Reluctant Prisoner Page 17

  'What nonsense!' Renata laughed. She seemed to find the accusation genuinely comical. 'Fausto's no angel, I admit, but credit him with a little more taste and refinement than that! Oh, I know the way she throws herself at him, and it annoys me too. She's been trying to get her clutches into Fausto ever since her husband died.' She sighed. 'Fausto puts up with her because her late husband was a very close friend—and because he promised the count before he died that he'd keep an eye on his widow and her financial affairs. But there's nothing going on between the two of them—as I already tried to tell you this afternoon. I'd stake my very last dollar on it.'

  More than anything, Tanya wanted to believe. But she had to be sure. 'That's certainly not the impression he's given me. I even asked him once. He didn't deny that it was true.'

  'He didn't actually confirm it, though?'

  'No.'

  'Hah! Men!' Renata scoffed and made a face. 'Probably he was just trying to make you jealous. Have you thought of that?'

  'No.' It had never even crossed her mind. 'Why would he want to make me jealous anyway?'

  'Because the man's in love with you! Why else?'

  Hot colour flooded into Tanya's face. She could scarcely believe what she'd just heard. 'How do you know that he's in love with me?'

  Renata shook her head indulgently. 'For one thing, it's written all over his face. And, for another—' she cupped her chin in the palm of her hand and smiled across at the younger girl'—he told me so himself.' The dark eyes gleamed. 'He also told me he was going to marry you. He even showed me the ring he'd bought while he was over in New York.'

  To Tanya it felt as though an enormous load had suddenly been lifted from her back—only to be replaced by another, even heavier one. It looked as though she had been wrong about practically everything, misjudged him totally.

  She listened with a sudden tight feeling in her chest as Renata went on, 'I was pleased. Pleased above all that it was you—and also that he'd finally decided to get hitched. We were all beginning to think he never would. He always said he never would. But that, I suppose, was understandable.' Her expression sobered suddenly. 'Fausto and I grew up, you see, in the sort of unhappy household that tends to make one lose faith in the sacred institution of matrimony. A battlefield more than a home.' She paused at Tanya's sympathetic nod. 'I see he's already mentioned this to you?'

  'Briefly.'

  Renata sighed. 'I think it affected Fausto more than it affected me. It certainly forced him to grow up very fast. Our father had very little time for us, you see, and from when he was comparatively young, it was Fausto, really, that our mother and I came to depend upon. He was very good to our mother. He worked harder than any son could reasonably be expected to to make up to her for the way our father treated her.' She smiled a fond smile. 'He's not the hard man he pretends to be, you know. Not deep down, anyway. He cares about people—and he's much more vulnerable and sensitive than he would like the world to think.'

  So much for his claim that he possessed neither conscience, soul nor heart! But that was no help to Tanya now. She had behaved like a spoiled, impetuous and immature fool, all the things that he had accused her of. She felt an overwhelming sense of shame. Shame and deep, unbearable regret. 'I've ruined everything,' she said. 'I even threw his ring at him.'

  'I know.' The dark-haired woman's face was serious again. 'And, as you've probably already guessed, he was absolutely furious.' Her eyes searched Tanya's almost anxiously. 'But you do love him, don't you?'

  Tanya nodded and blinked as a hopeless tear slid slowly down her cheek. 'I do, with all my heart,' she vowed. Then she brushed the tear away impatiently. 'What can I do?' she pleaded. 'Will he ever forgive me now?'

  'I'll go and speak to him.' Renata rose to her feet and smoothed the bright silk of her dress. 'I'll try to persuade him to come and talk to you.' Then she added, almost reluctantly, her dark brows knitting in a frown, 'I can't promise anything, of course. But I'll do my best.' And she kissed Tanya lightly on both cheeks. 'Keep your fingers crossed,' she said.

  Tanya watched from the open doorway until Renata had disappeared from sight along the flag-stoned path that led through the wood to the garden and the house. In spite of the warm breeze that blew up from the lake, she shivered as a shaft of cold fear twisted at her heart.

