Dancing in the Shadows by Anne Saunders Page A

in English. Carlos, especially, regretted not being able to take today off to keep you company. But, well, it’s not so easy at the moment. My husband’s business, like that of his friend’s, Alfonso Roca’s, is a small fish being eaten by the sharks. It is, I believe, a world-wide problem.’
    â€˜We certainly have it in England. The larger competitive companies are swallowing the small family concerns.’
    â€˜And what do the small fish, the family concerns, do to combat the sharks?’
    â€˜They join forces.’
    â€˜That is precisely what my husband and don Alfonso are considering; in fact the details of the merger are under discussion. It would be a great pity if something unforeseen were to happen to prevent it taking place.’ Midnight blue eyes steadied on sherry-gold ones. Dorcas found herself holding her breath on the knowledge that the point of the conversation was soon to be explained to her. ‘Looking to the future, when my Enrique and don Alfonso retire, because don Alfonso has no son of his own, Carlos will be in full control.’
    Dorcas saw what Rose Ruiz was getting at.
    â€˜Don Alfonso cannot be expected to agree to the merger unless he is certain in his mind that his daughter’s interest will be safeguarded. It is both a blessing and a relief that Isabel and Carlos find each other
simpático.
’
    â€˜Are you saying their engagement is a major clause of the merger?’ Dorcas managed.
    â€˜No, I’m not saying that. It’s pretty obvious, though, that don Alfonso will feel happier about handing over the running of the business to Carlos if he’s his son-in-law.’
    Dorcas’s heartbeats seemed to fill her ears as her mouth moved to ask: ‘What does Carlos think about this?’
    â€˜I can assure you that Carlos is not the sacrificial lamb,’ Rose Ruiz replied on a small, wry smile. ‘It is true that Carlos has not admitted to himself that he could love Isabel yet. Any problem there is of a purely temporary nature. The realization of love takes many forms. It can erupt like a sunburst—and risk burning itself out on its own intensity. By far the best sort of love creeps up so gradually that it is difficult to pinpoint the exact moment it entered the relationship. That is how it will be for Carlos and Isabel. Carlos has known Isabel since she was a child, and still regards her as such. He taught her to swim, alongside his sister, even regarded her as a second sister. But Isabel is not his sister and she has reached an age when he could teach her other things, and learn something himself in the process. If he played at love with her, before long he would come to love her. Isabel is a sweet girl. It would be no hardship.’
    It occurred to Dorcas that Rose Ruiz wasn’t just explaining the set-up, but warning her off. She obviously saw Dorcas as a threat. She had taken a hand-to-shoulder contact and an exchange of glances and exaggerated it in her mind.
    Dorcas didn’t believe that Carlos’s marriage to Isabel Roca was as cut and dried as his mother was making out. It was a possibility—no more and no less—in no way threatened by Dorcas’s presence.
    Rose Ruiz stressed: ‘It will be a good marriage. Isabel has been brought up to accept the fact that Spain is a masculine country. She will expect Carlos to dominate the marriage. It wouldn’t do for you, Dorcas. I have never found marriage to a dominant man stifling, for the simple reason that prior to my marriage I’d never tasted this so-called freedom and equality of the sexes. We didn’t have it in my day. You don’t miss what you’ve never had. What you know isn’t always best, but it’s safer to stick to it.’
    Meaning I should stick to what I know best, thought Dorcas.
    â€˜The independence we enjoy now has been too hard-won to be lightly thrown away,’ Dorcas agreed, allowing that as a point in