CHAPTER TEN: FATHER HERNANDEZ - CONTINUED

“You appear to me to be a just man,” the priest said to Hornsby as we finished up our meal at his dining table. Hornsby had been outlining the expedition for the Father the whole time we sat there.

“It may have been proven on a few occasions,” Hornsby said.

“One must be, to have come such a long distance.” Father Hernandez said as he pulled the cork from a ceramic vase of wine.

Upon the Father’s clue, a few servants clad in white trousers and shirts obediently cleared the table noiselessly walking on the tile floor in soft sole sandals.

“Would you care to join me?” He peered about the table with a wry smile on his face. None of us refused. One of his servants stopped clearing the plates and served us, filling up our empty water glasses. Father Hernandez apologized for not having the appropriate finery but then he said he stopped making excuses for such things long ago.

“May we make a toast to your prestige and fortune,” Father Hernandez said, raising his glass in delicate thin fingers.

“A toast, Father, to yours as well,” Hornsby said. Cassarina and I joined in the salutation.
“Salute!” Father Hernandez was enjoying the entertainment of new faces.

“Salute!” we all said in unison clinging our glasses together. After taking a deliberately long sip of wine, Father Hernandez turned to Cassarina, seated at his right side.

“And tell me, Dona Cassarina, such a lovely name it is, how is it that you are mixed up in this affair with two adventurous men?” Cassarina shifted in her chair.
“Father?” Cassarina half asked and half stated.

“Oh, por favor, excuse me. I am too blunt. I’ve made you feel uncomfortable,” Father Hernandez said. But it was to his credit that he could cause Cassarina to be caught off guard.
“I should be patient in spoonfuls, si?” Father Hernandez smirked glinting his eyes towards Cassarina. She collected herself taking another sip of wine.

“No. Father Hernandez, it is no problema. I’m an intern doctor from Oxford, England. I’ve been collecting species of foliage used by the indigenous for medical ethnobotany study.”

Cassarina sat handsome and erect with her raven hair tied up in bun to cool her neck. She bathed before dinner and had put on some perfume, the fragrance of a rose. One thick hair strand had fallen onto her shoulder. Her cheeks were flush from the wine. Her lips were moist. She had a look that enwrapped my spirit in a capricious tempest of passion. Her tender eyes were stunningly attractive in the soft candlelight of Father Hernandez’s sparse dining room. Cassarina was the charming pose of maternal rapture that penetrated my being. A lush golden paradise was sitting across from me.

“You are courageous,” Father Hernandez said, “besides being attractive.” The comment turned Cassarina into a defensive stance.

“What do you mean, Father?”

But Father Hernandez didn’t respond with words. Instead, he used a profound silence to speak for itself and a deliberate stare in my direction. Cassarina followed the gesture of his eyes towards me, who seated across the table, was staring at her. For the first time, Cassarina’s eyes flashed a spark of intimacy between us. Her lips faltered for a second, her breath escaped her.

“A man should never be tamed, don’t you agree with me Dr. Hornsby?” Hornsby looked rather surprised about discussing a romantic topic, noticing my gaze at Cassarina. Father Hernandez went on without waiting for Hornsby to answer.

“No matter how impractical a man is, the woman will love his impious adventures if she knows that she is the one and only that dwells in his heart. It is this quality that makes him valuable than all the wealth in the world.”

“But courage is better than being attractive,” Cassarina countered quickly turning away from me to suppress the twinge from our passionate glances.

“It is exactly what makes a woman attractive. Did you think I was referring to your physical appearance?” Father Hernandez’s words flattered her.

“You command your thoughts well, Father Hernandez,” Cassarina said. Father Hernandez smiled and took a generous sip of wine.

“And speaking of thoughts, Jules, have you lost the strength to talk this evening?”
“Father Hernandez, please pardon me, it has been some time since I’ve socialized.” I felt humbled in his company.

“Quite so, we are always ourselves in good company,” Father Hernandez said. “It is good to respect one’s own reason as they see themselves,” he added with a gentle tone that was barely whispered to us. “We should always nurture each other’s souls, so they can live in eternal harmony.”

He spoke so clearly that I was left indispensable to respond. I envied his spirit so pure and innocent with a wisdom that struck deep into my breast. The three of us marveled at Father Hernandez’s potent and insightful conversation. Our silent awe made him uncomfortable.
“I am keeping you up too long,” he said finishing his wine. “You can see I have few guests here, other than God and his purposes. . . .” he drifted off for a moment. Then he beckoned his servants, directing them to take us to our separate rooms.

“In the morning, we will make plans for your transportation,” he said, reassuring us that he had our intentions well in hand. Father Hernandez rose from the table and politely excused himself, shuffling off in his brown habit, drawn over his head.