by Andie Brock
He jumped to his feet, his heart racing in his chest, his first instinct to run and find her, to stop her, to beg her forgiveness. To ask her to stay. But dredging up a depth of willpower he scarcely knew he possessed, he forced himself to stop. He would not go after her. For her sake he had to let her go.
There was a light knock on the door and Agnese, Alfonso’s housekeeper, appeared in the doorway. ‘Signore Romano, I thought you should know that the funeral directors are here.’
‘Si, grazie.’ With a heart laden with sadness, Vieri bent over his godfather to place one last kiss on his cheek. Then, straightening up, he took a deep breath and nodded. ‘Tell them I will be right there.’
* * *
The sun shone brightly on a thin scattering of snow that coated the rugged landscape as Harper neared her home on the Craigmore estate. Ahead of her Mount Craigmore, one of the Scottish Munros so beloved by serious climbers, stood tall and proud, its jagged white peak stark against the blue sky.
It felt strange to be back, even though she’d only been away for a few weeks. Everything looked the same, but felt different, as if there had been some imperceptible change. With a twist of sadness Harper realised that she was the one who had changed. Irrevocably and for ever.
Leaving Sicily, leaving Vieri, had all but torn her apart. But she had done it, somehow made the arrangements, taking the first flight she could from Palermo, and spending half the night at Amsterdam airport waiting for a connection rather than spending another moment on Sicilian soil.
And despite the fact that she felt as if she had been passed through a grater, mercilessly shredded, a quick glance down revealed that she was still in one piece. Still breathing. Nobody died of a broken heart. She would get over this, be strong, carry on. Because that was who she was, what she did.
The first test of her strength had been telling Leah, who had been sleeping soundly through the drama going on around her at Castello di Trevente. Harper had already woken her to tell her the news of Alfonso’s death and the fact that Vieri wanted her to leave. But Leah was still in bed when Harper returned with the knowledge that she too would be going.
‘Hurry up, Leah.’ She pulled impatiently at the bedclothes. ‘I’ve already told you, we have to leave.’
‘We?’ Pushing herself up onto one arm, Leah had stared incredulously at her sister. ‘Surely you’re not leaving too?’
‘Yes. I told you, Vieri wants everyone to go.’
‘But not you, surely?’ She frowned deeply. ‘I mean, you and Vieri, yesterday, you seemed so close.’
‘It was an act, Leah. You of all people should know that.’ In the effort to cover up her pain and hurt she knew she sounded harsh, cold. But it was either that or break down and burst into tears and she would fight against that with all her will. Because if Leah knew that Vieri had broken her heart she wouldn’t put it past her to insist on confronting him, to rush to take a chunk out of him there and then.
‘Well, if it was an act, it was a very good one.’ Leah gave her sister a narrow-eyed look. ‘It certainly had me fooled.’
‘But that’s not exactly difficult, is it, Leah?’ Harper snapped back. ‘I seem to remember you getting fooled by a certain Max Rodriguez and losing all that money being the reason we are in this mess right now. Or should I say I am in this mess.’
‘And you know how sorry I am about that, sis.’ Leah reached for Harper’s hand, her eyes imploring.
‘I know. I’m sorry, Lea, I don’t mean to keep punishing you.’ Harper dragged in a breath, fighting to keep the emotion at bay, acutely aware that Leah was watching her intently. ‘It’s just...it’s all been a bit much. What with the wedding and everything and now Alfonso dying.’
‘Of course.’ Leah pulled an apologetic face. ‘I’m sorry about Alfonso, really I am. He seemed like a lovely man and I know how fond you were of him. But...’ her face brightened ‘...it does mean that your ordeal is over now.’ She paused, searching Harper’s face. ‘Doesn’t it?’
If only. If pretending to be Vieri’s fiancée, and then his wife, had been the ordeal, then what she felt now, the thought of being separated from him for ever, was more akin to torture. She swallowed down her misery and focussed on the practicalities.
‘It would be if we didn’t happen to be legally married.’
