Seduced by Innocence by Lucy Gordon Page A

delighted. Maurizio, do you wish to come inside for a moment?” He didn’t sound enthusiastic.
    “Thank you, no,” Maurizio said. “I must return to work.”
    He vanished into the rabbit warren of streets and Francisco led Terri inside. The next moment Elena had appeared at the top of a flight of stairs and was hurrying down to enfold her in a scented embrace. Francisco melted away, leaving his wife to take charge of Terri and draw her upstairs to the contessa ‘s private apartments.
    Last night, in the soft lights of the casino, Elena had looked little more than a girl. In the brilliant morning sunshine, Terri could see signs of strain, and even a slight redness, as though Elena had been weeping. But then she smiled, the strain vanished and the illusion of youth was almost restored. Although it was early in the day, Elena was perfectly and glossily groomed, with elegantly coiffured hair and flawlessly applied makeup.
    Terri’s Italian blood spoke up for Elena in tones of warm admiration, but she’d been reared as an Englishwoman and something puritanical in her looked askance at a woman who gave so much attention and energy to her own appearance. She knew what Elena had sacrificed to become the gorgeous Contessa Calvani. So in her heart she stood a little aside, even while part of her succumbed to Elena’s charm.
    “Contessa, I’m afraid I was foisted on you,” Terri said impulsively. “I really hope I can make you glad I’m here.”
    “But I’m glad already,” Elena said warmly. “I have so much to do and I’m so scatterbrained. Look at all this.” She indicated a beautiful marquetry desk covered with papers. “They built up while I was away, and now I must go through them all.”
    “Then the sooner we start the better,” Terri said.
    By the end of the first day, Terri had changed her mind about Elena. She was far from scatterbrained, and worked with a brisk efficiency that covered a lot of ground in a short time. She divided her time into three: her charity work, the art gallery and the considerable effort of maintaining her position as a society dazzler. At first, her charity work appeared impersonal, a matter of committees and fund-raising events. But then, she spent nearly two hours on the telephone arguing for the rights of a disabled child, refusing to give up until the child was given a government grant Elena felt he deserved. Her last call was to his mother to announce gleefully, “We won.” She was like a child herself, enjoying an unexpected present, and Terri, who’d heard her harrying officials unmercifully, was intrigued at the many-sided personality unfolding before her.
    They lunched at the art gallery where Elena criticized her assistant for a piece of mismanagement while she’d been away, but sweetened her reproof with a smile that brought him back under her spell. “I thought he was going to walk out at first,” Terri observed when the man had left the office. “But you had him wagging his tail like a puppy.”
    “Of course.” Elena shrugged. “I don’t like to hurt people, even when I have to be cross with them.” She glanced at Terri. “What are you looking at?”
    Terri lifted some drawings that were lying in a tray. “I thought I recognized my brother’s hand.”
    “Your brother?”
    “Leo Wainright. I believe he did some work for you here?”
    “Yes—yes, he did. Of course, you mentioned a brother....”
    “And he really did work here? You knew him?”
    Elena unlocked a small cabinet and took out some jewelry. “This piece is about four hundred years old and I’m afraid it’s falling to pieces. The stones need resetting, and Leo and I were going to do it together. Those drawings are his initial designs. I thought they were so beautiful, but one day he must have lost interest because he never came back to finish work.”
    “When was that?”
    “Late September, I think. Did he ever tell why he didn’t return?”
    “I haven’t heard from him since