THEIR flight from Florence by executive jet, followed
by a helicopter pick-up from Heathrow to their hotel,
had been accomplished with so much speed and in so
much luxury that Jodie felt as though she were taking
part in some kind of TV extravaganza rather than real
life. They"d been escorted from the helicopter to their
suite with a focused concentration on their comfort
that had bemused her and made Lorenzo look even
more saturnine and arrogant than ever.
The stunningly beautiful seventeenth-century
Cotswold stone hotel had originally been a private
house. Now owned by a consortium of wealthy entrepreneurs,
who had originally bought and remodelled
it as an exclusive private members" country
club, it catered for the wealthy and demanding. Its
Michelin-starred restaurant was fabled and notoriously
selective about its clientele, its spa was a favourite
haunt of the A-list celebrity set, and it was
the favourite venue for private events in that same
set. A coterie of very wealthy clients were said to
have set up a private gambling club there, in which
fortunes were lost and made, and the world"s style
critics had declared it the place they would most like
to be.
From the welcoming hallway, with its antiques and
air of a country seat home, to the decor of their suite,
complete with vases of exactly the same flowers she
had had at their wedding and the latest Italian busi-
ness magazines, everything breathed exclusivity and
attention to detail.
This truly was a different world, Jodie thought, as
their personal butler assured her that her clothes
would be unpacked and pressed within an hour.
"I’ve arranged for us to have a hire car delivered
here today, so that I can familiarise myself with the
area ahead of the wedding," Lorenzo remarked.
"John’s parents are holding an open house party
tonight. The whole village is invited."
"We shall be attending?"
Did she really want to? Somehow the heat that had
scorched her pride and driven her to long to be able
to stand tall amongst those who knew her with a new
man at her side had cooled to an indifference that
made her wonder why she was here at all.
John, Louise, and the pain they had caused her, had
lost their power over her emotions. The life she had
known and lived before she had met Lorenzo felt so
distant from her now. Already she was making new
friends in Florence; she was developing new interests,
a wider outlook on life. She could not see herself
coming back here at the end of her year of marriage
to Lorenzo. But what would she do? Stay in Florence?
No, that would be too painful.
Painful? Why? But of course she already knew the
answer to that question. She had suspected it the night
he had told her about the history of Castillo’s hidden
paintings. And she had known it the evening she had
sat in the Castillo garden and listened to him telling
her about his childhood, his feelings.
"I’m not sure that this is a good idea any more,"
she told Lorenzo uncomfortably.
"Why not? Because You’re afraid of what you
might learn about your own feelings?"
"No! There isn’t anything to learn about them. I
already know how I feel." How true that was!
She still loved this blind fool of a man who had so
stupidly chosen another woman over her, Lorenzo
thought angrily.
"You are afraid that when you see this ex-fiance.of
yours you will be so overcome that you won’t be able
to stop yourself from running to him and begging him
to take you back?" he suggested grimly.
"that’s ridiculous," Jodie objected. "Apart from
anything else, I’m a married woman now."
"And You’re na..ve enough to believe your wedding
ring will prove an effective barrier to your emotions?"
"It doesn’t have to. I Don’t have any emotions for
John any more. He means nothing to me now. that’s
why I Don’t want to go."
Her voice rang with conviction, and Lorenzo felt
his heart slam into his ribs, urging him to ask the
question it so badly wanted answered. Ignoring it, he
flicked back the sleeve of his jacket without allowing
her to reply and told her curtly, "It’s almost lunchtime.
I suggest we have something to eat, then we can collect
the car and I can familiarise myself with this evening"s
route."
The Cotswolds lay drowsing under the warmth of the
summer sunshine, its villages filled with coachloads
of tourists. And, as she did every summer, Jodie wondered
what those drovers who had once brought their
sheep to market along these traditional roads would
have thought if they could be transported to modern
times.
The small market town of Lower Uffington, where
Jodie had grown up, was slightly off the normal tourist
track, fortunately, and Jodie felt her stomach muscles
start to clench with tension as she sat stiffly in
the passenger seat of the hired Bentley. Lorenzo negotiated
the narrow lanes as they dipped down between
familiar grey stone walls and passed the sign
that marked the boundary to the town.
Up ahead of them lay the pretty town square, with
its traditional wool merchants" houses lining its narrow
streets, beyond which the road started to rise towards
the Cotswold uplands where sheep still grazed,
as they had done for so many centuries. Its wool market
had made the town prosperous, and that prosperity
was still evident in its buildings.
