Conquistadora - Esmeralda Santiago [100]
Leonor sat again, choked with rage and tears, but unwilling to cry in front of her daughter-in-law. Under the avocado tree, Inés resumed swinging Miguel back and forth. Elena watched Leonor and Ana, ready to intervene if necessary but unwilling to interfere.
“How can you blame a child for coming between two brothers? Inocente loved Miguel as if he were his own,” Leonor insisted. “You’re to blame, Ana. It wasn’t enough for you to snare one son; you captured both and then drove a wedge between them. In the name of all that’s holy, take some responsibility for your actions.”
Ana’s hands trembled. She again captured Leonor’s gaze and trapped her inside it. “It wasn’t me who drove Inocente away, it was your incessant questions about when we’d leave this place,” she spit out. “You refused to accept that they could be happy here. You wrote them constantly to warn them what a terrible mistake they’d made. Your letters were about what could go wrong, not about what they were doing right. Your letters were about how miserable you were because they lived so far away, as if the only thing that mattered was their nearness to you, not the life they chose as grown men. And you dare call me selfish.”
Hooves pounded toward them. Severo galloped into the yard and in one motion dismounted and began shouting orders at workers who dropped whatever they were doing and raced to follow his instructions. He strode to Leonor and Ana, removed his hat, and bowed, breathing hard.
“Señoras, I’m sorry to bring you bad news, but don Ramón has fallen from his horse and is injured.”
“Oh, dear God!” Leonor ran in the direction that four men took into the woods, carrying a hammock and long poles, but as soon as the path narrowed she ran back. “Where is he? Is he badly hurt?” Elena chased after her, trying to calm her down.
“He’ll be brought here,” Severo said. “We need bandages. I’ve sent for Siña Damita,” he told Ana, who stood under the breadfruit tree as Leonor and Elena ran back and forth. Severo spoke in a low voice, forcing Elena and Leonor to be still and stop crying so they could hear. “I’m afraid it was a bad fall. I’ve sent riders to fetch Dr. Vieira, but even if they can find him right away, it’ll be hours before he gets here.”
“Would it make more sense to bring Ramón to the doctor? Is he too injured to travel?” Leonor asked.
Severo turned to her. “He fell down an embankment. His leg is broken and he’s badly bruised. He must have hit his head because he lost consciousness for a few minutes. Moving him further might be worse than trying to treat him here.”
“But it might be better to go toward where the doctor is,” Leonor said, near hysterical.
Severo looked from Leonor to Ana. “San Bernabé is halfway to town. We can stop there if the doctor is already headed this way.”
“Do whatever is necessary,” Ana said, her voice brittle.
“Sí, señora, I’ve ordered a cart. We can decide once you and Siña Damita evaluate the wounds.…”
“If it’s as bad as you say, doña Leonor is right. We should get him to town as soon as possible,” Ana said. Severo tipped his hat and was off again.
Within moments the raised dust from comings and goings by people and animals clouded the batey. Ana fetched a stack of linens for Leonor and Elena to tear into bandages. She told Paula to boil water in the kitchen as Teo readied basins. Benicio and Juancho hitched the cart to two mules while Ana, Flora, and Damita smoothed and flattened straw on its surface, and covered it with a sheet to make a bed as José rigged an awning over it. Miguel clung to Inés’s skirts, frightened by the sudden rushed activity.
“Indio! Efraín! Take him to play somewhere.”
With much cajoling, Indio and Efraín lured Miguel away so that the adults could continue their preparations.
An hour later, Eugenio and Severo galloped in, followed by the men running into the yard carrying the hammock, its right side bloody. Leonor threw herself in its direction as her grim-faced husband