Virgin Mistress(42)
“No!” she shrieked. “I won't go!”
“And siblings,” Ellie continued desperately, hardly knowing what she was saying. “A baby brother and sister to play with very soon…”
The shrieks abruptly ended.
Staring at her, Catia sucked in her breath with a hiccup. Ellie was afraid to say a word to break the spell.
“Babies?” the girl finally whispered. “A brother and a sister?”
Ellie nodded. She put her hands on her loose white shirt, showing off her gently swelling belly. “Your father and I are going to have twins, Catia. In early November.”
“But…then…why do you want me?” she asked falteringly.
Blinking back tears, Ellie stroked her dark hair. “The babies need a big sister to show them how to play.”
“Oh,” Catia breathed with longing. “I can do that. I can show them how to play with a ball, and ride a bike, and lots of things…”
“I know you can.” Ellie held out her hand. “We want you in our family, Catia. We love you. We need you.”
“You do?” The girl looked up timidly.
“Yes!” Tears were running down Ellie's face and she didn't even try to wipe them away. Within hours, she'd already come to love this motherless girl who desperately wanted to belong, to be safe, to be loved. Just as Ellie once had….
Holding her breath, Ellie waited, hand extended.
Tentatively, Catia placed her small hand in her own.
Joy flooded Ellie's heart. “You won't be sorry,” she whispered. “I promise. You'll always be safe and happy with us.”
Together, they walked down the stairs.
In the salon, she saw Angelique Price making her case to Diogo, who was standing by the fireplace with a hard expression. But having once seen his heart, Ellie now realized that unfeeling arrogance was just the mask he wore over a heart that felt too much.
A heart just like her own.
“Your new wife is jealous of the child, Mr. Serrador,” the beautiful nanny was pleading, putting her graceful hand on his arm. “She's crazy! Don't let her take the child from me. I think she intends to do the little girl some harm. She's trying to get rid of me so she can send Catia off to boarding school—or worse. If you love your daughter, for God's sake, don't let her fire me!”
They both looked up as Ellie and Catia came down the stairs. Diogo's face lit up in astonished wonder at the sight of his daughter holding Ellie's hand.
“I'm ready, Papa,” the little girl said shyly. “I want to go home to our family.”
“Oh, pequena,” he gasped.
She held out her thin arms. Diogo raced halfway up the stairs and took the little girl in his arms. This time, there could be no doubting the brilliance of her smile.
“After all,” she chirruped happily, “someone has to teach those babies how to play!”
He hugged the child fiercely, looking at Ellie over her shoulder.
“Thank you, Ellie,” he whispered, and there were tears in his eyes. “Thank you.”
“She can't be trusted,” Angelique howled shrilly. “Who are you going to believe, her or me?”
With his free hand, Diogo took his wife's hand in his own.
“I believe my wife fired you,” he said coolly. “You have five seconds before I toss you out the door.”
“You wouldn't.”
He took a step toward her, and Angelique fled.
Diogo turned back to his little family.
“Come,” he said tenderly. “Let's go home.” He kissed the back of Ellie's hand. And in his dark eyes, she saw a new warmth—and beneath it, the promise of fire.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
I'm going to take her from you.
DIOGO STARED DOWN at the note in his hands.He'd shrugged off the notes at first. The first one, in his briefcase when he returned from a business trip to New York in early June. The next on his private plane in September. Now this one, tucked in the car that his wife and daughter used in Rio.
Guilherme swore he didn't know how the notes got into the Bentley, and Diogo believed him. So how had they gotten there?
But he already knew who'd sent them, knew it down to his bones. Timothy Wright. The ruined lawyer had gone underground, hunted by the American police—and now apparently determined to take his revenge against the former boss who'd given evidence against him.
How was Wright leaving notes like this, in Diogo's private, protected world? In spite of all his bodyguards? Was the man a ghost—a demon?
I'm going to take her from you.
Diogo crumpled the note in his hands and tossed it into a trash can on the street outside the Carlton Palace. His men would track Wright down. But why was it taking so long? Diogo couldn't protect his family if he couldn't find his enemy. He'd had enough, he thought with a growl. It was time for him to call all his men—and call in some favors.