and his wife for ever.

Luckily John had at least given her her money

back, but the break-up of their engagement had still

cost her her job, since she had worked for his father

in the family business. John was due to take over

when his father retired.

So now she had neither home nor job, and she was

going to be—

She yelped as the offside front wheel hit something

hard, the impact causing her to lurch forward painfully

against the constraint of her seat belt. How much

further was she going to have to drive before she

found some form of life? She was booked into a hotel

tonight, and according to her calculations she should

have reached her destination by now. Where on earth

was she? The road was climbing so steeply…

"You, I take it, are responsible for this? It has your

manipulative, destructive touch all over it, Caterina,"

Lorenzo Niccolo d’Este, Duce di Montesavro, accused

his cousin-in-law with savage contempt as he

threw his grandmother’s will onto the table between

them.

"If your grandmother took my feelings into account

when she made her will, then that was because—"

"Your feelings!" Lorenzo interrupted her bitingly.

"And what feelings exactly would those be? The same

feelings that led to you bullying my cousin to his

death?" He was making no attempt whatsoever to conceal

his contempt for her.

Two ugly red patches of angry colour burned betrayingly

on Caterina’s immaculately made-up face.

"I did not drive Gino to his death. He had a heart

attack."

"Yes, brought on by your behaviour."

"You had better be careful what you accuse me of,

Lorenzo, otherwise…"