‘I’d love to, but it’ll have to wait until we return,’ she said.
‘You’re going away?’
‘Catalina and I are going up to Sol y Nieve for a few days skiing. I’ll call you when we get back,’ she promised.
An hour later the car departed, laden with five suitcases for Catalina and two for Maggie, to start the short journey up the mountain to the ski resort.
It had taken less than an hour for them to remove themselves into what felt like another world. Gone was the balmy air of the foothills, replaced by freezing temperatures and dazzling snow as far as the eye could see. In this cheerful place, where the tourist season was just under way, Maggie could lose herself in mindless activity, and forget that she’d come within an inch of doing something for which her conscience would have reproached her. Or at least, she could try to forget.
Skiing with Catalina could be frustrating. The girl was at home only on the ‘green’ and ‘blue’ runs, the two lowest rungs of difficulty. But Maggie had honed her skills on these mountains in the dark days of her marriage, when she scarcely cared what happened to her. From difficult ‘red’ runs she had progressed to hair-raising ‘black’. The Sierra Nevada had five black runs, two of them almost sheer drops, and she was longing to return to them, but with Catalina that was impossible.
When they had finished eating they began to head back in the direction of the ski lift. Suddenly she heard a voice call, ‘Hey, Maggie!’
Turning she saw two young men in ski clothes, making their way towards her. Against the blinding snow she didn’t recognise either of them until Catalina squealed with excitement, and cried,
‘Goodness, yes, it is,’ she said. ‘I wonder who the other boy is.’
Jose’s companion was an undistinguished looking youth with a slightly sloping chin and prominent eyes. He was extremely tall with long, awkward legs and no social graces whatever.
‘Allow me to introduce my friend Horacio,’ Jose said, when he’d approached them. ‘We are taking a brief skiing holiday.’
His eyes, meeting Maggie’s, were too innocent to be true, and an incredible thought came to her. Once, Jose had fancied himself in love with her. Surely it wasn’t possible that…?
‘Permit us to buy you both coffee,’ Jose offered smoothly.
‘We’ve just eaten, thank you,’ Maggie said. ‘We were about to return to the slopes.’
‘So were we. What a coincidence!’
‘Yes, isn’t it?’ she said, her lips twitching.
The four of them skied together for the rest of the day, and after that it seemed natural to meet up for a meal that evening. By now Horacio was smitten by Catalina, and goofily unable to hide it. The girl’s natural kindness stopped her snubbing him too firmly. Luckily he turned out to be a good dancer, so she was able to keep him content with a few energetic turns about the floor. This left Maggie and Jose together at the table.
‘Where on earth did you find him?’ she chuckled.
‘He works for me. He’s a good lad, but he doesn’t have much social life, so when I hauled him up here he jumped at it.’ He smiled at her outrageously. ‘Well, I could hardly come on my own. And, now that I’m here-’ He held out his hands invitingly.
She laughed and let him lead her onto the floor, discovering that she was in the mood for a harmless flirtation. They danced together a couple of times, then everyone changed partners and she found herself with Horacio. The next few minutes were a trial, as he kept trying to look over his shoulder at Catalina. The sight of her happily dancing and giggling with Jose reduced him to anguish. Maggie was glad when it was time for them all to say goodnight.
In the privacy of their suite, the two young women indulged themselves in a hearty burst of laughter.
‘If only he’d stick to dancing, everything would be fine,’ Catalina gasped. ‘But he will talk about balance sheets and import regulations.’ She went off in another convulsion of mirth, and Maggie joined her. It made a good end to an enjoyable day.
The four of them spent the next morning wandering around the town on a shopping expedition. It was an enchanted place, covered in snow and full of coloured lights. Dazzling Christmas trees stood on every corner, the shop windows were packed with gifts, and silver bells hung overhead. Maggie and Jose had gotten a little ahead of the other two when it was time to return to the hotel, and they walked up the steps and into the reception area together. There Maggie stopped, astonished.
‘Good afternoon, Senora Cortez,’ Sebastian said affably.
‘Senor, I had no idea that you meant to come here.’
‘The snow reports are encouraging, and as both Alfonso and myself are keen skiers, we couldn’t resist.’
Alfonso, a little way behind, inclined his head courteously. Maggie brought Jose forward and there were murmured greetings all round.
‘I wonder if that was the only reason,’ she challenged Sebastian. ‘If I was suspicious, I might think you were checking up on me.’
‘And if I was suspicious, I might ask you where your charge is. There seems to be no sign of Catalina.’
‘She’ll be here in a moment. We’ve all been on a shopping trip.’
‘All?’
‘Jose’s friend is also with us. He’ll be arriving with Catalina in a moment.’
Sebastian frowned. ‘And you’ve permitted them to be alone together?’
‘As alone as anyone can be in this place.’
A hint of amusement in her manner made him bite back whatever he might have said, and the next moment Catalina appeared, accompanied by what seemed to be a mountain of parcels on beanpole legs. She waved to them and took hold of the mountain’s arm, guiding it gently in the right direction and causing it to halt just in time. The removal of the top two parcels revealed Horacio, puffed, amiable and red-faced.
‘I apologise for misjudging you,’ Sebastian murmured to Maggie when the introductions were over. ‘The most prurient gossip in the world couldn’t associate scandal with that idiot. But what about the other one?’
‘Jose came to see me,’ she murmured. ‘I knew him years ago and he had a boy’s infatuation for me.’
‘And now he plans to make up for lost time?’
‘So it would seem.’
‘He’s far too young for you.’
‘Thank you!’ she said, half-laughing, half-indignant. ‘It’s a matter of three years.’
‘Years,’ he said dismissively. ‘Did you think I was talking about years?’
‘I don’t know what you’re talking about,’ she said tartly, although she actually knew very well.
She told herself she was annoyed with Sebastian for coming here. They had agreed that it was a question of honour. Where was his honour now? But then, where was hers to have felt that lifting of the heart at the sight of him? Was it honourable to notice how handsome he was, how much taller than every other man, and how everyone looked at him, especially the women?
But then she told herself to stop being melodramatic. There were six of them. What could happen?
Sebastian gallantly informed the ladies that he would meet them for lunch in an hour. Jose and Horacio would also be welcome. Horacio prepared to carry Catalina’s booty up to her suite, but at a nod from Sebastian Alfonso firmly removed the parcels.
They ate in the open at the hotel’s balcony restaurant, which seemed to hang over a sheer drop. Above them rose the splendid vista of the mountains, the white broken only by little coloured figures dashing down the slopes.
‘How can they do that when it’s as steep as a wall?’ Catalina squealed, covering her eyes with her hand.
‘Catalina is happiest on very easy runs,’ Maggie explained to Sebastian.
‘But if you want to try the red or black,’ Catalina offered, ‘I shall-I shall
She finished with an air of triumph. Everyone laughed at this anticlimax, and Sebastian said something polite about her forbearance.
Catalina was as good as her word. When the meal was over, they all went up to the top of a red run that made her gulp, but raised Maggie’s spirits. She looked at it so longingly that Sebastian read her face.
