Read Online The Count's Prize by Christina Hollis - Free Book Online Page B

of her now, he looked completely lost for words.
    His uncomfortable silence didn’t last long; he seemedto gather himself and carried on in a more practical manner. ‘With artistic talent like this, you could draw in a much wider audience. Quality artwork would attract people who wouldn’t normally think of picking up an archaeology textbook. Me, for one.’
    Josie chewed her lip. ‘Do you really think so?’
    ‘Definitely. I’m certain others would think that way, too.’
    He sounded genuine, and smiled to drive the point straight into her heart. The memory of their eventful picnic made Josie break eye contact and move away from him. She started to tap a pile of already tidy papers into a meticulously rectangular block.
    ‘Oh, I don’t know. I don’t have the time, or the equipment …’
    ‘You should
make
time. It counts as work, so you wouldn’t have to feel it’s being wasted,’ Dario said in a voice that gave her no option. ‘And, as for equipment, that’s no excuse either. I keep a well-stocked studio. Anything you want, you can get from me. In a purely artistic sense, of course,’ he added hurriedly, seeing her frown.
    ‘It’s very kind, Dario, but I really can’t spare the time …’
    She looked over towards the Roman hearth she was uncovering, stone by stone. It was long, knee-numbing stuff.
    He dropped his voice to a conspiratorial whisper. ‘Come on … you know you want to! That floor has waited two thousand years for you to come along with your trowel and brush. Light and landscape is somethingthat must be captured when it happens, and while it lasts. Like happiness, and laughter,’ he added.
    When she smiled, he suddenly reached out to her. She flinched, and his fingers stopped short of making contact with her cheek. She took a step back, leaving his hand to fall back to his side.
    ‘I can see you’ve fully recovered from … the heat,’ he said with a brittle smile. ‘In which case, as I’ve done what I came to do, I’ll leave you to your work. Goodbye, Josie, but don’t forget what I said. Capture the moment. If you wait too long, it will slip through your fingers. And you’ll always regret missing out.’
    ‘You sound very sure about that!’ She chuckled, but all signs of amusement had vanished from his expression.
    ‘I am. Life can deal anyone a bad hand, Josie. Work is a great refuge, but you need to keep it in proportion. Look at me—running this estate and making sure I can pass it on to little Fabio in good heart takes up a lot of time, and it used to be that I’d focus only on that—but it’s no way to live.’
    ‘Fabio? But he’s not your son.’ Josie picked up on the name but then put her hand to her mouth. ‘I’m sorry; it’s none of my business.’
    He looked startled, but hid it quickly. ‘You’re so close to Antonia, I assumed you knew all about that already.’
    ‘We spend most of our time chatting about work,’ Josie said. ‘At least we did, until Fabio came along. We hardly ever talk about our families.’
    He shrugged. ‘I simply assumed she would have filled you in.’
    ‘Dario, I don’t need to be told anything more about you than I know already, unless you’d like me to know something,’ she said, while secretly hoping he would insist on revealing more.
    He was silent, seeming to struggle with his thoughts for a moment before the mask came down and, to Josie’s disappointment, he was once again the suave, charming playboy.
    ‘You’re right. We both have work to do, so I’ll let you get back into your trench,’ he said smoothly, before mounting his horse and cantering quickly back the way he had come.
    From then on, Josie couldn’t stop wondering why Dario had made his little nephew his heir. Dario was only a few years older than she was. What made him so sure, so young, that he would never have children of his own? Was it something to do with his mysterious dead fiancée? Josie wasn’t sure she wanted to find out the answer, but