Count Valieri's Prisoner

chapter SIX



AS SHE SHOWERED away the signs of distress and weakness, Maddie decided that, to begin her campaign, she should try to regain some of the ground she’d lost earlier.

It had been unwise to lose her temper, and let him see how much this lack of response from London disturbed her. And sheer folly to over-react to his more personal remarks, she thought broodingly. Far better to have kept her cool and shrugged it off as trivial banter.

But from now on she would remain impassive in the face of any news, good or bad, and display total indifference to his sexual teasing. And if he persisted, she would tell him quietly that his behaviour was a breach of the good manners his birth entitled her to expect. Shame him into silence.

Although instinct warned her that he would not shame easily.

He would probably be anticipating more fireworks at dinner, but he would be disappointed, she thought as she dried her hair. She would conduct herself impeccably, speaking when spoken to and refusing to rise to any bait. And that’s how it would be, however long she remained in this place.

At the same time, she would be looking all the time for a way out. Any chance, however slight, would do. And somewhere she would find help. There had to be a village around, albeit a small one, with communications to the world at large.

She wrapped herself in a fresh bath sheet and trod back into the bedroom for the siesta which had become part of her ritual. And when she awoke a new nightgown and robe would be waiting. As usual.

Emerald this time, I suppose, she thought as she stretched out on the bed. Although that’s not my colour. I wonder if he’ll realise that.

She bit her lip. That was not a train of thought, frankly, that she needed to pursue. He was hardly likely to have gone into some shop and chosen these frankly intimate garments himself. He’d have got some hireling to do so. But it was quite bad enough knowing that he’d given the order for her to spend her time dressed—or undressed—like this.

And if he’d seen her photograph, that meant he already knew her colouring and Heaven knows what other details about her, she thought, her face warming.

That was what she was finding so unnerving. All the research and planning that had gone into trapping her, of which she’d been so blithely unaware. The unseen power that this man—Andrea Valieri—had been able to exert to achieve it.

The feeling of helplessness, as if this deliberate removal of all her personal things had also wiped away her identity.

Added to that—the terrible realisation that she was merely a pawn in some game being played out by two arrogant men, and that pawns were easily sacrificed...

Stop that right now, she told herself with swift determination as a shiver curled the length of her spine. That’s defeatist thinking and I’m not going to be a victim or a puppet any longer.

I’m taking my life back.

She slept eventually, and woke to a room full of evening shadows. As she’d expected, she’d had silent visitors while she was sleeping, and the new robe and nightgown were waiting for her, laid across the foot of the bed. But, this time, she discovered, they were black instead of the anticipated green.

Different styling too, she thought as she held them up, frowning. The robe had a revealingly deep square neck and was fastened down the front with large buttons embossed elaborately in velvet. And the nightdress was made from chiffon so sheer it was hardly more than a thin veil, with only narrow ribbon straps supporting its tiny bodice.

Sending her, Maddie realised furiously, an unmistakable message. A sensuous offering with deliberate provocation in every inch of fabric.

Well, it won’t work, she silently informed her unseen antagonist. I’ll wear the damned things as if they were towelling and flannelette.

As she glanced around, she saw the box of books on the table, and lying next to it her CD player with the disc of Floria Bartrando’s favourite arias.

Another concession, she thought, biting her lip uneasily. It was hardly a charm offensive, but it was disturbing just the same. Although it made no difference. Nothing he could say or do would ever change her attitude towards him. Her mind and her body were immune to his overtures.

He was her enemy, and, once she was free of him, he would suffer for the way she’d been treated.

If Jeremy didn’t kill him first, she thought, viewing her reflection with disquiet. The robe’s tight bodice enhanced the slenderness of her waist and showed far too much of the creamy swell of her breasts. While those buttons which were supposed to keep it fastened seemed much more invitation than protection, she thought, hating the sudden colour that flared in her face.

Tonight it was Luisa who came to escort her downstairs, her eyes and mouth round with astonishment as she looked at her.

Whatever you’re thinking, you’re wrong, Maddie muttered savagely under her breath, grabbing up the CD as she passed the table.

She was halfway along the corridor when she heard the music. A piano playing something soft and lilting—and not far away. She paused to listen, wondering, then drew a deep breath as she remembered.

He had lessons in childhood. Andrea Valieri’s casual words. Now he plays only for his own amusement.

