Ecstasy's Promise (Historical Romance) (16 page)

Victoria looked at him. "Do not worry, Mr. Hanover. I am not going to go into hysterics as I did before." Then she smiled at him provocatively. "Mrs. De Leon would say that I should turn the conversation so you can talk about yourself. Lesson Number one: men like to talk about themselves. Make them think you are interested in what they are saying."

Edward was completely enchanted by her. She was weaving a spell about him. Victoria was not only beautiful and intelligent, but also had a sense of humor. A thought flashed through Edward's mind. He could see her in his sitting room, serving tea to their guests, or sitting across from him in the formal dining room, charming friends and business associates. She would be the perfect wife for the man who ran the great Hanover Empire.

"Did you enjoy Mrs. De Leon's School for Young Ladies?" he asked.

"No," Victoria said thoughtfully. "I only got to come home every other weekend. I missed Farraday Plantation and Bodine. My father and Paul were of course away fighting at the time."

"Tell me about Paul," Edward encouraged her.

"Lesson number two: never discuss one man when you are in the company of another." She wrinkled her nose. "See what a good pupil I was?"

He   laughed.   "No, really, I want to know about Paul."

"Well," Victoria said, "he is tall, about your height, with blond hair and blue eyes. His family owns the plantation next to Farraday. All of my friends flirted with him outrageously."

"Did you also flirt with him?"

"No, there was no need."

"So the other girls were no competition for you?"

"They never stood a chance," she answered, smiling.

"Why did he not marry you, Miss Farraday?"

Victoria's eyes clouded. "The war came along. The last time he was on leave, he wanted us to get married, but I wanted to wait until my father came home. I did not know when Paul begged me to marry him that my father had already been killed." She looked at Edward, her eyes stormy, her fists clenched. "I did not know it was possible to hate, but I learned quickly. I hate the Yankees with a passion that surprises me sometimes. I am sure you only thought of them as the enemy, but to me they are much more."

Edward sat up quickly and looked at her. "Victoria, I am—"

She smiled. "I promised not to go into hysterics, remember? Perhaps we should talk of something else."

"Not all Yankees were bad," Edward told her. "There were good men and bad on both sides."

"You are much more generous than I am, Mr. Hanover. To me, the only good Yankee is a dead Yankee."

"You may feel that way now," Edward said, feeling uneasy, "but in time you will feel differently."

Victoria rose to her feet. "You do not know me very well, Mr. Hanover. I will never forgive or forget what the Yankees did to me!"

Edward rose and walked over to her. He turned her so she stood facing him. "It seems I have upset you, the one thing I did not want to do."

She looked into his eyes and saw compassion in them.

"Miss Farraday . . . Victoria, there is something I want to tell you."

"Please," she said, "let us not talk of the Yankees anymore. Look at the glorious sunset." Victoria felt the pressure of his hand about her waist, and felt a warm sensation stir in her. She looked up into his face. "Bodine told me how you saved his life. I am most grateful to you."

Edward smiled. "I was only following your instructions. You told me to send him back to you in one piece."

Victoria looked away from him, disturbed by the soft look that had come into his eyes. "I hear the music. Shouldn't we join the others?"

"Not just yet," he said. "Let us just sit here and listen for a while." She sat down on the side of the slope and Edward sat beside her. Even though he did not touch her, Victoria was very aware of his nearness.

"Won't they wonder what has become of us?"

"No, not tonight," he told her. "This is the annual day for lovers. No one pays the slightest attention to missing couples." The sun went down
and the night was dark. They sat and watched the dancers below. Neither spoke. Neither felt the need to.

After a while, Edward stood up and offered Victoria his hand. She took it, and he helped her to her feet. "I have enjoyed today," he told her.

"So have I," she said. Edward had been fun and easy to talk to. He had been a perfect gentleman.

"I am afraid I must leave now," he told her. "My foreman, Estancio's son arrived home from the war today, and I promised to attend his homecoming tonight."

Victoria nodded, sorry that he would be leaving her. "I understand," she said.

"I have an idea! I am having a fiesta tomorrow afternoon and evening at Rio del Lobo. Would you come?" He waited for her answer.

"What is a fiesta?"

"It is a party, Mexican-style. There will be a mariachi band, dancing, food, colorfully dressed men and women. ... I think you would enjoy it."

Victoria shook her head and smiled. "I do not think Bodine would allow me to attend," she told him, wishing with all her heart she could go.

