Authors: Connie Mason
Silence reigned as Julie allowed him time to grieve and to come to terms with what had really happened all those years ago. Suddenly Julie’s eyes were drawn back to the secret opening and she saw that though narrow in front the compartment gave way to a larger space further back. Her sharp eyes noted several other items still resting within. Calling Rod’s attention to her discovery, he drew out a packet of documents that upon inspection proved to be the original land grant to the
rancho.
“I wondered where
mi padre
had hidden these. I assumed they were in the safe but did not find them.”
“Look, Rod! There are several small sacks at the very back!” Julie cried, excited. Carefully she extracted one surprisingly heavy bag, undid the drawstring and watched wide-eyed as a golden stream flowed into her open palm.
“Gold dust,” Rod shrugged without interest. At that moment he was thinking about Felicia and the fact that she was his sister. “Put everything back, Julie. They’ll be safe there. I … I must find Felicia without delay. Will you come with me,
querida
?”
“Oh course, my love, we’ll tell her together. But hadn’t you better speak to Teresa first? Felicia is like a daughter to her.”
“You’re right,
mi amor.
Your wisdom far surpasses mine. You go for Teresa while I replace the brick and put things in order.”
A short time later Rod told Teresa as gently as possible that Felicia was his sister and how he came by that knowledge. At first the housekeeper could only stare at Rod, mouth agape, until Julie assured her it was true; that Don Diego had kept the truth from them all
these years but had confessed all in a letter he had written shortly before his death.
“Don Rodrigo,” Teresa asked fearfully, “you don’t think that I … I mean … I knew nothing! Felicia was given to me by
Padre
Juan. I don’t believe even he knew the truth. He was told Felicia’s parents were killed by Indians and that’s what I’ve told Felicia. Of course Teresa knew all about Maria but not the reason behind her sudden disappearance. Like everyone else, she supposed Don Diego had taken Maria away to keep her from marrying his son.
“Rod was quick to put the woman’s fears at rest. “I hold you blameless, Teresa, just as I do
Padre
Juan. I am grateful to you for taking such good care of my sister all these years.”
“I … I suppose you’ll want her with you now. In the
hacienda,
I mean.”
“
Si,
Teresa. Felicia belongs here with me and Julie. But do not despair. You are the only
madre
Felicia has ever known. Her feelings for you will never change.”
Teresa offered a shy smile. “Will you tell her,
señor,
or do you wish me to?”
“I will tell her myself. Where is she?”
“I believe one of the mares has foaled and she is in the stables inspecting the new addition.”
“
Gracias,
Teresa.” Teresa turned to leave but Rod stayed her with a gentle touch. “I would like you and your husband to remain close to Felicia. The two of you are her beloved
tia
and
tio
.”
“We will be grateful,
señor,
” smiled Teresa gently.
After Teresa left, Rod took Julie by the hand and started out the door, but Julie hung back. “Rod I’ve been thinking. Perhaps you should see Felicia alone. This is between the two of you. When you’ve had your talk bring her back to the house so I can welcome her home.”
Rod found Felicia in the stables entranced by a black colt wobbling on floppy legs inside one of the stalls.
With a faraway look he watched his sister reach out tentatively to pat the colt’s sleek head while his proud mother looked on. It was still difficult for Rod to believe that this enchanting child was related to him. She was so like Maria he was surprised he hadn’t noticed the resemblance before. As if sensing his presence, Felicia swiveled to face him.
“Don Rodrigo! Look at Carmencita’s foal. Isn’t he beautiful? So regal. Like a duke … or a prince.”
“Would you like to name him,
niña
?”
“May I?”
“
Si
.”
“Then I should like to think about it a day or two.” She was so serious that Rod was hard put to keep a straight face.
“Felicia, I have something important to tell you, that is why I came looking for you.”
Felicia turned her quiet, delicate features in Rod’s direction. Her skin glowed with pale gold undertones and Rod was amazed by her resemblance to her mother. She even had much of Don Diego’s bone structure as well as his own.
“Do you like stories,
niña
?”
“Oh, si,
señor
!” Felicia exclaimed exuberantly. “Especially if they have a happy ending.”
“After I tell you the story, you can judge for yourself.” Felicia moved to Rod’s side, resting comfortably against his knee as she waited for him to begin.
