ISLAND FIESTA 131 with her mind far away. At least she was happy, Corinne thought, and surely that was enough to be going on with. Her frown deepened. Juan Martel held the whip-hand now, but should he make Joy unhappy Corinne's small chin lifted and her dark blue eyes blazed she would make him rue the day he ever set eyes on her, let alone forced her to marry him !

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  AFTER dinner that evening, Carmen made a welcome visit. Welcome, because an oppressive atmosphere had prevailed throughout the meal. Joy for once was quiet, wrapped up in her own world of designs, for Juan had promised to supply her with the drawing paper she required, and which had been delivered shortly before dinner and she was longing to get down to work.

  It was up to Corinne to keep the conversation going, but although she tried hard to forget her latest grievance over the way she had been ordered to wear the dress Juan had bought for her, it still rankled, and all her replies to his questions were stiff-sounding and over-polite.

  When he introduced her to the various dishes laid out for their consumption, explaining how fish made up a good proportion of the daily fare, for there was an abundance of seafood to be had on the island, Corinne hoped that her expression of polite interest successfully hid her innermost thoughts, for while

  132 ISLAND FIESTA she listened, her dark blue eyes scrutinised the hard features of the stranger she had married.

  If he was aware of this scrutiny he gave no sign of it, but there was a certain look lurking at the back of his grey eyes that made Corinne concentrate a little harder on what he was telling her than she might otherwise have done.

  Carmen's arrival was extremely well timed, as far as Corinne was concerned anyway, and Joy of course was just as pleased to see her, but for a different reason.

  When the women settled down to chat, Juan left them to it with an amused, 'One, maybe two, I can take in my stride, but three's enough to call my urgent attention elsewhere ! '

  `Look who's always telling me I can't leave the business ! ' Carmen called towards his vanishing back, and then turned back to the sisters with a satisfied smile. 'He's right, of course, and he wouldn't be interested in our gossip. Now what have you seen today ?' she asked.

  'We went to that market you spoke about,' Joy answered swiftly, and got up. `Juan bought us a caftan each. I'll show you mine,' and going to get it she cast a wicked look at Corinne as she left the room. 'Corinne's hidden hers, but if you speak to her nicely, I expect she'll show you it ! ' she said gaily.

  Corinne frowned at the door Joy had just gone through, then turned to find Carmen's amused eyes on her. 'The gift annoyed you, then ?' she asked with a certain amount of interest in her voice.

  Corinne held her hands up in a gesture that said more than words. 'I didn't want him to buy me anything,' she said quietly, only realising how odd that

  ISLAND FIESTA 133 must have sounded to Carmen, for Juan was her husband, but it was too late to retract her words now, and she was only thankful that Juan was not present to witness her confusion.

  To her relief, Carmen did not comment on this, but gave Corinne a sympathetic smile and leant over towards her and patted her arm in a motherly way. `Juan's a law unto himself,' she said softly. 'Accept him as he is, my dear. Don't fight him, you won't win. He's too used to getting his own way.'

  Corinne's wondering eyes searched Carmen's earnest brown ones. If her statement had been slightly odd, then Carmen's had been even odder, and it occurred to Corinne that she had made her own deductions over the sudden marriage of her stepson, and for one awful second Corinne wondered if she knew the truth and looked away hastily and stared at her hands now clasped tightly together.

  Had Juan told her ? she wondered miserably, and if so, what must she think of her ? Let alone the despicable part she had played in ascertaining Clair's inheritance.

  By that time Joy had returned with the caftan, and she and Carmen went into a huddle over the material, leaving Corinne to her own musings, and it was only after she had recalled that Carmen had known nothing of the marriage at their first meeting that she was able to breathe a sigh of relief, for there had been no opportunity for Carmen to have a private word with Juan since then, and it was hardly a subject to be discussed over the telephone !

  The evening sped by, and at ten-thirty Joy was finding it hard to keep awake, although she hated to admit it. Carmen, however, sent her off to bed with a

  134 ISLAND FIESTA promise that she would offer to take them on the tour of the shopping centre, an offer, she said with a smile, that would be gratefully accepted by Juan.

