Italian Tycoon, Secret Son

CHAPTER TWO

RENZO returned after a moment with a bottle of light wine and two glasses.

‘Just a little,’ he said. ‘We’ll need all our wits about us tomorrow.’

When he’d poured and handed her the glass he said, ‘So Henry behaved himself?’

‘Only at first,’ Mandy replied. ‘Then he tried it on, but I gave him my “drop dead” look. It worked a treat.’

‘He has all my sympathy. You’re probably a karate instructor in your spare time.’

‘No such luck. I do research.’

‘Research? You mean-brainy stuff?’ He sounded nervous.

‘Well, I do have a couple of degrees.’

‘A couple?’ He edged away, as though fearful that her degrees would jump out and attack him.

‘It helps. I hire myself out to people writing books. They need stuff on other countries, history, language, that sort of thing.’

‘Is that how you come to speak Italian?’

‘That’s right. I had to learn some for a man who was writing a novel about the Borgia family and all their evil doings, and I liked it so much I went on and learned the rest.’

‘And I’ll bet that’s not the only language you know,’ he said, sounding more cautious by the minute.

‘I did French and German at school. They’re often useful too.’

‘You really are an academic.’ He sounded aghast.

‘Sure I am. Why do you keep looking down at the drop?’

‘I was wondering which would be the best place to throw myself off,’ he said in a hollow voice.

‘Don’t be in such a rush. Wait until we’re all safe, and I’ll think of something.’

They grinned in perfect understanding, and he refilled her glass.

‘You’re probably winding me up,’ Mandy said, sipping appreciatively. ‘I expect you went to college too.’

‘For a couple of years, but I was there on an athletic scholarship. As long as I won things, my lack of brains didn’t matter too much.’

She didn’t believe a word of it.

‘Don’t you ever want to write books?’ he asked.

‘I’ve done a couple of travel books.’

‘Is that why you’ve got a notebook?’ he asked, observing something in her hand. ‘You’re actually working out here?’

‘Just making a few notes. I do it wherever I am.’

‘Don’t you ever stop and simply enjoy yourself?’

‘But I do enjoy myself when I’m jotting things down. Often I only know afterwards how I’m going to use them. They dance around in my head and take on a life of their own, and who knows what may come of it?’

‘Fantastic,’ he agreed at once. ‘Throw the dice in the air and watch to see what happens.’

‘I guess that’s how you live.’

‘I like to let life surprise me, just like you. We’re alike, plenty of freedom and no ties. That’s the way to be.’

‘How do you know I have no ties?’

He shrugged. ‘You’re either free or you have a partner who’s content to sit at home while you climb mountains.’

A little devil prompted her to say primly, ‘And why not? We each follow our own path out of mutual respect.’

Renzo’s face was a picture of comical disgust. ‘Dio mio! You ought to get rid of him fast. Hell would freeze over before I let my woman risk her neck without me there.’

‘Let? Let? What century are you living in?’

‘Any century rather than one where this can happen. But you’re fooling me, aren’t you? Don’t tell me this paragon of dreary virtue actually exists.’

‘No, he doesn’t.’ Mandy gave a melodramatic sigh. ‘I just dream of meeting him.’

‘Sure you do. And it would serve you right if he turned out to be just like you described.’

‘What about you? No ties and you mean to keep it that way?’

‘For a while at any rate. Ties are all right-one day.’

‘No, I think you’ll live and die a free man, because that’s what life means to you.’

He raised his glass in salute. ‘Very clever of you.’

She lifted hers in response. ‘So be careful what you say. I see everything. I’m a witch.’

He peered at her in the shadows.

‘No,’ Renzo said softly, ‘not a witch, a cat-a sleek, graceful, green-eyed cat.’

‘Then beware my claws,’ she said, suppressing the flare of pleasure that this gave her.

‘I’ll take my chances, because it’s so nice to talk to someone who understands freedom. But, at the risk of being bopped, I’d like to know why you’re alone. Have the men no eyes?’

‘Perhaps they don’t always like what they see,’ she mused. ‘He said he preferred a woman with “a bit of meat on her”.’

Renzo nodded, far too intelligent to ask who ‘he’ was.

‘He sounds like an Englishman,’ he observed. ‘That’s the charming way they talk. But you speak of him in the past.’

‘One day he just didn’t turn up for a date and I never heard from him again.’

‘You’re well rid, and it saves you the chore of dumping him.’

‘How do you know I would have dumped him?’

He made a face. ‘Because you have too much taste to tolerate for long a creature who has the soul of a pig. And, besides, you’ll never find your perfect man, because you’re not really seeking him.’

