Notesale: Turn your study into money

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---

“What are you—what are you doing?”

“I’m repaying the compliment,” he answered, an enigmatic little smile playing round his lips
...
”

Saying no more, Eduardo freed her wrists, then started to unbutton the shapeless red-whiteand-blue-patterned cardigan she wore
...


“I have a question for you
...
It was all she could do to keep breathing, never mind answer
him
...
Her favorite occupation
was daydreaming and making up stories in her head, and this particular pastime has stayed
with her through all the years of growing up, starting work, marrying and raising a family
...
Through all the years of her
secretarial career she kept on filling exercise books and—joy, oh joy—her word processor
with her writing, never showing anyone what she wrote and basically keeping her stories for
her own enjoyment alone
...
Maggie settled on Harlequin
Books, as she had loved romance novels since she was a teenager and read at least one or two
paperbacks a week
...


The fact that she is being published is truly a dream come true
...
Her advice to aspiring authors is “Don’t give up at the first hurdle, or even the
second, third or fourth, but keep on keeping on until your dream is realized
...
”

THE MAN BEHIND THE MASK

MAGGIE COX

~ FROM RAGS TO RICHES ~

THE MAN BEHIND THE MASK

To my fellow romance authors and readers of romance everywhere—may we continue to
hold out for love, hope and happy endings in these turbulent times, come what may!

CONTENTS

CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE

CHAPTER ONE

NOTHING deterred her, it seemed
...
For the past three weeks he had taken to visiting the small
historic market town more frequently than when he had first moved to the area—ostensibly
drawn to a certain exhibition that had been running in the town hall—and he hadn’t been able
to help noticing the girl strumming her guitar at the side of the road, singing mournful folk
songs and looking like some pretty waif straight out of a Dickens novel
...
It dawned on him that
she was the first person to stir him out of his solitary existence for months—a state that had
begun even before he had set foot on British shores from Brazil and made the impulsive
decision to reside there
...
No… His interest in the girl was just a passing curiosity that would no
doubt quickly fade
...

He paused to put a note into the tatty tweed cap that lay on the ground at her feet, and
weighted it down with two fifty pence pieces to keep it from being snatched away by the
wind
...

‘Thanks…but that’s far too much
...
Their glances caught and held, and he had the most disturbing
sensation that the ground had somehow shifted beneath him
...

‘Yes
...
I’m neither a charity nor homeless
...
Is that not why you stand here singing?’
A great irritation surfaced inside Eduardo, and he could hardly fathom the
reason for the intensity of it—other than that he wasn’t used to having his generosity
rejected
...
But he found he could not
...
It was—as he had concluded earlier—just that
this was the first time for months that he had voluntarily made contact on purpose with
someone else, and he hardly welcomed his considerate action being thrown back in his face
...
Haven’t you ever
done something just for the sheer love of it and for no other reason?’
Her question struck him silent for a moment, and he barely knew what to do
with the discomfort that made his skin prickle and burn and his throat lock tight
...
’
Knowing his expression had become frozen and uncommunicative, as was
his usual habit, Eduardo shrugged, suddenly eager to return to the anonymity of the rest of the
passersby and the ponderous but familiar burden of his own tormented thoughts
...
You’re the one that stopped to talk to me—remember?’
‘I did not deliberately stop for the purposes of talking to you!’ he flashed,
his temper suddenly ignited by the girl’s unflinching hazel gaze
...
You merely wanted to make yourself feel good by leaving
me a ridiculously generous amount of money, then walk away again satisfied that you’d done
your good deed for the day
...
He had practically reached
the end of the street before his acute hearing once again picked up the strumming of the girl’s
guitar, along with her mournfully toned voice
...

Was she by any chance feeling sorry for him? The thought was like corrosive acid in his
blood
...
Who the hell did she think she was anyway—rebuffing his
goodwill like that…mocking him, almost?
But as Eduardo pain fully forced his stride into a more rapid pace, the
question she’d asked echoed tauntingly round his brain and constricted his already tortured
heart without mercy
...
Barely able to feel any sensation at all in
her numbed fingers as they moved over the guitar strings, Marianne decided to call it a day
...
A silent, echoing mausoleum, where everything from the daintiest ornament to the
lovely music room with its shining grand piano was a haunting reminder of the husband and
friend who had been taken from her much too soon…
‘Move on with your life when I’m gone,’ Donal had feverishly en treated
her from his hospital bed, with a light burning in his eyes that had scared Marianne, because
it had told her that he wouldn’t hang on for much longer
...
Live for the both of us
...
She was still finding her bearings without a
compass, in a world empty of the one person who had really cared for her
...

Busking in the street might seem a strange place to start
...
Not only was she facing down her fear and
thriving at the same time, she was saying to the universe Is that the worst you can do? Take
my husband from me and leave me alone again? Well, just watch this! Every day she was
becoming more and more confident
...
Donal would have been
proud that she’d found the courage to take such a radical if unconventional step towards her
own healing—even if his two adult children from his previous marriage were not, instead

taking it as a sign that she must be unstable… A sign that she must have had some ‘not quite
right’ influence on their father, to make him ignore them and leave everything to her in his
will instead
...
Not for one second did she doubt it had been the real deal
...
He’d spoken perfect English, with a trace of an accent—South American, perhaps? He
had also exuded the kind of authority that would have made Marianne shrink inside herself
not so very long ago
...

Cupping her mug of hot chocolate, she stared into the crack ling flames in
the fire place, the compelling features of the man who had disturbed her becoming even
stronger in her mind
...

They’d been the frosted hue of a cloud less winter sky and, although his hair had had tones of
amber-gold threaded through its tawny strands, his lashes had been the intense dark brown of
richly melting chocolate
...
Even though she had briefly conversed with
him, she still got the impression that he projected the kind of impenetrable fortress that even a
seasoned campaigner didn’t have a hope of breaching! After she had declared she didn’t sing
just for money, challenging him with her question as to if he hadn’t ever done something just
for the sheer love of it, Marianne had immediately regretted her outburst
...
She shouldn’t have done that
...
Then, before she’d had a chance to apologise, he
had walked away…limping
...

Frowning, Marianne realised she had watched him almost as though in a
trance…as if totally for get ting where she was or what she was doing
...
But underneath her singing Marianne had been
completely bemused, and not a little shocked that a total stranger could command her
attention so avidly…
...
But
after nine operations on his shattered leg he had needed access to regular medical attention
once settling in the UK, and Evan Powell was one of the top orthopaedic surgeons in Harley
Street
...

‘Then take my advice, man, and stop treating your body as though it were
some mechanical machine instead of very human flesh and bone!’
‘I was told I would recover complete and normal use of my leg, given time,’
the younger man challenged impatiently
...
The bone has been
practically rebuilt from scratch
...
As tidily as he no doubt expected his staff to lay out
the surgical instruments of his profession in theatre before an operation, Eduardo mused
without humour
...
I’ll see myself out and bid you good night,
Mr De Souza
...
Eduardo glanced at the ornate French antique clock on the marble mantelpiece
...
‘I should not have spoken to you
like that
...

Forgive me
...
’
Quickly overcoming any offence he might have taken previously, Evan
Powell shrugged his rather bony shoulders in his charcoal-grey pin-striped suit, then glanced
interestedly round the beautiful lamp-lit drawing room, with its huge bay windows over
looking the surrounding moat, a network of fields and the dense forest beyond it
...

‘Perhaps what you need is some company?’ he suggested, the sudden ‘man
to man’ glint in his eye speaking volumes
...
‘You mean a woman?’ What surprised him was
that for the first time in two years he didn’t immediately dismiss the idea
...
He was suddenly appalled at himself
...

After what had happened to Eliana he was done with relationships for good
...
‘Just a suggestion,
dear fellow… Now, listen to my advice and take it easy on that leg
...
In the
meantime, if you want to talk about any aspect of your recuperation, I’ve let my secretary

know that I will accept your calls at any time so long as I’m not in the operating theatre
...
Goodnight
...

‘Goodnight, Mr Powell…and thank you once again for coming out on such
a night
...
’

In the early hours of that same morning, Eduardo tried his hardest to concentrate on the 1940s
black and white comedy playing on the flat state-of-the-art television screen in front of him
...
He had got into the
habit of watching movies well into the small hours, simply because he could not settle his
mind enough to sleep
...
Some nights he couldn’t face even going to his
bedroom at all, so he simply pulled a rug over him on one of the comfortable leather sofas in
the sitting room and dozed there till morning
...

Stoically ignoring the all too tempting urge to pour a glass of whisky to
drown his sorrows and dull his pain, Eduardo muttered a passionate expletive
...
Even losing him self in distraction seemed impossible
...

Releasing a bitter sigh, he reflected that even that pretty busker in the street
was no doubt far happier with her simple hand-to-mouth existence than he could ever hope to
be with his immensely wealthy and privileged one
...
Impatiently he shook
his head
...
But, nonetheless, time and time again in the toolong frosty night
at his isolated house, Eduardo found his thoughts returning to the girl, wondering if she really
did have a place to stay, if she had made enough money to eat that day, and if she was warm
on this bitterest of winter nights?
By the time a reluctant grey dawn had seeped in between the parted velvet
drapes the next morning he had more or less decided that the next time he ventured into town
he would not ignore her, as he had previously vowed
...
Was he a
complete fool for contemplating such a potentially disastrous course of action? It was quite
likely that she would laugh in his face or tell him to go and find some other poor down and
out to foist his money on!
Finally, concluding that his desire to be of assistance was being prompted
by the idea of his own child struggling in a similar situation, had he or she lived to be the age
of this girl, he swallowed down the lump of anguish in his already tight throat and, making
himself as comfortable as he was able on the couch, at last drifted off to sleep…

CHAPTER TWO

MARIANNE was between songs, sipping café latte from a local coffee shop to warm her up
and hope fully restore some heat into her blood again, on yet another day chilly enough to
turn solid stone into a block of ice
...
It was him! The expensive-looking guy with the stern mouth and the
ivory topped cane
...

Moments later he stood before her, his breath making a little puff of frosted
steam as he spoke
...

‘Hello,’ she murmured, her gloved hand tightening round her take-away
coffee cup
...
Warming myself up
...
Did he have any idea how intently he stared? His eyes
were like twin frosted blue lasers, making an exploratory dive straight down into her soul
...
His gaze had simply been
in finitely kind
...
’ Shrugging, Marianne glanced down at the small collection of
coppers and silver change in the hat at her feet
...
I remember
...
’ Now she felt embarrassed, remembering her outburst of the other
day
...
Appearances can be
deceiving
...
The only thing she wasn’t wearing to finish off the eyecatching ensemble was her multi-coloured ski hat
...

‘Well…if it helps you to know, I did in fact donate the money I would have
given you to the church’s collection for the homeless, as you suggested
...
My name is Eduardo De Souza
...

For what seemed like an interminable second of agonising decision-making
Marianne hesitated, before slipping her own gloved hand lightly into his
...
‘I’m Marianne…Marianne Lockwood
...
I am
from Brazil…Rio de Janeiro
...
’
‘Not at all
...
’
‘And you’d rather be here, turning into a human ice-pole, than at home
soaking up the sun?’ She couldn’t suppress the teasing grin that took hold of her lips, but
Eduardo de Souza’s grave expression did not lighten for a moment
...
It becomes
common place, and one can easily risk losing the pleasure that was once derived from it,’ he
commented seriously
...
I love the spring! So…what are you doing here today? Shopping?
Meeting a friend?’
‘Neither
...

Surprisingly, there are quite a few places of interest to visit in this quaint little town
...
It gets quite packed in the summer, believe it or not
...
’
Now, to Marianne’s complete surprise, her companion did smile, and his
eyes looked bright as stars for a moment
...

‘Yes there are boat trips you can take on the river, and they’re always very
popular with the tourists
...
Surprised that such an urbane, clearly wealthy man as Eduardo de Souza would
even bother to introduce himself to a girl like her—particularly in such unusual cir cum
stances—she couldn’t help but be cautious
...
Anything
else would be preposterous
...

‘I’m sorry, but I’m going to have to get back to what I’m here for
...
A group of
visiting French students passing by just then momentarily peered at her with interest
...

‘Next time…when I am in town…perhaps you would allow me to buy you
lunch?’ he suggested
...
Even the idea of sitting in some smart little restaurant
opposite this man for an hour or more made her go hot and cold
...
‘I don’t
really do lunch when I’m working’
‘You mean you do not take a break to eat?’ He sounded amused
...
’
‘Then how about I buy you coffee and cake instead?’
No reason to refuse him coming help fully to mind, Marianne nodded un
com fort ably
...
Now, I really have to get back to this
...
’ He briefly inclined his head, his
expression inscrutable
...
’

‘Next time’ turned out to be two days later
...
But then the
sun came out, the freezing cold shower subsided, and as if by magic Eduardo De Souza
appeared
...

‘Hello
...
Realising that for the past two days she had sub consciously been looking out
for him, her heart thudding with what felt ridiculously like excited anticipation whenever his
image crossed her mind, Marianne struggled to make her response sound natural
...
‘Not exactly the best day for coming into town,’ she
quipped
...
I have spent the past hour under cover
at the exhibition
...
’
‘It must be quite compelling to make you want to visit it again
...
He died
recently, and I saw an article in the local news pa per advertising the exhibition
...
’ Collecting her guitar from its case, Marianne gave her visitor an
awkward smile
...
It sounds
fascinating
...
It intrigues
me to learn how other artists see the world…how they interpret what they see
...
’
For a moment the man in front of her fell silent, as though he were seriously
considering the opinion Marianne had just expressed, and with no small amount of surprise
either
...
‘How about going for that coffee now?’
Again finding no immediate reason to decline, and feeling chilled to the
bone after that hour of re lent less sleet and rain, Marianne found herself agreeing
...

