‘Oh, did he?’
‘Yes.’ Domine hesitated. ‘He also suggested that we might consider—offering Lisel a home here, until—until she finds her feet.’
Mark scowled, but she could see the agile brain working. ‘Offer Lisel a home here,’ he echoed broodingly. ‘While we do—what?’
‘You know Mr Villiers would give you a job,’ Domine ventured cautiously, but Mark vetoed that suggestion straight away.
‘What? Me work for old Villiers! You’ve got to be joking!’
‘Why?’ Domine stuck to her guns. ‘Despite Grandpa’s opinion of you, you do know quite a lot about the business. If you went to work for Mr Villiers, you would eventually get his job. And in a few years——’
‘Oh, yes.’ Mark’s tone was ironic. ‘In a few years, I might work myself into the position I occupy now!’
‘No.’ Domine pursed her lips. ‘Mark, you don’t have any position now, and you know it.’
‘Lisel doesn’t.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘You remember what I said last night? Lisel knows nothing about the mills. As you’ve just pointed out, I do. Why shouldn’t I become her managing director? Boss in everything but name.’
‘The board would never agree.’
Mark’s scowl returned. ‘Why not? They won’t be able to stop me, if I have Lisel’s backing.’
Domine shook her head. ‘You’re completely unscrupulous, aren’t you?’
Mark shrugged. ‘Just practical, that’s all. Exactly what you asked me to be.’
Domine made a frustrated gesture. ‘Aren’t you forgetting Señor Aguilar. We still don’t know what his interest is. What if he plans to come back to England with Lisel? To help her——’
Mark’s balled fist smote the palm of his hand. ‘You don’t really believe that, any more than I do. In any case, it’s up to you now, to persuade Lisel that she doesn’t need any outside help. That her—long-lost family are more than willing to do everything they can to make things easy for her.’
‘Me?’ exclaimed Domine in dismay. ‘Up to me? Oh, no, Mark. You can’t expect me to persuade her to put her trust in you. Besides, I don’t suppose she’d believe me. She knows Grandpa left the business to her because he didn’t trust you. She’s not a fool, you know, only shy.’
Mark snorted. ‘I doubt whether the subleties of the situation have even occurred to her,’ he retorted. ‘And your friend Aguilar doesn’t seem the type to spread that kind of rumour.’
‘He’s not my friend,’ said Domine crossly, munching a ginger biscuit with more vehemence than enjoyment.
‘Isn’t he?’ Mark was guessing again. ‘It was you he invited to lunch, not me.’
‘He invited us both for dinner,’ Domine countered shortly, remembering her intention of wearing the black satin cat-suit. That could wait, however, she decided sensibly. She would take it with her to Peru, though. There might be another occasion.
They drove to the hotel that evening in Mark’s Mercedes. His enthusiasm for her trip was increasing by the minute, but Domine’s doubts were just as fertile. It might have been easier if she had felt some emotion towards the girl she was going to meet; resentment or curiosity, or both. But being absolutely honest with herself, she had to admit that without Luis Delgado Aguilar’s intervention, she would never have agreed to such a request.
Her choice of gown that evening mirrored her intention to show him that she was not the tiresome child he so obviously thought her. Like the cat-suit, it was black, but its draped chiffon bodice and flowing skirts were unmistakably feminine. It left most of her slender arms bare, and she wore a broad slave bracelet on her forearm, to complement the slim gold chain about her neck. Her hair was coiled into a swathed knot on top of her head, and even Mark had commented on the elegance of her appearance.
Luis Aguilar was waiting for them in the foyer this evening, suave and immaculate in his dinner jacket, the long powerful legs carrying him swiftly to greet them. If he found Domine’s appearance appealing, he made no show of it, summoning an attendant to take her velvet cape, before leading the way into the dining room.
‘You will forgive me if I do not offer you a drink first, Temple,’ he said, as they approached a table set for four. ‘But my other guest does not drink alcohol, and I do not care to keep her waiting.’
It was then that Domine saw the other woman already seated at the table. She was also dark, like their host, with the same kind of sheen to her cap of dark hair. Domine estimated her age to be around thirty, but she had one of those ageless Spanish faces that could have been any age from thirty to forty. High cheekbones, and a finely-sculpted mouth, a black gown, like Domine’s, only different in the respect that she showed very little of her magnolia pale skin, and a tall slender body as she rose, that dwarfed Domine’s five feet and four inches. Whoever she was, she would curtail Mark’s plans to spend the evening ingratiating himself with Luis Aguilar, Domine thought rather spitefully, angry herself that he should show so much respect to this woman, and so little to her.
‘Allow me to present Lisel’s cousins, Inez,’ he was saying now, as the woman’s lips parted in a polite smile. ‘This is my sister, Miss Temple,’ he explained, meeting Domine’s incredulity with sardonic eyes. ‘She is staying in London at the moment, and I invited her to join us this evening.’
Inez Aguilar—Domine could only think of her as unmarried, as she did not mention a husband—had little to say for herself. When she did speak, she addressed herself to Mark, asking him about his likes and dislikes in the way of food and entertainment, emitting little about her own activities. She seemed quite content to sit back and allow her brother to dominate the conversation, and he did so, talking about general things mostly, giving Mark little opportunity to introduce a more personal note.
The meal was excellent. Domine had seafood, and steak, and finished with puree of strawberries, served with ice-cream. She had a good appetite, and seldom had to worry about her figure. Occasionally, if she thought she was gaining an extra inch, she went on a diet of crackers and lemon juice for a couple of days, but she was always glad when she could revert to her normal eating habits.
She was aware of Inez Aguilar watching her from time to time throughout the meal, but it was not until the coffee was served that she addressed herself to her.
Then she said: ‘My brother tells me you are to visit Peru, Miss Temple. To meet with your cousin, no? I am sure Lisel will be delighted to meet one of her own countrywomen.’
Domine felt this was open to discussion, but she nodded, and answered: ‘That’s right. I’m—er—I’m looking forward to it. I’ve never visited South America before.’
Inez wiped her lips with her napkin and then dropped it on the table. ‘You—you will probably find it much different from your expectations,’ she said at last. ‘Not only are we in another hemisphere, we seem also to be in another century.’
‘I think Miss Temple is aware of that, Inez,’ remarked her brother drily. ‘Will you have some cognac, Temple? I can recommend the St Helena. Napoleon’s best, I believe.’
Domine cast a resentful look in his direction, but he was summoning the waiter, and taking the opportunity, she asked: ‘Do you and your brother live in Puerto Limas, señora?’
If he had heard her question there was nothing he could do about it, for the waiter had taken his full attention, and Inez answered without hesitation.
‘My brother’s house is just outside