Mandy thought for a moment. Could that possibly be true? The man who’d almost broken her heart-but only almost-wasn’t she recovering remarkably fast?

She had a strange sensation that Renzo had looked directly into her and seen things that were hidden from herself.

‘That might be it,’ she conceded, nodding slowly.

‘What made you come up here? It’s more than seeking material for your notebooks.’

‘I needed the change. I like to get out in the open and do something adventurous. Slaving over a hot computer isn’t enough.’

‘I know. I spend too much time cooped up, as well.’

‘I thought you’d practically live in the mountains.’

‘I don’t do this for a living. I used to climb a lot but now I sell sports equipment. I learned to climb with Pierre, who owns this firm, and is the man you were expecting. We’ve stayed friends, and when he needs help he calls me. It gives me the chance to get back here.’

‘Away from noise and silly irritations,’ she murmured.

Renzo nodded. ‘The mountains may endanger you, but they’re never trivial.’

‘And even the danger-’ She stopped and drew in a breath of pure satisfaction.

‘You too? Yes, it’s true. There’s pleasure in going to the edge-perhaps closer than you should-’

‘The moment when you feel you might just have gone too far,’ she murmured, ‘but you get away with it.’

‘There’s nothing like it,’ he agreed appreciatively. ‘And then you’re a winner, ruler of the world. And next time-’

He stopped and their eyes met.

‘Should you be talking to me like this?’ she asked humorously. ‘You-teacher. Me-pupil. Surely you should be preaching safety, not leading me astray with the delights of danger?’

‘You’re already “astray” or you wouldn’t have known what I meant so quickly,’ he said. ‘But you’re right. I shouldn’t talk like that, and I wouldn’t to anyone else. I rely on you not to repeat it.’

‘I promise,’ she said and they chinked glasses.

‘Especially him!’ Renzo added as Henry’s bellow reached them from inside. It was clear that he was heading towards them.

‘Is that the time?’ Mandy asked hastily, rising. ‘I think I’ll get an early night.’

She was annoyed with Henry, who’d ruined a moment she was enjoying. The discovery that Renzo had hidden depths had opened a new path that might have been fun to explore. Best of all had been the understanding that had flashed between them. He was the last man with whom she would have expected this, which only made it more intriguing.

But she remembered that they would only be together for a few days. Then he would return to his country and she to hers, and that would be that.

Next day the weather was good and they travelled fast. With every step the air became clearer and brighter, and the peaks seemed tantalizingly closer.

‘It’s like we could get to the top today,’ Mandy breathed when they were halfway up.

‘That nearness is an illusion,’ Renzo said. ‘You’ve been in the mountains before, you should know all about the illusions.’

‘True,’ she said. ‘So many different ones-’

‘Yes, and after a while everything seems unreal-or maybe it’s real-but how can you know when your surroundings seem to come and go? Are they near or far? What will it be like finding out? Or will we ever be able to find out at all?’

‘Hey, you’re a poet,’ she said, grudgingly impressed.

‘Nonsense,’ he said hastily. ‘I’m a serious-minded man, who disapproves of levity. And stop looking at me like that, you little cat. Sometimes I have to be serious-’

‘Or pretend to be.’

‘Or pre-Will you shut up, please? Listen to what I say, and be careful about false impressions.’

‘But maybe not all the impressions are false.’

‘Most of them out here are. Don’t get sentimental, just concentrate.’

‘Yes, sir!’ Mandy gave an exaggerated salute.

‘Behave yourself!’

This time she didn’t answer in words, but her eyes said everything. He turned away quickly, yelling, ‘All right everyone, are we ready?’

Renzo went round the others, checking ropes, and Mandy gave a small, private smile. Without meaning to, she’d touched on a side of him that he preferred to keep private. Interesting. Very, very interesting.

They went further that day and finished up in a ‘hut’ that was an improvement on the last. Instead of dormitories with bunks, there were double rooms with comfortable beds. The food was excellent, and after a rewarding meal everyone gathered in the main room where a man was playing an accordion.

At first the dancing was boisterous, but after a while the tone softened and the crowd divided into couples. Joan, Mandy was amused to notice, had two suitors to chose from-three, if you included Henry, which nobody did.

Joan’s choice finally fell on a handsome young man called Peter. They circled the floor smoochily, then vanished together and weren’t seen again.

Renzo danced with every girl on his expedition, except Mandy, who was so occupied he couldn’t get near her.

What she hadn’t told Renzo the night before was that she’d once wanted to be a dancer and had taken lessons. She’d given it up when she’d realized she had only a modest talent, but she still loved to dance, and suddenly the legacy of her training had kicked in. She could manage the fastest speeds, the most intricate steps, and men were soon queuing up to partner her.

