A Night in the Palace

by Carole Mortimer

  ‘We’ll have to cross that bridge when—or if—we come to it,’ she said briskly. ‘Right now I think the most important thing is for me to go back to my hotel and leave you to get on with whatever Machiavellian plan you’re hatching in order to separate Felix and Claudia once they’re back in Rome.’

  Dmitri scowled his displeasure at her description. ‘You make me sound like a monster, when all I am trying to do is protect my much younger sister.’

  ‘A sister who obviously no longer believes herself to be in need of your protection,’ Lily pointed out. ‘And I really don’t think it’s my opinion of you that you should be worrying about right now.’

  Possibly not—and yet Dmitri found that he didn’t care to have Lily leave the palazzo, leave Italy, thinking so badly of him. ‘There is no reason why I cannot continue to show you Roma for the remainder of your stay here.’

  ‘Now you’re the one who’s being ridiculous!’ Lily stared up at him incredulously, not in the least perturbed by the nerve pulsing in his tightly clenched jaw.

  ‘I fail to see why we cannot continue to behave in a civilized manner towards each other, at least.’

  ‘Then you must be singularly insensitive!’ she snapped. ‘I don’t believe you,’ she continued. ‘Here I am, trying to leave the palazzo with a little of my dignity still intact, and you’re suggesting we go sightseeing together!’ She ran an agitated hand through her hair.

  He looked down the long length of his nose at her. ‘I see no reason for your dignity, or my own, to be in the least affected by what occurred last night.’

  ‘Maybe that’s exactly the reason I need to leave here!’ Lily said under her breath.

  Dmitri’s mouth tightened. ‘We did not do anything of which we need to feel ashamed.’

  ‘I’m not ashamed—just mortified by the whole embarrassing episode! Now, unless you want me to try and kick my way out of here, I suggest you make sure the front door is open by the time I get there!’

  She gave him one last sweeping glance before turning to march out of the kitchen, the heels on her shoes tapping a tattoo as she continued down the hallway to the door that led out into the courtyard. She closed it behind her with finality a few seconds later.

  Dmitri felt numb as he crossed the kitchen to where the security pad was attached to the wall. He keyed in the code to open the front door, knowing by the determined expression on Lily’s face as she’d left that she was quite capable of carrying out her threat to try and kick the door down if it wasn’t open when she got there, and not wishing her to injure herself in the attempt.

  Just as he had hurt her earlier, with his response to Claudia and Felix’s marriage?

  For once in his life Dmitri had no answers. Either to that question or to exactly what had taken place between himself and Lily last night. The ‘embarrassing episode’, as she had just called it.

  And nor had he ever felt quite so alone as he did now that she had walked so completely out of his life...

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  London, two weeks later.

  ‘LILY?’

  It was late—almost six o’clock—and Lily was huddled down in her thick black ankle-length overcoat in order to keep out the freezing cold January winds that blew leaves and other debris about her feet as she hurried in the darkness to where she had parked her car that morning when she’d arrived for work. She came to an abrupt halt on hearing the sound of her name being spoken huskily, instantly recognising that all-too-familiar voice.

  She turned quickly, her gaze apprehensive as she searched the darkness of the car park and her breath catching in her throat as she saw a tall figure separate itself from a car parked beneath some trees a short distance away from her own. A dark and menacing-looking figure that, despite the voice, might or might not be Dmitri.

  Lily had imagined she had seen him so many times during the two weeks since she had flown back from Rome. Several times walking along the busy London streets. Outside her apartment building. Once even outside the school. Another time at the supermarket—as if! And all of those sightings had turned out to be of men who were just tall and dark-haired, and nothing at all like Dmitri once she had seen their faces.

  Except this time there was the voice...

  ‘Who’s there?’ she prompted warily, shoulders hunched inside her coat and her red woollen hat pulled low over her brow to keep out the cold. She was very aware of the fact that she had been the last to leave the school building—with a long evening on her own in her apartment to look forward to, there hadn’t seemed any reason to hurry home. She and this man were alone here in the darkness of the school car park.