Now’s as good a time as any, I suppose
...
Luckily she found a
small table close to the wood stove, and the waitress appeared almost straight away to take
their order
...

Goodness knew what the poor girl made of Marianne as his companion! As
it was, she saw her look slightly askance at her guitar in its battered case, as if it was
something almost distasteful
...
Resting his hands atop the checked table cloth, he studied her without
speaking
...
She cleared her throat and
forced a shaky smile, feeling ill at ease and somehow grace less in her jumble of ill-fitting
clothing beneath his intense examination
...
It makes a change from the local coffee chain I usually
use
...
’
‘I am glad you chose a table near the fire…you look half frozen!’
‘I’m not any more
...
’ Undoing several buttons on
her coat, Marianne flashed him a smile, genuinely touched by the concern in his voice
...

She could tell by his tone that he disapproved
...
‘Anyway…I don’t mean to be rude…it’s really none of your
business
...
‘For your information, I’m twenty-four—and
quite capable of looking after myself and making my own decisions without the interference
or permission of anyone else, including parents if they were around!’
‘It is just that you appear much younger…’ Eduardo murmured, his
returning gaze completely unapologetic
...
’ His voice softened, and
so did his gaze
...
Can you not find some where else…some
where safer where you might perform your songs?’
‘There’s a folk club I sing at some times…but it’s only open once every fort
night
...
Besides…’ Fearing his judgement and
disapproval, Marianne slotted her defences firmly into place
...
Someone immediately comes over if it looks like anyone is bothering
me
...
‘That at least makes me feel a little easier about the
situation
...
I’ve been singing outside for
over a year now, and nothing dire has happened to me yet!’
The waitress brought their coffee, along with two generous slices of the
fruit cake Eduardo had ordered for them
...


His expression at her words revealed more alarm than reassurance, and her
companion reached into his inside coat pocket for his wallet, extracted something, and held it
out to her
...

‘What’s this for?’
‘If you ever need anything…’
‘What could I possibly need from a complete stranger?’ For some in
explicable reason she found herself precariously close to tears
...
It had been
happening a lot lately
...
‘A job, for one thing… And, seeing as we
are sitting here together having coffee, I hope I am no longer a stranger
...
A job that would also provide a roof over your head and
good, nourishing food to eat
...
An involuntary
tremor went through her
...
’ The broad shoulders beneath the fawn-coloured
cashmere lifted, then fell again
...
At present I hire contract cleaners, and
Ricardo—my valet—does the cooking
...
Give it some thought and ring me if you
would like to give it a try
...
’
‘And you would give me this job without even knowing if I could do it?’
Marianne’s hazel eyes were sceptical
...
I am sure you would work out just
fine
...
For a moment Marianne’s breath caught at the flash of humour that trans formed his
compelling pale blue eyes
...
‘I do not
think so
...
As long as there’s not a full-blown blizzard then I’ll continue to
sing outside for the fore seeable future
...
Why don’t you try your fruit
cake? It looks very good
...
I will
...

Twenty minutes later they parted—Marianne to return to her singing, and
Eduardo to head wherever he was heading
...
But as he moved
away from her and continued on down the street her heart definitely raced a little as she
watched him go
...
Was it because she thought she’d detected a hint of
melancholy or sadness in that magnetising gaze as they’d sat talking? Was it anything to do
with the reason he walked with a cane? A wave of sympathy tugged hard at her heart strings
...
‘We need something to warm us up
...
Got any songs about spring?’
Shaken out of her reverie, Marianne grinned
...


When the notion of trying to help the little roadside singer had come to him, it hadn’t even
crossed Eduardo’s mind to offer her a job
...
Contract cleaners he could maintain an aloof distance from, and
the familiar Ricardo whom he’d brought with him from Rio de Janeiro were one thing—but
to invite a new young acquaintance to share his roof and become his house keeper was quite
another
...

But it was perfectly true that he did need a housekeeper, and considering
Marianne’s shivering form yesterday, watching her struggle to keep warm in the bleak winter
weather, Eduardo had suddenly thought it was the ideal solution
...
It was true that he had not really believed that she would accept his offer, but
still…it irked him more than a little that she had not
...
And it had genuinely shocked him to learn that she was no teenager but
twenty-four years old…a woman
...
Irritably ignoring the
unsettling sensation, he strode into the ornate marble bathroom that led off his private suite of
rooms and for several moments just stood in the centre of the floor, unsure why he had even
gone in there
...
It was probably
best he curb his philanthropic urges where that particular young woman was concerned and
concentrate his efforts on repairing his damaged leg, doubling his belief that one day soon he
would be able to walk as well as he had before the accident—confidently, and without even a
trace of a limp
...
After that… Well, he would
just have to take one day at a time, he told himself, hardly able to contemplate a future that
wasn’t as bleak and pain-filled as the present
...
After
surveying the cloak of spark ling white that blanketed her garden as well as the street outside
the next morning Marianne tidied the house, made herself a hot drink, then tinkered with an
unfinished song she’d been composing on the piano
...
Finally, unable to bear the enforced isolation a moment longer, she donned a warm coat,
boots and a hat over her jeans and sweater and went outside
...
She took herself off for a long,
if laboured walk, due to the impediment of snow, into the park nearby
...
And if any thoughts of the child
hood she’d experienced, which had been bereft of similar happy times and feeling secure
started to threaten, she firmly pushed them away, knowing it was point less to contemplate
such things when her cheerful mood could so easily regress to one of despair
...
She simply would not allow herself
to go there
...
Donal would be
so mad at her for sitting here feeling sorry for herself! That was for sure
...
An unstoppable flow of hurt and sadness long dammed up could no longer be
contained—making her weep until she was utterly spent and could cry no more
...
Just before she closed her eyes she
swore to herself she would never indulge in such futile self-pity again
...

Marianne was adamant about that
...
During the night she had made her mind up about something, and today
there was plenty to occupy her towards implementing that decision
...
For nearly eighteen months
she’d endured formal, aloof and cruel letters from their solicitor, stating the reasons for their
dispute and insinuating that both she and their father had not been of sound mind, and now
she had had enough
...
She would leave it to
them without a backward glance or a single regret
...
Everything he’d done for her in
helping to restore her low self-esteem and encouraging her to believe in her talents and
abilities she totally appreciated, but the truth was Marianne did not want to be beholden to
anyone any more
...
She needed to be free again…free to live
her life the way she chose—however that looked to anyone else
...
Everything
else—even the gifts Donal had bought her during their short-lived marriage—she would
leave to his avaricious children
...
Her body throbbed with satisfying warmth from a job well
done, and she was too physically tired to allow even one negative thought to invade her mind
...


But when she woke the next morning to find that the snow still hadn’t cleared, and with no
prospect of getting into town to play her guitar and sing—knowing she would be mad even to
try—Marianne impulsively found herself searching for the business card Eduardo de Souza
had insisted she take
...
Even as she dialled she called herself all kinds of fool for contemplating
such a reckless path
...
And now that she’d made the
decision to leave and forge a new life, a new future, she was eager to put the past behind her
and start again
...
Unlikely
as it seemed, this might, just might, be it
...

‘Is that Mr De Souza?’ Marianne ventured, her heart beating like a military
tattoo
...
May I ask who is calling?’
It must be his valet, she realised, and taking a deep breath she said clearly,
‘Marianne Lockwood
...
I will see
...
What was she doing? she asked herself
...
No doubt he would be overly serious and

exacting, finding constant fault should she fail to measure up, examining her with that intense
stare of his and making her rue the day she’d made the impulsive decision to go and work for
him
...

‘Marianne?’
Her prospective employer’s voice—impatient and a little out of breath, as if
he’d been interrupted in the middle of something and resented it—sounded in her ear
...
It’s Marianne—the busker from town,’ she explained, a light
tremor in her voice
...
‘A job…and a home,’ she
replied, then made herself breathe deeply and mentally count to ten, so that she didn’t
succumb to her fears and change her mind
...
The visiting physiotherapist might have been a torturer
straight out of the Spanish Inquisition, he thought grimly as the man manipulated his scarcriss-crossed leg into yet another excruciatingly painful position to test its flexibility
...
The therapist looked startled and care fully moved his patient’s leg back
down onto the treatment couch with a murmured apology
...

‘Are we finished?’ he asked, gravel-voiced
...
‘I
agree you’ve probably had enough for now, Mr De Souza
...
Try and get some proper rest tonight, and don’t overdo things
...

Unoffended, the man smiled again
...
‘The body needs to
access its own powers of healing, and rest gives it the opportunity to do that
...
Another month or two and you should notice a significant
improvement when walking
...
’
‘Give me your hand,’ Eduardo muttered, and accepted help to stand—
though it psychologically pained him to accept anyone’s help these days, when he had
previously been so fit and able
...
Ironic that he had been reflecting on his resistance to accepting help
when he had just effectively hired a girl he had only recently met to come and live in his
house and act as his house keeper!
What had made her change her mind about accepting the post? he
speculated
...
Common sense had simply prevailed, and
the plummeting temperatures had forced her to make a more sensible decision about her
living and working arrangements after all
...
‘Why don’t
you let me tidy up here, then I’ll be on my way?’

‘Ricardo… Take Miss Lockwood’s coat and hang it up, if you would, and when you’re done
perhaps she would like a mug of hot chocolate to warm her up? We will be in the sitting
room
...
He frowned
...

‘Oh
...
’ Grabbing it off her head, Marianne stuffed it into the large
bag made up of multi-coloured velvet squares that she’d temporarily left on the smooth
marble floor in front of her
...
A
cinematic image of Mary Poppins the quintessential eccentric and pretty English nanny
appeared in his mind
...
Being
bereft of the child he might have had, he was in no need of a nanny but a housekeeper
...

‘Follow me,’ he instructed, moving down a corridor that led away from the
generously proportioned hall, with its solid brass chandelier, and by passing several closed
doors before finally reaching one that was slightly ajar
...
The only noise was the crackle and hiss of the blazing fire and the
sedative ticking of the clock on the marble mantel
...

‘Oh, how beautiful!’
Her gaze was not on the room itself, he saw, but on the in credible view that
the tall curved windows with their parted drapes displayed
...
Stars were dotted about like splashed pin pricks of luminous
paint, and a dazzling crescent moon hung suspended as though it were a bright magical toy
con trolled by a master puppeteer
...

‘I told you that you would not be disappointed with the views, did I not?
And it is nothing compared to what you will see in the daytime’
‘I’m almost speech less at the sight of it!’ Swinging her glance back in his
direction, Marianne smiled at him with uncensored delight
...
For a moment he could do nothing but stare
...


‘We could be in another realm,’ she enthused, green-gold eyes shining
...
Whenever she brought me here as a child I
loved it
...
I visited several before I was shown this place
...
’
‘You were right when you said it was remote
...
‘When Ricardo was
driving me here I didn’t see another house or building for miles!’
‘You are thinking maybe that it is too remote for your liking?’
‘I don’t think that at all
...
Besides…being around people too much can really
get to you after a while, and I’d go crazy if I didn’t have some peace and quiet to balance
things out
...
’ Eduardo smiled
reluctantly, but he was genuinely surprised by the fact that she was apparently quite content
with her own company
...
‘Shall we continue our
discussion sitting by the fire?’
Once they were ensconced in comfortable leather arm chairs, Eduardo
followed Marianne’s mesmerised gaze to the dancing amber-gold flames
...

‘Warm enough?’ he asked, almost reluctant to intrude upon the still ness
and quiet with words
...

‘Oh, yes…perfectly warm, thanks
...
‘The truth is I
suddenly realised that a change was what I needed after all
...
I figured it was time to try something different
...
There were myriad conflicting emotions behind that arresting gaze that he
couldn’t help but wonder at
...
You—you didn’t mind?’
‘I would not have given you my card if I minded
...
’
‘And can I ask about the jobs you have had previously—before this?’
‘Well
...
‘I’ve worked in
shops, mostly…a large clothing store, then a music store selling instruments and sheet
music…that kind of thing
...
’ Eduardo remarked, already
knowing that music was a passion for her—the same as the career he had chosen had once
been a passion for him
...


‘I was
...
‘Look…I know I’m not exactly qualified to be a house keeper, if you go by my
previous employment, but I’m a fast learner, and I actually get great pleasure from doing the
things that help make a house a home
...
‘A commune or a squat, perhaps?’
Her glance was perturbed
...
It was a house that I shared with
somebody
...
Can we talk about the job and what the daily routine
is? I’d like to get a feel for things as soon as possible, so that I won’t have to trouble you with
too many questions
...
A business like approach to work
was not what he had expected from someone who appeared as Bohemian as Marianne, but
nonetheless it could hardly displease him, he mused silently
...
For someone who had once
been an inveterate risk-taker this was a revelation to him…even though he privately despised
himself for succumbing to such appalling weakness
...
He is usually up and about early
in the morning
...
Help
yourself to break fast first
...
I was just telling Miss Lockwood that you will
explain everything about her house hold duties in the morning
...

‘Now, drink up your hot chocolate,’ Eduardo told her, envying his valet’s
easy, uncomplicated smile and wishing that he didn’t privately feel like some invalid elder
amongst them
...
‘Ricardo will bring in your baggage from the car and show you where your room
is
...
’ Rising to her feet at the same time as he did, Marianne
gratefully nursed the mug of hot chocolate that Ricardo had placed in her hands
...
No doubt she would be anxious
to get to her room, take stock, and mull over what the coming days and weeks living in this
isolated place with her taciturn new employer would bring
...
Ricardo was used to his surly ways, but this fragile-looking girl was not
...
It was easily the warmest and most inviting
bedroom she’d ever seen
...
As soon as she was alone she
examined her new surroundings with the kind of feminine delight she hadn’t experienced in
ages
...
As soon as she’d entered, its restful ambience had reached out to her and seeped
into her thankful bones
...
The flowing red curtains parted, it
was the same panoramic and haunting display that she’d seen down stairs in the sitting room
...
All her bridges were in flames
behind her, but it would be okay, she told herself
...
He might be enigmatic, but he was kind too
...

