THE BOY FROM THE TANGIER SOUK by Richard Savin

Author:Richard Savin [Savin, Richard]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2021-02-13T22:00:00+00:00

*

At the end of the fourth week after Carlos had left for Buenos Aires, there was a visitor. The bell on the front gate clanged out its hollow ring and Tamaya was dispatched to see who it was. ‘It is Señor Cortez, here to see you, madame.’

As she conducted him to the salon a cold spike stabbed deep into Tamaya’s gut. This, she was sure, must be some errand for Don Carlos.

‘Please,’ Evangeline said when he had entered the room, ‘do sit down. I will ask Tamaya to bring tea.’

Cortez remained standing. ‘That is kind of you, Señora de Lorca, but I have other pressing business. I shall not be stopping.’ The tone was formal and the delivery awkward. He was clearly a man on a mission, and from his stance it appeared it was a mission for which he had little appetite.

‘I shall be brief. I have heard from your husband. I am instructed to arrange a termination of your pregnancy. A doctor will attend on you here. Please be assured it will be discreet.’

For a moment she felt weak and sick. She struggled to control the trembling that was running through her body. It was what she had secretly feared ever since his veiled remarks before he left for Buenos Aires. Now, here it was, confronting her and she felt helpless. There was no one she could turn to. She was a stranger in a hostile land.

‘I shall not consent to this.’ She grasped at the words

like a lifeline.

Cortez showed little emotion. His expression, though not hard, had no pity in it. ‘I am sorry, señora, but that is not possible. It is the command of your husband.’

‘Do I have no say in this terrible decision? Do I have no rights?’

Cortez heaved a deep sigh. He shook his head. This woman in front of him clearly did not realise her position. ‘Señora, do you not understand that when you married Don Carlos you agreed to obey him? He is your master and you are his property. You have no rights other than to be an obedient wife – that is the law of this country.’

‘Is it the law that you are permitted to murder an unborn child?’

Cortez was a lawyer, and faced with such a question his ethics compelled him to answer as a lawyer. ‘No señora, it is not.’

Inside her the fear and caution had subsided; now her anger flared. ‘Then I shall fight this malicious idea. I will not be violated in this manner.’

From his face she could see he was a man caught in the trap of two directions. On one side, his client; on the other, the law. Once more he slowly shook his head. ‘I would not advise that, señora. The family of de Lorca is not one you should oppose. The outcome would not be good. Now I must leave. I will call you again when I have arranged the time with the doctor. I am sorry, but it is best that we do this – both for you and the child.

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