terror came to mind. Although on an island, there was only so far you could flee before you got to the ocean.
“Don’t worry, the last big eruption of this volcano was in the 1600s.”
“Isn’t another overdue, then?” she asked.
“No, no,” he assured her. “There are underwater eruptions quite frequently. They probably help vent the pressure here on dry land.”
She rolled her eyes. Not the most reassuring geological theory she’d ever heard. Frank was a farmer and rancher, not a volcanologist. However, no ominous puffs of smoke were issuing from the top, and the local people were going about their daily lives, shopping and visiting without any particular look of panic.
“Come on, let’s enjoy the town.” He steadied the motorcycle as she climbed off, the pull of muscles in her inner thighs and butt making her walk bowlegged for a minute.
He watched her with an avid gleam in his eye and she shook her finger at him. “Behave yourself, you miscreant.”
“Miscreant? How very strict and old-fashioned you sound. I like it.” He wiggled his eyebrows.
She grabbed his shirtfront to pull him close. “Don’t make me punish you, Franco.”
His black gaze threw golden sparks. “What if I want you to?”
“No promises.” She kissed him quickly but thoroughly, pushing him away at the end.
“The punishment starts,” he groaned, lifting the backpack onto his shoulders.
Julia laughed and took his hand. “Hey, Frank, do you have any water in that backpack?” The trip had dried out her mouth.
“No, but we’ll get some around the corner.”
A minute later, Julia was looking at the Cro-Magnon version of a drinking fountain. “And people drink this?” she whispered, not wanting to offend anyone.
“Furnas is famous for its hot springs and spa waters. This spring is called Agua Santa, holy water.” A spigot came out of a stone wall, the water spilling into an iron-stained basin below.
“Like your estate in Portugal.”
He smiled down at her. “Yes, my land is named after a spring as well, but a cold artesian spring instead of a hot spring.”
“I wonder which tastes better.”
“You’ll have to find out for yourself.”
She blinked. This was the first time he’d mentioned visiting his family estate on the mainland—at least this time. Eleven years previously, he’d invited her there and discussed the land and people in great detail. They all seemed perfectly pleasant, but his duties outside of the estate were something different.
One event had been particularly frightening to her. Frank, having turned eighteen, had been invited to the Spanish royal palace for a state dinner with the king and queen of Spain. He of course thought nothing of meeting royalty since he was pretty close to royalty himself. He mentioned the king and queen fondly and personally, if not by first name. It had stayed with her ever since.
And, of course, his estate regularly hosted the aristocracy and upper crust of Europe. Frank’s mother, the Dowager Duchess, enjoyed high-society life and threw extended house parties at the huge manor house. Frank had described the formal dinners with seven courses, bottomless wineglasses and enough silverware to support a small nation. Julia could get through dinner without blowing her nose into her napkin or scratching her scalp with a salad fork, but had to admit a real sense of intimidation.
Oh, sure, she would have been a real hit hosting those parties if she’d married Frank—the nineteen-year-old college-drop-out duchess who couldn’t even speak Portuguese.
She wondered if that had partially spooked her from keeping up a relationship with him. “Have you seen the king and queen of Spain recently?”
He gave her a puzzled look. “Not since the baptism of one of their grandchildren a few years back. Why?”
“I was wondering if they’d ever tasted your spring water. Maybe they could give it their royal seal of approval.”
He shook his head and turned away—maybe in disappointment? She touched his arm in apology. “I’m sorry, Frank. I didn’t mean to be flip. The springs sound really nice.”
He smiled at her—all was forgiven. He paid a nearby vendor for the loan of a pair of sturdy glasses. He handed her one. “You have to fill your own cup. Otherwise, it doesn’t work as well.”
“What is it supposed to do?” She bent and twisted open the faucet, an ominous-smelling liquid spilling into her cup.
He followed and did the same. “It does what you need it to do. If you are sick, it makes you well. If you are weak, it makes you strong. If you have a heavy burden, it lightens you.”
Julia stared at the water.