The Broken Ring: This Marriage Will Fail Anyway Chapter 49

Chapter 49

***

‘Commander, is your wife still living in the headquarters?’

‘And how can I throw out a woman who has no intention of leaving?’

‘I understand that when you met in Mendoza, you couldn’t bear to look each other in the eye. Just two weeks ago, when your wife arrived in Calstera, you threatened to throw yourself into the sea or jump from the top of Mount Logroño. You said you’d rather die than’

‘That’s all very well, but what about you, still remembering it now….’

‘So tell me, do you not feel like dying these days? How do you go on living?’

‘To tell you the truth, Julietta has changed into a completely different woman……’

‘A different woman, you say?’

‘It’s as if I’d never met her before.’

‘Is that because you don’t often see her face to face? It’s been ten whole years since you were married….’

‘You stupid, can’t you even understand a metaphor? Have you got so much muscle in your head from all that training at the naval school that it’s dulled your brain? This is the first time that Lenetta has visited Calstera. And her first time staying here, too. Or have you been to my headquarters, Orense?’

‘I remember it. The view was to die for.’

‘You bastard, since the Viscount of Orense, with his only son in mind, generously spared you an inadequate brain, as part of the Imperial Navy, you should use suitably elegant, respectful and dignified language. What do you mean “to die for”? You could say “splendid,” “superb,” “magnificent,” “a veritable work of art.”…’

‘I would say, Commander, that your headquarters has, without a doubt, the best location in Logorño. On the summit of a hill, it offers a truly divine and sacred vista, taking in the naval base at Calstera, the command building, the barracks, the security area, and even the distant De la Plana Islands.’

‘Good. I am pleased to see that you have taken my correction on board. Anyway, if it struck even your ignorant eyes like that, imagine what effect it must have had on Julietta’s refined sensibilities?’

‘Refined sensibilities? Wasn’t it you who used to say that she had the eyes of a cheap floozy who couldn’t tell good from bad, and that if she happened to glance at something, you’d go throwing money at it in the street……’

‘Lieutenant Orense, have you just insulted your commanding officer’s wife? Are you saying that she is a disgustingly extravagant woman?’

‘Of course not. How could I? Never. I was just repeating what you said yourself, Commander……’

‘You say whatever you like and then blame your commanding officer?’

‘Of course not. How could I? I would never do anything like that.’

That was why he suddenly remembered a conversation he had overheard one day while smoking a cigar on the ship’s deck. [ʏᴜʟʜᴇʏᴜɴ] The conversation had gone on for longer than the climb up Mount Logorño, but it had reached the same conclusion: after ten years of estrangement or even mutual hatred, Commander Elva and his wife had suddenly found themselves in a new relationship in Calstera.

Of these five parts, three were taken up by an official residence, the like of which his wife had never seen in her former homes or in Mendoza—a residence that overlooked the sea with one whole side, and the other two parts were occupied by the modest dimensions of a military residence that was unlike any ordinary mansion. It had a simple grandeur, but it was not very aristocratic.

It was there that they came to view each other as if they were different people, and, because there were few servants, they were able to spend some quiet time together, and finally they came to think of their former hatred as something almost generous.

When Cárcel recalled this conversation just ten days ago, Major Elba happened to be on summer vacation in Mendoza.

At the time he confirmed the fact, everything seemed fateful and also like a set procedure. Cárcel felt that he had to endure even the humiliation of throwing his superior out of his official residence.

As Sergeant Elba moved to speak to Count Carpío, who was principally allied to the Duke of Valenztena in the Council of Grandes, the task of ejecting them proved less difficult than he had imagined.

However, he realised that his wife bore a grudge against him and it might cause a petty inconvenience for Inés, so he needed a way to make them pack their bags and leave in the shortest possible time, without causing offence or exacerbating the resentment she already felt.

Eventually, Cárcel managed to remove some old official documents bearing the signature of his grandfather, Admiral Calderón, from the basement of the Escalante family residence. [ʏᴜʟʜᴇʏᴜɴ] There was no naval officer who did not venerate Admiral Calderón, and he also presented the shotgun that had belonged to Calderón, bearing his name engraved on it, and his baton of command, both of which had been passed down to him directly from his grandfather, along with the numerous weapons he had inherited.

The result was obvious. Sergeant Elba, who outranked Cárcel by eight grades, asked him if all he needed was the residence, then almost got down on all fours to receive it from Cárcel’s hands and burst into tears.

His wife, Julietta Elba, had only asked for a seven-line, handwritten letter from Cárcel, so it was done in an instant. They left within five days, having removed all their belongings in just half of the ten days remaining before Cárcel’s wedding.

