The Count's Blackmail Bargain

The Count’s Blackmail Bargain

Sara Craven

ITALIAN HUSBANDS

MILLS & BOON

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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

Endpage

COMING NEXT MONTH

CHAPTER ONE

IT WAS a warm, golden morning in Rome, so how in the name of God was the city in the apparent grip of a small earthquake?

The noble Conte Alessio Ramontella lifted his aching head from the pillow, and, groaning faintly from the effort, attempted to focus his eyes. True, the bed looked like a disaster area, but the room was not moving, and the severe pounding, which he’d assumed was the noise of buildings collapsing nearby, seemed to be coming instead from the direction of his bedroom door.

And the agitated shouting he could hear was not emanating from some buried victim either, but could be recognised as the voice of his manservant Giorgio urging him to wake up.

Using small, economical movements that would not disturb the blonde, naked beauty still slumbering beside him, or increase the pressure from his hangover, Alessio got up from the bed, and extracted his robe from the tangle of discarded clothing on the floor, before treading across the marble-tiled floor to the door.

He pulled the garment round him, and opened the door an inch or two.

‘This is not a working day,’ he informed the anxious face outside. ‘Am I to be allowed no peace?’

‘Forgive me, Eccellenza.’ Giorgio wrung his hands. ‘For the world I would not have disturbed you. But it is your aunt, the Signora Vicente.’

There was an ominous pause, then: ‘Here?’ Alessio bit out the word.

‘On her way,’ Giorgio admitted nervously. ‘She telephoned to announce her intention to visit you.’

Alessio swore softly. ‘Didn’t you have enough wit to say I was away?’ he demanded.

‘Of course, Eccellenza.’ Giorgio spoke with real sorrow. ‘But regrettably she did not believe me.’

Alessio swore again more fluently. ‘How long have I got?’

‘That will depend on the traffic, signore, but I think we must count in minutes.’ He added reproachfully, ‘I have been knocking and knocking…’

With another groan, Alessio forced himself into action. ‘Get a cab for my guest,’ he ordered. ‘Tell the driver to come to the rear entrance, and to be quick about it. This is an emergency. Then prepare coffee for the Signora, and some of the little almond biscuits that she likes.’

He shut the door, and went back to the bed, his hangover eclipsed by more pressing concerns. He looked down at all the smooth, tanned loveliness displayed for his delectation, and his mouth tightened.

Dio, what a fool he’d been to break his own cardinal rule, and allow her to stay the night.

I must have been more drunk than I thought, he told himself cynically, then bent over her, giving one rounded shoulder a firm shake.

Impossibly long lashes lifted slowly, and she gave him a sleepy smile. ‘Alessio, tesoro mio, why aren’t you still in bed?’ She reached up, twining coaxing arms round his neck to draw him down to her, but he swiftly detached the clinging hands and stepped back.

‘Vittoria, you have to go, and quickly too.’

She pouted charmingly. ‘But how ungallant of you, caro. I told you, Fabrizio is visiting his witch of a mother, and will not be back until this evening at the earliest. So we have all the time in the world.’

‘An enchanting thought,’ Alessio said levelly. ‘But, sadly, there is no time to pursue it.’

She stretched voluptuously, her smile widening. ‘But how can I leave, mi amore, when I have nothing to wear? You won all my clothes at cards last night, so what am I to do? It was, after all, a debt of honour,’ she added throatily.

Alessio tried to control his growing impatience. ‘Consider it cancelled. I cheated.’

She hunched a shoulder. ‘Then you will have to fetch my clothes for me—from the salotto where I took them off. Unless you wish me to win them back, during another game of cards.’

This, thought Alessio, was not the time to be sultry.

His smile was almost a snarl. ‘And how, precisely, bella mia, will you explain your presence, also your state of undress, to my aunt Lucrezia, who counts Fabrizio’s mother among her closest cronies?’

Vittoria gave a startled cry and sat up, belatedly grabbing at the sheet. ‘Madonna—you cannot mean it. Promise me she is not here?’

‘Not quite, but due imminently,’ Alessio warned, his tone grim.

‘Dio mio.’ Her voice was a wail. ‘Alessio—do something. I must get out of here. You have to save me.’