  To Corinne's annoyance Joy, before she went to bed, again mentioned the caftan that Corinne had tucked away in her wardrobe, saying, 'Show it to Carmen, Corinne. I'm sure she'll agree that you ought to wear it to that party Juan's going to take you to,' then blew her a kiss and left.

  At the mention of a party, Carmen looked interested. 'Whose party ?' she queried, and Corinne told her of the meeting that morning with Miguel Blanco and the subsequent invitation.

  'And Juan agreed ?' asked Carmen with raised brows, adding half to herself, 'That's odd.'

  Corinne gave a light shrug. 'He said something about someone called Dolores wanting to meet me,' she added, and was surprised at Carmen's reaction to this.

  'Not very kind of him,' remarked Carmen, her brown eyes narrowed in speculation. 'But that's Juan. He doesn't believe in half measures.'

  Corinne, who had no idea what Carmen was talking about, had to agree with this, and her eyes held a spark of amusement in them as they met Carmen's thoughtful ones.

  'Don't get too chummy with Dolores, Corinne,' Carmen said suddenly, surprising Corinne with her earnestness. 'I like you, and I don't want you to get hurt. She considers Juan her personal property, and you'll be very lucky if she doesn't throw the wine decanter at you.' She paused in thought for a second before adding dryly, 'Although no doubt she will manage to contain herself in Juan's presence, but

  ISLAND FIESTA 135 make no mistake, you have an enemy there.'

  Corinne's frank blue eyes met Carmen's slightly worried ones. 'In that case I see what you mean by it not being very kind of Juan to take me to meet her,' she said quietly. 'I shall feel very sorry for her,' she added slowly.

  'Good gracious, Corinne ! ' exclaimed Carmen, 'it's you I'm worried about, not Dolores. She and Juan are one of a kind, both are quite capable of looking after themselves.' She gave Corinne a quick assessing look. 'You're not in love with Juan, are you ?' she stated flatly.

  Corinne's eyes widened at this, and before she could stop herself she had exclaimed indignantly, 'Of course not ! ' Then as the implication of her words sank through to her she stared back at Carmen, who was not at all put out by this bald statement. 'You knew it was not a real marriage, didn't you ?' she asked with a hint of curiosity in her voice.

  Carmen shrugged expressively. 'Because I know Juan,' she replied slowly. 'And because he's in love with Dolores,' she added simply. 'I don't know how he got you to marry him,' she gave a slight grimace, 'and however he managed it, I don't think I want to know, but I do know why he married you. He was punishing Dolores for disobeying his orders and joining some friends of hers on a cruise.' She gave another expressive shrug. 'She must have just got back, hence the reason for the party, but she didn't bargain on such a shock as Juan's marriage on her arrival home,' she added significantly.

  Corinne stared back at Carmen, then blinked in disbelief. 'Surely he wouldn't go that far not as far as to ma ' she stopped here as the thought struck

  136 ISLAND FIESTA her that he would go that far, in fact had !

  Carmen nodded slowly. 'Oh, yes, he would, and he did, didn't he ?' she replied. 'Dolores ought to have known better than to flaunt his wishes, but I think she was tired of waiting for him to marry her. She's a widow, you see. She married a man much older than herself. It was an arranged marriage, of course, with a well-endowed family. I don't like her,' she declared abruptly, 'but it couldn't have been easy for her, tied to an older man. It's hardly a year since her husband died, and Juan's a stickler for protocol, that's why he was against her going on that cruise, knowing the people she was going with, a set of pleasure-loving wealthy drifters. He was furious when she defied him.'

  Carmen's gaze left Corinne and she stared at the richly carpeted floor at her feet. 'As I said, I heartily dislike Dolores, but I can understand her wanting a little freedom, especially after a marriage like that.'

  Corinne gave a little shudder of sympathy for the woman who had married a man she did not love, and although she was in the same position, at least it was not a true marriage, and there was no fear of any other implication on the part of either of them to alter this status quo. 'Surely if Juan loves her, he would understand her feelings,' Corinne answered indignantly. 'Why couldn't he have joined her on that cruise ?' Her soft mouth twisted ironically as she added, 'Too caught up with business affairs, I suppose.'