And doesn’t he like to amuse himself, she thought scornfully, as she walked out on to the gallery. He doesn’t miss a trick. What will it be next? Mandolin serenades under my window?

She stopped halfway down the stairs, looking down the length of the room, watching him, her hand resting lightly on the stone banister, her body taut under its light draperies.

And the music was certainly beguiling, played in a minor key, dancing joyfully along one moment, wistful and plangent the next.

His dark head was bent over the keys. He seemed intent—oblivious, but she wasn’t fooled. He was as aware of her as she was of him. Even at this distance she could feel it, like the stroke of a fingertip over her bare skin.

She realised, shocked that her nipples were lifting and hardening against the chiffon that cupped them. Recognised her body’s desire to sway with the rhythm of the music. To let it take her down the stairs and towards him, the black silk floating around her.

Recognised it and fought it. So that when the final chord rippled into silence, she was able to applaud slowly, almost languidly, making him look at her directly. Letting him register the silent challenge of her pose.

‘Bravo, signore.’ She moved then, descending the remaining stairs. ‘And I thought you said you weren’t a virtuoso.’

He rose. ‘Flattery from you, signorina?’ he queried sardonically. ‘I am astounded.’

‘I think it would take a good deal more than that to surprise you.’ She paused. ‘I didn’t recognise the music. What was it?’

‘It is something quite new, composed by someone I was at school with, Gianfranco Deloria. He has been collecting old forgotten folk music from this area and giving it a contemporary twist.’

‘Well, it’s—beautiful.’

‘He would be pleased to hear you say so. His first album is coming out quite soon, and he will give a recital in Trimontano in the autumn.’

‘Ah, yes,’ she said. ‘The festival. Which reminds me—thank you for the return of my player, but you may keep this.’ She put the Floria Bartrando CD on the dining table. ‘I don’t want any souvenirs of my time in this place.’

‘And yet she is what brought you here.’

‘As if I needed reminding.’ She allowed a trace of bitterness in her tone. ‘However, that’s when I thought I was researching for a television programme. Now I doubt that Floria Bartrando still exists, let alone has plans to resume her career.’

‘On the contrary, she is alive and well,’ he said after a pause. ‘And she does intend to sing again one day—when the time is right.’

‘Then she’ll do it without any help from me.’ Maddie shrugged. ‘Does she know you involved her in your scheming?’

‘I would not have used her name without her permission.’

‘So you do occasionally have scruples. Now I’m amazed. And especially about Signorina Bartrando,’ she added musingly. ‘How can someone with the voice of an angel lend herself even marginally to an extortion racket? Has she fallen on hard times?’

‘She lives in perfect comfort.’

‘And so do you.’ She glanced around her. ‘Or have you been hit by the global economic downturn? Are the olive oil and ceramics markets heading for the rocks?’

His brows lifted. ‘No, they are not. But your research has been thorough.’

‘But clearly I didn’t look deeply enough,’ Maddie said. ‘For instance, I found no mention of the late Count’s death.’

‘He wished it so,’ Andrea Valieri returned. ‘He was a very private man.’

‘Then perhaps it’s as well he’s not here to see you drag his name through the dirt.’ She sent him a challenging look. ‘Or, like you, did he consider himself above the law?’

‘No-one is that, mia bella.’ His sudden smile touched her like a kiss, and she had to overcome the urge to take a step backwards. Because that would be a damaging act of self-betrayal that she could not afford.

But she could not control the faint breathlessness in her voice. ‘Don’t—call me that.’

‘You think it is more deception?’ he asked softly. ‘I promise it is not.’ The amber gaze studied her, lingering on her breasts then travelling slowly down the rest of her body as if he was imagining what he would see if the robe were gone. ‘You were lovely before, Maddalena. Tonight you are breathtaking.’

‘And stop talking like that.’ Her words were falling over each other. Stop looking at me. Stop standing only a few feet away. And, dear God, stop smiling as if you already knew—everything there is to know about me. Because that scares me far more than any number of hours in a locked room. She rallied. ‘You have no right—no right at all.’

‘I have any rights I choose to impose,’ he drawled. ‘But there is no need for such panic. I was paying you a compliment, not attempting seduction.’

‘Seduction?’ She lifted her chin defiantly. ‘Don’t you mean—rape?’

‘No,’ he said with sudden harshness. ‘I do not, and you insult me and the ancient name I bear by such a suggestion. Because I swear on the honour of my family, that I have never in my life taken a woman against her will.’ He paused. ‘And you, Maddalena, will not be the first.’