There was another knock at the door, which opened a crack to admit Giorgio’s discreet arm holding out a handful of female clothing. His voice was urgent. ‘The taxi has arrived, Eccellenza.’

‘Un momento.’ Alessio strode over and took the clothes, tossing them deftly to Vittoria who was already running frantically to the bathroom, her nakedness suddenly ungainly.

He paused, watching her disappear, then gave a mental shrug. Last night she’d been an entertaining and inventive companion, but daylight and danger had dissipated her appeal. There would be no more cards, or any other games with the beautiful Vittoria Montecorvo. In fact, he thought, frowning, it might be wiser, for the future, to avoid discontented wives altogether. The only real advantage of such affairs was not being expected to propose marriage, he told himself cynically.

He retrieved his underwear from the pile of discarded evening clothes beside the bed, then went into his dressing room, finding and shrugging on a pair of cream denim trousers and a black polo shirt. As he emerged, thrusting his bare feet into loafers, Vittoria was waiting, dressed but distraught.

‘Alessio.’ She hurled herself at him. ‘When shall I see you again?’

The honest reply would be, ‘Never,’ but that would also be unkind.

‘Perhaps this narrow escape is a warning to us, cara mia,’ he returned guardedly. ‘We shall have to be very careful.’

‘But I am not sure I can bear it.’ Her voice throbbed a little. ‘Not now that we have found each other, angelo mio.’

Alessio suppressed a cynical smile. He knew who his predecessor had been. Was sure that his successor was already lined up. Vittoria was a rich man’s beautiful daughter married to another rich man, who was all too easy to fool.

She was spoiled, predatory and bored, as, indeed, he was himself.

Maybe that had been the initial attraction between them, he thought, with an inner grimace. Like calling to like.

Suddenly he felt jaded and restless. The heat of Rome, the noise of the traffic seemed to press upon him, stifling him. He found himself thinking of windswept crags where clouds drifted. He longed to breathe the dark, earthy scents of the forests that clothed the lower slopes, and wake in the night to moonlit silence.

He needed, he thought, to distance himself.

And he could have all that, and more. After all, he was overdue for a vacation. Some re-scheduling at the bank, and he could be gone, he told himself as Vittoria pressed herself against him, murmuring seductively.

He wanted her out of the appartamento, too, he thought grimly, and realised he would have felt the same even if he hadn’t been threatened by a visit from his aunt.

Gently but firmly, he edged her out of the bedroom, and along the wide passage to where Giorgio was waiting, his face expressionless, just as the entrance bell jangled discordantly at the other end of the flat.

‘I’ll get that. You take the signora to her cab.’ Alessio freed himself from the clutching, crimson-tipped fingers, murmuring that of course he would think of her, would call her—but only if he felt it was safe.

He paused to watch her leaving, her parting glance both suspicious and disconsolate, then drew a deep breath of thanksgiving, raking the hair she’d so playfully dishevelled back from his face with impatient fingers.

The bell rang again, imperative in its summons, and Alessio knew he could hardly delay his response any longer. Sighing, he went to confront the enemy at the gates.

‘Zia Lucrezia,’ he greeted the tall, grey-haired woman waiting on his doorstep, her elegant shoe beating a tattoo against the stone. ‘What a charming surprise.’

Her glance was minatory as she swept past him. ‘Don’t be a hypocrite, Alessio. It does not become you. I was not expecting to be welcome.’ She paused for a moment, listening to the distant sound of a car starting up, and the rear door closing with a clang. ‘Ah, so your other visitor has safely made her escape,’ she added with a sour smile. ‘I regret spoiling your plans for the day, nephew.’

He said gently, ‘I rarely make plans, my dear aunt. I prefer to wait and see what delights the day offers.’ He escorted her into the salotto, one swift, sweeping glance assuring him that it had been restored to its usual pristine condition. The tell-tale wineglasses had been removed, together with the empty bottles, and the grappa that had followed had also been put away. As had the scattered cards from last night’s impromptu session of strip poker.

And the windows to the balcony stood innocently open to admit the morning sun, and dispel any lingering traces of alcohol fumes, and Vittoria’s rather heavy perfume.

Making a mental note to increase Giorgio’s salary, he conducted the Signora to a sofa, and seated himself in the chair opposite.

‘To what do I owe the pleasure of seeing you, Zia Lucrezia?’

