The Jade Dragon by Nancy Buckingham Read Free Book Online Page B

Milaveira properties. So although I have lived at the quinta for some years, I have no ‘rights.’ Only grace and favor, and there is little enough of that from Carlota, I fear. She considers me useful as someone who can run the household for her, and I must be thankful for that. Otherwise, I would be dispatched without a scruple the moment it was within her power to do so.”
    It seemed a shameful situation to me, and I made that clear. “As far as I’m concerned, Vicencia, this is where you belong. And I shall say so to anyone who tries to suggest the contrary.”
    Impulsively, she came forward and kissed me on the cheek. “How kind you are, Elinor. I am so glad we can be friends.” She paused, her hands lightly clasped, while she studied me. “You are very pretty, my dear—but then, I daresay you are often told that. You must have many admirers in England.”
    I smiled at her. “I have never allowed myself to take too much notice of complimentary remarks. Young men are apt to be carried away and say extravagant things they don’t really mean.”
    “But is there not some young man who wants to marry you?” Vicencia persisted.
    To explain to her about Oliver would have been too complicated, so I merely shook my head. With a little shrug of disappointment, she continued, “Do you like this room, Elinor? It would be easy enough to prepare another for you if it is not to your taste.”
    I looked about me, really noticing the apartment for the first time. In my concern over my grandmother I had only been aware of its magnificence, hardly taking in any of the details. The paneled walls were painted with a series of allegorical pictures against a pale, celestial background, rising to a lofty, gold-coffered ceiling. The four-poster bed was draped in peacock-blue silk, embroidered with a classical laurel-leaf design, the theme being echoed in the curtains at the two tall windows. A Brussels carpet with a pattern of entwined roses was laid upon the floor, and a matched pair of rose pink porcelain oil lamps stood one upon the dressing table and one upon the bedside console.
    “It rather takes my breath away,” I confessed. “In fact, everything I’ve seen here does. It’s all so grand and so beautifully cared for.”
    Vicencia beamed her pleasure. “Then you will not want to hasten back to England, Elinor. My wish is that you will stay for a long, long time.”
    I hesitated. “I’m not sure if that is possible, Vicencia. Will any of the Milaveira family be able to remain here for much longer? I must admit that I am very confused. Mr. Darville told me that my grandfather left a great many debts, and he was emphatic that when these had all been settled, there would be virtually no money left over. But my grandmother insists that this is utter nonsense, that the debts are unimportant. I do not know which of them to believe.”
    Vicencia sighed unhappily. “You must believe what Stafford says, Elinor. He knows about these matters. You may be quite certain that he would never tell you such a thing if it were not true. He is far too honest and sincere a person.”
    I looked at Vicencia in surprise. Up until now, everyone to whom I had mentioned Stafford Darville’s name—Mrs. Forrester, Carlota, and my grandmother—had all reacted with marked disfavor. Yet Vicencia clearly approved of him. I wondered why. A sudden thought occurred to me, although if I were right, Vicencia’s attitude was all the more difficult to understand.
    “You mentioned just now that your husband was a cousin of my mother’s. I gathered from Mr. Darville that his wife, too, was a cousin of hers. Does that mean they were brother and sister?”
    She nodded her head and smiled. “I forget that you know so little about us, Elinor. By and by we will have a nice long chat together, and I will tell you all that you wish to know. But not now, I think, when you have only just arrived.”
    “How tragic it was,” I heard myself murmuring, “the way