‘Well, presumably that can be annulled or something, can’t it?’ Leah persisted, her eyes not leaving her sister’s face. But when Harper didn’t immediately reply she leaned in closer. ‘Harper?’
‘I don’t know...yes... I suppose so.’ Even amongst all the trauma of the day that particular worm of worry had managed to niggle at the back of her brain. She and Vieri had consummated the marriage, more than once. Did that mean it could no longer be annulled? But right now that problem would have to wait. Right now, all she could think about was getting away.
She had assumed that she and Leah would travel back to Glenruie together, but Leah, being Leah, had had other ideas.
‘So are you planning on staying at Glenruie, when we get back?’ She asked the question casually as she moved around the room collecting her belongings.
‘Yes, of course. What else would I do?’
‘Only I was just wondering, if you are there to keep an eye on Dad, could I maybe be excused, just for a week or so? It’s not like he needs both of us on his case.’
‘And what would you be doing for this week or so?’ Harper helped her close her suitcase.
‘Well, the thing is—’ Leah affected a nonchalant air ‘—Jaco, he’s invited me to go to Licata to see his vineyard.’
‘Has he now?’
‘And obviously I said no, because I thought I had to get back to Glenruie.’
‘Obviously.’
‘But now...’
Harper shook her head, even managing a small smile. She had never been able to deny her sister anything. And there was no reason why one of them shouldn’t be happy. Jaco had seemed like a nice guy, and as Vieri’s oldest friend he had to be trustworthy, didn’t he?
‘I mean, I will come back with you now if you want me to, that goes without saying.’
‘No, it’s fine!’ She took Leah’s hand. She had to admit that a part of her was glad that Leah wouldn’t be accompanying her back home. She wasn’t sure her fragile armour would be able to withstand several hours of Leah’s questioning. At least this way she would be able to nurse her misery in peace. ‘But promise me you won’t do anything stupid.’
‘Who, me?’ Leah had feigned an innocent look, before pulling her sister into a hug.
So Harper had travelled alone. Now, as she paid the taxi, picked up her bag and trudged across the crunchy grass to let herself into Gamekeeper’s Cottage, wondering what havoc would greet her inside, she felt more desperately miserable than at any time in her life.
* * *
Vieri hastily gathered together his belongings, the urge to get away from the castello, from Sicily, suddenly overwhelming. He would fly back to New York right away, concentrate on getting his life back on track. A life that had recently become dangerously derailed.
Today he had buried his godfather. In the same chapel that he had married Harper only forty-eight hours before, he had had to endure the ceremony, then watch as Alfonso’s body was lowered into the ground. And as the priest had given his final blessing and Vieri had scattered a handful of soil against the polished wood, he had never felt more alone.
But he only had himself to blame. Because there was only one person who could have made this day more bearable. Harper. And he had driven her away, banished her. Today he had missed her presence like a physical pain but the suffering was no more than he deserved. Much as he had longed for the feel of her hand in his, for the comfort and support she could have given him, he had had no right to it. Far from it.
And the brutal fact was, even with the funeral over, he still missed her. With Harper gone it felt as if a huge void had opened up. As if a part of him had died.
And this was
he, Vieri Romano, a man who prided himself on needing no one. Who had learned from a very young age to stand on his own two feet, to fight his own battles. To look to no one for emotional support, or any other support come to that. Even his beloved padrino had had to use his cunning and intelligence to circumnavigate Vieri’s fierce pride before he could offer any guidance or advice.
Moving over to the wardrobe, he started to roughly pull his shirts off the hangers. He had ordered Harper to leave the castello and she had done just that, even though missing Alfonso’s funeral must have hurt her terribly. He had behaved like a heartless bastard—he knew that. But he also knew that he was doing this for her own good, to save her from himself. Because the longer she was around him, the more deeply they became involved, the worse it would be for her in the long run. He would end up destroying her. And he couldn’t bear for that to happen.