She was silent for a moment, then she said curtly, ‘I wish to speak to you about Paolo.’

He looked across at her in frank surprise. Giorgio’s arrival with the tall silver pot of coffee, and the ensuing ritual of pouring the coffee and handing the tiny sweet biscuits, gave him a chance to gather his thoughts.

When they were alone again, he said softly, ‘You amaze me, cara Zia. I am hardly in a position to offer advice. You have always allowed me to understand that my example to your only son is an abomination.’

‘Don’t pretend to be a fool,’ the Signora said shortly. ‘Of course, I don’t want advice.’ She hesitated again. ‘However, I do find that I need your practical assistance in a small matter.’

Alessio swallowed some coffee. ‘I hope this is not a request to transfer Paolo back to Rome. I gather he is making progress in London.’

‘That,’ said Paolo’s mother glacially, ‘is a matter of opinion. And, anyway, he is returning to Rome quite soon, to spend his vacation with me.’

Alessio’s eyes narrowed slightly. ‘The idea doesn’t appeal to you? Yet I remember you complaining to me when we met at Princess Dorelli’s reception that you didn’t see him often enough.’

There was another, longer silence, then the Signora said, as if the words were being wrung out of her, ‘He is not coming alone.’

Alessio shrugged. ‘Well, why should he?’ he countered. ‘Let me remind you, dear aunt, that my cousin is no longer a boy.’

‘Precisely.’ The Signora poured herself more coffee. ‘He is old enough, in fact, to be a husband. And let me remind you, Alessio, that it has always been the intention of both families that Paolo should marry Beatrice Manzone.’

Alessio’s brows snapped together. ‘I know there was some such plan when they were children,’ he admitted slowly. ‘But now—now they are adults, and—things change. People change.’

She looked back at him stonily. ‘Except for you, it seems, my dear nephew. You remain—unregenerate, with your boats and your fast cars. With your gambling and your womanising.’

He said gently, ‘Mea culpa, Zia Lucrezia, but we are not here to discuss my manifold faults.’ He paused. ‘So, Paolo has a girlfriend. It’s hardly a mortal sin, and, anyway, to my certain knowledge, she is not the first. He will probably have many more before he decides to settle down. So, what is the problem?’

‘Signor Manzone is an old friend,’ said the Signora. ‘Naturally, he wishes his daughter’s future to be settled. And soon.’

‘And is this what Beatrice herself wants?’

‘She and my Paolo grew up together. She has adored him all her life.’

Alessio shrugged again. ‘Then maybe she’ll be prepared to wait until he has finished sowing his wild oats,’ he returned indifferently.

‘Hmm.’ The Signora’s tone was icy. ‘Then it is fortunate she is not waiting for you.’

‘Fortunate for us both,’ Alessio said gently. ‘The Signorina Manzone is infinitely too sweet for my taste.’

‘I am relieved to hear it. I did not know you bothered to discriminate between one foolish young woman and the next.’

As so often when he talked to his aunt, Alessio could feel his jaw clenching. He kept his voice even. ‘Perhaps you should remember, Zia, that my father, your own brother, was far from a saint until he married my mother. Nonna Ramontella often told me she wore out her knees, praying for him.’ And for you, he added silently.

‘What a pity your grandmother is no longer here to perform the same service for you.’ There was a pause, and, when she spoke again, the Signora’s voice was slightly less acerbic. ‘But we should not quarrel, Alessio. Your life is your own, whereas Paolo has—obligations, which he must be made to recognise. Therefore this—relazione amorosa of his must end, quanta prima tanto meglio.’

Alessio frowned again. ‘But sooner may not be better for Paolo,’ he pointed out. ‘They may be genuinely in love. After all, this is the twenty-first century, not the fifteenth.’

The Signora waved a dismissive hand. ‘The girl is completely unsuitable. Some English sciattona that he met in a bar in London,’ she added with distaste. ‘From what I have gleaned from my fool of a son, she has neither family nor money.’

‘Whereas Beatrice Manzone has both, of course,’ Alessio said drily. ‘Especially money.’

‘That may not weigh with you,’ the Signora said with angry energy. ‘But it matters very much to Paolo.’

