‘I came down on the train, I’m staying a couple of days, and I’m booked into a cheap boarding house round the corner. Your stepmother seemed to think you were lonely, so I—’
‘Celeste? Celeste’s been in touch with you?’
‘Well, we did meet that time, and although she doesn’t approve of me she seemed to think you needed a friend right now. Otherwise she wouldn’t give me the time of day,’ he grinned uncaringly, the freckles that often go with red hair giving him a boyish look.
She looked at him anxiously. ‘But what about Patsy? You know how upset she gets if you go away. Look at the time we went to Wales for the week—she looked terrible when we got home.’
‘She should be okay for a couple of days. I left her in the care of Mrs Holmes, you know how they get on together.’
Robert owned a Siamese cat called Patsy. He had found her as a four-week-old kitten, roaming about the streets crying for her mother. Advertising hadn’t brought forth her owner, and this was possibly because she had a slight defect in one of her hind legs, causing a very slight limp. Consequently Robert had kept her, and she had become very possessive of him in the process.
The previous year, when Patsy was just over a year old, eight of them from the college had gone to Wales for a two-week hiking holiday. After only a week Robert had had to return home, Patsy was pining for him so badly. Suzanne had returned with him, because strictly speaking she was supposed to be his partner, and also she was very fond of Patsy herself.
‘You’re sure she’ll be all right?’ She frowned.
Robert grinned. ‘Of course she will. It will probably do her good to realise I can’t be at her beck and call all the time. I haven’t forgiven her for ruining our last holiday together yet. She’ll probably appreciate me more for this separation.’
‘You are cruel, you know how much she loves you.’
‘Mm, but she’s very restricting at times, as we very well know.’
‘Yes.’ Last summer wasn’t the only time Patsy had ruined their plans. With an intelligence that most Siamese cats seemed to possess, she had learnt that when she wanted her beloved master to stay at home with her she only had to ‘play sick’, and she had learnt to use this to great advantage. And poor Robert usually fell for it, never knowing whether the illness was real or simply put on, staying-at home with his ‘sick’ cat, much to her delight.
‘Don’t worry about her, Suzanne. I’ll soon know if she isn’t all right,’ he grimaced. ‘And no doubt she’ll find a suitable way to make her displeasure felt.’
‘No doubt,’ she laughingly agreed with him. ‘So when did you arrive?’
‘At the hotel? Oh, about five minutes ago. I was just asking for you at the desk when this gentleman—’
Suzanne’s eyes flew to the man standing to one side of the reception area. Cesare! Her eyes began to glow, until she saw the contempt with which he was looking at the two of them, and the light suddenly died out of her face leaving her paler than ever. There was no gladness to see her there in that cold harsh face, and she wished now that she had already returned to Manchester.
‘Suzanne,’ he nodded stiffly. ‘I am afraid I did not have the chance earlier to introduce myself to your—friend. Cesare Martino,’ he nodded coldly.
‘Robert Thompson.’ Robert put his hand out politely to be shaken firmly by the other man.
‘Conte Cesare Martino,’ Suzanne put in pointedly.
Robert’s eyes widened. ‘Conte?’ he repeated dazedly.
‘Cesare will do,’ the other man said haughtily. ‘Your—friend …’ again that slight pause and Suzanne looked at him sharply, ‘Mr Thompson was asking for you. As I had already done so myself I thought it only fair to tell him you had gone out. Celeste said you had gone to the Park.’
‘That’s right.’ A slight catch in her voice made her sound shaky. ‘You were asking for me?’ she asked Cesare.
He shrugged his wide powerful shoulders. ‘It was not important. I will speak to you at a more—convenient time.’ With a polite but frosty smile at the two of them he excused himself.
‘Oh, but—’ Suzanne looked at his retreating back, her distress evident in her candid green eyes. She turned to Robert, clutching his arm as if for understanding. ‘I won’t be a minute, Robert. You won’t go away?’
At least his grin was normal, and she felt she needed normality at the moment. ‘I’ll be line,’ he assured her.
She caught up with Cesare at the stairs, part of her brain hysterically registering that he never seemed to use the lifts. ‘Cesare,’ her voice came out husky and uncertain, and she cursed herself for her stupidity.