  'Oh, God,' she whispered to the night, 'please let him give me one more chance.'

  CHAPTER TEN

  After Renata had gone, Tanya dashed upstairs to the bathroom and splashed her tear-stained face with cold water. Then she ran her fingers quickly through her tumbled hair to give it some kind of order. She didn't look too bad, considering, she decided, studying her reflection in the mirror with a frown. A bit puffy still about the eyes, the lines around her mouth a trifle drawn, but at least she looked presentable. She would be able to face him without feeling a total idiot. If he came. If Renata succeeded in persuading him.

  She decided to wait up on the roof. The little wash-house drawing-room felt suddenly claustrophobic; she needed air. She leaned against the iron railing, feeling the warm breeze caress her face as she breathed in deeply and gazed out across the trees towards the lake.

  Oh God, what an absolute mess she had made of everything! Just a matter of weeks ago, the only man that she would ever love had asked her, in all sincerity, to be his bride—and what had her reaction been? First, to tell him that she did not care for him, then to keep him dangling on a string and, finally, to throw the ring that he had given her back in his face. It made her shudder just to think of it. If he never wanted to set eyes on her again, she could scarcely blame him. It would kill her, of course, but no one would ever be able to say it was his fault.

  Not that that was any comfort now. Nor was there any point in wishing that she had done things differently. What was done was done. She could only pray that the price to pay was not too harsh.

  Renata had said he was in love with her. Let her not have destroyed that love, she begged silently. Let there still be enough left in his heart for him at least to take pity on her now. And come. She clung to the railing and closed her eyes. Oh, God, please let Renata have persuaded him to come and talk. That much, at least. For, if he did not, she knew with a cruel and bitter certainty that she was lost. And lost, too, her only hope of happiness for all eternity.

  A faint rustling from the undergrowth below caused her to start, and her heart lurched crazily in her chest as a tall, dark figure in evening-dress strode from the shadows and out into the clearing below. It was Fausto. He had come. Relief swept through her. So there was hope, after all—though she could tell from his stiff, impatient gait that the agony that she had brought upon herself was not quite over yet.

  She was half-way down the stairs to the hall when he burst through the front door, and she felt her breath catch in her throat as she registered the grim expression on his face. For a long moment, as she continued to hover half-way down the stairs, they confronted one another in total silence. Tanya's heart was hammering uncomfortably and her mouth had suddenly gone dry.

  'You wanted to talk to me, I understand?' he said at last. There was a brittle, uncompromising edge to his voice.

  It flashed through her mind that she could simply throw herself at his feet and beg for clemency. But such a display, she knew for sure, would only make him scorn her more. Anyway, it was impossible. Her legs were rooted to the spot. She had difficulty, even, in mobilising her vocal chords as she stuttered, 'Fausto, I—I—I wanted to apologise.' Every inch of her tormented body, it seemed, was trembling.

  'Apologise?' he mocked, his lips twisting in a bitter smile. 'There's no need to apologise. You've made your position abundantly clear, and you're perfectly entitled to do that.'

  So he was going to make it hard for her. She was suddenly glad that she had decided against grovelling. In his present mood, he would quite enjoy helping her to rub her own nose in the dirt. 'I didn't mean that. I meant that I shouldn't have done what I did.' He probably knew what she was tr
ying to say, but, as he frowned, she stumbled on, 'The ring. I shouldn't have thrown it at you. I didn't mean to. I had been wearing it.'

  The dark eyes stared at her, as hard as stones, and she felt her heart shrink almost to nothingness inside. The worst had happened. He had refused to accept her apology. But, before he could speak and put his refusal into words, she hurried to assure him, 'I was wrong— about everything. About the countess, in particular. Renata told me. I don't blame you for being angry. I've behaved abominably.' And she took a deep breath. 'It's only because I—' Love you, was what she had been about to say, but she stopped herself short. The total honesty of the words still frightened her.

  He gave a sneering little laugh. 'Only because you what? Only because you enjoy behaving like a silly, spoiled child? Is that it, Tanya? Because that's exactly how you behaved tonight.'

