mistaken,
signorina
,' he said at last. 'No helicopter has landed on Saracina. And there are no guests at the
palazzo
other than yourself.'
Joanna gave him her sweetest smile. 'Anything you say, Josef,' she said lightly, but her mind was working overtime. So their arrival was meant to be a secret, she thought. There's something going on in this place. Something that Lorenzo the Magnificent downstairs doesn't want anyone from outside to know about. Now what could the
magnifico
be trying to hide?
It could be worth her while trying to find out, she decided with a private smile, ignoring that annoying inner voice that kept insisting that anyone who went to such lengths to guard his privacy and the secrets it contained as the master of Saracina probably had excellent reasons for doing so, and would deal quite ruthlessly with anyone who tried to meddle in his concerns.
As soon as Josef had departed, Joanna walked towards the dressing chest and surveyed herself critically in the mirror. Her eyes were over-large in her small pointed face, but the effect was not unattractive. It was a pity she could not change, but the expensive silk of the robe made her golden tan glow in contrast. She picked up the flask of scent and laid the crystal stopper against the pulses in her wrists and throat, before drawing a delicate line of fragrance between her breasts. She hesitated over the cosmetics, then contented herself with simply adding a soft coppery sheen to her lips.
Her eyes danced as she regarded herself for a moment, then she walked over to the tray and poured herself a glass of the pale dry sherry.
She turned to the portrait on the wall and lifted her glass in a smiling toast.
'Now, my noble lord. Let's find out if you are human after all,' she whispered under her breath.
CHAPTER FOUR
'I'm glad to see your recent ordeal has not completely destroyed your spirit,
signorina
.'
Joanna swung round, her face flaming as if she had spoken aloud. How long had he been standing in the doorway? she wondered almost hysterically. That cool, arrogant voice had been the sole advertisement of his presence.
He came forward into the room, moving noiselessly. He had changed his clothes since their earlier encounter, and he too was wearing black—slightly flared velvet pants and a matching tunic top, the neck severely slashed to reveal his brown chest. It was an outfit that Joanna might have found slightly effeminate on anyone else, but on this man it merely underlined his aura of totally virile masculinity.
He saw her looking at him, and smiled a little.
'I felt it would place you at an unfair disadvantage if I dressed for dinner,' he drawled, and again Joanna experienced that curious tingle across her nerve-endings at his awareness of her near-nakedness. She seethed inwardly at his mocking implication that a minor matter of dress was the only point at issue between them. He had her at a total disadvantage already, and he knew it only too well. 'Oh, let me get the better of him—just once!' she thought furiously.
He walked to the table which held the decanter and poured himself some sherry.
'I hope this short period of solitary confinement hasn't robbed you of speech,' he remarked. 'You had enough to say for yourself when we met earlier, and I had anticipated an entertaining evening.'
Joanna subdued a schoolgirlish impulse to poke her tongue at him, forcing herself to smile politely instead.
'I'm sorry if you find me a bore,' she said with a slight shrug. 'It's just that I'm rather at a loss for words. I'm not used to entertaining a complete stranger in quite such intimate surroundings.
'An admirably demure reply, but totally out of character, I suspect. Why don't you damn my eyes and tell me to get the hell out of your bedroom, if that's what you want to say?'
'Would it make any difference if I did?' -Try it and see.' He took another sip from his glass, his eyes glinting at her from under their heavy lids.
It was certainly a
signorina
,' he said at last. 'No helicopter has landed on Saracina. And there are no guests at the
palazzo
other than yourself.'
Joanna gave him her sweetest smile. 'Anything you say, Josef,' she said lightly, but her mind was working overtime. So their arrival was meant to be a secret, she thought. There's something going on in this place. Something that Lorenzo the Magnificent downstairs doesn't want anyone from outside to know about. Now what could the
magnifico
be trying to hide?
It could be worth her while trying to find out, she decided with a private smile, ignoring that annoying inner voice that kept insisting that anyone who went to such lengths to guard his privacy and the secrets it contained as the master of Saracina probably had excellent reasons for doing so, and would deal quite ruthlessly with anyone who tried to meddle in his concerns.
As soon as Josef had departed, Joanna walked towards the dressing chest and surveyed herself critically in the mirror. Her eyes were over-large in her small pointed face, but the effect was not unattractive. It was a pity she could not change, but the expensive silk of the robe made her golden tan glow in contrast. She picked up the flask of scent and laid the crystal stopper against the pulses in her wrists and throat, before drawing a delicate line of fragrance between her breasts. She hesitated over the cosmetics, then contented herself with simply adding a soft coppery sheen to her lips.
Her eyes danced as she regarded herself for a moment, then she walked over to the tray and poured herself a glass of the pale dry sherry.
She turned to the portrait on the wall and lifted her glass in a smiling toast.
'Now, my noble lord. Let's find out if you are human after all,' she whispered under her breath.
CHAPTER FOUR
'I'm glad to see your recent ordeal has not completely destroyed your spirit,
signorina
.'
Joanna swung round, her face flaming as if she had spoken aloud. How long had he been standing in the doorway? she wondered almost hysterically. That cool, arrogant voice had been the sole advertisement of his presence.
He came forward into the room, moving noiselessly. He had changed his clothes since their earlier encounter, and he too was wearing black—slightly flared velvet pants and a matching tunic top, the neck severely slashed to reveal his brown chest. It was an outfit that Joanna might have found slightly effeminate on anyone else, but on this man it merely underlined his aura of totally virile masculinity.
He saw her looking at him, and smiled a little.
'I felt it would place you at an unfair disadvantage if I dressed for dinner,' he drawled, and again Joanna experienced that curious tingle across her nerve-endings at his awareness of her near-nakedness. She seethed inwardly at his mocking implication that a minor matter of dress was the only point at issue between them. He had her at a total disadvantage already, and he knew it only too well. 'Oh, let me get the better of him—just once!' she thought furiously.
He walked to the table which held the decanter and poured himself some sherry.
'I hope this short period of solitary confinement hasn't robbed you of speech,' he remarked. 'You had enough to say for yourself when we met earlier, and I had anticipated an entertaining evening.'
Joanna subdued a schoolgirlish impulse to poke her tongue at him, forcing herself to smile politely instead.
'I'm sorry if you find me a bore,' she said with a slight shrug. 'It's just that I'm rather at a loss for words. I'm not used to entertaining a complete stranger in quite such intimate surroundings.
'An admirably demure reply, but totally out of character, I suspect. Why don't you damn my eyes and tell me to get the hell out of your bedroom, if that's what you want to say?'
'Would it make any difference if I did?' -Try it and see.' He took another sip from his glass, his eyes glinting at her from under their heavy lids.
It was certainly a
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