The Daughter of Doctor Moreau(59)
“We must toast again, for although I do not agree with Baudelaire’s assertion that one should always be drunk, it is imperative we be drunk at my only daughter’s engagement party. Pour n’être pas les esclaves martyrisés du Temps, enivrez-vous sans cesse,” Moreau said, grabbing the bottle and pouring more wine.
Ah, you smart devil, he thought. Trying to prevent any friction between the couple, quickly distracting them with the wine and a witty comment.
Montgomery had not taken a single sip, and there was no need to top his glass. He remained rooted to his spot, uncomfortable and wishing he might disappear without being conspicuous. As if sensing his thoughts, Eduardo approached him, bringing Carlota with him.
“Sir, I am trying to pick a stone for my bride-to-be. She says emeralds, but I almost feel inclined to choose a more unusual gemstone. Perhaps a yellow sapphire, which they say is the most valuable stone in Burmah. It might come close to matching her eyes, which are the most beautiful eyes in the world.”
“I know little about weddings and jewels,” Montgomery said, remembering Fanny and the magnificent earrings he’d once bought her. But he would not discuss her with this man.
“I forget a bachelor such as yourself wouldn’t have the opportunity to think about gifts for a lady.”
“Please don’t tease Mr. Laughton,” Carlota said, fingers sliding upon Eduardo’s jacket sleeve.
“I won’t. I’m very bad, sometimes, Mr. Laughton, and my jests don’t make everyone laugh.”
“Congratulations on your engagement,” Montgomery said, his voice without inflection, his eyes fixed on the girl’s face. Eduardo smiled at Carlota, and she bent her head slightly, shy as a deer.
They turned around, drifting away from Montgomery. Eduardo’s hand rested on the small of Carlota’s back. The way they looked at each other had the easy intimacy of lovers. He could picture them kissing and touching each other. In Eduardo’s sharp smile he read the triumphant announcement of a conqueror. The fool couldn’t see the silk threads of desire the girl had woven around him. Yet, in the end, even if he’d danced to her tune, or whether it had been the other way around, he held her tight in the palm of his hand. The hacendado, with a magnificent house, extravagant furniture, and a beautiful wife who was as shapely as a statue of Venus.
Girl, you’ve sold yourself, but did you calculate the price correctly? he wondered. The boy had a stinger. Maybe she didn’t mind. Some people kept scorpions for pets, after all.
Montgomery reclined on a chair until the clock struck the hour and he made an excuse and his exit. Alone in his room he stretched out his legs and smoked a cigarette, throwing his head back and staring at the ceiling.
Once darkness blanketed the house, he took an oil lantern and walked into the courtyard, breathing in the scents of the night. The house felt small to him, for all its windows and rooms.
“You can’t sleep again?” Carlota asked.
He turned around. She was standing in shadows, no lantern in hand, her head tipped to the side, watching him. Her wrapper was of a burgundy color and blended well with the night, and her hair was in a braid flowing down her back. She ought to have been abed. Everyone was.
“What are you doing, miss?” he asked and thought of a midnight rendezvous with a lover. She might be looking for Eduardo.
“I heard you walking around last night. You stopped in front of my door,” she said, not bothering to answer his question and stepping forward. Her eyes gleamed for a second, as if catching the light. She slipped in and out of the darkness with remarkable ease, and when she moved, as she did now, it was with a finesse that made him want to sigh.
He lowered his lantern, setting it down by his feet. The ground was covered with a smattering of petals from the fiddlewood tree guarding the fountain.
“I was drinking. I don’t remember where I went,” he replied.
“You didn’t drink today and you did not smile.”
“You are observant. And smart and quick. It was an expert move, what you did. Queen takes king.”
“Life is not a game,” she said, the swish of her wrapper as she moved was a subtle sort of music. They walked side by side, moving in circles, spinning around the light like two moths.
“I beg to differ. We are all chess pieces on your father’s ivory and mahogany set. But you are his queen, to move freely around the board in all directions and do his bidding. Good job.”
“Must you sour my day?” she asked, with a toss of her head. “It has been a good day. I have Eduardo and I have Yaxaktun.”
“Yes, indeed. I warn you off the man and you rush to him faster than a hummingbird. But I mustn’t chide you.”
“No, you shouldn’t.”
She swiveled on her heels, and he thought she was going to walk away from him, but she simply stood still, staring in the direction of the house.
“I must know I can trust you, Montgomery. Yaxaktun will have need of you.”
“How?”
“Someone must watch over it and the hybrids when I am not here. You heard Eduardo, he wishes for us to live in Mérida, and even if we should make our home in Vista Hermosa, it must mean leaving Yaxaktun.”
“Your father is here.”
“We both know he is old and ill. Besides, I may decide to run things differently now that this is all to be mine. He’s giving it to me, as a wedding gift. The whole of this,” she said, spreading her arms.