'Ramone, for that was his name, Dios rest his soul, came by driving this big, fancy trap, and I heard it approaching from behind me. I pulled off the road to let him pass, and as he did so he slowed the horse to keep pace with me. As though speaking to a child, he said, "Enough of this foolishness! Get in the wagon. I am taking you home."
'Well, I thought nothing of it as he took me and my bicycle home, but my parents, being very old-fashioned, were absolutely scandalized. To everyone's astonishment, Ramone, as though he had planned the moment, informed my parents that he and I would be married at their earliest possible convenience.
'And the rest, as they say, is history. Ramone brought me here, we had a fine son and three beautiful daughters, and for long we had what many would call an idyllic life.'
Surprised, Kara said, 'Three daughters? Where are they now?'
'Long since married and living far away,' the Señora said with a note of regret in her voice. 'One lives in Spain, another in New Mexico in the United States, and the youngest in Menerbes where I was born. All three have good husbands and lots of children, but we hear from them seldom, and see them even less.
'Tell me,' she said unexpectedly, giving Kara a speculative look, 'would you ever consider living . . . in a place like this?'
Kara's mind seemed to go blank as she considered. In the meantime, Maria came from the kitchen and, with one of her small, fond smiles she seemed to have only for Kara, laid out her luncheon- small browned fish cakes with bearnaise sauce, scallop stuffed dates wrapped in bacon, and a large glass of milk.
'If I truly belonged, I suppose,' Kara said slowly. 'But what it is to belong . . . it's something I've never experienced, so I probably wouldn't know it even if it fell on me. But Señora, why would you ask such a question of me?'
Señora Castellan gave her a knowing look. 'That you're not happy with your life is, shall we say, a matter of public record. You've made it known that you're here because you were running away. You've asked about finding work: I can only assume that such a question means that you intend to stay here on Isla Fiero, if you can.
'Well, I've been giving the matter some thought, and now have this to say: firstly, you seem to fit in well here. You are a likable sort of girl, and for that alone you should be given a chance. Secondly, despite what I told you, there is plenty to do around here if you want some sort of job. Guiseppe has told me that he caught you poking sadly about at what remains of the old vegetable garden, so if you wish you may potter about in it to your heart's content. Thirdly, and this is just between you and me: I think you need a little time; time all to yourself, if and when you want it; and time to get yourself sorted, without the pressure of constant demands to wear down your spirit.