Free The Count's Blackmail Bargain by Sara Craven Page A

deepened.
    She said, ‘You—you’re offering to take me to Assisi.’ To her discomfiture, she felt herself beginning to blush. ‘That—that’s very kind of you, signore, and I—I’m grateful. But I couldn’t put you to all that trouble—not possibly.’
    ‘But it would be no trouble,’ he said. ‘Al contrario, I would find it delightful.’ He paused deliberately. ‘But I notice that you still have a problem calling me by my given name, so perhaps you feel you cannot yet trust me enough to spend a day alone with me.’
    Or perhaps it is yourself you do not trust, bella mia, he added silently, watching the colour flare in her face. And if so—you are mine.
    ‘N-no,’ she stammered. ‘Oh, no. It’s not that—not that at all.’ She cast around frantically for an excuse—any excuse. ‘You see—it’s Paolo. The Assisi trip was his idea, and maybe I should wait until he’s better, and we can go together. I—I don’t want to hurt his feelings. Can you understand that?’
    ‘Of course,’ he said. ‘I understand perfectly, believe me.’ More than you think or wish, my sweet one, he added under his breath.
    He sighed with mock reproach. ‘However, I am distressed that my shattered hopes do not concern you. Now that is cruel. But if I cannot persuade you, so be it.’
    And when the time comes, he thought as he pushed back his chair and rose to his feet, some day—some night soon—then I will make you come to me. Because you are going to want me so much that you will offer yourself, my shy, lovely girl. Make no mistake about that. And I will take everything you have to give, and more.
    Aloud, he said, ‘Arriverderci, Laura.’ His smile was pleasant—
    even slightly impersonal as he looked down at her. ‘Enjoy your solitude while you can,’ he added softly.
    And he walked away, humming gently under his breath, while Laura stared after him, still floundering in her own confusion.
    CHAPTER FIVE
    LAURA finished applying sun lotion to her arms and legs, and lay back in the shade of the big striped umbrella with a little sigh of contentment. Contrary to her own expectations, she was enjoying her solitude. The pool area occupied an extended hollow at the foot of the gardens, offering a welcome haven of tranquillity, with its marble tiles surrounding a large rectangle of turquoise water, and overlooked by terraced banks of flowering shrubs.
    It was sheltered and very private, and, apart from birdsong and the hum of insects, it was also wonderfully quiet.
    She put on her sunglasses and applied herself to taking an intelligent interest in her book, but the heroine’s ill-starred attempts to pursue entirely the wrong man struggled to hold her attention, and at last she put the thing down, sighing impatiently.
    In view of her current circumstances, it wasn’t the ideal plot to engage her, she thought ruefully. In fact, War and Peace might have been a more appropriate choice. Especially as she’d just been totally routed by the enemy.
    She’d managed to waylay a harassed Emilia, asking politely if she’d find out when it would be convenient for her to visit Paolo.
    But the reply conveyed back from the Signora was unequivocal.
    Paolo had a high fever but was now sleeping, so could not be disturbed.
    If I were genuinely in love with him, I’d be chewing my nails to the quick by now, Laura thought indignantly.
    But it was clear she had to start practising patience, and hope that, when his temperature eventually went down, Paolo would demand to see her instead.
    She sighed. God, what a situation to be in, and all her own stupid doing, too. Why hadn’t she remembered there was no such thing as a free lunch?
    But the deep indolent heat was already soothing her, encouraging her to close her eyes and relax. Reminding her that it was pointless to fret, because, for the time being at least, she was no longer in control of her own destiny.
    Che sera, sera, she thought drowsily, removing her sunglasses and nestling