Chapter 8

Three months had passed. Sam had regained her weight and her skin was not pale anymore. Every day she looked more energetic and healthy and she no longer seemed as shy as when she first arrived at the ranch. Raul kept following her around asking her imprudent questions and trying to find out why she was covering her face, but she ignored him and only laughed at his witticisms.

“I owe the boss a lot,” the boy sat down on the grass and put a twig in his mouth. “My parents died in a shootout when I was ten and I spent three years living on the streets and stealing in the markets to be able to eat. One day a man selling apples caught me stealing from him and chased me with a rifle. I ran into Mr. Connovan and he assured the man that he would punish me and he did. He demanded I clean the stable and then pulled me by the ears because I wouldn't bathe. When he fed me, bought me clothes, and put one of his employees to take care of me. He told me that the best way to get food and supply my needs was to work, so he put me to clean the stables. Since that day I have been living on the ranch and helping with the work, two years have passed.

“Then you are fifteen years old,” she deduced. “You're still a brat.”

“Ha! I am a man,” replied the boy with a frown. “I even have a girlfriend.”

Sam burst out laughing.

“You don't even know how to bathe! What girlfriend you're going to have.”

“Of course I do,” bragged the boy. “And not just here at the ranch,” he came closer to her to whisper the last thing.

“So little and you're already a flower picker!” she laughed and he imitated her.

“By the way, the boss is kind of in love, haven't you noticed?” Raul muttered, looking around.

“Yes, it's very obvious that he and Anabela have mutual feelings,” Sam commented. Even though she was having a good time at the estate and had certain luxuries and benefits, she couldn't stand to see Arthur with the girl. She was very sweet about him and it was obvious that they had something going on.

“What a thing to say!” the boy denied in amusement. “Those two are like siblings. I heard they grew up together and have always treated each other like family. No, they don't have that kind of relationship. Even Anabela was going to get married…” Raul paused, remembering what Henry Jones did to the girl still made him angry. “Well, you know what happened. But the rumors say what I suspect.”

“Rumors?” Sam asked curiously.

“Rumors of the boss's crush…” The boy looked at her mischievously. “They say he's in love with you and you're in love with him.”

Sam coughed in shock.

“You cheeky brat!” she said nervously. "Stop making things up!” her heart was pounding too hard.

“I'm not making anything up. The boss has never brought a guest to his house before. He doesn't treat any woman the way he does you either, if you saw how he defends you and cares for you, you're his protégé and everyone is clear about that.”

“That's not why he does it, you know how generous Arthur is and he's also grateful because I saved his life.”

“Yes, but he treats you differently. He looks at you with those beady little eyes, takes you for walks in his spare time, showers you with gifts, and waits for you for dinner. If you heard how he talks about you, he's very obvious and so are you. What I don't understand is why none of you don't take the step, our boss is very self-righteous and self-conscious, you should seduce him.”

“That's enough, Raul,” Sam was a bundle of nerves and butterflies fluttered in her stomach. “Stop saying those things, please.”

After she had the strange conversation with the boy, Sam paced back and forth in the room, her hands were shaking and her breathing was ragged. While they had kissed and he was cute with her, Arthur treated her like a friend and they never talked about that passionate kiss they gave each other. No, that little boy was making things up, she wasn't going to get her hopes up because of a boy's assumptions.

(...)

“Thank you very much, Arthur,” said Sam with a blush. They were both sitting on a piece of furniture that was rocking like a swing. It was night and a half-moon with the starry sky reminded them of that kiss they gave each other nine months ago.

“You don't have to thank me, you're very good at what you do, it's only fair that you have a place to make your remedies.”

“I'll pay you back when I start making money," she said as she played with her hands. She tried to hide her nervousness, since, being so close to him and alone in the dark of the night, awakened certain things she struggled to hide.

“You don't have to pay me anything, just being my doctor is enough for me,” he smiled in such a cute way that Sam swallowed hard. “By the way…” Arthur looked into her eyes nervously, unsettling her nerves. “There's something you don't know and I want to tell you..." Sam tried not to get more nervous. Was he going to propose? Shivers ran through her skin and she had to clasp her hands together to stop the tremors.

“S-Something wrong?” she stammered.

“You and I have become good friends and have shared many things…”

Sam felt a strange thrill run across her skin. She looked at him intently and couldn't help but smile.

“Since we are friends I want you to be the first to know, I... I'm going to marry Ben's eldest daughter, she will visit me in a few days to see the estate.”

Sam was speechless. ‘No, that couldn't be true.’ She fought back her tears and rested her hands on her chest, her heart aching. She ducked her crystallized gaze and rubbed her own eyes to relieve the stinging her accumulated tears gave her. It couldn't be true. Marry? To another woman?

“It's a good thing you know from my mouth and don't get the surprise,” It pained him to continue, he felt like the meanest man in the world, but if she was starting to have feelings for him, it was better to root them out, besides he had to prepare her for that visit. He only hoped his intuition was wrong and Sam didn't feel those things, he had to get married, the engagement was already arranged and he couldn't make that snub to the Ben's nor disobey his father's last will. Besides, this alliance would help him achieve his objectives in that region and the neighboring towns, he had to find a way to take power away from the Delton’s and the Jones, he wanted to put an end to that mafia that was destroying many innocent lives.

“Thank you for trusting me,” no matter how hard she struggled, her words came out haltingly. “I'm glad you consider me so close. Congratulations..." She breathed to keep from crying. “She will be very lucky... With your permission I'm going to sleep, I'm tired.” She got up abruptly and left in a hurry, she wanted to escape and release her tears. She was very foolish and presumptuous to believe that a man like him could have such feelings for her, it was obvious that he would look for someone from his status.

