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heard he’d been in communication with his wife.” He paused. “San Palos is very beautiful, but it’s small and thickly populated, and I doubt if there’s a single person here who doesn’t know me.”
    “Even so,” she said, looking down at her hands, “you could have explained everything the moment we arrived. You even let your cousin the doctor think the worst.”
    He spoke cynically. “Is the situation so utterly distasteful? You now have quite a high position in the small world of San Palos. Doesn’t that recompense you a little for the abomination of your name being linked with that of Marcus del Moscado Durant?”
    She looked at him briefly. “I suppose you hate it as much as I do, but you happen to be the dictator in this. It can’t possibly go on.”
    “Not for long.” His long lean fingers drummed for a second on the back of the bench. “You’re a sensitive girl, Sally, and though you confess that you find me baffling, I’m sure you understand the situation here. Let me fill in a few details. A moment ago you spoke accusingly about my allowing Carlos Suarez to believe what you termed the worst. Let me assure you at once that Carlos is an understanding type; we can take him into our confidence whenever we like. I said as little as possible to Carlos because I first wanted to get some idea of how things were here at Las Vinas.”
    “And ... how are they?”
    “Complicated. The gossip from the hotel got through to the servants here late last night, but Katarina waited till this morning before she told Dona Inez.”
    “She told her? What sort of nurse is she?”
    “Katarina has been my grandmother’s companion for twenty years, and before that she was her maid. She told me she broke the news very gently. First, feeling her way, she said I’d be home today. Dona Inez was happy about it, but after a few minutes she began to get a little upset.” Marcus looked at the troubled face that was half turned from him. “I know you’re awfully young for this, but you must try to understand.”
    “I’m listening,” she said quietly.
    “Well, it seems that Dona Inez had been sure I’d bring home a wife, but she was now afraid I’d be returning alone. She began to get so worked up that Katrina told her the rest—that I was bringing a fiancée and the fiancée’s mother. After that it was all joy and excitement, and eventually Katarina gave her a sedative—from which she hasn’t yet roused.”
    Sally drew in a dry lip, rubbed fingers along her jaw in a youthful gesture. “But you can’t go on deceiving her. It’s not even fair to her.”
    He sat straighter and said coldly, “Dona Inez is very old, and she’s the person I’ve always cared for most. She’s had a long and rather beautiful life, and I want the end of it to be in keeping. What she believes is not very important compared with the effect it will achieve.” He let a moment pass before saying distinctly, “She’ll want to see you—probably this evening.”
    Her head rose quickly and she gave him a wide alarmed stare. “Are you asking me to go on being your bogus fiancée? I won’t do it!”
    “Not for an old and ailing woman who believes in happy endings?”
    “I’m under no obligation to your grandmother.” But her voice shook. “You’re quite objective about this, aren’t you? Maybe you love Dona Inez, but your feelings for the rest of the sex are on the icy side. You’ll have to find someone else to act the part. I couldn’t go through with it.”
    “I think you could, quite charmingly. You’re a little shy, and people will therefore be careful what they say to you. There won’t be many awkward moments, and in any case I’ll be right there to help you through them.”
    “And what about my mother?” she asked shakily. “So far, she hasn’t an inkling about this ridiculous situation. She accepts the V.I.P. treatment because...”
    “That’s enough,” he said curtly. “You and your mother would have had the