In the well-tended gardens surrounding the hotel were Grecian-style statuettes, placed in the centre of what would be, later, a magnificent show of tropical flowers, and enchanced the view. Corinne could well imagine how the scene would look at night, for lighting arrangements had been provided to highlight the whole area. She drew in her breath sharply. As Juan Martel had so bluntly pointed out, you get what you pay for, and she wondered why he had bothered to interest himself in another business when it was obvious that the Hotel Martella was doing so well.

  The amount of activity centred on the wide parking area in front of the hotel proved beyond doubt that however astronomical the charges were, there was no shortage of patronage, for private cars and taxis were moving in a constant stream either arriving at or leaving the hotel.

  `Welcome to Martella,' said Juan, as he negotiated the car past the impressive front and what appeared

  ISLAND FIESTA 97 to be a circuit round the hotel to the back of the premises where several cars were parked in a cemented space provided, Corinne presumed, for guests and staff. Juan guided the car to a stop in a space well clear of the other cars, and what was obviously his personal area, as it was only a few steps away from the back entrance to the hotel.

  Corinne was still smarting from Juan's unnecessary earlier rebuke and when they got out of the car she barely glanced at him, and stood beside Joy as he retrieved their cases from the boot and then ushered them into the hotel. shall leave the introductions until later,' he commented, 'and take you to your rooms first.'

  On hearing this, Corinne visibly brightened, for it sounded as if she and Joy would be given rooms next to each other and, she hoped, well away from this hateful man's proximity. As the marriage was a business arrangement, this was how it should be, she thought, and felt a sudden lift of her earlier depression; it looked as if things might turn out well, after all.

  They entered into a plush-carpeted corridor and walked through to what looked like a small reception area. It was, in fact, the inner sanctum of the large reception lobby where only the staff had access, for directly in front of them was the long horseshoe-shaped reception desk with several uniformed clerics attending to the incoming and outgoing flow of guests.

  Juan was just ushering them towards a lift on the right of the reception area when a clerk, who had been about to take a key down from the board at the back of him, caught sight of them. ` Señor Martel !' he

  98 ISLAND FIESTA called, with a hint of urgency in his voice.

  Whatever he had wanted Juan to see to was never explained, as Juan waved a dismissing hand towards him. 'Later, Alonso !' he commanded haughtily, and it was significant that the clerk simply nodded his head and did not attempt to argue, but carried on with his work.

  Corinne, getting into the lift with Joy, watched Juan's long lean forefinger press the required button on the panel and had a shrewd suspicion that nothing short of a fire in the hotel would distract this man from his purpose. The thought was not a comfortable one, and for once she wished that Joy would say something anything for she had been remarkably quiet for once, too quiet for Corinne's liking.

  If Juan sensed anything unusual in his new wife and her young sister's silence, he did not attempt to break it, but seemed content to leave them to their musings. Corinne felt as if she had applied for a job, and having been successful, had been allowed to bring her sister with her. If things continued in this way, she would be more than satisfied, she told herself firmly. The bare fact that the job had not been advertised, and if it had been she would not have applied for it, but had been pressganged into accepting it, she refused to dwell on !

  The lift stopped on the third floor and Juan escorted them down a corridor that branched off from the public section of the hotel, at the end of which was a door that clearly displayed the word 'Privada' in large gold lettering. As Juan opened the door and ushered the girls in, Corinne felt a sense of keen disappointment. So much for her hopes of Joy and her being allotted rooms out of the proximity of

  ISLAND FIESTA 99 the autocratic owner of the hotel !

  From what Corinne had seen of the interior of the hotel with its discreet aura of wealth, it seemed almost commonplace against the surroundings she now found herself in. On the rich embossed papered walls of the corridor they were walking through hung portraits in large golden frames that looked of great antiquity. The corridor widened a little further on, and soon they came to a spacious hall, its proportions made even larger by two large mirrors set in the wall on either side of the glass-panelled doors.