‘Unless I break my neck playing polo,’ Alessio drawled. ‘Which would make him my heir, of course. My preoccupation with dangerous sports should please you, Zia Lucrezia. It opens up all kinds of possibilities.’

She gave him a fulminating look. ‘Which we need not consider. You will, of course, remember in due course what you owe to your family, and provide yourself with a wife and family.

‘As matters stand, you are the chairman of the Arleschi Bank. He is only an employee. He cannot afford to marry some pretty nobody.’

‘So, she’s pretty,’ Alessio mused. ‘But then she would have to be, if she has no money. And Paolo has Ramontella blood in his veins, so she may even be a beauty—this…?’

‘Laura,’ the Signora articulated coldly. ‘Laura Mason.’

‘Laura.’ He repeated the name softly. ‘The name of the girl that Petrarch saw in church and loved for the rest of his life.’ He grinned at his aunt. ‘I hope that isn’t an omen.’

‘Well,’ the Signora said softly, ‘I depend on you, my dear Alessio, to make certain it is not.’

‘You expect me to preach to my cousin about family duty?’ He laughed. ‘I don’t think he’d listen.’

‘I wish you to do more than talk. I wish you to bring Paolo’s little romance to an end.’

His brows lifted. ‘And how am I supposed to do that?’

‘Quite easily, caro mio.’ She gave him a flat smile. ‘You will seduce her, and make sure he knows of it.’

Alessio came out of his chair in one lithe, angry movement. ‘Are you insane?’

‘I am simply being practical,’ his aunt returned. ‘Requesting that you put your dubious talents with women to some useful purpose.’

‘Useful!’ He was almost choking on his rage. ‘Dio mio, how dare you insult me by suggesting such a thing? Imagine that I would be willing even for one moment…’ He flung away from her. Walked to the window, gazed down into the street below with unseeing eyes, then turned back, his face inimical. ‘No,’ he said. ‘And again—no. Never.’

‘You disappoint me,’ the Signora said almost blandly. ‘I hoped you would regard it as—an interesting challenge.’

‘On the contrary,’ he said. ‘I am disgusted—nauseated by such a proposal.’ He took a deep breath. ‘And from you of all people. You—astound me.’

She regarded him calmly. ‘What exactly are your objections?’

He spread his hands in baffled fury. ‘Where shall I begin? The girl is a complete stranger to me.’

‘But so, at first, are all the women who share your bed.’ She paused. ‘For example, mio caro, how long have you known Vittoria Montecorvo, whose hasty departure just now I almost interrupted?’

Their eyes met, locked in a long taut, silence. Eventually, he said, ‘I did not realise you took such a close interest in my personal life.’

‘Under normal circumstances, I would not, I assure you. But in this instance, I need your—co-operation.’

Alessio said slowly, ‘At any moment, I am going to wake up, and find this is all a bad dream.’ He came back to his chair. Sat. ‘I have other objections. Do you wish to hear them?’

‘As you wish.’

He leaned forward, the dark face intense. ‘This romance of Paolo’s may just be a passing fancy. Why not let it run its course?’

‘Because Federico Manzone wishes my son’s engagement to Beatrice to be made official. Any more delay would displease him.’

‘And would that be such a disaster?’

‘Yes,’ his aunt said. ‘It would. I have entered into certain—accommodations with Signor Manzone, on the strict understanding that this marriage would soon be taking place. Repayment would be—highly inconvenient.’

‘Santa Maria.’ Alessio slammed a clenched fist into the palm of his other hand. Of course, he thought. He should have guessed as much.

The Signora’s late husband had come from an old but relatively impoverished family, but, in spite of that, her spending habits had always been legendary. He could remember stern family conferences on the subject when he was a boy.

And age, it seemed, had not taught her discretion.

Groaning inwardly, he said, ‘Then why not allow me to settle these debts for you, and let Paolo live his life?’

There was a sudden gleam of humour in her still-handsome face. ‘I am not a welcome client at the bank, Alessio, so are you inviting me to become your private pensioner? Your poor father would turn in his grave. Besides, the lawyers would never allow it. And Federico has assured me very discreetly that, once our families are joined, he will make permanent arrangements for me. He is all generosity.’

‘Then why not change the plan?’ Alessio said with sudden inspiration. ‘You’re a widow. He’s a widower. Why don’t you marry him yourself, and let the next generation find their own way to happiness?’

