Rags To Riches Collection. Rebecca Winters

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СКАЧАТЬ Fortunately for Gilberto he is hard of hearing—or at least he pretends to be when he’s with his wife,’ he said dryly.

      He straightened and smiled coolly at the matronly woman dressed in electric-blue too-tight satin who had descended on them.

      ‘Good evening, Allegra. Is Gilberto with you?’

      ‘No.’ She waved her hand dismissively. ‘He does not enjoy the ballet so I have come with my sister.’ Following Cesario’s lead, Allegra Ricci now spoke in English, but she barely looked at him. Her bright black eyes were focused intently on Beth.

      ‘And who is your delightful companion, Cesario? I don’t believe we have met before.’

      ‘This is Beth Granger.’ Cesario gave the Italian woman a bland look and offered no further information, much to Allegra’s obvious frustration.

      ‘Are you staying in Rome, my dear—on holiday, perhaps?’

      Faced with such a direct question, Beth felt she had no option but to reply. ‘Actually I’m staying in Sardinia. At the Castello del Falco.’

      Cesario checked his watch. ‘We’d better make our way back to our seats. Please give my regards to Gilberto.’ He nodded to Allegra and firmly led Beth away.

      Her reprieve was short-lived. A visit to the cloakroom was unavoidable, and her heart sank when Allegra followed her through the door.

      ‘So you are a guest at Cesario’s home?’ the Italian woman murmured. ‘How intriguing. I’ve never known him invite any of his female friends to the castle. He usually conducts his affairs here in Rome—although it’s no secret that he never keeps any of his mistresses for long.’ She met Beth’s eyes in the mirror and gave an unexpectedly kindly smile. ‘You are so young. Forgive me for saying so, but I fear you are out of your depth with Cesario. I know he is charming, but I’ve heard there is a side to him that is as ruthless as his barbarian ancestors. His wife discovered that when he banished her from his castle and refused to allow her to see their baby son.’

      Allegra shook her head. ‘Who could blame poor Raffaella for trying to snatch Nicolo? What mother could bear to be separated from her child? Of course it was a tragedy that they were both killed. And the terrible irony for Cesario is that Raffaella and Nicolo are buried together in the grounds of the castle chapel and he is alone.’

      * * *

      During the second half of the performance Beth tried to concentrate on the ballet, but the magic of the evening disappeared as Allegra Ricci’s insidious comments about the accident that had claimed the lives of Cesario’s wife and son swirled in her mind. Why had Cesario sent Raffaella away from their little boy? Nicolo had only been two years old when he had died. A child of that age had surely needed his mother. The questions went round and round in her head, and her stomach churned with tension.

      She could not bring herself to talk on the way back to his apartment. Cesario too seemed lost in his own thoughts as the limousine whisked them through the brightly lit Rome streets—still bustling with traffic even though it was nearly midnight.

      Sophie hadn’t stirred all evening, the nanny reported when Beth hurried straight to the nursery. ‘I’ll head off to bed now that you’re home,’ Luisa whispered.

      Beth remained leaning over the cot, listening to the soft whisper of Sophie’s breathing. Earlier in the day she had felt reassured by Cesario’s promise that he would not separate her from Sophie if the paternity test proved she was his child. But after her conversation with Allegra Ricci she felt sick with worry. Allegra had described Cesario as ruthless. And when she pictured him at the Castello del Falco, a dark figure riding his great black horse, his falcon perched on his shoulder, a shiver ran through her. He was as uncompromising as the granite walls of his castle and she would be a fool to forget it.

      She was tempted to grab Sophie and flee the apartment, but her common sense quickly reasserted itself. She was a stranger in Rome; she did not speak Italian or have money or their passports. She was trapped here, just as she had been trapped at the castle. But even if she could escape, what kind of life could she give a child in the rough area of London which was the only place she could afford to live? It would be far better for Sophie if Cesario was her father. He could give the little girl a much better life than-she could, she acknowledged bleakly. Sophie’s welfare was the only thing that mattered, Beth reminded herself. But she could not dismiss her fear that Cesario might send her away from the baby in the same way that he had apparently separated his wife from their son.

      She found him in his study, a brandy glass in his hand as he stood at the window looking down at the late-night revellers who were still milling around the piazza. He had discarded his jacket and tie, and despite Allegra Ricci’s warning that he was a ruthless womaniser Beth felt a familiar weakness in her limbs that had nothing to do with her being anaemic and everything to do with the smouldering sensuality of the man whose enigmatic expression gave no clue to his thoughts.

      He turned his head when she hovered in the doorway. ‘How is Sophie?’

      ‘Asleep. Luisa says she hasn’t heard a peep out of her all evening. I’m going to bed now.’ For some stupid reason she blushed, and her heart-rate quickened when he strolled over to her.

      ‘Can I get you a nightcap?’ When she shook her head, he said softly, ‘Did I tell you how beautiful you look tonight?’

      ‘Several times.’ She smiled, but her voice shook slightly and she caught her breath as he reached out and idly wound a lock of her long hair around his finger. The gleam in his gaze sent a tremor through her, and she closed her eyes for a moment while she sought to fight her fierce awareness of him.

      ‘I came to return the necklace, but the clasp seems to be stuck.’

      ‘Turn around and lift up your hair.’

      She did as he bade, standing rigidly as his fingers brushed lightly against her neck. His warm breath whispered across her skin, and she trembled when he bent his head and pressed his lips to the sensitive place behind her ear. The silence was so intense that she was sure he must hear the frantic thud of her heart. She sensed he was waiting for a sign from her, that if she turned her head a fraction towards him his restraint would shatter and he would seize her in his arms and plunder her mouth with a primitive hunger that could only have one outcome.

      Dear heaven, the temptation to give in to the molten desire flooding through her veins was so strong. Her heart missed a beat when he slid the strap of her dress a little way down her arm and trailed his lips over her shoulder. She knew he could see the swollen peaks of her nipples jutting against the clingy silk of her dress, and she imagined him peeling the material away and cupping her breasts in his hands.

      She bit her lip. Was this how he had tempted Mel into his bed—with the practised ease of a skilled seducer? What would happen if she gave in to the desperate clamour of her desire? And afterwards? Would he treat her with the same callous disregard with which he had treated Mel?

      She recalled Allegra Ricci’s warning. ‘As ruthless as his barbarian ancestors…Poor Raffaella…Banished her from his castle and refused to allow her to see their son…’

      He released the clasp and caught the necklace as it slipped from around her throat. She lowered her hands so that her hair tumbled down her back and quickly stepped away from him.

      Her eyes fell on a photograph on his desk, and with a shaking hand she picked it up.

      ‘Your СКАЧАТЬ