"My invitation includes your grandmother as well as yourself, Miss Farraday." She hesitated for a moment. Edward waited, hoping her answer would be yes, and wondered why it was so important to him.

"I would like to very much," she told him.

"Good! Now I will take you to your grandmother, but first, may I have a memento of today?"

"I do not understand."

Edward reached up and untied the ribbon from her hair, causing it to cascade about her face. She smiled at him. "How many hair ribbons do you have in your collection, Mr. Hanover?" she asked.

"Lesson number two," he replied lightly, "never discuss one woman while in the presence of another."

They both laughed, and he led her down the hill.

Edward left Carlos' homecoming, feeling as though he had drunk a bit too much. He shook his head to clear it as he walked up the steps to his house. Estancio really knew how to give a party, he thought. Carlos had ridden out with Edward when he had joined the Union Army. Since Edward had been mustered out early because of his mother's death, he had returned to Rio del Lobo much sooner than Carlos.

Edward was undressing when he found the blue ribbon he had taken from Victoria's hair earlier that evening. He held it to his face, and as he suspected, it had the faint scent of lilacs. He lay down on the bed and remembered the events of the day. He had been on his best behavior today.

He had gone to the box supper with the express purpose of charming the fair Victoria, but he had ended up being the one who was charmed. No, more than that, enchanted. What a worthy wife she would be for him. Dan had been right. It was time for him to settle down and think of having sons for Rio del Lobo.

He frowned. There was still the problem of Victoria's prejudice against anyone who had fought for the Union. I will tell her tomorrow, he thought, realizing she might be upset for a time, but sure he could win her over.

There was also the problem of this man, Paul O'Brian, but Edward had yet to meet the man who could hold on to a woman if he wanted to win her, and he had never wanted a woman as badly as Victoria Farraday. He thought of her creamy, silky skin, her beautiful face, the sound of her laughter, the way her hips moved slightly as she walked, stirring his Spanish blood. Yes, she was his idea of the perfect wife.

12

Victoria was sitting at the piano, her hands running over the keys, when her grandmother came into the room. She had been tending her garden and there was mud caked on her hands.

"I will pour water for you to wash in," Victoria volunteered, rising from the piano to follow her grandmother to the kitchen. "You love tending your garden and flower beds, don't you, Grandmother?" she said as she poured water into a washbasin.

"Maybe it is because I am really a farmer at heart, child. My father was a farmer in west Texas. I grew up feeling a real love for the land, and a need to see things nourished and growing."

"That is a feeling I share with you. Although I never actually did any of the labor that went into running Farraday Plantation, I loved the land and took great pride in seeing a field of cotton ripe and ready for the picking."

Her grandmother dried her hands on a clean white towel. "Hold on to the thoughts of your home, child. Even if you can never return to Georgia, it will always be a part of you. I can still recall every detail of my childhood home, and sometimes I feel a pang of homesickness and a longing to return to the home of my youth."

"Why is life so full of ups and downs, Grandmother?"

"I suspect that God sends us the downs so we will appreciate the ups when they come along. It has always been a belief of mine, that God sends his toughest trials to those he loves the most, to test their strength and endurance."

Victoria smiled brightly at her grandmother. "I suspect that God loves me a great deal then, Grandmother."

Her grandmother laughed and kissed her on the cheek. "I suspect you may be right, child."

They heard a buggy pull up. Alice Anderson pulled the kitchen curtains aside and smiled. "It is Dan," she told Victoria. "Why don't you go out and greet him, while I fix lunch? Unless I miss my guess, the good doctor will be hungry."

Dan smiled at Victoria as he climbed up the porch steps. "How are you this morning?" he inquired.

She returned his smile. "As Bess would have said, I am as fine as the fuzz on a peach."

Dan laughed. "Your Bess must have been something of a wit."

"Indeed she was, Dan. I could entertain you for hours with her witticisms. Will you come into the house, Doctor?"

"Let's sit on the porch, if you don't mind, Victoria. It is such a pleasant day."

"My grandmother is preparing lunch. She hopes that you will join us."

Dan smiled and stretched his legs out in front of him. "I timed it just right," he said lightly. "Did you enjoy the box supper yesterday?" he asked as he studied her face.

Victoria laced her fingers together and clasped them about her knees. "I can honestly say that I did, although I did not expect to when I found out Mr. Hanover was to be my companion."

