Fascination by Anne Hampson Page A

coldness of her husband towards her. For the past few days she had desired to be closer to him, to cement their friendship, but at the same time she had been deterred from making any approach because she had begun to wonder if he felt any real respect for her. Perhaps, deep within him, he despised her, feeling, as his sister did, that she was of low birth when compared to his own noble lineage, which, Hydee knew, could be traced back for a thousand years. ‘Please don’t ask me these questions, Carlos,’ she added pleadingly.
    ‘I shall question Gasper, then.’
    She lapsed into silence, and within a few minutes she was alone, her eyes misty, a weight on her heart which seemed almost to be physical.
    ***
    She wrote to Ellie the following day, her letter bright and full of news of the children, and in the end she mentioned the dinner party which Carlos was shortly to give. Hydee wrote lightly of the coming event, but she was quailing inwardly, convinced that it would be an ordeal which she would not forget in a hurry.
    And she was right. The massive dining salon of the Palacio was brilliant with lights, mostly concealed except for the candles on the long glittering table, set in silver‐gilt candelabra. Flowers in the centre were matched in miniature at the ladies’ places. Crystal, fine antique porcelain, hand‐embroidered napkins and table mats… Hydee had stood watching Ana and Jesuina putting the finishing touches to the table and knew without any doubt at all that she would be glad when the evening came to an end.

Chapter Eight
    It happened that the first two guests to arrive were Arminda and her mother, the older woman tall and erect, superbly dressed in a long black velvet gown trimmed with diamanté studs; she was regal, with all the arrogant confidence of a queen. She met Hydee’s gaze as they shook hands, and in the black depths Hydee read, unmistakably, a dark venomous hatred that sent an uncomfortable quiver running along her spine. Hydee flushed under the prolonged unsmiling stare and swallowed convulsively, wishing she were a thousand miles away. Arminda merely inclined her head and moved with the same regal grace as her mother, accepting the chair which Carlos offered to her. Immaculate in evening dress, he fitted in so perfectly that Hydee did not merely feel herself to be the odd one out but admitted quite freely that she was.
    ‘Whereabouts in England do you come from?’ Dona Lucia inquired in tones of icy politeness.
    Hydee told her, wondering if her voice sounded as strange to her listener as it did to her own ears. Arminda was talking to Carlos, who, having brought her a drink, bent to hand it to her, and their heads seemed to Hydee to be far too close. They were speaking quietly, with only a murmur crossing the room to reach Hydee. Arminda’s eyes were faintly accusing but wide and appealing, too.
    It was another ten minutes before the next guests arrived, and Hydee had in some measure calmed down by then, having made a tremendous effort to pull herself together. Her subconscious had warned her that unless she was to appear as totally characterless, she must keep up some kind of a front. She felt that Carlos ought to help her, but on the arrival of four additional friends he merely introduced her and went back to Arminda; he perched himself on the arm of her chair until the arrival of Isobella, who had come without her husband, the excuse being that he was unwell and had decided at the last minute to go to bed.
    Isobella seated herself next to Hydee on the cushioned sofa and waited for her drink to be served by Bento. Carlos, from his place in the middle of the room, watched his sister closely. Isobella began to chat to Hydee and to smile, and had she not been warned by Gasper, Hydee would have been at a loss to account for the change in the woman’s attitude towards her. As Gasper had predicted, Isobella did not intend to let her brother see just how much she disliked her new sister-in-law.