Man of Destiny Read Free

clutching movement at her, as if he was afraid she might vanish into thin air at any moment.
    “Y-yes, sir,” he stammered.
    Caroline put her arm about his shoulders.
    “The Marqu e s de Fonteira, I presume?” she stated rather than asked, with a correctness of speech she had been practising.
    For the first time a gleam of humour lit the dark eyes.
    “I’m afraid not. Yo u honour me, however, for the Marques is a very good friend of mine. He is, however, at his estates in Estoril, and resting for the time being. I am his—” he waved that strong brown hand —“how do you call it? Bailiff, man of affairs, manager... ? In addition to being a kinsman on my mother’s side. The name is de Capuchos—Vasco Duarte de Capuchos.”
    Caroline looked suitably impressed.
    “How do you do, Senhor de Capuchos?”
    “How do you do, Senhora Worth ? ”
    “We have had a very pleasant voyage.” She found the amused look in the strange eyes far more confusing than the coldness. “Richard has enjoyed it ... Haven’t you, Richard?” giving him a gentle prod.
    “Y-yes,” he stammered again.
    “And the weather, of course, has been perfect.”
    “It normally is on such a voyage.” He directed at her a glance of amused contempt. “But you, of course, are English. The weather is important to you.”
    She felt the colour sting her cheeks ... a tiny rush of resentful, very hot colour. His arrogance was far worse than anything she had expected from the Marques. If this was his man of affairs, and Richard was to be handed over to him, the outlook was not good.
    “Where is your luggage?” The clipped voice was suddenly even more clipped and extraordinarily brisk. “Everything is out of your cabin? There is nothing that you have overlooked ? ”
    “No. The heavy stuff has already gone ashore.”
    “Yours, as well as Richard’s?”
    “Why, yes. I understood that I am to remain with him for a few days.”
    A slight shrug of the shoulders deprecated anything of the kind.
    “It is not necessary—except, perhaps, for a couple of days. I shall arrange for someone to take charge of him as quickly as possible, and in the meantime a member of the hotel staff could make herself responsible for him. I have booked rooms at the Aviz, so we’d better go there without delay. Is this yours?” He picked up a small hand case that was standing on the deck beside her, and she instantly denied that there was any necessity for him to carry it.
    “It is quite light. I can manage.. .”
    A pair of handsome dark eyebrows lifted and made her feel both impulsive and stupid.
    “Look after the boy,” he advised. “That is your job, senhorita ... for the time being! Make certain he doesn’t fall into the sea while leaving the ship.” They descended a somewhat steep ladder into the launch that was waiting, and despite a hot feeling about her neck and a sense of resentment that made her clench her teeth, Caroline realised as they made the descent that there was a certain amount of practical common sense in the recommendation to look after Richard. He was not normally particularly nervous, but today his wits seemed to have deserted him, and he clung to her in an almost embarrassing fashion as they negotiated the ladder. A jovial seaman came to her assistance and relieved her of the encumbrance before they actually entered the launch, and then she saw that Senhor de Capuchos, who had gone ahead of them, was eyeing them both with marked disfavour.
    He snatched Richard—who had been handed back to her—out of her arms, and dumped him on the seat beside him.
    “The boy is not yet a very brave one, no?” he said, in a tone of cold criticism.
    She began indignantly:
    “He’s only very little.” And then staggered and might very possibly have fallen overboard herself if his arm hadn’t come out and steadied her. He refused to release her until she was safely seated, and Richard had seized the opportunity to wriggle across and literally hurl himself