Beautiful Rose

CHAPTER 1 “Fight me, you bastard!” Esteban shouted, throwing a punch at his former schoolmate. “No, I won’t fight,” Vidal retorted, neither retreating nor retaliating. The blow hit his shoulder, knocking him back two steps. “You knew she was mine,” Esteban bellowed. “You tried to take her from me.” Vidal held up both hands, urging calm. “No, you’re wrong. I had no idea. She said you left her ages ago. If I had known, I would never have courted her. She came to me.” Esteban’s gritted teeth resembled the snarl of a lion. “Liar. Are you implying she was false to me?” “I imply nothing,” Vidal said. “I’m only telling you the truth. I didn’t know you and she were still betrothed, I swear it. Come on, Esteban, let’s stop fighting and talk.” “No, I won’t listen to you.” All around the harvest festival, the revelers had stopped to stare at the spectacle of their boss, wealthy landowner Vidal Salazar, trying to talk down his hot-tempered former friend, Esteban Medrano. The soldier threw another punch, at Vidal’s face this time. Vidal dodged. Thrown off balance, Esteban stumbled, landing on the dry stalk of an already harvested grapevine. The golden leaves crackled under his weight. It would have been the perfect opportunity for Vidal to knock him down, to end the fight, but he didn’t. “Fight, damn you,” Esteban howled. “No. I won’t fight,” Vidal insisted. “This isn’t the way.” Esteban paused. “Why won’t you fight me?” Vidal grimaced. “What purpose would it serve? It’s up to the lady to choose her man, don’t you think? Now, if you would just settle down, we can answer this question quickly. Señorita Flores, come here, please. We have a question to ask you.” The dark beauty broke free of the crowd of onlookers, head high. Vidal’s heart beat faster at the sight of her. Dios mío, she’s beautiful. “There seems to be a question, querida, over which man is your intended. Now, I know you and your father agreed that you would marry me, but Señor Medrano is under the impression you made similar promises to him. Would you please explain to us both exactly who you plan to marry?” She looked from one man to the other, considering. In the silence, a little breeze sprang up. The leaves and stems of the vineyard murmured loudly in the uncomfortable silence. At last she spoke. “Well, that’s hard to say.” Esteban gaped at her. “Carmen, what do you mean? We’ve been engaged for two years.” She tossed her head, sending a wisp of black hair dancing on the breeze. “Yes, but ever since you decided to join the army, you’ve had no time for me. Now that the Queen is gone, will things be different, Esteban? Will you continue to pursue glory and ignore me, even to the point of pursuing other women if they can better support your cause? Don Vidal here pays me a great deal of attention, and he’s wealthier than you. Look at all that would be mine if I married him instead.” Esteban’s face crumpled. “You can’t love him. You don’t even know him.” Carmen refused to back down. “I’ve gotten to know him over these last few months. He is quite the desirable gentleman. It wouldn’t be hard to love the life he’s offering me. What do you have to offer instead?” The life? Damnation, it is about my wealth. Vidal gulped. A sensation of icy cold swirled in the pit of his belly. I don’t like the direction this is going. Esteban’s expression turned unguarded and sorrowful. “Nothing to compete with this. A villa by the sea with the man who loves you.” At last, she met the dark eyes of the impassioned soldier. “Do you love me, Esteban? Do you really? You haven’t shown it in a long time.” He hung his head in shame. “I know. I was caught up in the war. You can’t imagine what that was like, Carmen. It was b****y, terrifying, and glorious, but now it’s over. There’s nothing left to draw me away. Come with me, querida. Let me take you to the sea, to my home in Cádiz. We can be married right away.” He extended his hand. She gave him a long look and then, without a backward glance at Vidal, placed her hand in his. Vidal stared after the departing couple, numb with shock. “My life will never be the same,” he murmured under his breath as he watched Esteban lead Carmen away forever. His servants, horrified at the unexpected turn of events, fled in silence. And he was alone. But Vidal was not as alone as he thought. A slender woman with brilliant green eyes walked quietly over to where he stood and laid her hand on his arm. He jumped and then whirled around to face the one who had dared to