Page 27 of The Lord's Compass
“This is rather grand,” Faith said, staring up at the estate. She was certainly familiar with homes of this stature, but not in this style with Castillo de la Lunca’s stuccoed siding, clay tile roof held up by columns. A balcony with a wrought-iron railing surrounded the top, statues of gargoyles overlooking the ocean beyond.
“Reminds me of Newfield,” Eric said, referring to her family’s own country home, which was similarly situated on the coast.
“This is lusher,” she murmured, looking around the grounds. “It seems to fit within its surroundings.”
“That it does,” he said, and she didn’t miss the way his eyes ran down her figure. At first, she had thought he was doing so to disconcert her, but she could tell he wasn’t doing so on purpose – which meant that he actually did appreciate how she looked. She wasn’t sure what exactly to do with that information.
“Best get this over with,” he said, stepping up and knocking on the door.
A tall, broad, and sombre servant answered momentarily, and Faith laced her hand through Eric’s elbow. To sell their story, of course – for no other reason. While she didn’t miss the look he gave her when he did so, she chose to ignore it for now.
“Can I help you?”
“Yes,” Eric said. “My wife and I are here from Madrid. She is a distant relative of the Palencia family and would like to pay her regards.”
The butler looked Faith up and down with suspicion but told them he would return momentarily. They waited in the wide foyer, looking around with interest.
“Does it appear particularly well-kept to you?” Faith murmured in Eric’s ear. He shook his head as he looked around at torn wallpaper, crumbled brick, and tarnished brass.
“It looks to me like they have fallen into as hard of times as the Sutcliffe family,” he whispered back.
“At least the Sutcliffes do their best to make Castleton appealing,” she said lowly. “It appears this family has given up on all pretenses.”
“Which tells us that they most certainly have not found this treasure themselves,” he said, both of them straightening when the butler reappeared.
“Themarquésandmarquesaare not currently in residence,” he said. “However, their son is and he would be pleased to meet with you. If you would follow me to the drawing room?”
The house was eerily silent as they walked through, and it took Faith a moment to realize what was missing – people. Even if there were few of them in residence at home, there were always servants about. They had walked through three rooms and so far, there was no sign of another servant save the butler whom they were currently following.
He opened the door to a drawing room, which had a musty feel to it, before he left them, and soon enough the door opened once more to admit a tall, slim young man near their age. He had a pointed beard and a mustache which curled slightly at the end, giving him a somewhat sinister look.
His dark eyes flicked around the room until they landed on Faith and then his lips turned up into a smile.
“Good afternoon,” he said. “My butler tells me that you are distant relatives. I am eager to learn more about you. You may call meDonRaphael.”
He sat down across from them, crossing one leg over the other as he rested his chin on his fist.
“Thank you for inviting us into your home,DonRaphael. My great-grandmother was once theDonaPalencia,” Faith said, telling the story that Cassandra had told her, taking on her friend’s identity for the moment. “She left San Sebastian and began a new family.”
DonRaphael leaned forward, his eyes narrowing. “Is this the traitor that left us for the English duke?”
Faith and Eric exchanged a glance. This was not exactly going to plan.
“I have not heard anything about the English,” Faith said slowly. “My great-grandmother moved to Madrid. That is where we are from.”
“Is the family folklore mistaken, then?”DonRaphael asked, although from the expression on his face, it was clear he didn’t believe it.
“Perhaps,” Faith said.
“So, what brings you here?”DonRaphael said, and that’s when Eric joined the conversation.
“My wife and I are recently married,” he said, reaching out and joining his hand with Faith’s, sending a tremor through her body from where their fingers touched. She couldn’t deny it any longer. This man affected every part of her. “We decided to go on a holiday in San Sebastian, and since we were here, she wanted to meet her distant relatives and learn more about where her great-grandmother was from.”
“Exactly,” Faith said, wishing the tales would roll off of her tongue as easily.
“Well, I would certainly be more interested in hearing about you and what happened with your family,”DonRaphael said. “Although, from what you tell me, I do not believe we would have any relation.”
“Oh?” Faith said, uncertain now, trying to remember Cassandra’s family tree. From what she could remember, Cassandra’s great-grandmother had been the one to come to England, after she was widowed – but of course. That would mean that her first husband’s brother would have continued the Palencia family line and would beDonRaphael’s ancestor.