  Carmen shot her a swift look. 'Can you see him accepting someone else's arrangements ?' She gave a slow shake of the head. 'Not Juan ! ' she stated em

  ISLAND FIESTA 137 phatically. 'Dolores' small taste of freedom must have gone to her head, or she would never have defied him like that.' She put her head on one side and stared at Corinne assessingly. 'Don't fall in love with Juan, Corinne,' she said quietly, 'you'll only get badly hurt. As I said earlier, I do not think it was very kind of him to throw you into the fray so quickly.' She frowned. 'I wish ' then she stopped abruptly, and gave a small grimace. 'I wish I could offer you a job, Corinne, that way I could keep an eye on you, but at least I have Joy, and a perfect excuse for keeping in close touch with the pair of you. Just remember what I said about not getting involved heart wise with Juan, and try to give Dolores a wide berth whenever possible. It's their private fight, and I see no reason why you should get mauled in the skirmish.'

  Corinne gave Carmen a smile that lit up her lovely eyes and made Carmen begin to feel a little sorry for Dolores, and extremely angry with Juan for bringing this lovely, unsophisticated creature into his harsh reckonings with Dolores. 'I have no intention of getting involved with either of them,' Corinne replied steadily, 'at least,' she amended slowly, 'not in the way that you're worried about.' Her eyes narrowed in thought. 'I can see, though, that I'm in for a stormy passage, but thanks to you, I shall be able to sidestep most of it now that I understand the plot.' She gave Carmen a grateful look. 'I won't have to worry over Joy, either, thanks to you,' she added sincerely.

  Carmen gave an abrupt nod and stood up. 'Well, I had better be on my way,' she said, smothering a sudden yawn of tiredness. 'Juan will be back shortly and will be offering me a bed,' she gave a smile at the

  138 ISLAND FIESTA thought, then as she walked to the door she turned back towards Corinne again. 'One other thing, Corinne,' she said softly. 'Don't try to cross Juan, no matter how infuriating he can be, even though there'll be times when you'll want to throw the furniture at him. He's very like his father,' she gave a soft sigh. 'I adored him, but there were times ' she smiled, 'well, anyway, just agree with him and play it his way. A soothing "yes" will work wonders in your relationship.'

  Corinne's sceptical eyes met Carmen's as she replied ironically, 'You mean, "Yes, master", don't you?'

  Carmen's answering chuckle echoed around the lounge long after she had gone, and Corinne sighed deeply. It wasn't funny at all, she thought, and although she felt grateful to Carmen for putting her in the picture, she now wished that she had been left in ignorance.

  In time, of course, she would have found out the truth behind Juan's sudden decision to marry her. If Clair had come to Gran Canaria as she should have done, no doubt she would now be in the same position as Corinne was. Her soft lips twisted, in spite of what he had said about preferring Corinne's simplicity to Clair's sophistication. It was a case of a bird in the hand was worth two in the bush, she thought bitterly. He would have realised that Clair could have become a millstone around his neck. No, he had left nothing to chance, and with Joy's future at stake, he held all the trumps.

  Corinne went to her room when she thought she heard Juan returning. She could not bear to face him at that moment in time. What he had done to her was

  ISLAND FIESTA 139 bad enough, but what he was doing to the woman he apparently loved was even worse, because she would not know that the marriage was in name only, and would go through an agony of emotions.

  If that was love, then she wanted no part of it, Corinne told herself firmly as she prepared herself for bed. On recalling Carmen's advice on not falling for Juan, she gave a small snort of indignation. How could anyone fall in love with a man like that ? A man who would not only rule your life but intrude upon your thoughts as well, like some sort of mind-reader. An altogether too knowing character for Corinne's liking. Oh, no, there was absolutely no danger of her succumbing to his charms if he possessed any, and she was extremely doubtful that he did !

  Good looks and suave manner did not amount to charm in her reckoning, and Corinne thanked her lucky stars that she was able to see this where others might have been blinded by the sheer forceful personality of the man.