Her own little cottage was hidden out of sight down
a narrow lane, its garden tucking its feet into the small
river that ran behind the main street. A pang of mingled
pain and nostalgia gripped her, but it wasn’t so
severe as she had dreaded. Anywhere could be home
if it was shared with the person you loved, she realised.
A small sign indicated the opening between two
houses that led to the yard belonging to John’s father"s
building business, and Jodie exhaled sharply as
she saw John’s car parked at the side of the road close
to it.
"What is it?" Lorenzo demanded.
"Nothing."
And that was the truth. The sight of John’s car,
which in the early days of their break-up would have
filled her with aching pain and loss, now didn’t affect
her at all — apart from a slight feeling of relief once
they had driven past it, in case John himself should
have appeared and seen her.
At the end of the town, set in its own pretty green,
was the church, small and squat, its stained glass windows
picked out by the sunlight. Preparations were
obviously already in hand for tomorrow"s wedding,
Jodie recognised as she saw bunches of white flowers
tied up with white ribbon and netting ornamenting the
old-fashioned gate.
John’s family, like her own, had been here for
many generations. John’s parents were relatively well
to do, and their converted farmhouse with its large
garden was just outside the town.
"Can we stop?" Jodie asked Lorenzo.
"If you wish." He swung the car round into the
small car park, and brought it to a halt.
There was one thing she did want to do, Jodie acknowledged.
One very personal visit she had to make.
"there’s no need to come with me," she told
Lorenzo as she reached to open the car door. "I shan’t
be very long."
"I may as well. I need to stretch my legs," Lorenzo
answered her.
She could see him frowning when she headed for
the church. And his frown deepened when, instead of
using the main gate, with its floral decorations, she
chose to make a small detour and open a much
smaller gate which led across the immaculate green
and then behind the church to the graveyard.
No one else seemed to be around, but even if there
had been, and she had seen someone she knew, Jodie
would not have allowed herself to be detained. She
had known when she stood in the church in Florence,
making her vows to Lorenzo, that this was something
she wanted to do.
She took the familiar narrow path that wove its way
between large mossed grey tombstones, so ancient
that their engraving had almost worn away, heading
deeper into the graveyard until she came to the place
she wanted.
There, set into the mown grass beneath a canopy
of soft leaves, was the small plaque that marked a
shared grave.
"My parents," she told Lorenzo simply.
Tears blurred her eyes, and her hand shook slightly
as she reached into her handbag and carefully withdrew
the small box in which she had stored the petals
from her wedding bouquet. Taking them out, she scattered
them tenderly on her parents" grave.
When she turned to look at Lorenzo a huge lump
formed in her throat. His head was bowed in prayer.
"It’s silly, I know, but I wanted them to know…"
She stopped and bit her lip.
"Do you want to go inside the church?" Lorenzo
asked.
Jodie shook her head. "No. They’ll be getting it
ready for the wedding and I Don’t want…"
"You Don’t want what? To confront the friend who
stole your fiance.? I thought that was why we are
here?"
"John’s an adult. No one forced him to break his
engagement to me for Louise." Her head had begun
to ache slightly. "Can we go back to the car?"
Lorenzo shrugged. "If that is what you want."
What she wanted was for Lorenzo to love her as
she had discovered she loved him. What she wanted
was to be back in Florence with him, living her life
with him, creating a future with him.
"I’m getting a headache," she told him instead.
"It is probably anxiety. What exactly are you hoping
for tonight, Jodie?"
You. I’m hoping for you to look at me and love me.
"I’m not hoping for anything."
"No? You’re not hoping secretly that John will see
you and recognise that it is you he wants after all?"
"that’s not going to happen."
"But you want it to?"
"No."
They were back at the car, and Jodie was so engrossed
in rejecting Lorenzo’s suggestion that she
didn’t notice the woman looking sharply at her until
a familiar voice announced in surprise, "Jodie? Good
heavens! I thought you were still away."
Lucy Hartley — whose husband worked for John’s
father!
Somehow or other Jodie managed to produce the
necessary smile. "It’s just a flying visit," she explained.
"I wanted to show my…my husband—"
"Your husband? You’re married?"
To Jodie’s relief, Lorenzo stepped forward and extended
his hand. Quickly Jodie performed the introductions,
watching Lucy’s eyes widen as she did so.
"You’ll be going to John’s parents" open house
party this evening, will you?" she enquired.
"We certainly hope to do so," Lorenzo answered
smoothly, before Jodie could say anything. "If we
won’t be encroaching. Jodie has told me so much
about her home and her friends, and I’m looking forward
to meeting them."
