The Forbidden Promise (3 page)

"What
are you talking about?" She cried, "tell me now!"
"Ma’am, I just saw Don Eduardo write a letter in which he has left all his
possessions to Lucas."
Raquel interrupted.
"I’ll never allow this!" She shouted in anger. Furious, she sent the
crystal pitcher and glass that were on the table crashing to the floor.
"You have to think of something,
Doña
Raquel. You have to destroy
that document.” Suggested Penelope.
"Of course I’ll destroy it, stupid," Raquel sat down again. She
rubbed her temples energetically
. I must think ... think ...
To calm
herself, she decided to take the matches and light the candles that were in the
luxurious snow-white silver candelabra. She stared into the flames. Ever since
a child she had always liked to stare into a fire, the flickering tongues of
the flame in the darkness ... she immediately felt her nerves relax.
"Don Eduardo keeps important documents in the drawer of his desk,"
she said quietly.
"It won’t be a problem to pick the lock," added Penelope.
"No. There may be no need to open the lock on the sly," said Raquel.
"But I need some  trusted men. Your brother? "
Penelope shook her head.
"No, he’s loyal to his master. Don Eduardo allowed his son Santos to study
and my brother has named his newborn daughter, Yolanda, after Don Eduardo’s
mother. "
"Then find someone else, maybe there’s someone in Tampico. You’ll organize
an ambush today, that will leave Don Eduardo dying ... I’ll never be kicked out
of this house." Raquel’s orders came out peremptory, cold and inhumane.
"All right
Doña
Raquel."
"Can you falsify the document by changing the name of Lucas with that of
Federico?"
Penelope nodded.
"I know how to make a mixture of herbs that makes ink disappear. I also
know a forger who can help us to imitate Don Eduardo’s handwriting. "
Raquel grinned.
"My dear Penelope, you really know all Tampico’s scum." She remarked
sarcastically.
Penelope smiled.
"The scum can be very useful,
Doña
Raquel. And don’t forget that
even the scum have a price."
Raquel took her eyes off the candles’ long flames for a moment.
"Fear not, you too will have your share."
"At the end of this, I no longer want to be a servant,
Doña
Raquel.
I want to have enough to live on and dedicate myself to my passion. "
"You're not going to abandon me, are you Penelope?"
Penelope patted Raquel’s shoulders.
"I’ll be there when you need me," she whispered in a faint voice.
"For an appropriate reward, of course."
Raquel nodded.
"I know how to be generous. But now let's get to work. It’s the right time
to take the plunge: Eduardo eliminated and Lucas disinherited, I’ll drive them
out along with that damn Amparo. And I’ll be the sole and undisputed mistress
of the Navarra y Reyes
hacienda
."
Alone, Raquel stared at her reflection in the mirror: her fists clenched in
anger:
damn Eduardo! I swear I’ll not rest until I’ve destroyed you and all
of your offspring ... Your hours are numbered but I won’t feel satisfied until
I’ve sunk Lucas into poverty. I’ll never let him rise again ... what you had
planned for me and Federico to suffer, Lucas will suffer! My only regret is
that you won’t be here to see his downfall: you'll watch his destruction from
the flames of hell
!

Voices from the market
woke Lucas up from a deep sleep that he had been immersed in. He stretched his
limbs and decided to get up. After washing, he went downstairs, where he
quickly prepared breakfast. After Amparo’s death, there had no longer been
anyone to look after of him, so he lived alone in a small, modest house in Tampico.
Poor, sweet Amparo
. From when, still a child, he had been expelled from
the Navarra
hacienda
, she had followed him, protective and motherly as
always. How she had sweated and worked, to care for him, to feed him and give
him an education.

They had lived in abject poverty, surviving only thanks to
Amparo’s work as a seamstress and cook and the charity of the good Father
Julian Tampico’s priest.

Why did my father do this to me?
This
question had nagged him since the day Raquel had informed him that he had to
leave the
hacienda
.
Your father didn’t want to have anything to do
with you ... do you know the last thing he told me? He believed that you
weren’t his son. Yes dear Lucas, your father doubted this from your birth, and
having seen his last wishes he must have been convinced of this
... Lucas
had lashed out against Raquel who had just insulted him. He would not allow
anyone to humiliate the memory of his mother. Father Julian, who had just
officiated Don Eduardo’s funeral, had had to intervene.
Doña Raquel, what
sense does it make to torment him in this way? His father has just been buried!
Lucas once again saw Raquel’s beautiful but evil face contract in
disappointment.
These are just the wishes my husband left and that you have
had the opportunity to see
...
Lucas turned his attention away from the memories
. I mustn’t obsess about
the past, I have to think about the present and my future.