Moving across the stripped oak floor that lovingly revealed the graceful
patina of age, she opened a deep mahogany chest of drawers, with a slender glass vase
displaying a slim bunch of tightly budded freesias on top of it, to find each drawer elegantly
lined with scented floral silk
...

To her great delight she then opened a door that she discovered led to the
most enchantingly feminine bath room
...
The smell that pervaded the room reminded her of
standing in a beautiful garden in midsummer, when all the blooms were at the very peak of
their beauty and scent
...

Surveying both rooms, Marianne frowned in bewilderment
...
Then she cast her mind back to earlier on, when he’d asked her if she’d
previously lived in a commune or a squat, and putting two and two together she realised that
he probably had believed she’d been living quite rough
...
Clearly by giving her this lovely room to stay in he had wanted to
show Marianne that he was sensitive to her situation
...
Again she thought what an enigma he was
...
She didn’t want to
deceive him… Especially when he had freely offered her this chance to start over and make a
new life for herself
...
That she had married a man
who had already been terminally ill when she’d met him, that he had been much older than
her, that he and Marianne had become great friends through their shared passion for music

and, on discovering that she had no family, he had married her to help give her the love and
support that had long been lacking in her life
...
She hadn’t been destitute, when Eduardo had imagined so
...
Until a couple of days ago, that was
...
Because she had posted her house-keys to Michael and Victoria, instructed them to
send any papers that needed signing care of the post office, and informed them that the house
was now theirs
...

Besides, from now on she aimed to be as in de pendent as possible, and
would not ever rely on anyone else for her welfare or her peace of mind again
...
Not when it had been her experience that the people in her life either left, one
way or another, or let her down
...
All they had had together before his
illness had finally killed him was six short months, but the man had cared more for her than
her parents ever had… Tears washed into her already stinging eyes
...
But that phase of her life was
over
...
The one thing
she could do now was make sure Eduardo did not come to regret giving her this chance of a
fresh start
...
Already she’d received the impression that he guarded his
privacy—nearly all their conversations so far had been about Marianne’s situation, not his
own—and she wondered about that
...
She had not been immune to the
flare of pain in his fascinating blue eyes every now and then—had recognised the proud if not
fierce need to hide it
...

It was fortunate for him that the one thing Marianne had learned about
herself over the years was that it came very easily and naturally to her to help take care of
others…

CHAPTER FOUR

DESPITE being in a completely strange environment, Marianne had had no trouble sleeping
...
Although still dark, the sky was streaked with touches of hazy pink and grey,
like soft pastel shades from an artist’s paint-box
...
The hard diamond glitter of the snow and frost shone so brightly in that dim halflight that the hills and woods were easily visible—the landscape just as breathtaking as it had
been last night, she saw
...
Determined to be optimistic and hopeful, she told
herself she was on the brink of a whole new phase in her life
...
Not something
to dread
...

What she saw could have been a magical scene from one of the illustrated
pages of a child’s book of fairytales
...
Well,
teachers didn’t know everything she thought grimly
...

Daydreaming was essential for a child like that, Marianne could have told her teacher
...
She’d borne the pain on her own
...
It was just after six, and her new boss had told her that Ricardo would be
up and about early
...
You are hungry?’
When she finally located the entrance to the huge country house kitchen,
after exploring a ground floor seemingly full of endless corridors with unknown rooms and
vestibules behind closed doors, it was to discover Ricardo frying bacon and eggs on the upto-the minute shining replica of an old-fashioned range, wearing a blue and white striped
apron over his jeans and sweatshirt, and looking as if it was a task he was born to
...
The room was filled with the most appetising smells of
cooking, and her tummy rumbled appreciatively
...

‘Good morning—and, yes…I could definitely eat something!’ Flicking her
glance over the sturdy kitchen table laden with cereals, fruit, fresh bread, butter and a large
jug of orange juice, she gave Ricardo a quizzical look
...
‘You like bacon and eggs? I make traditional English especially for you
...

‘Please to help yourself to anything else you like
...
It was cold, tangy and refreshing
...

Good food had been low down on her agenda since Donal had died, and she hadn’t really
taken care of herself as well as she might
...

Recalling what Ricardo had said about his employer still sleeping, her slim
brows drew together
...

Her companion went briefly still, but did not turn round
...

‘Sometimes yes, some times no,’ he answered
...
’ Scooping the
eggs and bacon onto a heated plate that he retrieved from the oven with a striped padded mitt,
he brought it over to the table and placed it in front of Marianne
...
Enjoy!’
‘Thank you…I will
...
’
‘Okay
...
‘Coffee is fine, thanks
...

Have you always been able to cook?’
‘I learned at my mother’s knee, as did all my brothers and sisters
...

I will make the coffee
...
Clearly domesticity neither fazed him nor emasculated him one iota
...

Continued private speculation made her wonder why Eduardo De Souza
inspired such loyalty
...
For instance, how come
he didn’t appear to have a wife? Perhaps he did, and she had opted to stay in Brazil…or
maybe he was divorced?
Noticing that Marianne had finished eating, Ricardo whipped her plate
away, leaving her with a cafetière of freshly brewed coffee, some sugar crystals in a tiny
Willow pattern porcelain bowl, a matching jug of milk and a mug
...

‘Now we will talk,’ he declared, pouring some delicious-smelling coffee
into their waiting mugs
...
Here he
hires outside people to come in and clean
...
I hope
you will stay
...
‘Why would I not stay?’ she asked
...
That is all
...
’ Focusing her hazel gaze on the handsome bronzed face before her,
Marianne knew that was not what he’d meant at all, but decided to let it pass
...


‘Yes
...
’
‘Oh
...
It wouldn’t be wise to leave it too long before she explained her true cir cum stances, she
thought
...

Recognising the wariness in Ricardo’s gaze—no doubt in case her questions
got a little too close to home—she curved her mouth in a genuinely warm smile to try and put
him at ease
...
’
Her companion looked instantly relieved
...
Well…first
of all you must rise at four in the morning
...

‘I am only kidding!’ Dark eyes twinkling with merriment, Ricardo chuckled
softly
...
I
make them all up before I go to bed
...
The little gold plaque
at the bottom of the frame told her that it was a portrait of the house at the turn of the century
...
Who had lived here then? she speculated
...
She pictured them for a moment, even added children to the imagined
scene—a little boy and girl with cherubic faces, their lips sweetly bow-shaped and cheeks
healthily pink
...
For
who would love her and father her children now that Donal had gone? Not that he—
Abruptly she cut off the thought, weathered the silent emotional storm, and
went back to her perusal of the painting
...
He was a philanthropist, Ricardo had intimated
...
From it emerged the man whose image her thoughts seemed to be consumed
by
...
The dull gold of his hair—and it had to be said his
noticeably pale complexion this morning—immediately drew Marianne’s attention and
concern
...
Her initial shock at his reply quickly ebbed, and concern over his
appearance took precedence
...

Was he ill? Was it something serious? If so, why hadn’t he or Ricardo told
her the truth about what was wrong with him?
‘Mr De Souza!’ Hurrying after him, Marianne felt her heart hammer hard
against her ribs at her intention to confront him
...
The pain
in his glance had not lessened
...

‘I don’t want to be intrusive…but is something the matter? I’d like to help if
I can
...
‘Are you in the business of
performing miracles, then? Perhaps I should call you Saint Marianne?’ His voice dripped
disdain whilst the icy gaze that was as sharp as a steel blade all but dissected her
...
‘Of course not… I just—’
‘Then my advice to you, Miss Lockwood, is to attend to your own business
and let me attend to mine!’
Biting her lip, she turned away
...
And this time the lightly accented rich voice was rough with
what sounded like genuine regret
...
But really…it is best if you do not speak
to me when I first rise…at least not until I have had my coffee
...
I am surprised
Ricardo did not tell you that
...
You ate break fast, I trust?’
‘Yes
...
I didn’t eat much
yesterday, what with one thing and another, and it was—it was most welcome
...
Irritability she
was all but certain was fuelled by pain and, as Eduardo had indicated, lack of sleep
...

‘Good
...
’
‘I’m—I’m sorry that you do not sleep well
...
’
‘That would be appreciated
...
But—wiser now—she didn’t allow her gaze to linger, and
quickly returned to her house work in case he thought she might be watching him…

‘Here
...
Behind him, Ricardo hovered close, his familiar face
concerned
...
I can tell you had a rough night
...
’
‘I’m not feeble, for God’s sake—and you know what you can do with
those!’
Shoving the pills back into the younger man’s hand, Eduardo wished he
could control the cantankerous mood that was upon him, but he could not
...
Coupled with the re lent less knifing agony in his leg, he could hardly be expected to
be at his best, could he? As the day went on he knew the pain would ease a little…if he could
relax sufficiently enough
...

But right now that was like hoping for the impossible
...
For some in explicable reason
he recalled the newest addition to his house hold softly enquiring if he was all right and if she
could help, and a longing so compelling and powerful surged through him that he was almost
overcome…almost
...
What the hell was he thinking of? She might smell sweeter than a spring garden
after a summer shower, but the fact was she couldn’t possibly help him—and he would hate
her to be labouring under the delusion that she could
...
Not when he had offered her a job and a home, and
probably the first safe place she had known for some while
...
‘I didn’t mean to chew your head off
...
‘You know how it
is
...
’
The compassion and understanding that shone from the other man’s eyes,
undimmed and loyal as ever, almost made Eduardo stumble
...
He
had merely been absolutely convinced that after the tragedy that had taken Eduardo’s wife
and unborn child he would need a familiar face to turn to whenever things got rough
...
He had served the De Souza family since he had come to them from the
poor slums of the city at seventeen
...

Now, at the memory of all that had transpired, the burning inside Eduardo’s
throat made him swallow hard
...
How could
that be possible? The fact is I am damned…damned for eternity…and whether my physical
pain heals or not nothing will alter that
...
‘I do not think Eliana…your wife…would want you to suffer
like this…to blame yourself for so long,’ he murmured
...
’
‘Let’s drop the subject, shall we? I’m going to my office now
...
’
‘If you are going to your office then I will bring you the newspapers and
another cup of coffee
...
’ His voice gruff, Eduardo started to move towards the door
...
‘By the way…how did my new house keeper
do this morning?’ he asked
...
‘I can tell already that she is a
hard worker,’ he answered
...
’
‘Well…let me know if there are any problems,’ Eduardo threw over his
shoulder as he left
...


There was a tentative knock at his office door
...

‘Come in!’ he called out
...

Wearing a navy and white striped apron over scarlet cotton trousers and a man’s baggy cream
sweater that all but drowned her small slim frame, she looked delicate and somehow in
explicably appealing all at the same time
...
He had been too taken
aback by her offer of help, and the gentleness and concern in her almond-shaped hazel eyes
to notice
...

‘I’m sorry it’s a bit late, but lunch is ready
...
’
‘You have been baking bread and making soup? What kind of soup?’
‘Leek and potato… It’s really good for you, especially in this weather
...
Anyway…’ Her expression was suddenly shy, as if she’d assumed too
much and was embarrassed by her own enthusiasm
...
’
‘Where are you going to eat? In the kitchen?’
‘Yes
...
’
Suddenly tired of his own morose company, and the thought of home-made
bread and soup enticing him more than he would ever have believed possible, Eduardo
reached for his cane and stood up
...

‘All right, then
...
She knew they existed because she had prayed
hard for someone kind to come into her life and then Donal had appeared
...
Again she considered the disturbing possibility that he had a life-threatening illness,
and in the middle of lifting her spoon to her lips she felt her throat lock tight and her appetite
flee
...
’ Having no such similar dilemma, Eduardo glanced up
appreciatively from sampling his own soup
...

‘Thank you
...

‘You really know how to cook
...
’
‘They say necessity is a great teacher
...
Something had to be done with them
...
After that I got quite interested in cooking and experimented a
little
...
’
The interest in her companion’s face deepened
...
’ Feeling her chest tighten, Marianne scooped a
small portion of soup into her mouth, then fell silent
...

‘My mother left when I was fourteen to go to America with a man she’d
been having an affair with
...
Tower Bridge was a particular favourite
...
’
‘When was that?’
Marianne lowered her gaze
...
He was—is—a
hopeless alcoholic
...
Eat your soup
...
’
Pushing to her feet, she strode across the ample-sized kitchen to the butler
sink to pour herself a glass of cold water
...
Talking about it only
deepened her distress
...
But even at the tender age of
fourteen years old she’d found she could not abandon the dejected wreck bent on selfdestruction that her father had become
...
Afterwards, when there had just been the two of them in a
house that was no longer a home, there were sadder, hear trending recollections—him crying
un bearably, begging Marianne to forgive him for losing his business, needing to drink to dull
the pain of driving her mother away
...
And it hadn’t lessened the sense of betrayal she felt either
...

‘Marianne?’
‘I’m sorry
...
’ Returning to the table, she sat down
...

