The Venetian's Midnight Mistress

‘Yes,’ Dani said. ‘And my grandfather has never made any secret of the fact that he’s disappointed he only had the one grandchild—’

‘How could he possibly be disappointed with you? You’re gorgeous!’ Eleni looked indignant. ‘I’ve always wanted to be a tiny redhead. Do you remember how I dyed my hair red like yours five years ago?’ Her giggle was almost girlish. ‘I thought Niccolo was going to shave my head and then send me back home on the next plane!’

Dani remembered only too well Niccolo’s visit to England five years ago. And the fury in the accusing look he’d shot in her direction when he’d arrived and seen what Eleni had done to her normally rich brown hair…

‘And I’ve always been envious of your amazing green eyes,’ Eleni continued longingly. ‘Plus, you’ve become one of the most successful interior designers in London.’

‘Mainly due to you and other mutual friends employing me,’ Dani pointed out dryly.

‘That’s irrelevant,’ Eleni said firmly. ‘Your grandfather should be proud of you and your achievements!’

Dani couldn’t help smiling at her friend’s chagrin on her behalf. ‘The thing is, my mother couldn’t have any more children after me, so that pretty well took care of there ever being a male heir.’

‘Your grandfather is only a land-owner, for goodness’ sake, not nobility!’ Eleni scoffed.

And, being descended from nobility herself, Eleni was in a position to know the difference!

Dani smiled wistfully. ‘Same thing as far as Grandfather Bell is concerned. “Land is wealth”,’ she quoted in almost as good an imitation of her grandfather as Eleni’s a few minutes ago. ‘Anyway, whatever the reason, he’s never made any secret of his disappointment that he only has one grandchild—me. When my marriage to Philip ended in divorce, and childless to boot, I thought he was going to have a heart attack!’

‘Doesn’t he know why it ended in divorce?’

‘Can you imagine any of the family even attempting to explain Philip’s problem to Grandfather Bell?’

Her grandfather was approaching ninety years of age; trying to explain Philip’s pathological jealousy, his violent behaviour after he and Dani were married, would probably only result in her grandfather stating that the demand for equality from woman nowadays—that he so disapproved of!—was obviously to blame.

‘But the failure of your marriage wasn’t your fault, Dani.’ Eleni reached out a hand to grasp one of Dani’s. ‘You do know that, don’t you?’ She frowned. ‘I only ask because I know there hasn’t been a single man in your life since that awful marriage.’

‘Nor a married one, either!’ Dani retorted cheekily.

Although, in all honesty, it wasn’t a subject she found in the least amusing. Not when her sex life, or lack of it, was the basis of her current problem!

‘Very funny,’ her friend drawled sarcastically as she straightened. ‘But I still don’t see how any of this affects you, Dani.’

In the normal course of events it shouldn’t have; when her grandfather died, Dani’s father should quite naturally inherit Wiverley Hall and the stables. Except her grandfather had decided otherwise…

‘My father will only inherit Wiverley Hall and the Wiverley Stables if I have produced—or at least shown signs of producing—an heir before my grandfather dies.’ Dani winced at just putting into words the terms of the clause that her grandfather had recently told her he had added to his will, let alone actually acting on it! ‘Otherwise the whole thing is to be sold and the money given to charity.’

Eleni gasped as she sat back in obvious shock. ‘But that’s—that’s positively Machiavellian!’

‘Tell me about it,’ Dani agreed, relieved to have talked to someone other than her parents about this at last.

Her parents had obviously been distressed a week ago, when Daniel Bell had called them all together to inform them of the changes he had made to his will, but not as shocked as Dani herself.

As Eleni had already pointed out, Dani had stayed well away from becoming involved in any sort of relationship since her ill-fated marriage to Philip, so how she was supposed to produce this heir any time in the near future she had no idea. Solicit some poor unsuspecting man off the street? Pay someone to get her pregnant? The whole thing was ludicrous!

As she might have known they would, her parents had totally dismissed the clause, advising Dani to ignore it too. They’d stated that when the time came they would move the stables elsewhere.

