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Uncle Alex laughed. ‘Good for you. I often think I’ll do that—move far away, and not tell anyone where I’m going. Especially my publishers.’
He looked at Antonia. ‘Patrick has had a piece of bad luck, Tonia. He has had to get out of his lodgings, and is staying in a rather nasty, cheap hotel, so I’ve invited him to stay with us for a few days. That’s OK with you, isn’t it, honey?’
Antonia was appalled. Huskily she said, ‘But...where would he sleep? There’s no room.’
Alex shrugged that aside. ‘Oh, he can have the room on the top floor. It isn’t very big and it isn’t very nicely furnished, but it’s not uncomfortable. I showed it to him, and Patrick seemed to think it was satisfactory.’
Desperately she said, ‘But are you allowed to sublet part of the house?’
‘I’m not asking Patrick to pay; it isn’t subletting,’ Alex cheerfully said. ‘He’s just our guest.’
‘I’m very grateful,’ Patrick said. ‘You should see the room I’m living in at the moment. It’s like living in a furnished dustbin. It’s very kind of you, Alex.’
Antonia was too horrified to risk arguing any more. Her sea-blue eyes stared rigidly up into the black shadows of the fig tree, her hands tightly clasping her glass of lemonade. He had somehow managed to talk his way into the house; he would be staying here, under the same roof! She felt an icy shiver run down her spine. Why was he so determined to push his way into this house, into her life?
Was he still angry because of what happened two years ago? The first time she had seen him again, standing on the deck of the vaporetto, she had picked up a black anger in him. It had showed in his face later, as he walked towards her across this garden, having tracked her like a predator and cornered her here. Those blue eyes had glittered with a cold desire to hurt, but he had seemed to change later, to soften, be almost gentle.
He was a deceptive, dangerous opponent. Last night, in her bedroom, he had touched her so seductively.
Her body shuddered now, remembering it. The smooth trail of his finger on her neck, her mouth, still seemed to her to lie there. She had not managed to wash them off when she showered this morning; they had been there all day. Sometimes she had looked into the mirror with bewildered eyes, almost expecting to see their trace; but they had not been visible, she had simply felt them, like the heat of a fire on her skin.
He had marked her, as if she were his territory and he were laying his scent on her to warn off all other males.
She felt him watching her now, and, tormented, wondered if it had been deliberate, if he had intended her to be unable to forget the way he touched her. Did he know that the me
mory of those moments in her bedroom had been haunting her all day?
What was he up to? What did he really want? She suddenly wondered if she still reminded him of the girl who had changed her mind about marrying him. An odd little pain stabbed inside her. She didn’t want to remind him of someone else.
She didn’t want him living under the same roof, either. The very idea sent her into a state of terrible panic, but Uncle Alex was so relieved to be able to make it up to Patrick for the way he had been treated at Bordighera that it never occurred to him that she might mind.
Patrick knew, though. He was watching her with glinting, narrowed eyes. If only she knew what he was thinking! Had she been right first time, when she’d seen him on the vaporetto, coming towards her with a face like a threat? Did he want revenge for being accused two years ago?
Uncle Alex cheerfully looked at his watch. ‘I tell you what, we must celebrate! I’ll go and ring a restaurant, book a table for the three of us, for dinner.’
Hurriedly, Antonia burst out, ‘Do you mind if I don’t come? I’m hot, and tired—’
Uncle Alex laughed. ‘Not too tired to eat at La Primavera, I bet? That’s Antonia’s favourite restaurant, Patrick; she never misses a chance to eat there. I’ll go and ring them at once, then I must ring Susan-Jane. She’ll be delighted when I tell her I’ve run into you again and that you’re going to stay with us for a while.’
‘If she isn’t happy with the idea I’ll find somewhere else as soon as I can, tell her,’ Patrick said, and Alex grinned at him.
‘Susan-Jane loves having visitors; she’s very hospitable.’
Antonia moved to follow him, and her uncle smiled affectionately at her. ‘No, Tonia, you stay out here and enjoy the shade; you’re looking very flushed. I won’t be long.’
When he had gone Patrick said softly, ‘He’s right; I noticed you looked very hot and flustered. Is something wrong?’
As if he didn’t know very well! ‘Look,’ she muttered, ‘I’m sorry if you can’t find anywhere else to stay, but I’d rather you didn’t stay here, and I’d have thought you’d realise why!’
‘Of course I know why,’ he said, and she gave him an incredulous look.
‘Then...doesn’t it bother you that having you under the same roof will keep reminding me of something I’ve spent two years trying to forget?’
‘And have you forgotten it?’ he drawled.
She bit her lip. ‘No,’ she had to admit, then broke out, ‘But having you around isn’t going to help!’
‘How many times do I have to remind you that I wasn’t the man who attacked you?’ he angrily asked, and she paled.