But it was difficult to forget the years of poverty and misery.
The hardships and hunger, sleeping in a shack near the beach, studying under
Father Julian’s tuition, who had been stern but kind. And then working to earn
a few
pesos
and helping poor Amparo, already elderly who could not do
enough for him.
Your father loved you, son, you mustn’t believe anyone who
tells you otherwise
. But, it was hard to believe the affection of a man who
after having pampered and protected you, then leaves you with nothing, casting
you out of your own house, while your brother enjoys the comforts and luxuries
of being a Navarra y Reyes. However, Lucas needed to believe that his father
loved him and that he could not but have recognized him as his son. Then, in
the evening, he would ask poor Amparo, tired and weary from work, to tell him
about his father, what he used to say, what he was like, so that the memories
would remain vivid in his mind. Amparo had often told him about one of the last
occasions when his father had spoken to her in confidence. It was the day when
he had entrusted her with the task of sending a letter to Spain.
He told me
that I had to send the letter and that, like everyone else, I would soon know
the truth. I’m illiterate, but I’m certain that the letter would have put
things in place. But your father, may he rest in peace, didn’t do it in time
and died before being able to reveal what he knew.

At night, while he was listening to the wind whistling over the
sea, Lucas would dream of the moment when a mysterious communication would fix
things and would give him back the key to happiness. But that day had never
come.
After years of extreme poverty, something however had changed. At the age of
eighteen, Lucas had inherited a small but significant amount of money. It was a
small trust fund that was a legacy from his mother,
Doña
Lucrecia that
he had very few memories of.
Poor Amparo had been so happy for him and, thanks to the money, she had enjoyed
a few years of peace before passing away.
In fact, Lucas had been able to buy the modest house in Tampico and had
invested money in a small shipping company.
It had not been easy to get the legacy, he had been young and inexperienced and
Father Julian had had a lot of trouble obtaining the inheritance for him. The
Tampico banker, Don Guadalupe, had obstructed the process with a lot of
bureaucracy, but after appropriate threats from Father Julian, he had
eventually given way.
Don Guadalupe was a slimy man, who always had a huge handkerchief in his hand
that he used to wipe his sweaty forehead. He looked furtively at everyone and
everything, with the expression of a trapped rat, as if he was constantly
afraid of something. Lucas suspected it was because of
Doña
Raquel.
Moreover, the Navarra y Reyes were the most important customers of the town’s
bank. Lucas smiled
. The Navarra y Reyes. I don’t even consider myself part
of the family anymore
. Amparo would have been very angry if she had known.
Remember,
you are a Navarra. When you have doubts, look in the mirror: you're the
spitting image of your father.
She was not the only one to endorse this,
Father Julian had also recognized the resemblance. In fact, Lucas had the same
thick and wavy black hair that he now wore rather long to his shoulders, and
his father’s same shrewd green eyes.

