An Engagement of Convenience Read online

  ‘As I keep saying,’ she informed him, ignoring her racing pulse, ‘I’ve changed, Leo. Whatever unwelcome attentions I embarrassed you with in the past I’ve no intention of repeating them.’

  ‘Even if I made it clear that this time I would welcome them?’ he said, coming closer.

  Harriet turned to face him. ‘Why are you doing this, Leo? Is it out of revenge because I was a nuisance once?’

  Leo laughed shortly. ‘No, Rosa. Not because you were a nuisance.’ He seized her by the elbows, his touch burning through the fine wool of her sweater. ‘It is not an emotion familiar to me, but perhaps I was jealous.’

  Harriet stared up at him, her mind working furiously. Had he found out about Pascal Tavernier?

  Leo shrugged. ‘All women like Dante.’

  ‘I can see why,’ Harriet agreed, pulling away. ‘He’s very good looking.’

  ‘I know it. And charming, and good-tempered—all those things I am not.’ Leo smiled crookedly. ‘None of this worries me, you understand. What does worry me is that my brother found our little cousin so delectable.’

  ‘Is that why you sent him to Arezzo today—to save him from the dangerous Rosa?’ she said with sarcasm.

  Leo nodded. ‘I asked him to fetch the gift I’d ordered for Nonna. I told him I was too busy to go myself.’

  Harriet looked at him in silence for a moment. ‘You were wrong about one thing, Leo.’

  ‘What is it?’

  ‘Dante’s more charming and a lot less domineering,’ she said, throwing caution to the winds. ‘But you’re wrong about the looks.’

  With a sudden, smothered exclamation Harriet’s Italian didn’t cover, Leo took her in his arms and kissed her mouth. Her lips parted with such involuntary response that Leo sat down abruptly, pulling her onto his lap. He slid his hands into her hair and held her face immobile as he kissed her, and Harriet responded mindlessly for a moment, until a hard, unmistakable pressure beneath her thighs brought her off his lap so suddenly she stumbled as she backed away, her colour high, conscious, too late, that it was broad daylight, and interruption was likely any moment.

  Leo rose slowly to his feet, breathing hard, but making no attempt to hide his formidable arousal. ‘Do you want me to apologize?’

  She shook her head, scarlet to the roots of her hair. ‘I could have said no.’

  ‘But you did not.’ He moved nearer. ‘Could it be that whatever attraction I had for you once still exists? ’

  ‘No,’ said Harriet, in an effort to keep Rosa out of trouble.

  ‘No?’ Leo smiled, his eyes gleaming with indulgent disbelief. ‘We shall see,’ he promised, in a tone which triggered alarm bells in Harriet’s brain. Then he turned, smiling, as his grandmother came out to join them.

  ‘Nonna, I came to wish you happy birthday.’

  Signora Fortinari embraced him warmly as he kissed her. ‘I thought I heard your voice, Leo. Why did you trouble to come this afternoon when you will be seeing me tonight?’

  ‘I couldn’t allow Dante to shame me by his attentions,’ he assured her, with a gleaming look at Harriet.

  ‘You are very good to me, both of you,’ said Vittoria, patting his cheek, then she turned to Harriet. ‘And have you had a restful afternoon, darling?’

  ‘I read for a while, then Leo came,’ said Harriet. And Leo Fortinari could be described in many ways, but restful wasn’t one of them.

  ‘Now we shall have some English tea,’ said his grandmother decisively. ‘Will you stay, Leo?’

  ‘I would like to above all things, Nonna, but I have a lot to do. I shall see you both later.’ Leo kissed his grandmother on both cheeks. ‘Shall I order your tea for you?’

  ‘No, darling, I’d better talk to Silvia myself for a moment, make sure all is well for tonight.’ Signora Fortinari gave them both an indulgent smile, then left them alone.

  ‘Until tonight, then, Rosa.’ Leo seized Harriet in his arms and kissed her swiftly. ‘Do not encourage Dante,’ he said against her mouth, then ruffled her hair with a negligent hand, and went down the steps to his car. As he opened the door he looked up at her. ‘Nor anyone else,’ he warned, with a glittering look which warned Harriet that she would need all her wits about her to avoid presenting Rosa Mostyn with a problem neither of them had foreseen.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  HARRIET STUDIED HER REFLECTION later, feeling like an actress about to give the performance of her life. Tonight, in her expensive borrowed plumes, she could almost believe she was Rosa. The dress was long and narrow, with a neckline cut to show a subtle hint of cleavage, the handful of fine satin straps at the shoulders Harriet’s only ornament other than the borrowed ring, and a pair of pendant pearl earrings once given to Rosa’s mother by Signora Fortinari.

