Page 85 of Bride By Mistake
Still, she wished her sister wasn’t quite so beautiful. It was almost intimidating, especially with Papa’s eyes staring at her with barely concealed hostility.
Nonsense, she was the elder sister, and the legitimate one, and she had every right to visit her childhood home. “How do you do, Perlita.” She inclined her head stiffly.
“Sen— Isabella,” Perlita responded and gave an equally stiff nod. She didn’t move.
Now what? Bella wondered. She could hardly push Perlita aside and shove her way into the house.
Luke gave a soft cough and stepped forward. “And I am Isabella’s husband, Lord Ripton.” He bowed.
“Herhusband?” Perlita blinked and glanced from Bella to Luke and back again. The relief in her face was obvious. She had not known Isabella was married.
“Yes, her husband. You may call me Luke, since in law, we are now brother and sister.”
“Brother and sister?” Perlita echoed blankly.
“Something like that,” Luke said in an easy manner that Bella envied. “Isabella and I are on our way to England, but she’d heard you were at Valle Verde and wanted to call in, to see how you were.” He made it sound so casual, a mere whim. Bella was grateful.
“How I am?” Perlita gave Bella a shocked glance. “You came to seeme?”
“Is that so strange?” Bella removed her hat and gloves and tugged her dress to straighten it.
Perlita didn’t beat about the bush. “I think so, yes, seeing we’ve never even spoken to each other before this day.”
Bella felt rather than saw Luke’s reaction. She could almost hear him thinking aloud,Never spoken to each other?You dragged me halfway across the country to save a sister you’d never even spoken to?
Her cheeks heated. She avoided his gaze and managed to say with an air of assurance, “Yes, but I decided it was time we met.”
Perlita’s brows rose. “Why?”
Isabella glanced at the servants, avidly watching and listening, and said nothing. Perlita gave a tiny shrug, as if to say, why not, and invited them inside.
Bella stepped inside, and memories swamped her. Nothing had changed. The arrangement of the furniture, the smell, the cool stillness, it was all the same. Even the wall hangings were the same ones that had always hung there, though a little more faded. The tiled terra-cotta floors were as highly polished as ever. Her feet itched to walk the worn patterns of the tiles as she had a thousand times as a child; along the line of red flowers, then onto the blue medallions, avoiding the yellow and brown ones that looked like a lion. They didn’t really, but she’d always pretended…
She hadn’t thought of those tiles in years, but now… It was like being greeted by an old playmate. The footsteps of her childhood.
She forced herself back into the present. The house looked immaculate.
“Welcome to El Nuevo Castillo,” Perlita said coolly.
It felt very odd to be welcomed as a stranger to her own home.
But it wasn’t her home, Bella reminded herself.
After allowing them to refresh themselves after their long journey, Perlita led them toward the large drawing room. Bella hesitated on the threshold. Papa’s favorite room.
As if he knew how she felt, Luke slipped his hand under her elbow. Warmed by the contact, she stepped in. It was unchanged, too. It had always been old-fashioned—Mama had wanted to change it but Papa always refused. It was a man’s room, with heavy varnished woodwork, studded with silver nails, and leather-covered chairs. Even the old dueling swords that had been in the family for generations remained crossed and mounted over the mantel, gleaming as brightly as they had throughout her childhood.
The room held a thousand memories. Even the smell was the same.
It was as if Papa had just stepped out. Bella’s throat filled as the emotions she’d tried to hold back finally swamped her. Eight years since she’d been in this room. She thought she’d almost forgotten it, but now, being here… Her tongue thickened. She couldn’t speak.
Perlita invited them to sit and ordered refreshments. In minutes tea was brought in along with a plate of small, iced cakes. It was a well run home, Bella conceded as Perlita poured.
Part of her hoped that Perlita was really only the housekeeper, here, but no… not in that dress.
“How is your mother?” Bella inquired politely, steadier after a few sips of hot tea.
“Married and living in Barcelona,” Perlita said. She waited until the servants had gone and said bluntly, “Why have you come here?”