“This is a true story,
niña,
about a beautiful girl named Maria and a proud Spanish don. The don fell in love with Maria and together they had a child, only Maria never told the don she was to have his child and Maria ran away before the don could marry her.”
“Would he have? Married Maria, I mean.” Felicia asked, her astute question momentarily stunning him. God forgive him for lying but he hadn’t the heart to disillusion her with the sordid truth. “I … I like to think
they would have married.”
Temporarily appeased, Felicia waited for him to continue, her dark eyes showing intelligence beyond her meager years.
“Do you know what I’m trying to tell you,
niña
?” Rod asked, holding his breath.
“Maria was my mother and Don Diego was my father,” Felicia whispered in a burst of complete understanding, “and … and I am your sister.”
Rod searched her small, expressive face for signs of rejection but saw nothing but wonder. “
Si,
Felicia, you are my sister. When you were born, Don Diego took you from the convent where your mother had fled and brought you to the
rancho
for Teresa to raise. You see,
niña,
he wanted you near him. Your mother died when you were born. In his own way he loved you.”
“I always felt I was different from the
vaquero’s
children,” Felicia mused thoughtfully. “And … and Don Diego was very kind to me. Do you think he would have told me one day, Don Rodrigo?”
“Had he lived I’m certain of it, Felicia. I’m sure he felt you were too young to understand, else he would have informed you before now. As it was he died before he could tell you the truth.”
“As much as I love
Tia
Teresa I knew from the beginning she was not
mi madre
.” Suddenly she grew thoughtful. “How long have you known that I am your sister?”
“I didn’t find out until today. It was in a letter that
mi padre
left for me. In it he explained everything.”
Being the well-adjusted child she was, Felicia accepted all that Rod had told her with her usual exurberance and strength of character that was inherent in all the Delgados. “The ending is a happy one,” she smiled shyly.
Never had Julie been so happy. The addition of Felicia to the family was celebrated with a
fiesta
attended by all the
vaqueros
and their families, the servants,
Padre
Juan and Carl and Ramona, followed by a bullfight in their own bullring. Julie had never seen a bullfight before and decided she never wanted to attend another. Rod was one of the matadors and though she was extremely proud of his carriage and ability in the ring she was frightened for him the entire time. But she need not have worried. Rod had learned the art as a young boy and had he chosen, could have made a living in Mexico or Spain fighting bulls.
So immersed was Julie in Rod and Felicia that the months of her pregnancy literally flew by. Having her father involved in her life again was another cause for her tranquility and happiness. She saw him nearly every day and Ramona just as often. It pleased Julie no end that her father found such joy in his marriage to the comely widow.
As Julie’s pregnancy advanced, Rod rarely left the
hacienda.
Nor did he leave her bed. He chose to spend every night with his wife, sleeping in her arms, making love to her most of them. It was with a sense of shock that Rod realized Julie was within four weeks of delivering their child and he was still making love to her, albeit carefully.
Both Ramona and Teresa assured Rod that either of them were capable of delivering the child when Julie’s time came, but Rod still could not help but worry. Taking Teresa aside one day he discretely began asking questions.
Teresa was appalled to learn that Rod and Julie were still engaging in marital relations and in no uncertain terms told him he must desist immediately or risk the health of his unborn child. As Rod had no intention of harming either his wife or child he made plans at once to move back into his own room. He knew he could not trust himself to remain in the same bed and not make love to his desireable wife, still beautiful to him despite
her increasing girth. Thinking Julie more knowledgeable in the ways of women and childbirth than she really was, he did not think to inform her why he had so abruply deserted her bed.
But Julie had her own theories. Examining herself in the mirror, she knew the reason for Rod’s sudden desire to sleep elsewhere. She was grotesque. Her stomach so huge and her body so ungainly that she felt certain Rod was repulsed by her. Else why would he desert her when she needed him most? She needed, no, craved, the closeness and protection of his presence in her bed, especially now when she looked her worst. She knew he could no longer desire her because of the way she looked but that did not mean he had to withdraw himself completely, did it?
Rod sensed Julie’s confusion but never once considered it due to his being insensitive to her needs. Advanced as she was in pregnancy he knew she must be uncomfortable, and being unable to completely understand, left it to the women to offer comfort. Never having been around a woman about to give birth, unaware of the moods, their insecurities, their needs, he spent endless hours at hard labor instead of reassuring his wife who felt suddenly neglected and unloved. He threw himself wholeheartedly into roundup, spending long hours in the saddle until he was ready to drop from exhaustion.
