The Arrogant Duke by Anne Mather Read Free Book Online

the outer door. Calling 'Come in,' she peeped round the bathroom door in time to see a young maid leaving a tray on her bedside table.
    'Oh, thank you,' said Juliet, smiling, tucking a towel securely round her, and coming into the bedroom. 'Where does Miss - I mean, Senhorita Teresa usually have her breakfast?'
    The maid frowned. 'Senhorita Teresa eat on — er — patio,' she said, with difficulty, and then smiled at her achievement. 'Sim?'
    'Thank you,' Juliet nodded, and poured herself a glass of fresh fruit juice from the jug on the tray. It was a mixture of orange and lemon and lime, and was delicious. The maid left her, and Juliet dressed in a short red pleated skirt, and a white blouse, with three-quar- ter-length sleeves, and a demure cuffed neck. She spent several minutes securing her hair, deciding it was easier to braid it first, before attempting to put it up. Then, after two cups of coffee from the coffee jug which was also on the tray, she collected the tray and left her room.
    Although the quinta was large, she had no difficulty in finding her way to the main hall, for a glance out of the windows confirmed her whereabouts. When she had brought Juliet's dinner to her room the previous evening, Consuelo had given her a brief outline of the layout of the building, and now Juliet knew that Teresa had her rooms in that side of the building furthest from the sea because she did not like the sound of the waves. Juliet was obviously not to be encouraged to leave her room, she had thought a little dryly, when Consuelo arrived with the tray, but the housekeeper had explained that as the Duque was out, and Teresa was dining in her room with Senhorita Madison, her nurse, it would have been a lonely meal downstairs in the dining room. Even so, Juliet had taken the opportunity after dinner, of taking a walk in the gardens, enjoying the scents and sounds of the night, her senses stirred by the sound of a calypso band playing not too far distant. She thought that perhaps a party was going on in one of the villas further round the coast, and she had felt a faint pang of envy.
    But this morning, all that was forgotten, and she was even beginning to wonder, with something less than fear, what her father had done about her letter. No doubt he would be furious, and she hoped when he saw Rosemary he would not treat her to one of his furious rampages. Not that Rosemary wasn't more than capable of dealing with him; she was a very sensible and determined young woman.
    Juliet now found her way to the kitchens, and, left the tray with the smiling maid, who confirmed that Senhorita Teresa was already on the patio. When Juliet emerged from the building, she found Teresa had started her breakfast, a simple meal of fruit and rolls accompanied by fruit juice, and did not even look up when Juliet came to join her at the table.
    'Good morning, Teresa,' said Juliet lightly. 'Did you sleep well?'
    Teresa did not answer, and Juliet poured herself a cup of coffee, and told the maid who had appeared that she too would have fruit and rolls. When the maid had gone, she sipped her coffee thoughtfully, viewing the young girl over the rim of her cup, wondering what thoughts were at present torturing Teresa's mind. Teresa was studiously avoiding looking at her, concentrating on her meal with intense single- mindedness.
    Juliet accepted the rolls the maid brought her, buttered one and began to pare a peach slowly. She looked across at Teresa's bent head, and said: 'Are you going to maintain this silence indefinitely? Or will you tell me what is annoying you and be done with it?'
    Teresa gave her a scornful glance, but still refused to speak. Juliet's appetite deteriorated. This was hopeless! If the Duque appeared now and saw Teresa's reaction he would imagine the worst.
    'For Jieaven's sake, I thought you pretended to be adult!' she exclaimed, realizing that only by antagonizing Teresa would she produce any reaction at all.
    Teresa's glass clattered as it