Plucking his wedding suit from the hanger, Vieri started to shove it into his suitcase when he felt the rustle of something in the jacket pocket. Sliding his hand in, he pulled out an envelope. Alfonso’s wedding gift. Caught up in the events of his wedding night he had completely forgotten about it. Now he sat down on the edge of the bed and withdrew the handwritten piece of paper. He read it quickly, his godfather’s reassuring voice speaking the words in his head.
To my dearest Vieri and Harper,
It is my final wish that you accept Castello di Trevente as my wedding gift to you. I know it was agreed, Vieri, that my entire estate would be distributed amongst my charities, but I hope you will allow me this small change of heart.
The thought of the two of you living here, raising a family, gives me the greatest of pleasure. I know you would never deny me that.
Your loving godfather,
Alfonso.
Vieri put his head in his hands, screwing up his eyes against the shame and guilt. Alfonso’s gift, so generously given, so optimistically stated, felt like a ton of salt poured onto an open wound. Because he and Harper would never be living together at Castello di Trevente, let alone raising a family here. The whole thing had been a big fat lie. And Alfonso’s kindness had only exposed the nasty little fraud for what it really was.
Getting to his feet, he raked a hand through his hair, then turned and stuffed Alfonso’s letter into his suitcase, slamming down the lid. He would tell Harper about the ‘wedding present’ at a later date, when he had calmed down. She could have the whole castello as far as he was concerned, to live in or to sell, or to give to her wretched sister if that was what she wanted. It didn’t matter to him. All that mattered was getting away from here.
Picking up his suitcase, he cast one last look around him and then headed out of the door. He couldn’t get back to New York fast enough—back to the ordered, controlled life he had had before this whole wretched debacle had kicked off. Before Harper had happened. Only then would he be able to think straight again.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
HARPER STARED AT the tester stick held in her shaky hand. No. She screwed up her eyes, refusing to believe it. It wasn’t possible; it couldn’t be true. But when she opened them again, they were still there, the two bright pink lines. There was no doubt about it—she was pregnant.
She let a couple of seconds pass, waiting for the reality to sink in. Pregnant. The room did a giddy spin. Whatever was she going to do? However was she going to cope?
Grasping hold of the washbasin beside her, she pulled herself to standing and faced herself in the mirror. She was pregnant with Vieri Romano’s baby. And she had absolutely no idea what to do about it.
‘Harps, hurry up, I need the loo. Whatever are you doing in there?’ The bathroom door rattled and the old bolt that had never been very secure obligingly slid open. Spinning round, Harper saw Leah standing in the doorway. ‘Oh, God, sis, you look dreadful. Are you ill?’
‘No, no, I’m fine.’
‘Well, you don’t look fine. Whatever’s the matter?’
‘Nothing, I told you. Can’t I even get five minutes’ peace in this house?’
Leah advanced into the room. ‘What are you hiding behind your back?’
‘Nothing.’
‘Oh, Harper!’
‘What?’ In her befuddled state Harper had failed to realise that the tester stick, still clasped in her hand behind her back, was reflected in the mirror.
‘You’re not!’
Letting out a long, juddering breath, Harper nodded miserably.
‘Oh, my God!’
Flinging her arms around her sister, Leah hugged her tightly, then pulled away so she could see her face. ‘It’s Vieri’s?’
Harper nodded again. She didn’t have the strength to ask who the hell else’s it was likely to be.
‘But you said...’
‘I know, Lea. It was just that one night, the night of the wedding.’
‘Golly.’
‘Yes, golly.’ Somehow the use of the old-fashioned and ridiculously understated word broke the tension and suddenly the two sisters started to laugh, clinging to each other for all they were worth.
‘So, what are you going to do?’ Finally breaking away, Leah studied Harper’s semi-hysterical and now tear-stained face.
‘I...I don’t know.’ She accepted the bunch of tissue that Leah had plucked from the toilet roll and blew her nose. ‘I mean, obviously I’m going to keep it. And I’ll have to tell Vieri at some point. But not yet. Not until I’ve got used to the idea.’