There was a knock at the door.
Lucas got up and went to open it. It was Santos Robles, one of his best friends.
Santos had also been born on the Navarra
hacienda
: Santos’ father had
been one of his own father’s trusted workers who, after Don Eduardo’s death,
had left the
hacienda
, moving with his family to work as a carpenter in
Tampico. Santos had followed in his father’s footsteps and was now working as a
carpenter in Tampico’s shipyard.
"I'm sorry Lucas, you're still having breakfast," said Santos,
stroking his dark mustache.
" Don’t worry, I’ve finished," replied Lucas.
" Just leave everything in the kitchen," said Santos, "my sister
Yolanda told me that she’ll come and tidy the house later.”
Lucas smiled.
" Your sister is too good."
" Oh, don’t worry. You know that since she was young she has always had a
soft spot for you."
" But she is only a child."
" My dear Lucas, she is almost a woman, not a child."
"Enough with this, let’s go to the boatyard, I want to see the new cargo
ship that is being built. "
" You'll love it, it’s just perfect for what you need, it has a spacious
cargo hold and is as agile as a dolphin."
" I can’t wait to see this ship if it is as you describe it. "
Aurora Vargas de Coronado realized that she had dozed off only when the
clanging of the train announced its arrival in Tampico. A feeling of joy mixed
with melancholy had pervaded her all the way from Mexico City towards her home
as after much hard work, she had finally qualified as a doctor.
As a young girl she had watched her father, the town’s doctor, practicing his
profession, fascinated by his ability to bring relief to his patients’
suffering. Aurora’s desire to do the same had led her to study in secret, the
basics of medicine from her father’s medical books. Aurora thought back to the
day when she had been discovered by her mother: "How could you? A young
lady for her own good should not waste time with men’s things. At your age, you
should know how to embroider and cook, and think about the day when you will
look after your own children and your husband." She had scolded.
"No! I want to be a doctor and help Tampico’s needy and desperate people,
there are so many of them. I'm not interested in finding a husband who would
put me on display at dances like a porcelain figurine." She had replied
hotly to her mother.
As always when she was contradicted, Aurora's mother,
Doña
Viviana
Vargas de Coronado’s lips tightened. "You don’t know what you're saying,
you're just a fool. These illusions will only make you suffer more, you must be
realistic. We live in a world where women must rely on a man to live, and the
brighter your choice, the happier your future will be."
Her mother’s bitter tone and the sadness that shone from her warm hazel eyes
were imprinted in Aurora’s mind.
Aurora's father, Don Costantino Vargas de Coronado, was rather proud to
discover his daughter’s passion, and urged her to continue her studies. He
began to take her with him during visits to his patients and made her assist in
many operations. It was he who, one day, his eyes shining with emotion,
revealed to her that she had been accepted at the Faculty of Medicine at the
University of Mexico City.
"Dear, I have a surprise for you: a few months ago, I contacted a
professor whom I studied with in Mexico City and I told him of your desire to
become a doctor. He wants to meet you and he’ll allow you to attend his lectures.
If you prove you can rise to the occasion, you’ll be able to become a doctor.
It will be tough, but I know that you’ll make it, my dear."
Her mother had opposed the idea in every possible way, even making her promise
that she would never practice the profession and that she would marry as soon
as she returned home.
Aurora had agreed to her mother’s demands, she would have promised to do
anything to be able to realize her dream.
And then
, she thought,
I'll
find a way to help the sick, and I’ll marry only if my husband lets me do what
I want!
Aurora felt fortunate because she would soon fulfill the promise that she
had made with her mother. In Mexico City, she had met a young man as handsome
as he was polite, Federico Navarra y Reyes.
Federico’s blue eyes enchanted Aurora at first glance:
"Miss Aurora, can I have the honor of this dance?" he had asked her.
Aurora had consented in a faint voice and her face on fire; she was not used to
dance parties or her friends’ gossip, as she had always preferred her beloved
books. The waltz with this handsome young man, however, had made her head spin.
Was it the fault of the whirling dance or his bewitching smile?
"I'm really enchanted, your cousin Dolores has kept you hidden for too
long, I should reprimand her for this.”
Aurora explained to Federico why she so rarely took part in the city’s social
life. The two of them chatted amiably all evening, Aurora spoke of her studies,
while Federico explained that he was in Mexico City on business relating to his
family’s
hacienda
.
" And so you live in Tampico?" asked Federico.
" Yes, my father is the town’s doctor, and I take it you live on your
estate. It’s a wonderful place; some time ago I accompanied my father on a
visit to your mother, she had a terrible migraine, if I remember
correctly."
Federico smiled.
" Yes, since she became a widow, my mother sometimes suffers from
migraines," he replied mockingly.
Chatting away, they decided to leave the ballroom and went into the garden.
Federico smiled amiably, looking at her with his clear eyes. Aurora felt
excited, why had she never felt like this before. Federico went over to a hedge
of roses and plucked a flower, being careful not to prick himself.
" This is for you,
Miss
Aurora," he said in an alluring tone. “In the light of the moon this
flower reminds me of your cheeks’ rosy complexion.”
Aurora took the flower, smiling.
" You are very gallant, Don Federico," she replied.
Federico moved closer to her, staring at her intently. Aurora felt dizzy.
I
may be wrong but I think he is going to kiss me? How should I react?
