Chapter Twelve
Lucinda had sought to deal with Manolo and his sometimes absurd eccentricities in the months that followed, but life was becoming hard. The ferocity of the spankings he administered was worse than ever. This, as much as his fixation with Gaditano, threatened the very core of their relationship. The existence of their marriage was at stake, yet she endured. She at least tried not to do anything that would bring about a verified punishment, but this game was about to run its course.
It was January of the new year that Manolo announced he was taking a week off from his bullfighting schedule. He was fresh off a triumph in Mexico City and said he had business to do that would require a trip to Nogales again. He did not look pleased when Lucinda said she planned to go, too.
The
