shook his head. ‘No, I am thanking you, Miss King. You have settled down with us very well – better than I had dared to hope.’ He paused. ‘You may know that in the past my wife has had some difficulties in keeping staff, but I’m glad to say that you appear to have fitted in with us excellently.’
‘Thank you, señor.’
Susannah was intrigued. She wondered what all this was leading up to. If Señor Castana hadn’t brought her here to discipline her, what did he want?
He went on, choosing his words carefully. ‘As you are aware, I have been abroad for several days. I went to the continent on business. There was a directors’ meeting. My company is planning to expand.’
Susannah nodded. She didn’t quite know why he was telling her this. The affairs of his company were nothing to do with her, unless it was a roundabout way of telling her that he intended giving her a rise.
He reached for a cigar from the box on his desk, and lit it before going on. Then, when it was glowing warmly, giving off an aroma of Havana tobacco, he said: ‘The company is planning to open a branch in New York, Miss King. I have been invited to run that branch.’
Now she understood. He was explaining the circumstances to her because if he took this appointment, if he moved to New York, he would expect his family to move too, and that included Susannah herself as Eduardo’s governess.
‘I see,’ she said inadequately.
‘You understand why I am telling you this, do you not, Miss King? Naturally I shall be accepting this appointment and moving to New York. I intend to take a house there as I have done here for the past eighteen months. I want you to come with us.’
Susannah nodded. ‘Yes.’
‘You’ll come?’ He rose to his feet, resting his palms on the desk and leaning towards her.
‘I don’t know, señor. I – I should have to think about it.’
Señor Castana nodded. ‘I understand that. I have told you at once because I remember at the time you came for an interview you mentioned that you were leaving your previous post because you did not wish to move to the United States. May I hope that you have changed your ideas since then?’
Susannah shrugged her shoulders. ‘I don’t know, señor. I – if it had been France – or Spain!’ She hesitated. ‘New York is such a long way away.’
‘But you have no family in England, Miss King. You told me so yourself.’
‘No,’ she admitted. ‘But my friends are here.’
‘You will make new friends!’ He spread a hand in a very continental gesture. ‘You are a very attractive young woman, Miss King. Forgive me, but one cannot help but notice such things. I have seen the way men look at you … I do not think you would find it too difficult to find companionship.’
Susannah’s cheeks were flushed. ‘Well – thank you, señor. But really, I – I must have time to think it over.’
‘Of course, of course. I will not rush you. I do not suppose we will be leaving England for several months yet. But I would hope you would decide soon. I want an English governess for Eduardo, and if you are not coming with us …’
‘I quite understand, señor.’ Susannah rose now. ‘And – and thank you for your confidence in me.’
Señor Castana made some deprecatory comment before showing her out, but after the study door was closed, Susannah stood for several minutes in the hall thinking over what had been said before returning to the schoolroom. She was still standing there when the maid came down the stairs.
‘Oh, there you are, Miss King,’ she exclaimed. ‘I’ve been up to the schoolroom looking for you. There’s a letter been delivered for you.’
‘A letter? For me?’ Susannah forced herself to remain calm. ‘Where – where is it?’
‘It’s here, miss.’ The maid drew an envelope out of the pocket of her apron. ‘Delivered by hand, it was. Do you know who it’s from?’
Susannah took the envelope from the maid’s inquisitive hands, turning it over with trembling fingers. It was parchment-stiff, the quality evident, and there was a monogram on the flap. Making no attempt to open it, she stared at the scrawling handwriting and her heart skipped a beat. It had to be from him, it just had to.
Aware that the young maid was watching her eagerly, waiting for her to open it, she went towards the stairs and ran up them lightly. ‘Thank you,’ she called over her shoulder, and guessed that her concealment of the letter’s contents would become the topic of much gossip and speculation in the kitchen. But she couldn’t bear to open it in front of anyone else.
She went to the schoolroom first and checked that Eduardo was still busy, then she went to her own suite of rooms. Once inside she tore open the envelope and drew out the sheet of thick paper it contained. It was a letter, and an urgent glance at the signature at the end assured her of its writer’s identity.
Dear Susannah, she read,
As you do not wish me to come to the house and as I cannot telephone without revealing my identity, I am forced to use this method of contacting you. I would like to see you again. I am expected to return to Spain on Sunday and therefore I would hope that we might dine together this evening or tomorrow evening. I realize that this is very short notice, that you may have some previous engagement, but I very much want to see you again, Susannah, and I shall wait in anticipation of your reply. You may reach me at the hotel at the head of this page.
Yours, Fernando Cuevas.
She re-read the letter twice, sitting on the edge of her armchair, conscious of a rising sense of exhilaration out of all proportion to the situation. But she couldn’t help it. To know that she was going to see him again filled her with excited expectation.
Putting the letter away carefully in her handbag, she returned to the schoolroom. As soon as she could she would ask Señor Castana whether she had any objections to her going out that evening. Now that Señor Castana was home surely no one would mind. Then she would telephone Fernando Cuevas’s hotel while she and Eduardo were out walking this afternoon.
To her delight, Lucie Castana came to the schoolroom some fifteen minutes later and after speaking to Eduardo and complimenting him upon his painstaking work, she said: ‘Señorita, my husband and I will be dining out this evening.’ She didn’t seem to notice Susannah’s consternation, but continued: ‘It is a little celebration, you understand? He has told you, has he not, of this most excellent appointment in the United States?’ She hugged herself delightedly. ‘Oh, can you not imagine how wonderful it will be, señorita, living in such an exciting city? Meeting so many interesting people? There will be so much to do – so many places to go! I was becoming bored with London, and I can’t wait to get away. Carlos has said we are to have a house on Long Island, and Eduardo will learn to swim and have other children to play with—’
She broke off suddenly as she became aware of Susannah’s dismayed expression. ‘What is the matter, señorita?’ she demanded. ‘Are you not pleased that my husband has gained this promotion? Why are you looking so – so miserable?’
Susannah
