Early the next morning, Elizabeth ran outside into the courtyard, looking for Pilar. The girl hadn’t come up to the room they’d been assigned the night before, and Elizabeth hadn’t been able to find her anywhere in the house. Glancing to the side and seeing the barn, however, she thought she probably knew why. She darted toward the barn, certain that she would find her daughter inside.
Instead, she found only an older man, cleaning out one of the stalls. He looked up when she leaned in the door.
“Señorita Pilar and her horse?” he asked in response to her query.
“Si. Do you know where they went?”
“No, Señora. They were already gone when I woke up this morning.”
Elizabeth frowned at that, but thanked the man and turned back toward the courtyard. Perhaps someone else had seen the girl leave, and could tell her where she’d gone. She walked directly toward one of the grooms and asked, but found that he had no answer. The maid sweeping the steps shook her head as well, and not even the children on the grass had seen Pilar.
Then something occurred to Elizabeth—something she should have thought of earlier. “The racetrack,” she said to herself, shaking her head. Of course. Pilar had been dying to get to the Vargas ranch to see the track on which she’d be racing. No doubt she’d taken the first opportunity to do just that.
*************************
When Elizabeth found the track, her breath coming short from the quick walk, she saw that her daughter was indeed there—with several of the other children, and Victor himself. Prince was standing with them, and all seemed to be watching a group of riders working their horses in the field next to the track.
Pilar, seeming to realize that her mother was close, turned around before Elizabeth came any closer, and grinned. She handed Prince’s reins to Victor and dashed toward her mother.
“Mama, the horses are so beautiful here!” she shouted, smiling broadly. “And so talented!”
Elizabeth smiled, and looked up to see that Victor—and Prince—had joined them. “Buen dia, Señora,” Victor said, tipping his hat.
“Buen dia, Señor,” Elizabeth replied. “Are these your children?”
He nodded proudly and began to introduce them. “Si. Si. May I introduce you to mi hija, Rosario, and mi hijo, Leonardo. Children, this is Pilar’s mama, Señora Elizabeth Arroyo.”
Rosario curtsied and Leonardo tipped his hat. Then they said in unison, “It is a pleasure to meet you, Señora Arroyo.”
“The pleasure is all mine, Rosario and Leonardo. You are very lucky to be able to live on such a beautiful ranch.”
Rosario giggled. “Pilar says she lives on a very nice ranch, also. She has been telling us all about it.”
Elizabeth winked at Pilar. “She has? Well, that is very nice of her. I think that both ranches are very nice.” The truth, she knew, was that the Vargas ranch was far larger and more established than her own. One day, Arroyo might look like the Vargas ranch. If she was very, very lucky.
Victor smiled. “Gracias, Señora. Let me show you around the ranch. Did you have a nice rest after your long journey?”
“Yes, the bed was very comfortable and the desayuno was delicious.” Elizabeth rubbed her stomach, thinking that she’d gain too much weight if she lived here. There was nothing for her to do—no horses or fields or fences to tend—and the cook was far more accomplished than her own.
It was a good thing for her, she thought with a laugh, that their stay would be short.
Victor laughed as if he’d heard what she was thinking, then looked behind her. “Will su esposo be joining you on this trip? He must be a fine man, to be married to such a fine woman.”
Elizabeth blushed slightly. “No Señor. I am a widow. My husband, Roberto, was killed while on a return trip from the United States, when our children were very young. The men were never captured.”
Victor, embarrassed, looked down at his shoes. “Lo siento, Señora. I did not know. I should have thought to ask Jorge, but it never crossed my mind.”
She shook her head, trying to ease his mind. There was no reason for him to be embarrassed about this. “I am asked that all the time by strangers. Believe me, I am used to it. People do not expect me to be operating a ranch on my own, or living without a husband in my life. But I cannot marry again. Roberto was the love of my life, and I would never be able to replace him. Sometimes it seems like yesterday that it happened… And sometimes it seems like a very long time ago.”
Victor quickly attempts to change the conversation. “You are Americana, si?”
“Si. I met my husband while he was on a business trip to Texas, where I was living and working as a teacher. I moved down to his family ranch soon after the wedding.”
“Ah. Now some things make sense.”
Elizabeth watched him closely, wondering exactly what he’d meant by that, and why he’d been so full of questions. Then she put it from her mind and went to help Pilar with Prince.
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