The Sicilian's Defiant Virgin. Susan Stephens

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      ‘I will inform your college and ask for leave of absence, so you’ve nothing to worry about—especially not with the summer holidays fast approaching,’ the chairman told her. ‘Just one more thing,’ he added, avoiding Jen’s gaze. ‘We must be sure to welcome Signor Luca Tebaldi with the utmost hospitality.’

      Jen frowned at this comment. The utmost hospitality seemed to imply more than simply hand-carrying a precious stone to Sicily. She would be professional and polite, and that was all. If the chairman expected anything more of her, perhaps to drum up future business, he was destined to be disappointed.

      ‘Signor Luca Tebaldi’s father has been an outstanding contributor to our profits,’ the chairman continued, confirming Jen’s fears with a meaningful look. ‘We can only hope his son will become an equally valuable client in the future.’

      Jen stared around the boardroom table as talk turned to what could possibly tempt the Tebaldi family to spend even more in future sales. Rare stones were just that, the board members lamented: rare.

      A prescient shiver ran across Jen’s shoulders as she tried to persuade herself that exchanging a draughty bedsit for a trip to sunny Sicily was a great option, and that it would honour Lyddie’s memory in the best way possible. But nothing was ever that simple, and this trip was full of uncertainty.

      ‘Do you know the history of the Emperor’s Diamond?’ the chairman probed, tapping his pen on the desk as he looked at her.

      At last, something she could be sure about. ‘As it happens, I do,’ she confirmed. She always took an interest in the rare stones that came through the auction house, and her studies had allowed her to spend time researching them thoroughly. ‘It was once posted in a plain brown paper envelope, and yet it still reached its destination safely. I’m sure my trip to Sicily will be equally uneventful,’ she said, reassuring everyone around the table, but herself.

      I am that plain brown envelope, Jen thought as the chairman acknowledged her remarks with a thin smile.

      * * *

      Melvyn Worseley Esquire, aka the Chairman, took Jen aside later that day. With the Emperor’s Diamond valued at a conservative thirty-five million, he said it was important to get everything just right. Jen couldn’t have agreed more, and was glad she had confidence in her own abilities. If there was one thing she was good at, it was lighting and setting. Creating the elusive wow factor was what had won her the prize at college, the Vice Chancellor had told her when he’d handed her the prize.

      ‘Perhaps you might want to freshen up and put on some make-up before Luca Tebaldi arrives?’

      She looked sideways at the chairman. There was that subtle, or not so subtle, hint again. She would freshen up, but sluicing her face with cold water would be enough. This wasn’t a beauty pageant. It was a client coming to inspect a precious stone.

      There was no chance of the elusive wow factor where Jen was concerned, Jen conceded with amusement as she smoothed her long red hair and checked her ponytail was in place. Pulling away from the sink in the ladies’ room, she returned to the boardroom where the chairman was waiting for her.

      ‘If you’re short of cash,’ he observed, viewing her thrift-shop outfit with dismay, ‘I’m sure we can allow you a small amount of expenses. Creating a good first impression is paramount, don’t you think?’ he pressed, staring keenly at Jen over his gold-rimmed glasses.

      She was suitably dressed for work, Jen thought, in a mouse-grey knee-length suit and white blouse. Admittedly, the blouse had been washed so many times the fabric was practically threadbare, but if she fastened the jacket...

      The chairman lifted the velvet case containing the precious gemstone and, with maximum drama, he flipped the lid. Even Jen gasped. It was as if the diamond’s luminance, having been contained within a dark box for so long, leapt out at them in a stunning display of rainbow light. She knew the physics was the other way around, and that without the light the stone was nothing, but at that moment, far from being cursed, the Emperor’s Diamond seemed to contain some magical force. She had to remind herself that she didn’t believe in things like that.

      ‘I’m sure you will do a fine job displaying this,’ the chairman said as Jen came towards him, drawn closer by the magnificent gemstone.

      As she studied it Jen thought the diamond so beautiful she couldn’t think of it bringing anything but good luck. It would never be locked away again, if she could help it. She remembered her mother saying that exceptional gems should be displayed to the public, and enjoyed by as many people as possible.

      ‘Isn’t it a remarkable gem?’ the chairman murmured, obviously equally awestruck as they stood side by side, briefly joined in admiration of one of nature’s wonders.

      ‘And the ceiling hasn’t fallen in yet,’ Jen murmured tongue in cheek.

      ‘Not yet,’ the chairman agreed as they shared a rare smile.

      Somewhere in the Victorian building, a door must have opened. Jen shivered as if a breeze had blown in. ‘The wind of change,’ she joked, trying to hide her apprehension as she took a step back from the so-called cursed stone.

      The chairman had barely had time to put the diamond away when the door swung open and his guest strode in. Luca Tebaldi somehow managed to look even more impressive in daylight than he had at the club. He was taller, darker, and far more dangerous-looking than Jen remembered. Her heart thumped wildly as his stare lingered on her face. Why this intense interest? She was hardly one of nature’s wonders. She was more run of the mill. And yes, they were having dinner tonight, but this appointment was for him to view the fabulously valuable stone his father had just purchased, so shouldn’t he be concentrating on that?

      ‘Signor Tebaldi,’ the chairman gushed, moving past Jen to greet his guest.

      Wearing a dark, beautifully tailored lightweight wool suit and a crisp white shirt, garnished with a grey silk tie, and with sapphires glittering tastefully at his wrists, Luca Tebaldi looked every bit the billionaire connoisseur. She could see why the chairman hoped Luca Tebaldi would become as lucrative a source of income to the auction house as his father before him. She watched as the two men exchanged a firm handshake, but once that was done Luca’s stare switched to Jen.

      ‘Jennifer Sanderson—the courier you requested,’ the chairman said, introducing her.

      Not wanting to seem overwhelmed by their guest, Jen seized the initiative. Stepping forward, she took a firm grip of Luca Tebaldi’s outstretched hand. It was like being plugged into a power socket. She snatched her hand away as the chairman started talking about an upcoming auction for rare stones, but not before sparks had shot up her arm, and far more sensitive parts of her body were responding with even more enthusiasm. This was crazy. She didn’t even know him. She didn’t have to know him to feel that primitive response to a man as blatantly sexual as Luca Tebaldi, Jen reasoned with concern.

      He felt the girl’s reaction to him, and could see it in her darkening eyes. Last night she had been dressed in a skimpy and provocative costume, while today she was dressed as if butter wouldn’t melt. Would the real Jennifer Sanderson please stand up?

      They stared at each other with naked interest. She was as curious about him as he was about her. What was the connection between the Emperor’s Diamond, Raoul Tebaldi, and Luca? she had to be thinking. She was smart. It wouldn’t take her long to come up with some answers, though they might be wrong. He would keep her guessing СКАЧАТЬ