  The man stepped out from beneath the shelter of the trees, his face still remaining partly in shadow from the clouds shrouding the moon overhead. ‘It’s only been two weeks, Lily. Surely you haven’t forgotten me already?’

  Her breath left her lungs in a whoosh as she realised it really was Dmitri. Only he had the power to rob her completely of breath and make her heart rate speed up to twice its normal speed at the same time!

  What on earth was he doing here?

  Lily had returned to London after managing to secure a seat on a flight back to England the day after Boxing Day. Since then she had begun to wonder if her time in Italy with Dmitri had all been nothing but a dream. A wonderful, exciting dream, but a dream nonetheless.

  She swallowed hard, her shoulders tensed as she faced him across the car park. ‘What are you doing here, Dmitri?’

  He shrugged wide shoulders inside the heavy dark overcoat he wore, the collar turned up to ward off the icy winds. ‘I was in London on business, and Claudia thought it would be nice if I stopped by and said hello to you while I’m here,’ he said.

  Claudia had thought it would be nice. Not Dmitri.

  And, having now met her sister-in-law—Claudia and Felix had flown over to London purposely the previous week, so that the two women might meet and get to know each other—she very much doubted that the spirited Claudia had put the suggestion quite as mildly as Dmitri wished to imply she had.

  Claudia was everything that both men had said she was: beautiful, sweet, innocent—and single-mindedly determined when it came to having her own way. Lily had loved the other woman from their very first meeting! The fact that Claudia obviously adored Felix went a long way to furthering those feelings of affection.

  Lily gave a rueful smile. ‘Well, now that you have you can go back to Italy with a clear conscience. If you’ll excuse me...? It’s cold out here, and I would like to go home and have something warm to eat.’

  Dmitri strolled across the car park until he stood only feet away from her, his teeth gleaming briefly in the darkness as he returned her smile. ‘If that was an invitation to join you at your apartment for dinner, then I accept.’

  ‘I— But— You and I both know it was no such thing!’ Lily glared at him.

  Of course he knew that; it was all too obvious from her defensive attitude that she was far from pleased to see him again. Which was a pity, because he was very pleased to see her...

  Not that he could see her all that well in this dark and deserted car park, with even the silver gilt of her hair covered by a woollen hat, but he could hear the softness of her voice, and smell her perfume.

  Dmitri could also see that despite her heavy coat and that woollen hat she was shivering slightly from the icy cold winds. ‘Perhaps you’re right, and it would be better if we saved all conversation until we are at your apartment.’

  ‘I don’t believe I said that, either. Let go of me, Dmitri!’ she protested as his fingers curled purposely about the top of her arm and he turned her in the direction of his hire car.

  He raised dark brows. ‘You would prefer that we continue this conversation out here in the cold?’

  Her eyes flashed in the darkness as she defiantly stood her ground. ‘I would prefer that we not continue this conversation at all! You’ve done your duty, Dmitri, now just—’

  ‘My being here has
absolutely nothing to do with duty!’ he cut in harshly, at the same time turning her to grasp both of her arms and shake her slightly. ‘I know that we parted badly in Roma, Lily, but do you really hate me so much now that you cannot bear to be anywhere near me?’

  Lily gaped up at him. Hate him? How on earth could she possibly hate him when she loved him so much she had thought of nothing else but him for the past two weeks? The husky sound of his voice. The way he smiled. The way he laughed. The way he moved. The touch of his hands. The soft demand of his lips. The way he had made love to her so passionately the one night they had spent together...

  Hate Dmitri? Lily could never, ever do that.

  But nor did she intend to make a complete fool of herself by putting herself in the position of ever allowing Dmitri to see how much she loved him. And being alone with him in her apartment would do it! ‘This is a ridiculous conversation at best,’ she declared tautly. ‘A waste of time at worst.’ She shook her head. ‘We said all that we had to say to each other that last morning in Rome.’

