Family or Love?

Chapter 2

Some of her courage drained away, turning into the driveway she registered the extereme grandeur of the house, how on earth did she get the nerve to come here? Faced with the silvery grey stone;the house was large dignified even though it was old and recently renovated, large windows stared out from the ground floor and the upstairs rooms were balconied with spacious glass doors and stone balustrades,wide rounded steps swept up to oak front doors.

As she drove her Mini up to the front of the house she noticed that the property is well kept, grounds with lawns,pine trees and well shaped shrubs displaying even on this bleak early June day.

Her hand trembled a little as she parked alongside a black Porsche and a gleaming Rolls Royce and she had to remind herself sternly that she was only here for her brother Craig.He needed her help she reminded herself as she pulled the letter from her pocket and placed it safely in her shoulder bag.

With her hands clenched inside her coat pockets,she walked firmly up to the front entrance and rang the doorbell. The doo was opened by a woman of about sixty, with greying brown hair and friendly eyes,she smiled,an enquiry hovering over her lips but before she could voice it Jacintha beat her to it:"I am Miss Jacintha Dawn.I have an appointment to see Mr Montero at three o'clock. I called this morning."

The woman, whom Jacintha assumed was an employee of the Monetero's, showed Jacintha in and offered her a seat in a wide panelled hall,returning a moment later to say 'Master Gabriel will see you as soon as possible, May I take your coat for you?'

Master Gabriel? Jacintha had come to see Mr Luke Montero. She sighed, confused was she being fobbed off with some employee? Well there was nothing she could do about it now;she had learned recently that with rich and powerful the best one could do was to put up a fight, which was why she was here

With nothing to do but wait,her mind drifted back to France and she flushed to remember what a fool she had been in her previous encounter with a man of means. She treied to force Alec Gray from her mind but even so her cheeks burned at the memory and realised that her pride was still bruised.

The time crept slowly by and three quarters of an hour later she was still waiting,tense and very tired she hardly slept since she had been back at the cottage and her whole body ached.

How typical of these kind of people she thought angrily.

They were all the same, just like Alec Gray,they cared for nothing except for themselves.

Aunt Betty had thought so highly of the Montero family, insisting to both Jacintha and her brother that they were fair minded people and would give any reasonable business proposition a fair hearing. Well Aunt Betty must have turned in her grave this morning when the letter had come in and not now Jacintha thought resentfully,they were arrogant enough to keep her wait for hours even though she'd made an appointment.

Her nerves were almost at breaking point when the woman returned and took Jacintha through a door and down the deep carpeted passageway, after tapping at the door of the room at the end she indicated that Jacintha should go in, announcing ' Miss Jacintha Dawn Master Gabriel'

Jacintha found herself in what appeared to be a study used as an office. It was tastefully furnished with a deep red carpet and low comfortable looking tan leather chairs. The walls were lined with books and there was a large leather topped desk by the window.

Sitting behind his desk , surveying Jacintha intently with raised brows ,was a young man who caused Jacintha's protest about her long wait to die un-uttured. It was not so much that he was unusually handsome as he certainly is was but that he was so much younger than she'd expected also on first glance he reminded her forcefully of Alec Gray. She stared, blinked, tried to stop herself trembling and stared again, secondly she noted with relief that there was no resemblance to Alec except a similarity in age and self assurance.

The man's piercings blue gaze settled on her,as he said in an attractive well modulated voice: "You may have a seat Miss Dawn,I humbly apologize for keeping your waiting, but I am behind schedule this afternoon".

Jacintha found her voice at last though she still eyed him suspiciously.

"I think there must be a mistake,I have an appointment with Mr Luke Montero and I will not be fobbed off with someone less than him,I am not trying to be rude but it is important to me." Her face was flushed,her brown eyes bright with anger and her full lips pressed together.

Gazing at her with cool curiosity the unknown man replied with coolness: " I can assure you that you are not 'fobbed off' with anyone,I am Mr Montero." His eyes softened slightly and became appreciative as they took in her heart shaped face and the rich Chestnut hair that tumbled down over the swell of her breast. Feeling flustered and unsure of herself,she battled on.'I wouldn't dream of arguing with you , but I do know Mr Montero is quite bit older than you. I grew up in a village not too far from here and I have known of the family for years.'

Her voice petered out and then she added rather lamely; 'anyway you were called Master Gabriel by the lady who showed me in.' She could not take her eyes off him, but she was angered by what she saw; she had hoped for a white haired man with understanding eyes,this man is a total opposite;he was young and black haired with disturbing blue eyes,he was too self assured......a man of the world mmm a smoothie in fact!

He was already speaking ."Obviously you expected to see my father instead but I am afraid he is at the moment indisposed. I am Gabriel Montero.Mrs Walter my father's housekeeper insisist on the Master or young Master being brought up in the old school. I am at present looking after all my father's business affairs,so I fear you will have to put up with me or nobody.He shrugged,leaned back in his chair and swivelled gently back and forth, surveying her still rigidly standing form with amusement. "Will you please sit down Miss Dawn?".

Awed inspite of herself by his authorative tone, she obeyed.

'May we please get to the point of your call?' Gabriel Montero asked brusquely. 'I am a very busy man.' He flicked a glance at a gold wrist watch emphasizing his claim.

Jacintha jerked upright in the low chair, stung by his tone,it was too harsh; first the Montero company had treated her brother unfairly,then this man kept her waiting for long and on top of it all the very same man was making it obvious she was a nuisance. With a spurt of fury she wrenched the letter from her bag, struggled up from the chair and handed him the envelope. 'I came about this.' she said.

He read the letter then said enquiringly, 'So! What about it?'

'It was sent by your company to my brother , surely you see how grossly unfair it is to reject his application for a business loan without even granting him an interview?'

As he looked at her his eyes hardened and his lips tightened, 'Why is it unfair decision,the recipient of that letter apparently your brother is asking for a loan to buy a music shop and admits to having no collateral security,as he has explained in the letter he lives in rented accommodation on a joint tenancy rented from us,he simply doesn't have any thing at all to back up his application?'

He stopped as Jacintha snatched the letter from his desk and stuffed it back in her bag. Her eyes were dark with hurt and anger as she flung out at him, 'But my brother doesn't want something out of nothing.The loan Will be repaid at the usual interest,he approached your father instead of a loan shark because of we have been brought up to believe that the Montero's name was one we could trust,as I told you we have lived most of our lives near here it was logical for Graig to come to your father and ask for help, I have been away to help him send it in.

She pushed her hair back in a desperate gesture from her face. 'If Graig can't buy the shop I don't know what he would do.He has been running it for years and if it goes to a new owner.....He works with his wife and they plan on living in the flat above.'

'Tell me,Miss Dawn why is it you don't allow your brother to speak for himself, maybe he could have a little bit of common Sense?' Besides the anger she is feeling she decided to ignore his insults- it was of no importance at the moment. At last she said:'My brother doesn't know yet that his application has been turned down. I was hoping I would not have to tell him-that perhaps I could persuade you to Change your mind.'

The man at the desk gave a humourless laugh. 'My word, you look far too young and innocent to be the domineering sister- I would not have seen you as the type to open someone's mail.'