  Harriet smiled wryly at her reflection. ‘Come on then, Rosa-Cinderella. Time for the party.’

  Only it wasn’t just a party, but a daunting test of Harriet Foster’s memory and acting abilities. Leo Fortinari was the biggest, and most unexpected problem. Rosa had strongly advised a cool, distant attitude towards her cousin, never dreaming that in Leo Harriet would find a lover who, with only a touch of his lips and hands, would teach her, at last, about sexual arousal. Guy Warren had regularly complained that Harriet’s sultry looks were totally at odds with her cool self-control. As others had done before him. But now, for the first time in her life, and at exactly the wrong time and with the wrong man, Harriet had proved them wrong. Or Leo had. Which meant, she reminded herself stringently, that she must never forget that Leo Fortinari was dangerous not only because of his unexpected effect on her, but his inside knowledge of Rosa’s fall from grace. Harriet felt a trickle of apprehension. It was obvious, now, that Rosa had omitted certain details. While Leo knew every last one.

  Feeling that she was treading a tightrope through a minefield, Harriet went downstairs slowly to find Leo Fortinari watching her from below.

  ‘Good evening, Rosa,’ he said huskily, giving her a smile which made her tremble inside. ‘You are utterly ravishing tonight.’

  So are you, she thought despairingly. He wore a dark suit of impeccable cut, his shirt gleamed white against his olive skin, and to Harriet he was everything she’d ever dreamed of in a man.

  ‘You’re early, Leo,’ she said quietly, trying to control her racing pulse.

  ‘I wanted a few moments alone with you before the others arrive.’ He took her hand to draw her outside onto the loggia. ‘Nonna will not be down for a while yet.’

  ‘How do you know?’

  ‘I checked with Silvia.’ He kept her hand in his and drew her close beside him, his thigh brushing hers through the featherweight fabric of the dress. ‘Rosa, this is not what I intended,’ he said abruptly, staring at the view.

  ‘You meant to come later?’ she parried.

  Leo turned his head to look down into her upturned face. ‘I meant, Rosa, that when I heard you were coming back I had no intention of letting you work your wiles on me again. You are no longer a child,’ he added, with a twist to his mouth. ‘We are both very different from the Leo and Rosa of the last time you were here.’

  More than you know, thought Harriet ruefully, wondering where this was leading. ‘I thought you’d have been married by now.’

  ‘As I should have been,’ Leo agreed. ‘But Luisa Bracco put an end to the engagement after I thrashed her brother—but you know all this, Rosa,’ he added impatiently.

  Rosa, Rosa, what were you up to? thought Harriet wildly. This Guido Bracco, who was in New York now, had obviously been Rosa’s choice to make Leo jealous all those years ago. But Rosa had never mentioned him, nor his sister.

  Harriet eyed the acquiline profile thoughtfully, wondering if Leo still languished over the unknown Luisa. ‘I’m sorry. Did you love her very much?’

  He smiled a little. ‘Her family owns vineyards that adjoin ours. It would have been a suitable marriage.’

  ‘Suitable?’ Harriet stared. ‘Is that all you expect from marriage?’

  Leo shrugged. ‘Luisa was—is—a beautiful woman. It would have been no hardship to play the husband. We had known each other all our lives, remember.’

  ‘Where is she now?’ asked Harriet, praying that Luisa was safely in New York with her brother.

  Leo’s grasp tightened as he smiled down at her. ‘At this precise moment I imagine Luisa is in a car with her sister Sophia, on the way here to the Villa Castiglione, to celebrate Nonna’s birthday.’

  Harriet stared at him in horror. ‘No! Please say you’re joking.’

  Leo laughed indulgently. ‘Don’t be afraid, Rosa I will protect you.’

  ‘Thanks a lot! Is she married to someone else now?’

  ‘She was. She is a widow now. You must have heard about it.’

  ‘If I did, I’ve forgotten,’ said Harriet firmly.

  Just say you’ve forgotten, Rosa had instructed. Nine years is a long time. No one will expect Rosa Mostyn to remember everything.