‘As you yourself are doing?’ The acid was back. ‘Perhaps we could have a double wedding, mio caro. I am sure honour will demand you ask the lovely Vittoria to be your wife, when her husband divorces her for adultery. After all, it will make a hideous scandal.’

Their glances met again and clashed, steel against steel.

He said steadily, ‘I was not aware that Fabrizio had any such plans for Vittoria.’

‘Not yet, certainly,’ the Signora said silkily. ‘But if he or my good friend Camilla, his mother, should discover in some unfortunate way that you have planted horns on him, then that might change.’

Eventually, Alessio sighed, lifting a shoulder in a resigned shrug. ‘I have seriously underestimated you, Zia Lucrezia. I did not realise how totally unscrupulous you could be.’

‘A family trait,’ said the Signora. ‘But desperate situations call for desperate measures.’

‘But, you must still consider this,’ Alessio went on. ‘Even if his affair with the English girl is terminated, there is no guarantee that Paolo will marry Beatrice. He may still choose to look elsewhere. He might even find another rich girl. How will you prevent that?’ He gave her a thin smile. ‘Or have you some scheme to blackmail him into co-operation too?’

‘You speak as if he has never cared for Beatrice.’ His aunt spoke calmly. ‘This is not true. And, once his disillusion with his English fancy is complete, I know he will realise where his best interests lie, and turn to her again. And they will be happy together. I am sure of it.’

Alessio sent her a look of pure exasperation. ‘How simple you make it sound. You pull the strings, and the puppets dance. But there are still things you have not taken into account. For one thing, how will I meet this girl?’

‘I have thought of that. I shall tell Paolo that I have workmen at my house in Tuscany putting in a new heating system, so cannot receive guests. Instead, I have accepted a kind invitation from you for us all to stay at the Villa Diana.’

He snorted. ‘And he will believe you?’

She shrugged. ‘He has no choice. And I shall make sure you have the opportunity to be alone with the girl. The rest is up to you.’ She paused. ‘You may not even be called on to make the ultimate sacrifice, caro. It might be enough for Paolo to discover you kissing her.’

He said patiently, ‘Zia Lucrezia, has it occurred to you that this—Laura—may be truly in love with Paolo, and nothing will persuade her to even a marginal betrayal?’

He paused, his mouth twisting. ‘Besides, and more importantly, you have overlooked the fact that she may not find me attractive.’

‘Caro Alessio,’ the Signora purred. ‘Let us have no false modesty. It has been often said that if you had smiled at Juliet, she would have left Romeo. Like your other deluded victims, Laura will find you irresistible.’

‘Davvero?’ Alessio asked ironically. ‘I hope she slaps my face.’ He looked down at his hand, studying the crest on the signet ring he wore. ‘And afterwards—if I succeed in this contemptible ploy? I would not blame Paolo if he refused to speak to me again.’

‘At first, perhaps, he may be resentful. But in time, he will thank you.’ She rose. ‘They will be arriving next week. I hope this will not be a problem for you?’

He got to his feet too, his mouth curling. He walked over to her, took her hand and bowed over it. ‘I shall count the hours.’

‘Sarcasm, mio caro, does not become you.’ She studied him for a moment. ‘Like your father, Alessio, you are formidable when you are angry.’ She patted his cheek. ‘I hope you’re in a better mood when you finally encounter this English girl, or I shall almost feel sorry for her.’

He gave her a hard, unsmiling look. ‘Don’t concern yourself for her, Zia Lucrezia. I will do my best to send her home with a beautiful memory.’

‘Ah,’ she said. ‘Now I really do feel sorry for her.’ And was gone.

Alone, Alessio went to a side table, and poured himself a whisky. He rarely drank in the daytime, but this was like no other day since the beginning of the world.

What the devil was Paolo thinking of—bringing his little ragazza within a hundred miles of his mother? If he gave a damn about her, he would keep them well apart.

And if I had an atom of decency, Alessio thought grimly, I would call him, and say so.

But he couldn’t risk it. Zia Lucrezia had more than her full share of the Ramontella ruthlessness, as he should have remembered, and would not hesitate to carry out her veiled threat about his ill-advised interlude with Vittoria. And the fall-out would, as she’d predicted, be both unpleasant and spectacular.