  Preceded by Joy, Corinne then found herself ushered into what she presumed was the lounge, and as her bemused gaze rested on the rich tapestries and fine furnishings around her, she found time to wonder once again why Juan Martel had sought success in other business enterprises. This room alone spoke of wealth and success, and not recently acquired either, but of years of plenty.

  It would appear that she had slightly misjudged his financial position, not to mention the reason why he had been so determined to comply with Gabriel Mowbray's terms as stated in the will, even to the extent of burdening himself with a woman he did not know, let alone love.

  She glanced back at Joy standing in the middle of the room, with her shoes sinking into the thick luxurious carpet and looking much as Corinne herself felt, absolutely lost, as if they had perhaps wandered off the tracks somewhere and would soon be summoned back to reality.

  There was simply no answer to Juan's smooth, 'I hope it is to your liking,' remark as he showed them over the rest of the suite, that comprised a study,

  TOO ISLAND FIESTA dining room, four bedrooms, two bathrooms and a room that could have been used as a dressing room, or could have been used as a fifth bedroom.

  They were shown into all the rooms except one, that Corinne presumed was Juan's room, and the apprehension that had been growing steadily within Corinne and had increased in volume at each room they visited was considerably lessened when they reached the last two rooms at the end of the corridor and Juan placed the cases down, signifying that these were their rooms.

  As they entered the rooms, Corinne saw that they were of equal size and of equal splendour, except that one had a blue decor and the other primrose yellow. The smaller of the two bathrooms was adjacent to the rooms, and this would alleviate any queueing for the bath. Corinne was so relieved that she actually forgot her earlier annoyance with Juan, and commented on the rooms in a favourable manner.

  With the initial welcoming tour over, Juan glanced at his watch and remarked, 'It is almost four o'clock,' and favoured first Joy and then Corinne with what Corinne thought was a patronising smile, 'I expect you could both do with some refreshment. I shall have your tea sent up to you in the lounge.' He gave a slight frown. 'I must now go and see what little problem Alonso has on hand that requires my urgent attention. If business permits I shall join you later,' and with that he left them.

  There was a short stupefied silence immediately after his departure, then Joy, who had appeared to have lost her voice for longer than Corinne could ever remember, suddenly found it. 'Bald and podgy !' she gasped, as she collapsed on to the comfortable

  ISLAND FIESTA 'or looking single divan with a satin bedspread. 'I just don't believe it ! ' she continued in a wondering voice. 'Pinch me, Corinne, or else I'll think I'm dreaming ! '

  She was silent for a second, then gave a low chuckle. 'Poor Clair,' she said, and looked at Corinne. 'She'll never forgive you,' she added happily, and swept her arms in an embracing gesture around the room. 'All this and heaven too !' she quoted with a mischievous glint in her eye.

  'I don't see where the "heaven" bit comes into it,' Corinne replied irritably. 'And if you mean what I think you mean, I'm here to work, remember ?' She gave the amused-looking Joy a stern look. 'You might find yourself doing the washing-up, but I don't suppose that's occurred to you, has it ?' she asked ironically.

  Another chuckle greeted this warning. 'Can you see that lord of the manor allowing his sister-in-law to work in the kitchen ? I can't,' Joy said dryly.

  Corinne cast her a reproving look. 'I suppose that's what they called the heroes in those books, is it ?' she queried caustically. 'Well, the sooner you realise that life isn't like that at all, the better,' she added firmly.

  Joy shot her a wicked look. 'Well, he does qualify for the hero role, doesn't he ? I think he's beautiful,' she said dreamily.

  Corinne raised her eyes to the ceiling in hopeless resignation. 'Shall we freshen up ?' she said brusquely. 'I could do with a cup of tea.'

  'The mention of refreshment broke Joy's reverie and she scrambled off the bed announcing that she was starving and hoped that there would be adequate eats sent up.

  102 ISLAND FIESTA

  After a quick wash and tidy-up, they made their way back to the lounge. Corinne hoping that whatever the said Alonso's problem was, it would keep Juan occupied for quite some time and allow her and Joy to become accustomed to their opulent surroundings, although she suspected that it wasn't only their surroundings that had made Joy tongue-tied for such a long period, but had more to do with the overbearing but undeniably handsome Juan Martel.

