the five years he spent with you.’
There was a caution in her smile. ‘You need never envy anyone anything, Gabriel. Goodnight.’
He accepted the dismissal with obvious reluctance. ‘Goodnight.’
Left alone at last, Lauren went back into her own room and closed the door, standing for a moment in silent contemplation. Three brothers, all so different. Gabriel might resemble Francisco the most in actual looks, but his was by far the softer personality. That he was attracted to her was more than apparent; he hadn’t even attempted to conceal the fact. She was going to need to be careful in the way she handled their relationship.
Rafael was another matter altogether. In some ways he frightened her. Not a physical fear, more an inner disturbance. She had a strong feeling that her stay here was going to prove anything but tranquil.
CHAPTER TWO
FIRST light came just before seven, turning the sky from black to pale grey then spreading blue. Watching from her window, Lauren thought she had never seen anything quite so beautiful as the mountains sprang into sharp silhouette, taking on colour and detail by degrees. The air was clean and sharp. She drew in deep breaths of it. A couple of weeks of this couldn’t be anything but good.
The boys had been up and about for over an hour. It was only with difficulty that she had restrained them from running riot. They were occupied now with the painting books and crayons she had brought with her from home, but the interest wouldn’t last too long. Inquisitive by nature, the two needed constant stimulation. Lauren had taught them both to read, and was justifiably proud of their prowess. With luggage limited, however, she had been unable to bring along too much in the way of reading matter, and local shops were unlikely to hold a great stock of children’s literature in the English language. Boredom spelled trouble with a capital T where the twins were concerned.
At half-past seven, with the sun just creeping over the eastern range, she took the two of them downstairs. All was silent in the hallway, all doors leading from it closed. Lauren chose the one next to the room she had been in the previous evening, to find herself in what was obviously a study-cum-library. César and Nicolás eyed the crowded bookshelves with interest, undeterred by the man who rose from his seat at the big dark wood desk. Dressed this morning in cream trousers and dark brown shirt, he was no less disturbing.
‘I’m sorry,’ said Lauren hastily. ‘I was looking for the dining-room.’
‘No matter,’ Rafael assured her. ‘The comedor is across the other side of the hall. Whatever you wish to eat, you have only to ask. We cater for all tastes.’
‘Just cereals,’ she responded. ‘For the twins, that is. We never eat anything cooked at breakfast.’
‘No more than we do ourselves.’ He glanced at the twins as they prowled along the nearest shelves. ‘Do you speak any Spanish at all?’
‘Only a word or two.’ Lauren had her eyes on the boys too. ‘Francisco rarely used it himself.’
‘Perhaps because he was all too rarely present to do so,’ came the dry return, bringing her gaze sharply back to the olive-skinned features.
‘What’s that supposed to mean?’
‘You know what it means,’ he said. ‘I’ve made it my duty since first discovering your existence to explore every aspect of my brother’s lifestyle during these past years. He was, it seems, no family man. He pursued other interests.’
Neither César nor Nicolás appeared to be listening to the conversation, but Lauren knew them too well to be assured that they were taking none of it in. No matter what his faults, Francisco was their father. She wanted them to remember the good times, few though they had been, rather than those of neglect.
‘I think we’d better go and have breakfast,’ she said. ‘We’ve disturbed you long enough.’
‘No matter,’ Rafael repeated. ‘By the time you finish your meal, I’ll have finished my work. The children will be taken care of while I show you over the castle.’
‘Gabriel was going to do that,’ she claimed, and saw the firm mouth take on a slant.
‘Gabriel has other commitments today. He left for Málaga half an hour ago. This afternoon I thought you might care to visit Ronda—unless, of course, you’d prefer to take siesta? A custom I’ve little time for myself, but I have no objection to others following it.’
Lauren shook her head. ‘I’m not used to resting during the day either.’
His nod approved the reply. ‘The children, of course, will follow their usual routine. The nursemaid who will be supervising them is a very trustworthy young woman. You can leave them safely in her hands.’
‘Nursemaid?’ Lauren was too angry at the presumption to pay heed to listening ears. ‘That’s hardly necessary!’
Dark brows lifted. ‘You’d prefer that they were left to their own devices?’
‘They’ll hardly be that when I’m here with them.’
‘But you need time of your own to do the things you enjoy,’ Rafael stated firmly.
Faced with two pairs of eyes alert to the altered atmosphere in the room, Lauren bit down hard on the response trembling on her lips. ‘We’ll discuss this later,’ she said instead, low-toned.
‘By all means,’ he agreed.
‘Were you and Uncle Rafael quarrelling?’ asked César in his clear treble as they went from the room.
‘No, of course not,’ Lauren denied, too well aware that Rafael could hear every word. ‘Just talking, that’s all.’
‘About us,’ piped up Nicolás, not to be left out. ‘We’re going to have a nursemaid to play with!’
Lauren closed the door firmly behind her before answering that one. ‘I’ll play with you myself.’
‘But you’re going out with Uncle Rafael,’ said César, sounding not in the least concerned at the notion. ‘Nico and me are going to splore.’
‘Explore,’ Lauren corrected automatically. ‘And you don’t go anywhere on your own. There are people staying here who won’t want children under their feet.’
‘Don’t they like children?’ asked Nicolás.
‘Well, yes, of course they do. At least, I imagine so. It’s just that they’re unlikely to be the kind of people who...’ Lauren sighed and came to a floundering halt, sensing the pitfalls inherent in that line of explanation. ‘They’re paying guests here on holiday,’ she substituted. ‘This isn’t the kind of place you’d bring children to.’
‘You brought us,’ César pointed out with indisputable logic.
‘That’s different.’
He considered for a moment before asking the anticipated, ‘Why?’
‘Because it is,’ Lauren responded firmly, in no mood for
