The Tiger Lily by Shirlee Busbee Read Free Book Online Page A

"Francisca, cease your
machinations! Tonight is Sabrina's seventeenth birthday, and I have no
intention of making any decisions." He said inflexibly, "You were
eighteen before our father betrothed you to Luis, so why should Sabrina have
less time? She is young yet, and I will not have you or anyone else stampeding
her into a marriage she may not want."
     
    Her
jaw clenching, Francisca inquired acidly, "Are you saying she may not want
to marry Carlos?"
     
    Alejandro
sighed. "I don't know what her thoughts are. Rest assured that if Sabrina
wishes to marry Carlos, I will put no obstacles in their way."
     
    "How
generous of you!" she said scathingly. "But do not be surprised if,
by the time you condescend to talk of a marriage, Carlos has already decided he
no longer wishes to marry your daughter."
     
    "So
be it."
     
    Making
no attempt to hide her displeasure, Francisca stalked off, and Alejandro
breathed more freely. But the conversation they had exchanged did not go away
from his mind, and much later that night, when all the guests were gone and he
and Sabrina were settled comfortably in a small, cozy, slightly shabby sitting
room at the end of the main wing of the house, he casually said, "I
noticed that you danced quite a few dances with Carlos. Do I sense a
romance?"
     
    Sabrina,
in a very unladylike position, barefooted, her long legs dangling over the side
of a huge, high-backed chair of Cordova leather, stared at her father with
astonishment. "A romance?" she demanded incredulously. "With
Carlos?"
     
    Alejandro
smiled, thinking of Francisca's reaction if she had heard Sabrina's answer.
Pushing the thought of Francisca's chagrin and anger from his mind, he said
idly, "Hmmm, Carlos. Do you like him?"
     
    Puzzled,
Sabrina answered readily enough, "Of course I like my cousin—we've grown
up together."
     
    "But
have you considered marrying him?"
     
    A
look of complete bewilderment on her lovely face, Sabrina glanced at the
crystal snifter of brandy that sat just inches from her father's hand.
Alejandro laughed out loud at that glance, instantly feeling happier. Lightly
he said, "No, I have not overindulged myself, pigeon. It is just that your
Tia Francisca would like to see you married to Carlos, and I wondered how you
might react."
     
    Sabrina
wrinkled her slightly tilted nose with displeasure. "Tia Francisca
interests herself in matters that are not her concern. I do not wish to marry
yet, and," her features suddenly dreamy, she added, "when I do, I
want to love as you and Madre did—nothing less will do."
     
    Relieved
and pleased at the same time, Alejandro raised his brandy snifter and said
solemnly, "Nothing less than love for us."
     
    Despite
the reassurance of his own beliefs about Sabrina, after she had gone to bed
that night, Alejandro found himself thinking seriously of her future—and
possible marriage. There was, he knew, no man of any age in the area who had
caught her fancy. Or, he admitted ruefully, one that she would not lead around
like a bull with a brass ring through its nose! But yet, even as that thought
crossed his mind, he remembered a young man with a dark, lean face and hard
jade-green eyes . . . his nephew-in-law, Brett Dangermond.
     
    Now
there, he conceded almost smugly, was a man. A man strong enough and devil
enough to handle any woman—even Sabrina.
     
    If
Sabrina had not seen Brett Dangermond since she was seven years old, the same
was not true of Alejandro. He had seen Brett several times during the ensuing
years, in Natchez and New Orleans, and though the meetings had been far apart
and fleeting, each time he had met Brett, he had been more impressed. But until
this evening, he had never considered that unsuspecting rakehell in the light
of a possible son-in-law.
     
    A
smile of pure devilment on his face, Alejandro rummaged around in the carved
pine desk he was sitting behind and found some paper and his quill and inkpot.
For several seconds he stared off into space,