father had loved the woman, so she couldn’t be all bad. But she couldn’t be all good either, not when she could shut out a child of ten from her own father’s love.
‘What on earth is the matter now?’ Celeste asked impatiently. ‘Surely I haven’t shocked your puritan little mind again? Dear, oh dear, Suzanne, you’ll have to toughen up if you want to survive in this harsh cruel world your father and mother introduced you to. It’s a rough world out there and you have to be the same if you want to survive, and I intend to do just that.’
‘I’m not shocked, Celeste,’ Suzanne gave a rueful smile. ‘I think I’m past that where you’re concerned.’
Celeste laughed, a completely natural gesture that added to her already considerable beauty. Blue, often mercenary eyes were filled with amusement and Suzanne wished that Celeste would act this naturally all the time. How much more attractive it made her. Not that her stepmother needed any extra attraction tonight, dressed as she was in a clinging russet-coloured gown that should have clashed with her rich auburn hair, but somehow didn’t.
‘Why were you looking so serious, then?’
Suzanne shrugged, unwilling to start another argument. ‘I was—I was just looking round to see if I could spot the man—you know, the man you—–’ she broke off in embarrassed confusion.
‘The man I’ve picked out to be my husband,’ finished Celeste, completely unembarrassed herself. ‘And who did you decide it was?’
‘Well, I—–’ Suzanne looked at the elderly man she had picked out earlier and Celeste followed her gaze.
‘Not him, Suzanne!’ she burst out laughing. ‘Give me credit for a little taste!’
‘Then who?’
‘Oh, he isn’t here, darling,’ again Celeste affected that false drawl. ‘He’s otherwise engaged this evening, but I’m meeting him tomorrow. He’s absolutely fascinating, Suzanne, a shame he’s only a means to an end.’
‘So who is he, Celeste? Don’t keep me in suspense!’
‘You are interested, aren’t you? Well, I suppose it makes a change from your apathy. His name is Vidal Martino.’
‘VIDAL MARTINO?’ Suzanne echoed weakly.
‘Mmm—lovely name, isn’t it? And so is the man. I think Celeste Martino sounds quite distinctive, don’t you?’
Suzanne felt physically sick. Oh, God! Not Vidal Martino! Why couldn’t it be anyone else but him? And Celeste had said she was meeting him tomorrow. Oh, how could he, when he had already arranged to meet her this evening! Her distress must have shown on her face, because Celeste looked quite concerned.
‘Are you all right, Suzanne?’ She touched her arm. ‘You’ve gone terribly pale.’
‘Oh, I—I’m fine. I felt rather faint for a moment, but I’m all right now,’ Suzanne lied. How could she feel fine when she was dying inside? In the space of an hour she had fallen in love for the first time in her life, and now it was completely shattered by a few short words. Celeste meant to marry Vidal Martino, and knowing Celeste that was exactly what she would do.
‘It is rather warm in here,’ Celeste agreed. ‘Why don’t you go out into the garden for a while?’
‘Yes. Yes!’ Suzanne said jerkily, rising unsteadily to her feet. ‘It is rather stuffy, isn’t it? I won’t be long.’
Celeste sat back lazily. ‘Take your time, darling. I may just wait here on the off chance that Vidal returns earlier than expected.’
‘Oh, oh, I see,’ Suzanne said dully. She had to escape from here, be on her own for a while to sort out her thoughts.
The garden was definitely cooler than the hotel dining-room, although the hotel was air-conditioned. The fragrance of the many flowers out here was exquisite.
She had escaped here many times during the last few days, when she couldn’t stand Celeste’s overbearing attitude any longer. And now this! For the first time in her life she had found someone she was sure she could love, and he was destined for Celeste! She was certainly no competition for the beautiful redhead, and she might as well give up any hope of keeping a man like Vidal Martino interested in someone as plain as herself when Celeste wanted him.
It was a bitter blow and one she had faced once before in her life—and both of them dealt by Celeste. First her father and now Vidal Martino. She should hate Celeste, but she didn’t. At times Celeste showed a gentler side of her character, a facet of her nature she took great pains to hide. And she mostly succeeded.
She said Vidal had arranged to meet her tomorrow—he couldn’t have wasted much time after leaving Suzanne this afternoon. This knowledge hurt her somehow, and she wasn’t feeling particularly friendly towards him when she saw him walking across the garden towards her.
‘Suzanne,’ he put out his hands to her, drawing her close to him. ‘You were not waiting in the lounge,’ he scolded gently. ‘Luckily I spotted your hair in the darkness.’
‘I see,’ she said huskily, unable to draw her gaze away from those warm compelling brown eyes. ‘My stepmother was in the lounge.’
‘Ah, I see,’ he nodded understandingly. ‘You did not want to meet me in front of her. Well, I think she must have gone to bed because the lounge was deserted when I came through just now.’
Suzanne felt angry at his casual dismissal of Celeste, and yet excited too. Celeste hadn’t made such a big impression on Vidal that he didn’t want to see her again. ‘Oh,’ she licked her lips nervously. ‘Did you—Did you have a nice evening?’
Vidal Martino grimaced. ‘As pleasant as one could when visiting a grandmother. When Cesare’s mother married our father her mother moved in too. She now lives in her own home in England and complains that we neglect her. She does not think that it would have been better for all of us if she had stayed at the Palazzo like any other grandmother would. And of course Cesare visits her regularly when he is here.’ Again that harshness entered his voice when talking of his brother. ‘But I must not bore you with my family. Shall we go in and have that drink now?’
Why not? Celeste wasn’t in the lounge, and by the look of things she would have to make the most of this meeting with Vidal Martino, tomorrow Celeste would take over. She nodded her head, renewed eagerness entering her eyes. ‘I’d love to.’
He grinned at her. ‘Good.’
As he had said, the lounge was deserted, and within minutes they were ensconced at a corner table with two drinks on the table in front of them.
‘So,’ Vidal turned on the bench seat they were both sitting on, his knee touching hers intimately before it was politely withdrawn. But he was still sitting very close to her and she found she liked his closeness, liked the fresh male tangy smell that his body exuded and the expensive aftershave that she had come to realise he wore exclusively. ‘Tell me a little about yourself, Suzanne.’
‘There