  This aspect of the situation had never occurred to Corinne, but Joy was at an impressionable age. She was also a very sensible girl, Corinne reminded herself, and if she was about to develop what was known as a crush on Juan Martel, she had no doubt that it would be of a short duration, particularly if he made Corinne unhappy.

  On their entry into the lounge, a tall slim, well-dressed woman got up out of the chair she had been occupying and held out a white, slim, heavily ringed hand in welcome to them. `I'm Carmen Martel,' she introduced herself, 'and I presume you're the reason Juan demanded my presence forthwith.' Her welcoming smile was open and frank, and was echoed in her light brown eyes.

  As she took the proffered hand held out to her, Corinne reciprocated with, `I'm Corinne Suter, and this is my sister Joy,' which would have been fine, had it not been for the fact that she was now Corinne Martel, but she had no time in which to correct herself as Juan suddenly appeared on the scene. `Ah, Carmen !' he exclaimed with a note of pleasure in his voice, and then looked at Corinne. `I take it you have introduced yourselves ?' he asked. Corinne gave a swift nod, wondering what relation

  ISLAND FIESTA 103 ship this pleasant-faced woman had with Juan. She was not old enough to be his mother, and yet not young enough to be his sister his brother's wife, perhaps ? If he had a brother, that was, and she felt a spurt of annoyance that she should know so little about the man she had inadvertently married.

  'Well, Carmen, what do you think of my wife ?' he said abruptly, and then carried on as if he had just announced the evening menu. 'I hope you will take her under your wing. Joy as well, of course. We shall have to find a suitable school for her in due course, although for six months it seems hardly worth it,' he added thoughtfully.

  Corinne's embarrassed eyes went swiftly to the thick carpet under her feet. She had not given the poor woman a chance, she thought, as she perceived the look of shock Juan's bald announcement produced, although she recovered swiftly enough to reply in a slightly bemused tone, 'We hadn't actually got that far with the introductions. You did say your wife, didn't you ?' she demanded.

  Corinne felt Juan's eyes upon her and felt compelled to look up at him. 'I would have explained,' she said lamely, 'but you came in.'

  Juan nodded thoughtfully, and smiled at Carmen Martel. 'Well, let's begin again, shall we ? This, Carmen, is my wife, Clair, whom I persuaded to marry me against her better judgment, I might add. And this young lady is Joy Suter, her sister.' His steely eye fell again on Corinne. 'Clair, this is Carmen Martel, my step-mamma, although she won't thank me for introducing her as such,' he added, his mood changing to one of amusement as he looked at Carmen.

  104 ISLAND FIESTA

  If Carmen had been confused before, she was doubly so now, and her expression said so as she looked at Corinne and said, 'Corinne or Clair ?'

  'Corinne,' Joy got in swiftly. 'We already have a Clair in the family,' and her tone of voice said plainly that one Clair was enough !

  `Corinne, please, I would prefer it,' Corinne interjected quickly, not liking the way Juan's fastidious eyebrows had lifted at Joy's intervention.

  'I prefer Clair,' he said in a soft, no-nonsense voice, and this time it was Joy's eyebrows that rose and Corinne had a feeling that Joy was not quite so enamoured with her new brother-in-law at that moment.

  A throaty chuckle suddenly erupted from Carmen Martel. 'It looks as though you're in for a rebellion, Captain,' she said delightedly. 'I think I'm going to get on with my new in-laws ! And I prefer Corinne to Clair. Clair sounds a little stuffy, doesn't it ?' she queried with amusement.

