Marriage Made in Rebellion by Sophia James

Author:Sophia James
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2015-02-01T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter Ten

Señora Antonia Herrera y Salazar briskly tied the ribbons of her new bonnet beneath her chin and bent to reassure the old woman before her, tucked warmly into a large bed.

‘I will only be gone for an hour, Maria. My appointment is at two.’

The lined face lightened. ‘You have the papers regarding the loans?’

‘I do.’ Her fingers touched the soft leather of her bag. ‘The numbers in the ledgers are heartening, as well. I looked at them all last night and compared them to our takings at this time four years ago.’

‘We have come a long way, then. You and I.’

Kissing the offered cheek, Antonia stood. She could hear the carriage slow at their doorstep and did not wish for any tardiness.

‘How do I look?’

‘Beautiful. But then you always did, my dear. A companion fit for a king. The younger Señor Morales shall agree to all our requests, I am certain of it. He shall be smitten by you.’

Outside, the driver’s eyes widened as she let herself into the hired hack. She had dressed today in the most sombre of all her clothes and yet still she felt exposed somehow, back in the ordinary world of the lives of others.

‘I wish to go to the Calle de Alcala.’

They needed a loan because there was no way of expanding their premises without more money and without some form of enlargement and modernisation the Santa Maria burdel was doomed to failure.

Other establishments had come to the streets around the port in the past few years and they had not all been fair, the quest for riches in the trade of flesh speaking a language that held no moral scruples. Competitors had tried to poach the women who worked for her and frighten her customers. They had spread rumours and threatened her with retribution.

But Antonia had not buckled and she had never let anyone in close.

Not one. Not even Maria.

She had been good at the details and possibilities that came with running a business. Already she had paid back her first loans and saved a good bit besides. Alberto Morales, the manager of the loan company, had been a helpful and valued friend, but the old man had died suddenly a month ago and she had heard it said his only son was nowhere near as generous with his lending. Smoothing down the heavy fabric of her skirt, she swore beneath her breath. ‘Only now,’ she whispered to herself and liked the calm that seemed to emanate from the two simple words.

Her mantra. The way she lived. Her pathway through difficulty and disappointment. No future and no past. This moment. This second. This heartbeat of hope and ambition.

Pushing away anything else, she paid the driver and alighted, the stairs leading to the front entrance of the stone building steep and solid.

* * *

After introducing himself to her, Señor Mateo Morales got straight down to business.

‘Your way of life is rather a chancy one, Señora Herrera y Salazar. I should have imagined my father must have told you that many times.

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