One, a Frenchman called Marcel, was her equal. Together they hurled themselves about the floor, twisting, writhing, together and apart, while the others stopped dancing to stand back and watch.

They were Spanish dancers, clicking imaginary castanets, gazing passionately into each other’s eyes. Then the rhythm changed, became rock ’n’ roll, and he began to fling her up and around his shoulders. When the music crashed to a finish, she was lying back in his arms in a theatrical simulation of abandon. The applause was loud.

Marcel gave her a neat bow and set about turning his advantage to gold with the ladies who were converging on him. Slightly breathless, she smiled at her next partner, approaching her with his hands outstretched. But he was eased determinedly out of the way by Renzo.

‘Boss’s privilege,’ he said. ‘Mandy, I can’t compete with your last partner, but I’ll do my best.’

‘Suppose I don’t want to dance with you?’

‘Doesn’t matter,’ he said with mock gravity. ‘I have to distribute my favours equally. You’re the only one left, and I can’t have you being a wallflower, can I?’

‘Wallflower? Me?’

But his eyes were gleaming with fun, and she thumped his shoulder lightly.

‘Cheeky so-and-so,’ she said. ‘I don’t know why anyone puts up with you.’

‘I’m irresistible, hadn’t you heard?’

‘No, and if I do hear, I’ll tell them different.’

‘That’s my girl.’

Renzo drew her close, sighing dramatically in a way that made her want to giggle. The music had become a waltz, and as he guided her smoochily around the floor she realized that she was being stared at again, this time with envy.

‘There’s no need to overdo it,’ she murmured.

‘You don’t understand. I’m expected to overdo it.’

‘Ah, yes, just doing your duty. Otherwise, of course, nothing would make you dance with me.’

‘I wouldn’t go quite that far. A very large sum of money might persuade me.’

‘I’ll kick your shins in a minute.’

He was an excellent dancer and she fell easily into step with him.

‘You’re not playing your part,’ he said after a while. ‘You should be gazing adoringly into my eyes.’

Glancing up, she found his face closer than she’d expected and drew a sudden sharp breath.

‘That’s better,’ he murmured.

‘Watch it,’ she murmured back. ‘I’m in a dangerous mood.’

‘Wonderful! A woman is never so interesting as when she’s dangerous.’

Mandy knew a brief flare of alarm. For a moment-just for the tiniest possible moment-she’d actually wanted him to find her interesting. Time to bring him down a peg.

‘That’s a very good line,’ she said admiringly. ‘You must be proud of it.’

‘One of my best,’ he assured her.

‘Of course you need to practise your delivery.’

‘I thought I delivered it just right,’ he said, hurt.

‘No, you should try it with a woman who isn’t standing back and judging the performance.’

‘You’re not standing back,’ he said, tightening his arm about her waist, so that she could feel his body more closely against hers.

‘Inside I’m standing back, having a good laugh at you, actually daring to think I’d give you an easy time.’

‘If there’s one thought that never crossed my mind it’s that you’d give me an easy time,’ he said fervently.

‘Well, you should be able to cope with that,’ she teased. ‘You’re Italian, after all. Think Casanova! Think Romeo!’

‘Think a sock on the jaw! Mio dio, where do you get these ideas from? If I labelled you cold and prissy because you’re English, you’d be annoyed.’

‘Not if it were true,’ she said. ‘Then I’d be flattered that you’d recognised my innate virtue.’

His alarmed expression was so comical that she burst out laughing.

‘I’d take a bet,’ Mandy said, ‘that every night at bedtime you say a prayer to be saved from women of virtue.’

Renzo gave her a considering look. ‘Well-maybe not all of them. How sad that the music is ending. We must continue this so interesting conversation another time.’

He gave her a little bow as they parted.

‘Thank you, kind lady,’ he said formally.

‘And you, sir. With your duty done, you can start enjoying yourself.’

His eyes flashed her a message, but so swiftly that she wasn’t sure she’d read it right. Perhaps it was safer that way.

Needing some fresh air, she fetched her jacket and slipped out into the snow. There was a full moon, bathing the mountains in dazzling silver light, and she walked down to the low wall that marked the boundary, where she could sit and ponder.

‘Ah, there you are,’ came a voice behind her.

She gave a silent groan. ‘Hello, Henry.’

‘I was watching you in there. You were fantastic.’

‘Thank you.’

Inwardly she was praying that he wouldn’t come and sit beside her. He did.

‘You’re such a super mover,’ he enthused, ‘slinky and sexy. It made me think all sorts of things about you and me. How about it, eh?’

