Chapter 6

While the colors, the dress, and the weather might be different, it was apparent that a Spanish town was not so different from an English one. People called to one another from across the way, knew each other’s lives, had a familiarity that wasn’t as common in a city like London.

Edward watched the reaction of the townspeople as Do?a Palencia passed by them. They all stopped for a moment, pausing in deference with a respectful nod or curtsy. But, unlike what Edward had often seen when persons of noble blood walked through a London town, it was not with any ill intent. No, the people here respected their lady – that much was apparent. Their gestures were made with smiles on their faces, and they seemed quite pleased to see her.

She, in turn, knew each of them, calling to them by name, asking how their families were, what their children were doing, what was new in their places of work.

Despite her dress, which, while large, was not nearly as grandiose as some of the styles Edward had seen in the ballrooms of London, she crouched down in front of a child, holding out a hand and surprising him with sweets. Edward himself couldn’t quite figure out from where she had magically produced the candies, but he was impressed. The child thanked her profusely while his mother smiled upon the marquesa.

She rose, giving her attention back to him, and he could understand how appreciated each person felt when the majesty of her smile came upon him.

“The docks are this way,” she said in that husky voice of hers, and he could only nod as the truth washed over him in a wave. He wanted this woman. Whether or not she had any interest in having him in turn remained to be seen.

The salty spray of the water hit him before the ocean came into view, and Edward lifted his face to welcome it. He had always enjoyed the sea and the freedom it provided. In another life, he would have spent all of his days exploring the ocean’s waterways, seeing what treasure paths they could lead to, but of course those days were over now.

They had just begun to walk toward where the boats were docked when he heard his name being called, and Do?a Palencia looked around them in confusion, as no one here should know who he is.

“Rodrigo!” he called out, lifting an arm to the man, and then looked toward the lady. “Do you recall the friend I told you about?”

“Yes.”

“Here he is.”

The Peruvian reached them, and Edward made the introductions. Rodrigo bowed low over the marquesa’shand, and Edward felt a strange stirring of jealousy, which made no sense whatsoever as he had no hold, no say over this woman.

She, in turn, eyed Rodrigo with some interest.

“I hear you have spun some tales.”

“No tales, my lady. Simply truth.”

He proceeded to tell the same story he had to Edward, and this time, when she heard it from the man’s mouth himself, she seemed to believe it.

“You didn’t trust me?” Edward said, leaning back and away from her, affronted.

“He seems more credible,” she said with a shrug, and Edward couldn’t help but chuckle.

“I will change your mind about me,” he said, projecting confidence.

A subtle smile tipped up her lips. “We shall see.”

“I assume you are here to see if there is anything to discover near the docks,” Rodrigo said, and Edward nodded.

“I have found nothing, but perhaps the lady knows the land better than I do,” he said. “Would you like to come with us?”

Rodrigo shook his head. “I have found work for a time, and I must report in. I shall see you again soon, I hope?”

“Of course.”

They continued walking, and Edward couldn’t prevent his gaze from returning to Do?a Palencia.

“You treated him with a great deal of respect.”

“Why wouldn’t I?”

Edward shrugged. “He is nowhere near your station. He came here as a servant on the San Juan.”

“I am not so high on myself that I cannot converse with someone of a different social standing. Do you not feel the same?”

“I do, but not many of noble birth would agree.”

“It is their loss, then, for they are missing out on all of the goodness that people of all walks of life have to offer.”

They shared a smile and continued walking along the docks.

“Your friend is right, you know.”

“About what?”

“There is nothing to be found here by the docks. I cannot imagine any area that might provide space for a treasure of great size to be stored. If anything, I would guess that it was taken away somewhere inland, toward the hills and mountains where it might have been hidden away.”

He grinned at her. “You believe me, then.”

She shot him a look that told him he was right, although she wasn’t entirely happy about it herself.

“How are your boots holding up?” he asked her, quirking a brow, and she lifted her chin.

“Just fine. And yours?”

“Wonderfully,” he said jovially. “I always did appreciate a good walk. This one time, through the jungle of the?—”

She held up a hand, effectively stopping him. “I have no wish to hear your tales of past heroics. Experience has taught me that tales are just that – tales.”

“Tales can be true.”

“Or an utter lie,” she said, bitterness in her tone, telling him just how much she had been hurt in the past. He doubted he would ever earn her trust, as in the time it could take for him to do so he would likely be far gone from here.

