Sweet Silken Bondage (6 page)

"Good, then all I have to do is make it onto the
stagecoach without being caught. After that, it'll be
easy."

"I hope you're right, Reina."

"Of course, I'm right. By the time father discovers
where I've gone, he'll have realized what a foolish mistake it was to try to force me into marriage. He'll be
so happy to have me back that hell agree to anything,"
Reina explained simplistically. Yet, even as she tried to
convince herself that it would happen as she hoped, she
couldn't help but wonder about the unusual way her
father had acted in regard to the betrothal. It was
totally out of character for him to coerce her into doing
anything; yet, in the face of her adamant refusal, he
had not backed down. Instead, he had become even
more insistent and had even punished her! She prayed
that her plan would work for if it didn't-

It occurred to Reina that things might never be the
same, and the prospect deeply frightened her. Stiffening her resolve, she banished all thoughts of failure.
Her father was going to come around. He had to!

"What about money? Have you got enough?" Maria
asked.

"Yes, I've got plenty. In fact, here..." Reina
searched through the small reticule she'd brought with
her and then handed Maria a substantial amount.

"What's this for? You're going to need all the money
you've got."

"That's for the two habits," she told her, smiling a bit
guiltily. "I don't want to go through life with the sin of
stealing from a nun on my soul. Leave it where Sister
will find it."

Maria grinned back at her. "I will."

"Is there anything else I need to know?" Reina had
made it a point never to pay too much attention to
religious matters. It troubled her now that she knew so
little about being a nun.

"Do you think you can keep from flirting?" she asked
in good humor, knowing how much her friend enjoyed
the attentions of all the handsome young men who
were always vying for her favors.

"You needn't worry about that. Right now, men are
the last thing on my mind," she answered seriously. "All
I want to do is to get to New Orleans."

"Then you'll be fine. Just don't forget who you're
supposed to be while you're traveling. You're no longer
Reina Alvarez. You're Sister Mary Regina now. Remember that."

"I will."

"Here." Maria moved to her small chest of drawers to
get the final accessory she would need to make the
habit complete, a fifteen decade rosary. "Attach this
rosary to the belt at your side."

Reina stood up and did as she was told with great
care, then cast one last glance in the mirror. The
transformation was complete. The real Reina Alvarez
had all but disappeared, and in her place stood Sister
Mary Regina, a woman of patience and love, a woman
of kindness and humility, a woman who was devoting
her life to service for others.

"Now, you're perfect," Maria encouraged.

"Maria, thank you. You don't know how much your
help has meant to me," she told her with heartfelt
emotion.

"You're my friend, Reina. I just hope everything
turns out the way you want it to"

"It will," she answered and then added under her
breath, "it has to."

A short time later, Maria watched from the window
of her room until Reina had disappeared from sight on
her way into town. She said a quick prayer, asking God
to help Reina and to protect her on her trip back East.

"We've found no trace of your daughter, Senor Alvarez," Juan Sanchez admitted cautiously as he stood,
sombrero in hand, before his fearsome boss. He knew
of Luis Alvarez's volatile temper, and he had been
dreading informing him of their lack of progress.

A tall, distinguished-looking man of some fifty
years, Luis stood rigidly behind his desk as he faced his
hired man. His accusing, black-eyed gaze was fixed unwaveringly upon Sanchez as he repeated in a slightly
threatening tone, "Nothing?"

"Nothing, Senor Alvarez. We have looked everywhere that you told us to and have found no trace of
her."

A violent rage threatened to consume him, but Luis
fought to control it. Fury vibrated through his whipcord-lean body as he bit out savagely, "That's not good
enough, Sanchez! Go back and check again! Reina
couldn't have just disappeared off the face of the earth!"

"Yes, sir," Juan replied quickly, fearful of his boss's
angry mood. "We'll head out again right away" He
backed from the room, anxious to escape his displeasure.

"Sanchez!" Luis called out sharply just as the other
man was about to flee from the.study.

"Yes, Senor Alvarez?"

Luis's tone was only slightly less vicious as he commanded, "Make sure that you remain discreet in your
inquiries. I want her found, but I do not want it to be
commonly known that she is gone."

"Yes, Senor," he answered respectfully. He hurried
from the room, feeling sorry for the girl who would, no
doubt, face the full force of her father's considerable
wrath when they finally did bring her back.

As soon as Sanchez had closed the door behind him,
Luis slammed his fist down on his desktop and muttered a vile curse. Reina's defiance had taken him by
surprise. Love her though he did, and he did adore her,
he could not allow her to get away with this unscathed.
She had left him looking weak and spineless. What
man couldn't control his own daughter? He was a
proud man and not used to being made the fool.

Besides that very personal humiliation, Luis also had
to worry about Nathan Marlow. He had not told the
rich Yankee of Reina's disappearance, and he had no
intention of doing so. Too much depended on the
marriage taking place as had been announced. He couldn't risk angering Marlow and having him back
out on the deal they had made-the deal that would
save his deed to Rancho Alvarez from being contested
in the American courts and possibly, ultimately, stripped from his ownership. He had seen it happen to
several of his friends, and he would not let that happen
to him. He loved his daughter, but the rancho was his
whole life.

Nervously, Luis stalked to his liquor cabinet and
splashed a healthy dose of whiskey in a tumbler. He
took a deep drink as he began to pace the room. He
was not used to being out of control, but until Reina
was found and brought back, that's exactly what he
was.