‘No,’ she said firmly.

He made the mistake of lunging for her, which gave Mandy the chance to seize his hand in an iron grip.

‘Ow!’ he muttered.

‘Listen carefully, Henry,’ she said with a deadly smile. ‘If you don’t back off, I shall boil you in oil and decapitate you, not necessarily in that order. Now push off before I’m tempted.’

Even he got that message. He sloped off in the direction of the door, muttering just loud enough for her to pick up the word frigid. Furiously she picked up a handful of snow and hurled it after him.

‘Hey!’ protested a voice.

‘How long have you been there?’ she demanded indignantly.

‘Long enough to enjoy the sight of Henry being an idiot,’ Renzo said, coming forward, brushing snow off himself.

‘Shouldn’t you have rushed to my rescue? How about protecting a damsel in distress?’

‘I never saw a damsel less in need of help,’ Renzo said, sitting beside her. ‘It’s enough to make a man go very carefully.’

‘If it was in his nature to go carefully. Some men don’t have the common sense to be afraid.’

Renzo nodded. ‘Except when I’m climbing, I never had any common sense,’ he confirmed. ‘It’s led to me having my face slapped a few times, but it’s also given me some of the best moments of my life.’

She nodded. It was just as she’d supposed.

‘You were pretty gorgeous in that dance,’ he said at last. ‘Enough to make a man enjoy a few fantasies.’

‘Only a twerp like Henry,’ she said firmly.

But Renzo shook his head. ‘Any man,’ he said softly.

‘Is this you doing your duty again?’ she asked, regarding him cynically.

‘Let’s just say that if I wanted to approach you, I wouldn’t go about it like a bull at a gate.’

It was madness to say, ‘Just how would you go about it?’ but she found herself saying it anyway.

‘I’d be quiet for a moment while we both drank in the mountains. Then I’d point out how the moonlight makes them unearthly, so that we almost could be on another planet-just the two of us.’

‘And then you’d say that there was nobody you’d rather have with you than me?’ she conjectured.

‘I think I’d try something more subtle like-you’re so ethereal that you seem to embody the moon. No?’

He’d seen the scepticism in her face.

‘I might laugh at that one,’ she admitted.

‘Then how about something more down-to-earth like-watching you dance gave me thoughts I’m ashamed of. I couldn’t even tell you about them-unless you insisted.’

‘I don’t think I need to,’ she murmured.

‘Of course not. You had a dozen men at your feet, as you well knew.’

‘Did I?’ she mused. ‘Well, perhaps.’

‘Little cat,’ he whispered. ‘You knew exactly what you were doing.’

Renzo was right. There had been pleasure in knowing that every man’s eyes were upon her, but the only ones she’d cared about were his.

But hell would freeze over before she gave him an easy victory.

‘One must pass the time somehow,’ Mandy said languidly.

‘Very good,’ he said. ‘Play the indifferent card. Make him suffer, but beware of teasing him too much, lest things get out of your control.’

‘Nothing ever gets out of my control,’ she mused softly. ‘I don’t allow it to happen.’

‘Now that is sheer provocation.’

Somehow he’d taken possession of her hand and was holding it gently between his.

‘Of course,’ he said thoughtfully, ‘this might be the moment when you threaten to pour boiling oil over me.’

‘No, I think I’ll save that until later.’

Without speaking, he laid his cheek against her palm. It was a pleasant sensation, and not alarming, until he turned his head so that she felt his lips. She controlled her tremor, determined not to let him feel it, but she couldn’t hide it from herself. This was only meant to be a joke, but what had she wandered into?

‘On the other hand,’ she said softly, ‘I know just the oil to use.’

‘You think I’d be foolish to try my luck any further?’

‘Very foolish.’

Renzo leaned forwards so that his mouth was close to hers. ‘A brave man would put that to the test.’

‘How brave are you?’

‘Shaking in my shoes.’

The next step was so easy. She had only to say the word and she would be in his arms, his mouth on hers, relishing the kiss for which he’d been cleverly preparing her.

Preparing her!

Mandy froze as knowledge hit her like lightning.

It was a game, a trick, and she’d walked into it with her eyes open. He’d probably taken a bet with himself that he could lure her into dropping her defences. And she’d fallen for it. Nearly.

‘Shaking in your shoes, hmm?’ she mused. ‘Well, I think that’s a very good idea. If you knew what I was thinking right now, you’d really shiver.’

‘Mandy-’

‘Don’t treat me like a fool, Renzo. I know what you’re up to, and I’m ahead of you. You did it well, I admit, but not quite well enough.’

