Unguarded Moment by Sara Craven

He nodded at her and went out into the sunshine.
    Graziella was small and shy and she did not speak very much English, but she seemed to understand that Alix was delighted with her room, and share in her pleasure.
    The floor tiles were predominantly white, with flecks of gold and turquoise, and the hangings in the room, at the windows and on the bed were pale turquoise too. The walls were white and so was the furniture. The windows opened on to a tiny balcony, weighted down with bougainvillea, and overlooking another section of the garden, this time set out in formal style with flower beds, and walks and small clipped hedges, and in the centre a sundial. It had a formal air, the air of another time, another age, as if it had lain dreaming under several centuries of hot Italian sunlight. And yet that was hardly possible, Alix thought, because surely the villa was comparatively modern. As she watched, Carlo Veronese and Leon came into view, obviously deep in conversation. Leon's head was bent, and his hands were clasped behind his back as he paced along beside his companion, who was gesticulating excitedly in order to emphasise some point he was making.
    Alix was going to call to them, but they were too far away to hear her, she decided on second thoughts, and probably much too absorbed in whatever they were discussing. It had to be business because they both looked so serious, she thought, but then if they were discussing the Francesca film, it was a serious subject. It was going to be a high-budget major production, and no detail about it could be glossed over lightly.
    She turned back into the room to find Graziella waiting to show her down to the swimming pool, a fact she conveyed with a few words of broken English and some vivid sign language.
    Alix supposed she should really report to Bianca, and see if there was anything she wanted, but she soothed her conscience with the reflection that Bianca was obviously in safe hands with Maria Battista and would not welcome an interruption if she was resting. Besides, Monty would be arriving soon, and Bianca would be wanting to bathe and change for dinner, rather than requiring the services of her secretary.
    The pool was at the back of the house behind a tall cypress hedge, and reached by the steps of a paved terrace.
    The changing rooms were housed in a low white building with a green tiled roof at one end of the pool. The area round the pool was paved in turquoise and white, and padded sun-loungers in shades of coral and turquoise with matching sun-umbrellas were set at intervals around it.
    Alix was rather glad to see that none of them were currently occupied, and that she would have the pool to herself for a little while at least. Graziella took her into the changing cabin and showed her where everything was kept. As Veronese had indicated, there were plenty of swimsuits to choose from, and Alix had already reached for a plain black one-piece when Graziella took her arm, shaking her head vigorously. It was clear she wanted Alix to choose the bikini she was holding out to her with a persuasive smile. As far as Alix could see it consisted of a few brief triangles of jade green and gold, fastened with slender jade green cords, and it was far skimpier than anything she had ever worn.
    At first she refused smilingly, but Graziella's disappointment was so obvious that she allowed herself to relent, and replaced the black costume on its hanger in the long cupboard. After all, there was no one to see her, she told herself.
    Nevertheless, she could not help a twinge of self-consciousness when she emerged from the cubicle, and caught a glimpse of herself in the full-length mirror on one of the walls.
    The bikini made only the briefest concessions to decency, she thought wryly, but she could not deny that it became her. Even Graziella had vanished, so she was completely alone as she emerged from the changing room with a towel draped over her arm.
    Graziella had shown her where all the sun