She
certainly was not one of those young girls totally absorbed with embroidery at
home, and Marian Litanies in church. She had studied, she was educated, she
knew how to behave, but she had never experienced such an encounter before.
What should she do? Her mother, in this respect, had been pretty severe. She
decided to draw back, holding the flower to her nose to smell the fragrance.
" It smells sweet," she whispered innocently, looking at him askance
from above the petals.
Federico seemed to realize Aurora’s reluctance and bent to kiss her hand.
Aurora turned her attention from the memories of that night. She had seen
Federico again on a few occasions, but he had returned to the Navarra
hacienda
just outside Tampico a few days after the night of the dance. Federico had
promised to meet her again when she too, fresh from graduation, would be back
in her hometown. “As soon as you come back to Tampico, I'll come to your
parents and ask permission to visit you.“  He had promised the last time they
had seen each other. Aurora had just smiled, embarrassed and confused by her
feelings.
I’m a stupid dreamy girl ... my studies and my education haven’t made me
immune to infatuations. Dolores was right
.
The train, puffing, slowed and came to halt at Tampico’s small station. Aurora
stood up and smoothed her sage green traveling dress that she had bought in
Mexico City. She picked up her luggage and got ready to get down from the
carriage.
Through the window, she caught a glimpse of her mother who was already waiting
on the platform, accompanied by Carmen, the maid.
Doña
Viviana Vargas de Coronado was standing waiting, her long hair, the
same color of bronze as Aurora’s, was fashioned in gentle waves, she wore a
long white embroidered dress and a hat perched elegantly on her head. Aurora’s
father had told Aurora that as a girl, Viviana had been one of the finest young
women in Tampico and much courted. And Aurora did not doubt this.
Opening the doors, Aurora got off the train and ran to hug her mother. Viviana
hugged her close, happy to see her daughter again after so long.
"Welcome back, my dear," she said with tears in her eyes.
"I too am glad to see you again, mother."
Viviana smiled and walked towards the station’s exit.
" Carmen, bring Aurora’s luggage," she ordered.
Carmen promptly obeyed.
" You'll have to tell me everything," said Viviana. “How is dear
cousin Dolores? She was very kind to have put you up during your studies."
Slowly the three women headed for home. The road to the Vargas de Coronado’s
residence passed through the main square, where the local market was being
held. Aurora savored the colors, sounds and smells of Tampico that she had
missed in Mexico City: the calls of the fruit vendors, the chatter of the local
women with eye-catching clothes and the noisy conduct of the street urchins who
ran between the stalls. She looked up and admired the facade of the cathedral,
the pale pink stones, the twin bell towers that rose into the sky.
Distracted, Aurora did not notice the two men who had crossed her path and
ended up falling into the arms of the tallest.
Frightened, she looked up into an incredibly handsome manly face, two bright
green eyes focused on her, a wry smile hovered on his lips and a deep voice
declared, "Miss, you should be more careful when you walk or risk having
more bad encounters."
The man's arms were around her waist, holding her gently. Aurora jerked herself
free and stuttered a flustered protest.
Doña
Viviana , who in the meantime had been looking at a stall of
fabrics and remnants, noticed that Aurora  was not at her side, turned and saw
her in the arms of a stranger, tall, tanned, with unruly black hair that came
down to his shoulders.
She hastened to join them.
" How dare you take these liberties with my daughter," she demanded
severely.
"It's my fault, mother," muttered Aurora, intimidated, "I was
distracted and bumped into this
gentleman
," pronouncing the last
word ironically, as she glanced at the stranger’s smiling face.
The man, visibly upset by Aurora’s tone of voice, stiffened, gave a hint of a
bow and bid farewell to the two ladies, before walking away with his companion.
" Hey, Lucas, you have all the luck as usual, you just happened to bump
into that beautiful girl!“ Said Santos looking at his friend.
Lucas gave him a withering look.
" Beautiful but as haughty as the mother, I would say." Replied Lucas
irritated. “Let’s talk about more serious things instead. How much are they
asking for the ship being built?"
"You know the mother, don’t you?" Asked Santos, ignoring Lucas’
attempt to change the subject.
Lucas shook his head.
" She’s the doctor's wife,
Doña
Viviana Vargas de Coronado. A real
beauty. The daughter has no doubt inherited all her mother’s charm."
Lucas did not answer. He was reflecting on the young woman, the long brown hair
that framed her haughty face, the warm hazel eyes, the full lips parted in
surprise, the slender waist ...
Soon they came to the harbor, where the shipyard was. The owner, a plump man
with a thick dark mustache, was talking to a tall, wiry man.
" Hello, Santos.
Don
Lucas," greeted the owner. "I’ll be
right with you."
The other man greeted them shyly and walked away.
The owner of the yard was smiling and shaking his head.
" Poor fellow, that man is full of debt and can’t pay it off," he
explained shaking his head again.
" A bad situation," Lucas said. "Poverty is really terrible to
deal with."
"Especially for those who are not accustomed to it." Grinned the
owner. "He lost everything in a game of chance, and now he only has a
neglected
hacienda
in Zacatecas, with an abandoned mine, and no money to
maintain it and make it profitable. He is looking for someone to buy it, so
that he can pay off his creditors and then disappear into the United
States."
" A
hacienda
in Zacatecas? “Lucas asked. The pretty, inland town
was famous as an area rich in silver. At the time of the colonies, it had been
one of the main cities in Mexico.