"Oh, no. I’m sure that Sheila and Bill will be only
too delighted." Lucy was beaming. "I’ll certainly tell
them I’ve seen you. Where are you staying, just in
case anyone asks?"
Reluctantly Jodie told her, and saw how her eyes
widened a little more in recognition of the exclusivity
of the hotel.
"My! You have gone up in the world, Jodie!"
Jodie could feel her face starting to burn.
"We must go — but hopefully we shall see you this
evening," Lorenzo offered politely, quickly steering
Jodie away before she could give vent to her feelings.
"That woman is such a snob," she complained angrily
as Lorenzo unlocked the car and opened the
door for her. "The moment I mentioned the hotel she
was all over us like a rash. And she doesn’t even
know about your title."
Lorenzo closed the passenger door and walked
round to get into his own side of the car.
As soon as he had started the engine, Jodie told
him fiercely, "Lorenzo, I Don’t want to go tonight.
When I first said that I wanted to, I wasn’t thinking
things through properly. I Don’t think we should go."
"We can hardly not go now," Lorenzo pointed out
calmly. "We will be expected."
She ought to be grateful to Lorenzo, Jodie knew.
He had rearranged his schedule in order to accommodate
this visit for her, and now here she was, telling
him that she didn’t want to be here.
Lorenzo looked at Jodie’s averted profile. He could
see the effect the thought of seeing her ex-fiance. and
his bride-to-be was having on her, and how much it
was upsetting her. So why was he insisting on her
doing so? What was he trying to prove that was worth
proving? Why didn’t he put his foot down on the
accelerator, head for the hotel and take her back to
Italy before she could change her mind? Once there,
he would have nearly a whole year…
A year in which to what? To persuade her to remain
married to him? That was what he wanted, was
it?
What if it was? It didn’t mean anything other than
that he was beginning to feel that it would be easier
to remain married to her than not to do so. Marriage
gave a man a certain sense of purpose and stability.
Just because previously he had not considered the
value of an old-fashioned arranged marriage, that did
not mean he was so inflexible in his thinking that he
could not recognise it now. He and Jodie were married,
after all; there was much to be said from a practical
point of view for them staying married.
He would still be able to maintain his emotional
barriers. Once he had assured himself that she accepted
that this ex-fiance. of hers was now unavailable
to her, and a part of her past, he felt confident that
they could develop a working relationship.
And a sexual relationship? His body tightened in
betrayal.
Jodie in turn would have the protection of a husband
and a life of comfort. There could even be children,
if she wished. He frowned sharply as this magnanimous
thought provoked a reaction within his
body and his emotions that went a whole lot farther
than any mere sense of self-laudatory approval of his
generosity. He had never previously considered the
production of children an essential part of his life
plan — he had more than enough male relatives to produce
the next Duce — but with the future of the
Castillo to be considered it made sense for him to
have heirs of his own to hand it on to. And Jodie
would not desert her children.
He braked sharply to avoid a cyclist, mentally denying
that his immediate and instinctive belief was a
rash emotional reaction rather than one based on
logic.
He wouldn’t, he decided as he turned into the hotel
grounds, make any firm decision until after tonight,
when he had seen how Jodie reacted to the sight of
her ex-fiance.. If after that, and further careful thought,
he was convinced that their marriage had a future,
once they were back in Italy he would tell her so.
She really wished she hadn’t ever said she wanted to
do this. Jodie studied her reflection in the bedroom
mirror and smoothed a nervous hand over her beautifully
cut cream cre.pe trousers.
"Ready?"
Numbly she nodded her head as Lorenzo walked
into her bedroom. He looked exactly what he was: a
tall, dark, impossibly handsome and even more impossibly
arrogant, totally male man — the kind of man
any woman would be attracted to. The kind of man
any woman could see would make her emotionally
vulnerable if she wasn’t careful. What a pity she
hadn’t been woman enough to recognise that right
from the start.
She could see the way he was looking at her, but
if she had been hoping for a compliment about her
appearance she was in for a disappointment, she realised.
As she started to head for the bedroom door he
reached out and stopped her. For one wild heartbeat
her head was filled with impossible images and even
more implausible scenarios — Lorenzo taking her into
his arms and refusing to let her go; Lorenzo insisting
that he wanted to keep her here in this room and make
love to her; Lorenzo telling her passionately that he
loved her. Weakly she refused to admit how much
she wished they could actually happen, and tried to
focus instead on what Lorenzo was saying to her.
"I think you should wear this tonight."
She looked down at the familiar emerald ring.
"It is, after all, your betrothal ring," Lorenzo
pointed out, "and a symbol of our relationship."
