Page 42 of Once Upon a Reckless Rogue

The old women looked her up and down, whispered to each other, and then regarded Elena before them.

“You look like her,” one of them said, but the tone was not complimentary. Thomas worried that this conversation might not go the way that Elena had hoped.

“Around the eyes,” another woman said, and they all nodded together. “Your grandmother lived here once but she is dead now.” And all three women crossed themselves.

Thomas saw Elena’s shoulders slump. “Oh, I’m sorry to hear that. I would have liked to have met her.”

“She would not have spoken to you. Your mother left her bitter.”

“I see. I believe my mother returned here after leaving my father. Do you know what happened to her?”

The three women all looked at each other. “Why? It is too late to chase her now.”

“I am not chasing after her. I just…wanted to know more about her.”

“Why would you want to know about a woman who left you? I assure you she did not worry over you.”

“Please. Anything you can remember.”

“Angelina came here, yes, convinced her parents to travel with them to Portugal. The trader said it was too dangerous to stay, that the French were coming and that he would rather be tucked away in another country where he could trade without fear. And then they left. That is all.”

“How come my grandmother did not go with them?”

“She said that a man who takes another man’s wife could not be trusted. That God would strike them down for their sins. She died praying for their souls, but I doubt they spent any time praying for her. You were better off without her.”

“Thank you, señoras.”

“Is this your husband? Were you hoping to stay here?” the tallest of the three said. “You could have a claim to your grandmother’s house, but you would have to see el alcalde and prove you really are the granddaughter of Maria Fortuna. He lives in the house on the hill.” With that, she pointed to the impressive villa.

“Gracias,” Thomas said as he guided Elena away from the women. “I’m sorry your grandmother has passed.”

Elena shrugged. “She was old and I doubted she would have told me more than the old women. I did not know her. You heard what they said; she would not have spoken to me anyway.”

“If you want to stay, we can go and see the alcalde about the house.”

“I’m not sure yet. Besides, how do I prove who I am? I have no papers to show him, and my birth record is in the church back where we came from.” Shaking her head, she looked around the village. “We should have gone around as you suggested.” She touched his arm softly, like a caress, as she passed and went back towards the donkey.

He stood stunned for a moment. “Perhaps, if we went and just had a look at the house? Maybe it has a garden where you can grow your plants for your medicine.” She said nothing, which worried him. He had given up trying to guess what she might be thinking. Instead, he followed her back to the donkey. “It is a nice place, and the sea is not that far away.”

“Yes, it is very nice,” she said and took the donkey’s lead.

“Where are you going?”

“I think we should stay just outside town. You can go to the tavern and see if there is any talk of the French or…me. The old women will have the whole village informed as to who I am by the time the sun goes down.”

“I’m not going to leave you alone.”

“I’ll have the donkey.”

All that was true, and he should make sure the French were still days ahead of them. It would have been perfect if she had a ready-made home waiting for her, if she could have convinced the alcalde that she was indeed Maria Furtuna’s granddaughter. The elderly women had told her she looked like her mother, so that was one thing in her favor.

“Are you disappointed?”

“I think I knew it would be so. I had hoped for a cousin at least.”

“You could have cousins here. They only talked of your grandmother.”

“I’m tired. Can we talk more about this later?”