Golden Paradise (Vincente 1) Read Online Free PDF Page B

traveling on the road alone. As it is, it will be dark before we can get home."
    "Is it dangerous?" Isabel asked, wanting to keep him with her as long as possible.
    "Indeed it can be. One of my vaqueros saw bear tracks beside the road this morning." Marquis knew he was making excuses. True, he had promised his mother he would ride out to meet her, but it would not be necessary for him to leave for at least two more hours.
    Isabel's mouth dropped and her eyes were like glittering ice. "There are so many things I want to ask you. We should be getting acquainted. Would you rather be with your mother than spend time with me?"
    His smile was quick and his teeth flashed. Shrugging his shoulders, he explained, "Alas, I fear I must. It grieves me to leave two such charming ladies. May I escort you back to your mother and father?"
    Now Isabel made no attempt to hide her ill humor. Her face grew rigid with displeasure. "No. I will just stay in the garden. You can take my sister back inside since you seem to prefer her company to mine."
    Marquis laughed and winked at the young sister. "I understand you will be here for dinner. I will see you both then." With a nod of his handsome head, Marquis turned and walked away.
    Isabel watched him until he was out of sight. Her anger had been ignited and needed to be vented on someone. There was an enigmatic gleam in her eyes as she turned on her sister. Grabbing the flower blossom Marquis had given Eleanor, she threw it on the ground, stomping it beneath her shoes. Her face was distorted with fury as she raged at her sister.
    "How do you like the flower now, Eleanor? Does my betrothed make your heart swell with lust? Do you covet him for yourself?"
    "No, Isabel. I would never do that." The tears that fell down her sister's face had no effect on Isabel, nor did they stay her hand from striking Eleanor hard across the face, leaving a red handprint.
    "I will teach you to flirt with my betrothed. You cannot think he found you pretty, can you?" Isabel taunted. "Could you not see the horror in his eyes when he looked at your ugly face? He felt pity for you, nothing more."
    Eleanor wiped her face with a lace handkerchief and shoved it into her pocket. "He is the only man who has known how to talk to me. He was not awkward and uneasy because I am not beautiful like you. I do not know why you are so cruel. I think Marquis liked me. I am no threat to you, Isabel. Why do you find pleasure in tormenting me?"
    "No woman, not even you, will come between me and Marquis Vincente. I have dreaded meeting him for years. I feared he would be ugly and fat, but after seeing him today, I have decided I will like being his wife. He is wealthy beyond belief. I was told this house was grand, but it exceeds my expectations. After Marquis's grandfather dies, all you see here will belong to me. With the Vincente land and ours connected, we will have more land than any family in California."
    "What will Marquis do on your wedding night when he finds out his wife is less than pure and has been with many lovers?" Eleanor foolishly asked.
    Isabel whirled around, grabbed a handful of her sister's hair, and twisted it tightly around her hand until it brought tears to Eleanor's eyes. "You are not going to tell him anything, my sister. Besides, do you think me a fool? I have ways of preventing Marquis from finding out about my lovers." Isabel's face was twisted with wrath. "Be warned, little sister. I will kill you if you ever attempt to come between me and Marquis."
    Eleanor was whimpering in pain as her sister yanked her backward, and she fell off the bench, hitting her head on the stone patio. "Swear you will never utter a word about my other lovers to Marquis!" Isabel pressed her foot against Eleanor's throat. "Swear!" she screamed out in rage.
    "I swear," Eleanor whispered, her voice hardly audible since the pressure from her sister's foot was cutting off her breathing.
    Isabel removed her foot and walked toward the arched