intrude upon his solitude. “Qué quieres?” he asked rudely, his tone was soft but icy. Barely suppressed emotion turned his voice raw. She winced. “Tell me what I can do to help.” Vidal stared for a long moment, struggling to understand Rosalind’s sudden appearance, but he couldn’t summon up an ounce of patience, even for someone he considered a friend. “I doubt that anything can help at this point. Just leave me alone.” He turned away. She laid a hand on his arm. “Surely there must be something, anything. Only let me try.” I want to be alone, damn it. Why on earth does she keep insisting? “There is nothing, Señorita, thank you.” He spoke more gently now. “Please just leave.” “At least let me keep you company,” she insisted. “It’s not good for you to be alone.” Giving him no chance to argue, she took his hand, leading him back through the orchards stripped of their luscious fruit, the bare vineyards, the stubbly fields, toward his house. He allowed it. He had no will left to fight, so he followed her blindly, oblivious to the strong Spanish sun, the teasing hint of a cool breeze, the rich smells of the food which had been prepared for the now-canceled festival. His beloved home—smooth white stucco with a tan tile roof and a tall row of red bricks along the ground—barely registered on his senses as he passed through heavy square doors he had spent so many hours selecting. He felt like a ghost. None of it mattered. He wondered vaguely if this whole wretched situation was nothing more than a terrible dream. Surely, I’ll wake up and find Carmen still here, Esteban still away in the army, and me still a soon-to-be-husband instead of the thirty-four-year-old bachelor with no prospects I’ve just become. I’ve waited my whole life for a woman like Carmen. What wrong with me? Surely my wealth alone should have been enough. Perhaps the temptation of my money and property caused her to lead me on all this time. Vidal snapped back to reality when Rosalind pressed him into a familiar leather chair in his study, where the two of them had spent so many hours working together. Her choice made sense. Both of them felt comfortable in this private place, far from the memory of Carmen and her treachery. Rosalind dragged her chair from its usual position at her dainty roll-top desk, across the room. Sinking to a seat beside Vidal, she took his hand in hers. After a long moment, she said softly, “How are you feeling, Vidal?” She managed to startle him, dropping his title. Several blinking moments passed before he registered her question. “How the hell do you think I feel?” he growled at last. “The woman I love just left me for another man.” “I imagine you feel angry, sad and probably a little unworthy,” she replied softly. “Both of the first are understandable, but not the last. You are the best of men, Vidal.” “Then why did she leave? Why? What did I neglect to do, to say?” He tossed his free hand into the air. “Nothing. You did nothing wrong. She is the unworthy one, not you.” The brilliant eyes pleaded with him. He didn’t believe her. He could see she realized it because she tried again. “You are a perfect gentleman. Any woman of intelligence would want you.” On a distant level, he appreciated what she was trying to do. Though I would have preferred to wallow in misery, this is probably better for me. If I have to have company, Rosalind is the best option. He squeezed her hand gently, and then laced his fingers through hers. For many minutes they sat side by side in silence, knee to knee, clasping each other’s hands as she sought to draw all of his pain into herself. “What has happened to you, my dear one?” she asked tenderly. “How did this woman hurt you so much? Who is she? Where did she come from? You haven’t summoned me to translate any documents in ages. I feel like I’ve missed the last half-year of your life, and the gossip… Oh, God, Vidal. I never knew if I could believe a word of it.” She bit her lip, and he saw it trembled. Rubbing her nose, she blinked hard, and when she opened the lids, her eyes shone with tears. Why this sorrow? I never knew such eyes as hers. “I’ve been so distracted,” he said lamely. “I hope my business doesn’t suffer… for nothing.” He shook his head. “What a disaster. I can’t believe I… no, never mind.” “Tell me,” Rosalind begged as she held his hand in hers. “I don’t want to talk about it.” Vidal turned his face away. She brought him back with caressing fingers on his cheek. “Holding it all in won’t help you heal. Please.”