Moth to the Flame (3 page)

she glanced up and saw Juliet on the gallery. She smiled and lifted a

hand in greeting, and her voice was pitched a little more loudly as

she went on talking. Finally with a gay
'Ciao, caro,'
she replaced

the receiver in its rest.

'I'm sorry.' Juliet came rather awkwardly down the steps into the

salotto.
'Did I interrupt anything?'

Jan gave a smiling shrug. 'Just a phone call,' she said lightly. 'It

wasn't important. Now come and soak Up some of this sunshine

and tell me everything that's been happening at home.'

For the remainder of the afternoon, and the evening that followed,

Jan put herself out to be charming, and Juliet found herself

beginning to relax and lose that sense of intrusion that had

bedevilled her. They ate in the dining alcove which opened off the

salotto
—cool slices of melon, followed by
pasta
in a rich sauce.

'Your cooking has improved beyond recognition.' Juliet took an

appreciative sip of the wine, and leaned back in her chair.

'I always loved Italian food. Fortunately it seems to love me too.'

Jan glanced down at her slim hips with satisfaction. 'If ever I show

signs of developing into a full-blown Italian
mamma,
I shall go on a

permanent diet.'

'No need to worry about that,' Juliet said with affectionate

admiration. 'I think you've put on a little weight, but it suits you.'

Her remark had been completely casual, and she was totally

unprepared for Jan's swift glare.

'What utter nonsense!' her sister snapped. 'I'm the same weight as

I've always been. Do you think, in my job, that I don't watch myself

like a hawk?'

'I'm sorry.' Juliet cursed herself inwardly for tactlessness, but Jan

had never used to be so touchy.

After a moment's pause, Jan smiled with an effort. 'I'm sorry too. I

don't usually blow up like that, but some of the girls I work with

can be such utter bitches.' She gave a rather unsteady laugh. 'I

suppose I look for the knife in the back from even the most

innocent remark nowadays. Thank the Lord I...' she broke off

suddenly.

'Yes?' Juliet prompted gently.

Jan shrugged. 'Thank the Lord I can always go back to England to

work if things get too bad,' she said nonchalantly, but again Juliet

had the uneasy feeling that that was not the remark she -had

intended to make. But the next moment Jan was chatting away

again, relating anecdotes about some of the famous people who

went to Di Lorenzo to shop for their clothes, mimicking some of the

rich women for whom she modelled, and Juliet's uneasiness passed.

As she lay in bed that night, listening to Jan's gentle breathing in the

next bed, tired, but too excited to fall asleep immediately, she told

herself that she was going to have a good time in Rome. Jan would

be working most of the time, but she'd promised to get some time

off that was owed to her to take her sister round some of the sights

and perhaps do some shopping, and the evenings, she'd said, would

be a different story.

While she had been clearing away the dinner dishes, Juliet had

seized the opportunity to telephone her mother briefly and reassure

her that everything was fine, and that she would write in more detail

during the next couple of days.

She had tried to hint to Jan as they were getting ready for bed that

Mrs Laurence needed the reassurance of regular letters, but Jan had

responded almost petulantly and Juliet had hastily dropped the

subject.

Probably when you were miles away from home and leading a

hectic working and social life, such obligations as letter-writing

tended to get overlooked, she thought. And Jan was certainly in

demand. The telephone had rung twice more during the evening,

and although Jan had not vouchsafed any information about the

callers' identities, Juliet had no doubt that they were men. There

was something intimate and caressing in Jan's voice as she spoke,

although Juliet could not have followed the conversation even if she

had wished to do so, as her sister always spoke in Italian.

But when you were as young and as lovely as Jan, there was little

wonder that men were in constant pursuit of you, Juliet thought, and

it was while she was wondering a little wistfully what it must be

like to be so sought after that she eventually fell asleep.

When she awoke the following morning, Jan's bed was empty,

although it was still relatively early. She got out of bed and reached

for the broderie anglaise dressing gown that matched her

nightdress, pulling the sash securely round her slender waist before

padding out on to the gallery. But as she went towards the bedroom

door she heard a familiar but distressing sound coming from the

bathroom. Immediately she crossed over and tapped on the door.

'Jan, love, what's wrong? Are you ill? May I come in?'

There was a pause and then Jan herself opened the door. 'Oh, hello.'

Her tone was ungracious. 'There's really no need to bother. I'm fine.

I must have eaten something that disagreed with me. Perhaps it was

that melon—it does upset me sometimes.'

'I'll make some coffee.' Juliet gave her an anxious glance.

'Do you want to go back to bed? You look pale.'

'Of course I'm pale, I've just been throwing up. For God's sake,

don't fuss. You're as bad as Mim,' Jan said impatiently.

But by the time the coffee was made and they were sitting on the

balcony with fresh rolls and butter on the table, Jan had regained

her colour and her good temper with it.

'Wonderful!' she exclaimed, reaching for the glass of freshly

squeezed orange juice which Juliet silently extended to her. 'You

are an angel. I should have invited you over long ago.'

Her eyes moved rather challengingly over Juliet's tight-lipped

expression.

'Well, go on, darling. Ask me if it's true.'

'Do I really have to?' Juliet could not suppress the bitterness in her

voice.

'I suppose not.' Jan finished her orange juice and set the glass down

on the table. 'As a schoolmarm, I imagine you're more than capable

of adding two and two together and achieving the correct result. I

might have managed to keep you at bay over my weight, but I knew

I couldn't hope to fool you over this foul morning sickness. I merely

hoped it wouldn't happen while you were within earshot.'

