How that had made him hoot with laughter!

‘You? After all these years of living the good life? Never! You’ve gone soft.’

Elise had ignored his rudeness and selfish complacency, being used to it. Perhaps he was right and she could no longer function independently. It was a dispiriting thought.

With their house sold, they’d moved into The Ritz Hotel until the day of departure. But that day had never come. Ben had died of a heart attack while enjoying an assignation in another hotel with a woman who’d called an ambulance, then vanished before it could arrive.

Elise shivered. It was late afternoon and the light had faded, turning the mourners into shadows. Still she sensed the stranger watching her in the gloom.

At last it was over and people began to move, reminding her to perform her duties as hostess.

‘I do hope you can come to the reception,’ she said again and again. ‘It would have meant so much to Ben.’

‘I trust your invitation includes me,’ said the man. ‘You don’t know me, but I’d been looking forward to your husband joining my firm. My name is Vincente Farnese.’

She knew the name at once. She’d heard it often from Ben’s lips-one of the most powerful men in Italy-had the ear of government ministers-influential-rich-

‘And he wants me to join him,’ Ben had rejoiced. ‘He searched for me, said only the right man would do for the position-offered me a fortune-said it was worth anything to get me-’

Elise had smothered her astonishment that anyone should actually seek out this overblown windbag, never mind pay him over the odds. Now she stared at Vincente Farnese, searching for some clue to help solve the mystery.

She found none. He was in the prime of life, with the air of a man of sense. It was inexplicable.

‘I’ve heard of you from my husband,’ she said. ‘It was good of you to take the trouble to attend his funeral. Of course you’re welcome at the reception.’