THE phone rang and Ambrosia leaped on to it.
‘Hello?’
‘You saw yesterday’s papers?’ Ricardo’s voice cut like a knife down the line.
‘Yes, of course I did. It was awful. I can barely leave the flat. I can’t think who did this. It’s appalling.’
‘Whoever it was, Ambrosia, I can assure you they will pay a high price for invading my privacy and trying to muck up my marriage.’
‘Your marriage?’ Ambrosia could not repress a smile of delight. ‘You mean Gabriella saw the pictures? How awful. I’m so sorry, Ricky.’
There was a moment’s hesitation. ‘Thanks to this mischief my wife has left me. I have no idea where she is, and I am very worried about her. I hold you entirely to blame.’
‘Me? But—’
‘Don’t play games, Ambrosia. I know how you operate when you want something. I’ve seen you in action before. I just never believed you’d stoop so low.’ His voice rasped on her nerves, cold and unforgiving.
‘But, Ricky, you have it all wrong. I was appalled. I tell you, I’m positively being invaded. I can’t get the wretched press off my doorstep. I was thinking of coming to Maldoravia. After all, my villa there is very secluded and private. And at least that way we could see each other…’
‘See each other? Are you completely mad? I forbid you to come anywhere near Maldoravia. As for seeing you, I sincerely hope that last night was the last time you’ll ever cross my path.’
Ambrosia swallowed and her hands trembled. There was no disappointment in his voice, only icy fury. Her pulse raced. Had she played her cards wrong? she wondered, her heart sinking. But surely now that Gabriella was well out of the way—might even decide to leave him permanently—the coast would be clear, and after all this had died down he would change his mind. Yes, surely. This reaction was nothing but a natural passing phase.
‘Okay, darling,’ she said meekly. ‘I’ll do whatever you want.’
‘Do not use that term of endearment ever again,’ he hissed. ‘Now, get the hell out of my life and stay out. You’ve done enough damage as it is, and I shall never forgive you.’
The phone went dead and she looked at it thoughtfully, wrinkling her nose. Strong words, of course, and the result of her handiwork was not great. But on the other hand it was to be expected that he would be angry. And serve him right, for leaving her on her own and running back to his little virgin wife. Once all the fuss died down she had no doubt that she would achieve her objective. Gabriella would probably make a scene, and that would annoy him. Little by little the couple would drift apart, and she would be there to pick up the pieces exactly as planned.
It sounded good, but Ambrosia was not quite as confident as she had been. She had a sinking feeling that she should not have allowed her temper to get the better of her.
For the first time she wondered if she would come out winning in the end.
‘I’ve traced her,’ Ricardo announced triumphantly, coming into the drawing room where Constanza and the Contessa were sitting having coffee.
‘Really?’ Constanza looked up, excited. ‘Oh, I’m so glad, Ricky. I’ve been so worried. Where is she?’
‘Apparently she’s in Switzerland. My people tracked down the driver of the limo. She had the car drop her off at the Beau Rivage Hotel in Lausanne, but she’s not registered there. I had the concierge check. And there is no one who matches her description in the hotel. Even under another name.’
‘Very strange,’ the Contessa murmured vaguely. ‘Ricardo, have some coffee.’
‘In a moment, Aunt,’ he said, his eyes narrowing. ‘Aunt Elizabetta, I don’t suppose you would know anything about her whereabouts? If I recall correctly, you are very friendly with Gabriella’s old headmistress, from her school in Switzerland. I remember you talking about her not that long ago. Perhaps you have an idea of where she might be?’
‘Me? How would I know?’ she spluttered, almost dropping the coffee pot. ‘Now look what you’ve made me do, Ricky,’ she exclaimed, placing the coffee pot back down on the tray and fussing over a spot on the cloth.
Constanza and Ricardo exchanged a look. They knew their aunt well.
‘Aunt Elizabetta, if you know anything—anything at all—you must tell Ricky,’ Constanza said, looking her aunt full in the eyes.
‘Well, I…’
‘Please, Aunt.’ Ricardo came over quickly and, sitting down, took her hands in his. ‘You have no idea how important this is. If she has confided in you, if you know anything at all, you must tell me at once. Our whole future could be at stake.’
‘Well, after the way you’ve behaved I really don’t see what future you have with Gabriella,’ his aunt countered, regaining some of her composure.
