The Italian’s Rightful Bride Read Free Page B

culminating in the great palace that stood on a rise, dominating the surrounding landscape.
    For someone as much in love with the past as Joanna the house was a marvel. Down long corridors she wandered, meeting ancestors who looked down from centuries past. Gustavo described them in a way that brought them to life for her, and was clearly impressed by her knowledgeable interest.
    â€˜You know a great deal about history, and especially of my country,’ he said, smiling.
    â€˜I’ve always been crazy about the past. I went on an archaeological dig once, and loved it. I’d probably go to college and study archaeology if I wasn’t…’
    Just in time she stopped herself from saying, If I wasn’t going to get married, and hastily substituted, ‘if I wasn’t the sort of person who dithers about deciding things.’
    She knew she was being studied by every employee inthe place, all waiting with bated breath for the announcement.
    Day after day she and Gustavo rode together, and he told her about the estate he loved in a voice that was gentle, almost emotional. One day as they walked through the woods he said, ‘Do you like my home, Joanna?’
    â€˜I love it,’ she said fervently.
    â€˜Do you think you could be happy living here?’
    That was his proposal.
    She accepted so quickly that the memory made her blush later. She brushed her fears aside, desperate to seize her heart’s desire.
    When, at last, he kissed her it made her forget everything else. There was skill in everything he did, covering her mouth, teasing her with his lips, caressing, holding her close. The effect on her was electric. Yet even then she was cautious enough to hold back a little, waiting until she could sense that his passion was as deep as her own.
    The wedding was set to take place two months later, in England. Two weeks before the date Gustavo and his family arrived to stay at Rannley Towers and take part in a series of glittering festivities. In the weeks apart they corresponded, but mostly about practical affairs. They talked about the estate, the life they would live there. He addressed her as ‘My dearest Joanna’ and signed himself ‘Yours affectionately’.
    But when she saw him again nothing mattered but that he was here, and they would soon be married.
    Her dress was a masterpiece of ivory silk, cut simply to suit her tall figure. The sleeves were long, almost down to the hem, the train stretched behind her and the veil streamed down to the floor and over the train. When sheput it on and regarded herself in the mirror she knew that she was beautiful. Now, surely, he would fall in love with her?
    And then Crystal arrived.

CHAPTER TWO
    A T THE time she seemed like the wicked witch, but Joanna supposed that the bad fairy was more accurate, because Crystal actually looked like a fairy, being petite with blonde hair that fluffed about her face like candy-floss.
    She had deep blue eyes, full of fun, a dainty nose, a mouth that was pure Cupid, and her delicious, gurgling laugh was irresistible. She was lovely, glamorous, enchanting.
    Everything I wasn’t.
    Crystal had been invited to stay in the house by Frank, one of Joanna’s many cousins, who was courting her. At their first meeting Joanna had liked her. Crystal charmed everyone with her beauty and her wicked sense of humour.
    She had a way of talking rapidly, so that Gustavo often asked her to slow down or explain some English word to him. Several times Joanna heard her saying, ‘No, no, you say it like this.’
    Then she would dissolve into laughter at his pronunciation, and he would laugh with her.
    Was it then that Joanna first sensed danger?
    How can I tell? Whatever I sensed, I wouldn’t admit it.
    So many things: the burning look that flashed briefly in his eyes for Crystal, which had never been there for her. The way he watched the door until she entered, and relaxed when she appeared.
    A hundred tiny