‘You think I’m-’

‘Just fooling. Admit it.’

‘Well-’he seemed to consider ‘-since you saw through me so easily, I guess that’s it. I might as well give up.’

‘You and Henry both,’ she said firmly.

After that there was nothing to do but walk casually back indoors, bid a cheerful goodnight to everyone, go to bed, and lie staring into the darkness wondering if she was going mad.

The sun rose on another bright day and, to Mandy’s relief, the ghosts of the night before were dispelled. He’d laid a trap, she’d weakened but seen the danger in time. The world was good again.

Renzo seemed to have forgotten about the night before. He had some words of advice for each of them.

To Mandy he said, ‘Don’t rush it. You climb as if you’re always trying to prove something. Just take it easy.’

They all set out cheerfully, taking deep breaths of the clear air, relishing the day to come.

As they trod carefully along a narrow ridge, Mandy began to fantasise about reaching the top. How incredibly blue the sky was, how wonderful it would feel to be there! Entranced, she let her thoughts drift.

Suddenly the ground, so firm beneath her a moment ago, simply ceased to exist. For a blinding moment the steep slope stretched away, yawning into the depths of infinity. Snow and sky became one, swirling sickeningly back and forth. Then the world steadied again. She was being drawn upwards, supported around her waist by an arm that seemed to be made of steel.

‘All right?’ said Renzo’s voice.

She lay on her back, looking up into the heavens, her heart thundering, while the universe fell into its right place again.

‘What happened?’ she gasped.

‘You slithered, but it’s all right now,’ he said in a reassuring voice. ‘Take a few deep breaths. No rush.’

‘I’m fine,’ she said, sitting up.

She began to get determinedly to her feet, accepting his support for a few moments. As they went on she put a brave face on it, but she felt shaken and it was a relief when Renzo said, ‘We’re not going so far today. There’s another hut soon up ahead. It’s not as grand as the one I was aiming for, but it’ll give us a much-needed rest.’

Mandy was desperately glad. Weariness had caught up with her and there was a pain in her leg where she’d scraped it as she’d fallen. At last the hut came into view. As Renzo said, it was basic, but comfortable.

In the bedroom, shared by four girls, Joan took charge of Mandy, helping her to undress and getting out her nightwear, a pair of pyjamas, consisting of a jacket and shorts, which revealed a long red mark down her calf.

‘Wow!’ Joan exclaimed.

‘It’s impressive, isn’t it?’ Mandy said, touching it gently. ‘It’s also sore.’

There was a knock at the door and Renzo’s voice said, ‘Can I come in?’

‘Yes, fine,’ Joan called.

‘Joan, Peter’s looking for you,’ he said, entering. ‘I think he’s planning a romantic tryst in the moonlight. Shall I tell him you’re not interested?’

‘Don’t you dare,’ Joan said eagerly and slipped away.

‘Let me have a look at that leg,’ Renzo said.

Mandy sat on the bed, swinging her legs up so that he could see the mark, and he seated himself, inspecting it critically and laying his hand over it.

‘It’ll be better when I’ve rubbed some of this in,’ he said, holding up a bottle.

‘What is it?’

‘Dr Renzo’s All Purpose Linctus is what you need. Stretch out.’

His manner was so impersonal that it was easy to lean back, close her eyes and succumb to the soothing effect of his hands rubbing her leg rhythmically. It was wonderfully relaxing, and she soon felt warmth flowing through her.

‘Mmm!’ she said softly.

‘Good?’

‘Mmm!’

‘Got any more aches and pains?’

‘Everywhere,’ she murmured. ‘Neck, shoulders, arms, back-’

‘Turn over.’

She did so and he continued massaging her back, sliding his hands under the cotton jacket until, almost without realizing what she was doing, she opened the buttons at the front and he pulled it off.

How good it felt to have him massaging her spine, her shoulders, her neck, driving the strain away until she was floating in a cocoon of comfort. She was vaguely aware that she was being foolish, lying here, half naked, alone with a man who charmed his way through life. When he’d finished easing her ailments he would try once more to bring her under his spell, perhaps to avenge his defeat the night before.

He’d do it by letting his hands wander just a little too far, drifting forwards to caress her breasts, pausing to see if she objected, but not really expecting it. Then she would have to be firm with him, which would be hard because she felt too contented to be firm about anything.

‘Right, that should do it,’ Renzo said, standing up. ‘I’ll send some food in, and then a good night’s sleep should make you feel better. Goodnight.’

And he was gone.

Mandy lay there, thoughtful, unsure whether to credit him with being a gentleman or blame him for the implied slight. While she was trying to decide, she fell asleep.