The Vengeful Husband(25)
Even at a distance that fascinating smile had the power to jolt and send a current of all too warm appreciation quivering through her. As he drove off, Darcy gave him a jerky, self-conscious wave.
'Do you realise how often you have mentioned Luca's name over the past two days?' Karen prompted tautly.
'Luca is rather central to my plans, and we are getting married tomorrow,' Darcy pointed out with some amusement as she straightened Zia's bed, Karen having arrived in the midst of the bedtime story ritual. 'Love you, sweetheart,' she whispered, dropping a kiss on her daughter's smooth brow.
The toddler mumbled a sleepy response and burrowed below the duvet until only a cluster of black curls showed. Darcy switched off the bedside light and walked out into the corridor, leaving the door ajar.
'I'm scared that you're developing a crush on the guy,' Karen delivered baldly, determined to send the message of her concern fully home.
'I think I'm a little too mature for a crush, Karen—'
"That's what's worrying me.' The brunette grimaced. 'You are paying Luca to put on a good act. He's hired help—whatever you want to call it... You can't afford to fall in love with him!'
Darcy looked pained. 'I'm not going to fall in love with him.'
'Then why do you keep on talking about how much he shone at Margo's party?'
'Because I give honour where it's due and he did!'
'Not to mention how wonderful his manners are and how many and varied are the subjects on which he can converse like Einstein!' Karen completed doggedly.
'So I was impressed...' Darcy shrugged, but her cheeks were flushed, her eyes evasive.
'Darcy...you've had a pretty rough time the last couple of years and you're vulnerable,' Karen spelt out uncomfortably. 'I'm sure Luca is a really terrific bloke, but you don't know him well enough to trust him yet. In fact, he could be thinking you'll be a darned good catch with this house behind you.'
'He knows I'm in debt up to my eyeballs,' Darcy contradicted.
Confronted with the full extent of her friend's unease, however, Darcy took some time to get to sleep that night. Was it so obvious that she was attracted to Luca? Was it obvious to him? She cringed at the suspicion. But, even so, Karen was mad to suggest that she was in danger of falling for Luca.
She had returned from Venice with a heart broken into so many pieces she had been torn apart by her own turmoil. Falling like a ton of bricks for a complete stranger in the space of one night had been a hard lesson indeed. Her battered pride, her pain and her despair had taken a very long time to fade. Darcy had not the slightest intention of allowing her undeniable attraction to Luca go one step further than appreciation from a safe distance.#p#分页标题#e#
In its day, it had been a costly designer dress. The ivory silk wedding gown hugged Darcy's shoulders, smoothly clung to her slender waist and hips and fanned out into beautifully embroidered panels between mid-thigh and ankle. It had belonged to her late mother, and, foolish and uneasy as she felt at using the dress for such a purpose, she thought it would look very odd if she didn't make some effort to put on a show of being a real bride.
And this afternoon Darcy also had an important appointment to keep with her bank manager. Hopefully a candid explanation of the terms of her godmother's will would persuade the older man that the Folly was a more secure investment than he had previously believed. With his agreement she would be able to re-employ the most vital estate workers, and very soon things would get back to normal around her home, she thought cheerfully.
'Pretty Mummy,' Zia enthused, liquid dark eyes huge as she took an excited twirl in the pink summer dress and frilly ankle socks which she loved. 'Pretty Zia?' she added.
"Very pretty,' Darcy agreed with a grin.
Karen drove them to the church in her car. Darcy was shaken to see quite a crowd waiting in the churchyard to see her arrive. She recognised every face. Former estate staff and tenants, people she had known all her life.
An older woman who had retired as the Folly's last housekeeper moved forward to press a beautiful bouquet into Darcy's empty hands. 'Everybody's so happy for you, Miss Fielding,' she said with embarrassing fervour. 'We all hope you have a really wonderful day!'
As other voices surged to offer the same sincere good wishes for her future happiness, Darcy's eyes stung and flooded with rare tears. She blinked rapidly, touched to the heart but also wrenched by guilt that her coming marriage would only be an empty pretence.
As she entered the small church, Luca turned his imperious head to stare down the aisle. His strong, dark face stilled in what might have been surprise at her appearance in the silk gown, dark golden eyes glittering. Darcy's tear-drenched gaze ran over him. Sheathed in an exquisitely tailored charcoal-grey suit, he exuded the most breathtaking aura of command and sophistication. He had such incredible impact that she forgot how to breathe and her knees wobbled. There was just something about him, she thought with dizzy discomfiture.