‘Look, I had nothing to do with that picture or those articles. It was some busybody reporter who happened to be spying on us. It was foolish of me to go out in public with Ambrosia, but the photo was just a piece of bad luck.’
‘Are you sure?’ Constanza got up and, turning her back to the window, leaned against the sill. ‘Are you sure you weren’t set up, Ricky?’
‘By whom?’
‘By Ambrosia herself.’
‘It’s possible,’ he conceded slowly.
‘It all strikes me as far too pat to be just a coincidence. I mean, who knew you were going to dine at Mark’s? And all those details about Ruddy and Gabriella and the accident. You said you had no intention of having an amorous evening with the woman. Try and remember the circumstances. Did you kiss her out of the blue or did she conveniently kiss you?’
Ricardo dropped his aunt’s hands and rose. He remained silent for a long moment, then turned and faced his sister.
‘I’ve been a fool,’ he said quietly. ‘But I’ve already made it quite clear to Ambrosia that it’s over between us. If she thinks otherwise, she’s the fool.’
‘I won’t contradict you on either,’ Constanza replied in a sisterly manner. ‘I think she set the whole thing up to create a rift between you and Gabriella. Now, Aunt Elizabetta, spill the beans and tell us the truth. Gabriella’s gone back to her school, hasn’t she?’
‘Yes. You are right. She went to seek out the one person she felt she could trust—my old friend Marianne Delorme, her headmistress.’
‘And she’s there at the school now?’ Ricardo insisted.
‘Apparently so. I believe Marianne is very upset with you. It seems Gabriella is unhappy and barely eats. You have a lot to answer for, Ricky. You had no right to marry that child and behave the way you have. I am positively ashamed of you.’
‘That I am very well aware of,’ he said bitterly. ‘But this last episode was not of my making. Ambrosia will pay dearly for her tricks.’
‘Right now, I wouldn’t worry about her,’ Constanza replied.
‘I’m on my way to Lausanne,’ Ricardo answered, with a smile in her direction. ‘I’m so relieved that I’ve finally discovered Gabriella’s whereabouts. How long did you plan to keep this a secret, Aunt? I can’t believe you didn’t tell me.’
‘It serves you jolly well right,’ Aunt Elizabetta replied firmly. ‘You don’t deserve her, the way you go on. And I’m not speaking just of this newspaper incident. You know very well what I mean.’
‘I can assure you, madame, that from now on things will be different.’
‘So I should hope,’ she replied with a sniff as he left the room, leaving the door swinging behind him.
‘So. Elizabetta let the cat out of the bag, did she?’ Madame Delorme said as Ricardo entered the sitting room and the maid closed the door quietly behind him.
‘No. Actually I traced her through the car company, then confronted my aunt. I remembered your close friendship and put two and two together, madame,’ he said, raising her hand to his lips.
Madame Delorme eyed him askance. The man was more charming than she had imagined. No wonder Gabriella was in love. But still, she had no inclination to facilitate his task. ‘And so you arrive here on my doorstep, without so much as a by-your-leave,’ she said, in a tone that would have had her pupils quaking in their shoes, ‘and expect your wife to be awaiting you?’
‘Not at all. Madame, you must excuse the precipitous manner of my arrival. As soon as I knew of Gabriella’s whereabouts I came at once. You must realise how worried I was about my wife.’
‘Good. You deserve to be worried after the way you’ve behaved.’
Ricardo cleared his throat. He was not used to being treated like an errant schoolboy.
‘I have come to relieve you of the responsibility for her,’ he said in a grand manner.
‘Vraiment, Your Royal Highness?’ she replied, raising an amused and critical brow. ‘Well, that is all very well. But who says that your Gabriella wants to see you?’
‘Madame, I must insist. Gabriella is my wife. She has an obligation to see me.’
‘You know, if I was you I would alter my approach,’ Madame said in a pleasant tone, sitting down on the stiff-backed brocade sofa and crossing her legs. ‘You may sit down. We need to talk this matter over sensibly.’
Ricardo sat opposite. It was the first time in many years that he had felt out of his element.
‘I assure you, madame, that I want nothing more than to recover my wife and take her home, where she belongs.’
‘Your Highness, Gabriella is not an object that you can bundle up and take with you. She is a very sensitive and hurt young woman who is suffering the deep humiliation of having been made a fool of in front of the world. Apart from anything else, she is not well.’