  Just before she fell asleep Corinne told herself drowsily that she ought to be grateful for the fact that Juan Martel's hard heart had been firmly captured by another woman, and in time he would surely seek the annulment he had said he would be applying for. She fell asleep on the thought that it would all work out for him. He would make certain of that, and with a little luck things would work out for her too. She might even yet find herself joining Joy in Carmen's business.

  CHAPTER NINE

  THE following day Carmen took Corinne and Joy on a tour of the shopping areas of the city. As Carmen had intimated, Juan was only too happy to let her take over this chore, and to Corinne's relief did not offer to accompany them, removing any fears that she might have had of him buying any other unwanted gifts, where she was concerned, anyway, for Joy had been pleased enough with the gift of the caftan.

  The first area visited was the Triana high street, which was the commercial centre of the city, and here, as Corinne gazed down the length of the long street, she was struck by the European influence of neon-lighted signs above the trading premises. These were numerous and of varying sizes, all proclaiming a commercial interest in whatever one was tempted to buy.

  In spite of the blatancy of these signs, there was a general air of bustling prosperity that both Corinne and Joy found invigorating, and added to this was the constant expectancy of coming across some exotic wares only to be found in that part of the world.

  There were, of course, many products from Europe, but it was in the shops that catered mainly for the tourist trade that one found such unusual items as baby sharks bottled in a greyish fluid and suspended in time perfect replicas of their kind, 140

  ISLAND FIESTA 141 and although Corinne knew that sharks could be dangerous, she felt a tinge of sadness at the sight.

  They wandered from window to window, gazing with delight at the jewellers shops displaying bowls of uncut stones that glimmered softly in the light, and Carmen told them that there were bargains to be had in uncut stones.

  The fur shops also produced a few surprises price-wise, and Corinne thought of Clair as she gazed at a gorgeous red fox fur, only half the price that one would have paid in England.

  When Carmen said that they would call in at her place for coffee, Joy's day was complete, for Corinne knew she had been hoping for just such a chance to see the premises where she would shortly be employed.

  To Corinne and Joy's surprise, Carmen led them to a heavily studded door that was another reminder of the past glories of Spanish occupation, set in between a jewellers and a bookstore, and once inside, led them up a wide staircase discreetly carpeted in maroon.

  The walls were white and completely unadorned, and all the more striking because of this, for the banisters were elegantly engraved in gold filigree tracings of leaves and no additional trappings were required.

  Corinne felt Joy glance at her as they mounted the staircase, and she could guess her thoughts. Hardly the entrance to a boutique at least not the kind of boutique they had been accustomed to ! After what Juan had told her, Corinne was not so astounded as Joy was, and she had purposely not forewarned Joy, thinking of the delightful surprise she would

  142 ISLAND FIESTA receive when she took up her new position.

  At the end of a long corridor they came to double glass doors on which was inscribed in gold lettering, 'Esti 11 o', and as Carmen pushed them open and smiled a welcoming admittance to the girls, Joy's nervousness was very apparent and Corinne had to push her forward.

  If anything, Joy's nervousness increased as they moved forward into what seemed another world a world of fashion, luxurious and utterly dedicated.

  In one corner of the large room was a desk, at that moment unoccupied, but as they walked towards it a woman materialised from behind a velvet curtained-off section and glided rather than walked towards them, favouring Carmen with a ready smile.

  `Ah, Marcia, could you arrange for us to have some coffee, please,' Carmen requested. 'We've been window-shopping, and I for one am exhausted ! ' She gave a contented sigh as she moved towards a door on her right. 'Come into my domain,' she said, 'we shall be undisturbed there.'

  Carmen's 'domain' turned out to be her office, a large and very cluttered room with rolls of expensive-looking material lying half spread out on a bench against a window, as if waiting for some use to be found for them. Sheets of foolscap with designs doodled on them lay in glorious disorder on the heavy desk at which Carmen seated herself with an airy wave towards a group of elegant-looking chairs opposite the desk, indicating that they should make themselves comfortable. 'This is where we go into our huddles,' she commented with a wide smile, and looked at Joy, who had still not quite recovered at finding herself in such impressive premises. 'Well,