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Kate stopped on the threshold. ‘I can’t believe I thought I was in love with you. What a lucky escape I’ve had.’
His gaze flickered and then turned cold again. ‘And I thought you might have been different to other women. I even thought we might have had a chance—’
‘You threw it away, Santino, and I only hope you don’t pass on this hard, unyielding side of your nature to our daughter.’
‘Have you finished?’ He stared over her head.
‘No.’ Kate firmed her jaw. ‘You should know that I will abide by any ruling the court makes, but I won’t be ruled by you, Santino, and I won’t allow you to rule Francesca. We’re both leaving Rome this weekend and the only way you can stop me taking her back home is by locking us up.’
‘Don’t be so dramatic.’
‘No, I can see that might look bad for you. I don’t imagine it’s the kind of publicity you would relish.’
‘Are you attempting to blackmail me?’
‘I don’t think you have the slightest idea the lengths a mother will go to in order to protect her child.’
‘Get out! Just get out of my sight!’
Kate shuddered as the door slammed behind her.
The only thing keeping her together was Francesca and Kate rushed to see her now. After the terrible things she and Santino had said to each other she needed reassurance that Francesca was unaware of the enmity between her parents.
Kate found Meredith and Francesca in the garden, and as soon as Francesca spotted her she came running over, eager to show off the puppies to her mother.
It would be hard for Francesca to leave the puppies behind, Kate thought as the tiny animals raced around tumbling over each other in their excitement. But not impossible. She would find a way … perhaps Meredith wouldn’t mind taking in another dog.
Francesca was happy to play on the grass while Kate went to sit on the terrace with Meredith beneath the bleached linen umbrella. Resting her chin on her hand, Kate watched Francesca and tried at the same time to close her mind to Santino. But she had only been sitting there a few minutes when he came out of the house. She could feel him behind her, but she would not let him spoil this innocent moment of enjoyment, Kate decided as his shadow moved across her.
She smiled and waved at Francesca. If Kate had needed anything to convince her that she could face whatever the future held, Francesca was enough; Francesca gave her all the courage she needed to go on.
The day had mellowed into the type of afternoon when nothing bad should ever happen, and apart from the tension between Santino and herself Kate might have believed it possible. Turning her face up to the flawless sky, she shut him out. ‘It’s so lovely here …’ She waited for Meredith to reply and when only silence greeted her she opened her eyes to find she was alone with Santino.
‘Meredith has taken Francesca inside.’
‘Why?’ Shading her eyes, Kate looked at him.
‘For a rest before dinner, I believe.’
‘Before dinner?
‘My suggestion to Meredith was that you all stay the night. We will eat at six o’clock to accommodate Francesca’s earlier mealtime.’
It was another decision taken out of her hands. As she fought to keep everything on an even keel for Francesca’s sake she was in danger of being swept along at Santino’s pace and in the direction he decided. But it was a long drive back to Rome and all the travelling had exhausted Francesca, another journey on top of the rest wasn’t fair to her …
The moment Kate gave her agreement to his plan Santino stood up and walked away. Her sense of isolation deepened as she watched him returning to the house. Leaving the table, she hurried in the same direction. She could see Meredith and Francesca lingering for a few last moments with the puppies before returning inside. But her step faltered when she saw Francesca throw herself into Santino’s arms. As he lifted their daughter high in the air Kate felt tears sting her eyes. They were tears of happiness for Francesca, and tears of sadness because she would never be part of Francesca’s new life. Not wanting to intrude, Kate paused and stared around at the fabulous grounds. How could she deny Francesca a heritage like this?
Santino had planned for their rooms to look over the stables. In fact the suite the maid showed Meredith, Kate and Francesca into was so spacious it overlooked both the stables and the lake. Francesca could hardly contain her excitement, which was understandable; she had never been anywhere quite so grand in her life.
Watching Francesca exploring their new quarters, Kate’s first thought was that her daughter was going to be ruined. Her worst fears were only confirmed when she looked out of the window. Santino was in the stable yard holding a pretty white pony on a leading rein.
Biting her lip, Kate turned away. All Francesca had ever dreamed about was owning a pony of her own. Would she come back to England willingly now? It was the ice-cream cart all over again. Everything here was to excess … But then Santino was the master when it came to cutting deals, Kate remembered. Wasn’t that what he was doing now? He knew that all he had to do was find the right currency and he could buy Francesca.
Kate took a few deep breaths until the panic inside her subsided. She had thought herself ready for anything, but she hadn’t expected Santino to move so fast to secure Francesca. But wouldn’t she do the same? Wasn’t Santino in turmoil too? Shouldn’t she be glad he was determined to assume his parenting responsibilities for Francesca? And Santino was new to this. She had a head’s start on him …
But however hard she tried to convince herself that everything was working out for the best, Kate could never forget what she stood to lose. As Santino glanced up she moved back from the window. It was as if he knew she was standing there, watching him.
Then Francesca came tearing out of the bedroom with Meredith hot on her heels.
‘Can we go down and see the pony?’
‘Why not?’ Kate gave Meredith a reassuring glance. Her aunt hadn’t been so upbeat recently and Kate didn’t want to spoil the day for Meredith either. They were here and she would smile and make the best of it. This was the beginning of a new chapter for all of them.
When they reached the stable yard it wasn’t as easy as Kate had imagined to maintain a calm front, but she made it, standing quietly to one side while Francesca gazed in awe at the adorable shaggy white pony.
‘Is he mine, Daddy?’
She was losing her. Kate felt as if she were holding onto sanity by her fingertips. She was not losing Francesca, Kate told herself firmly. They were looking at a pony in a stable yard, and that was all.
‘The pony’s name is Beppo,’ Santino revealed.
When Santino smiled her heart thundered on cue, and she had to remind herself that his smile was not for her, but Francesca. And when she had done that it was her turn to smile and exclaim with pleasure and do all the things that Francesca expected of her, because that was the right thing to do. And the right thing was never easy.
‘I’d like a pony,’ Francesca hinted, glancing up at her father.
‘A pony like Beppo?’ Santino grew thoughtful.
‘Yes.’ Francesca was thrilled that her hint appeared to be reaping dividends. Unable to hide her triumph she glanced at Kate and then locked eyes with her father. ‘Does Beppo live here?’
‘He’s considering it,’ Santino admitted.
Kate could tell Francesca was having difficulty holding her excitement in check, and knew it was only moments before Santino closed the deal of his life.
‘You say you’d like a pony like Beppo, Francesca,’ he said, ‘but could you take care of him?’
‘I could learn,’ Francesca said, growing serious as she looked up at her father.
‘A pony takes a lot of looking after. He must have fresh food and clean water every day, and his stable needs cleaning out. He also needs a lot of grooming.’
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