Sonia looked toward the corner where her husband talked with some friends and noticed that they had been joined by two women who were looking at them shamelessly. One of them was a widowed dowager duchess who was about thirty years old, maybe older. It was said that she never sought to remarry because she liked being able to be with whoever she wanted without making a commitment. It was well known by everyone in high society that she was a very adventurous woman and yet despite her reputation high society did not forbid her entrance to their events. The other woman was a blond with an angelic face. She devoured her husband with her eyes and Sonia wanted to put her in her place. But she didn’t think that she had a right to do that when they had no obligations to each other.
After a while, her husband seemed to feel that she was staring at him and turned to look where she was. He smiled at her in that way that he knew was irresistible, she returned the gesture but inside she felt annoyed. Robert seemed to notice that something was wrong and approached her. “Is something wrong, dear?”
“Nothing to worry about, dear. I was just wondering who the woman that talked to you so animatedly was?”
“The dowager duchess?”
“No, the other one.” Sonia looked at him out of the corner of her eye.
“That’s Lucida Tempest. A good friend,” Robert answered naively, keeping quiet that they had been lovers. “Are you jealous?”
“Me? Please.” Sonia smiled. “You and I can’t feel that toward each other. Right?” She looked directly into his eyes.
Robert watched her, amused. He knew that she was jealous and that if the opposite situation happened, he would not be indifferent either.
“What kind of surname is Tempest? Do you know its meaning?”
“Of course I do and she honors that name.”
“Oh God.” Sonia rolled her eyes. “You men are the most passionate and least thinking creatures I know. I imagine she’s a tempest in the bed,” she said mockingly.
“Do you really want to have this conversation here?”
“Of course not. I already said what I had to say.” Sonia walked away to talk to other people and left Robert smiling at her jealousy.
CHAPTER 10
The next week Sonia’s parents had to leave and although she was happy that she was starting her own life Sonia was also sad at the possibility of not seeing them for a long time. Or perhaps never again if her father found out that she moved to another part of the country to live by herself, live the life of a single woman.
“Sonia, promise me that you will do everything possible to make your marriage work. That you will take care of your husband and be a good wife.”
“Yes, mother. I will. You don’t have to worry about anything.”
“You can see that he is a good man, and he loves you.”
“How can you tell that he loves me?”
“In his eyes, there is a look that I used to see in your father’s eyes a long time ago. Don’t throw that away. Try to get along with your husband and remember that marriage is about getting along and knowing when to give up and swallow your pride.”
Sonia wished it were true but Robert only saw her as a business associate. They might get along well but that was because they both knew that this wasn’t a real marriage.
Her father talked with Robert and Sonia wondered what they were whispering about. Her mother walked to them and gave Robert a hug. “Please, take care of Sonia. She is my greatest treasure. My only daughter and I want to see her happy.”
“I will Frances,” Robert assured her. “Don’t worry.”
Frances looked at him with a pleading gaze. “I trust you.”
While her mother said goodbye to Robert, Sonia’s father kissed her on the cheek. “I expect you to act with dignity. Like the daughter of the family Hearst that you are.”
“Yes, father.” Sonia thought he would hug her that he would tell her that everything would turn out well, but his cold demeanor told Sonia that he hadn’t forgotten what happened and she wondered if he knew something about her future plans.
“You have a good man, Sonia. Forget about your whims and the crazy idea about freedom. You’re married now and your first thought should be for your husband and the family that you will have together.” He turned and left without saying goodbye.
“Good voyage, father.” Sonia felt like crying at her father’s indifference at leaving her there. When he didn’t know when they would ever see each other again.
Robert placed a hand on her shoulders, comforting her. “Calm down.”
Sonia saw her parents get aboard the boat that would take them to America. Her eyes were wet with tears.
“Don’t worry, dear. You’ll see them later on.”
Sonia looked at Robert. “How do you know?”
“Well, I just know. They are your parents and they love you. You can’t just not see each other again.”
“Today I felt that my father doesn’t love me.”
“Don’t say that, Sonia. They love you.”
“He is disturbed by something and I don’t know what.”
Robert thanked god that his father-in-law had finally left because if he hadn’t with his attitude Sonia would have found out the truth ahead of time.
Later that day they were home discussing plans that they had for when they returned. The discussion distracted Sonia from the sadness caused by her parent's departure. Robert’s father arrived like a tornado, giving orders and demanding to see his son immediately. The door of the room opened suddenly without giving the butler a chance to announce his arrival.
“I need to talk to you immediately.”
“Good afternoon, father.” Robert was annoyed.
“It’s not so good for me.”
“At the very least you can greet the people who live in a house that is not your own.” Robert motioned for Sonia to come close.
The elderly man looked at Sonia like she was