‘Don’t leave it too long.’ Leah dabbed at her sister’s eyes. ‘It will only make it harder in the long run.’
‘I guess so.’ A sudden panicky thought occurred to her. ‘But whatever you do, don’t you go telling him, Leah! You must promise me that.’
‘Yes, of course, I promise. I wouldn’t do that. What do you take me for?’
Harper shot her a look, which Leah studiously ignored.
‘Oh, sis, this is so exciting! I’m going to be an auntie.’ She clasped Harper’s hands in hers, which only set Harper’s lip trembling more violently.
Exciting was one word for it—petrifying another one. However was she going to get through this? Not just with the pregnancy or the birth or the prospect of raising a child on her own. But the fact that this was Vieri’s child.
She had worked so hard to try and forget about him, done everything she could to block him from her thoughts, erase him from her mind. But of course it had been impossible. Six weeks had passed since she’d left Sicily, six torturous, lonely weeks when there had been no contact between them at all. And far from finding any relief, each week had felt more bleak, more desolate than the one before. Despite Harper keeping herself frantically busy, watching her father like a hawk, overseeing his job as well as working shifts at Craigmore Lodge, Vieri still managed to consume her every waking moment. More than that, he had tortured her dreams, images of the night they had spent together filling her head, crowding her sleep until she woke to the gnawing agony of being alone again.
And now this. A baby. A living, breathing child that would tie them together for ever. Somehow she was going to have to protect her shattered heart from the onslaught of having Vieri in her life. Because he would insist on being there for his son or daughter; instinctively Harper knew that. Supposing he tried to take the baby away from her? Supposing he decided to fight her for custody?
‘Don’t look so worried!’ At the sight of her troubled face, Leah pulled her into a hug again. ‘Everything will be all right. We’ll do this together. I’ll be there every step of the way.’
Harper gave a weak smile, surrendering to her sister’s embrace. Somehow that statement did absolutely nothing to reassure her.
* * *
Getting out of the car he’d hired at the airport, Vieri slammed the door and looked around him. This place was picturesque, he’d give them that, but right now picturesque didn’t cut it. Right now he just wanted to reach his destination. It felt as if this journey to Glenruie had gone on for ever—first the flight from New York to Glasgow a
nd then following the seemingly endless road along the side of a glittering loch. And now the sat nav had brought him to some ancient-looking contraption that called itself a car ferry, and, even though he had been ready to leave as soon as he’d bumped the car up onto it, it seemed that the two men in the tugboat that pulled the thing across the inlet were going nowhere. He marched over towards them.
‘Can we get a move on, please?’ He tapped his watch for emphasis. They looked back at him with mild lack of interest. ‘I’m in a hurry.’
‘We’re a waitin’ more vehicles.’ The older one spoke through the window of the tug in a language that Vieri only barely recognised as English.
More vehicles? They could be here all night. Apart from the odd battered old Land Rover he hadn’t seen a car for twenty minutes. Vieri scowled.
‘Where ya headed, any road?’
‘Glenruie.’
‘Craigmore Lodge?’
‘Yes, well, the Craigmore estate.’ Vieri hesitated, having no desire to discuss the reason for his visit with these two. But if it meant getting there more quickly... ‘I’m looking for the gamekeeper’s cottage. I have business with Harper McDonald.’
‘Do you now?’
Irritation spiked inside him. Hadn’t he just said that?
‘Yes. So, could we get going?’ Vieri attempted to keep his impatience in check.
‘Aye, why not?’ With an incomprehensible but immensely welcome change of heart, the old man started the engine of the tugboat. ‘Close the gates, Jim. We cannae keep this man away from Miss McDonald any longer. He looks like he’s fair set to bust.’
Turning on his heel, Vieri went back to sit in his car, drumming his fingers on the steering wheel as the ferry chugged its way across the inlet of blue water that was supposedly quicker than driving around this peninsula. He wasn’t entirely sure what set fair to bust meant, but he could hazard a guess. Clearly he wasn’t managing to hide his feelings anything like as effectively as he’d thought.