We have failed them! All of them!" She slapped the table.
He exhaled sharply. "Calm yourself. I would rather not get so heated over breakfast. It is bad for the digestion." He motioned for Pepe to approach. "I was about to have crepes. I do know how you like them. Shall we have a nice meal?"
Her mouth watered. She watched as Pepe filled a plate with the breakfast treats. The blueberry sauce drizzled over them in just the right amount. She pushed her fork into them. She sampled a piece. "Now that is breakfast!"
He raised an eyebrow. "Surely Victoria would have made those for you? I know she would have." He bit into one of his crepes. "Mmm…delicioso. Eases the mind, no? You see? There are parts of my household which are acceptable. Are they not?"
"Of course! I am here," she agreed.
"Manolito has grown up over the past few years. I do not know what John Cannon does." He shook his head. Wonder befuddled his thinking for a couple of heartbeats. "He has turned Manolito toward a hard-working vaquero. He has a structure in that house. Victoria and Manolito benefit from it. John Cannon benefits from it. I would not live like that."
"And yet you insist she stays there," she assumed.
He shook his head. "I offered to take her from that alliance. Lord Ashbury wanted her hand in marriage a few months after the alliance started. Manolito and I both tried to talk her out of it. Victoria insisted on staying." He rubbed his forehead. "She loves him." He shrugged. "Ah, Youth!" He bit into another crepe.
"I do not want that for Mercedes. Manolito is not…." she started.
"Not what, Donna Lupe? Suitable? He is of my house and stock. He has acted in a most abhorrent manner. I am well aware of his sins. Still did you not hear what I said about his being at Rancho Cannon? He is straightening out. Responsbility makes its mark on that one. Finally!" He gulped at his coffee. "Would you deny him a chance to grow further? Marriage, a family and a rancho might do him further good. John Cannon and Don Ricardo seem to believe so. I am willing to watch and see how it goes."
"We need heirs, Don Sebastian!" she insisted.
Impatience sparked in his eyes. "So I have reminded Victoria, Manolito and John Cannon at every turn." He bit into yet another bite. "I have seen something of late. Something I thought only came from miracles."
"I would like one right about now," she griped.
He coughed. "Si. You underestimate your daughter. Mercedes is like a wild mare that will not be readily broken. She ran away to find a love match. Would you rather she went to Europe or some distant part of America? I think not. Instead she finds love on this very rancho. She and Manolito will marry. They will return to Arizona. I do not know if they will stay at the High Chaparral or find their own rancho."
"And you do not want them to return here? That would make sense!" she argued.
"Of course it would. Do you not think I have asked, begged and pleaded with my son to show some sense? Of course I have! He does not want it. Or rather he did not want it…. ¡Increíble!"
"¿Que es increíble? Que pasa. Don Sebastian?" she pressed.
"Your daughter happened. In three days, she turned my incorrigible wild child into a caballero. Where as he worked to escape from responsibility, now he wants it. He spoke to John Cannon and me about it. I could barely believe it. It was my son. The words did not sound like his, Donna Lupe. He nearly killed himself to accompany the vaqueros. I hope that it will continue," he continued.
"Mercedes ruins herself. Do you know she was setting a table when I came downstairs day before yesterday? What is this?" she ranted. "How I cannot trust Manolito not to treat her like some ranch wife? She is a Donna! She should run their hacienda! She can have maids and servants to do that! That is unseemingly!"
"And yet I recall another Donna who defied her parents. Did she not marry into a noble yet less regarded house than her own? Her parents were beside themselves as I remember." He chuckled.
She rolled her eyes. "Do not change the subject."
"Was I? Oh I am sorry!" Sarcasm dripped from his lips. "So it worked for Don Ricardo and you but not for my son and your daughter? At least they are of the same standing, Donna Lupe. Do not look down at my son while you sit at my table. Por favor." He stood. "I have some matters which demand my attention. Please. Do finish your meal. Perhaps you should rest and collect your thoughts. We can talk again later." He bowed slightly. Then he marched out of the room. Rage boiled up inside of himself.
She shook her head. "Even he is caught up in the insanity." She pushed the plate aside. Despite her usual love for the breakfast at hand, she could not stomach it at that point. She got up and headed toward her quarters.
Nothing was easy….