Juliet met her eyes squarely. 'Were Mim and I never supposed to

know?'

Jan shrugged. 'Let's just say that your visit at this precise time

was—inopportune.'

'Then why on earth didn't you tell me not to come?' Juliet tried not

to sound as hurt as she felt and her voice sounded flat in

consequence.

'Because I was afraid that if I started putting you off with footling

excuses Mim might take it into her head to come in your place. And

while I might be able to fool you for a while, I knew I wouldn't

escape her eagle eyes. And as you can imagine, she's the last person

I want to know about this. Not until I have everything sorted out

anyway.'

'What are you going to do?' Juliet asked unhappily. 'Are you going

to—get rid of the baby?'

Jan's eyes opened to their widest extent. 'An abortion in Italy? You

have to be joking! No, far more conventional than that. I'm getting

married. In fact if you'd delayed your visit for another week or so, I

probably would have been married already. All problems solved, all

Mim's most romantic .hopes for me gloriously fulfilled, and after a

discreet interval, the promise of her first grandchild. Everything

perfect.'

'I see,' Juliet said rather drily. 'That being the case, may one ask

why you didn't simply get married in the first place and avoid all

these rather hasty and hole-and-corner arrangements?'

Jan poured herself some coffee. 'There were reasons,' she said,

frowning. 'There still are, for that matter. Mim isn't the only relative

that we're keeping in the dark about our plans. Mario has a brother

who's been causing us some grief.'

'In what way?' Juliet spread butter on a roll and bit into it, although

she had little appetite. Jan's news had left a sick, hollow feeling in

the pit of her stomach. Mim's premonition had been well founded, it

seemed.

Jan shrugged again. 'Big brother feels that he should have a major

say in Mario's wedding plans, and needless to say, he doesn't

approve of my part in them,' she answered rather carelessly. 'Not

that we've ever actually met, of course.'

'But is Mario likely to be influenced by his opinions?' Juliet could

not conceal the anxiety in her tone. 'Italians are supposed to have

this incredibly strong sense of family and,..'

'Well, the brother holds the purse strings for a start,' Jan broke in,

spreading her hands gracefully. 'And you're right about the family

feeling. They come from the South —Calabria actually, where such

things matter a lot, although they don't actually live there now.

Santino—that's the brother—is some kind of industrialist in the

North now, and has his finger in any number of financial pies from

what I can gather, including tourism.' She leaned back in her chair,

lifting her face to the sun. 'I think—in fact I know—he hoped Mario

would make a sensible marriage, in other words marry some other

industrialist's daughter and bring about another kind of merger as an

added bonus. I don't figure in his scheme of things, naturally.'

'But that's terrible,' Juliet said heatedly. 'Arranged marriages are a

thing of the past, anyway.'

Jan lifted her eyebrows. 'Apparently they're still very traditional in

the South. Santino's ideas aren't as extraordinary as you think.'

'But—but does he know about the baby?'

'Lord above, no!' Jan raised her eyebrows exaggeratedly. 'As a

matter of fact, in view of his open hostility, we haven't told him

very much at all. Mario feels it's best to maintain a low profile and

just present him with a
fait accompli
after the wedding.' She

sounded almost bored. 'Once we're married, there's very little he

can do about it, and I doubt if he'll actually carry out any of his

threats.'

'Threats?' Juliet pushed the remains of her roll away uneaten, and

stared at her sister.

Jan laughed. 'Not aimed at me, silly, although I'll admit he's made

some damned unpleasant remarks in the past. No, he's told Mario

that he'll cut him off with the proverbial shilling—or
lira,
I suppose,

to be exact. But he'll soon relent. For one thing Mario's his heir, and

Santino himself isn't married or likely to be. He's far too busy

making money and having a good time—the damned hypocrite ! His

strait-laced views on morality don't exactly extend to his own

conduct,' she added on a little flash of petulance.

'I thought you didn't know him.'

'Only by repute,' Jan said. 'And I did see him once— at a safe

distance in a night club. And once seen, never forgotten.'

'What is he like?' Juliet's curiosity was aroused almost in spite of

herself.

'Very tall. Towered head and shoulders above everyone else around

him and knew it. And as dark as Satan,' Jan said after a moment's

thought. 'That's as much as I noticed, because Mario hustled me off

at the speed of light out of harm's way.' She gave a faint giggle.

'Actually, I think he's a bit jealous of him. I said quite casually that I

thought he was very attractive and Mario simply exploded. And he's

never taken me up on any of my offers to beard the lion in his den

and convince him what a simply wonderful and suitable addition I'll

be to the Vallone family.'

Juliet stared at her wonderingly. Jan's tone seemed almost to be one

of relish. She did not seem to care that her future brother-in-law's

attitude to her was an insult. All that seemed to matter was the fact

that he was an attractive man, and according to the hints she had

dropped, an accomplished rake.

'I wonder why not?' she said a little grimly.

Jan smiled again rather smugly. 'As I said, I think poor Mario has

always been just a teeny bit in the shade. Perhaps he was afraid that

Santino might try to cut him out yet again.'

Juliet compressed her lips tightly together. 'I see,' she said with

sarcasm. 'Your future relationship with your husband is obviously

going to be founded on mutual trust.'

'Oh, for heaven's sake, don't be so damned suburban,' Jan said