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xp_logsHaving tracked down a former retainer of the de la Rocha estate, Angelo and Amanda proceed to get some facts about Valentia's personal history.
Angelo looked obviously relaxed, sitting on a stool in the dimly lit bar, listening patiently to the stream of rapid-fire Castilian from the old man opposite him.
"~So you did know Valentia's mother?~"
The old man gave him a shrewd look and set his empty wine tumbler down deliberately. "~Perhaps. An old man, he gets thirsty telling stories. Perhaps another...?~"
Amanda, sitting on the old man's other side, rolled her eyes a little. It might be the old geezer was conning them out of as much booze as he could, but he had worked the de la Rocha estate for many years, according to the locals, and with the couple that had been fostering the little girl vanished, he was their only source of information. "~Let me get another bottle,~" she suggested, getting up to go to the counter, fully aware the old man was ogling her behind as she walked.
"~Pretty girl. Knows her place, too,~" the old man said approvingly to Angelo as she left. "~You're a lucky young man. It reminds me of the old master. He liked them young and pretty, too.~"
"~I think I'm lucky~", Angelo agreed with a grin. "~The old master liked them a good bit younger than him, though, as I remember.~"
"~Ah, that he did. The lady Adoracion, she was only sixteen when he brought her to the house and announced her as his wife.~" There was a note of masculine pride in the old man's voice. "~Younger than the master's own son! What d'you think of that, eh?~"
"~Impressive~", was the response, eyebrows raised appropriately. "~And he got a child in her quickly?~"
"~Within months. Some said she was already with child when he married her, that she tricked him into accepting another man's child as his own, but the old master was far too cunning for that. And the child... anyone could see when she was born that she was a de la Rocha. She was the image of the master's lost son.~"
Amanda returned with a new bottle of red and poured another glass for the old man, and then refilled Angelo's, before taking her seat. "~You knew him also?~"
He nodded his thanks as he took a deep draft of his wine, but addressed his next words to Angelo. "~The child - Valentia - was strange from the beginning, but the master treasured her. He called her his great hope for the future.~"
Angelo nodded. "~With his son gone, she would be. But then he died... what happened to the lady Adoracion?~"
The old man have him another look, this one suspicious. "~For an American, you know much about my master's family.~"
"~The master's lost son didn't die~", Angelo said smoothly. "~He came to America, and I met him there. We live in the same house now.~"
"~And he has sent his true friend to seek his sister? He must trust you highly.~"
Again out of visual range of the old man, Amanda had to swallow the instinct to laugh. Manuel and Angelo bosom buddies? "~Too late, it seems,~" she replied quietly. "~We found papers saying that she had died as a baby.~"
The old man cackled with glee. "~As you were supposed to think!~" He was obviously feeling the effects of the wine he kept pouring down his throat. "~The lady, she pretended that the child had died, to deceive the master's enemies!~"
"~The master's son - Manuel - didn't know he had a sister until very recently~", Angelo told him. "~He has her with him now, but he wants to know more. That's why we're here.~"
"~Then you must know she was given to trusted servants of the lady, to raise as their own.~" He thrust his glass at Amanda for a refill without turning to look at her. "~It was a cunning plan, but the lady was young, a child. She did not realise what would happen. Without the master's heir, she had no value to his enemies.~"
"~She was found in the care of a couple~", Angelo confirmed, unsmiling. "~I suppose they would be those trusted servants. You're saying the master's enemies killed Lady Adoracion?~"
"~The police said it was an accident, that she was drunk and fell down the stairs. But the lady did not drink to excess.~" The old man shook his head sadly. "~There is no proof, but she was killed. And with the master's son disowned and his daughter dead as well, the house of de la Rocha crumbled away to dust. Nothing remains but debts and en empty house and a drunken old man, telling stories.~"
"~But his daughter isn't dead~", Angelo reminded him quietly. "~She's only a child, but she has her brother to look after her. The house might still be rebuilt.~"
The old man waved his words away. "~You are American. You do not understand. Go, leave me with my memories. I have told you all I can~"
"~The couple that had her, the servants... do you know where they went?~" Amanda hazarded, but it was too late - their companion had folded his arms across his chest as if holding himself together, his face closed off. She exchanged looks with Angelo. Time to go.
Angelo nodded to her, drained his glass and stood up, then offered the old man another handful of money. "~Buy another bottle. For the information.~"
He unfolded enough to nod at Angelo. "~My thanks.~" Then his hand flashed out, grabbed Angelo by the wrist. "~The master's son... speak to him kindly of me. Old Fernando still recalls the happier times.~"
"~I'll give him your good wishes, Fernando~", Angelo promised. "~And tell him how you helped us.~"
The old man nodded again, squeezed Angelo's wrist and then let go, taking the money offered. He didn't speak again and the pair took that as their cue to leave, stepping out into the cold drizzle of wintry Madrid. Amanda turned up the collar of her coat and shivered, but from more than the cold. Alphonso de la Rocha was never her favourite topic of conversation.
"So, there we have it," she said. "Explains the death certificate, at least. Poor silly Adoracion - Manuel mentioned meeting her once, at a Hellfire thing, when he became White Knight. She must have been pregnant even then."
"It's like old Fernando said", Angelo noted, shoulders hunched. "She was... what, seventeen at most when Alphonso died? And I guess he didn't pick her for her political savvy. Poor kid did her best."
"At least Valentia's safe out of all of it now." She slipped her arm through his. "Back to the hotel? I need a shower - all this talk of Alphonso's made me feel slimy." Especially talk of the man's taste in women - she still remembered him offering her payment and Manuel having to bar her door when they visited.