But Dani knew that was easier said than done when her grandfather controlled the purse strings, too.

Eleni gave a dazed shake of her head. ‘So is his idea that you get married again?’

‘I have no intention of marrying again. You know that,’ Dani said.

‘But Dani—’

‘I will never put myself in such a vulnerable position ever again, Eleni,’ she stated emphatically. ‘Even seeing your own happiness with Brad as an example of how good a relationship can be,’ she added tactfully. ‘Besides, Grandfather hasn’t said I have to actually get married again, only produce the Bell heir.’

‘Incredible.’ Eleni still looked dazed. ‘I thought Niccolo was being unreasonable a year ago when he was so against my wanting to marry an Englishman, but your grandfather’s behaviour is positively archaic!’

Dani had been present on the day that Eleni told her brother she intended marrying Brad and living in England with him—moral support, Eleni had called it!—and could clearly remember Niccolo D’Alessandro’s icy disapproval that his sister should be contemplating marrying anyone who was not a Venetian.

She also remembered the way Niccolo had looked so coldly down his arrogant nose at her that day, as if he suspected her of being responsible for Eleni’s stubborn refusal to back down. Not true, of course, but Dani had known there was no point in even trying to defend herself against such prejudice.

As Eleni and Brad’s wedding was due to take place next weekend it was obvious who had won that particular battle—and that was yet another thing Niccolo D’Alessandro would no doubt blame Dani for!

‘I know that, and you know that, but my grandfather has never claimed to be a reasonable man,’ Dani said.

‘But—’

‘Can we please not talk about this anymore today, Eleni?’ Dani cut in. ‘I’ve thought of nothing else for the last week, and it just gives me a headache.’

‘I’m not surprised.’ Eleni frowned. ‘You should have talked to me about it before, Dani,’ she admonished her friend. ‘I can’t believe your mother and father would really lose Wiverley Hall and the stables if you haven’t—’

‘Eleni, please! Can we talk about your wedding next week instead?’ Then Dani shuddered as a thought occurred to her. ‘Has Niccolo arrived yet?’ she asked tentatively.

Eleni, diverted by Dani’s obvious aversion to seeing her brother again, shook her head. ‘I’ve never understood why you and Niccolo have never become friends.’

‘Probably because we are both of the opinion that the less we see of each other the better,’ Dani retorted.

‘But you’re the two people I love most in the world—apart from Brad, of course—and I can feel the antagonism start to rise the moment the two of you are in the same room together!’ Eleni wailed.

Niccolo D’Alessandro was thirty-seven now, to Dani’s almost twenty-four, and the crush Dani had once had on the arrogant Venetian had—as Eleni so rightly pointed out—developed into antagonism on both sides. Out of dislike and disapproval on Niccolo’s side—especially after Dani’s brief marriage and divorce—and out of pure self-defence on hers.

She gave a dismissive shrug. ‘We just don’t like each other.’

‘But why don’t you?’ Eleni pressed, frustrated. ‘I know I’m his sister, but you have to admit that Niccolo is the epitome of “tall, dark, and handsome”, and he has such a dangerous sexual aura about him he should come with a public health warning. And you’re absolutely gorgeous—’

‘So you already said,’ Dani teased. ‘None of which alters the fact that your brother makes me break out in a rash every time I see him, and that I seem to have the same effect on him.’

‘It’s a total mystery to me,’ Eleni continued. ‘Niccolo is usually so stiffly correct, so—so Venetian, that I simply don’t understand his behaviour whenever he’s around you.’

Dani chuckled softly. ‘One of life’s mysteries you’re just going to have to live with, I’m afraid.’ She glanced at her wristwatch. ‘Now, I really will have to go; I have another appointment in town later this morning.’

‘But I haven’t told you about our plans for the honeymoon yet,’ Eleni protested.

‘And I would really rather you didn’t. Besides, I really don’t have any more time.’

‘Don’t forget we have the final fitting for your brides-maid’s dress in the morning,’ her friend reminded her.