She tried to tell herself he was a distraction she couldn’t afford. That might have worked for her after Andy left, but it sure as hell didn’t work with Dario.
Although their paths had somehow stopped crossing after their encounter in the wood, Josie wanted Dario to know it was because she was working, and not just hiding away from him. Whenever she was out on the estate she tried to forget him, but spent half her time looking over her shoulder. She was as wary as a gazelle on the African plains, on the alert for the lion that might pounce at any time.
As time went on and he didn’t appear, she began to settle back into her normal routine, managing, for the most part, to push her frustrated desires back into hiding—and then one evening Dario rode out of the sunset while she was busy brushing the fine, dry soil away from her latest find. From being lost in her thoughts, Josie was thrown into confusion. With desperate movements she stood up, shoving her hair behind her ears and brushing the worst of the dust from the legs of her overalls. Then she rubbed her sleeve over her brow, before realising it was as grimy as her knees had been. Desperately she grabbed the towel from the table where she washed her finds. Without a mirror, she had to hope it made any smudges better and not worse. Trying to look absorbed in her work for the agonising minutes it took him to ride up to her was impossible. It was only when she stopped trying that he smiled.
‘Dario,’ she greeted him quietly.
‘Josie,’ he replied in kind as he jumped down from his horse.
Despite her apprehension, she couldn’t help checking his saddle for another picnic basket. There wasn’t one.
‘I wondered what you were doing here,’ she said to cover her embarrassment when he noticed what she was looking at.
‘I live here, remember?’
‘When you aren’t roaring around the countryside by night,’ she said before she could stop herself.
He raised his eyebrows, strolling past her to investigate her finds table. ‘You noticed?’
‘I can’t help it … er … because the sound of your engine disturbs my work every night, that is.’
‘But your suite is always in darkness,’ he said casually, picking up one of her site sketches. ‘I’m here to deliver a message, by the way. I thought you’d like to know that Antonia rang—she’s coming home tomorrow. Hmm … I like this drawing. It’s artistic as well as being accurate. You’re clearly a woman of many talents.’
Josie tried not to feel smug, but it didn’t work. In the face of his obvious appreciation, she felt horribly tongue-tied.
‘You learn to be a jack of all trades in this job,’ she muttered. ‘Art used to be a bit of a hobby of mine. Not that I ever get a chance to do anything about it these days, apart from site sketches,’ she said wistfully.
He made a disapproving noise. ‘Have you ever thought of working some of these drawings up into full-sized paintings? They would add something unique to your coursework.’
‘It’s tempting …’ she said, stealing a long look at his beautiful profile as he studied her work, ‘.but there’s no point. Effort like that would be wasted on the academics who read my stuff.’
‘Come on, Josie—don’t be so defeatist! You’re a highly qualified woman with a lot of talent, both inside and outside of your usual sphere. Why be content with such a small market for your skills?’
‘You sound very sure of yourself. Who’s to say anybody else would share your opinion?’
‘I’ve studied art for long enough to know good work when I see it—you should have more confidence in yourself!’
His voice tailed off, as though he’d just heard his own enthusiasm. Josie glanced at him, but he looked away at almost the same instant. She almost caught herself smiling. According to Antonia, her brother Dario was a famous seducer but, standing in front of her now, he looked completely lost for words.
His uncomfortable silence didn’t last long; he seemed to gather himself and carried on in a more practical manner. ‘With artistic talent like this, you could draw in a much wider audience. Quality artwork would attract people who wouldn’t normally think of picking up an archaeology textbook. Me, for one.’
Josie chewed her lip. ‘Do you really think so?’
‘Definitely. I’m certain others would think that way, too.’
He sounded genuine, and smiled to drive the point straight into her heart. The memory of their eventful picnic made Josie break eye contact and move away from him. She started to tap a pile of already tidy papers into a meticulously rectangular block.
‘Oh, I don’t know. I don’t have the time, or the equipment …’
‘You should make time. It counts as work, so you wouldn’t have to feel it’s being wasted,’ Dario said in a voice that gave her no option. ‘And, as for equipment, that’s no excuse either. I keep a well-stocked studio. Anything you want, you can get from me. In a purely artistic sense, of course,’ he added hurriedly, seeing her frown.
‘It’s very kind, Dario, but I really can’t spare the time …’
She looked over towards the Roman hearth she was uncovering, stone by stone. It was long, knee-numbing stuff.
He dropped his voice to a conspiratorial whisper. ‘Come on … you know you want to! That floor has waited two thousand years for you to come along with your trowel and brush. Light and landscape is something that must be captured when it happens, and while it lasts. Like happiness, and laughter,’ he added.
When she smiled, he suddenly reached out to her. She flinched, and his fingers stopped short of making contact with her cheek. She took a step back, leaving his hand to fall back to his side.
‘I can see you’ve fully recovered from … the heat,’ he said with a brittle smile. ‘In which case, as I’ve done what I came to do, I’ll leave you to your work. Goodbye, Josie, but don’t forget what I said. Capture the moment. If you wait too long, it will slip through your fingers. And you’ll always regret missing out.’
