Read Online Red Lotus by Catherine Airlie - Free Book Online

When she is going to stay there overnight, she always sends a message with one of the servants." The fine dark brows were suddenly drawn in a perplexed little frown. "That is what I cannot understand," Sisa added anxiously. "There has not been any message, and Rafael is away in Madrid."
    Felicity hesitated, her heart beginning to beat faster than she cared to acknowledge.
     
    "Is—the Rafael you speak of the Marques de Barrios, Sisa?" she asked slowly.
    Sisa's eyes widened as she fixed them on her face.
    "Yes," she agreed. "But how did you know? Rafael is the Marques de Barrios and Isabella is the Marquesa. They live in the valley next to this one and Conchita can ride over there whenever she likes. Isabella says that it is essential that Conchita should have friends of her own age, but, of course, Conchita could not go to Zamora unless she had a chaperone. There is a country club there where tennis can be played and croquet. Conchita adores that sort of life. It is not such a closed-in valley as San Lozaro."
    It seemed to Felicity that Sisa's voice was coming to her from some great distance. Names that she had not even heard of twenty-four hours ago crowded in upon her, one after the other, confusingly. Isabella and Rafael and Philip Arnold: Zamora and Lozaro Alto, where Philip's widowed mother had fought her losing battle against circumstances too powerful for her to subdue; and San Lozaro, torn by conflict, where she had promised to make her home.
    Isabella and Rafael! A deep colour stained her cheeks as the names recurred, linked inevitably by the title which had rolled off Sisa's garrulous little tongue with the familiarity of long use. The Marques and Marquesa de Barrios! Don Rafael, Marques de Barrios, was married, then, and she had made a fool of herself in front of Philip Arnold by being so obviously captivated by his easy charm!
    The gall that rose in her heart was out of all proportion to the cause of her humiliation, but she was too tired to think any more, too stunned by the swift progress of events to reason clearly.
    "The Marques came back in the plane with me," she explained to Sisa to still her anxiety. "He came on at Madrid." She rose to her feet. "I must go, Sisa," she added quickly. "Try to sleep, and we will talk again in the morning."
    "Don't worry about Conchita too much," Sisa murmured drowsily when she had tucked the sheets securely round her thin little body. "Philip will take care of her."
    Walking along the gallery in the direction of her own rooms, Felicity was aware of a movement in the hall beneath her. The lamps still burned in their wrought-iron
     
    sconces along the wall, but the shadows seemed to have
    deepened as she went to the balcony rail and looked down.
    Beneath her Philip Arnold was standing in the centre of the tessellated floor, and she saw with some surprise that he had changed into riding-breeches and a thicker jacket. Remembering how cold it had become with the setting of the sun, she supposed that he was preparing to go out, but where could he possibly be going at this hour of night?
    Then, almost with a sense of shock, she saw the riding whip in his hand. And Conchita had, according to Sisa, ridden over to Zamora earlier in the day. Was Philip going to meet Conchita? Was he going to bring her home?
    Subconsciously she knew that she must not interfere with his decision. She drew back among the shadows of the silent gallery, waiting till he had gone before she crept to her room and tried to sleep.
    In spite of her tiredness, however, oblivion would not come. Somewhere in the now quiet house a clock struck the quarter-hours and she began to count them, automatically, aware that she was straining to catch every sound, no matter how small.
    It was two o'clock before the clatter of horses' hooves sounded on the cobbles of the courtyard, and she was out of bed before she realized what she had done.
    The moon was three-quarters full and the courtyard beneath her windows was almost as