‘I thought you were in bed and asleep,’ she said.

‘I can’t sleep. I think and think about my lovely dress. I shall be the most beautiful bride.’

‘And after? Will he be a good husband?’

The girl shrugged. ‘He will take care of me, and I shall have lots of lovely new clothes.’

This was so nearly what Sebastian had said that Maggie was startled. There was something about Catalina’s prosaic attitude to her marriage that made the dreadful words die before they could be spoken. The next moment, she knew they would never be said. Catalina put her arms around Maggie’s neck and kissed her softly on the cheek. ‘I’m so happy you’re here,’ she said. ‘Nobody has ever been as good to me as you.’

She drifted away down the corridor. At her door, she stopped, blew Maggie a kiss, and slipped inside.

‘Oh, heavens!’ Maggie said to the silence.

‘Thank you.’

She whirled at the sound of Sebastian’s voice as he reached the top of the stair. ‘How long have you been there?’

‘Long enough to know that you might have betrayed me, and didn’t.’

‘For her sake, not for yours.’

‘I know that.’ In the dusky light of the corridor she could see that his face was gaunt and strained. ‘I behaved badly tonight. You are living under my roof-I forgot my honour, the honour of my house. If you will consent to remain, I give you my word that such a thing will not occur again.’ She hesitated and he said, ‘You will be safe, on my sacred word!’

‘Very well, I’ll stay. But hear this, Sebastian. I couldn’t give you away tonight, but I’ll still use every chance I have to undermine you in her eyes. Do you understand me? If I can talk her out of this wedding-I’ll do it.’

He inclined his head. ‘At least I can see the battle lines. I have no complaints.’

‘You may have if she jilts you.’

‘She won’t jilt me, because you’re too honourable to use your strongest weapon. I thank you, for that and for declaring war openly.’

‘As long as you remember that war is what it is.’

CHAPTER FIVE

‘OH, MAGGIE, it’s wonderful up here. I’m so glad we came!’

Laughing, Catalina flopped down into a seat on the terrace café and looked out over the snow. An energetic session on the piste had left her with bright eyes and glowing cheeks.

They had been three days in Sol y Nieve, the chief ski resort of the Sierra Nevada mountains. Here, surrounded by snow, they could be carefree for just a little time, and it was almost possible to forget Sebastian and all the turbulent emotions below. By day there was skiing and shopping, and in the evening there was good food, wine, and music.

A waiter brought them coffee and cream cakes. Watching the girl tuck in, Maggie said, ‘If you’re not careful, you won’t be able to get into your wedding dress.’

‘I eat anything and I never put on weight,’ Catalina said with a giggle. ‘It makes other women so mad.’ She leaned back with her eyes closed, letting the sun play on her face. She looked prettier than ever.

‘How did you ever persuade Sebastian to let me out of the cage?’ she asked, keeping her eyes closed.

Maggie regarded her wryly, no longer impressed by talk of cages. She knew now that this was Catalina’s ‘line’, and it would be dropped the next time she was enjoying being the star attraction in a big, glamorous, set piece.

‘There was no problem,’ she said. ‘He agreed to my suggestion at once.’

That was true, but there had been a silent subtext. She had gone to Sebastian the morning after their fierce encounter in the garden and told him flatly that she wanted to take Catalina away for a few days.

‘Is this really necessary?’ he’d asked mildly. ‘There’s much to do-and I gave you my word-’

‘I want to get out of this house for at least a week,’ she’d replied. When he still hesitated, she said quietly, ‘It is a question of honour.’

She knew those words had revealed something that would have been better kept secret. He would guess now that she wasn’t as immune to him as she’d claimed. But at the word ‘honour’ he’d nodded and agreed without further argument.

While she was getting ready to leave there was a phone call for her. It was José, to thank her for her help yesterday, and to ask her to meet him for coffee.

‘I’d love to, but it’ll have to wait until we return,’ she said.

‘You’re going away?’

‘Catalina and I are going up to Sol y Nieve for a few days skiing. I’ll call you when we get back,’ she promised.

An hour later the car departed, laden with five suitcases for Catalina and two for Maggie, to start the short journey up the mountain to the ski resort.

It had taken less than an hour for them to remove themselves into what felt like another world. Gone was the balmy air of the foothills, replaced by freezing temperatures and dazzling snow as far as the eye could see. In this cheerful place, where the tourist season was just under way, Maggie could lose herself in mindless activity, and forget that she’d come within an inch of doing something for which her conscience would have reproached her. Or at least, she could try to forget.