  Dmitri drew his breath in sharply at her accusing tone. He had relived that last conversation with her over and over again in his mind. And each time he had done so he had realised how badly he had behaved. Admittedly he had been angry and upset after Claudia’s telephone call telling him of her hasty marriage, but that was no excuse for the way he had talked to Lily afterwards, or the way in which they had parted so acrimoniously.

  He looked down at her searchingly in the darkness, although he couldn’t really make out her expression. ‘Do you really believe that, Lily?’

  ‘Don’t you?’ she came back defensively.

  If he did then he wouldn’t be here now... ‘Is the night we spent together the reason that you are refusing to attend Claudia and Felix’s service of blessing on Saturday?’

  Lily drew her breath in sharply at the directness of this attack.

  Of course it was the reason she had refused to attend the service on Saturday! Not that she had put it in quite that way the night before when she had told Felix on the telephone that she wouldn’t be there. No, she had told her brother that she couldn’t leave England again at the moment, having only just started the new term at school after the Christmas holidays. A feeble excuse that Dmitri, at least, had seen straight through!

  Her chin rose. ‘As I explained to Claudia and Felix, I can’t disappear off to Rome again so soon after starting the new school term.’

  ‘Not even to attend your own brother’s marriage blessing?’

  Lily’s mouth firmed. ‘No, not even then.’

  Although it would break her heart not to be there. But seeing Dmitri again, having him either look straight through her or being forced to be socially polite to her because of Claudia and Felix, wouldn’t just break her heart, it would destroy it utterly. Although the fact that Dmitri was here now rather nullified that reasoning, didn’t it?

  ‘Maybe I’ll reconsider,’ she sighed.

  ‘I think that would be a wise decision.’

  She looked at him sceptically. ‘I can’t see why it should matter to you whether or not I come to the blessing after the way you reacted to there being a marriage at all!’

  Dmitri gave a humourless smile. ‘I have you to thank for helping to change my mind on the subject.’

  ‘Me?’ Her eyes widened. ‘What on earth did I have to do with anything?’

  He sighed heavily. ‘Our last conversation together. The harsh realities you pointed out to me then made me realise that by being so intransigent over the marriage I ran the risk of losing Claudia for ever.’

  ‘Oh?’

  ‘Yes,’ he admitted bluntly. ‘So much so that by the time Claudia and Felix arrived back in Roma I had thought the situation through properly and decided that, although I still have my doubts about the marriage, Claudia is over twenty-one, and it is not up to me to decide her future for her.’

  ‘Oh.’ Lily sounded even more deflated by his added explanation.

  He smiled again in the darkness. ‘With that in mind, I suggested that the two of them have a blessing in Roma—’

  ‘You suggested it?’

  ‘Yes,’ he confirmed. ‘Not only do Claudia’s other relatives and friends need that evidence of their marriage, but I need it.’

  ‘The Giordano family too?’ Lily asked tentatively.

  Dmitri shrugged. ‘They are less than pleased at both the marriage and my own prevarications, of course. But no doubt they will get over it in time.’

  No doubt—if Count Dmitri Scarletti had anything to do with it!

  ‘I have decided to transfer Felix to my offices in Milano next month, as a way of bringing him further into the management of the Scarletti Corporation. It means that Felix and Claudia will both have to move to Milano, of course, but the manager there is retiring at the end of the year, and if Felix proves himself capable then he will take over when Augusto retires.’

  ‘Wow—you have had a change of heart,’ Lily breathed softly.

  ‘It was as you said—I either changed, adapted to the circumstances being as they are and not as I wish them to be, or I risked alienating Claudia for ever. I chose the lesser of the two evils,’ Dmitri added dryly.

  ‘That sounds more like the Count Dmitri Scarletti that I remember,’ Lily teased.

  ‘Indeed,’ he drawled. ‘Now, do you think we could get out of this freezing cold weather and go to your home and talk?’

