Chapter Two

Village of Cortegana, Huelva, Spain

The weather in Cortegana was lovely during the early summer months. Sun, heat, a small little village; it almost reminded Louisa of Portwenn. Located in the southwestern part of the country near Portugal, with traditional Spanish, white stucco homes, the village of Cortegana was peaceful and alive with the inhabitants that lived there. The castle, Castillo de Cortegana, which was situated on a hill overlooking the village, could be seen for miles. It was a popular tourist attraction, and in the first few days after arriving, Louisa and James ventured up the hill to see it for themselves.

After being in the village for a week, Louisa could feel the loneliness start to creep up on her. Though she and James were staying with her mother, the absence of Martin seemed to weigh on her. When they had landed at the airport in Malága, her mother was waiting to collect them. Her conversation that day with Martin at the airport was all too brief. She had assured him that the flight went smoothly, no headaches or pain of any kind. Though she did mention how the journey was stressful for James. Martin had been quiet, his voice unusually soft and gentle over the phone, only giving monosyllabic answers in reply.

Sitting out on the balcony of her mother's small house, the memory of her conversation with Martin at the airport was never far from her thoughts. The wistfulness in his voice caused her heart to ache. She hated to see him, or rather hear him, so dejected.

"This little one has too much energy, Lou-Lou."

Louisa turned around to face her mother, who was holding James in her arms. "You didn't give him any of your homeopathic remedies, did you?"

"No, course not! I've learned my lesson."

James held his arms out for his mother and Louisa graciously planted him in her lap. "He's just getting older, no longer a baby. He's bound to have more energy." She leaned down and kissed his head.

Eleanor came around the small wrought iron table and sat down beside her daughter. "What's got you in such a morose mood this afternoon, hmm?"

Louisa shook her head. "Nothing really."

Eleanor nudged her daughter's elbow. "C'mon, Lou-Lou, I know when you're lying. It's that man of yours, isn't it?"

Louisa sighed. She really wasn't in the mood to talk about her failing marriage with her mother. "I just don't want to talk about it, Mum."

"I knew he was never going to make you happy, Lou-Lou. I could see it from the moment I met him. A hot-shot London surgeon living in the English countryside. No respect whatsoever for those less intelligent than himself. And the way he treats you . . ."

Louisa turned a fierce glare towards her mother. "Mum? Enough, would you?"

"I'm sorry, sweetheart, but that's the truth. Just look at what happened with me and your dad."

Louisa sighed once more. She hadn't thought about her father in a long time. For all she knew he was still in prison. He had no idea his daughter was married and that he was now a grandfather. "Mum, please?" She gave her mother a pleading look. "I came here to get away, not rehash the past." She looked away towards the castle on the hill. The memory of a different castle on a northern Cornish coast came to mind instead. It had been a worrisome afternoon as they hunted for Mrs. Tishell and James. The only relief she felt that day was having James back in her arms and hearing Martin say those three little words she longed to hear. It was the day when she decided that she really did want to spend the rest of her life with him. He had finally said I love you, and she believed he meant it.

Now, not even a year of marriage between them, and already she was contemplating on whether or not to leave him. She could feel the moisture gathering in her eyes, and when she blinked because of the blinding sun, a few tears slowly made their way down her cheeks.

Eleanor noticed the tears on her daughter's face. "Oh, my poor girl," she said, resting her hand on Louisa's arm.

Louisa turned to face her mother. "I miss him, Mum. I really do."

"Oh, my little girl, come here." Eleanor opened her arms and Louisa willingly leaned over and embraced her mother. "It'll be alright, Lou-Lou, you'll see."

"I just don't know why things have to be so difficult between me and Martin," Louisa said through gasping breaths. "I try to understand him, and part of me does, it's just not how I imagined us to be."

"Then how did you imagine it to be?"

"It was when I agreed to marry him the first time he proposed to me. I had decided to stop seeing him the previous day because of his rudeness towards me. But when he told me that he couldn't bear to be without me, it just . . . I don't know. I thought, now that we were engaged we could be a real couple - a normal couple. But then cancelling the wedding and my unplanned pregnancy made everything between us more complicated."

"And you wrote to me when you were expecting."

Louisa nodded. "I assumed Martin wouldn't want a child and was terrified of how I was going to cope on my own. But seeing him when he dropped us off at the airport . . ." She inhaled a shaky breath and wiped at her wet cheeks. "He looked so sad to see us leaving. And he's very patient with James - gentle and caring." Louisa glanced down at her son, noticing that his delicate skin was starting to burn from the sun. She'd have to remember to put on more sun block. "If he just put a little more effort into our relationship . . ."

"Have you talked with him since arriving at the airport?"

Louisa shook her head. "Maybe I should. It would be nice to hear his voice again."

Eleanor reached over and wiped away the rest of her daughter's tears. She didn't understand her daughter's fondness for a man who was so rude and abrasive. But Eleanor only cried over one man in her life - Javier, the man she ran away with years ago, who was now dead. Placing a hand on Louisa's back she said, "So are you going to return to Portwenn?"

Louisa turned back to her mother. "I don't know. I want to. I just don't have that feeling yet that's urging me to go back. As much as I miss Martin, I still think a little more time apart would be beneficial."

"But you need to call him, sweetheart. If you love him, and I know you do, then for heaven's sake, Lou-Lou, talk to your husband. I don't want you to end up like me and your father." With a pat on her daughter's hand, Eleanor stood up and headed back into the house, out of the sweltering sun.

Louisa brushed her fingers over James' head of light hair. "Oh, James, what am I going to do about your daddy?"