.
"¡Sangre de Dios!" he swore, then glanced apologetically at the priest. "Will you stand still, Catalina?" he pleaded as he pulled his dangling sword free of the silken folds just before his wife and his recently freed sword were encompassed in yet another entangling swirl of silk.
Don Pedro finally realized who was embracing his wife, and glancing over his shoulder at the laughing gentlemen, he spat, "You fools! That is my wife's sister. Geoffrey Christian's wife! Unless you want her to recognize you, and then, God forbid, have him come swaggering down the stairs next, then go into the courtyard before you are seen. Quickly!" he urged the two now serious-faced gentlemen, who quickly followed his bidding. The priest, whose dark robes whispered of his silent passing, was not far behind.
"Magdalena! Mi hermana ," Catalina cried, hugging her long-lost sister to her.
"Catalina! Oh, it has been so long!" Magdalena said tearfully.
Catalina, half-crying, half-laughing, held her younger sister at arm's length for a moment while she looked her up and down. "More beautiful than ever! Always, you were the pretty one," she said, but not jealously. "A good thing Pedro saw me first and that you were so much younger, or..." She let her words trail away as she hugged her sister close again. " Pedro! " she cried out, suddenly seeming to remember her husband standing at her side.
"It is Magdalena, Pedro! It is unbelievable, si? " she demanded, far more delighted about the strange turn of events than her husband seemed to be.
"Indeed. I am surprised to see you in Do n Rodrigo's home, Doña Magdalena, remembering as I do his bitterness at her betrayal," Don Pedro greeted his sister-in-law. "I find it difficult to believe that he has forgiven you. Or has that fine Englishman you wed left you for another woman, or, perhaps, even left you a widow?" he asked, hopeful of such a circumstance.
Magdalena raised her chin proudly. " Mi padre wrote to me and asked me to come home. He, Don Pedro, made the first gesture at reconciliation. Mi madre is very ill. I came to be at her side. I am also still very happily married to Geoffrey Christian, who is still very much alive," Magdalena said, taking great pleasure in saying the name she knew would cause her brother-in-law such irritation.
"A pity," Don Pedro murmured. "I did not see his ship anchored in the harbor. He did not accompany you to Santo Domingo?" he inquired. "Perhaps he has grown tired of going to sea and no longer captains a ship? Has he become one of those fat and lazy inglés surrounded by yapping hounds, and who cannot bear to leave his hearth and home? Lost his courage, eh? It has been known to happen," Don Pedro added sadly, hoping to bait Magdalena into telling him the exact whereabouts of the captain of the Arion .
"Should you wish to see how fat my husband has become, then please, you may see for yourself, for a pair of his breeches lies on my bed upstairs. I was darning a small rip when I heard your voices," Magdalena informed a rather startled Don Pedro, for even he had not expected that Geoffrey Christian was actually staying at Casa del Mantevares. "Yes, mi padre has graciously accepted my husband as a guest in his home."
"Your husband sailed here with you? He is in Santo Domingo now?" Don Pedro demanded, his expression of concern causing Magdalena to smile.
"No, he has sailed, but we expect his return any day. Contrary to what you may believe, Don Pedro, the Arion sailed into Santo Domingo without a shot being fired. And nothing, thus far, has been looted. Unless, of course, you count the fluttering hearts lost to many a crew member aboard the Arion . It has happened before, if you remember the last time you met my husband," Magdalena reminded him, though she needn't have, for that was memory that ate at Don Pedro every day of his life. The last time he had crossed bows with Geoffrey Christian had cost him his ship. That he would never forget.
"Magdalena, por favor! "
"¡Sangre de Dios!" he swore, then glanced apologetically at the priest. "Will you stand still, Catalina?" he pleaded as he pulled his dangling sword free of the silken folds just before his wife and his recently freed sword were encompassed in yet another entangling swirl of silk.
Don Pedro finally realized who was embracing his wife, and glancing over his shoulder at the laughing gentlemen, he spat, "You fools! That is my wife's sister. Geoffrey Christian's wife! Unless you want her to recognize you, and then, God forbid, have him come swaggering down the stairs next, then go into the courtyard before you are seen. Quickly!" he urged the two now serious-faced gentlemen, who quickly followed his bidding. The priest, whose dark robes whispered of his silent passing, was not far behind.
"Magdalena! Mi hermana ," Catalina cried, hugging her long-lost sister to her.
"Catalina! Oh, it has been so long!" Magdalena said tearfully.
Catalina, half-crying, half-laughing, held her younger sister at arm's length for a moment while she looked her up and down. "More beautiful than ever! Always, you were the pretty one," she said, but not jealously. "A good thing Pedro saw me first and that you were so much younger, or..." She let her words trail away as she hugged her sister close again. " Pedro! " she cried out, suddenly seeming to remember her husband standing at her side.
"It is Magdalena, Pedro! It is unbelievable, si? " she demanded, far more delighted about the strange turn of events than her husband seemed to be.
"Indeed. I am surprised to see you in Do n Rodrigo's home, Doña Magdalena, remembering as I do his bitterness at her betrayal," Don Pedro greeted his sister-in-law. "I find it difficult to believe that he has forgiven you. Or has that fine Englishman you wed left you for another woman, or, perhaps, even left you a widow?" he asked, hopeful of such a circumstance.
Magdalena raised her chin proudly. " Mi padre wrote to me and asked me to come home. He, Don Pedro, made the first gesture at reconciliation. Mi madre is very ill. I came to be at her side. I am also still very happily married to Geoffrey Christian, who is still very much alive," Magdalena said, taking great pleasure in saying the name she knew would cause her brother-in-law such irritation.
"A pity," Don Pedro murmured. "I did not see his ship anchored in the harbor. He did not accompany you to Santo Domingo?" he inquired. "Perhaps he has grown tired of going to sea and no longer captains a ship? Has he become one of those fat and lazy inglés surrounded by yapping hounds, and who cannot bear to leave his hearth and home? Lost his courage, eh? It has been known to happen," Don Pedro added sadly, hoping to bait Magdalena into telling him the exact whereabouts of the captain of the Arion .
"Should you wish to see how fat my husband has become, then please, you may see for yourself, for a pair of his breeches lies on my bed upstairs. I was darning a small rip when I heard your voices," Magdalena informed a rather startled Don Pedro, for even he had not expected that Geoffrey Christian was actually staying at Casa del Mantevares. "Yes, mi padre has graciously accepted my husband as a guest in his home."
"Your husband sailed here with you? He is in Santo Domingo now?" Don Pedro demanded, his expression of concern causing Magdalena to smile.
"No, he has sailed, but we expect his return any day. Contrary to what you may believe, Don Pedro, the Arion sailed into Santo Domingo without a shot being fired. And nothing, thus far, has been looted. Unless, of course, you count the fluttering hearts lost to many a crew member aboard the Arion . It has happened before, if you remember the last time you met my husband," Magdalena reminded him, though she needn't have, for that was memory that ate at Don Pedro every day of his life. The last time he had crossed bows with Geoffrey Christian had cost him his ship. That he would never forget.
"Magdalena, por favor! "
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