He turned to look at her, raising one dark haughty eyebrow. ‘Yes?’ His tone wasn’t encouraging.
‘You said you’d been asking for me,’ she said breathlessly.
‘So?’
‘So I’m here.’ Her eyes were pleading.
If anything he became more withdrawn. ‘I also said it could wait until a more convenient time. Your—friend must be becoming impatient.’
‘Why do you keep saying friend like that?’ Anger at his dismissive tone entered her voice. ‘That’s the third time!’
‘I was not counting. As to why I call him that, that is what he is, is he not?’
‘Yes, but—’
‘Then you have answered your own question.’
‘It’s the way you say it,’ she insisted.
‘I am sorry if you do not like it. I will endeavour not to do it again,’ he turned away.
‘Cesare, please!’
‘Please what?’ His eyes glittered a dangerous metallic grey. ‘Do you not think it advisable to deal with one lover before you attempt to interest another? After all, he has left his wife at home to visit you here. Because you are lonely!’ he added in disgust.
She couldn’t gather her thoughts together; she didn’t understand what he meant. ‘Wife? What wife?’
Cesare’s mouth turned back in a sneer. ‘Do not pretend with me, Suzanne. I did not intentionally listen to your conversation, but it was impossible not to over hear some of it. Are you not ashamed of yourself? But of course you are not! My first assumption of you was correct—you are completely permissive, utterly without morals!’
She shook her head. ‘Y-you’re wrong. I don’t understand what you’re talking about.’
‘I thought my meaning was perfectly clear,’ he said chillingly. ‘I abhor your behaviour with this man, can find no excuse for it. Now if you will excuse me.’
‘Oh, but—’
He didn’t look at her again but walked unhurriedly away. Suzanne walked shakily back to Robert’s side, her eyes huge and very bewildered. What on earth was Cesare talking about? Robert didn’t have a wife! Surely he didn’t think Robert was this married man Celeste had referred to? Surely not; he had no basis for such an assumption, none at all.
Robert touched her arm, bringing her back to an awareness of her surroundings. ‘All right?’ he asked gently.
‘What? Oh—Oh, yes.’ She gave a bright smile that wasn’t fooling anyone, especially Robert, who had known her for the last three years.
‘Quite an impressive man,’ he remarked casually.
‘Mm? Oh—the Conte? Yes—Yes, he is.’
‘I didn’t realise you had exalted friends.’
This time her smile was genuine. ‘I don’t. He’s Celeste’s choice of a husband—at least, he was. I think she’s changed her mind.’
‘So who’s the lucky man now?’
‘Don’t be cynical, Robert. Let’s go into the lounge. Would you like tea or something?’ she asked, remembering her manners.
‘Tea would be fine.’
The tea was ordered, they both went into the lounge, picking a table that overlooked the pool. Suzanne was still shaking from her encounter with Cesare. Two weeks now he had been away, and when he came back they had had another argument, one she didn’t even understand.
‘Nice hotel,’ Robert remarked.
‘Yes,’ she agreed huskily. ‘Conte Martino owns it.’
‘He must be a rich man. But of course he is if your dear stepmama thought him worthy enough to marry her. You haven’t told me who she has on her hook yet,’ he reminded her.
‘As charming as ever, I see,’ Celeste remarked from behind him, waving him back down as he made to rise politely. ‘I’m glad you could come, Robert. Suzanne’s looking better already. Although the same can’t be said for Cesare. I’ve just seen him and he looks like a thundercloud. He was barely civil.’
‘Suzanne just introduced me to him.’
‘Did she now?’ One eyebrow rose. ‘So that’s the reason for his bad mood.’ She looked at Suzanne. ‘I hope you didn’t mind my sending for Robert, but you’ve looked so miserable the last few days, and for some inexplicable reason you find his company amusing.’
‘Thanks!’ Robert grinned at her, completely undaunted.
‘It was a lovely idea, Celeste.’ And totally Unlike the Celeste of old. But this wasn’t the Celeste of a week ago, this was a new Celeste, a softer, more relaxed Celeste, who found time to be pleasant to Suzanne in a perfectly spontaneous manner.
She frowned. ‘I thought so at the time. Now I’m not so sure. I didn’t know Cesare would be returning today. I could just have made things worse.’
