The North Face of the Heart - Dolores Redondo Page 0,71

triumphant smile made her uneasy. Engrasi didn’t doubt its authenticity for a moment. She’d remained perpetually on her guard since the night her brother had turned up at her house unexpectedly. Engrasi trusted her intuition, and it warned her that Rosario had prepared some kind of ambush.

“Why are you here, Rosario?”

“Aren’t you happy to see me, sister-in-law?”

“No.” Engrasi didn’t bother to say more than that.

Rosario put her sunglasses back on. “Well, there’s no need to be rude. It’s been a long time since we talked, you and I. I thought it was time for a little chat.”

Engrasi didn’t move. Her stare was unforgiving. “What do you want, Rosario? Why are you here?”

Rosario’s smile seemed to widen, if that was even possible. “Juan told me about the little talk you two had . . .”

Engrasi said nothing.

“Just between us, my dear sister-in-law, I have to admit I underestimated you. Not on purpose, don’t misinterpret me. It’s just that I don’t know much about the cute games psychiatrists and psychologists play. To tell you the truth, they always seemed like idiots and navel gazers.” She shrugged and made a pouting grimace that in other circumstances might have appeared coquettish. “So I apologize, little sister-in-law. You really were quite clever.”

Engrasi tilted her head and pursed her lips. Her expression hardened. The affectations and poisoned politeness didn’t fool her; Rosario’s apparent amiability was charged with venom. She stood her ground and refused to flinch when Rosario stepped close and patted her arm in a confiding manner.

“I’m not reproaching you, Engrasi, for I know it’s partly my fault. I made it easy for you. But even so, I have to admit you were clever. You saw the opportunity and you took it.”

“I don’t know what you mean. There was no opportunity. A man came to my door with an injured child in his arms.”

Rosario smiled again as if none of that was important. “I told you already, little sister-in-law, there’s no need to be rude. I really thought it would be easier to talk with a psychologist.” Her leer suggested the comment was supposed to be witty. “I wasn’t healthy back then, Engrasi, so I wasn’t responsible for my actions. But that’s changed now. I’m taking my medicines; the treatment has done me a world of good.” Another satisfied smile was followed by a feigned confidence: “Don’t think I was always like this. At first, I was reluctant to take medical advice. The drugs made me feel terrible—sleepy, slow, even a bit stupid. I hated that, sister-in-law, because if there’s one thing I definitely am not, it’s stupid. I was frightened, panicked even, because I thought those pills had warped my personality; after all, a woman is defined by her personality.”

Engrasi crossed her arms over her chest and continued to stare. She was beginning to tire of this performance, but she needed to know where Rosario was headed.

A magnificent smile spread across Rosario’s face. “But that’s all in the past now! Dr. Martínez finally came up with the right combination of drugs. I feel really good, Engrasi, on top of the world. Taking the right medication makes all the difference.” She slid her sunglasses down her nose and peered at Engrasi over them. “And they don’t change my personality a bit! I’m still the same person I was before.”

The she-wolf was showing her fangs.

Now it was Engrasi’s turn to step in close. She placed her right hand on Rosario’s shoulder. “Well, I’m very happy for you, dear sister-in-law,” she mimicked Rosario’s mocking tone, “but I don’t care if you take your pills or flush them down the toilet. It doesn’t make a damn bit of difference to me.”

Rosario’s smile vanished, but she placed her right hand over Engrasi’s. “Oh, no! They change everything. As I said, I know my behavior was irrational. Don’t get me wrong; I’ve always known that I had a mission, but I couldn’t decide how to go about it. The difference is that now I know what I should do every moment of the day.” She seized Engrasi’s hand and squeezed it hard. “And if there’s one thing I’ve known since the day that girl was born, it’s that we all have a destiny, Engrasi. She’ll fulfill her destiny just as I must fulfill mine.”

Engrasi recoiled, pulling her hand free as if struck by pure evil. She gasped. “You’re fucking insane!”

Rosario feigned disappointment. “Oh, dear God! I might have expected that sort of talk from any other woman, Engrasi, but from