He saw Julie but little, and when he did he was unfailingly tender and solicitous, which made Julie all the more miserable. Knowing well his lusty appetites, she convinced herself that Rod was seeing a woman in the village, which to her troubled mind accounted for his late nights and obvious state of exhaustion. She thought about questioning him outright but her pride would not allow it. If Rod was easing himself with another woman, she told herself irrationally, she did not want to know about it. This inexplicable lack of communication between two people deeply in love was the major cause of what transpired next.
Julie was not the only one aware of Rod’s late hours nearly every night, or that on some nights he slept with the
vaqueros
under the stars rather than ride back home from the branding site when he was too tired to stir himself to further effort. Unbeknownst to Rod, his late night comings and goings had been under surveillance for some time.
Manuel Rojas had remained in San Luis Obispo after fear forced him to leave
Rancho
Delgado, for he was convinced that Rod would one day learn that he had been the go-between in Elena’s and Pedro’s plot to get rid of Dona Julie and punish him.
Then, by accident, he learned that Elena had been turned out of the
hacienda
and was staying at the mission. He contrived to visit her there and was shocked to learn that she was pregnant. And judging from the size of her, Manuel realized the child could only be his, for Don Rodrigo was not even on the
rancho
during the time Elena must have conceived.
Essentially Manuel was not a bad person. In fact, nothing at all like his cousin Pedro. Nearly as tall as Rod, broadshouldered and rugged, his resemblance to Rod, if one did not look too closely, was uncanny. That resemblance is what attracted Elena to Manuel in the beginning. Manuel did not really want to harm Julie but he had let himself be beguiled by Elena who used her sexual wiles to lure him into her devious plot.
Thus, when Manuel saw Elena and learned he was to become a father, he begged the haughty Spanish woman to marry him for the sake of their child.
Elena’s harsh laughter brought a flush of anger to Manuel’s dark features. “Marry you!” she spat disparagingly. “I am a Montoya and you are a Mexican,” she said, as if that explained everything.
“I was good enough to bed,” contended Manuel angrily. “Who will take care of you and the child? Your parents are still in Spain. Do you think they will welcome you or your bastard?” Manuel knew nothing of the money Rod had generously given Elena and as far as Elena was concerned he never would.
As the weeks passed, Manuel worked ceaselessly to persuade Elena that it would be to her advantage to marry him. Only when Elena was informed by
Padre
Juan that Rod had returned to
Rancho
Delgado with his pregnant wife did Elena finally give her consent. Two days after her hasty marriage to Manuel, Elena gave birth to a healthy son. After a two week recuperation period at the mission she and the baby moved with Manuel to a small
casa
in the village.
Elena despised her new life. The loss of status from
el patrona
to the wife of a laborer was demeaning and degrading. All her hatred was focused on Julie, whom Elena blamed. If Julie hadn’t stolen Rodrigo from her, Elena contended, she would be the pampered wife of a wealthy don instead of the mate of a landless peon. It seemed unjust that an Anglo
puta
should hold a place in life that rightfully belonged to Elena. Soon her hatred and spite transferred itself from Julie to Manuel, and even to her innocent son. She began to plot for revenge and plan for the day she could wreak her vengeance on Julie and leave Manuel, taking her careufully hoarded money with her.
One day, Elena hit upon an idea that was calculated to shock and hurt Julie in a cruel manner. But in order to carry out the hoax she had concocted, she needed
Manuel’s help. Accordingly, after a particularly rewarding night of intense sexual pleasure, Elena broached the subject to her sated husband.
“I think it is time we left here, Manuel,” she said, running her hands sensuously over his shoulders and chest.
“I thought you wanted to remain in San Luis Obispo.” replied Manuel lazily.
“Not any longer.”
“Where would we go?”
Elena shrugged carelessly. “Sonora, perhaps. Someplace where no one knows me and my … circumstances. I can no longer bear the snide looks and cruel remarks of these … these peasants in the village.”
Manuel sighed wearily. “Perhaps you are right, Elena. If we left his cursed place perhaps we would not fight so much and you would become a more loving wife and mother.”
What a stupid fool, Elena thought smugly, curling her lips in derision. Manuel was crazy to think she would ever be a real wife to him. And his child! The brat was nothing but a hindrance. One day she would be well rid of them both.
