Free The Count of Castelfino by Christina Hollis Page A

she breathed.
    ‘Why? What do you drive?’
    ‘I don’t—not in this country. I’d be petrified of driving on the wrong side—I mean on the opposite side of the road.’ She corrected herself quickly in response to the scornful look Gianni shot at her.
    ‘Then it’s time you got some practice.’
    Without another word he tossed his jangling set of keys and passes at her. Meg bent to pick them up. He leaned against the passenger door with a knowing look on his face.
    ‘You want me to drive your car?’ She gasped.
    ‘Everyone who lives in the country must drive. It’s best if you start right now. And I’m only going to let you pilot her the few kilometres across my estate to the public road. I’m not completely insane.’
    ‘But what happens if I crash it?’
    He looked at her as though she were the mad one. ‘I’ll get the factory to send me another, of course. There’s an inexhaustible supply, or so they told me the last time. And don’t change the subject. We were talking about you. I thought you said you were happy at home?’ he mocked, as though exposing some hypocrisy in the way she had left England. ‘It didn’t take much to set you on the path to fame and fortune again, did it?’
    ‘If you had been listening carefully, you would have understood what I meant.’ Meg’s cheeks flared as she got into his car and tried to find a comfortable driving position. He looked puzzled. Then understanding brought his smile out of the shadows.
    ‘You were quite happy, but not completely .’ He nodded. ‘Something was missing from your life.’
    Someone …Meg thought. There was a pain beneath her ribs, interfering with her breathing. It was the same feeling she had endured back in England, every time she spotted someone in the distance who might have been Gianni, or thought she heard his laughter. Her heart rode a roller coaster each time it happened. She had thought no disappointment could have been greater than never seeing him a second time. But meeting him again had been more agonising than any mistake made in a shopping mall. She sensed that deep down he was suspicious of her motives.
    ‘I wanted to make a success of my life on my own terms…’ she said with difficulty.
    ‘I can relate to that.’
    His reply held such feeling Meg instantly needed to know more. Before she could ask, Gianni launched a list of instructions at her for starting his car and coaxing it toward the road.
    She didn’t have a hope. It was her very first driving lesson all over again, scary and embarrassing all at once. She clung onto the leather bound steering wheel in grim determination as they kangaroo-hopped down the drive. That was more than Gianni could bear. After thirty seconds he slapped both hands down on the dashboard.
    ‘No, no—stop!’
    Meg was so relieved, her emergency stop would havepassed any driving test with distinction. Gianni jumped out the second she braked. Rounding the bonnet at high speed, he opened the driver’s door for her to get out.
    ‘I’ll get my office to arrange a few driving lessons to get you used to the local conditions, and then organize a car for you.’ He said succinctly as he slipped into the driving seat.
    Meg walked around and got in beside him. He was already caressing the steering wheel with both hands. Meg thought nothing of it, imagining he was waiting for her to fasten her seat belt, but he continued for some seconds after she was settled. Then he did all the things he had told her to do, faultlessly and in exactly the right order.
    ‘Have I done any damage?’ she risked as the upholstery surged forward against the small of her back.
    ‘Only to my nerves.’ Gianni glanced at her before checking his rear-view mirror. ‘Cars are like women. They must be treated with care and respect.’
    ‘I’m sorry,’ she said in a small voice. ‘I’ll pay for anything that needs to be fixed.’
    He laughed, loosening up as his Ferrari hit the autostrada . ‘I think working for