“What’s the fastest way to get to the hills?”

“It would likely be best to ride,” she said after thinking for a moment.

“You ride?”

“Of course.”

“What are you doing tomorrow?”

Mariana pacedthe foyer the next day as she waited for the duke to arrive. It was an odd relationship they had begun to build. Were they friends? She wasn’t entirely sure, but what she did know was that she looked forward to their time together, even though she knew she should be distancing herself from him.

It was not that she didn’t have time for him – no, she had far too much time on her hands. But instead, it was the fact that he was from a country that most of her people hated, and if her brother-in-law found out about the time she was spending with the duke, it would give him far too much reason to return to San Sebastian and take back the house he had allowed her to live in unquestioned for so long.

It was time she made a plan for her future. But at the moment, the only option she had was to find another husband – which was completely opposed to her vow to never marry again.

She was at a crossroads. She had some decisions to make, decisions that would change her path forward forever.

But first, she was going on a ridiculous treasure hunt that she knew would result in nothing more than a nice day of riding.

“Ah, there you are,” she said in relief when the duke knocked on the front door. He appeared surprised to find her waiting for him, but she had grown so sick of her own thoughts that she welcomed his.

“Eager, are we?” he said with a sly smile, and she ignored him as she pushed past him out the door, leading him toward the stables.

She had told him yesterday that she could lend him a horse, and she debated between sending him out with either the feistiest of the bunch or the slowest.

She paused in the doorway of the stable, hands on her hips as she looked down the stalls, but he took the decision out of her hands when he started wandering down the aisle, stopping when he came to the beautiful brown Galician. He was one of the two horses that Mariana often rode, and the choice was surprising given its small stature compared to some of the others.

“I’ll take him,” the duke said, pointing to the stall. At the conviction in his tone, Mariana chose not to question him, instead finding her usual mare who possessed both speed and patience.

Mariana signalled to the stablemaster to saddle the horses, as a maid emerged from the house with the lunch Mariana had requested be packed for them.

“If you would like, I can ask one of the local men to show us around the hills,” Mariana offered, and the duke eyed her.

“How well do you know the hills?”

“I would like to think as well as any other guide.”

“Then you can show me,” he said, and she nodded as her horse was brought out. He eyed it with confusion.

“You do not ride side-saddle?”

“I do – when required,” she said, pausing before continuing, hoping he would understand the importance of what she was about to tell him. “But when I am with certain people, who I know will not share the secret, I prefer to ride astride – even if my riding habit prevents it from being completely desirable.”

Understanding dawned on his face as he nodded, accepting the trust, and then they started out.

At first they said nothing at all, but Mariana actually enjoyed the comfortable silence. Of course, birdsong, wind whistling through nearby gorges, and echoes of wildlife filled the air, providing its own melodic backdrop, and Mariana sensed a closeness with Edward that was akin to what she felt with some of her friends, such as Raquel, but this was different. This was a… charged closeness, and finally it became too much. She began to point out the landscape as they rode, their horses keeping a quick but leisurely pace.

They had ridden for what must have been just over an hour when the hills became closer, and Mariana began to actually think about the duke’s question and what he was searching for. The truth was, she wasn’t sure where her husband would hide something so substantial — if he did actually have anything to do with this — but the only place she could think of was near the mountainous areas.

“How would one transport the treasure there?” the duke asked when she told him.

She shrugged. “Wagon, likely. I’m sure we would have something in the stables that could have managed it, but Javier would never have been so stupid. At least, I don’t think he would have. If he was actually part of this, then I question everything I ever knew about him.”

“You don’t think he had it in him to do something like this?”

“Was he vindictive, traitorous enough? Yes, most likely. His only allegiance was to himself,” she said. “But while he was many things, I would never have called him a stupid man.”

“He was if he ever made you feel anything less than worthy,” Edward murmured, causing Mariana’s head to snap around and look toward him.

“What did you just say?”

“You heard me,” he said, his eyes daring her to accept this longing hovering in the air between them. “You deserve the world, and your husband was a fool for making you feel anything less than the prize you are.”

Her eyes met and held his intense blue stare, and Mariana couldn’t have said for certain what would have happened had their gazes remained locked as they were.

But she would never know, for that was when the first drop fell.