“Of course I will become more loving,” Elena lied, smiling deceptively, “but you must do something for me in return. You must prove your love for me.”
Manuel’s eyes narrowed suspiciously. “What do you have in mind?”
“I cannot, will not, leave here to begin our new life together until justice is served. Don Rodrigo’s wife must be punished. She must be made to feel the same kind of pain she caused me.”
“
Por Dios,
Elena! Haven’t we caused her enough harm already? Surely you are aware of what she must have suffered as Pedro’s prisoner. Can’t you be satisfied with that?”
“No!” screamed Elena, consumed with rage. “You heard
Padre
Juan. Rodrigo told him Julie’s father saved
her before she had been harmed. Once! Just once I want her to feel the same kind of pain I suffered because of her. And I need your help.”
“The woman is breeding, Elena. Have you no mercy?”
“If you help me, Manuel, I promise not to touch her physically or cause her bodily harm. Her unborn child will not suffer at my hands.”
Elena was very persuasive but Manuel was not so easily convinced. He did not hate Julie, nor wish her ill. He only wanted to make a good life for his wife who never seemed satisfied no matter what he offered her, and for his son who was more precious to him than life. Then Elena suddenly realized the only way to sway Manuel was through his son, and she threatened to take the boy where Manuel would never find him. The poor man, whose intelligence was never on the same level as his wife’s, finally acquiesced. Jubilant, Elena outlined her simple plan and the part Manuel was to play. Afterwards she rewarded him with a stunning display of lust the likes of which left them both gasping for breath.
Manuel began keeping his bargain by closely following Rod’s movements. At first he was disappointed to learn that Rod rarely left the confines of the
hacienda.
But then roundup began and the situation changed drastically overnight. His former
patron
began spending long hours on the range taking an active part in the roundup which Manuel knew from experience would last for weeks. When Elena was informed Rod sometimes did not return to the
hacienda
until the small hours of the morning, and oftentimes not at all, she rejoiced, for she knew her moment for revenge had finally arrived.
Given Julie’s mood and condition that morning, she would have believed anything. She hadn’t seen Rod for more than twenty minutes at a time in days, Felicia’s time was taken up in lessons, and even her father seemed to have little time to devote to a pregnant
woman so maudlin of late that she broke into tears at the slightest provocation. Her best moments during her endlessly boring days arrived at mid-morning when she took her exercise in the courtyard before the sun became too bright and chased her inside.
This morning was no exception. Alone in the courtyard with nothing or no one for company but her memories, Julie vividly recalled these happy months when she and Rod became friends as well as lovers. Until the last few days, she thought ruefully, when he acted as if they were nothing but polite strangers. Had he met someone else, she wondered jealously? Had his love for her cooled as her figure grew to monstrous proportions until she was no longer capable of satisfying his passion? Her deep sighs were echoed by the breeze ruffling the leaves above her head. The baby stirred restlessly and Julie moved awkwardly toward a far corner as if in answer to her child’s silent command.
Unnoticed by Julie, a small, veiled figure detached itself from the shadows and waited until she was nearly abreast before stepping boldly in her path.
“
Buenas dias,
Julie.”
Julie froze. There was no mistaking the husky, breathless voice. What was Elena doing here, she wondered, at tremor of apprehension tightening her muscles until she felt her rigid body cry out in protest? Curtailing her rampaging emotions, she asked, “What do you want, Elena?”
“To talk, Julie, nothing more.” Elena could not help but eye Julie’s protruding stomach distastefully, thinking that the spawn of an Anglo
puta
should not be the Delgado heir.
“Then talk quickly and leave,” Julie insisted, unable to control the tell-tale quiver in her voice. She could neither forget nor forgive the woman who had nearly cost her her life.
Elena smiled inwardly, immediately recognizing Julie’s fear and reveling in her mastery over her rival.
“It won’t take long to say what is on my mind. It concerns Rodrigo and myself.”
“You and Rod?” repeated Julie stupidly. “Whatever could you mean?”
“You may be a lot of things, Julie, but stupid isn’t one of them.” chided Elena derisively. “Rodrigo and I have been … seeing each other for weeks.”
“I don’t believe you!” exclaimed Julie, suddenly very frightened.
“It’s true. After I left the
hacienda
I took a small
casa
in town. Shortly after your return here Rodrigo, realized he could not live without me and he came to me. We became lovers.”
