The Count's Prize Read Free

granted that when she failed to massage his ego Dario would soon lose interest and disappear. That tactic had worked only too well for her in the past, even though she hadn’t done it deliberately. Men seemed to vanish, whether she wanted them to or not. An experienced charmer like Dario wouldn’t waste his time in trying to pursue her.
    ‘I’m surprised you chose to come straight here instead of staying at Rimini with Antonia and little Fabio first, Dr Street,’ he said conversationally, trying to penetrate her awkward silence.
    The spotlight of his attention paralysed Josie. Somehow he seemed to be blinding her, even though his face was in shadow. She moved uncomfortably, trying to persuade herself it was the sun that was sending her temperature off the scale.
    ‘You can call me Josie,’ she mumbled. ‘I’ve stayed at your villa there before, and felt that I rather crampedAntonia’s style. She always tried to include me in her entertaining, but all those posh neighbours with their stories about people and places I didn’t know were …’ She groped for a way to put it politely.
    ‘Not quite your cup of tea?’
    Dario’s words were slow, but the merriment in his eyes was quicksilver. Hearing his beautiful Italian accent caress such a typically English phrase, Josie felt it melt the veneer of sophistication she had tried to put on. The fierce heat of embarrassment rushed up over her breasts and stained her face with a blush again.
    ‘The chauffeur took my luggage away with him and left me here on my own. I was trying to work out how to attract someone’s attention.’
    ‘You’ve got my attention now,’ Dario said with calm assurance, and something deep inside Josie flared to life, wishing that were true. Impervious to Josie’s internal turmoil, Dario reached out to the bell pull and flicked aside a small catch that Josie hadn’t noticed. It was keeping the iron rod clamped in place.
    ‘Ah—of course. Thank you.’
    She put out her hand automatically, but he caught it before she could connect with the heavy iron ring. For a split second she experienced the grip of his strong brown fingers again, then his touch fell away.
    ‘I wouldn’t. That’s the
castello
’s original fire alarm, and this is the assembly point. It operates a big bell that gathers everyone within earshot and I don’t think either of us would want that, would we?’
    Josie shuddered. The idea of being the centre of attention horrified her—unless her audience was as warmand friendly as this man. With a smile that told her he knew exactly what she was thinking, Dario flicked the safety catch back on.
    ‘To ring the bell, you need to get up close and personal with Stella Maris here,’ he said, nodding towards the iron mermaid. ‘One of my forebears had a wicked sense of humour.’
    Dario seemed to have inherited it. Sticking out his index finger, he pressed the mermaid firmly in the tummy button. An astonishingly loud ring drilled into the interior of the house.
    ‘Ah! Was this one of the inventions of the eighth Count? When Toni suggested I came here, I read everything I could find about the
castello
,’ Josie gabbled to cover her embarrassment.
    Dario looked bemused, then shrugged. ‘If you say so. I have no idea, I’m afraid. Whoever thought of it must have wanted to deter honest women.’ Dario gave her a wickedly expressive look.
    Josie blushed again. Beside Dario, she felt like a hedge sparrow matched against a peregrine falcon. He was totally at ease in his sunny surroundings, and dressed to enjoy them. Josie wasn’t. Her shoes were comfortable but clumpy, while her chain-store skirt suit was totally out of place beyond her university’s lecture theatre.
    Within seconds, the great main door creaked open and a servant showed them into Dario’s home.
    The
castello
’s entrance hall was dominated by a huge stone hearth. The fire back was a copy of the di Sirenafamily crest, with more mermaids like the ones Josie had