Wordlessly Jodie reached out to take it from him,
but he shook his head slightly and took hold of her
hand, sliding the ring onto her finger himself.
Tears stung her eyes. Foolish, foolish tears that betrayed
to her just how badly she had misjudged her
own vulnerability. Only a woman deeply in love
could feel the way she felt right now.
It didn’t take them very long to reach John’s parents"
home. A marquee had been set up in the garden,
and the field adjacent to the house already contained
several rows of neatly parked cars.
They were greeted at the gate by a young dinner-
suited cousin of John’s, who recognised Jodie and
gaped slightly at her, then blushed.
"I suppose we ought to try and find John’s parents
first," Jodie told Lorenzo.
"That sounds a good idea," he agreed.
"what’s that you’ve got?" Jodie asked curiously,
noticing the small parcel he was carrying.
"Hand-made chocolates for our hostess," he informed
her, adding, "I’ll have a dozen bottles of wine
sent to our host later."
Jodie gave him a rueful look and reached into her
bag, producing an almost identically wrapped box.
"Snap," she told him, laughing up at him, smiling naturally
for the first time since they had arrived in
England.
"Jodie! Lucy said that she’d seen you in town this
afternoon."
Jodie’s smile vanished as she saw John’s mother
standing in front of them.
Instinctively she moved closer to Lorenzo. John’s
mother was scrutinising them both very sharply, Jodie
saw, and her chin suddenly lifted as she looked back
at her.
"I hope we aren’t gatecrashing?" she said calmly.
"May I introduce my husband to you, Sheila?"
"Your husband? Lucy did say, but I wasn’t sure…
My goodness, this is a surprise." John’s mother gave
a small tinkling laugh. "And there we were, worrying
about you being upset and broken-hearted."
"Jodie recognised very quickly that calf love means
nothing when one finds the real thing." Lorenzo’s
smile might have taken some of the sting out of his
words, but Jodie still gave him a sharp look, and
wasn’t surprised to see the cold gleam in his eyes.
"Well, I hope the two of you will be very happy,
Mr…" Sheila began insincerely.
"Lorenzo Niccolo d’Este, Duce di Montesavro,"
Lorenzo introduced himself, with cool, insouciant
confidence.
"You’re a duke?" Sheila asked faintly.
Lorenzo inclined his head in assent, and said
suavely, "But please do call me Lorenzo."
Suddenly Jodie was almost beginning to enjoy herself.
"And how is Councillor Higgins?" she asked
sweetly, turning to explain to Lorenzo, "John’s father
is a local councillor."
John’s mother had, she noticed, begun to turn an
unflattering shade of pink. It was funny how Jodie
was beginning to remember all those occasions on
which John’s parents had let her know that they considered
her to be just that little bit inferior to them.
Of course she was behaving very badly, she knew,
but sometimes behaving badly could be fun!
"that’s one of the benefits of being married to you
and not to John," she murmured to Lorenzo as they
moved away to allow Sheila to greet some new arrivals.
"What is?"
"No mother-in-law," she said succinctly.
By now they had begun to attract rather a lot of
attention, as people recognised her and did a small
double take before turning to look more closely and
curiously.
Lorenzo had put his hand beneath her elbow in a
very solicitous manner — probably because he was
afraid that she might trip in her high heels and end
up flat on her face and thus disgrace them both, Jodie
reflected as she managed to negotiate the unlevel
ground.
"Jodie…"
She spun round with a genuine smile as she heard
the warmth and pleasure in the voice of the local doctor.
"Dr Philips!"
He gave her an enthusiastic hug and then smiled
down at her. "You’re looking well."
"Italian food, Italian sunshine—"
"And an Italian husband," Lorenzo cut in, making
the doctor laugh.
"I shouldn’t say this," the doctor whispered with a
grin, "but I always thought you were wasted on young
John. A nice enough lad, but a bit on the weak side—
and very much under his mother"s thumb."
"Poor John — that’s not very kind," Jodie protested,
but she still laughed.
Lorenzo lifted two glasses of wine from a passing
waiter"s tray and handed Jodie one.
She still hadn’t seen either Louise or John, although
she thought she had caught sight of Louise’s
parents. She had always liked Louise’s mother, but
she had no wish to see her now. Naturally, as a
mother, she would support her daughter no matter
what that daughter might have done.
And besides, honesty compelled Jodie to admit that
if Louise and John did love one another, then surely
it was only right and proper that they should be together.
