Seduced by Innocence by Lucy Gordon Page B

was so droll that Terri collapsed in laughter. “Let’s have something to eat,” he said.
    “I should be going.”
    Bruno had leaned back so that his face was half in shadow, and for a moment Terri almost thought he really was wearing a mask. His mouth grinned blandly, but his eyes were no more than dark sockets, revealing nothing. “What’s the hurry?” he asked casually. “Are you and Maurizio spending the evening together?”
    “No, he’s entertaining important business clients.”
    “Then we can have a little supper. Giorgio, your best pizza and another bottle.”
    An hour later, replete with pizza and red wine, they strolled out together and through the dark streets toward the Midas. Bruno had an inexhaustible fund of funny stories and he regaled Terri with them until her sides ached. They were laughing together, arms entwined, as they turned the last corner before the Midas. Then their laughter died abruptly.
    Maurizio stood there, murder in his eyes.
    “Good evening,” Bruno sang out.
    Maurizio ignored him. His eyes pierced Terri. “Where the devil have you been?” he demanded. He was paler than she’d ever seen him.
    “I’ve been walking home.”
    “Until this hour? I know how long it takes to walk from the Palazzo Calvani.”
    “So I took a bit longer,” Terri said, getting annoyed at his manner. “So what? I’m not answerable to you for the time I take, am I?”
    “I went to meet you and missed you by a few minutes. I came back to wait for you, and when you didn’t arrive on time, I thought you’d got lost. I thought of all the things that could have happened to you in the dark byways of this city.”
    “Nothing happened. I met Bruno, we had a pizza and then walked home.”
    “How are your business guests?” Bruno asked with a glance at Maurizio’s elegant attire. “Surely you’re not neglecting them?”
    Maurizio threw him a sulphurous glance. “I was about to send out a search party,” he said through gritted teeth.
    Bruno smiled seraphically. “In that case, my dear boy, it’s as well that we arrived before you made yourself look so foolish,” he said. “Signorina Teresa, let me thank you for a most charming evening. I’ll say good-night now. Don’t forget to take these.” He handed her the bagful of masks. “You’ll need them sooner than you think.”
    He floated past them into the hotel. Terri tried to follow him but Maurizio stopped her with a hand on her arm. “I don’t like being made to look foolish, Teresa,” he said quietly.
    She was still cross. “In that case, it’s a pity you got upset about nothing. Who do you think you are to talk to me like this in a public place, or any place? Now I want to go inside, so kindly get out of my way this minute.”
    “Are you giving me orders?” Maurizio demanded, his eyes kindling.
    “Yes, as a matter of fact, I am.”
    “And what do you think gives you the right?”
    “The fact that I’m paying to stay here,” she snapped. “You’re the hotelier, I’m a guest in your establishment and I don’t like the way you’re behaving. In fact, I’ll probably make a complaint to the management.”
    She took advantage of his surprise to slip past him and into the hotel. Maurizio drew a long breath to get his temper under control but he knew he was angry with himself more than her. He’d spent the last few hours in hell, terrified lest something had happened to her. His reason had told him that she was probably exploring, but it was hard to listen to reason when his heart was hammering with dread. The last time he’d felt such overwhelming fear was when Rufio had gone missing, and he’d started the search that had led to his young brother’s dead body. And then she’d strolled into view, arm in arm with his roguish uncle, and laughed at him.
    With a muttered oath, he went swiftly into the Midas and headed for his office, where Bruno was pouring himself a large brandy. “I thought I’d find you here,” Maurizio