At the thought of his offspring's defiance, he swore
out loud again. How dare she defy him over the one
thing he'd ever demanded she do? Hadn't he given her
everything she'd ever wanted? Hadn't he always tried to
please her in every way? Luis realized now that he'd
made a big mistake in spoiling her so, but it was a
mistake that he would take great pains to rectify once
she returned. He was going to teach her that no one
defied him and got away with it. No one!

Draining the last dregs of whiskey from his glass,
Luis strode from the room intending to go to work on
the ranch. He hoped that the distraction of a hard day's
labor would keep his thoughts from straying to Reina
and his desperate fear that Marlow would find out
about her disappearance before he had time to find her
and bring her back.

A wide, satisfied smile curved the hard line of Nathan Marlow's thin lips, and his cold blue eyes flashed
with triumph as he saluted his companion with a glass
of champagne. "Everything is going exactly according
to plan. In just six short months the Rancho Alvarez
will be as good as mine." He made the announcement with supreme, almost arrogant, confidence.

Lilly Bascomb, a tall, voluptuous redhead, was sitting on the loveseat in the parlor of her splendid home
on the outskirts of Monterey listening avidly to his
every word. She gave a throaty chuckle as she returned
his salute with her own glass. "You're a genius, Nathan. Although, I have to admit that I did have my
doubts in the beginning," she continued. "Luis Alvarez
has always been rather hostile to Americans, and I
feared you might not be able to convince him to change
his way of thinking. But, as usual, you've succeeded
brilliantly. How do you do it, darling?"

"It's a simple matter, really," he said expansively.
"You just find out what a man values most and
threaten to take it away from him. Negotiations begin
from there." Nathan's expression turned cunning and
his smile, sharkish.

"Ali," Lilly murmured in understanding, "that just
shows you how differently men and women think"

"Oh?" he asked, intrigued, as he took a drink of the
fine bubbling wine.

"Yes, darling. When I make plans such as yours, I
find out what the man wanted above all else, and I give
it to him," she explained in a husky tone.

"Is that how you caught me in your web?" Nathan
asked, his gaze darkening with the heat of remembered
passion.

A small, self-satisfied smile curved Lilly's perfect lips
as she stated coolly, "I have no web, Nathan. You know
you're free to come or go whenever you choose." She
was well aware that Nathan was the type of man who
wanted no ties upon him, so she made no demands of
their relationship. She enjoyed what they shared with
no thought to the future. Rich widow that she was, she
had no desire or need for another husband.

"So well I know" Nathan answered, moving to take
her glass from her and set it aside with his own. "I
intend to become the richest man in California, Lilly, and I want you by my side all the way. Obtaining
Rancho Alvarez is just another step on my ladder to
the top."

"And the Alvarez girl.. .your soon-to-be-bride?"
His plot to marry the Alvarez girl amused Lilly, and
she wondered how the proud, young woman was going
to react when she found out that her husband had a
mistress.

"She's merely an inconvenience in my overall scheme
of things, Lilly" Even as he spoke the words, Nathan
knew that he was lying. Reina had stirred his passion
by refusing his affections the night of the party. He was
not used to being denied, and her indifference to him
had whetted his appetite for more. He enjoyed a challenge, and he would take great pleasure in showing his
wife the power he had over her, body and soul. Theirs
would definitely not be a marriage in name only, but
Lilly didn't need to know that. They were both beautiful, desirable women, and he was sure he could keep
them both completely satisfied. "You know how good
we are together. Reina's not going to affect what we
share in any way. Surely you're not jealous?"

"Hardly," she scoffed, "you know how I abhor the
thought of marriage. The few years I spent tied to
Bascomb were torment enough." She stood up and
linked her arms around his neck. "Pretty though she is,
it would take more than that little chit to worry me,
Nathan. She's too young and innocent to know how to
please a man like you. What we have is quite special."

"Indeed," Nathan agreed as he bent to kiss her
pouting lips.

As his mouth moved hungrily over hers, a wild
animal passion exploded within Lilly. They had been
apart for several days while he'd been out at the Alvarez ranch, and she'd missed him tremendously. She
was a very sensual woman, and she always eagerly
anticipated the time they had together. Nathan was,
without a doubt, the most ardent lover she'd ever taken to her bed, and she could hardly wait to be with him
again. Moving sinuously, erotically against him, Lilly
enticed him to forget everything but the lusty pleasure
she could give him. When Nathan groaned at her
brazenness, she drew away.

I've had enough talking for the night..." she told
him in a sultry voice, leading the way to the privacy of
her bedroom.

"So have I," he agreed, following Lilly from the
room. Having never been a man to stay with one
woman for long, he supposed the reason he'd never
tired of her during their year together was because they
were so much alike. She was a woman who knew what
she wanted in life and took it. Her boldness pleased
him and he wanted her, yet as he closed the bedroom
door behind them, he could not put thoughts of Reina
from his mind.

Rafael Casita's expression was shocked when Luis
finished explaining his situation. "I don't believe it!
Reina has run away rather than marry the American?"

"Yes, but once I find her and bring her back, shell
change her mind. Reina will marry Marlow, mark my
words," Luis snarled in angry frustration as he faced
Rafael across the desk in his law office. The silverhaired, heavy-set attorney had been his friend for many
years, and it was to him. that Luis now turned for
counsel.

Rafael gave a slow, disbelieving shake of his head as
he studied his old friend. New, deep lines of worry were
etched into his dark, handsome face, and there was
exhaustion and a touch of fear haunting his eyes. "This
doesn't sound like Reina at all."

"I know," Luis said bitterly. "She has never defied me
in her life. Why should she choose to do so now, when
what I've asked of her is so vitally important?"