The Sun and Catriona by Rosemary Pollock Read Free Book Online Page A

life, and to be very much in demand. Watching her lovely, exotic face, following her graceful gestures, listening to her seductive voice, Catriona decided that there was one role she would fill to perfection—and that was the role of Countess Vilhena. It was a part, too, that she obviously wanted. As she sat at Peter’s right hand, her back to a shadowy portrait, her eyes sparkling in the candle-glow, she looked so staggeringly perfect that it was hardly surprising her host seemed to find difficulty in dragging his eyes away from her.
    Catriona thought that surely it could not be long before he made up his mind. He had, it seemed, extensive business interests, mainly connected with boat-building, and he didn’t appear to allow himself much free time, but he probably wouldn’t find it difficult to make room in his life for Jacqueline. They would suit one another very well. She found them both almost equally infuriating.
    As for the crazy idea that she had been steadied by the touch of his fingers—well, that was something she had imagined. She was probably more tired than she realised.
    At last they reached the coffee stage, and Jacqueline drew her chair back. She looked at Peter beneath her lashes.
    ‘Darling , it’s very sad, but I must go.’
    He leant back in his chair, tapping lightly on the table. ‘Why?’ he asked.
    ‘Because there is a party I must not miss. ’ She shrugged, and stood up. ‘I would not bother about it, but it is a family celebration—my sister’s wedding anniversary. You know, she has been married for twelve years.’
    The Count’s brow puckered. ‘No, I did not know. You must forgive me, Jacqueline. I had forgotten that you had a sister old enough to have reached such a milestone.’
    She looked down at him. With one beautifully manicured finger she touched his hand as it lay on the table. ‘I didn’t say anything earlier because I thought it would spoil dinner. I know you wouldn’t want to go with me, darling.’
    ‘No.’ He looked at the slender finger still caressing the fine dark hairs on the back of his hand. ‘No.’ he repeated abruptly. ‘You were right.’
    ‘Ah, well, never mind.’ She smiled brightly. Then her glance fell on Toni, and an idea seemed to strike her. ‘Antoinette, you’re not doing anything? Not tonight ? ’
    Toni looked at her eagerly. ‘No ... ’
    ‘Well then, you must come with me.’ She turned to the Count, her eyes full of appeal. ‘Let her come. It will be a very respectable party.’
    Peter Vilhena glanced at his sister. ‘You may go if you wish. You will be safe with Jacqueline.’
    Toni’s eyes lit, and for a moment Catriona thought she was going to kiss her brother, but if any such idea did pass through her head she dismissed it. Instead, she said:
    ‘Thank you. Thank you, Peter!’
    To Catriona’s relief the invitation obviously did not extend to her. She saw Toni looking at her anxiously, and knew that the other girl would have liked to press for her inclusion. But it would clearly have been difficult for Jacqueline Calleja to envisage the possibility of treating a paid employee as an equal.
    When they had gone she lingered for a moment in the courtyard, under the far-off night sky. There were thousands of stars overhead, and she supposed the same stars were looking down on England, even if, at the moment, they might be hidden behind rain-clouds, and yet her own familiar world seemed light years away. It was as if she had crashed through a magic barrier into some other dimension, and her old life had been left behind. All at once she felt lonely and rather flat, and that shook her, because she was used to being alone.
    On the way up to her bedroom she passed the door that led to Peter Vilhena’s study. A light glowed beneath it, and she wondered what he was doing. She imagined him sitting at the big desk in the corner, his dark head bent, and she wondered whether he was thinking of Jacqueline.
    Upstairs, she wrote a short letter