‘You sound very sure about that!’ She chuckled, but all signs of amusement had vanished from his expression.
‘I am. Life can deal anyone a bad hand, Josie. Work is a great refuge, but you need to keep it in proportion. Look at me—running this estate and making sure I can pass it on to little Fabio in good heart takes up a lot of time, and it used to be that I’d focus only on that—but it’s no way to live.’
‘Fabio? But he’s not your son.’ Josie picked up on the name but then put her hand to her mouth. ‘I’m sorry; it’s none of my business.’
He looked startled, but hid it quickly. ‘You’re so close to Antonia, I assumed you knew all about that already.’
‘We spend most of our time chatting about work,’ Josie said. ‘At least we did, until Fabio came along. We hardly ever talk about our families.’
He shrugged. ‘I simply assumed she would have filled you in.’
‘Dario, I don’t need to be told anything more about you than I know already, unless you’d like me to know something,’ she said, while secretly hoping he would insist on revealing more.
He was silent, seeming to struggle with his thoughts for a moment before the mask came down and, to Josie’s disappointment, he was once again the suave, charming playboy.
‘You’re right. We both have work to do, so I’ll let you get back into your trench,’ he said smoothly, before mounting his horse and cantering quickly back the way he had come.
From then on, Josie couldn’t stop wondering why Dario had made his little nephew his heir. Dario was only a few years older than she was. What made him so sure, so young, that he would never have children of his own? Was it something to do with his mysterious dead fiancée? Josie wasn’t sure she wanted to find out the answer, but his words nagged at her like a puzzle begging to be solved.
She was tortured with curiosity for the rest of the day, but her worst moment came that night as she was drifting off to sleep, when the sound of his high-powered car dragged her awake again. Every night it took him away, leaving her sleepless and alone.
/> Dario and the memory of his kisses had awoken a need in Josie that would not let her rest. She got out of bed and went over to the window to watch the tail-lights of his car speeding away down the long lime avenue. Dario was heading off towards the city, with all its temptations and distractions. He had a million friends. His social life was so full he need never be alone, but something about him made Josie think that, secretly, he might be as lonely as she was.
Josie’s curiosity kept her awake until she heard Dario return in the early hours. Her lack of sleep meant she woke up late the next morning, which put her in a foul mood from the beginning. She knew from experience that she would never catch up on the lost time. She was also half-afraid Dario might have taken her words to heart and brought a conquest home to prove a point. She found herself angry for caring so much about it, but she needn’t have worried. The castello and its estate were both practically deserted as she walked the half mile to her excavation beside the old olive press. She worked away at uncovering the ancient flagstone hearth until the sun was high in the sky. Then she heard the sound of a car. It was one of the di Sirena limousines, and it sighed to a halt at the junction between the main drive and the drove road.
‘Josie! Look what we’ve got for you!’ a familiar voice called out.
Josie stood up to see her friend Antonia erupting from the car’s back seat and galloping along the track towards her, swinging several paper carrier bags. Plump and pretty, Toni had the enthusiasm of a puppy but was out of breath in seconds. Jumping out of her trench, Josie ran to meet her. Taking the bag, she peered inside.
‘An orange bikini?’ She goggled. ‘That’s the very last thing I would have guessed!’
‘Dario said you needed one.’ Antonia was grinning from ear to ear. ‘He says you’ve got to learn to swim.’
‘If I got into a swimming pool with your brother while I was wearing this, I think drowning would be the least of my worries,’ Josie said drily.
‘You’re all right. You’d be perfectly safe.’
Josie laughed. ‘Oh, dear. And people say I’m unworldly! Hey—it looks like your mothering skills have gone a bit haywire …’ she said, craning past Antonia to check the deserted back seat of the limousine. ‘You’ve never left Fabio back in Rimini?’
‘Of course not, silly! Dario was waiting for us by the gate on his horse, Ferrari. He had brought one of Fabio’s ponies out with him so they could ride home together.’
‘One of his ponies? How many does that child have?’ Josie asked in astonishment.
Antonia rolled her big brown eyes in a gesture so reminiscent of Dario, Josie was touched. She smiled.
‘I have no idea. Dario likes him to have the right size, so we have a selection here.’ Antonia smiled a bit guiltily. ‘Money might not buy happiness, but it makes most problems go away.’ She hesitated for a moment, as if lost in thought. After a pause, she shook herself and elbowed Josie in the ribs again, grinning. ‘So you’re still on speaking terms with Dario, then? He never said.’
‘Why would he? I’m just a guest here.’ Josie laughed, but jumped back into her trench before Antonia could see her expression.
‘Then you can have a great time getting to know him better at the party tomorrow,’ Antonia replied airily. ‘Dario’s decided he’s going to use it as an excuse to celebrate our safe return from Rimini. He’s invited everyone we know and a few more besides, so it’ll be brilliant. But then, Dario’s parties always are.’
‘Thank goodness I shall be safely tucked up in bed long before that.’