  Juan was not amused, and his eyes had remained on Corinne while Carmen was stating her preference, and Corinne knew that he expected her to abide by his wishes in this, but she did not feel inclined to do so. Up until now this autocratic man had made the rules rules she had had to follow regardless of her own feelings in the matter. He had trapped her into marriage purely on a whim of his to provide a stabilising effect on his affairs at least, that was the way he had put it, but Corinne would have put another interpretation on it, one that was a little nearer the truth. Not content with this, he now wished to change her name to one that she had little liking for, and she had no doubt that given the time he would mould her very character into pliant accep

  ISLAND FIESTA los tance of his plans for her future.

  This thought frightened her and gave her the courage to meet his eyes and reply to his unspoken command. 'Well, that's easily settled,' she said, forcing a light note into her voice, 'you will call me Clair, but I see no reason why anybody else should.' She saw the swift flash of fury this stand of hers brought to his cold eyes, but she was determined to show him that there was a limit to what could be expected of her. don't promise to answer to the name of Clair,' she added bravely, 'seeing that I don't regard it as my name, but I'll do my best.'

  Juan's haughty look plainly said that her best was simply not good enough. 'Yet the name served a useful purpose, didn't it ?' he queried silkily, and at Corinne's swift flush he gave a grim nod. 'There is time enough to accustom each other to our likes and dislikes,' he added significantly, and to Corinne's relief then directed their attention to the tea tray that had just been brought in by a member of staff, and the conversation turned to lighter matters.

  Had it not been for the presence of Carmen Martel, Corinne could not have imagined how she would have got through that period of acute embarrassment. She was not exactly looking forward to the time when she and Joy would be alone again, for Joy could not have missed Juan's swift change of attitude towards her when she had attempted to thwart his wishes.

  It was as well that she should be acquainted with the true facts of the matter, and Corinne had hated having to gloss over the truth, but she did not see what else she could have done; there were times when a white lie was preferable to the bald truth, and this had been one of them.

  106 ISLAND FIESTA

  These disquieting thoughts were soon dispelled by Carmen's obvious interest in the sisters. She asked innumerable questions about their background, and was genuinely interested in the subject of village life.

  In her turn she told them that she had been brought up in Mexico, but her family had moved to Gran Canaria when she was eighteen, and she was ashamed to say that that was the limit of her travels, but she had been so happy in her adopted home that she had not had the urge to travel.

  It was here that Juan intercepted with an amused, 'Nonsense ! you could not bear to leave the business !' and this produced another throaty chuckle from Carmen who did not attempt to refute the statement.

  This was the only intervention from Juan, and Corinne, who had been aware of his cold eyes settling upon her when she least expected it, fervently wished that his presence was required elsewhere, and when the telephone raag and was answered by him, her wish was granted almost on cue, and she could have shouted with relief when she heard him say that he would be right down.

  It seemed to Corinne that once he had left them the atmosphere changed from an intimidating one to a freer and considerably happier one.

  Carmen could not have missed Corinne's evident relief at Juan's departure from the scene, but she made no comment and turned her attention to Joy. 'I like that dress,' she said. 'Would you think me very rude if I asked you to stand up and turn around so I could see the back ?' she asked.

  Joy's brows went up at this strange request, but she did as she was asked.

  ISLAND FIESTA 107

  Carmen stared at the dress through slightly narrowed eyes. 'I could do with five dozen of that pattern,' she stated, to the amazement of Joy and Corinne, and then grinned at their astonishment. 'I own a boutique,' she explained, 'and I'm always on the lookout for new ideas. I particularly like the extra flounce that's been added to that three-quarter sleeve, it's chic without being fussy,' she declared. 'Did you get it in a large store or a small boutique ?' she demanded.

  Joy gave a look of amusement at this, and Corinne said proudly, 'Neither ! It's all her own work I '

  Carmen blinked. 'You mean you made it up from a pattern ?' she asked.

  Joy shook her head. 'I design all my clothes,' she replied quietly. 'When we can't afford to buy the material, I renovate our did ones.' This was said without a trace of boastfulness.

  Astonished, Carmen looked at Corinne as if seeking confirmation, and Corinne supplied it by saying quickly, 'It's true. You see, our grandmother was a dressmaker, and Joy's taken after her. She's very good too,' she added proudly.