“Because I
“You’re American.”
“Only by adoption. I’m just a simple, lousy, Latin lover at heart.”
“Why have you streaked your hair gray?”
“Well, hearing you were heavily into older guys, like Billy, I figured I stood more of a chance if I looked more mature. Besides,” he grinned, “I thought it suited me.”
“It does,” admitted Fen. “You look too bloody glamorous for words, but it’s too early to make jokes about my broken heart.”
Dino put a suntanned, beautifully manicured hand over hers. “How come you didn’t acknowledge my telegram?”
“I wasn’t sure it was from you.”
“It said it was, didn’t it?”
“You don’t know the terrible thing Rupert did to me in Rome.”
Just for a second his hand tightened painfully on hers.
“No, not that,” said Fen. “I’d been packed off to bed ludicrously early and was sitting there, dying of boredom, when Rupert rang up, pretending to be you, and asked me out to dinner.”
“Did you go?”
“Did I? I’ve never got bathed, washed my hair, and dressed quicker in my life. Then I found Rupert and Driffield killing themselves at the bottom of the stairs.”
Dino looked half-smug, half-sympathetic.
“That was a lousy trick. Were you disappointed?”
“Shattered. After that, I thought the telegram was probably one of Rupert’s vile little practical jokes too, so I never wrote and thanked you.”
“If you had, I’d have been over much sooner.”
“And I might never have got involved with Billy. D’you think I’ll ever get over him?” she added dolefully.
“Sure you will. Just stick around.”
The waiter arrived with their first course: half a dozen Mediterranean prawns each and a huge bowl of mayonnaise, strongly flavored with garlic.
Dino ordered another bottle, and started stripping the prawns with incredible dexterity, then dipping them in the mayonnaise and passing them to Fen.
“Mm, they actually are delicious. Do you undress women as expertly?”
“Far more expertly, and I don’t pull their heads and legs off, either.”
Fen paused for a minute, thinking how amazingly attractive he was; if you liked that sort of thing, she told herself hastily.
“Did you ever get Helen Campbell-Black into bed?”
Dino grinned. “We had lunch several times, but she never had more than one course and left half of that because she was always wanting to rush me off to some art gallery. I said, ‘Honey, I am not into culture, I’m only into sex.’ ”
“You didn’t manage to divert her into some large double bed?”
He shook his head. “She was running scared the whole time. Whenever I put my hand on her back to guide her across the road, she shot into the oncoming traffic. If you try anything further, a burglar alarm goes off.”
“In Rupert’s lorry?”
“No, in her head. She’s so beautiful you want to gaze and gaze, but I guess she’s like a Ming vase: beautiful but empty.”
“Goodness, I’ve eaten all those prawns,” said Fen.
“Good girl.” Dino ran his hand down the inside of her arm, caressing her gently, almost abstractedly as if she were a dog. “Funny, I fancy you. I always have.”
Fen jumped away. “You mustn’t say things like that. I’m not ready for propositions.”
“Wasn’t a proposition. Just a statement of fact.”
“Even though I’m not as beautiful as Helen?”
Dino looked at her meditatively. “You could gain some weight,” he said, “but you’ll do.”
Fen noticed he was beginning to squint slightly. He must be desperately jet-lagged.
“How’s Manny?”
“Awesome; much better than me. He’s grown so much and filled out. He was winning a lot earlier in the year. Then my daddy had a cardiac arrest in July. He’s better now, but I was off the circuit for some weeks.”
“Why have you suddenly come over here at the end of the season?”
“To work with this guy whom I reckon is the best coach in the world. I’m going to stable the horses at his barn for a few months, take in a few shows in Europe, then have a stab at the World Cup in April. Then back to the States for the run up to the Olympics. I guess I want a gold as much as you do.”
“Who is this coach? Do I know him?”
“No one knows him very well. He’s kind of unapproachable.” Dino smiled confidingly. “Actually, I fancy one of his female jockeys. I figured if I was living there with permanent access, I might stand a better chance.”
Fen slumped in her chair, utterly deflated. She looked down at the tiny lamb cutlets that had just arrived and removed the blackened sprig of rosemary that lay across them. She was utterly heartbroken over Billy, but no girl likes an attractive reboundee whipped from under her nose before she’s even had a moment to try and rebound onto him. It would have been useful to have Dino in England if anyone asked her to bring a man to a party or to some official dinner. Moodily she poured too much salt onto the side of her plate, watching it turn green in the mint sauce.
“No, I don’t want any more to drink,” she said sulkily. “I’ve got a class at nine tomorrow.”
Dino took no notice and filled up her glass.
“Did you meet this girl on the circuit?” she asked.
“Last year at the World Championship.”
Fen glanced up suddenly and was amazed to see he was laughing.
“Jesus, you’re thick, Maxwell. You may win trophies at shows, but you’ve got the perception of a blindworm.”
“I don’t understand,” stammered Fen.
Dino took her hand again, turning it over, gently tracing the heart line with his thumb.
“I saw Jake this afternoon. He figures you’ve done a fantastic job, but it might help to have another guy around the barn to jump some of the horses. In return, he’s going to help me with Manny when he comes out of the hospital.”
Fen suddenly felt near to tears again. “So he thinks I can’t cope?”
“On the contrary, he thinks you’re too good to waste. He wants a gold for you, too. He’s only helping me because he knows there’s no way I can beat you.”
Fen sat on Jake’s hospital bed a fortnight later. “It is absolutely infuriating,” she grumbled, “but the entire household: Tory, the children, the grooms, the horses, even Wolf, are madly in love with Dino Ferranti. It’s a good thing you’re coming home next week to restore normality before they all defect to America with him.”
She got up and wandered restlessly around the room, looking at the inside of the hundreds of get-well cards, eating grapes, trying not to be upset by Jake’s hisses of pain as, with contorted, sweating face and gritted teeth, he battled on, endlessly bending and stretching to strengthen the muscles of both broken and wasted legs. She couldn’t help noticing how fragile and lacking in muscle they looked and wondered if he would ever ride again, let alone make the big time.
“The physiotherapist warned you not to overdo it,” she said reprovingly.
“Physiotherapists aren’t interested in medals,” said Jake, pushing his drenched fringe out of his eyes.
“Tory’s planning a surprise Thanksgiving dinner for Dino, so he won’t feel homesick,” Fen went on. “Sarah is actually putting on makeup first thing in the morning for the first time in history. Any minute Desdemona will start curling her pink eyelashes. I can’t think why he has to be so bloody charming all the time. Goodness, you’ve got a card from the Princess! You are a star. Are you looking forward to coming home next week?”
“Of course,” panted Jake, leaning back for a second against the bedhead.
“We’re all longing to have you,” said Fen.