Suzanne didn’t know how they possibly could be, but she didn’t argue with her. ‘Well, I’m pleased to see Robert, really pleased,’ she smiled at him.
‘Thank God for that! So far I haven’t understood half the conversation. I thought the Conte was your friend?’ he said to Celeste.
‘I thought so too. But it seems Cesare had other ideas. Once he’d set eyes on our little Suzanne I couldn’t get a look in. So I’ve decided to forgo the title and simply settle for money. I don’t have the time or money enough of my own to do any other,’ she shrugged.
‘Would someone please explain what’s going on?’ Robert cried. ‘Are you trying to tell me the Conte wants to marry Suzanne?’
Celeste laughed softly, ‘I’m not trying to tell you any such thing. Marriage was never mentioned.’
‘Well, he’s not having her any other way!’ Robert said indignantly. ‘If he’s dared to suggest anything less than honourable to her I’ll flatten him!’
This caused Celeste even more humour. ‘Oh, he’s dared all right. And I hardly think your threat would exactly frighten him.’
‘Please!’ Suzanne put up a hand to her aching temple. ‘Whether or not the Conte would be frightened isn’t important, because Robert isn’t going to threaten him. The Conte has made his feelings concerning myself very clear—they’re non-existent.’
‘That isn’t true, Suzanne. I saw the two of you together that day, and I—’
‘Celeste, please! I don’t want to talk about it any more.’
‘All right,’ Celeste sighed. ‘Actually I was looking for you to invite you out to dinner with Vidal and myself this evening. I suppose you may as well come too now that you’re here, Robert.’
‘Thanks again!’ he said dryly.
‘It’s in the nature of a celebration,’ Celeste said almost shyly.
‘Oh, yes?’
‘Celeste?’ Suzanne looked at her excitedly. ‘You don’t mean—You aren’t—’
‘I am—I mean we are,’ her blue eyes shone. ‘I’m so excited I can hardly think straight. Vidal asked me to marry him last night. Oh, I know we haven’t known each other very long, that he preferred you first, that it’s too soon to know if we really love each other. But I don’t care! I’ve always scoffed at this shattering thing called falling in love, you know that, Suzanne. But with Vidal … Oh, I just want to be with him. And he feels the same way.’
‘I’m so pleased for you,’ Suzanne said sincerely.
‘You’ve lost me again,’ Robert said dazedly. ‘Who is Vidal—besides being your future husband?’
Celeste looked at him scathingly. ‘He’s Vidal Martino.’
‘Any relation to the Conte?’
‘His brother,’ she answered shortly.
‘What is he, Italian or something like that?’
‘Something like that,’ she said dryly. ‘Venetian, actually. And they are so romantic, aren’t they, Suzanne?’
Suzanne frowned, shrugging. ‘How would I know?’
‘You should do, you’ve kissed both of them.’
‘B-both of them?’
‘Mm,’ Celeste smiled. ‘I’m not jealous of your evening in the garden with Vidal. If it happens again I might be, but not at the moment.’
‘I was hoping you’d forgotten it,’ Suzanne smiled ruefully. ‘I should have known better.’
Celeste pouted. ‘Now you aren’t going to argue with me today of all days?’
‘No, of course not,’ she laughed. ‘How does the Conte feel about your marriage? I suppose you’ve told him?’
‘Vidal was going to call him today, but now it isn’t necessary, Vidal has invited him out to dinner with us this evening in the hope of getting him used to the idea of seeing us together.’ She became thoughtful. ‘I suppose he’ll be all right about it. He was quite pleasant? to me earlier. Not quite so polite just now, but that was your fault,’ she looked pointedly at Robert.
‘My fault? What did I do? I’ve only just arrived.’
‘Exactly. When I spoke to Cesare earlier I don’t think a boy-friend entered into his immediate plans for Suzanne.’
Suzanne remembered the seductive look in his eyes as he had put the key to her room on the table, and found herself agreeing with Celeste. But he didn’t feel that way now! Why had he changed so suddenly? It had to have something to do with Robert. She tried to remember her earlier conversation with him, but could find nothing in it to make Cesare so angry. And there could be no doubt in her mind that he had been angry.