  'I know that—and I've apologised. What more do you want?' She straightened and glared at him, suddenly angry through her misery. 'It wasn't all my fault, you know. If you'd made it perfectly clear from the start that you and the countess weren't having an affair, probably none of this would have happened.'

  He shook his head, but she thought there was a faint smile now around his lips. 'No, Tanya. Why should you care about Bea when you told me you don't love me anyway?'

  She stared at the floor and bit her lip. 'Maybe I was wrong about that as well.'

  He came towards her and held out his hand, and this time there was no doubt about the smile. 'Let's go through to the drawing-room,' he said. 'We can't talk here.'

  On shaky legs, she descended the stairs, and the clasp of his hand was cool and firm as he led her through into the drawing-room and sat down on the wide, chintz-covered sofa, looking up at her. 'What's the matter, are you afraid to sit next to me?' he teased, sensing her hesitation.

  'Of course not.' But, in a way, she was. She had as good as told him that she loved him then—but he, so far, had said nothing similar to her. Almost gingerly, she seated herself on the chintz-covered cushion next to him.

  'Tanya.' He swivelled round to look at her. 'Let's forget all about what happened earlier tonight. An unfortunate misunderstanding, that's all it was. Renata tells me she's already explained everything. But, you know'—he reached out and tilted her chin with his fingertips, his dark eyes searching as they gazed into her face—'you really must learn to trust me more. Didn't I tell you that you could trust me, right from the start?'

  She nodded, suppressing a blush as she recalled the intimate circumstances in which he had entreated her, 'Trust me.' Just before the first time they'd made love. 'I remember,' she said.

  He smiled. 'You know, I'm not the Don Juan that you seem to think I am. I don't have dozens of mistresses littered around the place. And, since that night that I proposed to you, there's been only one woman in my life.'

  The touch of his hand was like fire against her skin, scorching a trail of almost unbearable sensitivity as she felt the back of his finger slide upwards to caress the side of her cheek. 'I believe you,' she said. And she closed her eyes as he smoothed the hair back from her face. 'But do you still love me?' she asked.

  'Good God, what a question! Of course I still love you!' And she felt a shiver of excitement run down her spine as his hand slid round behind her hair to touch her nape. Gently he drew her closer to him, his lips softly brushing the sensitive corners of her mouth. 'My darling Tanya, I could never stop loving you.'

  She clung to him with a sob as his arms folded round her, his breath warm and sweet against her hair. She had longed so desperately to hear these words, and to feel deep in her soul that they were true. 'Please tell me again,' she whispered breathlessly.

  He drew back then to look at her, a fierce intensity that she had never seen before shining from the deep, dark eyes. 'I love you, Tanya. And I'll spend my whole life telling you, if that's what you want.' Then he hesitated as a sharp frown creased between the straight black brows. 'But surely you've known that all along?'

  She shook her head. 'I didn't dare believe that it was true.'

  A look of honest amazement crossed the handsome, dark-tanned face. 'But why else did you think I asked you to marry me, my love?' And his frown deepened slightly as he went on, 'I would never have made love to you if I hadn't been absolutely sure that I loved you and wanted to marry you.' He smiled. 'I thought you were the one with all the doubts.'

  'I think they were fears more than doubts,' she answered, smiling back at him. 'But they're all gone now.'

  'You're sure?'

  'I'm sure.' And somehow she knew that she would never be afraid again.

  He kissed her face. 'You told me you were wearing the ring. Does that mean what I think it means?'

  'Yes.' She nodded happily. A warm exquisite joy such as she had never known before lit up her heart as she gazed now into the face that she adored. 'I love you, Fausto, and I want to marry you.'

  His eyes filled with an almost overpowering intensity of love. 'I'll make you happy, Tanya. I promise you.' And her eyes closed as his arms tightened around her and his lips pressed down on hers again, turning the blood to fire in her veins with the tender, demanding urgency of his kiss.

