“You can’t be serious,” I said. His father couldn’t have lost his fortune to a game of chess, could he?
“That chess set you saw belonged to my father. It’s the board they used for the bet. Armand kept it as a trophy.”
I felt sorry for him, for the loss of his mother, of his father’s legacy, but at the same time, I was outraged.
“Is that why you’re still here?” I said. “Why you want the hacienda so badly?”
He didn’t answer.
“You thought that by marrying Angélica, you would get the hacienda, the entire plantation back?” I shook my head in disbelief. “But Laurent wasn’t in your plans, was he? And now, you thought you could get it through me?”
“No. I told you, I’m fond of you, I’ve developed feelings for you. I know it looks bad, but I’ve never felt such a strong connection to any other woman. That’s why I was never faithful to Angélica. I now see that Angélica was an obsession, a habit, and not much else.”
“But it’s also convenient that I’m Armand’s oldest daughter.”
“I guess for a moment I considered that,” he admitted. “But I can’t deny that there is chemistry between us, an affinity. You must feel it, too.”
“There was chemistry before I knew who you really were,” I said.
“But you lied to me, too, and I overlooked that.”
“Because it was convenient for you.”
He sighed, rubbing his eyes. “No, it’s not convenient to be involved with two sisters, or to have all these feelings and not knowing what to do with them.”
Catalina came into the room.
“Don Cristóbal.” She was still in her robe. “Are you all right? Julia just told me what happened to you.”
“I’m fine,” I said.
“You shouldn’t be here, in this cramped room.” She turned to Martin. “Don Martin, let’s take him to his bedroom.”
“I said I’m fine. I don’t need anything.” I set my feet on the floor. “And I don’t need a doctor, either.”
With that, I let myself out of the room while everything I thought I knew about my father, about my future on this plantation, about my feelings for Martin collapsed.
CHAPTER 40
I slept all morning and woke up at two o’clock in the afternoon. After the blow to my head, I needed the rest. I looked around the room, disoriented. Still in my clothes. I recalled hearing Julia’s voice, a couple of hours ago, knocking on the door incessantly, saying something about the doctor. But I didn’t open. I didn’t want to see any doctors. All I wanted was to sleep—I hadn’t slept this much in weeks. There was something else bothering me, though, something in the back of my mind. A concern. Something I had to remember. What was it? Had I dreamt it?
My head throbbed. There was a bump on the crown of my head.
Slowly, I got out of bed. I was hungry. Thirsty. Maybe if I ate something, I would feel better, maybe even remember this detail, this idea that tormented me. I checked my beard to make sure it was still in place and donned my spectacles from the night table.
The house was quiet.
Holding on to the banister, I descended the staircase and headed toward the kitchen. There were subdued voices in the parlor.
“I think he’s up,” someone said. A man. Was that Laurent? Martin? No, it sounded more like Alberto. What was he doing here?
Angélica, with that charming smile of hers, came out of the room and met me in the hallway. It was hard to reconcile this image of pleasantry and confidence with the devastated woman I’d encountered in the kitchen the previous night.
“Don Cristóbal, how are you feeling?”
“Much better, thank you.” I hesitated to take another step.
“Would you come in for a minute? We’ve been waiting for you.”
We? Exactly who was waiting for me? I didn’t feel like seeing Martin right now.
I followed Angélica into the parlor. Laurent, Catalina, Alberto, and Tomás Aquilino stared at me from their seats around the coffee table. Where was Martin? Had he told them the truth? No, he’d covered up for me in front of Julia. But what was going on here? I’d just seen Aquilino the previous day.
I shook hands with the lawyer. His handshake was weak and he avoided my eyes the entire time. Come to think of it, everybody seemed to be avoiding my eyes.
“Shall we wait for Martin?” Alberto said.
“No,” Angélica said. “He’s not part of this family.”