She no longer cared what they did, because
her own life and her own feelings had moved on. She
looked at Lorenzo and allowed herself the pleasure of
a private fantasy in which she would suggest to him
that they leave and go back to their hotel. He"d agree
with satisfying alacrity and an even more satisfyingly
intimate smile because of the sensual pleasures to
come. She gave a small sigh as she relinquished this
unlikely but, oh, so alluring scenario.
"Your leg?" Lorenzo questioned immediately, misunderstanding
the reason for her sigh.
Should she fib and pretend that it was bothering
her so that they could leave?
But before she could say anything the vicar and his
wife had joined them, and Lorenzo had become involved
in a discussion with them about Florence.
Jodie took a small sip of her drink, and was looking
for somewhere to put her glass when she heard Louise
saying sharply, "I want a word with you!"
Louise was on her own, and there was no sign of
John.
"Don’t think I Don’t know what You’re up to and
what You’re doing here," her ex-friend whispered angrily.
Jodie could feel her face starting to burn. She was
guiltily aware of her original motive in coming here.
But perhaps there was a chance, instead, to forgive—
to end the bitterness between them?
"This is real life, Jodie, not some romantic novel,"
Louise was saying. "John isn’t going to take one look
at you and throw me over to come back to you."
"Good. Because I honestly Don’t want him to,"
Jodie told her. "Louise, I’m married now, and I—"
"Married? You?" Louise gave her a contemptuous
look. "You might have taken everyone else in, but I
Don’t believe it for one minute. My guess is that you
aren’t married at all — you certainly Don’t look it—
and I think your supposed ""husband"" is some actor
you’ve hired." She glared at Jodie angrily. "No man
as good-looking as he is would want you, with that
leg of yours. everyone’s laughing at you. You know
that, Don’t you? Pretending that you’ve married a
duke. As if! And that ridiculous ring that You’re wearing,"
she added, her lip curling. "It’s so obvious that
It’s fake — just like you and just like your marriage.
I’ll bet You’re still that same pathetic little virgin you
were when John dumped you."
Instinctively Jodie looked towards Lorenzo, a silent
plea in her eyes. He looked back at her.
And then he was coming towards them, responding
to the silent emotional message she had sent him.
Relief filled her. It was all she could do not to throw
herself into his arms and beg him to take her away.
Lorenzo felt Jodie’s pain in his own heart. Fury
and an instinctive desire to protect her boiled through
him. He had heard what Louise had said to her, and
he hadn’t needed the silent plea she had sent him,
begging for his help, to take him to her side. He
wanted to snatch her up and take her away from these
people who did not appreciate her, from the man who
had not loved her as she so deserved to be loved…as
he in his stupidity had tried to refuse to love her. But
now that love was filling him and driving out everything
else, everyone else. Nothing, no one mattered
other than Jodie and her happiness.
He reached her and took hold of her hand, watching
as relief shone emotionally in her eyes.
"For your information," he told Louise coldly, "I
am not an actor. Jodie and I are married, and I worship
the beauty of her body almost as much as I love
the sweetness of her nature. And as for the authenticity
of both my title and my family betrothal ring…"
The look he gave Louise was so withering that Jodie
was surprised it didn’t shrivel her to nothing on the
spot.
"Since you are engaged to a man who obviously
cannot tell what is genuine and what is not, I suppose
one might expect to hear you expressing ill-informed
and ignorant opinions," he continued levelly. "And so
far as our reason for being here goes…" Lorenzo now
raised his voice slightly, as a curious crowd gathered
around them. "That was my decision. I wanted to see
where Jodie had grown up, to meet the people she
had grown up amongst. And I confess I also wanted
to meet the man who was foolish enough to give her
up. Jodie merely wanted to offer you both her best
wishes."
Lorenzo was still holding her hand, Jodie recognised,
and what was more he was holding it very
firmly in his own as he moved protectively closer to
her. Automatically she leaned in to him, welcoming
the sensation of his body absorbing the sick, trembling
shock of her own.
"What a pitiful creature you are," Lorenzo said to
Louise in a very quiet voice, inaudible to most of
those around them. "You steal a friend"s fiance., and
then, because of your inadequacy and lack of emotional
depth, you are forced to live in fear of losing
him back to her."
Louise turned from red to white as Lorenzo’s cutting
words hit home, and suddenly the woman Jodie
had always thought of as such a beauty actually
looked ugly.
John had come hurrying over to Louise’s side and
was looking helplessly back and forth between the
women. When she looked at him Jodie recognised
how poorly he compared with Lorenzo, and how
weak he was as a man. If she hadn’t already realised
she didn’t love him any more, she surely would have
done so now.
"Are you ready to leave?" Lorenzo asked Jodie.
Silently she nodded her head.