‘Not well? What is wrong with her?’
‘Among other things, unhappiness. It is an illness that can do much harm. And you, young man, are to blame for this state of affairs.’
‘Madame, please,’ he pleaded with a smile. ‘I know I’m in the wrong, but I beg you to believe me when I tell you that things are not at all as they appear. It seems that I was set up. I suppose that my friend—’
‘You mean your mistress?’
‘Uh, ex-mistress.’ He regained his composure and continued smoothly, ‘She perhaps thought that if she could separate me from Gabriella and create a rift I would return to her. I don’t know. Suffice it to say that I have made it abundantly clear to her that whatever there was between us is definitively over.’ He got up, raised his hands, then let them drop. ‘All I know is I need to see my wife as soon as possible and explain to her what happened. I can’t allow her to go on thinking that I…’
‘That you?’
‘That I betrayed her.’
‘Well, I think you may find her a little difficult to convince. After all, the evidence is staring her in the face.’
‘All I’m asking is a chance to talk to her.’
Madame eyed him, then she sighed. ‘I suppose you’re right. At some point you will both have to come to terms with the situation—face one another and clear this matter up. But I’m afraid right now that is impossible.’
‘Why?’ he asked, raising a haughty brow.
‘Because Gabriella is not here. She is at the doctor’s.’
‘The doctor? Is she ill?’ His expression changed immediately to one of concern and Madame felt relieved. Perhaps he did care far more for Gabriella than she had at first thought.
‘Well, not exactly. She…’
‘Madame, I demand that you tell me the truth about my wife’s state of health.’
Madame Delorme hesitated. She hated interfering. On the other hand, she knew how stubborn Gabriella could be—and proud. At last she took a decision.
‘This goes against the grain, and I would not normally betray a confidence.’ She sighed. ‘But I think it is for the well-being of you both. I do it on one condition, though.’
‘Which is?’
‘That you do not tell Gabriella that you know. Let her tell you herself.’
‘Very well,’ he said, mystified. ‘But please, madame, whatever it is, I have to know.’
‘I have your word?’
‘Absolutely. My solemn promise that whatever you tell me I will keep to myself until she sees fit to tell me.’
‘Do not be surprised if that takes a little time.’
‘Fine,’ he said impatiently. ‘But what is it?’
‘Gabriella is expecting a baby.’
‘What?’ Ricardo stopped dead in his tracks.
‘Yes. There is nothing surprising in that, surely?’
‘No. Yes. What I mean is… Oh, my God, what a mess.’ He sat down abruptly. ‘Is she okay? No, she isn’t, is she? That’s why she was so pale. Oh, God, what a mess I’ve made of things.’
‘Well, it’s too late to cry over spilt milk,’ Madame pointed out in a matter-of-fact tone. ‘The main thing is that you must be there for her from now on.’
‘When will she be back?’
‘In about half an hour. Now, I’m afraid I’m rather busy,’ she said, looking at her watch, ‘but you’re welcome to wait here.’
‘Thank you, madame.’
‘I shall tell my secretary to advise Gabriella to come to my sitting room the minute she gets in. And,’ she added looking at him with a touch of humour, ‘make sure you don’t botch this up. It may be a one-time opportunity.’
With that she exited the room, leaving Ricardo to pace impatiently up and down, her words ringing in his ears.
‘Gabriella, you’re wanted in Madame Delorme’s sitting room,’ Katie the secretary said as Gabriella came into the hall.
‘I’ll go right away.’
Gabriella, her hair pulled back in a ponytail and wearing jeans and a white shirt, looked like any one of the students as she walked across the hall and knocked on the door of Madame Delorme’s sitting room. To her surprise she heard a male voice answer. She frowned, but turned the door handle anyway, then stopped, rooted to the ground, when she saw Ricardo standing in the middle of the room, tall, serious and handsome in a light grey suit.
‘Gabriella,’ he said, moving towards her and taking her hands in his before she could react. ‘I have been so worried about you, cara mia, you have no idea.’
‘Oh, I think I do,’ she said, regaining her balance and wrenching her hands from his grip. ‘If the papers are anything to go by, I have an excellent perception of exactly how worried you are.’
‘Please, you must let me explain.’
