Alise was growing concerned about her father, although his wounds had healed well over following few weeks, he was still showing little signs of having the will to recover his strength to even leave his bed much to her growing dismay. It took all her powers of persuasion to make him eat.
"Please Papa, you must try and regain your strength, I need you" she implored him as he had left his latest meal untouched when she came up to visit him.
"Why? What use I am I to you?" he replied a little bitterly, avoiding looking at her, and staring at the wall across the bed from him
"Don't talk like that, you are everything to me, and the reason why I am determined that Diego will come to his just deserts one day, and we will live to see it" she stated fiercely
Her father laughed a little scornfully, "Oh my daughter, as much I admire your fighting spirit, you are naïve in the ways of the power struggles and the ambitions of men, even in such blatant opportunist as Diego. Now he has achieved his aim, he will fight tooth and nail and with the blood of many to keep a grasp on it, that much I do know, and I refuse to shed any more blood or sacrifice another life, in a vague hope of stopping him, I am an old man now, I am tired I just want to die in peace"
"Do not speak so," Alise frowned, filled with renewed dismay at his defeatist attitude, that sounded so unlike him.
He now looked round at her, letting her see the anguish in his eyes. "What is it I have to live for? to be a prisoner in my home, that now belongs to a rogue like Diego? to walk around and live in this house and be reminded that it is no longer belongs to me, to look at my daughter every day, and realise he has not only claimed my land and my home but you as well?" tears welled up in his eyes, "don't ask me to live like that, Alise, I can't, I have my pride" he finished bitterly turning away from her again
"Alise felt the tears starting to form in her own eyes at her father's bitter words they felt like a knife twisting in her heart, "I am so sorry Papa, I didn't know what else to do" she wept grabbing his hand
It seemed to have the effect of making him rally around her, as he squeezed her hand somewhat comfortingly, and turn to look at her again
"You are still young, and even though I despise the situation you have found yourself in. It is something you will have to live with. so I don't want you to stop living your life and fighting on. You still have your whole life ahead of you, even if it is with Diego. So, I am looking to you to keep my legacy going" he informed her gravely
"But I can't do it without you Papa," Alise sobbed in protest
"Nonsense!" he said dismissive no nonsense tone, "You have always had that independent spirit, and been strong willed, is it not a fact, that most of the time, you have refuse to listen to me over the years, and did as you pleased?" he then reminded her dryly, his expression more genial, "So don't sit there and tell me you cannot do it by yourself, when for most of your life that is exactly what you have been doing"
"Oh Papa," she gulped back her sobs, now overflowing with emotions and regret, "I have been such a troublesome daughter to you, you should have whipped me harder when I was young"
"I doubt that would have worked; you probably would have just become more defiant" he shot her a sad smile in realisation, then patted her hand, "Come now Elise, shed no more tears for me. It is doing neither of us any good. Just promise me that when I am gone, you will not give up, and you will give that Diego ten times the trouble you gave me"
She managed a bleak uneven smile, as she wiped away the tears from her eyes "He will have no peace, while I am around Papa" she then promised attempting to pull herself together for his sake.
"Ah, now that sounds more like the Alise I know and love" he replied in happy satisfaction, then lifting her hand to his mouth to kiss it contentedly
Much to Elise's relief, her father did seem to perk up a little after this, and he even agreed to eat his food, and accepted her offer for one of the servants to help him shave, which made her feel a little better.
Thankfully she was able to spend as much time as she wanted with her father, Diego was only interested in her company at night in the bedroom, as well as sitting for dinner with him when he was around to dine, and not elsewhere.
She still disliked having to be in his company, and the meals would be eaten in silence, as she had no wish to converse with him about anything. If he attempted to speak to her, she replied in short monosyllables, which seemed to suit him fine. He had made it clear from the beginning it was her body and the prestige of her father's name he was interested in and cared about, not her feelings or the thoughts in her head, not that she had any kind of desire to share them with him in the first place
When she did have to dine with him, she would always drag it out to the last minute to make an appearance at the dinner table , wanting to spend as little time as possible in his company
It gave her some satisfaction that this seem to irk him, as he would make some disgruntled remark that their food would be cold and inedible, by the time she sat down to eat it.
"Well perhaps if you hired a personal maid that was not so inept in her job, I would be dressed quicker" she informed him haughtily, "instead she can do nothing right, no matter how many times I show her, she is foolish and stupid, and she can never replace Maria" she finished pointedly
Diego just smirked "from what I hear, you are quite a task master, and there is no pleasing you, which I find hardly surprising, But nevertheless Carlotta will remain with you, no matter how uncomfortable you try to make her, she fears my retribution more than she does your tongue"
"Fearing your retribution still does not make her a good personal maid, she has never been trained as such, and it shows, it puts me out of patience with her. She then frowned with disapproval as she stabbed a piece of meat with her fork to put in her mouth, "So do not complain about me arriving late at the dinner table, that fault lies entirely at your door for giving me such an incapable servant" she informed him icily
"I wouldn't say she is totally incapable, I find she has her uses" Diego drawled taking a sip from his wine glass
"That's because she doesn't have to dress you" Alise retorted, doing her utmost to look resentful, glad to see her little ploy with Carlotta had him fooled. It made swallowing her food so much more pleasurable being in his company.
YOU ARE READING
The Bandido's wife
Historical Fiction"Yes, I curse the rebels and these outlaws for all this upheaval, and even if I have to Marry Diego Marques, I will not make his life easy for him, he will rue the day he forced this marriage on me" she stated in determination. This made the Padre s...