‘You should eat something,’ he said brusquely, but the expression in his
disturbing glance was compassionate and steady, and even more unsettling was the supreme
difficulty Marianne had in tearing her gaze from his
...
’
‘Do you have parents? Siblings?’ she asked
...
They are retired now
...
I
am their only son
...
Parenting didn’t come
naturally to my mum and dad, I’m afraid
...
She guessed that he appreciated her own perceived lack of
curiosity where he was concerned
...
Understanding that, she would not bombard him with intrusive
questions
...
Even if the fact he might be ill secretly ate away at her and caused her
imagination to run riot
...
’ Reaching for his
walking cane, Eduardo rose from the table
...
Above them was a cloud less cobalt sky, the kind
of winter sunshine that skiers were used to in the Alps, and spark ling frost and snow carpeted
everything
...
But she was conscious that she was now an employee of this
man…not his guest
...
’
‘Dusting and polishing can wait
...
‘I will meet you at the back

entrance in fifteen minutes
...
I am sure you will find a pair your size
...
’
‘Good
...
‘Fifteen minutes!’ he called
over his shoulder, and he looked away, his broad back in the navy cable-knit sweater the last
glimpse Marianne had of his imposing physique as he left
...
How many more days would the sky continue to empty its frozen
cargo down upon the earth? One minute Eduardo welcomed the deadening silence it left in
its wake in a landscape in which he’d deliberately sought escape from the rest of the world
and the next…the next he wrestled with an irrepressible longing for the warmth, sounds,
smells and the sheer sense of alive nessthat denoted his birthplace
...
There were two
spots of intense pink staining the pale satin of her cheek bones too, and her breath made little
plumes of steam as she breathed
...

‘I’m quite happy
...
‘The thing about
getting cold is that you can always get warm again
...
One path led deeper into the extensive grounds of the house,
and the other wound its snowy way into the thick ness of the surrounding forest
...

Eduardo shrugged
...
’
‘Are you serious? Whenever I’m some where I haven’t been before and I
see a bend in the road—especially in the countryside—I wonder what adventures may be
waiting round the corner! Aren’t you at all curious?’ As she came to an abrupt stop, the
incredulity on her face was plain to see
...
‘And as for adventures…they are not something I
per son ally crave
...

‘You mean because of your leg?’ Marianne deduced
...

Momentarily his exasperation with himself knew no bounds
...
The discordant sound seemed to amplify the tension inside him
...

‘The weather seems to be worsening
...
’ His voice sounded cold and disconnected even to his own ears
...
Snow continued to fall—fat icy flakes
bombarding them, turning them into human snowmen
...
’
‘I only ask because I’m concerned
...
I don’t mean to
...
’
‘That is where you are wrong!’ Now Eduardo was furious—at her, and at
himself for suggesting she accompany him in the first place
...
Please do not make the
arrogant mistake of thinking that you can fix mine!’
And with that he found himself turning back towards the bridge they had
just crossed, more self-conscious than ever that his injured leg impeded more rapid progress,
and angry too because he had lost control and lashed out at Marianne per son ally
...

He didn’t think that he had ever disliked himself more than he did right
then
...
As the light was leeched from the sky and fires lit
and curtains drawn Eduardo’s angry words bounced round her brain like a ping-pong ball run
amok
...
Was that what she
had tried to do with everyone she loved? Fix their problems? As if she didn’t deserve hap pi
ness unless she could somehow make everything right for everyone else?
Was that why she had stayed with her father instead of seizing a chance of
hap pi ness with her mother in a new country, with a different life from the painful existence
she’d endured for so long? Her mother still wrote to her, pleading with her to join her and
Geoff—her new husband—in California…especially now that Donal was gone
...
But she hadn’t seen her father for three years, and had lost all contact
...
But maybe there was some kind of organisation or agency she could contact to help
her locate him? And if not what about the hospitals, just in case he had—? Her mind
wouldn’t let her go there
...

‘Marianne?’
‘Ricardo… Sorry—I didn’t hear you come in
...

‘Mr De Souza would like some coffee
...
’

‘Of course
...

‘I think he’s angry with me, Ricardo
...

He didn’t like it and he got quite cross with me
...
’
A little crease appeared in the coffee-coloured skin between Ricardo’s dark
brows
...
He is a man who—’ He
glanced briefly upwards, as if searching for the right words and how to say them in a
language that was not his native one
...
If he chooses not to explain something…then he has his reasons
...
’
‘And I do respect them! I see that he doesn’t want his privacy invaded, and
God knows I under stand that, but I ask you—what’s wrong with expressing concern if you
see that someone is in pain or…or difficulty?’
‘You have a kind heart, and that is certainly not a crime, Marianne
...
’
Now Ricardo was smiling, and although Marianne was initially reassured,
her stomach still clenched uncomfortably at the thought of facing her employer again and
possibly seeing suspicion and mistrust in his eyes
...
I’ve brought you some biscuits too
...
He tunnelled his fingers
through his hair, then rubbed a hand round his jaw
...
The sleeves of his cable-knit
sweater were rolled halfway up his muscled forearms, and she saw the fine dark blond hairs
that dusted his skin
...
‘How are you getting on?’ he added, before taking a
sip of the aromatic brew in his cup
...

‘The work is not too hard for you?’ Eduardo elucidated
...
I’m enjoying it, in fact
...
’
‘An adventure?’ His serious, well-shaped lips formed the wryest of smiles
and Marianne sensed hot embarrassed colour rush into her face
...
Unfortunately, some times life yields
the not so pleasant unexpected adventure too, and it can dampen one’s youthful

hopefulness…even destroy it for ever
...
‘I’m sorry if some bad things happened to taint your optimism
...
But ultimately—despite the things that go wrong and hurt us—we
have to go on and try to make the best of our lives, don’t you think?’
‘What if you are to blame for causing hurt to someone else?’ Eduardo
immediately came back at her, looking as if he genuinely wanted her answer
...
’
‘Have you forgiven your father for being a drunk and not taking proper care
of you?’
Hearing the bitter edge to his words, Marianne frowned, wondering if he
had hurt someone who hadn’t forgiven him, and was still living with too much guilt and
regret over whatever had happened
...
‘I
pity him, if you want to know
...
He turned to drink in the first place because of the pressure on him to be a
success—something our culture perpetually promotes
...
We don’t need outside forces to punish us when we can do it quite beautifully
on our own…my dad being a case in point
...
‘I won’t, if you don’t mind
...
Ricardo has a pair of wild ducks a local farmer gave him
...
’
‘A culinary delight to be anticipated with much pleasure, I am sure
...
You forget I have already sampled your
cooking and know that you are quite expert
...
’
‘Oh
...
At the reassurance in his words she released the soft
tendril she’d been toying with and at tempted a smile
...
But, perversely, she was also looking forward to cooking her first real dinner in this
lovely old house, and putting her worries and concerns aside for a while
...
Dinner will be ready around seven
...
We need to talk about your remuneration
...
Perhaps after dinner you would see me in my study?’
‘Okay
...
In its place formality
suddenly reigned, and as she walked back down the long echoing corridor towards the grand
stair case that led down stairs Marianne silently admitted that she didn’t like it
...
But then he’d considered that if he set a precedent he
could well be apologising to Marianne the entire time she worked for him
...
But
perversely it also irked him that she hadn’t accepted his invitation to sit a while and talk
...
Was he
deliberately putting up barriers between them? It would not surprise him
...

‘This is the figure I had in mind,’ he said out loud, pushing the piece of
paper he had scribbled on towards her
...

‘Well?’ Impatiently Eduardo tapped his pen on the blotter
...
’
‘We are not going down that route again, are we?’
‘I’m not being deliberately difficult, Mr De Souza—’
‘Eduardo
...
‘Is it right that I call you Eduardo when I’m an
employee of yours…not a friend? It wouldn’t seem right
...
Especially when you consider that I’m living in, and
all my meals are included as well
...
All of a sudden Eduardo’s entire attention was commanded by her
mouth…her pretty, sweetly shaped lips in which he’d just detected an intriguing tremble
...
It took him a
moment to collect himself enough to speak
...
‘You are certainly one of a kind, Marianne
...
But, like I told you before, I’m not a charity case
...
’
‘How do you know that this is not the rate I would normally pay?’
‘I don’t
...
All I ask is that you pay me the true rate the post commands
...
’
She believed it was in his nature to be kind
...
After all that had happened, kind was the last word he would have used to
describe his nature
...
He pushed it back to her and got up from
his seat
...
’
Watching her stand, he let his gaze hungrily scan her slender upright figure,
noticing that the neck of the too large cream sweater had slid tantalisingly down over a pale
smooth shoulder…a perfectly edible and bewitchingly feminine shoulder
...
Not only did he feel aroused, but his body and mind were suddenly consumed
with one passionate, compelling idea—a need and a desire he seemed to have no control
over
...

Marianne started to walk towards the door
...
I need a breath of air, and I said I’d go and
help him
...
’
‘Marianne?’
‘Yes?’ She stopped and turned
...
’
‘You like him?’
‘What’s not to like? He’s a very pleasant young man, and easy to get along
with
...
‘I expect I come
across as older in the way I speak some times, because I’m used to taking charge of things
...
’
‘He did mention it…yes
...
‘Why should
I be? You’re my employer as well as—as well as a friend…I feel perfectly safe with you’
‘I am gratified that you admit to owning me as a friend at last, when earlier
you seemed to discount that and refer to me only as your employer!’
‘We were starting to become friends before you offered to help me out with
a job and a home…weren’t we?’ She visibly flushed as she said this
...
‘You had better go and find Ricardo, then, and
get on with what you were doing
...

Eduardo almost prayed out loud to the Mother of Guadeloupe for strength at
the vivid pictures that came into his mind following such a question, and his voice was
gruffer than he meant it to be when he answered
...
I do not need anything at all
...
’
‘Okay
...
But she wasn’t entirely at her ease
...
Firstly, the realisation that for someone who
seemed so interested in a photographic exhibition that he would visit it more than once
Eduardo didn’t seem to have any personal photographs of his own
...
Maybe for some reason Eduardo
was trying to lose his past? she speculated
...
The man had seemed pleasant
enough, but after he had gone Marianne had knocked on the sitting room door to offer
Eduardo a cup of tea, and the strain on his face and the faint beads of sweat standing out on
his forehead had shocked her
...
The evidence had been
staring her right in the face
...
‘Fire him?’
‘I’m sorry,’ she murmured, hurrying forward to help him, then felt
redundant when she saw that he had already settled himself quite satisfactorily, without any
aid from her
...
’
‘You have appointed yourself my personal guardian angel I see,’ he
commented, and before Marianne knew what was happening he had captured her hand, held
it, then stroked her knuckles with the slightly roughened pad of his thumb
...
Inside her
cotton bra, her nipples stiffened hotly and pain fully
...
Her bones had turned fluid as a river, and it was hard to see
how she remained standing she was so shaken
...
Then he smiled at her…really smiled…and it was
like being miraculously treated to a stunning glimpse of the real man behind the aloof, painfilled mask that he normally wore
...
She
instinctively knew it would be like rough velvet
...
So stunned was she by the
power of that desire, she had to bite her lip and clench her hands to stop her from following
its forceful command
...

Once she had reached on the other side of the closed sitting room door,
Marianne had gratefully breathed again with more ease, leaning back against the oak
panelling to compose herself
...
Eduardo’s electrifying touch had all but set her on fire, and had been an
utter revelation
...
At last, willing herself to move, she had dazedly made her way back down stairs to the
kitchen
...
With a resigned sigh she
switched on the pretty fringed lamp on the cabinet next to her
...
But her gaze couldn’t help straying towards her guitar, still
in the same position against the wall where Ricardo had left it for her
...
Who would she disturb if she
strummed a few gentle chords? Ricardo was away, and Eduardo’s rooms were on the floor
above Marianne’s
...
Perhaps if the snow started to disperse she
could visit the folk club and get to do some singing?
Just as she was reaching towards the instrument a loud thud—much too
loud to ignore in the haunting quiet of the house—sounded clearly from the floor above
...
Then, with all thoughts of three a
...
ghosts or departed spirits
determinedly quashed, another far more frightening thought galvanised her into action
...
Stepping outside into the dimly lit corridor
outside her room, shivering now not at any sound but at the almost uncanny silence that
enveloped her, she didn’t linger
...

Hesitating for the scantest second, Marianne rapped loudly on the door to
Eduardo’s rooms
...

Bracing herself, she entered
...
Illuminating
moon light helped Marianne locate Eduardo almost instantly
...
Immediately she saw the cause
...
The moon light made them glitter like tinsel
...
’
Not bothering with a greeting, Marianne flew across the room to his side,
gently taking his bloodied hand in her own
...
Hearing his
ragged breath, easily sensing the tension in his body, she felt her stomach grip tight with
concern
...
Eduardo stared back at her with a burning
gaze hot enough to melt steel
...
He
resembled a man who had not either slept nor seen daylight for weeks and had all but
reached the end of his endurance
...

‘I am sorry if I woke you,’ Eduardo murmured, scraping his hand with
frustration though dark wheat hair that had already received plenty of similar rough
treatment, she saw
...
I got up too suddenly and my leg did not support me for a moment
...
Instead I landed on it,
and—well…’ His smile was both rueful and despairing
...
’

‘The wound looks clean to me, and will probably heal in next to no time
...
For the first time she realised that he was still wearing the clothes he’d had on during
the day, although several of the buttons on the light blue shirt were casually undone, the
formally smart black trousers were creased and his feet devoid of socks or shoes
...
Then she returned to the silent male figure on the couch
...
’
Sitting down beside him, feeling her body grow warm at the contact with
his—albeit out of practical necessity and not intimacy—Marianne efficiently re-examined
the cut
...

‘You’ll live
...
The lamp took the brunt of the damage, by the look of it
...
Can it be rescued? It looks expensive
...

‘Do you think I care about what it is worth?’
She lifted her shoulders in a thoughtful shrug
...
’
‘I do not have any “prized possessions”, so you need not concern yourself
about that!’
‘All right, then…I won’t
...
’
‘Why?’
‘Only a miracle would help me sleep
...
’
‘Marianne?’
‘Yes?’ By now she had risen to her feet, and as Eduardo’s searing blue gaze
examined her she was suddenly conscious that she stood before him in her dressing gown
...