  On a wave of emotion, she sank back against the cushions, succumbing with a little moan to the warm, excited pressure of his body against hers, sliding her hands beneath the fabric of his jacket to caress the powerful male contours of his shoulders and chest. She sighed and shivered as she felt him slip one hand beneath the silken bodice of her dress to cup her breast, sending a thrill of white-hot passion piercing through her loins as his fingers gently probed its aching peak.

  'We've wasted enough time on misunderstandings,' he growled at her with a kiss, his breathing rough and ragged in his throat. 'I'm not going to wait for you any longer, Tanya. I want us to be married right away.' He raised his head to look at her, a faint smile playing on his lips. 'How does next week sound to you?'

  She lifted one hand to touch his face, her whole being suddenly awash with love for him, and ran her fingers through his thick, dark hair. 'Next week sounds fine to me,' she smiled.

  Fausto bent to kiss her nose. 'That's settled, then.' He gently kissed each eye in turn. 'But the honeymoon will have to wait,' he added with a teasing smile. 'Till September. My new personal assistant isn't able to start work till then.' Tanya blinked at him in dumb astonishment as he added, still smiling, 'In the mean-time, you can save me the job of showing the temporary secretary the ropes. She'll be joining us on Monday.'

  Tanya gasped. 'Why, you sneaky devil!' Then laughed. 'You certainly didn't waste much time in finding someone to replace me! What made you think you'd need to anyway?'

  He threw her an unrepentant grin and ran his fingers down her cheek. 'I understand you better than you think, my dear. If you had turned me down, I knew for certain that you wouldn't stay. And if you said yes—as I've hoped and prayed you would—then, let's just say that I have other things in mind for you than office work.' And he smiled at the faint flush that rose immediately to her cheeks. 'Apart from my own, strictly personal plans for you—and these, I promise you, will take up a large part of your day—I also intend calling upon your professional services. A bit of redecorating at the villa, for one thing. It could use a slightly more feminine touch.' He smoothed her hair back from her brow and bent to kiss her softly on the lips. 'That is, as I've already said, if I ever get round to actually allowing you to get out of bed.'

  She blushed again and poked him playfully in the ribs. 'Beast,' she murmured happily, embracing him.

  He kissed her ear. 'Which reminds me—the job I want you to put at the top of your list is a nursery. I've a feeling it won't be long before we're needing one.' And he gently nipped her lobe between his teeth. 'You understand, of course, that having my children is all part of the deal?'

  A strange sensation twisted low down in her gut. 'I can think of nothing I want more. Unless it's just to spend my life with you.'

  He rose to his feet, taking both
her hands in his, and drew her gently from her seat to stand in front of him. 'You gave me a few anxious moments, you know.' He looked down at her with a wry glint in his eye. 'Specifically that time we went to Lugano to see your father about the icon. Afterwards, I half expected you'd insist I let you go.'

  Oddly enough, she remembered, it hadn't really crossed her mind. She had been falling in love with him even then, though she hadn't known. 'And what would you have done if I had?' she asked now, curious.

  'Oh, I'd have let you go,' he answered, his expression serious. Then he added, to her almost tangible relief, 'But I wouldn't have allowed it to end there, you understand. Sooner or later, I'd have come after you.' And he drew her face close to his chest and held her tight. 'I'd waited far too long for you to come into my life just to stand meekly by and let you walk right out of it again.' Softly he kissed the top of her head. 'I love you, Tanya. You're all I ever wanted in my life.'

  And you are more than I ever dared to dream that I might have, Tanya acknowledged silently to herself as she leaned her head in perfect happiness against his chest.

  Fausto reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out the ring. 'I think you dropped this earlier,' he told her with a smile. And Tanya watched with beating heart as he slipped it carefully into place on her left hand. He kissed her cheek. 'And now, let's go back to the party for a while. We have a very important announcement to make.'

  A deep contentment filled her soul as Fausto took her by the hand and led her out into the perfect, star-filled night. Here begins my happiness, she thought. My happiness for all my life.