Nacre's Promise

Chapter XXIX : Unwanted visitors

Cuevas-Blancas, 1910.

Despite the ventilation of the house, Isabel found it difficult to endure the heat. Although he thought that the heatwave was the source of his discomfort, Diego was quite worried.

His wife sometimes felt dizzy and had to lie down in a cool, dark room. She did not owe any activity and her only occupation then consisted in maintaining correspondence with her friends.

In Barcelona, ​​Don Campos, who despite his age was a visionary and lived with the times, had one of the very first phones for his company.

This made it easier and, above all, to obtain news from the outside more easily.

In Portugal, the assassination of the king and the crown prince, had placed the young younger son Manuel II on the throne. The country was on the verge of a major uprising that risked leading to a revolution.

In France, the feat of a certain Louis Blériot, who had managed to cross the Channel to land in England in an hour, aboard a plane of his design, thrilled the crowds. Construction of the world's largest ocean liner, the Titanic, had just started in England.

The world was changing. After the arrival of the first motor cars, it was conceivable that planes would fly over long distances, that the cinema would develop in cities, that electricity would become widespread in homes and above all those certain diseases could finally be cured.

What a beautiful time full of hope for the future! Isabel figured that she wouldn't live long enough to see these changes, but that her children could benefit from all of the progress. In the meantime, she felt happy to have time for herself and to be able to envision what their life would be like several years from now.

At the very beginning of autumn Isabel felt better, but not yet enough to follow her husband on his tours. This worried Diego. He called for the doctor on a day when his wife was having what appeared to be a relapse.

After examining the patient, the doctor joined Diego to inform him of his recommendations.

— For the patient's sake, it would be best if you went back to the hacienda, he recommended as he walked back.

Diego returned to the bedroom.

— The doctor has just informed me that you have to lie down for several more weeks and it is imperative that you are not left alone. How do you feel my beloved?

— I am very tired. I will remain lying down as he advised me, otherwise I risk losing our child.

— Oh, you are pregnant! This is the explanation. What good news! Your condition worried me a lot but now I'm really relieved and so happy! We must not take any risks, so we will follow the doctor's recommendations and temporarily move to the hacienda.

— Diego, this eventuality scares me! Your mother only inspires me with suspicion and I don't like the idea. She seems mentally deranged and I am afraid that she will do anything to ensure that I lose this child.

— Please be understanding. She's not that evil!

She didn't answer. No need to try to remind him of the episode of the fall from his horse. Diego was unable to accept that his mother could nurture the plan to harm his wife. Yet he had understood, from the revelations of their respective origins, that an old, nagging grudge was gnawing at her from within. However, it was impossible for him to see her as an evil person. She was his mother and he had a sincere but, alas, blind love for her.

The relocation to the hacienda was very quick. Diego had kept his room upstairs and few changes were necessary. The path had exhausted Isabel and she lay down as soon as she arrived. Dynamic and independent in nature, she was afraid of staying bedridden until childbirth. The baby was due to be born in about four months, and it seemed infinitely long. Waiting, to allow her child to finish growing in good conditions and gain weight, was the only option. .