  ‘After I got back my father preferred to forget I’d ever been to Tuscany that year, and Mother was discouraged from passing on any family news,’ said Harriet, reporting Rosa’s bitterness on the subject.

  ‘And so your father sent you to work in the kitchens of the Hermitage,’ commented Leo. ‘A touch of the medieval about your penance, Rosa. Did you object? ’

  ‘Yes, of course,’ said Harriet impatiently. ‘But only because it happened at that particular point. Little Rosa was always destined for the family business. Tony had to start in the same way. Only he went to college first. I was made to reverse the process and go to college later.’ She turned away, trying to detach her hand, but Leo held on to it, his fingers stroking her skin. ‘Surely there have been other women in your life since Luisa Bracco?’ she couldn
’t help asking.

  ‘Of course, Rosa. I am no monk. But neither have I found anyone I wish to marry. Not that this matters. Dante will provide a Fortinari heir one day.’

  ‘Surely you want children yourself?’

  ‘Only if I meet a woman I consider ‘suitable’ for their mother,’ Leo mocked, and pulled on her hand, drawing her round to face him. ‘Do you want children, Rosa?’

  ‘Yes,’ said Harriet on Rosa’s behalf, then realized with a jolt that she was also speaking for herself. Up to now the only children she had ever thought about were the ones she taught. But now... She looked up into Leo’s intent eyes, only half aware of the noise and activity coming from somewhere in the house, as the last of the preparations were made. ‘It’s time we went in,’ she said abruptly. Before she did something really stupid, and blotted Rosa’s copybook forever.

  ‘As you wish,’ said Leo, touching a hand to her hair. ‘Have no fear, Rosa. I shall not spoil such perfection by making love to you. At least not now. Not here.’

  Harriet took in a deep breath. ‘Leo, you’re not going to make love to me at all. Anywhere. I’m not the girl you used to know. Believe me.’

  ‘I do believe you,’ he said, moving close enough for her to feel his breath on her cheek. ‘You are very different—no longer a headstrong child, but a mature, beautiful woman. A woman I yearn to seize in my arms and kiss until she begs for mercy.’

  Monday, thought Harriet, closing her eyes in desperation. All I have to do is get through tonight and tomorrow and then Monday I can go home. Back to Pennington where I belong.

  Leo released her hand reluctantly as the drone of car engines sounded on the climb to the villa. ‘We shall talk later,’ he promised. ‘In the meantime let us find Nonna and tell her the first guests are almost here.’

  There was just time for mutual admiration as Vittoria Fortinari came down the stairs, resplendent in a black velvet gown, with Dante’s dramatic scarf draped round her shoulders. She exclaimed as she saw Harriet, and as predicted, took due note of the earrings she’d once given Rosa’s mother.

  ‘You look breathtaking, my child. You agree, Leo?’ she asked her grandson, who nodded his dark head gravely.

  ‘That is precisely the word for her.’ He bent low over his grandmother’s hand ‘While you, Nonna look superb. Will you wear this tonight, with my love?’ He handed her a gold chain with a tiny diamond pendant in the shape of a V.

  His grandmother exclaimed in rapture at the sight of it, and kissed Leo lovingly, then bent her head so that he could fasten it round her neck.

  ‘Perfect,’ said Harriet, viewing the effect, and Vittoria Fortinari smiled at them radiantly.

  ‘As you say, Rosa, perfect. I am a fortunate woman tonight. Come. We shall stand together in the the hall, the three of us, as we greet the guests. And you, Leo, can supply Rosa with any names she may not recall.’

  ‘That,’ he said, with a smile at Harriet, ‘is the other reason why I came early.’

  It was an arrangement which made things surprisingly easy. With Leo to whisper in her ear as people approached, or an introduction by Signora Fortinari to friends Rosa wouldn’t have met before, the first part of the evening went off far more smoothly than Harriet had dared hope. Dante was the first to come hurrying into the hall, followed by a fair young man with a pretty girl in a maternity dress which identified her as Mirella. There was much kissing and embracing, an introduction to Franco Paglia, Mirella’s husband, then people began arriving quickly, Silvia and her cohorts appeared with trays of drinks, and suddenly the party was in full swing. Harriet accepted a glass of champagne and was just congratulating herself that she’d rubbed through the ordeal fairly well, when Leo whispered in her ear.

  ‘The last of the guests are arriving. Sophia Bracco and her husband Marco Rossi. But no Luisa.’