‘You must think me extremely ill-mannered
...
‘I did not thank you for helping me,
and I want you to know that I am not ungrateful
...
I would do the same for anybody
...


Tell me…has there ever been anyone in your life who did command your particular regard,
Marianne?’
The man on the sofa studied her with such an expression of burning
curiosity that she knew there was absolutely no possibility whatsoever of wriggling out of
giving him an answer
...

‘Shall I put some more coal on? It’s grown a little chilly in here,’ she said
...
For some reason his heart beat
was accelerating a little at what she might be going to tell him
...

‘Then you will not feel so cold
...

Thrusting out her hands, she stole whatever heat remained and then, wrapping her arms round
her slim frame, said quietly, ‘There was a man once that I cared about…we were married for
less than a year
...

‘It does not seem conceivable that you were married so young,’ he
commented instead
...
What happened? Did you divorce?’
‘No
...
‘He—he died
...
’
‘How?’
‘A very rare form of cancer
...

Her ensuing sigh was as delicate as a newborn child’s, yet he heard it just
the same
...
Then, knowing that he
had failed miserably in that department because he had not found strength—it was shame and
guilt and the need for self-punishment that made him endure, nothing noble at all—he
clenched his jaw hard
...
So much so that she’d had to resort to practically begging at the side of the
road!
‘What?’ The question had clearly stunned her
...
’
‘And he left you completely without the means to support yourself?’
Hearing the judgment and fury in his own voice, Eduardo made no apology for it
...
’
Confusion taking over from rage, he glanced at Marianne in genuine
surprise
...
Music is a
passion of mine and I wanted to get better at it
...
I was also trying to rebuild my confidence after what
happened
...
I’m sorry if I gave you that impression
...
What game was she playing that she would deceive him about her
situation like this? Had she perhaps discovered who he was, learning that he had the kind of
wealth that most people could only fantasise about? Perhaps her husband’s modest legacy of
money and a house were not enough for a secretly financially ambitious girl like her? The
very idea turned his stomach
...
I
didn’t lie about that
...
‘I needed a job and a home because—’
‘Go on?’
‘Because I gave the house and money and everything else that belonged to
him to my husband’s adult children
...
’
‘From that I gather that he was much older than you?’
‘Yes
...
’
Moving away from the fire, Marianne turned her back on Eduardo for a
moment
...
As she
turned back to face him, he detected the tiniest quiver of her lush top lip
...
Over a fairly
short period of time we became great friends
...
When he left me the house in his will his children con tested it, insisting that because
he had been ill he couldn’t have been in his right mind to do such a thing
...

‘I never asked Donal—my husband—to leave me anything
...
But he made me promise that I would hold
onto the house so I would have some sense of security
...
The legal wrangles over the house made it
even more challenging
...
More
than anything I wanted peace
...
In the same letter I returned the keys
...
I wanted to tell you
before, but somehow it never seemed to be the appropriate time
...
Not one in ten women would
have done what Marianne had done—given away the house that was legally hers, leaving
herself with nothing
...
What would her husband have made of such a
gesture? he mused, more disturbed than he cared to be at the thought of her being married to
a man more than twice her age
...
Both had experienced the numbing dark realm of bereavement
...

Not wanting to revisit such sombre recollections any more tonight, he
suddenly realised that the woman in front of him displayed all the signs of being dead on her
feet from fatigue—and he was the cause
...
‘You have an early start in the morning
...

I’m not a liar
...
’
‘And I honoured my word, did I not? Now…you have done quite enough
for one night, playing both nurse and house maid, and you clearly need your sleep
...
He could not take his eyes off her
...
With her long hair spilling over her shoulders like dark molten honey, her waist
impossibly small, and her form so slender even in the unflattering dressing gown she was a
sight that would make most men long to possess her
...
But
instead of surrendering to his great desire to hold her, instinctively Eduardo tensed
...

‘What about me?’ he echoed, gravel-voiced
...
Please let me go and get you that hot drink or
some brandy
...
Please just do as I say and go back to bed
...


Knowing that Eduardo’s already sleep less night had been further disrupted by his accident,
Marianne crept round the large, imposing house like a mouse, intent on doing her work as
quietly as humanly possible so as not to disturb him
...
But occasionally during her work her gaze
strayed out of the window to the alluring country views outside that made her heart leap with
longing
...
Even as she stood by the sink, peeling carrots into a
colander, Marianne heard the steady ‘drip-drip’ of icicles thawing under the eaves
...
If he did, she
wouldn’t hesitate to say yes, she decided
...

What was it that troubled the man so deeply, seeming to steal away any
pleasure he might find in simply being alive? she asked herself
...
Occasionally she had observed what she believed to be deep
trauma in his arresting blue eyes, and it was starting to seriously disturb her
...

And now there was another thing that bothered Marianne
...
Holding his hand while she examined the cut he had sustained
had been a test of endurance in more ways than one—especially when her hands had been
trembling the entire time she tended his wound
...

The idea of being close to Eduardo plunged her into turmoil
...
His illness had simply pre vented it
...

Frowning at the guilt she’d suffered over that realisation, she reached out to
straighten the little terracotta pot of fresh basil on the windowsill, almost jumping out of her
skin when the door opened and Eduardo appeared
...
‘Or
perhaps I should say good afternoon? I did not realise I had slept in quite so late
...
’
‘I don’t think so,’ Marianne answered, hazel eyes widening in mild
reproach
...
I’ve lit the fire, so it’s nice and warm
...
‘I think I will stay here with you,’ he said, drawing out a chair and

lowering himself into it
...
The snow is
starting to melt at last, I see
...
But it’s still freezing outside
...

But then, just as she was about to fill the kettle with water, she glimpsed the
reddened gash on his hand and realised he’d removed the make shift bandage she’d made
...
‘I hope it wasn’t too painful
during the night?’
‘It is nothing
...
’
‘I’ll check it again after you’ve had your coffee’ Marianne said lightly,
turning on the tap, filling the kettle and inserting the plug into the wall socket
...
’
Did he dislike the idea of her touching him? Marianne wondered
...

‘Well…perhaps you’re ready for some break fast, then? If you’d like
something cooked it’s no trouble
...
Just coffee
...
It was as though she’d been given the most monumental gift
...

‘Marianne?’
‘Yes?’
‘I was thinking that maybe you’d agree to take a walk with me after I have
had my coffee
...

‘If I was not feeling up to it I would not have suggested it,’ he replied,
clearly attempting to quell any irritation inside him and making a deliberate effort to sound
more agreeable instead
...
Now and again Marianne glanced to her side, to make
sure Eduardo was not in difficulty, but she soon got the message that it would be unwise to
display too much concern
...

On either side of them tall trees rose up like dark walls hemming them in,
and the path seemed to thin to a bare ribbon in places
...
As soon as the lighter, milder days of spring arrived, then it would be an

excursion to savour
...

‘Please tell me what’s wrong with you!’ she burst out, emotion welling up
inside her
...
’
‘Because of what happened to your husband you ask this?’ Eduardo sighed
heavily into the frigid air
...
’
‘Then what’s wrong with your leg—and why do you so often seem to
retreat where no one can reach you?’
‘The first question I will answer… The second I cannot
...
She clapped them together to try and restore some warmth
...
’ He stared at the ground
for long seconds, a pulse throbbing visibly in the side of his cheek
...
I have had nine operations to try and mend the shattered bone, and from time to time the
pain is excruciating
...
’
‘Don’t be
...
‘It was my own fault, and I must
pay the price
...
‘That you deserve the pain?’
‘Now that you know I am not going to die any time soon, let us walk on or
turn back
...

‘You are much too hard on yourself, I think
...
Once again he had gone to that place where no one could
follow, and she longed to bring him back
...

To her surprise, when she glanced over she found Eduardo was smiling, and
her stomach did a one-hundred-and-eighty-degree cart wheel
...
But it seems to
me that people waste too much time pretending and not saying what they really feel
...
Now have you had enough of an
adventure for one afternoon? I think we should turn back, don’t you? The sky is looking
rather dismal and threatening
...

‘Marianne!’ As he bent towards her, his expression was shocked and
bleached of colour
...

As they flew away, in a cacophony of flapping wings, Eduardo glanced
back down at Marianne, his handsome face a picture of confusion and uncertainty
...
‘You might have hurt yourself badly! Do not try to get
up too quickly
...
’
Allowing his cane to fall onto the ground, he put out both hands to aid
Marianne, but even as she struggled to get to her feet again her humour did not dissipate
...
I made a perfect
landing…just like an acrobat or a prima ballerina!’
Her eyes damp with mirth, she was now upright, and her gaze locked with
the man still holding her hands
...

‘Do you have any idea how beautiful you are? How bewitching and lovely?’
Eduardo murmured hoarsely
...
It was the first real passionate kiss she had ever had—a roaring fire in the midst of
bitter winter—and she wanted it to last for ever…
But already Eduardo was lifting his lips away from hers—albeit
reluctantly—cupping her face in his leather-gloved hands, staring deep into her eyes as
though he could gaze and gaze at her and never get tired of the sight of her
...
‘But I am not going to tell you I regret
it,’ he confessed, a corner of his sensuous mouth wryly lifting
...
‘It was a lovely kiss,
Eduardo…and obviously something you are very good at!’

Hearing the un con strained pleasure in her voice, she felt self-conscious
heat rush into her face, suddenly afraid that he might think her reply too candid for
comfort
...
‘Your disarming honesty is very
refreshing…not to mention ego-boosting! But such refreshing candour could get you into
trouble, namorada…especially where men are concerned
...
You
are cold and damp from the snow, and you need to get out of those wet clothes into
something warm
...
’ Wrapping her arms round her middle, suddenly
unable to stop the violent shivering that seized her, Marianne glanced shyly back at him
...
’
‘That is certainly one word for it,’ Eduardo replied drolly, reaching down
into the snow to retrieve his cane and then smiling inscrutably
...
His body was throbbing warmly from his activities—and miraculously he was hardly
experiencing any pain at all, despite probably overdoing the exercise
...
The memory of the kiss he
had stolen from Marianne in the forest suddenly drowned him in heat—heat
definitely not aroused by punishing exercise
...
Touching his fingers to
his mouth with something like wonder, Eduardo replayed the erotic sensation of her damp
sweet lips against his, the taste of her exquisitely satin tongue, her arresting body pressed
hard against him so that he felt every shapely contour even through her layers of winter
clothing
...

Good God! He could hardly contain his need and his lust! But so many
things about Marianne had got to him that day
...
How long since he had expressed humour so unguardedly, basking in
the warmth that resulted from it? He couldn’t even recall such a time…it could have
been years for all he knew
...
Seeing how
beautiful her unfettered joy had rendered her, Eduardo had suddenly craved to be part of
it…to taste genuine happiness and pleasure on his lips for once, instead of bitterness and
sadness, to remember what it felt like to be really alive and not have every sense deadened by
grief and regret
...
Kissing her
had been like devouring lush chocolate-covered cherries in a warm sensuous bath, and his
desire had been explosive
...

As he sensed what that inflammatory thought did to his body, he glanced
wryly down wards
...
She was diverting his mind as well as arousing his lust, and had banished his sombre
mood for the first time in ages
...


Having changed into warmer clothes, deposited her snow-dampened jeans into the laundry
basket and hung her wet jacket on a coat hanger in the airing cupboard, Marianne took a
quick shower and then returned downstairs to start preparing the evening meal
...
Knocking tentatively on the heavy oak door, she tried very hard to quell her
nervousness
...

‘Yes!’
At Eduardo’s behest, Marianne entered the room
...
She couldn’t help but wonder what was preoccupying him
...

‘That was thoughtful…thank you
...

‘I probably drink far too much of the stuff than is good for me, to be honest,
but old habits die hard
...
There were other
things she couldn’t help noticing
...
The fresh white cotton shirt, and the jeans that looked as if they had been
tailor-made for his hard lean body
...
There was a tiny
spot of dried blood on his firm jawbone to confirm it
...
’
‘Sorry…I was miles away
...

As she reached for the teapot to pour the tea, Eduardo caught her by the
wrist and tugged her towards him
...

‘What are you—? What are you doing?’
‘I am repaying the compliment,’ he answered, an enigmatic little smile
playing round his lips
...
’
Saying no more, Eduardo freed her wrists, then started to unbutton the
shape less red white and blue patterned cardigan she wore
...
The touch of his strong
muscled thighs in the tough denim of his jeans was all but burning her skin through the
slightly flimsier, cheaper material of her own
...
You
seem to persist in wearing clothes that completely conceal your figure, and I do not under
stand it
...
You are exquisite, namorada…quite exquisite
...
’
All Marianne wore underneath the over-large sweater was a thin white Tshirt
...
Remembering the fact, she sensed her nipples all but drill
holes in the skimpy material as Eduardo’s sensual blue eyes lazily but thoroughly examined
her figure
...
Just as she registered this, her lips collided with his, and his tongue thrust
hungrily into her mouth, laying erotic claim to hers
...
But then even her mind seemed not to belong to her any more
...

Sliding his hands beneath her T-shirt, Eduardo cupped and stroked her
breasts, inflaming her already aching, tingling nipples into stinging, hardened buds
...
Biting her lip, she instinctively and
greedily held his head to her, sliding her fingers through the damp silky strands of his dark
wheat hair as even more ragged moans of pleasure and want left her lips
...
Was this what she
had been missing all this time, denying herself the physical intimacy and pleasure of being
with a man?
Immediately the question arose, Marianne knew it was only this man who
was capable of arousing such wild abandon in her
...
‘I
have a question for you
...
Yet she was fully and shockingly aware of the barely civilized, almost feral state of
arousal reflected back at her from those haunting blue eyes
...