His eyes narrowed. ‘If you are honest, surely you must know that? Or is it possible that you are still an innocent with no experience of how a man expresses his desire?’

‘Of course not.’ She took a deep breath, adjuring herself silently to get a grip. ‘You know quite well that I’m engaged—and about to be married.’

He shrugged. ‘Sì. But one thing does not necessarily rule out another. And you seem—curiously untouched.’

‘Curious indeed,’ she said, crisply. ‘As Jeremy and I are deeply and passionately in love. But I suppose I have to endure your unpleasant sexist speculations along with everything else you’ve inflicted on me.’

‘That will not be necessary. I have already drawn my own conclusions about the depth of passion you have experienced.’ He paused. ‘But tell me, mia cara, have you never wondered if there could be more?’

‘No.’ She glared at him. ‘Because loving someone and wanting to spend your life with them isn’t all about sex.’

‘Ah,’ he said. ‘A cynical man might say you had just condemned yourself, Maddalena.’ He paused. ‘So where is this devoted and passionate lover? If you belonged to me, I would be here, beating at the door, offering everything I possessed in the world to get you back into my arms. Except...’

‘Yes,’ Maddie prompted coldly. ‘I’m sure there’d be an exception.’

‘Except I would never have permitted you to travel into the unknown without me,’ the Count said harshly. ‘I would not have allowed you out of my sight by day and would have made sure you were safe in my bed each night. Why did he not do the same?’

Safe in your bed? thought Maddie. In what alternative reality would that be true?

‘Jeremy has an important career.’ She faced him defensively. ‘He had other things to do than follow me round Italy.’

His mouth twisted. ‘In other words, mia bella, he was obeying his father’s orders. No, do not attempt to deny it,’ he added as her lips parted indignantly. ‘My research has also been thorough.’

‘And, like mine, incomplete, because you don’t know my future father-in-law,’ she flashed back.

‘Nor, Maddalena, does he know me. You seem to forget that.’

She moved a hand impatiently. ‘Because it makes no difference.’ She paused. ‘Oh God, how can I convince you that he’ll never give into your demands. I expect Interpol are searching for me right now.’

‘I would not count on it,’ he returned calmly. ‘Nor should you.’

‘I’m counting on one thing only,’ Maddie said fiercely. ‘Getting out of here damned quickly.’ And managed, just in time, to stop herself adding, ‘And as far away from you as it’s possible to get without leaving the planet.’ Because, although true, it was altogether too much of a revelation.

The sound of the door and the rattle of the trolley announced Luisa’s timely arrival with the drinks, and Maddie turned away, drawing a relieved breath.

She was tempted to ask for mineral water, but instead accepted her spritzer without comment. Everything as usual, she thought, in spite of him.

When Luisa had poured him his whisky, she was quietly dismissed and they were alone again.

Needing a neutral topic of conversation, if there could be such a thing in these circumstances, she wandered towards the fireplace, taking a closer look at the oil painting that hung there.

‘A strange subject for a picture,’ she commented lightly. ‘Is that the actual wolf the house was named for?’

‘No, he was merely a symbol, painted from photographs. Originally, this house was called Casa d’Estate—the House of Summer. My great grandparents named it that because they spent their summers here to escape the heat of the coast.

‘It was my grandfather who made the change. Forty years ago, studies revealed that the Apennine wolf was in danger of being wiped out. He had always found them interesting animals, brave loyal and with close family bonds, and he was among those who worked to protect them. They are now on the list of endangered species.’

Maddie frowned. ‘But they’re dangerous themselves, aren’t they?’

He shrugged. ‘To smaller animals, certainly. They are carnivores, sì, but they also eat berries and plants. My grandfather had to battle with local shepherds and the hunters who saw the wolves as trophies. He had the painting done and re-named this house to demonstrate to the world which side he was on.’

‘That can’t have made him very popular.’

‘It did not. But to the local people he was the padrone and the Valieri have always been good landlords who did not ill-treat or exploit their tenants, so they grumbled but respected his wishes.’

He smiled reminiscently. ‘And when people argued with him, he told them never to forget that the Roman empire owed its existence to the she-wolf who suckled Romulus and Remus.’

‘And did they accept that?’ Maddie found she was smiling too.

‘Not for a moment,’ he admitted. ‘But it usually ended the debate. He was a very determined man.’