The old housekeeper in charge of Cárcel’s residence then hired twenty porters over two days to move in the few pieces of furniture needed for daily life. The remaining three days were spent making it look as though Cárcel had always lived there.

Ten days in total. It must have been an arduous journey, like going to war.

No sooner had the housekeeper completed her exhausting journey than the owner, Cárcel Escalante, was able to see quite clearly that the place was too small.

And that he had far too many things to bring from the mansion.

"Why do you have so much luggage?"

"...."

"The residence is small. You'll have to get rid of some of it....”

A large, old-fashioned chest of drawers made of carved rubberwood ended up not fitting anywhere and was now taking up most of the hallway, making it very narrow. It was deeper than half the width of the hallway, so Cárcel had to turn sideways and squeeze his broad shoulders in to get past it.

Inés sighed every time she saw the large piece of furniture that had been placed there because housekeeper had run out of places to put it in the residence.

Cárcel who pretended to show Ines around the official residence and looked around it together for the first time, was also quite taken aback by the unexpectedly small size of the residence.

"I think we should send some of these back to Esposa Castle, Cárcel."

"...."

"Will there be enough room for me to live here too?"

"Why wouldn’t there be?"

As he said it, Cárcel thought to himself, almost ironically, ‘Maybe there won’t be.’ The house was so small, it felt as though he himself might be thrown out of it.

"I don't need much in the way of things, but there doesn't seem to be any room for me to bring my things. I suppose it's normal, since families don't usually live together at their postings...."

Inés muttered uncomfortably, as if she had become an uninvited guest.

This low, single-storey house would have been a dream home for the wealthy middle classes of Ortega, but for the children of grandees, who had been born into vast estates and had spent their lives living in one castle today and another tomorrow, it seemed like a building as poky as a stable attached to an inn.

The house’s garden and grounds were, to put it kindly, modestly rustic and, to be blunt, so tiny that it was hard to know what there was to look at.

If there was one really great feature, it was that from the terrace or even the tiny garden, one had a clear view of the sun setting over the sea. [ʏᴜʟʜᴇʏᴜɴ] Arondra, who usually leapt forward to explain everything in the house and grounds whenever Cárcel had something to show or explain, had been effusive in her praise for this unique feature.

But today was a day when sea mist filled the horizon. The one feature that deserved praise was hidden from view.

“There is no problem with your stay, Senora. The hostess isn't there, and no matter what this old man decorates, it's a mess... How about throwing away anything that bothers you? Except for our captain, of course.”

Arondra laughed good-naturedly said this, and Inés, with a somewhat embarrassed smile, muttered in reply,

"I’m his wife, but I don’t really like throwing other people’s things out....”

"Your husband’s things will soon be your things. You can throw out anything you don’t like. Oh, this is the room where the captain usually likes to play billiards. The card table and the chess table are over there by the window.”

The billiard table, which would normally be in the middle of the room, was positioned with one side against the wall, and the chess table was also positioned with two sides against the wall, making it impossible for two people to sit opposite each other. Only one card table had survived, but it only had two chairs squeezed in beside it.

Unless he was planning on playing against a wall or a ghost....

"His personality is very blunt and straightforward, so he rarely brings his classmates home with him, which is why this room is less for sharing with others and more for when he just wants to be alone with his turbulent thoughts...."

"So you’re saying that Captain Escalante usually argues with himself in here.”

Arondra tried to give a different explanation for the need for this room, which had clearly lost its original purpose, but with one carefully chosen word, Inés managed to turn Cárcel into an antisocial misfit who enjoyed playing games by himself while staring at the wall in a strange room.

Cárcel gave up trying to defend himself and, pressing his temples, led her to another room.

For a moment, he was speechless as his eyes took in the sight that met them as he opened the door, until Cárcel finally managed to speak.

"...This is our bedroom."

"....”

Perhaps, maybe it will be.... It was only just possible to avoid adding such uncertain clues.

Carcel's enormous bed, which had been brought straight from the luxurious mansion after the military tribunal, filled the marital bedroom, its imposing size threatening to burst out of the room.

It was even more of a room than the bridal suite they had spent their wedding night in. [ʏᴜʟʜᴇʏᴜɴ] There seemed to be no room for any other large pieces of furniture, and all they had managed to fit in were a dressing table for Inés, a small desk by the window, a long, narrow sofa for daytime naps and, although it must have been the smallest in the mansion, a ridiculously large table with two chairs.…

The only thing worth looking at was the long window above the sofa and the long balcony that led off from it next to the door, giving a bird’s-eye view of the blue sea and the peaceful garden below the sheer cliffs of the hill.