‘If I asked you to come to me tonight and share my bed…would you?’
Deciphering her thoughts above the roar of rushing blood inside her head
was a challenge
...
Feeling her fingers curl into the side of Eduardo’s
lean, hard waist, she breathed softly, ‘Can we wait a little while before that happens? It’s not
that I don’t want to, it’s just that—’
‘It is too soon for you? Of course
...
’
Gently he put her from him, and Marianne wasn’t prepared for how cold she
suddenly felt without him
...
’
‘You too have aroused similar feelings in me, Eduardo…strong feelings
...

Spying a chess board on the middle shelf of a bookcase, she felt an idea
start to form itself in her mind
...

Sensing her whole body glow with pleasure, Marianne smiled
...
He had the most
mischievous look on his face that she had ever seen, and it made her tummy imitate the
motion of a yo-yo
...
I might just surprise you!’
‘Namorado…you have already surprised me more than I ever could have
believed possible
...
Marianne chose that same moment
to head for the door
...
I’ll see you later,’ she told him shyly as she let herself out
...
Many times during
their now nearly four-hour chess game he had seen her exhibit myriad different
expressions—sighs, pouts, chewing of the lips and thumb nails
...

Having always loved the game, Eduardo had thought of himself as a fairly
accomplished player—but after four hours of battling it out with Marianne she was beating
him hollow
...
Playing the
ultimate game of strategy with his engaging companion had been so fascinating, so absorbing
and enjoyable, that he had simply for got ten about everything else and relaxed
...

‘You’ve got a killer instinct
...
You were at least a couple of moves ahead of me every time
...
Who taught you to play so well?’
‘My husband…we spent many hours playing when he was confined to bed
because of his illness
...

‘You said he was much older than you?’ he murmured, his glance flicking
jealously over her lovely features in the glow of the fire light
...
I told you
...
Just as if the touch of an angel had trans fixed him
...
It’s the person I’m interested
in…not what age they are or what they do or anything like that
...
What was happening to him? He wanted to
bed her
...
But after what she had said earlier, when she’d asked if they could
wait a while, he did not want to use his powers of seduction to persuade her against her will
...

‘It means that tomorrow night I will beat you hollow when we play again!’
he said irritably, and stood up
...
‘So
you did mind me winning?’
‘Not at all…I would just like the opportunity to even the score, that is all
...
’ As though completely unaware of the profound ache she’d
inflicted on him—an incessant sensual need that Eduardo had been only too aware of all the
time they’d been playing, which had not been helped by those breathy little sighs and
unknowingly alluring pouts she’d been exhibiting all evening—Marianne rubbed her hand
across her eyes and yawned
...
I need my bed
...
‘Go to bed
...

Goodnight, Marianne
...
’
A quizzical little glance, a smile, and then she was gone…

Marianne had never guessed that the supposedly simple game of chess, played three
absorbing nights in a row, could turn into an al together different kind of battle
...
But Marianne stuck to her
restraint, her only consolation being that her partner was clearly suffering equally—if
notmore
...
She knew that wasn’t the only reason he almost exploded
...
That being the case, she wondered if
there would be any more evenings of companionable chess-playing—or would Eduardo
revert back to the taciturn, wounded individual he’d been when she’d first moved into his
house?

She prayed not
...
And it had made her start to believe that perhaps he was
healing from the trauma of his accident at last
...

She threaded her fingers through her recently shampooed hair and smiled
...

Her companion scowled
...
He turned back, and the longing and pure frustration etched in the chiselled
contours of his handsome face almost made Marianne’s knees buckle
...
‘Tell me that
you will
...
‘Yes, I’ll come to you
...
It wasn’t working
...
The night was cool, but her skin was
almost too hot to bear
...
The polished
boards creaked a little beneath her light foot steps and sounded almost obscenely loud in the
otherwise silent room
...
Moonlight, with its ethereal dependable presence, was
some times a strange kind of comfort to her, but not tonight
...
Everything had felt so…so right when he had
kissed and touched her so satisfyingly in his study a few days ago—as if this ultimate
intimacy would be utterly delightful and easy…wonderful, even… And night after night, as
they’d duelled over their games of chess, the need inside her to have him hold her and love
her had been building and building, until she thought she might well lose her sanity if it
didn’t happen soon
...
What would Eduardo think when he found out her secret—the fact that she had
never been with a man before—was still un touched even after six months of marriage? If he
was looking for the kind of sexual satisfaction he had perhaps been used to then maybe he
wouldn’t be so keen to take her to bed after all
...
If that turned out to be the case then how would she deal with the embarrassment and
humiliation? Not to mention the frustration that was bound to follow his rejection of her?

CHAPTER NINE

SHE had made up her mind to tell Eduardo that she would decline his offer to share his bed
...
Besides, she argued, as she nervously ascended the stair case to the upper floor, the
flickering up-lighters casting her slim shadow on the walls as she moved, she hadn’t come
here to have an affair with Eduardo
...
She would not compromise her position or his by
sleeping with him
...

But when he opened the door to her tentative knock, standing before her in
navy silk pyjama bottoms and nothing else, Marianne’s care fully rehearsed explanation and
sensible resolve disappeared quicker than ice on a barbecue
...
In turn, Eduardo’s slow measuring gaze silently appraised
her, in the hastily donned robe she’d thrown on over her Victorian night gown, a definite glint
of amusement in the pastel blue depths
...
‘Come in
...
Two small ornate lamps glowed softly, lending intimate warmth to the opulent
surroundings and rendering areas of the room to mysterious shadow
...
Her
heart all but climbed into her throat
...
A warm, earthy scent with under tones of a woody and
masculine soap clung hypnotically in the air between them
...
But it was all
Marianne could do to tear her gaze away from the display of formidable muscle in the broad
tanned chest that was dusted with darkly golden hair—a sight that made her feel as if she’d
just imbibed a shot of strong whisky that had gone straight to her head
...

‘I—I forget what I’m thinking when you do things like that,’ Marianne
admitted breathlessly, her legs trembling hard beneath her night clothes
...
’ He
smiled
...
‘You must be
one of the few women in the world able to get away with something like this,’ he was saying
as they stood beside a huge canopied bed that Marianne was certain wouldn’t look out of
place in one of the royal palaces
...


‘This—this virginal but very sexy and alluring nightgown
...

With the unknowingly apt comment echoing in her ears, Marianne was too
frozen to move for a moment, and she watched him lean towards her to ease her robe from
her shoulders in silence, just as if she was one of those mythical creatures from an old folk
tale, turned to stone after helplessly glancing at something for bidden
...

His glance was focused and intent, as if he were anticipating revealing
something wondrous, and Eduardo didn’t utter a single word as he under took this task
...
Try as she might, she knew she didn’t have a hope
of resurrecting it…not with the irresistibly seductive way this man so effortlessly commanded
her mind, body and attention as he was doing right now
...
Not yet
...

‘Eduardo…’ A helpless tremor seized her voice
...
’
A tiny crease appeared between his dark blond brows, his expression
reflecting both mild concern and gentle amusement
...
I’ve never—that is
to say—’ Her gaze shied away from his as she struggled to articulate words that lodged un
com fort ably in her throat
...

‘All the way, I mean…’
At first he looked stunned
...

Gathering the two sides of her gown protectively across her breasts,
Marianne automatically stepped back
...

‘No…it wasn’t a lie
...

‘You are telling me that the marriage was never consummated?’
‘Yes, I am
...

‘And you never had an intimate relationship with a man before you
married?’
‘No
...


‘Do you have any more questions? If you’re finished acting as some kind of
inquisitor then I think I’ll go back to my room!’
‘Marianne?’
Unbelievably his hand was sliding round her jaw, tipping her face towards
him
...

‘I am sorry that you were denied the pleasure and comfort of intimacy with
your husband…but I am honoured that you would consider giving this great gift to me
...

‘More than ever
...
Yet under lying the sensuous caress the
feeling persisted in her that there was a measure of distinct control there too—as if he didn’t
want to scare or over whelm her
...

But secretly she wanted him to lose control with her, she realised
...

Withdrawing her lips from his, Marianne studied him longingly from
beneath her lashes
...
I know that whatever happens you won’t hurt me
...
Everything about this man seemed to inflame her,
making her behave in a way that was quite unlike her normal self
...
Sighing, Marianne wound her arms round his neck to steady herself
...

She’d been alone for too long, and silently she admitted that she had a great
need to be held, touched, tasted, even driven a little crazy by a lover…someone who would
help her forget her painful past and make her think only of today instead
...
His
hands shaped her body through the material of her gown, following every line of every curve
as though it were imperative he discovered every part of her
...
The room seemed to spin
dizzyingly for a moment as Eduardo guided her back against it, his touch gentle yet
commanding
...
‘All you have to do is lie still and let me pleasure you
...
Marianne’s long rippling hair fell in a honeycoloured cloud round her bare shoulders and goose flesh chased across her skin as the cool
night air hit her
...


‘You are even more beautiful in the flesh than I imagined,’ he murmured
softly, catching silken strands of her hair between his fingers and examining them
...
There is not a man in the world who would not envy me right now
...
The most libidinous smile hijacked his mouth
...
The sensation of his hard and heavy male body against hers was bliss fully
delicious as he care fully closed the gap between them
...
The lightly tanned skin that encased his strong fit muscles
was smooth as silk and warming as cashmere—and the way he looked at her…the way he
looked at her made her feel as if she was some irresistible edible delight he simply had to
have, and the only woman in the world he had ever gazed at in that way
...

‘Close your eyes’ he ordered, bending his head towards her
...
It was as though she were a sensual swirling river being caressed by living,
breathing sunlight
...
In her womb, a tight, hot, coiled sensation was growing
...
Her slender thighs moved
restlessly against Eduardo’s hipbones, her body willing him to claim what she was
now more than ready to give him
...
His teeth and
tongue tasted and teased until she seriously thought she would explode with the sheer sensual
euphoria of it
...
Moving her hands down
to Eduardo’s iron-hard broad shoulders, she sensed the sheathed muscle and bone there with
deeply primal satisfaction
...
Whenever she’d allowed herself to
dream of a man making love to her—the way he was made, how he looked, how he tasted—
the reality of this man was what she’d secretly ached for, she realised
...
There was no conflict in her mind about giving the gift of her virginity to him
...
Not now…not ever
...
Reaching her waist, the
silken glide of his warm tongue intimately acquainted itself with her navel
...
Increasing her torment, he moved lower still
...

Nothing could have prepared her for the full extent of those in credible
moments
...
She had never experienced
such utter vulnerability yet such in credible connection with someone before, and it shook her
to her very soul
...
His dazed,
aroused gaze seared her with palpable heat as he rose to join her
...
‘That was wonderful
...
’
‘What can I— How can I—? I mean, now I want to make you feel good
too
...
‘Believe me, my angel, I have not felt this good in a
long, long time! But do not worry…we are not finished yet
...
Sitting back a
little, he started to ease the navy silk pyjama pants he still wore down over his arrow-straight
hips
...
It was a revelation to her
that a woman could lust after a man with the same fervent desire with which a man could
want a woman
...

‘Be careful!’ she en treated as she saw him briefly wince
...
His look no longer wry, he threw
her a brief hard glare
...

‘Why do you have to be like this?’ She made a little motion of despair with her hands
...
You’re—you’re everything I ever dreamt a lover
would be, Eduardo
...
’
She didn’t even have a moment’s hesitation
...
She
knew that that was her genuine desire, so his huskily voiced command could do nothing but
thrill her
...
‘I did not mean to scold you,’ he said gruffly
...
Perhaps you would like to help me in another way?’
The glimpse of despair she’d seen in his haunting blue eyes had now been
replaced by a spine-tingling boyish grin, and Marianne saw that he was opening a small foil
packet and extracting the contents
...

‘I know you have never done this before, but I will guide you if you like
...
’ Her voice had dropped to half its normal strength
...
Touching and seeing him like this, feeling
the silky hardness and the heat that radiated so powerfully beneath her fingers, Marianne
couldn’t help but tremble
...
Yes, she was nervous—but
she was undeniably excited too
...
Above all she was grateful that her lover had thought about the practicalities of the
situation—because, to her shame, she hadn’t
...
‘I will be as
gentle as I can
...
The harsh graze of the stubble round his jaw scratched her a little, but Marianne didn’t
care
...
Scalding heat
rushed straight to her core and she couldn’t help the sensual little moan that was breathlessly
ejected from her lips
...

Eduardo’s aroused sex explored her tentatively at first
...
Marianne shut her eyes to absorb the
unfamiliar sensation of penetration
...
Then, as he started to move more easily and
rhythmically inside her, she relaxed, surrendering totally to the pleasure that was filling her
...
Once more tension built
inside her, and Marianne anchored her hands on his tight bulging biceps as he thrust into her
again and again, until all thoughts were swept away on a stunning erotic tide that lapped force
fully through her as if it would never cease
...
A thin sheen of sweat glistened on his brow and shoulders, and his mouth
curved in a sensuous smile
...

Carefully lowering himself, he kissed Marianne full on the mouth again
...
Blinking them away
with a shy smile, she saw as Eduardo raised his head to study her that there was a concerned
look on his face
...
‘I hope I was gentle enough for
your first time and did not cause you pain?’
‘I don’t know why I cried
...
I just
feel a little emotional right now
...
I will hold you
in my arms all night, if you wish, and you can fall asleep there
...