“No!” gasped Julie, her swollen stomach lurching in revulsion.
“
Si
!” smiled Elena cunningly. “Did you know I carried Rodrigo’s child when I left the
hacienda
?” At Julie’s horrified look, she added, “Ask Teresa if you don’t believe me.”
Julie was too shocked by Elena’s malicious revelations to reply as she stared gape-mouthed at Rod’s lover, or so she assumed. Suddenly her wits returned and she said, “Am I expected to calmly accept your word? Where is this phantom child of Rod’s?”
Without a word Elena whirled and strode purposefully to a secluded spot surrounded by shrubs, bent down and lifted from a bed of soft grass a child who couldn’t have been but a few months old. “I knew you wouldn’t believe me so I brought my son with me. His name is Rodrigo, the same as his father’s. Is he not a handsome child?”
Julie began perspiring profusely, staggering toward a bench when she felt her legs give way. Relentlessly Elena followed, flaunting the baby before Julie as proof of Rod’s love.
Against her will Julie’s eyes were drawn to the child. Rod’s son, if Elena could be believed. Judging from his
size he could have been fathered by Rod during Julie’s long absence. He looked much like Elena, but what really convinced her was the boy’s crisp, curing hair and sturdy body so like Rod’s that her heart constricted painfully in her breast at the sight of him.
Elena felt Julie’s uncertainty and moved in to deliver the final insult. “If you do not believe me, come to my
casa
tonight and you will see with your own eyes what your mind refuses to believe.”
“What … what do you mean?”
“Rodrigo is coming to me tonight. I can give him what you cannot. When he makes love to me, nothing exists but the two of us and our love for each other. He has told me many times that he wishes you would leave so he might acknowledge his son and bring me back to the
hacienda
.”
If Julie hadn’t been so emotionally distraught she would have realized just how irrational Elena’s words were. But all she could think of was Rod’s sudden coldness toward her and the baby Elena held in her arms. Were all these months of happiness a delusion, she wondered dismally? Was there something lacking in her to make Rod turn to Elena?
“Will you come tonight, Julie?” she heard Elena asking. “Are you brave enough to learn the truth? It must hurt to realize that you are unwanted, that in fact you are nothing but an encumbrance to Rodrigo who should have never married an Anglo in the beginning.”
“Where?” Julie whispered. “Where do you live?” An evil smile lurking at the corner of her mouth, Elena gave explicit instructions on how to reach her
casa.
“Be there promptly at ten o’clock,” she hastened to add, “if you want to discover exactly what your husband does each night. Walk along the veranda until you come to the bedroom.” The inflection in her voice left Julie little doubt as to what went on in Elena’s bedroom.
After Elena left as mysteriously as she appeared, Julie could not force her legs into motion so she sat, far longer than was her custom. So long, in fact, that a distressed Teresa came looking for her. “Dona Julie,” she chided gently when she found her mistress in a far corner of the courtyard, “I became worried when you did not return in time for lunch. Felicia is waiting in the dining room for you.”
Julie looked at Teresa dumbly, as if recognition was slow in coming, her vagueness alarming the housekeeper greatly. “
Señora,
are you ill?” the older woman asked. “Is it the baby? I will send for Don Rodrigo.”
“No!” cried out Julie, the mention of her husband’s name bringing her to her senses. “I’m all right, really,” she added more gently.
“Then come along,
señora,
your lunch is getting cold.”
With the help of a concerned Teresa Julie rose somewhat unsteadily to her feet, suddenly recalling Elena’s words. “Teresa,” she asked abruptly, “was Elena with child when she left here?”
Teresa thought nothing of Julie’s question. It was common knowledge to all but Julie that Elena was now living with her husband Manuel in San Luis Obispo. Quite a comedown for the haughty Spanish woman, sniffed Teresa.
“
Si,
Dona Julie. When she left here, only Don Rodrigo and myself were aware of her condition. He took her to the mission and put her in
Padre
Juan’s care until her child was born. It wasn’t long before everyone knew that she had a child. Especially after she left the mission and went to live in the village with—”
“Stop!” came Julie’s anguished cry. “I don’t want to hear anything more! I never want to hear her name again.”
Teresa was puzzled by Julie’s apparent aversion to Elena, being unaware of all that Elena had done to
harm Julie, as well as what had transpired in the courtyard earlier. But she was astute enough to realize that speaking of Elena was doing her mistress no good.