‘Then I’m glad I turned up.’ Robert put a protective arm about her shoulders. ‘Suzanne doesn’t get into relationships like that, do you, love? Not even with Venetian counts.’
Suzanne too felt glad that Robert had ‘turned up’ later that evening, when Cesare arrived at the dinner accompanied by the exquisite Elena. The other girl looked beautiful, and she felt glad that she had dressed with care for this evening at a well-known but exclusive restaurant in the centre of town.
The gown she wore was new, an impulsive gift from Celeste a couple of days earlier. She had always wanted a Grecian styled gown, but never having much money it had been an impossibility. This gown was a deep rose colour, and Grecian as she had wanted. This gown was much more daring than anything she had ever worn before, caught in at the shoulders it smoothed down in two separate folds over her full breasts, and, gathered together at the wide waistband to fall in clinging folds to her ankles. It was a beautiful gown and she hoped she could do it justice.
Robert appeared to think so and she felt more confident for his praise. Cesare and Elena were already seated when the four of them arrived at eight-thirty, although Cesare stood up politely at their entrance. The introductions duly made Suzanne found herself seated next to Cesare, Robert on her other side, and she felt sure Celeste had engineered this. She looked at her stepmother and saw her give a conspiratorial wink. She had planned it!
She looked at Cesare uncertainly, hoping he hadn’t noticed Celeste’s mischievous gesture. Love had certainly changed Celeste, and Vidal seemed equally besotted, although it still seemed all to have happened rather quickly. But they were both adults and had known each other as long as she had known Cesare, and she loved him I That was indisputable.
They were seated, at a round table and this made conversation easier. Elena Lindsay sat forward, a smile on her perfectly curved lips. ‘You’re training to be a teacher, I hear, Miss Hammond?’
It had come as something of a shock to learn that this woman was English. But why not? Being half English himself Cesare must have some relatives of that nationality. ‘Suzanne, please,’ she answered softly, completely aware of Cesare as he sat silently betwe
en them. Besides their first cursory greeting he had ignored her completely. ‘I’m at college and hope eventually to go on to teacher training college, although whether I’ll actually make it to being a fully trained teacher I have no idea.’
‘You have doubts?’ This, surprisingly, from Cesare, as he watched her beneath lowered lids.
‘I—Well, I—’ She shrugged her shoulders helplessly. ‘Who’s to know what will happen tomorrow?’ she laughed shakily.
‘Who indeed?’ he replied coldly.
‘Perhaps you’ll marry,’ Elena continued, looking suggestively at Robert.
Suzanne didn’t miss that look. She shook her head emphatically. ‘I doubt it.’
Cesare too looked at Robert as he chatted to Vidal. ‘You could be right,’ he drawled. ‘One cannot choose where one loves,’ he said distantly.
‘No—no indeed.’ Again that insinuation about Robert not being suitable for her to love. She frowned. Where on earth had he got that impression? If only she could work out what they had said to make his mood change so drastically from his earlier meeting with Celeste to when he had seen her at the hotel after seeing Robert and herself. Unless of course he just didn’t like Robert being here, which was highly probable.
But he had only to ask her and she could have told him Robert was a friend and no more than that. But he hadn’t asked and she couldn’t just blurt it out. Look at the last time she had tried to put him right about jumping to conclusions; he just hadn’t believed her. And he wouldn’t be any different this time. She knew by the tightness of his jaw and the hardness of those flinty eyes.
He pointedly ignored her during the rest of the meal—at least, it seemed pointed to her; she doubted if anyone else noticed. Celeste and Vidal were totally engrossed with each other and the love they had surprisingly discovered for each other. In fact Vidal still looked dazed with the newness of the emotions he felt towards this sophisticated woman. Elena seemed in tent on talking only to Cesare and as Robert seemed to feel the same way about their own conversation there was little chance for her to talk to Cesare, even fleetingly.
After the meal they all decided to go on to a nightclub, Cesare finding them a secluded corner. It was just after this that Celeste insisted they all dance, choosing Robert as her partner. Again that conspiratorial wink, and she realised why a few minutes later when Cesare asked her to dance. He had little choice really, and she knew he had only done it out of politeness after Vidal had asked Elena.
Tempted by Desire Page 12