Dan noticed that she still referred to Edward as Mr. Hanover, and felt relieved. He had been more than a little uneasy when Edward had claimed Victoria for his partner yesterday. Edward's charm with the ladies was legendary, and Dan would hate to see Victoria come under his spell. He had seen Edward operate in the past, and had never seen the lady who could resist his fatal charm.

"Dan, I do not mean to imply that I do not like Mr. Hanover. I know he is a friend of yours. It is just that in the few times I have been in his company, I have felt a bit uncomfortable." Victoria knew she was understating her feelings, but saw no reason to tell Dan how strongly she really felt about Edward Hanover.

"Did you feel uncomfortable with Edward yesterday?" Dan asked.

Victoria frowned. "At first I did, but he was nice and easy to talk to; he was a perfect gentleman, and I soon felt easy in his company."

Dan sat up straight, a frown on his forehead. He wondered what Edward was up to. It was out of character for him to try to impress a woman.

"My grandmother and I are going to attend a fiesta at Rio del Lobo tonight," Victoria told Dan, breaking his train of thought. "I confess that I am
really looking forward to it."

"You will enjoy yourself. There will be an abundance of food and the entertainment is extraordinary."

"Will you be at the fiesta, Dan?" she asked hopefully.

"No." He smiled. "I have not been invited. Have you had any word of Paul O'Brian, Victoria?"

"No," she told him wistfully. "There has been no word as of yet."

"Do you love him, Victoria?" Dan hoped he was not being too personal, but he needed to hear her answer.

She smiled at him. "Yes, I love him. There could never be anyone for me except Paul."

Dan's heart contracted. "I hope for your sake that he is safe, Victoria." He found to his surprise that he really meant it. The love he was beginning to feel for her had been doomed from the start, and he knew it. He would have to settle for being her friend.

"Thank you, Dan," Victoria told him. "You are such a dear friend. You would like Paul."

Dan doubted it.

"Tell me about him, Victoria. What is Paul like?"

She remembered last night when Edward Hanover had asked her the same question. She unclasped her fingers and rested her face on her hands. "Paul is very handsome," she told Dan, smiling, "but in his case it would not matter if he were homely. The most important thing about Paul is his capacity to love and care about people. He is kind and considerate. You remind me a lot of him, Dan," Victoria said, studying his face. "I have seen many of the values that Paul has in you."

Dan smiled sadly. He found no satisfaction in being compared to the man she loved. "I hope you will always count me among your friends, Victoria," he said softly.

Alice called them to lunch. Dan rose to his feet and helped Victoria to hers.

"You will always be my dearest friend," she told him.

Edward walked out to the patio to see if all was in readiness for the fiesta. He especially wanted everything to be perfect since Victoria was coming. Juanita was spreading a long table with a white linen tablecloth. Several other serving girls were bringing out food and placing it on the table.

"Is everything in order, Juanita?"

"Senor
Eduardo, that is at least the third time you have asked me. You are making me nervous. Go and pester someone else," Juanita scolded him, with the familiarity he had grown accustomed to over the years.

Edward was dressed in the traditional Spanish fashion, which he liked to wear on occasion, in honor of his Spanish heritage. His black tight-fitting trousers were embroidered with silver braid down the side of each leg. His white shirt had ruffles down the front. He wore a black, short-waisted jacket trimmed in the same silver embroidery as his trousers.

Estancio had already left for the Anderson ranch to escort Mammaw and Victoria to Rio del Lobo. Edward looked at the clock on the mantel and wondered why they had not yet arrived. He wondered why he was behaving so strangely.

What was it about Victoria that had made her so important to him? She was beautiful, but he had known many beautiful women. He was used to older, more sophisticated women. She was barely out of the schoolroom; yet there was something about her that set her apart from the other women he had known. He was excited at the thought of seeing her again.

Edward heard the carriage in the driveway, and hurried to the front door to greet Mammaw and Victoria on the steps. He helped Mammaw from the carriage and kissed her on the cheek. "It has been too long since you have been to Rio del Lobo," he told her.

"It has been even longer since I have attended a fiesta here," Mammaw said. "I am glad Victoria has the chance to observe one of my favorite Spanish customs."

Edward looked past Mammaw to where Victoria was standing beside Estancio. She was dressed in a yellow organdy, off-the-shoulder gown. The skirt was made up of wide ruffles. Her hair was pulled back from her face and fell down her shoulders in back. She had fresh yellow roses in her hair.

"Welcome to Rio del Lobo," Edward told her.
"Mi casa es su casa."