‘A trait he has obviously handed down.’ Maddie spoke lightly, and, to her surprise, saw his face change, harden.

‘It may seem so,’ he said, after a pause.

‘Ah,’ she said, hiding her surprise at his response. ‘Could that mean that, even now, you might be open to persuasion? After all, you’ve made it clear you don’t need the ransom money.’

‘But it is not a question of money,’ he said quietly. ‘And never has been.’

She stared at him. ‘What then?’

‘I could tell you,’ he said. ‘But at present you are too hostile, too suspicious, Maddalena, to believe anything I might say. So explanations must wait for a more favourable time. As you must also wait for the Sylvesters’ response. I wonder which will come first.

‘And no persuasion you can muster, however tempting, will cause me to change my mind,’ he added softly. ‘So do not try.’ He paused. ‘Unless, of course, you are looking for an excuse to share my bed. Although that is not necessary,’ he added musingly. ‘I promise that “Andrea, I want you” is all you need say.’

They were several feet apart, but the atmosphere between them was suddenly charged—electric with tension.

Maddie’s breathing quickened. She said unsteadily, ‘How dare you insult me like this. It’s disgusting.’

‘Let me ask in return how you dare be such a hypocrite, mia bella,’ he retorted, his mouth twisting cynically. ‘I am simply acknowledging that the desire between us is mutual. Which you know as well as I do.

‘Besides,’ he added. ‘The choice will always be yours.’

‘Then I choose not to be alone with you again!’ Her voice was stormy.

‘You will have your wish,’ he said calmly. ‘At least for the next few days. I have business elsewhere.’

‘More helpless people to kidnap?’

‘I hope,’ he said, the amber eyes glinting in that disturbing way, ‘that you are not describing yourself in those terms, Maddalena.’

‘But supposing there’s a message from Jeremy and his father, offering terms. You won’t be here to get it.’

‘Have no fear,’ he said. ‘If there is any breakthrough, which I doubt, I shall be informed.’

‘But I shan’t be,’ Maddie protested furiously. ‘I’ll have to stay locked up here in total ignorance when anything could be happening.’

‘You are still hoping perhaps that your future father-in-law will pull strings in Whitehall and have the British SAS parachute in to rescue you?’ He sighed. ‘A vain hope.’

‘But there’s another factor in all this that you’ve overlooked,’ Maddie said tautly. ‘The television company I work for, who sent me here. They’re expecting regular reports on my progress with the Bartrando research. If they don’t hear from me, they’ll become concerned and start making enquiries.’

‘But they have received several texts from your mobile phone assuring them that all is going well,’ he said gently. ‘They will be disappointed if you eventually return empty-handed, but that is all.’ He paused. ‘Now that I have set your mind at rest, let us have dinner.’

‘No thank you,’ she said, putting down her half-empty glass. ‘I’m going to eat in my room. Perhaps you’d arrange for someone to bring a tray. Some pasta and dessert will be fine. I’m not hungry.’

He shook his head. ‘That is a banal reaction and not worthy of you, carissima,’ he commented. ‘But if that is indeed what you want, I will give the necessary orders. I shall also summon Domenica to escort you back.’

He went to the fireplace and tugged at the embroidered bell pull. ‘However,’ he continued, ‘I hope you will continue to dine down here during my absence.’

She was already on her way to the stairs, but she turned looking at him almost blankly, as she recalled there were at least two exits from the room. ‘You trust me that far?’

‘No,’ he said. ‘But Eustacio will be here, and I trust him to look after you on my behalf.’ He watched her bite her lip and added silkily, ‘Besides, it will give me pleasure while I am away to think of your beauty gracing my table. And to imagine a time when we shall not part for the night once the meal is over.’

Sudden, helpless warmth flooded her face, and was echoed by the slow torment of the heat slowly uncurling inside her. The betraying sensuality of that deep inner ache, telling her unequivocally that all her protests were lies and how it would be all too easy to say ‘Andrea—I want you’, instead of the biting riposte which would silence him now and forever.

Her nails scored the palms of her hands, as, to her eternal shame, the words of angry dismissal failed to materialise.

And as she climbed the stairs towards Domenica’s solid bulk in the shadows, she could feel the Count’s gaze following her as if he were walking with her, his hand on her waist, and his lips grazing her hair.

And heard his voice, faintly mocking. ‘Until we meet again, Maddalena. Believe me, carissima, I shall count the hours.’

And found herself praying silently that she would not do the same.