‘Don’t waste your time,’ she said haughtily, taking a quick step back. ‘There is nothing you can say to justify that. Frankly, I’m glad you’ve come. At least now we can talk and clear the air. Ever since we married you have been wishing you were with her,’ she said, her head held high. ‘Well, now there is nothing to stop you. She was what you wanted all along.’
‘You’re wrong. I—’
‘I know our marriage was not fair on you,’ Gabriella interrupted, determined to have her say, ‘and that my father forced you into it. Also I know that you and Ambrosia are having a long-standing affair. I suppose you thought I would simply turn my eyes the other way while you carried on your relationship with her? Well, I won’t. I won’t be made a laughing stock. I won’t go through the humiliation of my husband being unfaithful to me.’
‘Is that all you care about? That people will laugh behind your back?’ His eyes narrowed and he drew himself up to his full height.
‘Of course. I refuse to be the victim of such humiliation.’
‘Is that all you feel, Gabriella? Humiliation? Shame?’
‘I don’t know what you mean,’ she said, turning away, her lip quivering.
‘I mean, Gabriella, that you know as well as I do that when we made love it was not just a coming together of two married people. It was special. It was magical.’
She stopped dead at his words and swallowed. A shudder ran through her.
‘Gabriella, I have made love to many women in my time. I believe I can honestly consider myself an experienced lover,’ he said with a rueful touch of humour. ‘But when you and I made love I felt something I had never felt before.’
‘If that was the case,’ she said in small voice, ‘why were you kissing the woman you’ve been making love to for the past couple of years?’
‘It was a set-up.’
‘Yeah, right,’ she muttered, clenching her fists. ‘You know, I may look stupid, but actually I’m not. You were kissing her, and,’ she added as a clincher, turning on him, her eyes flashing with emerald anger, ‘you looked as if you were enjoying it. Did you have a pleasant night together, I wonder?’ She stopped herself, swallowed once more, and shook her head. ‘Oh, God. This is exactly what I wanted to avoid. Ricardo, you must understand…’ she said, her anger fading as she sank onto a chair and unconsciously placed her hand on her tummy. ‘I know you have had many women—I’ve read about you for years in the press. I can’t expect you to give up your lifestyle; it wouldn’t be fair when this is nothing but a marriage of convenience for you. But please understand that I could never live with you under those conditions. I couldn’t bear it. I—’
‘Why not?’ he insisted, looking down at her, a new and intent gleam in his eye. ‘Why couldn’t you bear it? If for you our marriage is only an obligation, what do you care what I do?’
‘Because I…’
‘Because you have deeper feelings for me than you want to admit?’ he challenged, drawing her up and into his arms, his hand snaking behind her head and forcing it back so that she was obliged to meet his eyes full-on.
‘No! I—’
‘Don’t lie to me, Gabriella. I thought perhaps it was just I who felt those things when we made love, that for you it was just a first experience and you had let me teach you. But now I want the truth.’
‘Why should I tell you of my feelings?’ she whispered, her eyes holding his.
‘Because I love you,’ he said. ‘And I want to know if you love me.’
She let out a little gasp and her heart leaped. ‘How can you say that when—?’
‘Oh, forget about that damn picture. It was all Ambrosia, playing her silly tricks. I’ve told her it is over—completely over. And, for the record, I did not spend the night with her.’
‘Oh.’ Gabriella swallowed, wanting to believe him.
‘But I need to know the truth,’ Ricardo insisted. ‘Do you love me?’
‘Yes,’ she whispered at last, letting her head sink onto his chest. ‘Yes, I love you, Ricardo. Which is why I can’t stay with you. Because although you say now that you love me, I think you’re just trying to make me feel better. There will be other women and—’
‘Will you stop talking this damn nonsense, cara? Do you know that this is the first time I have ever said to any woman that I love her?’ He gave her shoulders a little shake and smiled down into her eyes. ‘Oh, my beautiful, wonderful girl. Gonzalo was a clever man. He realised far more than you or I ever could have, and I shall be eternally grateful to him for having forced our hands.’
He pulled her close and, sitting down, drew her onto his knee. ‘Now, tell me, my love. Is it just mal d’amour that has been making you feel ill the past few days, or is there something else? I swear, I will never let you go through anything like this again as long as you live, my love.’
Gabriella let her head lean against his shoulder. She could hardly believe what was happening. She felt so wonderfully happy in his arms, so warm and secure, so filled with excitement and desire for him as they touched. But was it just an illusion? Had he really told Ambrosia that it was over for good? She looked up into his eyes. Could she trust him?
