‘Yes, of course.’ His voice had been carefully pitched not to alarm Francesca, but the expression in Santino’s eyes, which Francesca could not see, chilled Kate to the bone. ‘I’ll go and look for her now …’ But the truth was, she didn’t want to leave them alone for a moment. She felt instantly threatened by the closeness that had sprung up between them within moments of them meeting.
‘Francesca will be quite safe with me.’
Santino’s words held a threat, but Kate knew she had to remain calm. She mustn’t let Santino see how intimidated he made her feel. ‘I’ll only be a moment.’ She directed the words at Francesca. ’Stay there and Mummy will be back before you know it.’
It was the best she could do without causing an unpleasant scene, and what hurt most of all was that Francesca hardly noticed her leaving. She had already turned away to Santino and was chatting to him as if all the years that divided them had simply melted away.
Would Santino ever allow Francesca to leave his side again? Kate wondered fearfully as she rushed about the room searching for Cordelia and Meredith. Every second was a second too long for her to be parted from her precious daughter. Kate felt as if her life depended on finding her cousin and her aunt and getting back to Francesca, which it did, because Francesca was her life and always would be.
She was so adept at finding solutions to other people’s problems, but here in the middle of a crisis in her own life she was floundering, Kate realised with agonised frustration. The future was a blank canvas upon which only Santino could draw, while she couldn’t see her way past this nightmare. The only certainty was that everything would change now that Santino was part of her life again. The enmity springing off him had been both a warning and a foretaste of the future.
She found Caddy chattering away in the centre of an admiring crowd, blissfully unaware of the crisis she had created. Kate didn’t want to disturb her when she could see Caddy was talking to an older woman Kate realised must be the director Diane Fox. But thankfully Meredith, having spotted her, quickly extricated herself from the group.
‘Kate?’
‘Meredith, I’m so sorry … I haven’t even said hello to you.’ She’d hardly acknowledged her at all, Kate realised, giving her favourite aunt a distracted hug. ‘Do you think you could look after Francesca for me for a few minutes while I talk to Santino?’
‘I’d be pleased to …’ Meredith took a closer look at Kate. ‘Kate, what’s wrong?’
‘Nothing,’ Kate lied shakily. ’Santino wants to speak to me in private.’
‘That’s good news, isn’t it?’ Meredith put a comforting hand on Kate’s arm.
Meredith was so naïve; she always thought the best of everyone and Kate couldn’t ever be angry or impatient with her. ‘Yes, I’m sure it’s an excellent sign,’ she said with a smile to reassure her aunt.
When Kate and Meredith arrived back at the table they found Francesca asleep in Santino’s arms. The sight stunned Kate. She wondered if she had ever felt quite so cold, or so heartsick and threatened.
‘The travelling must have exhausted her,’ Meredith exclaimed fondly, holding out her arms to take Francesca.
‘We have a lot of catching up to do, piccola,‘ Santino murmured as he handed a sleeping Francesca over with the greatest care to Meredith.
Catching up to do … Santino’s words echoed eerily in Kate’s head, and made her fear for the future. He was right—Santino did have a lot of catching up to do and so did Francesca. And how could she deny them time together? She couldn’t forget the influence Santino wielded, or the fact that she had no contacts in Rome or in London. She had no one she could call on in a tug of love situation. She would have to pick a lawyer out of a book like pinning the tail on a donkey … taking her chances that she picked a good one like the rest of humanity.
Kate couldn’t fail to be moved by the depth of emotion on Santino’s face as he watched Meredith carry Francesca away, but it was that same reflection of possession and entitlement that filled her with dread. She wasn’t frightened of Santino in a physical sense, but as he rose to his feet and towered over her she felt herself shrink inwardly.
He stood looking down at her in silence, and when he spoke his voice was low and full of menace. ‘How could this happen, Kate?’
‘Please, Santino, not here …’ She found it hard to vocalize, her throat had seized up so badly with fright. She wasn’t even certain that Santino heard her as she started for the door.
‘Kate …’
Sensing Santino behind her, Kate was suddenly consumed by a primeval fear. She started running, her feet drumming on the wooden floor, adding to the noise in the room, and that noise reverberated in her head, driving her feet, stealing her breath until she was almost blind with panic by the time she reached the exit. She had to fight her way through the crowd to get out, but people coming into the restaurant hardly noticed and were still smiling as she jostled them. They had a party to go to, friends to meet, food to eat, wine to drink, while Kate was lost in a nightmare without end.
As she burst through the door she was sobbing and had to pause for breath before she could set off again and run down the path. Clutching her throat, she gulped in the warm clean air, but Santino caught up with her too quickly before she could compose herself.
‘Please, Santino, please …’ His grip on her arm was remorseless.
‘Let’s get one thing straight before we go any further.’ He thrust her in front of him and his eyes were molten with rage as he stared down at her. ‘Francesca is my daughter.’
It was a statement, not a question, Kate realised, and one prompted entirely by male pride. But she had pride too and she was incensed on Francesca’s behalf that her parentage should be drawn into question. ‘Yes, of course she is!’ She answered him back furiously. ‘Any fool can see that.’
Santino stiffened, causing Kate to jerk back, but there was only disgust on his face.
‘No need to ask who’s been the fool,’ he said icily.
‘All I’m trying to say is there’s no mistaking the fact that Francesca is your child. You must know she is.’
‘As you have known for four long years. And must have known you were pregnant five years ago—’ Santino broke off with a sound of contempt and walked away as if he couldn’t bring himself to look at her a moment longer. He didn’t stop walking until he reached a place that was shaded by the overhanging branches of an ancient tree. And then he turned and Kate was shaken by the force of his venomous stare.
‘Non posso crederio, Kate! I can’t believe it!’ Santino’s voice was harsh, his gaze impenetrable. ‘I can’t believe you would do this to me!’
Kate had never heard a voice made so ugly by emotion, or seen a face so deeply wounded she had no option but to look away. This was Santino in the raw, with all semblance of civilisation stripped away from him. The charm and civility he was renowned for were nowhere to be seen. The consideration for her sex had utterly deserted him. Santino had never seemed more dominant to her than he did at this moment, or more intimidating. She could see now that he posed a terrible threat to the simple life she enjoyed with Francesca, and would remain a threat unless she could find some way to placate him.
He levelled a steely gaze on her face. ‘I asked you a question, which as yet you have not seen fit to answer. I can guess your reply … you’ll find some excuse.’
‘If you’d only let me explain …’ She reached out to him. ‘Please, Santino, why won’t you listen to me?’
‘So you can tell me more lies? I’m done with listening to you, Kate. It’s your turn to listen to me. And I’m telling you …’ his voice dropped to a menacing whisper … ‘you … owe … me …