The Ghost Lights of Marfa by Maeve Alpin Read Free Book Online

she loved. How foolish she was. He never came forward to stop his mother or to help her find a place to sleep, food to eat. A stranger, a Moroccan inn keeper in Seville had come to her rescue.
    Ramon’s voice softened. “De Nunez is a good man.”
    He gazed at her with deep concern in his eyes which filled her with a warm glow. If only he really loved her, but she knew that couldn’t be.
    His mouth curved into a beckoning smile. “Though you will soar across an endless sky to an unknown world, you will have me at your side.”
    He grasped her hand and squeezed. She couldn’t let go of him.
    Seductively, Ramon loosened his hold and rolled his arm about her waist. He yanked her against his muscular chest. She burned and melted in his arms. Headed to a new planet, perhaps a chance existed for them since his mother would be worlds away, on Earth, in Spain.
    She suddenly realized, no, never, not as his mistress. That would make her the wanton his mother claimed she was, and she’d never have love like the kind her parents shared. She flung him away and climbed into the hold. Willing to be shot out of a cannon into space for a new life, she wouldn’t settle for second best, with the man she still loved.
     

 
     
     
    Chapter Two
     
     
     
    For the rest of the voyage, she managed to avoid Ramon, thus the hours melded together, with little change between them, until the promising words, “Ahoy, Rome,” rung out from a sailor on deck.
    She hung on to a hook on the wall, clutching her stomach, which flipped over as the flying galleon plunged and rocked until it landed in the water then sailed to the docks. One of the last passengers to wobble down the plank to solid ground, Ana tried to recover her land legs by breathing in the dock side smell of fish and wine. She clutched her belly, fearing she might retch.
    Someone called, “Widow de Reyes, we will accompany you.” Ramon peered out from the windows of a black carriage detailed in gold trim. “You must see Señor Salvador de Gradi’s maze and fountains.”
    Thoughts of the beautiful garden stirred a feeling of serenity in her unlike the swaying ship. With an eager pace she walked toward the carriage, but hesitated when she spotted De Nunez sitting across from Ramon.
    Santa Maria! Why would Ramon bring her into a carriage with the Governor? She needed to stay away from the De Nunez least he suspect she wasn’t noble, but a lady could not walk the docks unchaperoned. Not knowing what else to do, she climbed in and slid into the seat next to Ramon.
    De Nunez gently lifted her hand and brushed a kiss against her knuckles. Ana nodded in acknowledgment then took a deep breath as she fidgeted with her black veil. The clippity clop rhythm of the four horses trotting to the De Gradi villa helped her relax as she peered through the carriage windows at the manicured lawns and hedges of clipped trees forming avenues. Stretching for miles on end, it surpassed the Suarez estate where Ana had worked. Would she be able to acquire land such as this on planet X? Her heart pounded in her chest as she imagined her dreams coming true. The driver reined the horses in before a huge white washed manor.
    A tall, slender woman bedecked in a gown of courtly fashion introduced herself as Signora Sabina De Gradi, the lady of the villa. With Ana’s stomach now recovered and having endured all those hours in the sky with nothing but hardtack, the welcoming aroma of saffron, basil, cumin, and olive oil lured her into the dining room.
    Ramon sat beside Ana and cut her slices of roebuck, stewed veal, and mutton. Constantly, he called to a servant boy to make sure her goblet stayed full of red wine. A servant brought forth a platter of almond paste cookies and red sugared apples for desert.
    Ana peered at Ramon hoping he wouldn’t catch her staring as she cradled a cup of vino. She rolled her tongue upward, licking a drop of the sweet liquid from her lips.
    Ramon wound his arm around her shoulders