Victoria walked toward him and smiled. "I have been admiring your lovely home, Mr. Hanover. It is very beautiful."

"I am gratified that you should think so," he said, taking her hand. Victoria thought he looked so handsome as he smiled down at her. "Come, let us go inside." Edward escorted Victoria and her grandmother up the steps.

Victoria looked about the spacious entryway. The floor was red tile. The ceilings were so high that they rose up to the second story, and they were decorated with highly varnished beams. Massive Spanish chairs, covered in red velvet sat against the white walls. A dark-red carpet covered the wide staircase that led to the second floor. The whole appearance was one of elegance and grace.

Edward led them through the entryway and into the sitting room. It was so lovely, that Victoria stared about her in amazement. A carpet the color of sandalwood covered the floor. Brown and lime-green velvet chairs and couches made up the furniture.

"This is a lovely room," Victoria told Edward.

"It was my mother's favorite room," he replied.

"I have spent many pleasant afternoons in this room," Mammaw said. "Sometimes I still cannot believe your mother is gone."

"Yes," Edward said, "it is hard for me at times also."

He opened the wide double doors and waited for Mammaw and Victoria to pass through. Victoria stepped outside and looked about her. There was a red brick patio that ran the length of the house. There were brightly colored streamers hung from long poles. A group of Mexican musicians, who Edward said were called mariachis, were tuning their instruments.

The evening was warm, causing the soft aroma of
the flowers that filled the garden to dominate the night air. It was a huge garden. There seemed to be flowers of every description; some of them, Victoria had never seen before.

It was as though she had stepped into another world. There were brightly colored animals made of paper, hanging from tall poles, at different intervals. "What are those?" Victoria asked Edward.

"They are piñatas. They are filled with candies and toys. The children will be blindfolded and try to break them open with sticks, so the contents will spill out."

"What a shame one must destroy them to extract the prizes," Victoria said regretfully.

There were many people walking about. The men were dressed much as Edward was. Most of the women wore white peasant blouses with brightly colored skirts.

"This is wonderful," Victoria said, looking at Edward, her eyes sparkling with delight.

He returned her smile, then held up his hand and spoke to the people.
"Amigos,"
he said, "may I have your attention?" The crowd gathered about him, waiting for him to continue. "You all know my honored guest, Alice Anderson. I would like you to meet her granddaughter, Miss Victoria Lee Farraday. Please make her feel welcome. This is her first fiesta, and I want her to enjoy herself."

A shout went up from one of the
vaqueros, "Bienvenida, Senorita Farraday!"
he cried in welcome. Victoria looked into many friendly faces. Their dark eyes smiled at her, and she could not help but warm to them.

"Let the music begin," Edward said. The musicians began playing, and many couples started dancing. Victoria looked around for her grandmother and saw that she was deep in conversation with one of the Mexican women.

Edward took Victoria around and introduced her to many of the people who were gathered about. She was struck with the graciousness of the Mexicans.

"Are these all employees of yours?" Victoria asked.

"Not all of them could come," Edward told her. "Come, they are about to dance the flamenco. I want you to see this." He led her to a marble bench, and sat down beside her. A woman in a dark red dress, with a big red comb in her hair, started to move gracefully with the music. She was joined by a man, dressed in the traditional Spanish style.

Victoria watched, spellbound. The woman's red shoes tapped out the rhythm of the music. It was the most beautiful dancing that Victoria had ever seen.

The dancer held something in her fingers that made a clicking sound. Edward leaned over to Victoria. "Those are called castanets," he said. He watched her face. At the moment she reminded him of a child who was delighted with what she was witnessing. His eyes went to her creamy shoulders that were revealed by her off-the-shoulder dress. He had not been mistaken; she was perfect for Rio del Lobo.

The couple had ended their dance and Victoria was clapping excitedly. The crowd was shouting
"Ole! Ole!"
Victoria looked at Edward questioningly. "They are saying the equivalent of hurrah,
hurrah," he said.

A man came forward and placed a large hat on the
ground, and began dancing about it. "This is the Mexican hat dance," Edward told Victoria.

"I know the Spanish word for hat; Consuelo taught me. It is
sombrero."

"That is correct." Edward laughed. "How are your Spanish lessons progressing?"

"Very well." She laughed. "I can ask you for a drink of water or milk. I know many words, but cannot yet make sentences." Victoria wrinkled her nose. "Consuelo says my accent is not very good."