Skiing with Catalina could be frustrating. The girl was at home only on the ‘green’ and ‘blue’ runs, the two lowest rungs of difficulty. But Maggie had honed her skills on these mountains in the dark days of her marriage, when she scarcely cared what happened to her. From difficult ‘red’ runs she had progressed to hair-raising ‘black’. The Sierra Nevada had five black runs, two of them almost sheer drops, and she was longing to return to them, but with Catalina that was impossible.

When they had finished eating they began to head back in the direction of the ski lift. Suddenly she heard a voice call, ‘Hey, Maggie!’

Turning she saw two young men in ski clothes, making their way towards her. Against the blinding snow she didn’t recognise either of them until Catalina squealed with excitement, and cried, ‘José!’

‘Goodness, yes, it is,’ she said. ‘I wonder who the other boy is.’

José’s companion was an undistinguished looking youth with a slightly sloping chin and prominent eyes. He was extremely tall with long, awkward legs and no social graces whatever.

‘Allow me to introduce my friend Horacio,’ José said, when he’d approached them. ‘We are taking a brief skiing holiday.’

His eyes, meeting Maggie’s, were too innocent to be true, and an incredible thought came to her. Once, José had fancied himself in love with her. Surely it wasn’t possible that…?

‘Permit us to buy you both coffee,’ José offered smoothly.

‘We’ve just eaten, thank you,’ Maggie said. ‘We were about to return to the slopes.’

‘So were we. What a coincidence!’

‘Yes, isn’t it?’ she said, her lips twitching.

The four of them skied together for the rest of the day, and after that it seemed natural to meet up for a meal that evening. By now Horacio was smitten by Catalina, and goofily unable to hide it. The girl’s natural kindness stopped her snubbing him too firmly. Luckily he turned out to be a good dancer, so she was able to keep him content with a few energetic turns about the floor. This left Maggie and José together at the table.

‘Where on earth did you find him?’ she chuckled.

‘He works for me. He’s a good lad, but he doesn’t have much social life, so when I hauled him up here he jumped at it.’ He smiled at her outrageously. ‘Well, I could hardly come on my own. And, now that I’m here-’ He held out his hands invitingly.

She laughed and let him lead her onto the floor, discovering that she was in the mood for a harmless flirtation. They danced together a couple of times, then everyone changed partners and she found herself with Horacio. The next few minutes were a trial, as he kept trying to look over his shoulder at Catalina. The sight of her happily dancing and giggling with José reduced him to anguish. Maggie was glad when it was time for them all to say goodnight.

In the privacy of their suite, the two young women indulged themselves in a hearty burst of laughter.

‘If only he’d stick to dancing, everything would be fine,’ Catalina gasped. ‘But he will talk about balance sheets and import regulations.’ She went off in another convulsion of mirth, and Maggie joined her. It made a good end to an enjoyable day.

The four of them spent the next morning wandering around the town on a shopping expedition. It was an enchanted place, covered in snow and full of coloured lights. Dazzling Christmas trees stood on every corner, the shop windows were packed with gifts, and silver bells hung overhead. Maggie and José had gotten a little ahead of the other two when it was time to return to the hotel, and they walked up the steps and into the reception area together. There Maggie stopped, astonished.

‘Good afternoon, Señora Cortez,’ Sebastian said affably.

‘Señor, I had no idea that you meant to come here.’

‘The snow reports are encouraging, and as both Alfonso and myself are keen skiers, we couldn’t resist.’

Alfonso, a little way behind, inclined his head courteously. Maggie brought José forward and there were murmured greetings all round.

‘I wonder if that was the only reason,’ she challenged Sebastian. ‘If I was suspicious, I might think you were checking up on me.’

‘And if I was suspicious, I might ask you where your charge is. There seems to be no sign of Catalina.’

‘She’ll be here in a moment. We’ve all been on a shopping trip.’

‘All?’

‘José’s friend is also with us. He’ll be arriving with Catalina in a moment.’

Sebastian frowned. ‘And you’ve permitted them to be alone together?’

‘As alone as anyone can be in this place.’

A hint of amusement in her manner made him bite back whatever he might have said, and the next moment Catalina appeared, accompanied by what seemed to be a mountain of parcels on beanpole legs. She waved to them and took hold of the mountain’s arm, guiding it gently in the right direction and causing it to halt just in time. The removal of the top two parcels revealed Horacio, puffed, amiable and red-faced.