DOGS. Legacy Saga II

19

Castillano took his shirt off to allow Alma to tend to the cuts in his arms and chest. And seeing them, he realized he hadn't been badly injured only because Marina hadn't intended to.

"What was she talking about, Alma?" he muttered, ignoring the speedwell tea getting cold on the table before him. "What was all that about my father and my grandfather?"

The woman gave him a clean shirt. "How would I know? Get dressed and have your tea."

He did so only out of the inertia of following Alma's voice. Especially that night, that seemed a return of the worst trauma of his childhood. Back then, it'd been his nanny's voice what had saved his life.

"Do you think I would find something to understand it in my father's journal?"

Alma gawked at him, dropping herself on a chair by his side. "Your father left a journal?"

"Yes. The child found it last night, and I- I haven't touched it. I didn't think it could be important."

"You mean Marina found it? You call that demon that almost killed you child?"

Castillano let out a chuckle when he saw her horrified frown. "She's damn good with the blade. I've never beaten her. She's way better than me. But she's no demon, Alma. Nothing further from a demon than her."

"Did she hit you in the head? Come, drink your tea and go to bed. And if you have your father's journal, maybe you should start reading it first thing tomorrow."

Sunrise washed away the last traces of the storm. In the morning, Dolores found Marina curling up in her bed, shaking in her sleep, still wearing the wet nightgown. She woke the girl up only enough to make her take the cold nightgown off and help her lie down on the other side of the bed, on dry sheets. Marina fell asleep again while the woman tucked her in.

Dolores found Castillano and Alma having breakfast. Castillano had one nice bruise along the left side of his jaw. They welcomed her with questioning looks when she showed up alone. She shook her head, sitting down.

"She needs to rest," she said. "These last months haven't been easy for any of us."

"Do you know what happened to her last night?" asked Alma. "She seemed to be possessed!"

"I have no idea, but Laventry warned me not to bring her to this house."

"Laventry," repeated Castillano curtly.

Dolores raised only one eyebrow. "Yes, Captain. Johannes Laventry, the worst filibuster of the Caribbean. The same man who helped us put up all this charade to set you free, just to please the pearl. All those awful lowlifes lover her and would do anything for her. Even saving the neck of one of their most ruthless enemies, like you."

A thick silence followed her stern words.

"And what was this man's warning?" asked Alma, trying to ease the tension.

Dolores turned to her, leaving Castillano to digest her answer anyway he liked. "Looks like Marina always had a deep spiritual bond with his father. They say she even felt him die, when she was only four and across the sea, in Tortuga. Laventry told me he'd rather set the whole New Spain on fire to rescue the captain, in order to prevent her from coming to Campeche. He feared what could happen if she ever set foot in this house. He said it might be too much for her, when she's still recovering from what happened to her in Maracaibo."

Alma looked at Castillano for information to understand what Dolores meant, but he ignored her. He gulped up his tea and stood up.

"Alma, tell the guards I'll be at the library," he said drily, already halfway to the door.

Marina spent the day in bed, exhausted and fevered. Dolores didn't leave her side, even though there wasn't much she could do for her. Before sunset, Alma knocked on the door to let Dolores know Segovia was asking for her. Dolores allowed herself an annoyed sigh and left the room to greet him. The general invited her for a ride and she accepted. He didn't want him around the house, and she could use some fresh air.

When Dolores walked out, Alma hesitated and tiptoed up to the bed. She checked Marina's temperature was still a little high, tucked her in and left. It wasn't a dangerous fever, and the girl would sweat it out in a day or two.

The soft click of the closing door woke Marina up. She looked around with blurry eyes and needed a moment to grasp where she was. She didn't hurry to get out of bed, and didn't leave the room either. She wore a clean nightgown, wrapped a shawl around her shoulders and opened the window wide, knowing the air outside would be warmer than inside. And only then did she spot the small blue patch past the roofs. She sat on the sill, her back against the window frame and her legs bent up, knees to her chest. And she lingered there, her eyes captive of that tiny glimpse of the sea.

The night closed while she was still sitting there. She heard the sounds coming from the kitchen and the servants' quarters, the maids' merry voices, Alma bossing everybody around. Soon Dolores came to check on her.

"Stay here, because I couldn't get rid of the general and he's having dinner with us. Want me to send you a bite?" Marina shook her head. "A tea?"

"A tea would do, thank you," the girl murmured.

Dolores caressed her cheek gently. "We don't have to stay here, pearl. Say a word and I'll turn this town upside down until I find a place for us to stay, away from this awful house."

"I'd love to go, Dolores. But my place is here, close to the captain. I'm afraid that if I leave, I'll miss any chance I may have to change his mind."

"Dear child, for my life I don't get your tenacity, because that brute keeps giving you reasons to turn your back on him." Dolores winked at her. "But I bet last night's scuffle will work better than smiles and affection."

Marina frowned. "Scuffle?"

Dolores mirrored her surprise. "You don't remember?" Marina shook her head again. "You chased him all over the main hall, raining stabs on him. It was quite a show. But don't worry, you didn't do anything his stubborn head can't take." Dolores rolled her eyes. "And now I better go back to our distinguished guest, before he has his men search the house for me."