"Yeah. I hope Adoracion knows that, wherever she is." He nodded and squeezed her arm. "Let's go. We got enough information for one day."
Angelo looked obviously relaxed, sitting on a stool in the dimly lit bar, listening patiently to the stream of rapid-fire Castilian from the old man opposite him.
"~So you did know Valentia's mother?~"
The old man gave him a shrewd look and set his empty wine tumbler down deliberately. "~Perhaps. An old man, he gets thirsty telling stories. Perhaps another...?~"
Amanda, sitting on the old man's other side, rolled her eyes a little. It might be the old geezer was conning them out of as much booze as he could, but he had worked the de la Rocha estate for many years, according to the locals, and with the couple that had been fostering the little girl vanished, he was their only source of information. "~Let me get another bottle,~" she suggested, getting up to go to the counter, fully aware the old man was ogling her behind as she walked.
"~Pretty girl. Knows her place, too,~" the old man said approvingly to Angelo as she left. "~You're a lucky young man. It reminds me of the old master. He liked them young and pretty, too.~"
"~I think I'm lucky~", Angelo agreed with a grin. "~The old master liked them a good bit younger than him, though, as I remember.~"
"~Ah, that he did. The lady Adoracion, she was only sixteen when he brought her to the house and announced her as his wife.~" There was a note of masculine pride in the old man's voice. "~Younger than the master's own son! What d'you think of that, eh?~"
"~Impressive~", was the response, eyebrows raised appropriately. "~And he got a child in her quickly?~"
"~Within months. Some said she was already with child when he married her, that she tricked him into accepting another man's child as his own, but the old master was far too cunning for that. And the child... anyone could see when she was born that she was a de la Rocha. She was the image of the master's lost son.~"
Amanda returned with a new bottle of red and poured another glass for the old man, and then refilled Angelo's, before taking her seat. "~You knew him also?~"
He nodded his thanks as he took a deep draft of his wine, but addressed his next words to Angelo. "~The child - Valentia - was strange from the beginning, but the master treasured her. He called her his great hope for the future.~"
Angelo nodded. "~With his son gone, she would be. But then he died... what happened to the lady Adoracion?~"
The old man have him another look, this one suspicious. "~For an American, you know much about my master's family.~"
"~The master's lost son didn't die~", Angelo said smoothly. "~He came to America, and I met him there. We live in the same house now.~"
"~And he has sent his true friend to seek his sister? He must trust you highly.~"
Again out of visual range of the old man, Amanda had to swallow the instinct to laugh. Manuel and Angelo bosom buddies? "~Too late, it seems,~" she replied quietly. "~We found papers saying that she had died as a baby.~"
The old man cackled with glee. "~As you were supposed to think!~" He was obviously feeling the effects of the wine he kept pouring down his throat. "~The lady, she pretended that the child had died, to deceive the master's enemies!~"
"~The master's son - Manuel - didn't know he had a sister until very recently~", Angelo told him. "~He has her with him now, but he wants to know more. That's why we're here.~"
"~Then you must know she was given to trusted servants of the lady, to raise as their own.~" He thrust his glass at Amanda for a refill without turning to look at her. "~It was a cunning plan, but the lady was young, a child. She did not realise what would happen. Without the master's heir, she had no value to his enemies.~"
"~She was found in the care of a couple~", Angelo confirmed, unsmiling. "~I suppose they would be those trusted servants. You're saying the master's enemies killed Lady Adoracion?~"
"~The police said it was an accident, that she was drunk and fell down the stairs. But the lady did not drink to excess.~" The old man shook his head sadly. "~There is no proof, but she was killed. And with the master's son disowned and his daughter dead as well, the house of de la Rocha crumbled away to dust. Nothing remains but debts and en empty house and a drunken old man, telling stories.~"
"~But his daughter isn't dead~", Angelo reminded him quietly. "~She's only a child, but she has her brother to look after her. The house might still be rebuilt.~"
The old man waved his words away. "~You are American. You do not understand. Go, leave me with my memories. I have told you all I can~"
"~The couple that had her, the servants... do you know where they went?~" Amanda hazarded, but it was too late - their companion had folded his arms across his chest as if holding himself together, his face closed off. She exchanged looks with Angelo. Time to go.
Angelo nodded to her, drained his glass and stood up, then offered the old man another handful of money. "~Buy another bottle. For the information.~"
He unfolded enough to nod at Angelo. "~My thanks.~" Then his hand flashed out, grabbed Angelo by the wrist. "~The master's son... speak to him kindly of me. Old Fernando still recalls the happier times.~"
"~I'll give him your good wishes, Fernando~", Angelo promised. "~And tell him how you helped us.~"
The old man nodded again, squeezed Angelo's wrist and then let go, taking the money offered. He didn't speak again and the pair took that as their cue to leave, stepping out into the cold drizzle of wintry Madrid. Amanda turned up the collar of her coat and shivered, but from more than the cold. Alphonso de la Rocha was never her favourite topic of conversation.
"So, there we have it," she said. "Explains the death certificate, at least. Poor silly Adoracion - Manuel mentioned meeting her once, at a Hellfire thing, when he became White Knight. She must have been pregnant even then."
"It's like old Fernando said", Angelo noted, shoulders hunched. "She was... what, seventeen at most when Alphonso died? And I guess he didn't pick her for her political savvy. Poor kid did her best."
"At least Valentia's safe out of all of it now." She slipped her arm through his. "Back to the hotel? I need a shower - all this talk of Alphonso's made me feel slimy." Especially talk of the man's taste in women - she still remembered him offering her payment and Manuel having to bar her door when they visited.
"Yeah. I hope Adoracion knows that, wherever she is." He nodded and squeezed her arm. "Let's go. We got enough information for one day."