  Lily wished she could see him better than the single lamp and moonlight allowed. He certainly sounded sincere enough—not going so far as to say he approved of Claudia and Felix’s marriage, but not deliberately trying to destroy it, either. It was quite a concession on his part, considering his earlier vehemence on the subject.

  She made her mind up quickly. ‘Okay.’ She nodded.

  ‘But I don’t suggest either of us leaves our cars here overnight to get stolen or vandalised, so you’ll have to follow me.’

  ‘Gladly,’ he murmured.

  Lily gave him one last guarded glance before hurrying over to her car and unlocking it before getting quickly inside. Only to lean back against the seat for several seconds as she tried to take in the fact that Dmitri was really here. That he was coming back to her apartment with her.

  That he had said his coming to see her had ‘absolutely nothing to do with duty...’

  * * *

  ‘So.’ Lily stood nervously in the middle of her small but cosy sitting room fifteen minutes later, very aware of him as he stood a few feet away from her.

  The removal of his outer jacket a few minutes ago had revealed that he wore a black fitted cashmere sweater and faded jeans that rested low on the leanness of his hips, emphasising the long length of his legs; he obviously hadn’t come to see her straight from a business meeting!

  ‘Would you like a glass of red wine?’ she asked self-consciously. ‘It isn’t anywhere near the calibre of the ones you have at the palazzo, but—’

  ‘I would prefer a hot drink, if you don’t mind,’ Dmitri replied. ‘Do you have any idea how cold it was, waiting outside in the car park for you all that time?’ he added by way of explanation.

  Lily’s eyes widened. It had never occurred to her! ‘How long were you waiting?’

  He shrugged those wide shoulders. ‘Felix told me that you usually leave at about four-thirty, so I arrived at four-fifteen just to err on the side of caution.’

  Four-fifteen? Dmitri had been waiting outside for her for over an hour and a half? He was right—that didn’t sound like the action of a man who had come to see her out of a sense of duty... ‘Why didn’t you just come inside and find me?’

  He grimaced. ‘I had no idea whether you would wish to see me again at all—let alone at your place of work.’

  ‘So you just waited?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘Why?’

  Pale green eyes looked at her unblinkingly through long dark lashes. ‘Do you wish me to give you the socially polite answer or the truth?’ he
finally said huskily.

  Lily looked amused. ‘I don’t think the two of us have ever been socially polite to each other, have we?’

  ‘No,’ he accepted. ‘But perhaps it is not too late for us to start being so?’

  Lily didn’t want him to be polite to her. It was one of the reasons, after all, that she had refused to attend the Blessing in Rome on Saturday! The main one being, of course, that she was wildly, deeply in love with him.

  She moistened her lips before answering. ‘Is that what you want, Dmitri? For us to start being socially polite to each other for Claudia and Felix’s sake?’

  No, it was not what he wanted at all! Being here with Lily, talking with her again, seeing how beautiful she looked in a dark blue sweater that matched the colour of her eyes, and black tailored trousers that clearly defined her curvaceous hips and bottom, told him just how much he didn’t wish for social politeness between them—for Claudia and Felix’s sake, or anyone else’s!

  His hands clenched at his sides. ‘I will take that if it is all you have to give me, yes,’ he said tensely.

  She looked shocked. ‘But it isn’t what you really want?’

  ‘No.’

  A nerve pulsed at the base of her creamy throat. ‘Then what do you want?’

  He drew in a ragged breath. ‘What do I want?’ he repeated slowly, his smile self-derisive. ‘Everything. I want everything, Lily,’ he said. ‘All that you are. Everything that you have to give.’

  She gave a dazed shake of her head, her eyes wide. ‘Are you saying that you want us to have an affair? That you would like to come here and spend the night with me whenever you happen to be in London on business?’

  ‘No!’ he exclaimed furiously. ‘No, damn it, that is not what I am saying,’ he reiterated, stepping forward to take a tight grasp of her arms. ‘It sullies what I feel for you to even suggest I would treat you so casually!’ He glared down at her.

  She became very still. ‘What you feel for me?’ she whispered.