‘What about him?’ A dark blond eyebrow lifted quizzically
...
‘If he did he would not
even comment on the fact
...
’
‘If you say so
...
Now, come and get into bed and stop searching for problems
where none exist!’
He grinned disarmingly, and Marianne’s heart turned over because in that
moment he looked happier than she had ever seen him…

CHAPTER TEN

EDUARDO woke, astounded to find daylight pouring into the room
...

Moving a little to test his limbs, he realised that there was very little discomfort or pain to be
found anywhere
...
Instead of hurting, his body felt rested and
replenished
...
His heart seemed to miss a beat
...
How could she not be, with skin
as smooth and unblemished as the most perfect peach, and her honey-coloured hair softly
framing her face to fall gently over her shoulders in a silken tangle? Such a sight to start the
day would surely make any red-blooded male rejoice
...

But of course if he were to take Marianne’s picture he would never consider
selling the result or giving it away
...
An
almost irresistible urge gripped him to go and find his camera—a top-of-the-line professional
Nikon, the one he had hidden away in the trunks that contained his belongings from Brazil
...
Smiling as
he recalled how willingly and passionately she had surrendered the astonishing gift of her
virginity to him last night, he sensed his blood heat, and slumbering desire stirred to
commanding, aching life as he continued to appraise her
...

A cornucopia of dazzling green and gold dazzled him
...

‘Of course it matters! I have to go back to my room and get ready for the
day
...
‘It must be at least eight or eight-thirty, and I
have to make break fast and light the fires or the house will be stone-cold
...
Can I be blamed for simply wanting to
gaze at you?’
‘But I’m not Sleeping Beauty, am I? In case you’ve for got ten, I’m your
house keeper—and I’ve got work to do
...
He would
forgive her just about anything today after the pleasure they had shared last night
...
He sat up, his arms
possessively circling that lovely waist
...

‘You do not have to work today
...

Marianne jerked her head round in astonishment
...
’
Eduardo was sure desire thickened his voice and blazed from his eyes, and
he made no attempt to disguise it—because as well as feeling aroused beyond measure, a
great need had arisen inside him to be totally frank with this lovely woman
...
’ A dawning look stole over her face
...
‘You slept right through! You didn’t wake
once…or at least if you did I didn’t hear you
...
‘It is
perfectly true
...
I woke just once—not because I was in pain, but
just to make sure you were still there beside me, namorada
...
‘And I’m so glad you weren’t in any pain
...
You surely deserve some relief
...
’
‘It must have been the most dreadful accident
...
He had no
desire to ruin what had started out as a beautiful morning by confronting the terrible event
that still haunted him and had left him a near cripple—yet he had made a vow to himself to
be totally frank with Marianne
...

‘It was
...
’ He winced
...

He nodded
...
’ Reaching for Marianne’s hand, he
examined it for a moment before continuing
...
’
‘We…?’
Meeting her speculative glance, Eduardo steeled himself
...
But to his credit he did not
...

‘My wife Eliana was with me
...
I had bought her a new
sports car for her birthday—she had a thing for fast cars, and she had insisted that we take it
to the party
...
It was a powerful model that she had desired for ages
...
’
Unable to suppress the flash of guilt that jolted through him whenever he
recalled Eliana pleading with him to let her have the car, knowing that he should not have
allowed her to drive it until she had had more experience with it, Eduardo winced
...

‘Anyway…when it was time for us to return home, she insisted I let her
drive
...
’ Swallowing
hard over what felt like dozens of tiny hot prickles layering his throat, he grimaced
...
I yelled at Eliana, to tell her
what to do, and leaned across to help
...
It all happened so fast
...
She was killed outright
...
When I briefly woke up it
was to find myself in the emergency room at the hospital, being prepared to be taken down to
the operating theatre
...
’ Eduardo sighed
...
‘It must have been awful for you to lose someone you
loved very much so suddenly like that—and in such a terrible way
...
There was a time when we were closer than close, but…’
‘But what?’
‘I—it doesn’t matter right now
...
I am tired of dwelling on the past
...
That being the case, I want to enjoy the
day equally as satisfactorily
...
But at that exact moment
there was the sound of a car coming up the drive, followed by the front door closing
...
He looked over at her ruefully
...
I
will have to see him for a few moments
...
’
‘I will talk to Ricardo down stairs in the sitting room
...
’
Quickly dressing, Eduardo sensed Marianne’s avid gaze on him
...
How did Marianne perceive him as he was now?he wondered
...

Eduardo wished no more interruptions were possible—either from
distressing memories of the past or someone needing his attention
...
In her heart she
longed to keep the flame of the in credible intimacy she had shared last night with Eduardo
burning, and she literally ached for his presence and for him to hold her again
...
When she
had taken the carafe to where they sat, along with two mugs and a plate of home-made short
bread, he had barely even glanced up to acknowledge her
...

But Marianne had every intention of holding true to the vow she’d
made
...
Even if she did become just another
in a long line of women reaching back through the ages who had loved and lost the man they
had given their heart to
...
She
didn’t love Eduardo…she couldn’t! She must be delirious or something
...
In the matter of self-preservation shemust and would adhere to
that vow
...
Events were merely making her get a little carried away, that was all
...

Letting the mellifluous voice of the female presenter announcing the afternoon’s programmes
flow over her, she prayed that the upcoming offering of the play of the day—a gothic ghost
story—would help distract her mind sufficiently to stop it from dwelling on one subject and
one subject only as she worked…Eduardo
...

There had been something else he had almost shared with her about his
wife, she recalled, frowning
...
Why?
Had the marriage hit difficulty? Had one of them perhaps had an affair? What if it had
been Eduardo? A wave of painful protest swept through her
...
If his marriage had been on the rocks there surely would have been no dearth of
interested women to console him?
Marianne groaned out loud, as if the sound itself could push the distressing
thought away
...
In the past she had had a good friend
whose husband had had an affair, and she had witnessed first-hand the destruction it had
wreaked
...
Marianne had already experienced low self-worth and a lack of confidence,
and she had no intention of revisiting either ever again…

‘So this is where you are!’

At the sound of the man whose image had possessed her to the exclusion of
all else that morning, Marianne turned
...

Almost overcome by her great yearning to be close to him again Marianne
leapt upon his inference that she must have been hiding—purely because she was feeling
suddenly insecure
...
Where else would I be, when there’s lunch to prepare and dinner tonight too?
I’ve already got up much later than I should have!’
‘Do you think I want to make you a slave to the kitchen sink, namorada?
Because, if you think I do, let me assure you that is certainly not my aim
...
The heat that shot through her made her feel like hot wax melting under a flame
...

‘However, I make no apology for having a hot little fantasy about seeing
you standing here wearing nothing but an apron, perhaps a pair of high heels, and not much
else!’
‘Eduardo!’
‘Yes?’
Turning in his arms to face him, Marianne steeled herself for the impact of
his in credible blue eyes
...

‘Do you and Ricardo want something to eat? You’ve only had coffee and
biscuits
...
’
Eduardo sighed, but not with exasperation
...
Feeling her defences frighteningly desert her, she stared up at him a little
wild-eyed
...
‘What about allowing me
to take care of you for a while, hmm?’
‘What do you mean?’
‘While he was away in London, Ricardo heard from his family in Rio
...
’
‘I’m so sorry
...
As the severity of her illness is
still unknown, and she has to undergo various tests, he will be staying there in de finitely
...
These past few days I have been
feeling so much better having you around, Marianne…better than I ever could have believed
possible
...
Don’t you?’

The days following Ricardo’s departure for Rio would be etched on Marianne’s memory for
ever
...
The snow started to melt but the cold still bit hard—so
they shared many conversations round the fire, talking about books, films, art, the state of the
world—everything
...
And when Marianne did differ from Eduardo she was not afraid to tell him so
...

The close ness and companion ship that had evolved between them—as
well as the un for get table nights they shared together in bed—helped her self-confidence
soar—and, if Marianne was honest, her hopes for the future soared too
...

‘Hi
...
‘Don’t worry—I’m not crying
...
’
Reaching her, Eduardo took the small vegetable knife out of her hand and
laid it down on the worktop
...

‘Sure…what’s up?’
‘I have decided that I have had enough of the British winter and I greatly
desire to go back to Brazil for a while
...
To tell you the truth I have become quite homesick, Marianne
...
‘That you want me to leave and find
a job some where else?’
‘Are you crazy? Just the opposite, in fact
...
’
‘As what? A companion and house keeper?’
It was not possible for Marianne to sort out the confusing profusion of
feelings that seized her just then, but she knew that fear was predominant amongst them
...

Perturbed by her question, Eduardo frowned
...
‘Is it not obvious
that we have long gone past the employer/employee scenario?’
‘And how am I to keep myself if I no longer have a job?’
‘Do you really need to ask me that? I will look after you, Marianne
...
’
Because Marianne suddenly felt cornered, she tried to break out of his
embrace
...

‘Would you not welcome the chance of some hot sun and a little pampering
for a change, instead of all the difficulty and sadness you have endured?’
Feeling her eyes burn with the effort not to cry, Marianne sniffed
...
What would he say if he guessed that she wanted to be so
much more than just an intimate companion to him?
Because her senses were suddenly raw, she went for attack instead of
defence
...
I came here because I needed a job and
a home…not a holiday or someone to take care of me! Don’t get me wrong—I’m totally
happy for you to go back to Brazil and be where you belong again, Eduardo…amongst
friends and perhaps other members of your family…but I really don’t know if I can go with
you
...
And, although you insist that you
still need a job and a home, we are in a relationship now
...

The broad shoulders in the pristine blue shirt lifted in a shrug
...
Look at what happened to me, and
then look at what happened to you
...
For over six months he had been cocooned deep in the English countryside, seeing
no one but Ricardo, his doctor and his physio, and later—when he was able to walk with
more ease—the odd shopkeeper when he walked into town
...

Certainly the frenetic pace of life here had almost been relegated to a barely
recalled memory…almost
...
The tension in
him had already been heightened back at the airport, when he had been hiring the car
...

The young man taking his details had knowingly narrowed his gaze at the mere sight of
Eduardo, then proceeded to sorrowfully express his condolences on his wife’s passing
...
Graciously thanking him
for his kind words, Eduardo had known the man’s obvious interest had aroused Marianne’s
curiosity, but he had chosen not to explain what all the fuss was about right then
...
Yes, and to tell her that
philanthropy had not been his sole occupation
...
Since it
had begun to dawn on Eduardo that it was a terrible added burden on top of the tragedy itself,
and that he might finally be free of if he shared it with Marianne, he had become determined
to do exactly that
...

Somehow…by somemiracle…he had started to believe that he deserved that chance—and
Marianne was a big part of that miracle
...
No more would he hide, or shut himself
away from the rest of the world like some wounded hermit
...
For a girl so young and beautiful she too had had her share of tragedy,
and he hoped that with a little luxurious living, pampering and sunshine she would blossom
...
What Eduardo hoped most of all was that she would begin to see the
benefits of being with him long-term and decide to stay
...

Adjusting his dark sun glasses to fit better over the slight bump in the bridge
of his nose, he grimaced as she sat quietly beside him in the passenger seat, staring out at the
long line of traffic in front of them
...

‘I am afraid it is always like this during rush-hour,’ he told her
...
Do not mind all
the waving of hands and passionate exchanges of words from the other drivers
...
We Brazilians are a nation of soapwatchers—or telenovelas, as they
are known here
...
’
‘Are you all right?’
Her quietly voiced question cut through the nervous static in Eduardo’s
brain and acted like a lifeline
...
Now, instead of dismissing her concern as he might well have done not so very long ago,
he actually welcomed it
...
He knew that he
would not have returned to Brazil at this stage without her
...
’
‘You can talk to me, you know
...
I realise that returning home for you will have its challenges as well as its
pleasures, and I want to help make things easier if I can
...
I am very glad that I
was able to persuade you
...
Her dazzling eyes were concealed
behind her sun glasses but her pretty mouth—sweetly shaped and devoid of lipstick—lifted in
a wry curve
...
She wore a simple white sundress…the only summer dress she owned, she’d
confessed…and although it was a loose non-figure-hugging style, like the Victorian night
gown she wore to bed, it was unbelievably sexy on Marianne’s lithe slim figure, with her
long hair flowing down her back
...
All last night, until they had
risen in the early hours to leave for the airport, Marianne had stoked the fire in him to fever
pitch—as she had on the many previous nights they’d been together—and he had barely been
able to keep his hands off her
...

Impatience flashed through him that they were still so far from the house, where he would at
last be able to get her alone and have her to himself
...
You have no
idea of the power you have at your fingertips by that fact alone!’
‘Power?’ Behind the huge sun glasses that dwarfed her elfin face, Marianne
frowned
...
A man would have to travel a long way to find a woman as
innocent and beautiful as you are, Marianne, and I mean that as a compliment
...

It is completely refreshing to meet someone like you…someone who doesn’t care about
climbing some career ladder but instead is willing to follow her passions!’
‘We’re moving again,’ she said softly, and Eduardo turned his attention
back to the road and the now steadily moving traffic
...
The beaches were spectacular
...
And
Eduardo’s perfect modernist house, with its pristine white walls and ready access to Ipanema
Beach, was the quintessential accompaniment to such spectacular appeal
...


A young maid and a male house-servant were waiting to help trans port
their luggage into the house, and Eduardo took Marianne’s hand in his
...
He led her inside straight to a state-of-the-art kitchen and poured her a long glass
of cool lemonade from the fridge
...

‘This is heavenly!’
Taking the glass out of her hands to set it on the marble worktop, Eduardo
reached for her, an intense look in his riveting blue eyes
...
The most exquisite and desirable thing in the whole of this
house is you, Marianne
...
But deep down Marianne wanted more than just to be wanted by him physically
...
It might be a wish that was fated not to be fulfilled, but she was hoping beyond
hope that Eduardo might eventually discover there were other far deeper and more abiding
reasons for him wanting to be with her than just desire
...

