Free Counterfeit Bride by Sara Craven Page B

there, and she saw him look at it as he turned to leave, but he said nothing and she breathed again. She debated whether or not to take off the truck driver's jacket and decided against it. In one pocket, her fingers encountered the torch which she had completely forgotten about, and its solid presence idiotically cheered her.
    There was a sink in one corner of the room, consisting of a tin bowl with an attached waste pipe. Nicola decided that one priority was to give the cooking pot even a rudimentary wash. There was an enamel coffee pot, battered but usable, standing under the sink, and Nicola shook her head as she looked at it. The preparation of this meal was going to be a challenge, and surviving it could well be a miracle.
    Yet, in the event, it proved simpler than she had imagined, and when the spicy savoury smell of the stew began to fill the cabin, Nicola forgot her qualms and allowed herself to realise how hungry she was.
    She knew he was watching her. They were watching each other, taking each other's measure like adversaries who know battle is about to begin. She'd seen him bring in a blanket roll and toss it on to the bed, and had bent towards her cooking, glad that the heat from the fire gave her an excuse for the sudden flare of colour in her face.
    She tried to remind herself of all the times she had been alone with Ewan. When she had been close in his arms, kissed and caressed by him as he tried to persuade her to let him make love to her. Yet even then she had always felt she was ultimately in control of the situation.
    But not with this man, she thought. This man who was a law unto himself.
    He came back into the cabin, humming softly to himself. She recognised the tune. It was the one the mariachi band had been playing at the hotel restaurant, and her face went blank as she hastened.
    'Is the food ready?' he broke off the tune to ask, and she jumped.
    'Er—yes, but I don't know how we're going to manage...'
    'I found a fork and spoon in my saddlebag. You can have the spoon.'
    Her hands were shaking as she tried to ladle the stew on to the plate, but eventually she managed and placed it on the table between them. She picked up the spoon and made herself eat, forcing each mouthful down her reluctant throat, while her mind ran feverishly like a tiny animal on a wheel.
    His choice of tune had been purely fortuitous, she tried to reassure herself. He hadn't recognised her. To him, she was just a silly tourist who'd got herself into a difficult situation and wanted to be rescued.
    'You are very quiet.' He was watching her. 'Have you run out of questions, chica?'
    All, except for the sixty-four-thousand-dollar one, she thought shakily, and I don't think I want to know the answer to that.
    She tried to smile. 'Tell me some more about Miguel.'
    He shrugged. 'He was a friend, and the son of a friend. While he was at university, he became imbued with political ideals about equality. He saw it as his duty to work with the ejiditarios, and fight for their rights. He even tried to become one of them—not with any great success, as you see.'
    'And you disagreed with him?’
    'No. I respected his view, his ideals. But then the government's measures on land reform were not sufficient for him. They did not move fast enough. He began to say that landowners who were unwilling to surrender their estates should be dispossessed—by force if necessary. And he did not stop at talking. He led a group of peons to an estate north of here. They had guns, shots were fired, and an overseer injured. Miguel has placed himself outside the law.'
    Nicola asked huskily, 'What happened? Did the landowner agree to their demands, and give up his land?'
    'Si.' His mouth curled. 'The spineless fool.'
    Her heart missed a beat. 'You wouldn't do so?’
    'No,' he said softly. His eyes met hers across the table, as hard as obsidian. 'What I give, I give, but I allow nothing to be taken from me against my will.'
    She went on looking at him, trying to