Counterfeit Bride by Sara Craven Read Free Book Online Page A

you please.' He made no attempt to detain her, and she fled. Safe in her room, she made no attempt to order any food, knowing that she wouldn't be able to swallow as much as a morsel.  She undressed and showered and lay down on top of the bed, staring into the gathering darkness, her whirling thoughts refusing to cohere into any recognisable pattern.
    There was one rock to hang on to in her sea of confusion—that tomorrow they would be in Monterrey, and this whole stupid, dangerous masquerade would be over. She should never have embarked on it in the first place, she knew, and she could only pray that she would emerge from it relatively unscathed.
    Just let me get through tomorrow, she thought, and then it will be all right. I'll be able to take up the rest of my life, and forget this madness. I'll be free.
    She kept repeating the word 'free' as if it was a soothing mantra, and eventually it had the effect she wanted and the darkness of night and the shadows of sleep settled on her almost simultaneously.

CHAPTER THREE
    It was a maid knocking on the door which woke her eventually. She sat up, pushing her hair back from her face, to find to her horror that it was broad daylight.
    'Señorita, your car is waiting,' she was reminded, and heard the woman move away.
    She glanced at her watch and groaned. She had overslept badly. She dressed rapidly, and almost crammed the loathsome wig on to her hair. She smothered a curse as she adjusted it. She had wanted to meet Ramon in the clear light of day, looking well-groomed and in control of the situation, and instead she was going to appear late, harassed and looking like something the cat had dragged in.
    She grabbed her bag and left precipitately, aware that a porter was waiting in the corridor to fetch her cases.
    As she emerged from the reception area into the sunshine, she made herself slow down and take'deep, steadying breaths, as she saw the waiting car. Lopez was standing beside it, looking anxiously towards the entrance, but when he saw her he smiled in relief and opened the back door.
    Nicola, steeling herself, climbed in. But the other seat was unoccupied. She twisted round, looking out of the rear window, but she could only see Lopez supervising the bestowal of her luggage in the boot. When he took his place in the driving seat, she leaned forward.
    'Where is Don Ramon?'
    He turned. 'I am to give you this, señorita.' He handed her an envelope, then closed the glass partition between them.
    Nicola opened the envelope and extracted the single sheet it contained.
    'I regret that urgent business commitments take me from your side,' the writing, marching arrogantly across the page, informed her. 'I wish you a safe journey, arid a pleasant reunion with your novio.' It was signed with an unintelligible squiggle.
    Nicola read it several times, relief warring with an odd" disappointment. So she would never see him again. On the other hand, it meant she only had Lopez to shake off when they reached Monterrey, and that had to be welcome news.
    She read the terse words once again, then folded the note and stowed it in her bag, biting her lip.
    Later, making sure that Lopez' whole attention was concentrated on the road ahead, she reached into her bag and drew out the itinerary for her trip. There was an airport at Monterrey, and she would have to find out whether there were direct flights from there to Merida. There had been no time to finalise every detail before she left Mexico City. Teresita had seen to it that she had enough money for any eventuality, firmly cutting across her protests.
    'You are doing this for my sake, Nicky. It must cost you nothing,' she had said.
    In retrospect her words seemed ironic to Nicola now, but she dismissed that trend of thought from her mind, and began reading the brochures for her trip, trying to recapture her earlier excitement at the prospect. But it wasn't easy. The names, the jungle temples no longer seemed to work the same potent magic with her