His wife’s tragic death might have forced him to flee his own country,
leaving her haunting memory behind to heal his wounds far from the sunshine he was used to
deep in the midst of a bleak British winter, but did that mean he could never contemplate
another long-term relationship again, or even want to try?
‘Hey,’ he teased, his hands tightening a little on her waist
...
’ Reaching up on tiptoe, Marianne placed a
small tender kiss at the side of his cheek
...
This is such a lovely place I wonder how you could bear to leave it
...
’
‘Did you—did you and your wife stay here very often?’
As he considered the question, Eduardo’s expression remained steady and
tender—for once no visible shadow clouding the brilliant pale blue irises at the mention of
his past
...

‘We tended to visit here separately…with friends or on our own,’ he
answered thoughtfully
...
’
‘Oh?’
‘I can see that you are curious about that—but right now, before I try and
satisfy any more questions, why don’t you go upstairs to the bathroom and take a shower?
I’m sure you would like to wash off the dust of our travels before I show you the beach and
then drive to a nice bar that I know for a cocktail?’
‘That sounds divine!’
‘The shower?’ Eduardo teased
...
But don’t you want to take a shower too?
As he trailed his hand down her throat onto the pale smooth skin above her
breasts, Marianne saw a tiny muscle flicker in the side of his cheek,
‘Are you saying you want me to join you?’ he asked, his voice lowering
...
No wonder the poets likened being
in love to being afflicted by some kind of malady or fever!
‘I didn’t mean that
...
‘But
I’m—I’m not averse to the idea either
...
‘Your
candour
...
And now you have in advertently put
the idea into my head I find I cannot eject it—so come…we will go and shower together
...
A tasteful gallery of large framed photographic prints caught her
attention
...

Following her riveted gaze, Eduardo stilled beside her
...

‘Be my guest
...

There were various stunning portraits of extraordinarily beautiful women—
young and old—scenes that captured the colour and excitement of the country’s
famed carnaval, and nature photographs that suggested they might possibly have been taken
deep inside the Amazon jungle
...

‘These are simply stunning, Eduardo
...
It had always made her
wonder
...

‘You took these?’
‘Yes…I took them,’ he said, sighing softly
...
‘This is—was my passion’
‘Was?’ Her heart thudding—because she suddenly knew that the accident
had cost him much more than she’d first believed—Marianne looked at him straight
...
‘I was not in my right mind when I made that decision
...
’
‘Because your wife died and you lived?’
He scraped his hand through his hair, and his expression was momentarily
anguished
...
I was the better driver…the one
who knew most about handling such a powerful car!’
‘And how long are you going to go on blaming yourself for the accident,
Eduardo—for the rest of your life? Did you spill oil on the road? These terrible things happen
from time to time, and because we have no control over events we feel helpless and afraid,
and we start believing we are the cause of them
...
Well, in my opinion you’ve suffered enough
...
Now you’ve got to try and put the past behind you…make your life over
again
...
’ Suddenly self-conscious, Marianne knew her smile was
a little awkward
...
’

‘You are right, as always, Marianne
...
This is what I came here to do…what makes me
happy
...
That’s why you must never, ever
think of giving it up again!’
Daring to take the initiative, Marianne moved closer to wrap her arms round
his waist
...
It was on her lips to say I love you… But at the last minute the words stayed
inside her throat unsaid, that old fear of being left or rejected keeping them prisoner
...

Feeling his hardness strain against his jeans and press into her belly,
Marianne curved her lips into a knowing little smile against the cool linen of his shirt
...
’
Eduardo’s lips found hers and hungrily claimed them…

CHAPTER TWELVE

THEY were sitting outside on the terrace of a fashionable bar in one of the chic
neighborhoods backing onto the beach
...
On the
small stage inside was a sultry female singer, backed by a colourful and enthusiastic samba
band
...
Intimacy and love had made her
bolder
...
She hoped that that might just be for ever, but just knowing
that he was at last open to being with people again—would not be shutting himself away
through guilt and pain as he had done in England—filled her heart with hope and gratitude
for the change
...
Each and every

one of them greeted Eduardo as if he had returned from the dead—such was their pleasure
and joy at seeing him
...

When they finally had a moment to them selves, Marianne leaned across the
octagonal wooden table, the gentle sound of samba music still playing in the back ground,
and commented, ‘All your friends are so glamorous! I feel like I’ve wandered onto the set
of High Society—distinctly under dressed in comparison!’ Glancing uncertainly down at the
pale lime linen trousers she’d donned, along with a plain white gypsy-style blouse, she knew
that although they were clean and freshly ironed they had definitely seen better days
...
’ Her handsome companion
cupped her face, casting his tender gaze over every feature, not hiding his admiration
...

‘Com licença…Senhor De Souza…you probably don’t remember me, but
I’m a journalist working for a Rio news pa per on the arts page and I was a friend of your
wife’s
...
We met once at a party in
Copacabana
...
For an instant Marianne
thought she saw a flash of hot colour sweep his jaw—as though he were embarrassed
...

In the next second, Miss Jordan herself cleared up the confusion
...

Marianne felt a small shiver of distinct unease roll down her spine
...

Had she had too much to drink? Worriedly, Marianne realised that she had
...
‘Your latest little bedmate? How fortunate for you that your
wife died when she did…it saved you having to pay a ton of alimony to keep her quiet about
your antics, didn’t it? We wouldn’t want the newspapers printing a story about their bestloved photographer having a less than perfect marriage, now, would we?’
‘I think you have said quite enough for one day, Miss Jordan, and now you
had better leave
...
’ Speaking quietly but firmly, Eduardo put his
hand beneath the woman’s elbow, as if to steer her in another direction, but she instantly
shook it off and scowled at him
...
By now some of the patrons at the other
tables on the glamorous terrace, with the awesome sight of Sugar Loaf Mountain looming in
the distance, had turned to see what all the commotion was about
...

Catching the barely discernible nod of Eduardo’s head as he turned his gaze
towards the part of the restaurant that was under cover, she wasn’t surprised to see the
smartly suited manager appear
...

As he returned to his seat, Marianne saw that the incident had definitely
disturbed Eduardo, but he hid his discomfort well
...

Leaning back in his chair, he took a moment to straighten the cuffs on his
jacket and run his fingers round the rim of his shirt collar
...

‘I truly regret that happened just then,’ he remarked, his voice deliberately
lowered
...
’
‘Did you know her?’ Marianne asked, secretly appalled at the doubt she
heard in her own voice
...
’ Sighing, Eduardo leant his arms on the table,
casually linking his hands
...
’
‘So she was a friend of your wife’s?’
‘An acquaintance, that is all
...

But occasionally at those parties and fundraising events we attended there were people on the
periphery who saw them as an opportunity to somehow advance them selves
...
She asked me to help her get a promotion by putting in a good word about
her to the editor of the paper on which she worked—a man who is a personal friend of mine
...
She
clearly still bears a grudge against me for that
...
Eduardo’s calmly voiced explanation sounded both plausible and rational, but how
did she know for sure he was telling her the truth? She loved him to distraction, but she
wasn’t naïve enough to believe that love couldn’t make you blind to a lover’s faults
...

‘Come!’ Pushing to his feet Eduardo glared at her, then beckoned a nearby
waiter, at the same time throwing some notes onto the table to cover their bill
...
The evening has been ruined after all, and I really have no desire to stay here any
longer
...
The
sun had long gone down, and over and over again as he stood there in the moon light he re

counted that distasteful scene in the bar
...

But even during their most trying times together he never would have
cheated on his wife
...
Eduardo hadn’t meant to be cold
...
How could they reconcile that? No, he concluded,
Melissa Jordan had probably just made up that sordid little story about him ‘philandering’
because she was miffed at him for not succumbing to her pressure to help with promotion at
work
...
He should have
healed it straight away, on their return from the restaurant, but he had been so disappointed
and angry that she would believe for even a moment that he was any of those des pi cable
things the journalist had suggested he was that he hadn’t trusted himself to be rational
...

He swore…calling himself a not very complimentary name
...
She was too good
for him, he thought miserably, resting the empty glass on the wrought-iron table behind him
...
It would serve him right if she walked out and never
came back
...

‘It’s such a beautiful night
...
She
was wearing a knee-length white broderie-anglaise nightdress with delicate puffed sleeves
...
Everything inside Eduardo
tightened with almost unbearable longing at the sight of her
...
’ Stepping out onto the
balcony, she hugged her slender arms over her chest
...
How can I stay if there are secrets between us?’
‘You are perfectly right
...
‘There should be
no secrets between us
...
’
Smoothing his hand over his mildly aching hip, but disregarding his
walking cane, Eduardo moved a little closer to Marianne
...

‘We had been married for ten years, and inevitably during that time we both
changed quite a lot
...
That was when Eliana and I got married
...
I had inherited a great deal of money from my
father’s estate, besides the money from selling the plantation, and I was making a very good
living from my photography
...
Whilst I…’ he paused to give
Marianne a self-deprecating shrug ‘…I was becoming more aware of my responsibility as
custodian of the great wealth I had at my disposal, and more interested in discovering how
best I could help those less fortunate than myself
...
I asked her for a
divorce and she agreed
...
He saw
Marianne’s gaze narrow with concern
...

‘I am fine
...
I was at home one night at
our estate in the country when she came back from a ball she’d attended—hosted by some
aristo she’d met at a fashion show—and that night she was like the Eliana I’d known years
back, when we first met
...
’
Feeling himself colour, Eduardo nevertheless did not flinch from
continuing
...
We spent the night together
...
I still wanted a divorce
...
To my surprise she accepted it, telling me that she too
thought it had been a mistake
...

‘Just over a month and a half after that I remembered her birthday was
coming up—our relationship had become much more amicable since we’d agreed to
divorce—and I asked her what she would like as a gift
...
Some mutual friends were throwing
her a birthday party and asked if I would come too…for old times sake
...

‘There is something else I have to tell you…’ He paused
...
Was the baby mine, or that
aristo’s? She’d once intimated she had been having an affair with him but I will never know
...
‘You know the rest…and now I have told you
everything
...
’
‘Eduardo?’
‘Yes?’
‘I have to ask you this
...
And he would give an honest answer to this woman he now knew without a shadow
of a doubt was the woman he loved with all his heart and could not bear to be without
...
If the baby had been mine, he or she would
have brought me nothing but joy, I am certain, but if it had been another man’s he might have
wanted to take responsibility, and Eliana might have wanted that
...
To have had my own son or daughter would have been—’ he
swallowed hard ‘—would have made everything else in my life pale into insignificance
...
We would have
divorced, as we had planned, and come to some amicable arrangement about custody if the
child had been mine
...
’
Marianne breathed out…slowly
...
There was simply too much good in him for deceit
...

‘Thank you,’ she told him quietly, her tongue briefly moistening her lips
...
‘Thank you for telling me the truth
...

‘What is it?’ At the grave expression on his face, Marianne’s heart thumped
...

‘He was a kind, good man—like you, Eduardo… And he was there for me
at a time when I was des per ate for a friend
...
Not as I have come to love you
...

‘Say that again
...

‘I love you
...
But, seeing as you have just said the words to me,
with a look in your eyes that tells me it must be true, I have no choice but to believe you! But
how—how can you love me, Marianne? I am hardly a young woman’s dream, with my bad
temper and the way I can some times shut down and retreat into myself
...
‘Married?’
‘That is what I said
...
‘Even though you could fill both those roles with ease I want you as my wife—my
wife and the mother of my children
...
’
‘How so?’ He frowned in concern
...
I come from a
dysfunctional family, and I’m not remotely interested in fashion, fast cars, or—’
‘Or?’ A dark blond eyebrow was raised in gently mocking amusement
...


‘Why football?’
‘Need you ask? We’re in Brazil, Eduardo! It’s the nation’s favourite game,
isn’t it? Even I know that!’
‘Listen…if you ever say even I in that self-deprecating tone again—as if
you’re not an extremely bright, intelligent and perceptive woman—then I’ll just have to
spank you to knock some sense into you!’
‘You wouldn’t!’
‘Want to try me?’
‘Seriously, though… Maybe I used to talk about myself in a selfdeprecating way…my mother leaving when I was fourteen, and my father being the way he
was and eventually leaving too definitely had a bearing on my self-esteem… But back then I
didn’t really know who I was or what I was capable of
...
No…that’s not totally true
...

‘All I’ve ever really wanted is to be loved, Eduardo
...
But now I know that I have to think well of
myself too—not keep blaming myself when things don’t work out
...
What I want is someone who’ll be a
true partner in life…someone who is there for me in good times and bad—as I will be there
for him
...
‘Perhaps you’re not getting such a bad bargain after all, now that I
come to think of it!’
As he cupped his hands on either side of her face Eduardo’s heart was in his
eyes, and his glance lovingly swept over Marianne’s animated features
...

Trust me when I tell you I will do everything in my power to ensure you will not be left alone
or unloved ever again, so long as I am with you
...
‘If you ever hear me put myself down in the future…you could always try kissing
me instead of spanking me
...
’
Chuckling softly, then bending his head—his heart racing with joy—
Eduardo kissed his lovely wife-to-be until even the stunning white sweep of Ipanema Beach
and the powerful Atlantic Ocean ceased to exist…such was their complete fascination,
devotion and love for each other…

ISBN: 978-1-4268-7928-9

THE MAN BEHIND THE MASK

Previously published in the U
...
under the title BRAZILIAN BOSS, VIRGIN
HOUSEKEEPER

First North American Publication 2011

Copyright © 2009 by Maggie Cox

All rights reserved
...


This is a work of fiction
...


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...


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