Sam locked herself in her room and threw herself on the bed. Her face was wet and her eyes were red from crying. She was foolish to believe that it was her he was in love with, she was too fanciful to think he would confess his feelings to her. She cried all night, again her heart was being torn to pieces, again she felt too little to be loved.

“Dad..., I miss you. Dad, I need you with me…” She fell asleep when her body got tired of crying so much.

(...)

Arthur had a mug of beer in his hands. He never used to drink, but that night he needed to do something out of his principles and inhibitions. His consolation was that beautiful memory: the crescent moon and the stars in that beautiful navy blue sky; her soft chin and her luscious lips. At that time he did not know of his father's arrangement, nor that it was the condition for the alliance to help him. A tear rolled down his cheek and he wiped it away quickly. He had to be strong and not think only of himself, although the idea of marrying a woman he did not love terrified him. What would his future be like? What would he do with Sam? Would it be healthy for her to live at the estate next to his wife? Would it be okay to be under the same roof with the woman he madly desired? How to tell Sam that he could not live there when he married? Obviously, he would give her a house, maybe he would give her a home on his land, near the ranch, or if she preferred he could buy her one in town. But what would be his excuse, would he have to confess to her that he had fallen in love with her?

He took a sip of the barley drink and ran his hand over his nose, he had to act the right way. But as long as he was not married he could enjoy her company, try to get to know her more, and discover her past and the reason for hiding her face. Sometimes her behavior was suspicious to him and she seemed to be running away from something or someone, he knew she would be incapable of harm, but he should not trust her completely.

(...)

The celebration was exuberant and half the town attended the wedding. She danced most of the night with her father since Daniel did not want to. Every time she remembered his lips brushing hers when the minister asked the groom to kiss the bride, her heart pounded with agitation. It was a fleeting kiss, a brush of lips, but it was the most intimate gesture she had ever received from him. Her cheeks turned red as she remembered that she would give herself to him that night and she could finally kiss those lips freely and without inhibitions. The music was lively, people were dancing, eating, laughing, talking, and drinking. She stopped dancing with her progenitor and looked for a drink to quench her thirst, walked over to where her husband was, and sat down next to him. Sam leaned on his shoulder, but Daniel roughly pulled her away.

“Stop being an exhibitionist! We're in front of people, don't be anxious, wife, I'm doing you a favor today.”

Sam pulled away from him full of shame. She just leaned back from him, she wasn't doing anything wrong. She was hurt by his words, to do her the favor? Didn't they love each other and want to be together, the two of them? She fought back the tears and went to get a drink, this time it would be something with alcohol in it. When she took the first sip her tears made their presence known, she took a deep breath and tried to smile to not attract the attention of the guests. Screams and murmurs brought her out of her reverie, she ran to where all the people from the party had gathered, her heart crumpled and her chest tightened so much that she felt like she was drowning when she saw her father lying on the floor convulsing. She ran to him and shook him hard.

“Don't leave me!” she cried out in desperation. Her father stroked her cheek and tried to tell her something, but she didn't understand, that's when he closed his eyes forever.

Sam woke up excited and with a scream that frightened Arthur. He knocked on her door with concern and when he received no answer, he looked for the master key and opened it. He ran to Sam who was still lying in bed and tried to bring her to herself. She was writhing on the mattress crying loudly and violently. The great uproar awakened the sleeping maids in the mansion and they all came upstairs frightened. Some simply murmured how uncomfortable the situation was, and complained that they were fed up with the attacks of the boss's guest.

Nidia, on the other hand, got up, pulled a blanket over her body, and hurried to prepare some chamomile tea. It had been a long time since Sam had had those attacks in the wee hours of the morning and she even thought she had been cured of whatever it was that was making her like this. She went upstairs with the mug and shooed the curious women away for privacy.

“Only the boss would think of bringing a madwoman into the house,” one of the maids complained to another as they headed for the bedroom.

“Yes, he should take her to a shrink and have her committed for life. She's not even his relative to take care of. She's so odd! She must be very ugly for her to cover her face.”

The maids laughed mischievously and locked themselves in their bedrooms.

“Sam, breathe,” Arthur tried to calm her down. “Please, precious.”

She looked at him in shame. She was tired of being a burden to him, she looked at Nidia and couldn't help the tears, that poor lady should be resting and not staying up all night because of her.

Arthur hugged her and she cried into his chest. After she calmed down, Nidia went to sleep and Arthur watched her sadly. He stroked her hair and was tempted to remove that veil. Even to sleep, she would not get rid of it. He remembered that Nidia tried to take it off when she had her first seizure and her crisis got worse. Why was it so important? He sighed. Maybe it was a psychological situation, a way to protect herself from the outside.

“What did they do to you that marked you so much? Who hurt you so much, my beloved Sam?”

He kissed her forehead and lay down beside her. He knew it was wrong, but he feared it would happen again. He kissed her forehead again and hugged her, settling her on his lap.

"It'll only be a few hours," he thought, "I'll get up earlier so no one will see me leave here."

Sam wrapped her arms around him and let out a sigh.

“I love you, Arthur…” he widened his eyes and they glazed over. She spoke in her sleep, so he would keep her secret in his heart.

“I love you too," he replied with sadness in her eyes. "But love is not just having a romantic relationship, I can love you from afar watching over your well-being, I promise I won't let anyone else hurt you.”

“Thank you…” she continued with her babbling. “It's not the kind of love I expected to have from you, but I'm happy to have it. Sorry for causing you so much trouble…”

She said no more. He kissed her cheek again and pulled her tighter to him.

Love manifests itself in different ways, but one will always want the well-being of the loved one.