Then Ricardo turned her face up to his and his lips came down on hers. Her body tensed, her heart soared, and her whole being melted as his hands coursed over her.
After taking their leave of Madame Delorme, Gabriella and Ricardo drove to the Beau Rivage Hotel. They were shown to a sumptuous suite overlooking the lake.
‘Come, my love, we have a lot to catch up on,’ Ricardo said, once the bellboy and the manager had disappeared.
Gabriella hesitated. There was so much to tell him, so much she needed to confide, but she needed to be completely sure first. Could not just take the leap.
‘Ricardo, are you sure of everything you said to me earlier? Do you swear that you told Ambrosia it was over between you?’ she questioned, looping her arms around his neck and feeling his hands caress her rib-cage, feeling that same searing heat running through her, making logic fade and her feelings come alive.
‘You don’t believe me?’
‘I want to believe you.’
‘Good. Because I have many defects, but being a liar is not one of them,’ he said, an edge to his voice. ‘I have been very cruel with you, my darling, and I deserve any mistrust that you have of me. All I can tell you is that there is no cause for you to be upset or worried any longer. Ambrosia,’ he added coldly, ‘has cooked her goose.’
This last broke the tension, and Gabriella laughed heartily. ‘What a wonderful expression,’ she exclaimed.
‘Well, it sums it up nicely. I never want to lay eyes on her again. If she had tried to hurt me, I would have understood. But I will never allow anyone to hurt you or our—’
‘Or our what?’
‘Or anything to do with you,’ he countered.
Gabriella frowned. For a moment she’d thought he was going to say our child. She hesitated a moment, then looked once more into his eyes. All she read there was deep enduring love and sincerity. It was time, she realised, to tell him the truth.
‘Ricardo, whatever happens between us, there is something you need to know,’ she said at last.
‘Then tell me.’
‘I—I’m going to have your baby.’
‘My darling.’ He took her in his arms and gazed down into her eyes. ‘I was wondering how long it would take you to trust me enough to tell me.’
‘You knew?’
‘I wangled it out of poor Madame Delorme.’
‘You are something, aren’t you?’ she exclaimed, shaking her head.
‘I’m yours, Gabriella, for now and ever more. Do you believe that, my darling?’
‘I want to,’ she responded, with a little smile curving her lips.
‘Then let me prove it to you.’
Before she could protest Ricardo was slipping off her shirt, her jeans, her bra and panties, letting them fall in a pile on the oriental rug. Seconds later he was naked too, taking her into his arms, drawing her close against him, making her feel the intenseness of his desire. Then they were on the huge bed, Gabriella thrown back amongst the pillows, her hair tossed wildly, while Ricardo introduced her to new and wondrous sensations that she had not known existed. As his tongue traced a pattern down her throat, flicking her taut breasts then heading south until he reached her core, she thought she could bear it no longer. Her fingers dragged through his hair and she arched, feeling his tongue flick her in the most sensitive of spots. Then came a long shuddering release such as she had never known.
Just as she was coming to grips with the overwhelming experience, he moved above her. Pinning his arms on either side of her, he entered her, hard and fast. ‘I will never let you go, my love, my beautiful wife. Not now or ever.’
She could not reply. Her eyes were riveted to his and her legs came up about his waist as together they fell into a fast, passionate rhythm. Gabriella thought it was impossible to come again after what she’d already experienced. But suddenly the rhythm changed, and all at once Ricardo threw back his head, let out a groan, and she a cry, and together they tumbled into a wave of delight among the rumpled sheets.
Later they sat on the terrace of the hotel’s Rotonde restaurant, overlooking the gardens and Lake Geneva. Dusk was beginning to fall, but as they sipped champagne and held hands they could still see the pedalo boats on the water and the lights of Evian starting to glimmer on the French side of the lake.
‘It is beautiful,’ Gabriella said with a sigh.
‘No more beautiful than knowing that at last we are one.’
Gabriella looked across at him. There was something new, something wonderful in his expression that hadn’t been there before.
‘I know, my darling,’ she replied. ‘I love you. And from now on I shall trust you from the bottom of my heart.’
‘Thank God for that,’ he responded, bringing his lips down on hers, ‘because I have no intention of letting you go. Not now or ever.’