  Harriet sent up a fervent prayer of thanks and braced herself, grateful for Leo’s presence beside her as a statuesque blond woman sailed into the crowded hall, with a distinguished, grey-haired man following in her wake. Sophia Rossi had hair of a miraculous gold shade, and voluptuous curves swathed in lowcut black chiffon chosen, it was obvious, as a backdrop for the magnificent diamonds she wore in her ears, round her throat and wrists, and on several of her fingers.

  Signora Fortinari welcomed them both, exchanged kisses with Sophia, who made apologies for her sister, who was unwell. Sophia turned to Leo with a dazzling smile and embraced him warmly, but he detached himself to draw Harriet forward.

  ‘You remember Sophia, of course, Rosa. But let me present you to her husband, Marco Rossi.’

  Marco Rossi was at least twenty years older than his wife, and a man Harriet liked on sight. His shrewd blue eyes twinkled as he bowed over her hand, and told her their meeting was a pleasure he had long anticipated.

  ‘You are much changed, Rosa,’ said Sophia coolly, looking Harriet up and down.

  ‘So are you, Sophia,’ returned Harriet. ‘I hardly recognized you.’

  To her astonishment she met a blaze of pure rage in the other woman’s eyes. Dante intervened hastily, saying he was taking Rosa away to play with people her own age, a pleasantry which found no favour at all with Sophia Rossi, nor, Harriet saw, looking back as Dante towed her away, with Leo Fortinari.

  ‘I shall come and rescue you very soon, Rosa,’ Leo promised her, oblivious to the glare Sophia gave him, or Marco Rossi’s wry amusement.

  Dante was chortling as he took Harriet to join Mirella and Franco in the salon. ‘Rosa has just made an enemy,’ he explained.

  ‘If you mean Sophia Bracco,’ said Harriet, taking the bull by the horns, ‘I’m afraid I did that years ago.’

  ‘Don’t mind Sophia,’ said Mirella comfortably, and moved up on the sofa so that Harriet could sit down.

  ‘What happened?’ asked Franco, who was a very friendly young man, and very obviously anxious about his wife. ‘Would you like a cushion, my darling? ’

  ‘No,’ said Mirella, laughing. ‘As it is I’m conspicuous as the only person made to sit down. It’s kind of you to keep me company, Rosa.’

  ‘I’m glad to in these heels,’ said Harriet with truth, then smiled ruefully at Franco. ‘I thought everyone knew that when I was very young and very silly I tried to make Leo jealous with Sophia’s brother Guido,’ she said bluntly.

  ‘Bad choice.’ Dante pulled a face as he leaned over the back of the sofa. ‘Guido responded with too much enthusiasm and scared little Rosa half to death, at which point Leo found them and beat Guido up for daring to take liberties with Leo Fortinari’s cousin. Luisa Bracco was so incensed about the punishment Leo gave her amorous fool of a brother, she gave the ring back. Great mistake, because Leo—being Leo—thanked her politely and kept it.’

  Harriet controlled a shudder. No wonder Rosa had skimped on the details. ‘Sophia obviously still feels hostile towards me. She gave me a killing look just as Dante arrived to save the day.’

  ‘Ah, that was because you said you hardly recognized her,’ said Dante, grinning. ‘Last time you saw Sophia she was several kilos lighter—unlike her hair, which was dark.’

  Mirella chuckled. ‘A good thing she married Marco Rossi. He’s rich enough to let her spend a fortune on her hair and clothes.’

  ‘And her jewellery, by the look of those diamonds,’ said Franco, then bent to help his wife to her feet. ‘Time for supper.’

  Dante, outrageous in a black velvet suit and a ruffled black silk shirt, offered his arm to Harriet. ‘Come on then, little cousin. Let us eat before Sophia casts a spell and turns the food to ashes.’

  ‘You don’t like her?’ said Harriet curiously, as they followed the others to the dining room.

  ‘No,’ said Dante baldly. ‘I didn’t like Luisa, either. Leo was furious with you at the time, but in my opinion he should be grateful to you for saving him from a horrible fate. Though since you came back to us,’ he added, grinning at Leo as he came to join them, ‘I think he is.’

  ‘What are you talking about, Dante?’ demanded his brother.

  ‘We were telling Franco what happened last time Rosa was here.’

  Leo gave his brother an annihilating glare. ‘Which is best forgotten,’ he snapped. ‘Besides, only Rosa and I know what really happened,’ he added, with a glance at Harriet which turned her blood cold.