Antonia frowned. ‘Oh, come on, Josie! I know you aren’t the sociable type, but couldn’t you make an exception just this once? It’ll be fun. There are usually all sorts of things going on—an auction of promises, and games—’
Josie grimaced.
‘Don’t look like that. It’s all in aid of charity and you’ll love it, really! Besides, the food’s always fabulous here, even though I do say it myself—’ She had been hovering near the finds table and now peered into Josie’s lunch-box with interest. The castle kitchens provided Josie with a mini-feast to go each day, and she could never finish it all.
‘Have some,’ she told her friend, who didn’t need to be asked twice.
‘You can’t possibly miss one of Dario’s parties!’ Antonia insisted, choosing some mini-calzone.
‘I shouldn’t think I’m invited. I haven’t heard anything about it.’
‘Josie, you’re a friend of the family—just walk in!’
‘I don’t think so,’ Josie said uncomfortably. ‘That’s not how parties work where I come from. In any case, I’ll have more than enough to do, cataloguing all the finds from this little spot. Work and an early night. You know that’s what I’m here for, after all.’
… Although now I can’t help wishing that Dario himself might come and sweep me away from all this, she thought wistfully.
CHAPTER SIX
ANTONIA promised to return and help Josie catalogue her finds, once she had put Fabio down for an afternoon nap. When a brand new four-by-four painted with the di Sirena logo came rolling along the drove road towards her excavation, Josie assumed Antonia had managed to get away at last, but it wasn’t her friend who had come to find her. When the vehicle stopped, a member of the castle staff climbed out of the driving seat. The man carried a large transparent box, so Josie could see before he handed it to her that it was full of artist’s materials.
‘Oh, wow!’ she said in delight. ‘Thank Count Dario very much for me. This is perfect!’ she called after the driver as he got back into his vehicle and drove away.
Opening the container, she breathed in the wonderful, very particular aroma of brand new pencils, brushes and paper. Her fingers itched to start work.
Why not? she thought, filled with devilment at the idea of trying something that wasn’t on her written list of things to do. There was no one to see. Dario himself had encouraged it, and if he thinks I’m good enough … she thought, unable to remember anyone praising her artwork before. That made her feel good in a way that was somehow more satisfying, more personal than praise for her academic work had ever been. When she spotted a formal white envelope tucked in between a sketchbook and a watercolour pan, she began to feel really special.
Her heart beating faster by the second, Josie picked up the letter. She could hardly wait to rip it open and find out what it said, but the envelope alone was unique. It was faintly watermarked with the di Sirena mermaids, and addressed in fountain pen with bold copperplate handwriting. That was another reason to stop and stare.
Dr J. L. Street, she read.
She turned the letter over to find a red blob of glisteningly official sealing wax. It had been impressed with the magnificent crest of the di Sirena family. She let out her breath in a whistle. It was almost as grand as a medieval manuscript! Easing it open, she found that the envelope was lined with fine grey tissue paper. It contained a single sheet of deckle-edged notepaper folded neatly around a large, thick white card. Looking at the letter first, she found a couple of exquisitely written lines:
Dear Josie, here are a few things I selected for you at random. If you need anything more, let me know.
It was signed with the single word ‘Dario’, which flowed across the page like the faint but distinctive tang of his aftershave.
His note had enclosed an invitation like nothing she had ever seen in her life before:
The pleasure of your company is requested at a grand charity ball on the 18th July, hosted by Count Dario di Sirena. Evening dress to be worn.
She read from the stiff card, embellished with gold tracery, and, wide-eyed with astonishment, she shook her head in disbelief.
This is amazing! she thought. Fancy getting an official invitation to something like that! I can’t believe it … and my mum certainly never will … it almost makes me wish I had the nerve to go …
She let out a long drawn-out moan of disappointment. The thought of seeing Dario formally dressed again
was almost enough to make her accept the invitation, even though she was sure Antonia was behind it. She knew Dario must look truly magnificent in his natural surroundings of a glittering formal party, wearing a tuxedo and strolling around with a glass of champagne in his hand. It made him all the more alluring, and it made Josie certain that she had to turn down his invitation.
She was tongue-tied enough in his presence. His party would be filled with people she didn’t know, and with whom she had nothing in common. That would be bad enough, but to feel like that while she was in Dario’s company would be unbearable. He had all the social skills and charm, while she had none. Though Josie was honest enough to admit that wasn’t the whole reason. If her heart had felt at risk from their kiss by the pool, what would happen when she was at a party, where Dario was in his element? It felt as though this invitation tempted her further away from the world she knew—from where it was safe.
Josie stared at the wonderful invitation for a long time. Then she slid it back into its envelope and tucked it away in her bag with real regret. There was nothing for it. She sat down at her table to write a polite refusal—but didn’t even get as far as ‘Dear Dario’. That was no way to reply to an invitation like this. She would have to do it face to face. Standing up, she took two steps towards the castello, then went and sat down again. It was hard enough looking Dario in the eyes, without having to resist the temptation to throw caution to the wind and go to the ball.
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