Fascination by Anne Hampson Page B

Later, however, she said softly, an invidious note in her voice, ‘Well, do you now accept that you’re totally out-of-place here?’
    ‘I’m Carlos’s wife,’ returned Hydee stiffly through whitened lips. Isobella’s answer to this was merely a sneer.
    Ines and her husband, Francisco, arrived and were formally presented to Hydee, who realised at once that Isobella had been talking to them, because their eyes swept her with contempt. A nanny, they were thinking—a servant and yet a relative.
    Other guests arrived, including one of Carlos’s aunts, an overweight woman with silver hair piled high on her head and a face as arrogant as the rest. Her handclasp was damp and limp.
    ‘So you’re the English girl we’ve all been brought here to see.’ Her pale protuberant eyes slid with cold hauteur from the top of Hydee’s head to her feet, and a deep sigh escaped the woman before, turning away, she spoke to one of the other guests, saying, ‘Ah, Antonia, how are you? And how are your charming children?’
    So much for the snub. How many more would come her way before the evening was out? wondered Hydee.
    But at last, just when she was telling herself that he would not come, Gasper arrived, his tall striking figure clad in an off-white suit with a frilled shirt and a black bow tie. He stood for a moment by the door, his eyes scanning the room until they settled on Hydee’s flushed face. With no more than a nod to his cousin, he strode through the brilliant throng of guests until he reached her side.
    ‘Hydee,’ he greeted her, his ready smile succeeding in its intent to lift her spirits and bring a swift, winning response to lips that had been quivering only seconds ago. His hands came out to clasp hers; he bent to brush her cheek with his lips. ‘How charming you look!’ he exclaimed. ‘Blue is definitely your colour.’ His eyes met hers in a steady and reassuring gaze. Her own eyes, limpid and appealing, thanked him, but she spoke, too, saying with a dignity and assurance she had lacked from the moment of the appearance of the first two guests, ‘Thank you, Gasper. I’m so glad to see you arrive.’
    ‘I’m flattered, my dear.’ For a fleeting second he let his eyes dart to Isobella’s face, and then, deliberately turning his back on her, and keeping hold of Hydee’s hand, he led her over to a vacant couch and they sat down.
    Bento came at once, speaking in Portuguese. Gasper answered in English, haughtily, as if admonishing Bento for not being more polite to his mistress.
    ‘Dry sherry, Bento.’ Gasper looked at Hydee. ‘For you?’
    ‘I left my drink over there.’
    ‘Bento will get you another.’
    His smile was inordinately attractive, filling his eyes with warmth.
    ‘Has she said anything to you?’ he wanted to know when Bento had gone, and he inclined his head in Isobella’s direction so that there could be no question as to whom he meant.
    ‘She’s… insulting, Gasper….’ Hydee’s voice trailed off because she knew she ought not to be saying such things to Gasper; it was disloyal to Carlos, who seemed to be quite fond of his sister.
    ‘In what way?’ asked Gasper softly. ‘Tell me about it.’
    She shook her head. ‘It doesn’t matter—’ she began, but he interrupted her.
    ‘Certainly it matters. Carlos didn’t bring you here to be insulted by his relatives. She’s poison, always has been if she can’t get all her own way. She set her heart on a match between her friend Arminda and Carlos, and it hasn’t come off. She’s seething but helpless.’ Gasper leant closer because Arminda’s mother had sauntered over and was standing rather close, for no apparent reason. ‘Isobella never lets anything rest, and she’ll continue to insult you. Don’t let her acid tongue upset you,’ he advised, his mouth close to her ear. ‘And always remember, Hydee, that you have at least one friend in this family—me. Tomorrow, when Carlos is away, I shall call for you and show you